He closed his eyes, resting.
Yingran, tired of standing, looked around for a place to sit.
But in the vast hall, there was no seat except the leader’s chair.
She had to take out a handkerchief, wipe the steps, and sit on the step below the leader’s chair.
Xu Liling sensed her presence shift, opened his eyes, and saw her small, delicate figure sitting obediently on the step, waiting. He remained silent for a moment, said nothing, and closed his eyes again.
Soon, the demon guard brought in a seductive woman.
Bound by demon chains, the woman still exuded charm, gracefully bowing to Xu Liling.
On the way, the guard had warned her not to address him as Holy Demon.
Though unsure what game the Holy Demon was playing, his unpredictable moods were nothing new, and she knew better than to act rashly.
Not daring to address Xu Liling, she glanced at Yingran, quietly surprised that this ghost woman sat so close to the Holy Demon, wondering which faction she was from, and waited silently for orders.
Yingran, confused, stood up and walked back to Xu Liling’s side.
Why was he bringing another woman here?
Xu Liling gestured to Yingran: “Say it again—what do I like?”
Yingran repeated it simply.
The woman in the hall widened her eyes, her gaze strange. Before Xu Liling could stop her, Yingran faltered and asked the woman: “Why are you looking at me like that?”
The woman didn’t speak.
Xu Liling: “Tell her.”
The woman spoke, her voice sultry: “The lord prefers pine orchids over green bamboo. He doesn’t care for snacks like hundred-flower candied fruit. The lord has a light palate and prefers delicate spiritual food…”
She was about to continue.
Xu Liling flicked his finger, and she closed her mouth.
Yingran was stunned.
Xu Liling looked at her dazed expression, pointed to the woman, and smirked: “How is it that Ya jing’s intelligence is worse than the so-called crooked Four Life Palace?”
“You acted well before, but today’s performance is your biggest failure.”
He waved his sleeve, ordering the demon guard to take the woman back to the dungeon.
Yingran watched the woman’s figure gradually disappear from the hall and asked, “Do many people come to your side pretending to be your wife?”
Xu Liling, lacking interest, said, “Other people’s honey traps are all predictable seductions. You’re the only one spinning stories.”
“Seductions?”
Yingran stared at him, her eyes red but filled with a subtle ferocity, as if she’d slap him if he dared admit to even one.
Her reaction made her seem like his actual wife catching him in an affair.
Utterly laughable.
Xu Liling chuckled softly but had no intention of teasing her further. He warned casually, “Why would I play such boring seduction games with others? Those with value are captured; those without are killed.”
But Yingran was still sulky, turning her face away, unwilling to look at him. “Maybe time changes a lot. The you from a thousand years later likes the things I mentioned.”
“When we first met, the first thing I gave you was a green bamboo umbrella. You still keep that umbrella even now, and you brought it when we left home. If you didn’t like green bamboo, why always ask for green bamboo patterns? Why bring that old green bamboo umbrella when we already had a new one prepared?”
Xu Liling fell silent, then suddenly asked, “And the hundred-flower candied fruit? How did I come to taste it?”
“I brought it for you to eat before,” Yingran said, turning to look at him. “That shop’s hundred-flower candied fruit is delicious but expensive. After we married, you only earned five spirit stones a month. We couldn’t afford to eat it every day, but you’d still buy it occasionally for us to share. If you didn’t like it, why keep buying it?”
She spoke so earnestly that Xu Liling’s smile softened: “What do you think?”
For a moment, Yingran felt as if she were seeing the Xu Liling from a thousand years later asking her this.
Still a bit upset with him, she said, “Those are your thoughts. How would I know?”
Xu Liling smiled, his gaze deep: “Well-crafted story.”
As expected, he didn’t believe her.
Yingran, helpless, returned to the main issue: “The technique you asked about—I really don’t know its name. If I had to give it one…”
Her gaze softened, “I’d call it Chongyan.”
Xu Liling: “Chongyan…”
The Xijing Fu says: Ling Chongyan.
Unlike its common meaning, the “Ling” in Chongyan refers to ascending to the pinnacle of ten thousand mountains, transcending the mundane, a realm of immortals.
Xu Liling: “You really are…”
Yingran looked at him.
He paused for a long time before saying, “Good at spinning stories.”
Yingran: …She wanted to punch him.
Xu Liling’s expression sobered slightly. “You can take half the disciples.”
Yingran felt some relief, knowing he wasn’t letting them go because of the technique’s name but because she’d entertained him.
Yingran thought for a moment: “And Duan Yushan…”
Xu Liling toyed with the prayer beads on his wrist: “Hm?”
After much deliberation, Yingran consulted the Goddess: “I want to use energy to trade with the Demon Path for Duan Yushan. Is that okay?”
Goddess: “He’d let someone go that easily?”
Energy was valuable, but the Goddess knew it was insignificant to the Holy Demon.
Yingran: “Of course not. It’s just my bargaining chip for a bet with the Demon Path.”
The Goddess was silent for a moment before agreeing: “Has the Demon Path agreed to the bet?”
Yingran: “He will.”
A fake technique name amused him enough to release half the disciples. How could he resist a bet with real stakes?
The Goddess transferred three times the energy from Yingran’s last mission reward, adding, “Use this for now. If it’s not enough, tell me. But I warn you, before becoming a demon, the Holy Demon traveled widely and saw all walks of life. He’s a master gambler, undefeated. If you sense something’s off, stop early to avoid wasting energy.”
Yingran was surprised at the amount.
But it also showed that, to the Goddess, betting with the Demon Path would come at a steep cost.
She replied, “I’m not betting with the Holy Demon, but with a friend I know.”
The Goddess relaxed.
Yingran told Xu Liling about the bet.
As expected, Xu Liling was intrigued: “What’s the bet?”
Yingran: “Grass fighting. I’ll wager the foreign technique. If I lose, I’ll cast it to shield you from one injury. If I win, you release Duan Yushan.”
Grass fighting involved each person picking grass, intertwining the stems, and pulling toward their side. The one whose grass breaks loses.
When she and Xu Liling had just married and moved to the countryside, with little to do and few spirit stones to spend, they’d find ways to entertain themselves at home.
Grass fighting was the first game she played with Xu Liling.
At first, she always lost when playing with him.
She had recalled this game from her childhood before crossing over, playing with friends, and since it was a pastime scholars enjoyed privately, she suggested it to Xu Liling, and he indulged her.
Little Yellow bounded with excitement.
What could be better than the absence of that demon Xu Liling and the mistress taking it out for a walk? Nothing made a Great Wilderness Immortal Beast happier!
Yingran waved to Uncle Xi and Aunt Huan, saying she was taking the dog for a walk.
Uncle Xi and Aunt Huan nodded in agreement.
Big Flower chased after her, huffing: “Why are you taking that dumb dog out to play?”
Yingran whispered, “I have questions for it.”
“Oh.”
Big Flower shot a disdainful “tch” at the gleeful Little Yellow: Dumb dog.
They reached an empty clearing at the village’s edge, with no one around.
Yingran crouched down. Little Yellow eagerly waited for her to remove its collar.
But instead, she stroked its head and asked, “Little Yellow, do you know what Xu Liling likes?”
Little Yellow’s grin froze: Didn’t she say we were going out to play? Why’s she asking about that demon again?
Big Flower swatted it: “Spit it out!”
Little Yellow covered its face with its paws, whimpering as it flopped down: Now they’re torturing me.
Yingran tsked at Big Flower, then petted Little Yellow, coaxing, “Tell me, and I’ll let you go play.”
Little Yellow blinked its watery eyes.
Even without her coaxing, it would’ve talked.
How could it defy the mistress? Big Flower’s swat wouldn’t kill it, but Xu Liling could.
Little Yellow: “I don’t know.”
Yingran, shocked: “You can speak human words…”
Little Yellow: Huh? Didn’t you tell me to speak?
It shut its mouth and lay down.
Yingran took a moment to calm herself. Little Yellow was extraordinary, so it made sense it could speak.
She’d planned to communicate through Big Flower, but this was easier.
She continued coaxing, “Do you remember what offerings people prepared for Xu Liling when you guarded the Immortal Tomb?”
Little Yellow’s eyes darted as it thought, then spoke: “Just ordinary, common offerings…”
It had sneakily eaten them.
Yingran: “Which ones specifically?”
Little Yellow couldn’t recall—it was a thousand years ago.
Yingran: “Or maybe something that stood out as special?”
Special? There was something.
Little Yellow: “The offerings for Xu Liling were ordinary, but the flowers dedicated to him were bought with the spiritual stones of the entire county.”
Flowers?
Xu Liling did have a knack for plants. So he liked flowers?
Yingran recalled a portrait of Xu Liling riding a horse, spirited and dashing, in a red robe with a tasseled crown adorned with osmanthus flowers, and she smiled.
He was handsome, and flowers suited him—not feminine, just adding to his charm.
She asked: “What were the flowers called?”
Little Yellow: “Don’t know. But they were pretty—orchid-like watery leaves, delicate filaments clear as seawater, with tiny glowing specks on the petals.”
“They said it was a spiritual flower unique to Xu Li City, unable to grow elsewhere, very fragile, and not in circulation, so it was expensive. The whole county’s spiritual stones only bought two stalks.”
“Now, those flowers are probably extinct.”
Yingran thought of Xu Li City in her dream, overrun with demonic energy, barren of grass, with even the rainwater polluted, and sighed in disappointment.
But she quickly perked up: “Such beautiful flowers—flower lovers would surely find a way to preserve their seeds. Maybe there’s still a chance to find them.”
Big Flower and Little Yellow silently thought: Unlikely.
But seeing Yingran’s enthusiasm, they didn’t dampen her spirits.
Having answered, Little Yellow wagged its tail, waiting for Yingran to let it play.
Yingran removed its collar, asking as she did, “Little Yellow, you can talk, so why don’t you ever speak?”
Little Yellow: “I’m not human. Why would I bother speaking human words for no reason?”
Yingran burst out laughing.
That made so much sense.
She patted Little Yellow: “Alright, go play. Don’t hurt anyone. Be back before dark for dinner.”
Little Yellow bolted off joyfully.
Big Flower followed: “I’ll keep an eye on the dumb dog.”
Yingran knew it just wanted to play too. “Go ahead.”
As she turned back to the village, a weak voice called from behind: “Miss… Miss…”
Yingran froze, not daring to look back, and ran straight to Uncle Xi’s house.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help.