What Chu Feng didn’t know was that Zi Xiner had already arranged two marriage engagements for him.
At this moment, after unleashing his two powerful, energy-draining techniques, the Three-Breath Sword Draw and Five-Colored Sword Qi, his internal energy was nearly depleted. On top of that, he had overstuffed himself with medicinal pills. Now, the only thing he could do was sit and slowly recover through meditation.
Upon arriving at the room Zi Xiner had prepared for him, he immediately began “closed-eye cultivation” to restore his qi.
In the end, he was awakened by the bitter aroma of medicinal soup. When he opened his eyes, he saw a bowl of freshly brewed medicine and a beautiful figure approaching him with it.
Today, Liu Xueyao was dressed differently from usual. She had changed her style. She was wearing a light pink dress that made her look like peach blossoms in March. Gone was some of her usual coldness; in its place was a gentle softness. The sash around her waist accentuated her graceful, tall figure.
Liu Xueyao brought the bowl before Chu Feng, scooped up a spoonful, gently blew on it, and held it up to his lips.
“Husband, it’s time for your medicine.”
“……”
Reminding himself several times that he wasn’t “Brother Lang” (a reference to a betrayed sick husband in a popular story), Chu Feng opened his mouth and drank the bitter, spicy concoction.
Watching her husband drink the medicine she had personally prepared and fed to him, Liu Xueyao remained composed on the surface, but a hint of joy shimmered in her beautiful eyes. It was like ripples spreading across the surface of a calm lake stirred by a gentle breeze.
“Sister Saintess, why are you here?”
After finishing the medicine, Chu Feng hurriedly poured himself a glass of water to wash away the bitter taste.
He had originally planned to return to his cave dwelling today to let the Saintess know that he was staying with Aunt Zi. After all, he didn’t want to get lost again at night.
In the Yaochi Holy Land, it seemed like nothing ever went his way… just one stroke of bad luck after another.
And to make matters worse, Lin Ruo kept showing up again and again. Chu Feng wasn’t going out of his way to find the guy, but Lin Ruo kept coming to him. In a way, that saved him the trouble of tracking Lin Ruo down himself.
Each time they met, Lin Ruo’s hatred for him seemed to deepen. But as time went by, Chu Feng no longer felt afraid of him at all.
Just a mere “protagonist”? Easy to handle. The only real problem was the old man constantly by his side. That guy was a headache.
“Master sent word. I just came to check if you were alright,” Liu Xueyao said as she approached Chu Feng, holding a thick stack of paper. These were the characters Chu Feng was supposed to learn today.
Thanks to his recent efforts, he had already learned a fair number of characters. He even unlocked a new “achievement”: Practice Duration…. Two and a Half Days.
The thing was, practicing writing characters seriously tested his willpower. Not just because the Saintess taught him so sweetly and intimately, but also because writing with a brush was incredibly difficult.
Liu Xueyao picked up the brush and began writing in one smooth motion. The strokes flowed like running water… graceful and precise, with beautiful handwriting.
Chu Feng, on the other hand… not so much. Holding the brush was fine, but the moment he put it to paper, it turned into a big black dot. A few more strokes and the page was covered in messy black blotches. You couldn’t even tell they were supposed to be characters.
Writing with a brush was just too hard and he had never practiced this kind of calligraphy before.
“Sister Saintess… are there a lot more characters left to learn?” he asked with a weary tone.
After skimming through the entire dictionary, Chu Feng lost patience just a few pages into the table of contents. He simply said, “Just teach me the commonly used characters.”
“Almost done. Keep it up, husband,” Liu Xueyao encouraged softly.
She began preparing the writing tools. The two of them were seated very close, and Chu Feng could clearly catch the faint, cool fragrance that clung to her. Even though he had been smelling it every day for a while now, it still made his heart race each time.
At that moment, a line of romantic words floated into his mind—
Her? Even if I saw her every day, she’d still make my heart flutter every time.
At first, he actually believed her when she said “almost done”, thinking it really would only take a few more days. But several days had passed, and she still said the same thing every day.
A short while later, Liu Xueyao put down the brush. A character was now written boldly on the rice paper. She looked at him and softly asked,
“Husband, what do you think?”
Chu Feng furrowed his brow slightly, took a deep breath, and nodded.
“Sister Saintess, let me give it a try.”
He recalled her movements and began imitating them as best he could.
Not long after, a character appeared on the paper. Though it couldn’t compare to Liu Xueyao’s elegant handwriting, it was already a big improvement from when he first started learning.
He thought that this level would probably be good enough, but Liu Xueyao shook her head.
“Husband, that’s not acceptable.”
As usual, she moved behind Chu Feng, gently leaned in, and held his hand from behind.
With such close contact, it was inevitable that their skin would touch.
A cool, subtle fragrance filled the tip of his nose as he felt the smooth, delicate skin against him, carrying a sensation both warm and cool to the touch. It was the middle of summer, yet in the embrace of Sister Saintess, he didn’t feel the heat at all. Instead, a refreshing coolness enveloped him…like a human-shaped air conditioner.
Noticing the slight panic in Chu Feng’s eyes, Liu Xueyao said calmly,
“Husband, don’t let your mind wander.”
Her warm breath brushed against the edge of his ear. Chu Feng did his best to steady his nerves.
“Sorry, Sister Saintess.”
With Liu Xueyao’s fair hand guiding his, Chu Feng began writing on the paper, stroke by stroke.
Unseen by Chu Feng, a trace of delight flickered in Liu Xueyao’s eyes. Though she had a cool and indifferent temperament and rarely cared about anything, when it came to matters involving her husband, she cared deeply.
The books hadn’t lied—only by using a bit of strategy could one win a man’s heart.
“Husband, I’m sorry for winning your heart this way.”
When it comes to love, even an ethereal fairy untouched by worldly desires can harbor a bit of selfishness.
***
“Whew….finally finished.”
Chu Feng let out a slow breath, as if he’d just been set free. In front of him, the rice paper was stacked high.
“Husband, you’ve worked hard.”
Liu Xueyao put all the papers on the table into a storage pouch. These were precious memories for the future, recording every little moment between her and her husband.
Chu Feng’s body relaxed completely, and he collapsed right into Liu Xueyao’s arms.
Liu Xueyao gently laid Chu Feng down, placing his head on her lap.
For the past few days, after every writing session, Liu Xueyao had done the same. At first, Chu Feng was embarrassed and refused, shaking his head. But he couldn’t resist Liu Xueyao’s persistence. In the end, he gave in and enjoyed it!
As Chu Feng rested on her soft fragrant lap, he silently told himself this would be the last time. Next time, he would definitely say no.
Sometimes, habits can be terrifying.
***
In a certain cave, the eyes of a child and a youth suddenly snapped open.
Cough, cough!
Lin Ruo opened his eyes, filled with fear. Chu Feng’s five-colored sword qi had made him taste the very essence of death.
Not long ago, Chu Feng had still been someone he could toy with at will. But in less than two years, he had become someone who filled him with dread!
Even the Ghost Hand Venerable opened his eyes. He hadn’t expected that, even after possessing a disciple with fourth-rank cultivation, he would still be no match for a mere second-rank brat!
“Chu Feng, is it? I’ll remember you!”
“But this isn’t over. That was far from my only backup plan.”
To be forced into such a pathetic state by a mere second-rank cultivator, fleeing in a panic and breaking off the possession, was a tremendous humiliation for the Ghost Hand Venerable.
If the Holy Master of the Yaochi Holy Land had shown up, he could at least use that as an excuse to comfort himself.
“Venerable one, what should we do now?”
Lin Ruo asked.
“No need to panic. I still have a contingency plan.”
The Ghost Hand Venerable tore open space and stepped through.
Being defeated by someone at the second rank only made him even more certain of the Five-Colored Stone’s heaven-defying power.
If a mere second-rank cultivator could wield such terrifying strength after obtaining it, then once it was in his hands, the entire cultivation world would surely kneel at his feet!
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