"What do you want with our daughter?" Mang Lu's father asks, his voice firm.
"I want to marry her… and make her happy," I reply, steady and sincere.
Her mother smiles warmly at me.
"Well then, you have my blessing," she says, excitement lighting up her face.
Her father, however, still has questions.
"Where is your family?" he asks, eyes narrowing slightly.
"They're gone, sir. All of them."
He pauses. "And how do you plan to protect my daughter?"
"I'm a cultivator, sir. A powerful one."
He leans back slightly, studying me. "Last question… why do you want to marry our daughter?"
"She's the most beautiful, kind, and loving person I've ever met. More than even my own family."
He nods slowly, as if weighing my words. "Alright."
As I'm about to step into the bath…
"Son, I have one more question for—WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"Huh?" I turn, startled.
"Your body, son… what have you been through?"
Lin Xian and her mother, Lin Xi, rush into the room, alarmed.
"Honey!" they gasp in unison when they see the state of my body.
Scarred. From head to toe. Some two inches long, others stretching over three feet.
"It's just a few scars," I say calmly. "Nothing unusual. Nothing bothersome."
I leave and head for the bath.
They start whispering as soon as I'm gone.
"What has that boy been through?" Lin Xi asks softly. "He's covered in scars…"
"He must've endured so much," her husband murmurs. "There's no need to pressure him. He'll tell us when he's ready."
Later that night…
"I figured I'd explain," I say, breaking the silence at the dinner table. "What you saw earlier."
They look up.
"My family… when I had just turned two hundred and ten… we went to war with another sect. Every single one of them was wiped out. I'm the last of my bloodline."
Silence.
Then, tears. They offer condolences, their voices trembling. But deep down, I know they don't really care. No one ever has.
Except Lin Xian.
She looks at me with eyes full of love and sorrow, and I know—she means it.
That night, I sleep deeply.
The next day, the wedding begins.
I say my vows. So does Lin Xian.
She moves in with me that same evening.
And with that… the week of chaos finally ends.