A faint, mischievous smile tugged at Xu Liling’s lips. As he was heading to the side room to wash, he pulled his collar closed again.
Ying Ran fetched clean clothes from the bundle: “Have you eaten?”
Xu Liling: “No.”
Ying Ran: “Then eat something before you wash.”
She unwrapped a new oilpaper package on the table, taking out a locust flower cake and handing it to him.
Xu Liling took what she offered and ate without asking questions.
He bit into the cake, his expression neutral, showing no particular reaction.
Ying Ran had been eager for his response, but seeing his indifference, she grew nervous: Did he not taste anything despite all the sugar she added?
She asked, “Is it good?”
Xu Liling glanced at her, catching the hidden anticipation in her eyes, and hummed, “Mm.”
Ying Ran: “Can you taste it?”
Xu Liling paused for a moment: “It’s sweet.”
Good, he could taste it.
Ying Ran’s lips curved up, her voice bright like a bird’s chirp in the night: “I made it just for you, with lots of sugar. Because of this cake, Granny Huan banned me from cooking later.”
Xu Liling extended his long arm, pulling her into his embrace and letting her sit on his lap.
Ying Ran nestled against him, quiet for a moment, then started to feel sleepy. “But don’t eat too much. Too much sugar at once isn’t good for you. Just have a piece now and then to taste it.”
Xu Liling: “Mm.”
Ying Ran touched his face tenderly.
Xu Liling’s arm rested around her waist, gently patting her as if lulling a child to sleep. “Why aren’t you sleeping well?”
Ying Ran hugged his waist, her face rubbing against his chest, murmuring tiredly: “When we first got married, I couldn’t sleep well sharing a bed with you. I got used to it later. Now that you’re not by my side, I guess I’m unaccustomed again…”
“And… five cultivators came to the village.”
Xu Liling: “Did they scare you?”
“Not really, but I don’t know their background, so I can’t fully relax.”
Ying Ran shared what seemed strange about their origins.
Xu Liling: “I’ll check on them tomorrow.”
Ying Ran nodded, nearly asleep, too lazy to speak.
Xu Liling finished the cake, washed his hands with tea, wiped them clean, and lifted her onto the bed. As he leaned down to set her there, he whispered, “I’m going to wash up. I’ll be back after.”
“Mm…”
Ying Ran mumbled, half-asleep.
Xu Liling smoothed her messy hair, tucked her in with a thin blanket, rewrapped the locust flower cake, and took the clean clothes she’d prepared before heading out to wash.
When he returned, Ying Ran was fast asleep.
Xu Liling lay beside her, closing his eyes to sleep alongside her.
“You came back so fast. Couldn’t bear to leave Miss Qin alone?”
At breakfast the next morning, Uncle Xi saw Xu Liling and Ying Ran come out together and teased with a grin.
Ying Ran caught a faint hint of jealousy, like a child complaining that their father cared only for their mother.
Xu Liling politely hummed, “Mm.”
Uncle Xi sighed and ate his cake quietly.
Granny Huan, pretending to pluck white hairs, patted his head.
Ying Ran lightly pinched Xu Liling’s hand, signaling with her eyes: Don’t be so cold, they took us in.
Xu Liling ignored her and brought up the Yin-Yang Path manuals: “I went back to look, but I didn’t find them. They were probably all destroyed.”
Ying Ran: “All of them?”
Xu Liling: “Mm.”
Ying Ran’s expression drooped, her heart aching.
Not for herself, lacking manuals to cultivate, but for Xu Liling’s collection of mysterious path manuals—surely precious—destroyed just like that.
They must have been ruined when the Holy Demon took over Xu Li City.
Ying Ran held Xu Liling’s hand, comforting him instead: “It’s okay. We’ll find other manuals to cultivate later.”
Xu Liling: “I’ve already sent people to search for manuals elsewhere. They’ll be delivered in a few days.”
Ying Ran was surprised: He still had subordinates available?
She wanted to ask more, but with Uncle Xi and Granny Huan present, it wasn’t convenient.
After breakfast, Uncle Xi asked Xu Liling to join him in checking on the cultivators in the village.
Xu Liling didn’t refuse.
He’d said last night he’d look into it.
Ying Ran returned to the room to rest, while Xu Liling went with Uncle Xi.
After waking from a nap, Xu Liling was back, lying beside her for a midday rest.
Ying Ran didn’t disturb him, quietly getting out of bed, stepping over him, and sitting on the edge to put on her shoes. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed he’d opened his eyes.
His gaze was clear, showing no trace of sleepiness.
Ying Ran: “Just got back? Haven’t fallen asleep yet?”
Xu Liling: “I returned before noon.”
It was now late afternoon.
Ying Ran put on her outer robe: “No issues with those cultivators?”
Xu Liling: “They hid their identities. They’re not rogue cultivators escaping from Ming City. Their true background is unclear.”
Ying Ran was slightly stunned.
Xu Liling reached out, brushing her slightly sweaty bangs from sleeping: “No need to worry.”
Ying Ran trusted his judgment and didn’t fret over it, instead worrying about something from earlier: “You mentioned sending people to find manuals at noon. You still have subordinates? From the demonic path?”
Xu Liling: “Mm.”
Ying Ran absentmindedly tied her waistband: “Using demonic cultivators like this… won’t it anger the Holy Demon?”
Xu Liling: “It won’t.”
Ying Ran grew serious: “Really?”
Xu Liling: “Mm.”
Ying Ran pondered for a moment, still feeling it was too risky: “Try not to use demonic cultivators next time. We can find manuals ourselves.”
In her dreams, the Xu Liling from a thousand years ago was punished with the Demon Whip for releasing someone. She didn’t want the Xu Liling of today to risk danger just to help her find manuals.
Xu Lingshan: “The Yin-Yang Path cultivates slowly. Until you reach the second tier of the Mysterious Path, it’s best not to leave Wuyin Village.”
Ying Ran was surprised: “Are we staying in Wuyin Village from now on?”
She thought it was just a few days.
“For now. Cultivating in Wuyin Village is much faster than in the outside world.”
Xu Lingshan, bored, took her hand to toy with. “In Yunzhou, cultivators outnumber mortals. If we roam the world as mortals, we’ll definitely attract attention.”
Xu Lingshan could handle those troubles.
But the more he killed, the easier it would be to expose his identity, and his demonic nature would grow faster.
And if Ying Ran wanted to pursue the Dao, she couldn’t stay in one place forever.
Ying Ran understood: Wuyin Village was the safest place for her now. But even so, Huaizhen didn’t feel at ease leaving her alone, so he had to send others to search for manuals.
Ying Ran sighed helplessly, mumbling against his chest: “It’s all the Holy Demon’s fault.”
Xu Lingshan:
What was she blaming him for?
“Hm?”
Ying Ran: “If he hadn’t destroyed your manuals, you wouldn’t have to risk using demonic followers.”
Xu Lingshan twirled her long hair. “I destroyed the manuals.”
Ying Ran froze, then realized: “To keep them from the Holy Demon?”
Xu Lingshan: “Burned them to roast a Qiongyu Immortal Musk Deer.”
Ying Ran: ?
She propped herself up on his chest, still trying to justify it: “Because the situation was dire?”
Xu Lingshan saw through her thoughts and said carelessly: “I’m a demon. Those manuals were useless to me, so I burned them. While burning, I remembered I’d caught a Qiongyu Immortal Musk Deer, so I roasted it. Originally, I didn’t plan to burn the Yin-Yang Path manuals, but the deer was big, and the Mysterious Path books weren’t enough, so I burned whatever I had. Now I can’t recall what I burned. When I went back this time, I realized they were all gone.”
Ying Ran: ?
She sat up, silently moving away.
Xu Lingshan got up too, slipping on his outer robe and following her leisurely: “What’s wrong?”
Ying Ran muttered: “Nothing.”
She’d felt sorry for him all this time, only to realize she’d pitied the wrong thing. How awkward.
But the embarrassment didn’t last long.
Xu Lingshan’s long legs caught up in a few steps. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, walking with her outside to help Granny Huan pick vegetables.
After a short while, she chatted with Xu Lingshan as usual, discussing future plans and telling Uncle Xi they wanted to stay long-term.
Uncle Xi beamed, nodding eagerly.
Ying Ran thanked him.
Xu Lingshan: “Are there any empty houses in the village?”
Uncle Xi’s face fell: “You want to move out?”
Xu Lingshan: “Living together is too much trouble and inconvenient.”
His reply was polite but, compared to Uncle Xi’s warmth, felt distant.
Ying Ran tugged at his hem, signaling him not to be so cold.
Xu Lingshan’s gaze was unreadable.
Ying Ran didn’t catch his meaning.
After Uncle Xi left to arrange a house, she whispered, “Why do we have to move out?”
Sure, living alone was more convenient, but Uncle Xi had waited a thousand years for him. This was a brief reunion, and once she sent them to the Nine Netherworlds, they’d part again.
Xu Lingshan glanced downward.
Ying Ran, confused, looked at her skirt, not getting it. After a moment, she suddenly understood and blushed.
Uncle Xi quickly found a house—the one closest to the cave at the village’s end, a three-room courtyard.
The courtyard had everything they needed, and Uncle Xi had it cleaned, spotless.
Xu Lingshan moved their things before dinner.
Uncle Xi followed reluctantly but was comforted knowing they’d stay long-term.
Ying Ran felt bad, so after moving, she dragged Xu Lingshan to Uncle Xi’s for dinner, chatted with him and Granny Huan, and learned some Wuyin Village dialect.
By the time the moon hung high, Ying Ran linked arms with Xu Lingshan, heading to the new house under Uncle Xi’s gaze.
At the new house, Ying Ran lit the candles, settled Big Flower and Little Yellow, and said to Xu Lingshan: “Why rush to move? Uncle Xi helped us so much.”
Xu Lingshan didn’t reply, instead wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder, his nose brushing her neck.
Ying Ran’s ears warmed as she whispered, “Are you in a hurry?”
Xu Lingshan shook his head. He just held her in the hall like that, for a long time, doing nothing else.
Ying Ran’s shyness faded. She hooked her fingers around his hand at her waist, turned to hug him, and smiled as they embraced.
She’d overthought it.
He just wanted to hold her like this.
At Uncle Xi’s, even this would’ve been inconvenient.
Sure, they’d hugged in bed at noon while napping, but Ying Ran felt that embrace was different from this one.
Here, in their own courtyard, it felt free.
Like they had their own home again.
Big Flower and Little Yellow, watching the two embracing shadows from their nest, yawned and fell asleep.
It was getting late. Xu Lingshan let her go, telling her to rest in the room while he boiled water.
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