“I suddenly remembered something,” Jiang Huai suddenly winked at Chu Xianning. “Last time Master and Luo Yueguan were betting in the courtyard, what was it that Luo Yueguan threatened Master with?”
Jiang Huai felt that this secret could be asked now, as there was no longer any barrier between him and Chu Xianning. Chu Xianning withdrew her gaze from the painting and looked at his face. After hesitating for a moment, she turned her face away again, avoiding Jiang Huai’s gaze, and softly replied, “The leaves of the Life Divine Tree, if I were to refine them by myself to heal my injuries, would be too wasteful. I thought then… to refine them together with you.”
Jiang Huai was stunned.
Wait, that meant… Chu Xianning had already prepared herself at that time, and once they returned to the courtyard, they could engage in dual cultivation to refine that leaf of the Life Divine Tree. That was why she had agreed without too much hesitation, only holding back her shyness and thus not letting Luo Yueguan tell Jiang Huai in advance. And because she didn’t want Luo Yueguan to deliberately disturb her, she had no choice but to agree to Luo Yueguan’s bet that day.
Jiang Huai was momentarily dumbfounded, unable to speak for a while. After a moment, he softly inquired, “So… Ningning had already thought about it…”
Chu Xianning still turned her face away, not looking at him, only her voice became much softer, “It was going to be yours sooner or later anyway, whether it was sooner or later, perhaps it was all the same. I was also a bit hesitant, so I asked Luo Yueguan not to tell you, to give me more time to think.”
“Then Ningning, why…”
Chu Xianning hesitated for a short while longer before softly replying, “Outside the Divine Tree Secret Realm, when I saw you in danger… I was very scared.”
“Scared?”
Chu Xianning finally turned her head at this moment. She bit her red lips lightly, and after a moment, she slowly replied, “I realized I couldn’t imagine a future without you by my side. Just thinking about it… made my whole body stiffen, as if I had fallen into an ice cave.”
Jiang Huai looked into her eyes, and after a long while, he came back to his senses, his voice becoming very gentle, “Ningning is speaking sweet words to me again.”
“It’s not sweet talk,” Chu Xianning turned her face away again, likely unable to bear the tenderness in his eyes at this moment, feeling her cheeks burn, so she avoided meeting his gaze.
“This clearly is,” Jiang Huai sat on the bedside, gently held Chu Xianning’s delicate little hand, and said softly, “I won’t be in danger again, and I’ll never make Ningning worry again.”
“I’m still not used to… you calling me Ningning.”
“Then you’ll get used to it slowly.”
“In front of outsiders… you’re not allowed to call me that.”
“Understood,” Jiang Huai nodded obediently, looking at her delicate pink and moist lips. He suddenly wanted to kiss her again. Chu Xianning seemed to have already sensed his intention, a hint of shyness in her eyes, but her body seemed to unconsciously lean forward slightly. Thus, Jiang Huai naturally leaned closer and kissed her petal-like tender lips once more.
Soft and smooth, sweet like honey.
***
At night.
After spending the day with the gentle and sweet Chu Xianning, he would spend the night with the cunning and scheming female ghost mother-in-law.
Jiang Huai also began painting for Luo Yueguan. He had already painted for Chu Xianning during the day, so he naturally couldn’t show favoritism. Luo Yueguan’s competitive spirit mostly stemmed from Chu Xianning. She only liked to compete with Chu Xianning, and whatever Chu Xianning had, she also wanted. Now, she was lying on her side by the bed, her skirt elegantly draped, her eyes full of tenderness.
The woman in the painting was dignified and elegant, with less allure and more languor.
Jiang Huai gently held Luo Yueguan in his arms. Luo Yueguan was not sleepy for a long time and chatted with him hazily. It was not until the sky began to lighten that she groggily began to feel sleepy and fell asleep in Jiang Huai’s arms. Jiang Huai gently kissed her forehead.
Chu Xianning, who seemed cold and aloof, was actually the one who took the lead in love. Luo Yueguan, who seemed to be strategizing and was cunning and languid, was more like a little girl who needed to be coaxed.
***
The Spirit Boat traveled for three days, arriving above Qingxuan Sect.
Luo Yueguan rode her sword back to the sect. Before leaving, in front of everyone, she grabbed Jiang Huai’s collar and gave him a fierce kiss. Jiang Huai looked at Luo Yueguan, who had blushed to the roots of her hair after this display, with a smile in his eyes.
Luo Yueguan was accustomed to acting with an air of languid dignity in front of outsiders. Therefore, when Bai Li and Su Qingyi saw her kiss Jiang Huai, she naturally blushed furiously. Before Jiang Huai could say anything more, she had already flown away on her sword in a hurry.
Jiang Huai gently touched his lips with his finger, as if her lips’ warmth still lingered. Su Qingyi made a face at him from the side, her eyes glinting, “Bad person.”
Jiang Huai dissatisfiedly tugged at Su Qingyi’s little fox ear, “Why am I a bad person again?”
“Hmph… Someone says every day that A Mumumu is A Mumumu, and Jiang Huai is Jiang Huai. I think A Mumumu is Jiang Huai, and Jiang Huai is A Mumumu. Not only did he bully their daughter, but he didn’t let their mother go either… Hmph… Bad person.”
“Exactly, exactly,” Bai Li nodded innocently from the side, a playful smile on her face.
It seemed that Su Qingyi and Bai Li were both particularly qualified to say such things, and Jiang Huai could not retort at all. Jiang Huai could only give the little fox a mournful glance. However, the little fox crossed her arms and jumped back, shaking her head, “Hmph, your eyes are full of malice, so Fox Fox won’t let you bully her.”
“I didn’t intend to bully you, but now that you say that… Heh heh,” Jiang Huai leaned closer to her again. The little fox’s tail wagged non-stop, and the next moment, she ran behind Chu Xianning, who was standing nearby, poking her little head out from behind Chu Xianning, “Hmph, come and catch me?”
Chu Xianning stood there silently, speechless for a moment. After a while, she smiled helplessly.
***
The Spirit Boat arrived at Tian Xuan Sect and returned to Tian Xuan Sect.
What Jiang Huai did not expect was that all the disciples of Tian Xuan Sect had been waiting for a long time. When Jiang Huai returned to the mountain, the entire Tian Xuan Sect erupted in cheers, celebrating his victory in the Five Regions Grand Competition, making him the undisputed youngest prodigy in the Qingmu Realm.
The scene was extremely lively. Jiang Huai thought for a moment and then scheduled a time to lecture the disciples on swordplay in the sect in two days. Li Qiushan, who arrived almost at the same time, stroked his beard and chuckled.
Returning to Guanxue Mountain, Jiang Huai looked at the hundreds of thousands of spirit pigeons flying outside the courtyard, and he started to get a headache.
Most of these spirit pigeons were for marriage proposals. Besides the sects, there were many cultivation families in the Eastern Region. These were families bringing their daughters’ portraits to propose marriage. Chu Xianning stood beside him at this moment. Jiang Huai sighed helplessly and had to add Daoist magic to each spirit pigeon, attaching a message saying that becoming Dao Companions was destined by fate and could not be forced. Thus, these spirit pigeons flew back.
Looking into the distance, it was a particularly absurd and amusing scene.
Finally returning to the courtyard, Chu Xianning sat quietly in the pavilion again. Light snow was falling on Tian Xuan Sect, and the winter-blooming plum blossoms were blooming in the courtyard, exuding a subtle fragrance. Jiang Huai practiced his sword in the wind and snow.
It wasn’t really practice; he just wanted to better integrate the spiritual qi within his body. After all, his cultivation level had been rising rapidly. There was a saying in the cultivation world that cultivation that came too quickly was often unstable. However, perhaps because of the so-called Inborn Chaotic Dao Fruit within his body, Jiang Huai didn’t feel any blockage or difficulty controlling his spiritual qi. He only needed a little practice to become accustomed to the circulation of spiritual qi within his body, fully integrating his cultivation.
He was now at the peak of the Mahayana third stage, just one step away from entering the Mahayana fourth stage.
Chu Xianning held her teacup in her hand, gazing at the spiritual light on Jiang Huai’s sword. His sword was already too fast for her to see clearly, and the pressure it emitted was extremely terrifying. Yet, all of this had happened within a year. It hadn’t even been a year since his cultivation was destroyed last time, but now he had reached the peak of Mahayana third stage.
Chu Xianning picked up the teacup and took a sip. Suddenly, she seemed to recall something and softly asked, “Have you thought about going to the Upper Realm after breaking through the Ten Realms?”
Jiang Huai stopped practicing his sword and turned back, looking at Chu Xianning’s eyebrows. He softly replied, “I hadn’t thought about it before.” Jiang Huai sheathed his Yening Sword and walked to Chu Xianning’s side. “When they reach the end of their cultivation, everything before their eyes becomes readily available, and they feel bored, wanting to see a bigger world, as if that can soothe their loneliness. But I don’t think so. As long as Master is by my side, I won’t be lonely for thousands or tens of thousands of years.”
“But when my cultivation reaches the Ten Realms, I will still go to the Upper Realm.”
Jiang Huai’s eyes were very serious. “Disciple still has a wish, which may only be fulfilled in the Upper Realm, so I will definitely go then. But please rest assured, Master, I will protect myself, and I will never put myself in danger. If that wish is not realized, Disciple will return as soon as possible.”
“Jiang Zhi once told me that the flow of time between the two realms is different. Five days in the Upper Realm is one day in the Lower Realm. In half a year at most in the Lower Realm, if I fail to fulfill my wish in the Upper Realm, I will rush back.”
Even though there was still a long way to go before he broke through the Ten Realms, Jiang Huai still had a trace of worry in his heart. He was afraid Chu Xianning would worry.
He had always been a timid coward. If he could command everything in this realm, he would never seek adventure unless it was necessary. However, seeing the Divine Emperor was his only chance to see Jiang Ning again in this life, so he had to be brave.
“I understand,” Chu Xianning nodded gently, picked up the teacup on the table, and refilled his teacup. She said softly, “I will wait for you in this realm.”
The scalding hot tea filled the teacup, and steam rose from the water. Jiang Huai picked it up and took a sip, hearing Chu Xianning say softly, “Many years ago, my Master also ascended to the Upper Realm. If you see her in the Upper Realm, please give her my regards and tell her about you and me.”
“Okay,” Jiang Huai nodded gently.
The wind and snow outside the courtyard gradually intensified, slowly blanketing the ground. Jiang Huai and Chu Xianning chatted in low voices in the courtyard for a while. Jiang Huai listened to Chu Xianning talk about her past. When the tea on the table was finished, Chu Xianning softly said, “I’m going to sleep. You can go.”
She knew that Jiang Huai had to go to Wen Wanwan’s courtyard to accompany the Wanwan and Fufu sisters. Without him having to mention it, she said gently.
