The slap took nearly half of Zhang Ying's HP. It wasn't even a fraction of Silvermane's strength, as he would never hit his daughter with all his strength. Still, it was enough to remind Zhang Ying he was nowhere close to the strength of his past self.
The pain was irrelevant. What mattered was that he took the hit. Silvermane stayed silent, just standing there and staring at Zhang Ying.
Only Alana could think of using the [Widow's mark] to force Zhang Ying to take the blow. Zhang Ying was being forced to play the role of a devoted husband, hence Alana couldn't step back either.
"Hubby!" Alana yelled, wrapping her arms around him. "Why did you do it?"
Alana cupped Zhang Ying's face, ignoring the glaring look he shot her. She tore off her sleeve and gently cleaned the blood trickling from his mouth.
"Do you love my daughter?" Silvermane broke the silence.
Zhang Ying had every intention of shaking his head. But he ended up nodding vigorously. The control Alana had over him was concerning. But Silvermane conveniently forgot about his daughter's ability and sighed.
"One year," he said, sitting back. "You got one year to show me you're worthy of my daughter. The duke will return in a year to marry Alana. If you can win against him, you'll remain married to her."
Zhang Ying wanted to ask what would happen if he didn't. But one look from Silvermane cleared his doubts. If he lost, he'd die. The royalty loved their clean image, hence the duke would leave Alana's lover alive if he were to marry her.
They'd probably claim I was a seducer who hypnotized her or something.
Zhang Ying glared at Alana, but he couldn't do anything else. If he backed out, Silvermane would surely kill him. But if he accepted, he'd have a year to prepare an escape route.
"I accept—"
"Like you had a choice," Silvermane scoffed. "Don't bring shame to the Silvermane name, or you won't live a year to duel the duke. Now get out, both of you."
Zhang Ying bowed and turned to leave, not wanting to test Silvermane's patience, but Alana had different plans. She grabbed his hand, stopping him.
"Dad, we both know it isn't fair," she crossed her arms. "The duke has lived in the otherworld for decades. How can my husband fight him after only a year?"
"The boy accepted the term. You have no say in it now."
"As his wife, I have a say in everything related to my husband."
Father and daughter locked eyes, refusing to yield. But eventually, the father's heart won and he gave up.
"Take what you want from the inventory." Silvermane waved his hand.
"I love you, dad!"
Alana hugged Silvermane before dragging Zhang Ying away. Silvermane saw the two leaving and couldn't help but smile. Zhang Ying might not be the son-in-law he wanted, but he could look past it if Alana was happy.
***
"Bring me the best living storage space scroll you have!" Alana instructed the workers.
Zhang Ying heard her, but he was too busy staring around to focus on one thing. The two were inside Silvermane's personal artifact collection, or inventory, as he called it.
The place had many priceless artifacts, weapons, ability scrolls, and arcana. It was all the best stuff, too valuable for Silvermane to sell at his auctions, so he kept them stored there.
Within moments, workers carefully laid dozens of ability scrolls before Zhang Ying. The workers informed him about the scrolls one after the other, but Zhang Ying wasn't paying attention. He had [Inspect] to check them himself.
The beast space scrolls were mostly divided by elements. Fire, water, wind, ice, lightning—there were many unique spaces to use. But what caught Zhang Ying's eye was... the blank space scroll.
As Zhang Ying picked up the scroll, the worker sighed. He had hoped the young lady's husband would be someone exceptional, but he turned out to be a dud.
"Sir, I would recommend seeking a different dimensional space scroll," he said, adjusting his glasses. "The only reason this scroll remains in the master's collection is that no one has ever figured out how to use it."
"I'll take this," Zhang Ying said, ignoring the man's words.
"Are you sure?" Alana asked.
Li Zhaoyang, the chief appraiser, was a smart man who had come from Zhang Ying's world a hundred years ago.
Alana knew Li Zhaoyang wouldn't dare lead them wrong. He had a talent for appraising artifacts and was one of Silvermane's most trusted workers. That's why Alana asked Zhang Ying if he was confident about his choice.
Instead of replying, Zhang Ying decided to show them.
The easiest way to learn about a scroll's ability was to decipher it. The problem with the scroll was that no one could decipher it. It was quite a common problem even in Zhang Ying's past life.
Since these scrolls were written in ancient languages, it is easy for their meanings to be lost and forgotten in the past. But that's not an issue for me.
Zhang Ying could decipher even the god's will, if it was written.
Normally, Zhang Ying didn't show off his skill, but since Li Zhaoyang had been looking down on him, he decided to show off a little.
[Achievement: Moron in the making is active.]
[The user can read any written language.]
Zhang Ying ran his fingers over the words and closed his eyes. At first, the words from the scroll floated around in his mind, all jumbled and confusing. But after a moment, they came together and formed a clear sentence.
However, to the rest, it looked like Zhang Ying was wasting their time.
"Sir, you can leave the scroll," Li Zhaoyang rolled his eyes, thinking Zhang Ying was only playing tricks. "I assure you, we'll provide you the best—what the hell!?"
A sudden bright glow blinded everyone. When the light disappeared, the scroll had vanished. In its place, a tattoo appeared on Zhang Ying's left hand, showing that he had absorbed the scroll's power.
[The Sovereign's first gift: