Night fell like indigo silk; stars dotted the sky, and the bright moon hung high.
Dinner was ready, the lamps inside were lit, and Ying Ran helped carry the dishes to the table.
She and Xuli Ling were the only ones eating.
The weather was hot, and dishes wouldn’t keep well.
So Xuli Ling only made the chicken she wanted to eat, along with a small plate of bok choy.
Ying Ran sat down at the table. Xuli Ling ladled her a bowl of chicken soup and then served her some rice.
Ying Ran took a sip of the soup and casually said, “A little salty, but your cooking is getting better and better.”
Then she started chatting with him about where she had gone and what she had talked about with Guan Yi earlier that day.
“Guan Yi said Sujing is much more prosperous than Yunshui County.
Yunshui still feels like a mortal town, but Sujing is full of cultivators—people flying on swords, dragon steeds, and treasure carriages everywhere.
“He also said his master told him Sujing is the place with the most abundant spiritual energy in all of Yi Wang Continent, the closest to an immortal realm. But outside Yi Wang Continent, there’s Yunzhou, which is even bigger and feels even more like a fairyland.”
“There’s no imperial court there, only people from the martial world, living freely and unrestrained.”
“But not that free—there are still sects and noble clans, each with their own rules.”
Xuli Ling responded offhandedly, placing a chicken wing in her bowl.
“Guan Yi is a man?”
Ying Ran nodded, continuing to eat the wing.
“He’s a cultivator now, really powerful. He even flew me around on his sword today. I might be a little afraid of heights, felt a bit scared on the sword, but it was also really exciting. The view was beautiful.”
She described the scenery she remembered and added, “When you have a day off, I’ll ask him to take you flying too.”
Xuli Ling: “No need.”
After a pause, he asked, “Do you really like flying on swords?”
Ying Ran picked up a piece of bok choy—it was a little salty too, but she didn’t say anything. “It’s okay, I guess. Standing on a sword, there’s nothing to hold onto, so I was a bit scared. But the scenery from up there was amazing.”
Xuli Ling thought for a moment and said, “Next time, let’s skip the carriage and buy a flying steed instead.”
Flying steeds are winged horses that even mortals can ride.
They’re usually used to carry goods for cultivators—and are outrageously expensive.
But they were already struggling just to save enough for a regular carriage.
Where would they get the spirit stones for a flying steed?
Ying Ran didn’t want to hurt Ling’s pride, so she spoke gently:
“Forget it, I don’t want to fly every day. When I feel like it, I can just ask Guan Yi.”
Xuli Ling: “I don’t want you thinking of him whenever you need something. He’s a man.”
Ying Ran looked at Xuli Ling’s calm face for a while and then burst out laughing.
He didn’t look the least bit jealous, yet he was saying such jealous words.
She said, “I won’t want to fly all the time.”
Xuli Ling: “Flying steeds are more convenient and faster.”
Ying Ran pursed her lips and silently stared at him.
He had many good qualities, but his stubbornness could be exasperating.
They’d even fought over it before.
She once said their dog, Little Yellow, was getting too fat and asked him to cut back on feeding it meat.
He said it wouldn’t die from eating, and kept feeding it anyway.
After several rounds of this, Ying Ran finally snapped.
Little Yellow got so scared, it ran off.
Xuli Ling let her vent while sitting silently, as if it had nothing to do with him.
That only made her angrier. Then he finally said, “I won’t feed it tomorrow.”
There were lots of little things like that.
For example, when they read storybooks together, ones about cultivators in Yunzhou slaying demons and flying on swords, she’d pull him along and marvel at how amazing it was.
Then he’d suddenly say something like, “It’s alright.”
A scholar who did nothing but calculate accounts, dismissing powerful sword-wielding heroes as “alright”?
Now it was the same—still saving for a carriage, and already talking about buying a flying steed.
The more she thought about it, the more speechless she felt.
Still, her experiences in this life and the last told her: men were just like that.
Xuli Ling was obedient, considerate, always came home after work, and remembered every little thing she mentioned in passing…
All that put together, he was already quite a good man.
Xuli Ling noticed her staring silently and looked up at her.
They locked eyes like in a silent standoff until she gave in first.
“Huaizhen, let’s just save enough for the carriage first, alright?”
Xuli Ling lowered his gaze, seemingly deep in thought.
“There are still some old heirlooms at home. Selling them could get us a flying steed.”
He meant his ancestral home.
Ying Ran: “Aren’t those your family’s heirlooms? Can you really sell them? Let’s forget it.”
She knew Xuli Ling wasn’t from the area—seemed to have drifted here from somewhere else.
Before they got married, her father questioned him thoroughly.
Afterward, he said Xuli Ling came from a once-prominent family that had a huge estate and an ancestral home—but everyone was gone, the place abandoned.
Worse, everything there had been corrupted by demonic energy: all assets, even spirit stones, were unusable.
Probably a noble family destroyed by a demon attack, and he was the sole survivor.
His ancestral home was far away and contaminated by demonic aura.
So when she and Xuli Ling married, they built this little thatched cottage instead of returning to his hometown.
Why here?
Because land was cheap, and it was close to both her parents’ home and his workplace.
Also convenient for raising a dog.
Xuli Ling stayed silent.
Ying Ran thought: scholars always have more pride than most, and they hate when people bring up money.
Her father was the same—talk money, and he’d get all snide and give you a dirty look.
Xuli Ling never made faces, but she didn’t know if he felt bad inside.
She still didn’t want him to be unhappy.
She put down her chopsticks, went out to rinse her mouth and wash her hands.
When she came back, she sat beside him on the same bench, smiling sweetly.
“Close your eyes.”
Xuli Ling glanced at her, then closed his eyes.
Ying Ran took out a hair ribbon and gently covered his eyes, looping the ends around his ears.
His nose bridge was high and straight—just enough to hold the ribbon in place.
She leaned in, her hand braced on his leg, and kissed him lightly on the lips.
Soft as a dragonfly touching water.
Inside, the candlelight glowed warmly.
She didn’t know if it was just her imagination, but after kissing him, the heavy mood seemed to lift.
Ying Ran’s cheeks were faintly pink as she waited for his reaction.
He didn’t move.
She waited a while longer.
Still no response.
She poked his face.
“Alright, you can open your eyes now.”
Xuli Ling pulled off the ribbon lazily.
“All that buildup, and the gift is just a kiss?”
Ying Ran blushed.
“That wasn’t the gift—this is.”
She pointed to the ribbon in his hand.
It was a jade-white silk ribbon embroidered with silver bamboo.
Like a gentleman—elegant as bamboo.
Very exquisite, and obviously expensive.
The night sky was deep blue, speckled with stars, and the bright moon hung high.
Dinner was ready, and a lamp was lit inside the house.
Ying Ran helped bring the dishes to the table.
Only she and Xu Liling were eating.
The weather was hot, and the food wouldn’t keep for long.
Xu Liling had only made the chicken she wanted to eat, plus a small plate of baby bok choy.
Ying Ran sat down at the table.
Xu Liling ladled her a bowl of chicken soup and served her some rice.
She took a sip of the soup and casually said, “A bit salty, but your cooking’s getting better and better.”
Then she started chatting with him about where she and Guan Yi had gone today and what they’d talked about.
“Guan Yi said Sujing is way more prosperous than Yunshui County. Yunshui still feels like a mortal town, but Sujing is full of cultivators — flying on swords, dragon-horses and treasure carriages everywhere.
“He also said his master told him Sujing is the place in our Yiwang Continent with the most abundant spiritual energy — it’s the most like a fairyland. But outside Yiwang Continent, Yunzhou is even bigger and more like a true fairyland.”
“There’s no imperial court over there, just martial wanderers, living freely and unrestrained.”
“But not completely free — there are still sects and noble clans, each with their own rules.”
Xu Liling responded casually as he picked out a chicken wing for her and placed it in her bowl.
“Guan Yi’s a man?”
Ying Ran nodded, eating the chicken wing as she continued, “He’s a cultivator now, really powerful. He even took me flying on his sword today. I might be a bit afraid of heights — I was kind of scared standing on the sword, but it was really novel, and the scenery was beautiful.”
She described the scenery she remembered to him and said, “Next time you have a day off, I’ll have him take you for a flight too.”
Xu Liling: “No need.”
After a pause, he asked, “You really like flying on swords?”
Ying Ran picked up a bite of bok choy — a little salty too, but she didn’t say anything.
She answered, “It’s okay, I guess. On the sword, nothing touches you — I was a little scared, but the view was really great.”
Xu Liling pondered.
“Next time, instead of buying a carriage, we’ll get a flying steed.”
Flying steeds were winged horses that even mortals could ride, often used for transporting goods for cultivators.
The price was ridiculously high.
But they were already struggling to save for a carriage — where would they get enough spirit stones for a flying steed?
Ying Ran didn’t want to hurt Xu Liling’s pride, so she said tactfully, “Forget it, I don’t want to fly all the time anyway. I’ll just go to Guan Yi when I feel like it.”
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