He Qinghua's heart turned cold. She shot a hateful glare at Li Daoqiang but ultimately didn't dare to gamble.
She could die, but she absolutely couldn't have her martial arts crippled and be imprisoned.
The man before her was by no means soft-hearted.
This time, she had angered him, and he might actually do it.
Besides, she hadn't lost tonight.
The one who lost should be Huang Xuemei.
She had disrupted her wedding night, made her see Li Daoqiang's true colors, and Li Daoqiang hadn't helped her either.
With a proud glance at Huang Xuemei, she snorted coldly and turned to leave.
Huang Xuemei stared icily at her retreating figure, not even sparing Li Daoqiang a look.
Li Daoqiang said nothing more.
Anything said now would be useless.
Besides, there was no need to say anything.
He directly scooped up Huang Xuemei and flew toward Black Dragon Stronghold.
Huang Xuemei remained silent, as cold as if she lacked any human warmth.
Back in the bridal chamber, he set Huang Xuemei down inside.
Li Daoqiang sat to the side, silent for a moment, then spoke in a deep voice: "Xuemei, you might hate me, but no matter what, I met He Qinghua first. She was with me first.
So, I won't let you kill her.
I also beg you, don't kill her.
From now on, no matter what, you are my Li Daoqiang's lawfully wedded wife.
I promised you, I'll protect Xiao Lin, treat him like a younger brother, and help you take revenge on Dongfang Bai and the mastermind behind it all.
I'll do all of this with my whole heart.
Black Dragon Stronghold will always be your home."
Huang Xuemei lay on the bed with her eyes closed, saying nothing.
Li Daoqiang glanced at her a few times. Though they had only known each other for a few days and had no real feelings, he still felt a trace of guilt.
After a moment of silence, he didn't say more and went to sit cross-legged in meditation.
As for going to bed at that moment, he didn't dare.
Her acupoints would unlock at dawn.
He wasn't about to gamble on what Huang Xuemei might do then.
In the quiet, the night passed without a word, and the sky gradually brightened.
Huang Xuemei opened her eyes, rose expressionlessly, and picked up the Demon Zither.
She gave Li Daoqiang a cold, emotionless look and said flatly, "I'm going to find Dongfang Bai."
With that, she stepped out of the room.
Only after her figure disappeared did Li Daoqiang open his eyes, letting out a slight sigh of relief.
Huang Xuemei had ultimately chosen reality wisely.
Reality was that Lü Lin still needed his protection.
So, no matter how furious she was, no matter how dead she felt toward him as a husband, she found an excuse they both understood and left.
Li Daoqiang had known since last night that Huang Xuemei wouldn't stay at Black Dragon Stronghold.
Everything he had done and said from then until now had one purpose.
To stay neutral, to extract himself, and to make it clear that this was a grudge between Huang Xuemei and He Qinghua.
He could let Huang Xuemei give up on him, but he couldn't let her truly hate him to death.
As long as that held, Huang Xuemei wouldn't be utterly desperate and take Lü Lin away.
With Lü Lin in hand, Huang Xuemei could never escape.
She would still be his wife.
Even if it was just a transaction, a wife without feelings.
But he didn't really care, as long as the bandit points remained.
In essence, they were a couple forged by a deal.
Though there might be some regret, for Li Daoqiang, who had long faced reality, it didn't matter much.
To put it bluntly, what he wanted was the person, not the heart.
That was the root reason he had remained calm and composed since last night's events.
Whether it was Huang Xuemei or He Qinghua, neither could escape his grasp.
As for killing He Qinghua to possibly win Huang Xuemei's heart?
That was absolutely impossible.
Giving up an entire forest for one tree—he'd have to be an idiot.
And keeping Huang Xuemei wasn't necessary either.
A grandmaster-level expert who wanted to leave, he couldn't stop.
Whether she stayed or not, as long as the connection with Lü Lin remained, as long as the bandit points were intact, it didn't matter.
After a while, when he sensed that Huang Xuemei had checked on Lü Lin and left Black Dragon Stronghold, Li Daoqiang glanced at the Great Bandit System. Seeing that the bandit points hadn't decreased, he finally relaxed completely.
After a moment, a flicker of coldness passed through him.
It was good that she left, saved him trouble.
From now on, he absolutely couldn't get involved in feelings easily. Interests were eternal.
Calming his emotions, he walked out of the courtyard and summoned Wang Lin, saying flatly, "Keep an eye on Madam Xuemei and Madam Qinghua. If you mess up again, you'll be sweeping floors."
"Yes."
Wang Lin, drenched in sweat, dared not show any dissatisfaction and immediately replied.
Li Daoqiang waved his hand, dismissing Wang Lin.
No matter what, he still had to keep an eye on Huang Xuemei and He Qinghua.
They were ultimately his women, and it involved the bandit points.
As for whether Huang Xuemei would go after He Qinghua, he wasn't worried.
Huang Xuemei had left calmly with an excuse, showing she had chosen reality.
As long as Lü Lin still needed his protection, she wouldn't easily move against He Qinghua.
After a brief hesitation, he headed toward Qi Fang's courtyard.
Over an hour later.
In the boudoir filled with a faint, warm fragrance, Li Daoqiang held a slightly tired Qi Fang.
The faint, nagging irritation in his heart had vanished.
He felt very satisfied with Qi Fang.
Qi Fang was good, no trouble at all.
After resting a bit, Qi Fang recovered and looked at Li Daoqiang with some concern. After hesitating, she couldn't help asking, "Chief, what about Sister Xuemei?"
Logically, Li Daoqiang shouldn't have come to her at this time.
Though she was simple and kind, she wasn't stupid and had sensed something was wrong.
"It's nothing. She had urgent business and left Black Dragon Stronghold. She probably won't be back for a while," Li Daoqiang said calmly.
Qi Fang softly acknowledged, unable to suppress a flicker of joy.
She knew this joy was wrong, but she couldn't control it.
She bit her lip, feeling a bit guilty, and closed her eyes.
"How's your training going? Have you been working hard?" Li Daoqiang suddenly asked gently.
"I have." Qi Fang nodded slightly, her voice small.
"Mm, hurry up and try to break through to the innate realm soon." Li Daoqiang encouraged.
Qi Fang's face showed difficulty. The innate realm felt so far away.
"By the way, how's your senior brother been lately?" Li Daoqiang thought of Di Yun.
He hadn't paid attention to Di Yun in a while.
Qi Fang cautiously glanced at Li Daoqiang and honestly said, "I'm not too sure. I just heard he's been close with Hall Master Ding.
Hall Master Ding has been teaching him martial arts."
"What level is he at now?" Li Daoqiang asked. He was well aware that Ding Dian was teaching Di Yun.
He had even played a part in it, forcing two million taels of silver on Ding Dian.
"I don't know." Qi Fang shook her head.
Li Daoqiang didn't press further.
Di Yun would likely need a long time to break through to the grandmaster level.
He should focus on finding other ways to earn bandit points.
Of course, there was no rush now.
The incident at Six Finger Manor was still buzzing, and he should keep a low profile for a while.
He needed to digest what he had gained and strengthen Black Dragon Stronghold.
He also had to be wary that the mastermind behind destroying Heavenly Dragon Sect and killing Huang Xuemei's parents might actually show up.
After lying down a bit longer, Li Daoqiang got up.
The faint irritation in his heart had truly settled.
He began managing Black Dragon Stronghold's affairs.
As for Huang Xuemei's departure, it sparked some discussion in the stronghold, but since Li Daoqiang said she was on business, no one dared say more.
While the outside world was still in an uproar, Black Dragon Stronghold, under Li Daoqiang's leadership, continued to develop vigorously.
This time, he had recruited over a dozen innate experts, and in the past few days, more had come to join voluntarily.
With the growth of mid-level骨干 and a large amount of wealth, Black Dragon Stronghold's power took another big step forward.
In the blink of an eye, a month passed.
No strong figures came to trouble Black Dragon Stronghold.
As for Huang Xuemei, she wasn't deliberately hiding from Black Dragon Stronghold's spies, so Li Daoqiang knew no strong figures were bothering her either.
Even those coveting the Demon Zither knew Huang Xuemei wasn't at Black Dragon Stronghold.
On the surface, few took action.
Even from Yin Queen Zhu Yuyan's side, through Bian Bufu, Li Daoqiang learned they weren't planning to move against Huang Xuemei for now.
This wasn't major intelligence for the Yin Gui Sect, so Li Daoqiang believed Bian Bufu wouldn't dare deceive him.
Overall, everything was calm and smooth.
The speculated mastermind hadn't appeared.
After a month, feeling somewhat reassured about Black Dragon Stronghold's safety and having set up the basic framework—which just needed time to grow—Li Daoqiang grew restless. His focus shifted mostly to continuing to earn bandit points and strengthening his own strength.
These two goals didn't conflict, but they were somewhat different.
The former was the main priority.
The latter had one aspect that differed: martial arts manuals.
For earning bandit points, one direction now was the Qing Kingdom's Chuang Wang treasure.
But Baoxiang and the others had just started and weren't ready yet, so it wasn't the right time.
As for other avenues, he had no clear targets for now.
He couldn't help turning his attention to martial arts manuals.
With his current strength and realm, plus his innate War God talent, any martial arts manual that could enhance his power had to be at the grandmaster level.
Techniques and combat methods—that's how Li Daoqiang categorized them.
They represented internal cultivation methods and combat moves, light skills, and so on.
There were plenty of grandmaster-level combat methods in the world. After thinking it over, Li Daoqiang settled on a location.
A few days later, just as he was preparing to go retrieve it, a familiar person arrived.
"Mr. Bai, what an honor! I've failed to welcome you properly." Li Daoqiang looked at the man before him, laughing heartily and warmly.
Bai Xiaosheng's brow twitched. He was probably going to have to pay a toll again.
But prepared for it, he showed no surprise, smiled slightly, and said with a hint of respect, "Chief Li is too kind. Forgive my sudden visit."
"Brother Bai, you're being too polite. Black Dragon Stronghold welcomes everyone. The more visitors, the better!" Li Daoqiang laughed without restraint.
Bai Xiaosheng smiled along.
Meeting Li Daoqiang again, he couldn't help feeling speechless.
A man who was likely at the level of a peerless expert, so young, yet so obsessed with wealth.
Truly one of a kind in the world.
"Mr. Bai, what brings you here this time?" Li Daoqiang asked after the laughter.
He felt a bit of anticipation. After waiting months, the man had finally come again.
Wouldn't he bring some good news?
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