In the Soul World, within a wasteland.
Jiang Huai said nothing more, merely holding Ning Yuzhu’s body gently. Every touch in the Soul World felt incredibly real. Her body was soft and slender, and Ning Yuzhu leaned into his embrace like this.
Rain fell in the Soul World, the sky a hazy gray, reminiscent of the scene when Jiang Huai first met her in his memory.
“I accidentally saw Senior Disciple Sister’s memories…” Jiang Huai suddenly said softly. Ning Yuzhu’s reply was calm, “If you saw them, you saw them.”
“I owe Senior Disciple Sister another big favor.”
“It’s alright,” Ning Yuzhu answered very, very lightly, seeming a bit tired. Jiang Huai released her, guided her to sit down, and gently patted his lap. Ning Yuzhu hesitated for a moment before resting her head on his leg.
The hazy rain continued to fall upon the world. Jiang Huai reached out and covered her eyes.
…
Two shichen later, Jiang Huai and Ning Yuzhu opened their eyes together.
He turned his head back hastily. Ning Yuzhu was still embracing him lightly from behind. As he turned back like this, he almost kissed Ning Yuzhu’s cheek. The distance between Ning Yuzhu’s and his cheek suddenly became very, very close.
A system notification suddenly sounded in Jiang Huai’s ear again.
Without even looking, he guessed if it was asking him to kiss the Ning Yuzhu at this moment? In this instant, he truly felt such an impulse, but he couldn’t distinguish whether it was out of greed or pity.
Ning Yuzhu’s eyelashes didn’t tremble at all; she simply looked at him calmly. Jiang Huai hurriedly avoided her gaze, stepped back a few paces, and then stood up.
Ning Yuzhu also stood up and said softly, “Take off your clothes. I need to check how the Divine Blood has been refined within your body.”
Jiang Huai was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then obediently took off his outer clothing. Ning Yuzhu said softly, “Take them all off.”
Jiang Huai felt a slight awkwardness in his heart, but Ning Yuzhu’s expression was so calm. After a moment of hesitation, Jiang Huai removed all his clothes. Ning Yuzhu gazed at his body quietly like this.
Her cheeks did not show any blush. She merely extended a fingertip and lightly touched his chest, guiding his Spiritual Qi to flow out of his body. Jiang Huai lowered his head and soon noticed that the blood in his veins seemed to have changed color. Ning Yuzhu’s fingertips began to check his acupoints one by one. Her eyes remained calm throughout, while Jiang Huai felt a little embarrassed.
She even leaned down, her fingertips sliding over the acupoints on his leg, guiding his Spiritual Qi to flow out. Her eyes were pure and serious, making Jiang Huai feel a bit flustered. This process continued for the time it takes an incense stick to burn before Ning Yuzhu finally turned her face away. “Alright, put your clothes back on.”
Jiang Huai hastily put on all his clothes. He felt a great deal of indescribable power within his body, but he couldn’t distinguish his current realm until Ning Yuzhu spoke, “Divine Body seventh level. This is your current cultivation.”
“Since your cultivation has reached the Divine Body realm, the cultivation technique that Master prepared for you earlier should be given to you now.”
With that, Ning Yuzhu took out two jade slips from her hand.
“What is this…?”
“This scroll is the Heaven Mending Divine Art that Senior Disciple Sister once cultivated. It’s enough for you to cultivate up to the Divine King tenth level. The Heaven Mending Divine Art is more gentle, but the progress will be slower.”
“This scroll is the Great Wasteland Record that I cultivated. It’s also enough for you to cultivate up to the Divine King tenth level. Cultivating the Great Wasteland Record will be faster, but the process will be accompanied by some pain. But I have now cultivated the Great Wasteland Record. If you want to cultivate faster, you can melt away those pains through Dual Cultivation with me, and your cultivation progress will also be much faster than with the Heaven Mending Divine Art.”
Jiang Huai instinctively took a step back and asked cautiously, “What did Senior Disciple Sister just say?”
Ning Yuzhu looked at him with confusion, puzzled.
“Senior Disciple Sister just said… Dual Cultivation? Is it the Dual Cultivation I’m thinking of?”
“Yes,” Ning Yuzhu replied calmly. “You can choose either one.”
“Wait, why is Senior Disciple Sister willing… to Dual Cultivate with me?”
“I’ve cultivated for thousands of years and have long since come to terms with matters of love between men and women. If you want to cultivate the Great Wasteland Record, I can be a guide on your cultivation path. If you cultivate the Heaven Mending Divine Art, I also know a little, but not much. Most of the time, you’ll need to explore it yourself.”
It seemed clear which one to choose. And at this moment, another ding sounded in Jiang Huai’s ear, as if guiding him on which one to select.
“I’ll cultivate the Heaven Mending Divine Art. It’s fine if the progress is slow,” Jiang Huai replied softly.
Ning Yuzhu’s eyelashes lifted slightly. She didn’t speak immediately, merely looking at him with her dark pupils filled with complexity. Jiang Huai couldn’t discern what was hidden in her eyes; was it grievance? Astonishment? Surprise? Or disappointment… or none of it, just his own imagination.
“Okay.”
Ning Yuzhu handed him the scroll of the Heaven Mending Divine Art and turned around instantly. “Then you can explore it slowly. I’ll go make dinner.”
She turned and left, leaving only a faint scent lingering in the air.
Jiang Huai sat cross-legged on a lotus, beginning to read through the Heaven Mending Divine Art, and meanwhile, he moved the system’s mission to the to-do list.
He had a feeling that if he had chosen the Great Wasteland Record, in the future, he would somehow end up unintentionally Dual Cultivating with Ning Yuzhu due to a misunderstanding. After all, Ning Yuzhu didn’t seem like the type to refuse, and his self-control had always been humorously lacking.
On this point, Jiang Huai was self-aware.
…
At night.
Dinner was still sumptuous. Even though there were only three of them, Ning Yuzhu still made eight dishes and one soup. What’s more, Jiang Huai always finished everything. The dishes on the table were all precious heavenly treasures, and after eating them, his body felt warm and comfortable. However, Jiang Huai quietly glanced at Ning Yuzhu, and for some reason, he felt that Ning Yuzhu’s eyes seemed a little colder than before.
Hiss, could it be his psychological factors at play?
Jiang Zhi also chose the Heaven Mending Divine Art. After dinner, the two of them discussed the techniques in the room and even tried Dual Cultivation. Once Dual Cultivation began with the Heaven Mending Divine Art, the effect was twice as good with half the effort. But Jiang Huai’s cultivation seemed to be much better than Jiang Zhi’s, and he didn’t know if it was because of the drop of Divine Blood within his body.
Jiang Huai hesitated for a moment before telling Jiang Zhi about Ning Yuzhu asking him to choose between two cultivation techniques today. Jiang Zhi was stunned at first, then burst into laughter on the bed, “No wonder I felt Ning Yuzhu’s expression was a bit complex when she looked at you during dinner tonight.”
“You thought so too?” Jiang Huai’s expression became even stranger. “Don’t you find it strange?”
“What’s strange?”
“It’s just… don’t you find it strange that Senior Disciple Sister Ning said so calmly that she’s willing to Dual Cultivate with me?”
“Hahahaha!” Jiang Zhi laughed even more unrestrainedly. “You’re already that familiar with her? You really believe she hasn’t thought about men for a thousand years on this mountain? Maybe she’s already ravenous and eager to seduce you into bed for a night of passion. Alas, only men arrogantly believe that sleeping with a woman is a win for them and a loss for her.”
“…” Jiang Huai’s eye twitched slightly. “Senior Disciple Sister Ning has been so good to us, it’s not appropriate to gossip about her.”
“Who’s gossiping? Since you find it strange, I’m just giving you a reasonable explanation.” Jiang Zhi lowered her head, looking at the light purple nail polish Jiang Huai had applied to her a few days ago. Her fair toes wiggled slightly. “You might as well go along with her. You’ll have a backup in the future too.”
“…” Jiang Huai playfully poked her chest with his hand.
Jiang Zhi suddenly leaned closer, lying on top of him. Her fair chest clamped down hard on Little Huai, muttering, “You poke me, you poke me!”
Recently, she was no longer keen on using foot punishment for Little Huai. Instead, she had developed a lot of expertise in using her breasts, especially when punishing while playfully running her pink tongue.
…
In the middle of the night, Jiang Huai suffered from insomnia.
He tossed and turned for a while and was even annoyed by Jiang Zhi. She reached out and poked his chest. “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
“I can’t sleep. Why don’t you accompany me for a walk?”
“No, it’s too cold outside,” Jiang Zhi snorted. “Go take a walk by yourself. As you walk, you might accidentally wander into Ning Yuzhu’s courtyard and have a good chat with her.”
“Sigh,” Jiang Huai got up helplessly. “I’ll just go for a walk.”
“Go ahead, go ahead. Come back early.” Jiang Zhi lifted the quilt, moved his clothes aside, and helped him put them on like coaxing a child. Then, she wrapped herself tightly in the quilt and closed her eyes peacefully.
…
The scenery on White Dew Mountain was exquisite. By night, the firefly stones had all extinguished, but as Jiang Huai passed by, he re-lit them one by one. Wind and snow began to fall again at night. Although it was slightly cold, Jiang Huai had already grown accustomed to it.
He truly only intended to go out for a walk, to stroll and clear his mind about everything that had happened since arriving in the Upper Realm.
He wasn’t foolish enough to believe that all of this was a gift of luck. From the moment Jiang Zhi appeared by his side, he had sensed something amiss. Then came the appearance of Jun Anshui, the timely bloodline gift from the system, followed by Jiang Zhi’s Master, and now Ning Yuzhu’s inexplicable compliance towards him.
Yes, compliance, not affection.
He suspected that someone in the netherworld was quietly orchestrating everything. But what was that person’s purpose? Many times, he could brush it off with a YOLO attitude, thinking that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t change anything. So, it was better to enjoy everything with a clear conscience, like a kitten being raised at home, content to groom and eat every day, never expecting to venture out into the real world.
But even knowing he couldn’t change it, he couldn’t help but think about it, which led to his insomnia. Unconsciously, he had walked to the lakeside again, gazing at the snow-covered lake surface. Jiang Huai decided to just fish here for a while.
He lit the firefly stones along the lake, but in the next instant, he froze.
In the center of the lake at this moment, Ning Yuzhu’s body was submerged in the water, with only her clavicle exposed, cradling a pool of water.
