"Sophia!" Seeing Sophia Lin spit blood and collapse to the ground, Roxanne Lin cried out in alarm, momentarily forgetting all about her sister's warning that the wine was poisoned. She rushed to Sophia's side to check her condition.
Sophia Lin looked at Evan Chu and Roxanne and said, "I know your cultivation is strong, so the poison will take longer to work on you. But don't celebrate too soon—I'll be waiting for you on the Yellow Springs road." As soon as she finished, she coughed up another mouthful of blood.
Roxanne was panicked now. No matter how vicious or cruel Sophia had just been to them, she was still her own sister—her blood relative, someone she'd grown up with since childhood.
But when it came to this poison, Roxanne was helpless. Her eyes were full of pleading as she looked at Evan, hoping he might have a solution. After all, Evan's strength was extraordinary—maybe he could do something.
Evan Chu frowned slightly. To be honest, he really didn't want to detoxify her. But seeing the guilt and pain on Roxanne's face, he finally decided to save Sophia—if only for Roxanne's sake. After all, Roxanne herself had also been poisoned; it just hadn't taken effect yet because her cultivation was too strong.
He immediately took out the Frostbane Sword from his storage ring. But when Roxanne saw Evan's movement, she was startled, "Evan, what are you doing?"
It was obvious she thought Evan meant to kill Sophia—maybe because she had poisoned them. But Evan simply said, "I'm just drawing a little blood. Why are you so nervous?"
"Drawing blood? Sophia's already like this, and you still want to draw blood? If you can't save her, at least let her go peacefully. I don't want you to make things harder for her," Roxanne said.
Evan shot Roxanne a look, then quickly rolled up his sleeve and used the Frostbane Sword to slash his own wrist. Pale-gold blood flowed out, and he swiftly let it drip onto Sophia's lips.
Seeing Evan's actions, Roxanne was confused. "Evan, what are you doing? Don't tell me your blood can cure Sophia's poison?"
"Nonsense. If my blood couldn't cure the poison, why would I bother hurting myself? You should absorb some too—this foolish woman just loves causing trouble," Evan said, exasperated.
Sophia, hearing that Evan's blood could counteract the poison, stubbornly refused to open her mouth. Evan, losing patience, knocked her out. "Let's see how long you can keep up this act. If it weren't for Roxanne, I wouldn't save you even if you died a hundred times," he muttered.
Roxanne pried open Sophia's mouth and let Evan's blood drip in. But Evan's freakish healing ability had already closed the wound, so no more blood came out.
Evan had to cut his wrist again, letting pale-gold blood flow out once more. This time, several drops made it into Sophia's mouth. After letting Roxanne absorb a bit too, the wound healed up again.
"Roxanne, slowly absorb the power in my blood. I'll detoxify you in a moment. If your sister hadn't run into me, she'd really be dead for sure," Evan said.
He then slowly channeled wood-element power into Sophia's body. The process seemed simple but was actually very slow; nearly an hour passed before Evan finally stopped and said to Roxanne, "She should be fine now. A woman like her is bad luck for any man. Honestly, I'm glad I made my choice so clear back then."
Roxanne's face was looking pale now too. Evan realized the poison was finally starting to act. Although his blood could detoxify, Sophia had said it was a powerful toxin—so it was bound to be tough. Evan quickly channeled wood-element power into Roxanne as well.
That took another hour. Gradually, Roxanne's complexion returned to normal. Evan said, "Let's go. Your sister won't wake up for several hours. Tell your father to have someone keep an eye on her so she doesn't do anything stupid."
Roxanne could tell Evan was in a bad mood, so she didn't say anything more and left Sophia's room with him. The rest of the Lin Family still had no idea what had happened; right now, Damon Lin was busy organizing a banquet to welcome Evan and Roxanne home.
When Evan and Roxanne met Damon, they briefly explained what had happened with Sophia. Damon was so shocked he could barely speak. After a long moment, he finally burst out, "That damned girl! Just wait until I deal with her. If anything happened to you two, I'd never be able to forgive myself—and maybe the whole Lin Family would pay the price."
"Father-in-law, don't blame her anymore. Search her room thoroughly and confiscate her storage belt and anything similar—I'm worried she might try something stupid again. You'd better post someone to watch her at all times. Roxanne and I have urgent matters; we need to return to the Royal Capital now. Take care of yourself," Evan said.
"But the banquet is already prepared! Why not stay and eat before you go?" Damon protested. After all that had happened, he was just grateful Evan hadn't lost his temper and didn't dare push any further.
"Maybe next time. If the family runs into trouble, just go to the Great General's Manor in the Royal Capital and find my father—he'll send people to handle everything. As for Sophia, don't let anyone else know what happened. Family disgrace shouldn't be aired in public. Farewell!" Evan said.
"Father, I'm leaving now. If you have time, come to the capital. Once Evan's matters are settled, I'll come back to keep you company!" Roxanne said.
Evan took Roxanne's hand and flew straight into the sky. In the blink of an eye, they were gone. Watching their distant figures, Damon was left with a flood of emotions before storming into Sophia's room, furious...
"Evan, are you really angry with my sister? If none of this had happened, would you have stayed another day before leaving?" Roxanne asked in a quiet voice.
"I'm not angry with her. Even if this hadn't happened, I would've left anyway—now I just want to leave even more. Honestly, your sister ended up like this partly because of me. I can understand how she feels; she's probably full of envy, jealousy, and hatred toward you. Otherwise, she wouldn't have tried to drag us down with her.
She knows I'd never choose her, so that's why she resorted to poison. She just miscalculated—I'm immune to all poisons now. If it were anyone else, she might've succeeded," Evan said.
"Evan, did you have something to do with my sister's ex-husband? Otherwise, she wouldn't be so depressed. Tell me what really happened between you all," Roxanne said.
Evan then told Roxanne all about how Sophia and her husband used to flaunt their status and bully others, and how he punished them. Roxanne was furious when she heard it. In the end, she said, "Sophia really went too far. I'm grateful you don't hold grudges."
"Enough about that. Let's hurry back to the capital. Your sisters are all waiting for you," Evan said. He then used teleportation repeatedly, and before dusk, they arrived at the Great General's Manor.
Their return instantly made the manor lively. Sima Jingyi, Yang Rui, and the other women surrounded Roxanne, eager to catch up after so long apart.
Evan caught up with Zhao Fei, Niu Tian, and the others, while Victor Chu had the servants prepare a lavish dinner. After some casual chatting, everyone gathered at the banquet table, raising their glasses to Evan and Roxanne—especially Roxanne, who was toasted again and again since she was rarely seen.
The banquet lasted late into the night. Evan and Roxanne rarely had time together, but since Evan and Tang Li hadn't consummated their marriage yet, everyone arranged for Evan to stay with Tang Li that night.
Roxanne was pulled into Sima Jingyi's room, along with Ouyang Qian and Yang Rui—since they're all Evan's women, and Roxanne and Yang Rui are sisters, the four of them had plenty to talk about and were sure to stay up all night.
Tang Li was quiet when Evan brought her to his room. She knew what was about to happen—nervous and excited, she didn't say a word for a long time.
Evan understood her feelings and smiled. "We're already married, and you're still so shy? That's not like you. It's getting late; let's get some sleep."
Tang Li immediately replied, "Who says I'm shy? I'm just a little scared. I heard the first time is really painful—can you be gentle with me?"
Evan was surprised to see the usually fierce Tang Li acting so timid. He laughed, "Don't worry, I'll be gentle. But I have to warn you—when I channel mysterious energy into you, you need to stay alert and circulate it through your meridians a few times. Your strength will skyrocket afterward."
"Is that how Yang Rui broke through to the ninth level of the Heavenly Martial Realm? What kind of energy is this, anyway?" Tang Li asked.
"You'll find out soon enough. Now's not the time to discuss it," Evan said with a smile. He'd wanted Tang Li for a long time—of all the women, she was the only one who hadn't truly become his yet, and he could hardly wait.
Tang Li was at a loss for words and ended up half-reluctantly getting into bed. Evan started undressing her, making her tremble uncontrollably.
Soon, only her undergarments were left. Tang Li's face was as red as a ripe apple, eyes tightly shut, too embarrassed to open them.
Evan then removed the rest, revealing a stunning figure—full curves, a flat stomach, and a lush black forest that made it hard to look away.
Finally, they joined in the most primal embrace. Tang Li's painful scream marked the moment a young girl became a woman...