Jiang Ke’er immediately notified the major sects to begin preparations, demanding they have all the goods ready and delivered by noon tomorrow.
Though reluctant, the sects all sent replies agreeing to comply as requested.
Afterward, Jiang Ke’er climbed the small hill behind the village, overlooking the village below, and ran through her rehearsals in her head over and over again while grinning like a fool.
“Shifu, what should I practice today?” Pei Min ran up and asked expectantly.
At that moment, Jiang Ke’er was lying at the cliff edge with her hands propping up her chin, gazing at the small fishing village bathed in the evening glow with a look of utter infatuation, as if she had already slipped into some strange fantasy.
Hearing Pei Min’s call, Jiang Ke’er waved her hand impatiently. “Shoo, shoo, practice whatever you want.”
“Can you give me a scope at least?” Pei Min pressed on, unwilling to give up.
“Why are you so dense… Then go practice your writing!” Jiang Ke’er said dismissively. “Using a sword.”
“Write what?”
“Whatever you want! Now go away! Stop bothering me!”
“Oh, fine…”
Pei Min slunk away dejectedly.
Then, a flash of inspiration struck him.
“Hmm… right, why not I practice my writing really well today, and give Shifu a surprise tomorrow!”
With that thought, Pei Min was suddenly filled with motivation. He decided to prepare a gift of his own as well.
He ran back to the blacksmith shop, found some wood materials, and started tinkering with them in a frenzy.
“Nope.”
“This doesn’t work either.”
“Too ugly.”
Pei Min’s face scrunched up in frustration. By the time he came back to his senses, the entire yard was covered in wood shavings.
“Again! I don’t believe this!”
Jiang Ke’er lay at the cliff edge all night long.
The view there was excellent—not only could she overlook the entire small fishing village, but she could also gaze far out across the sea.
She focused intently on the small fishing boats bobbing and swaying on the water, sweeping her 998.0 vision across every face on board.
Not her.
Not this one either.
Not that one.
Hmm, my neck’s getting a bit sore. Do cultivators not even escape cervical spine problems…
Still not her.
Ah, but that’s fine. Just wait a little longer—it’ll be soon!
Based on the distance sense, her aura was already incredibly strong!
Though her opponent’s increased cultivation level made it impossible to pinpoint the exact distance, she knew she was already very close to home!
Maybe the next one will be her.
Then I’ll just keep watching a bit longer~
Still not her.
Ah, not her again.
Huh, it’s getting bright? Why so fast?
Jiang Ke’er got up and changed to sitting cross-legged at the cliff edge.
Under the sunrise, she first stretched her lazy back, then rubbed her bloodshot eyes.
To prevent her joints from rusting, she began swaying her body gently left and right in the wind, like a stalk of dog tail grass.
Her tail wagged excitedly back and forth.
“Ah! She’s back!”
She jumped up abruptly, nearly losing her footing and tumbling off the cliff.
On the horizon, a small boat sailed against the sunrise, drifting slowly toward the shore, rising and dipping with the waves.
Qiao Xiaoxian sat elegantly at the side of the boat, her sky-blue hair seeming to catch the light as it floated gently in the fresh morning sea breeze, revealing a half-hidden, breathtaking side profile.
Her jade feet peeked out partially, her long, fair legs casually crossed, accentuating the graceful, perfect curves of her figure.
Ah, my wife is so beautiful!
Pretty from the front, pretty from the back, pretty from the side too!
Jiang Ke’er felt her mind was all over the place. Qiao Xiaoxian was so beautiful her heart was about to melt… oh right, she didn’t have a heart.
Still pretty~
Raising a hand to gently tuck the long hair by her cheek, Qiao Xiaoxian looked toward the shore.
After a brief moment of unfocused staring, she quickly spotted Jiang Ke’er’s figure.
“Over here, over here!”
Jiang Ke’er waved her arms and legs wildly, jumping high into the air. In the tranquil, ink-wash painting of the fishing village that Qiao Xiaoxian saw, she was the only one whose art style didn’t match.
But soon her brow furrowed—what were those two giant black circles under Jiang Ke’er’s eyes? Did she have a panda bloodline or something?
“Shifu, those sect messengers just came to ask—it’s confirmed for noon today, right?” Pei Min ran over and said.
“Whoa! How’d you get such big black circles? Did someone beat you up?” Jiang Ke’er was startled when she saw Pei Min.
“You’ve got some nerve saying that to me—yours are way worse than mine!” Pei Min pointed at Jiang Ke’er’s eyes and retorted.
“Oh, really?”
Jiang Ke’er quickly massaged the area around her eyes… she couldn’t meet Qiao Xiaoxian looking like this—that would never do for the dignity of the head of the family!
“You haven’t answered my question yet—it’s noon today, right?”
“Right!” Jiang Ke’er said.
“Then I’ll go tell them.” Pei Min turned and left.
Jiang Ke’er wanted to keep scanning the sea, but remembering her black circles, she quickly lowered her head, rubbed her eyes vigorously, and worked hard to nourish and soothe them with her life force.
Only after the reflection in the mirror showed her eyes completely back to normal and she had adjusted her whole body to peak condition did Jiang Ke’er finally breathe a sigh of relief. She looked up and was shocked to find that a long time had passed—noon was almost here.
Qiao Xiaoxian was also about to arrive at the harbor.
Jiang Ke’er didn’t go to greet the sword sects. Instead, she hurried back to the blacksmith shop, changed into a sharp black cultivation robe, and tied up her hair to look neat and spirited.
After finishing her preparations, she strode confidently toward the harbor, a sly smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
Uncle Zhao’s fishing boat slowly pulled up to the dock, and Qiao Xiaoxian was the first to jump ashore, instinctively rushing over to give Jiang Ke’er a lift high.
But Jiang Ke’er’s dead-serious appearance stopped her in her tracks.
“Hm, you’re back.”
Jiang Ke’er’s voice sounded deep and melancholic. Like a gentleman from Xiniu Hezhou, she gently lifted Qiao Xiaoxian’s hand and kissed it, murmuring softly, “Long time no see.”
Qiao Xiaoxian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, unsure what act Jiang Ke’er was putting on.
But she was genuinely taken aback by the maturity and depth Jiang Ke’er was displaying today.
“Come, I’ve prepared a surprise for you.” Jiang Ke’er smiled her sly smile and looked up into Qiao Xiaoxian’s eyes.
“Pfft—”
Looking at Jiang Ke’er’s face, Qiao Xiaoxian suddenly couldn’t hold it in and nearly burst out laughing.
A second ago, she’d thought Jiang Ke’er had changed, maybe even gone dark or something, and felt a little nervous… but when she saw Jiang Ke’er smile, she instantly couldn’t keep it together anymore.
“You… lost a tooth?” Qiao Xiaoxian reached out, casually and expertly tilting Jiang Ke’er’s chin up, looking at her with pure adoration in her eyes.
“Waaaah! Let go!” Jiang Ke’er struggled furiously to escape those magic claws.
But Qiao Xiaoxian was far too practiced. Her other hand smoothly slipped around Jiang Ke’er’s waist, lifting her into a full embrace.
A tickle at her waist made Jiang Ke’er instantly lose all her strength, her face flushed bright red as Qiao Xiaoxian scooped her up.
“Don’t move. Let me see.” Qiao Xiaoxian pried open Jiang Ke’er’s lips.
“No…” Jiang Ke’er hurriedly bared her teeth in a fierce, demonic expression, threatening with all the authority she could muster, “Le-let me go!”
She would’ve been better off not baring her teeth at all—the moment she did, the gap in her teeth was exposed for all to see.
It was a small fang that had fallen out. She originally had two fangs; when she grinned and showed them, she looked like a demon—at least fierce in an adorable way. But now only one remained…
Qiao Xiaoxian: “HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
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