Xu Liling: “I don’t want you thinking of him whenever you need something. He’s a man.”
Ying Ran stared at his calm face for a moment, then burst out laughing.
He looked so composed, you’d never guess he was speaking out of jealousy.
She said, “I won’t want to fly that often.”
Xu Liling: “A flying steed would be more convenient. And faster.”
Ying Ran pressed her lips together and silently stared at him.
He had many good qualities, but his stubbornness sometimes left her speechless.
They’d even fought over it before.
That time she told him their dog, Xiaohuang, was getting too fat and he should stop feeding it so much meat.
He insisted it wouldn’t die from it and kept feeding it.
After a few times, Ying Ran lost her temper and argued with him.
Xiaohuang ran off in fright.
Xu Liling let her scold him, sitting silently like it had nothing to do with him.
Only after she was fuming did he finally say, “I won’t bring meat tomorrow.”
There were many small things like that.
Like when they read storybooks together — tales of cultivators in Yunzhou slaying demons and flying on swords.
She’d get excited and pull him in, marveling at how amazing it all was.
And he’d just say, “It’s alright.”
Which left her speechless — a scholar doing math all day, saying those mighty sword-wielders were just “alright.”
Now too — they were still saving up just for a carriage, and he was talking about buying a flying steed.
The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed.
But from past life to present, she had learned — all men were like this.
Xu Liling treated her with utmost care, came home right after work, and remembered everything she ever mentioned wanting…
All things considered, he was already very good.
Xu Liling, after being silently stared at for a while, looked up at her.
Ying Ran met his gaze for a moment, then broke the silence:
“Huaizhen, let’s get a carriage first, then talk about anything else, okay?”
Xu Liling lowered his eyes, seeming to think.
“We still have some heirlooms at home. If we sell them, we could get a flying steed.”
He meant from his ancestral home.
Ying Ran replied, “That’s your family’s heritage. Can we really sell it? Forget it.”
She knew Xu Liling wasn’t local — seemed to have wandered here.
Before their marriage, her father had questioned Xu Liling about his background.
Afterward, he said Xu Liling came from a once-wealthy family, with a large estate and ancestral home, but everyone had died. It was now abandoned.
All the possessions — including spirit stones — had been corrupted by demonic energy, making them unusable.
Most likely his clan had been wiped out by a demonic attack, and he was the only one who escaped.
Since the ancestral home was polluted and far away, when they married, they built this thatched cottage here and never went back.
Why here?
Because land was cheap, it was close to her parents and his job, and it was convenient for raising dogs.
Xu Liling said nothing.
Ying Ran thought: scholars always have stronger pride than others and hate being talked to about money.
Her father was the same — mention money and he’d throw a tantrum.
Xu Liling never threw tantrums, but she didn’t know if he felt hurt inside.
She didn’t want him to feel unhappy.
She put down her chopsticks, went outside to rinse her mouth and hands, then returned and sat next to Xu Liling with a bright smile, squeezing onto the same bench.
“Close your eyes.”
He glanced at her and closed his eyes.
Ying Ran took out a hair ribbon and gently blindfolded him, looping it around his ears.
His nose was high and straight, and even with the ribbon hanging off his face, it didn’t fall.
Ying Ran braced herself on his knee and gave him a light kiss on the lips — soft as a dragonfly skimming water.
Inside the house, the candlelight glowed warmly.
She didn’t know if it was just her imagination, but it felt like that one kiss had lightened the previously heavy mood.
Blushing slightly, Ying Ran waited for his reaction.
He didn’t move.
She waited a little longer.
Still nothing.
She poked his cheek. “Okay, you can open your eyes now.”
Xu Liling pulled off the ribbon and said nonchalantly, “So much fuss just for a kiss?”
Ying Ran blushed.
“That wasn’t the gift — this is.”
She pointed at the ribbon in his hand.
The silky white ribbon, embroidered with silver bamboo — elegant and refined. Obviously expensive.
Ying Ran went to the guards at the front gate of the Xuan Office to ask about the situation.
One of them pointed the way for her:
“Go through the alley and enter from the back door. Guan Yi is there. The main entrance isn’t convenient.”
Ying Ran thanked him and walked into the alley.
That eerie feeling of being watched, which had vanished at the gate, returned in an instant.
A chill ran down her spine.
There was movement behind her — something was coming at her.
She turned around and saw a person with a bluish-white complexion, looking unmistakably like a corpse, crawling toward her on all fours. From its mouth came a strained voice:
“Finally… waited… so long… for this chance…”
“A ghost!”
Ying Ran turned and bolted, but the alley seemed to stretch infinitely in both directions.
She ran with all her might.
Behind her, the corpse was crawling madly, gasping, “Don’t run… I… system… you… got it wrong… I finally… host… you…”
“Yingying!”
A sharp shout rang out.
Ying Ran instinctively turned her head and saw Guan Yi cleave the corpse’s head off with a single stroke of his sword, flanked by Xuan Officers.
They quickly ran over and blocked the horrifying scene from her view. One of them asked,
“Are you okay?”
Ying Ran’s mind went blank.
Her strength left her as she collapsed to the ground.
Everything felt hazy and unreal.
Guan Yi brought her inside the Xuan Office and let her rest a while before asking, “Are you alright now?”
Ying Ran calmed herself and thanked him.
Guan Yi said, “A walking corpse showing up in Yunshui County — that falls under our jurisdiction. You don’t need to thank me. But do you know where that corpse came from? Why was it following you?”
Ying Ran wasn’t sure.
She thought she had heard the corpse speaking to her, but in her panic, she hadn’t caught the words clearly.
Guan Yi said, “Forget it. I’ll escort you home for now.”
Ying Ran shook her head. “I came here to copy old case files.”
“You’re obsessed with money, huh? You just ran into a corpse, and now you’re already thinking about making cash. Guess you’re not that scared.”
He joked, then added, “Alright, but it’s getting late today. If we delay much longer, it’ll be dark. Come early tomorrow instead. We pay by the case file.”
Ying Ran nodded.
Of course she had been afraid.
But as a mortal living in this world, most people would have died in a situation like that.
The fact that she got away — that alone filled her with gratitude.
There wasn’t time to dwell on anything else.
Guan Yi let her rest a bit longer, then used his sword to escort her home.
From afar, Ying Ran saw Xu Liling sitting on the reclining chair in their courtyard, seemingly waiting for her.
Only then did she remember — Xu Liling had told her last night not to go out today, that he’d be home early.
From this distance, she couldn’t make out his expression clearly.
But judging by their dog Xiaohuang cowering by the door with its tail tucked, she figured his mood wasn’t great.
Guan Yi, unaware of the atmosphere, waved enthusiastically at Xu Liling, “Brother-in-law!”
Xu Liling stood up and walked over.
Ying Ran touched her hair and avoided his gaze, her feelings complicated.
She hadn’t actually promised not to go out today.
Even if she did go out, he had no real reason to be upset.
Still… how long had he been waiting there?
She looked at him with a trace of guilt and concern.
But Guan Yi stepped forward and unintentionally blocked her from Xu Liling’s view.
“Brother-in-law, you’ve got to comfort Yingying properly later. She ran into a walking corpse today. It chased her — scared her half to death.”
“A walking corpse?”
Ying Ran heard Xu Liling’s voice turn slightly cold.
He sidestepped Guan Yi and came directly to Ying Ran.
“You encountered a walking corpse?”
Ying Ran leaned into his arms, nodding pitifully.
“Mm. I was so scared…”
Xu Liling held her close and gently patted her back, soothing her.
But… he didn’t sense the slightest trace of yin energy that a corpse should’ve left on her.
Still, Guan Yi and Ying Ran didn’t seem to be lying.
Xu Liling glanced at Xiaohuang, who was still at the door.
The dog looked like the sky was falling.
On his orders, Xiaohuang had already swept the entire area within a ten-mile radius, hunting down every demon or monster it could find.
The ones it could kill, it killed.
The rest, Xu Liling handled himself.
Xiaohuang patrolled daily, guarding its delicate female owner.
It was impossible — absolutely impossible — for a single ghost or demon to exist within these ten miles!
It whimpered weakly, tail tucked, trying to appease Xu Liling.
Xu Liling looked away and thanked Guan Yi.
Guan Yi waved it off, “No need. Taking care of walking corpses is part of my job. But…”
His gaze sharpened as he looked toward Xiaohuang at the gate.
“What kind of meat is your dog eating?”
A normal person might not know.
But as a seasoned Xuan Officer who’d fought countless demons and gone on countless missions, he was certain — that dog was eating human meat.
Very fresh human meat, and from a high-level cultivator.
Xiaohuang immediately grew alert, grabbed the meat and bones in its mouth, and bolted.
Xu Liling replied calmly, “Perhaps it dragged some meat back from the mountain.”
Ying Ran looked up from Xu Liling’s embrace.
“You didn’t go to the study hall today?”
Usually, the meat Xiaohuang ate was brought back from Jinshui Town by him.
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