The transparent tentacles writhed frantically behind her, making squelching sounds in the air.
"I think I heard something. Qiu, did you hear that?" Yu Yi asked. She turned her head in confusion, her eyes meeting a tentacle dangling right in front of her.
The tip of the tentacle hovered just an inch from her face. A bead of viscous fluid gathered at its end, growing heavier until it stretched into a silver thread and dripped onto her cheek.
Yu Yi wiped the sticky liquid from her cheek and said curiously, "Where did this water come from? It feels so gross. Qiu, is our roof leaking? But it's not even raining outside."
She couldn't see the tentacles - those agitated, grasping, transparent appendages that wanted to envelop and crush her.
Xue Chenjing stood up, grasped the edge of his sleeve, and gently wiped the fluid from her cheek. A smile curved his lips, but his eyes remained cold as he said, "It might be water that collected in the roof tiles after last night's rain. After lunch, I'll take a good look at the roof."
Yu Yi nodded and immediately moved away from his touch, sitting to the side and waiting obediently for Xue Chenjing to cook. She praised him, "In the south, there's a dragon in the mountain pool. Qiu is like that dragon in the pool, capable of anything."
Xue Chenjing's hand, still suspended in the air, paused briefly before he lowered it and returned to the stove. He picked up the cleaver again to cut the pork belly, saying casually, "My father did indeed choose my courtesy name based on that."
"Courtesy name?" Yu Yi looked surprised. She had always thought it was his given name. "Then what's Qiu's formal name? How strange, we're married and I don't know your full name?"
Xue Chenjing: "..."
The system coughed violently. His full name was not to be spoken. Yu Yi, as a transmigrator, held the script for "Tidal Shock" in her hands. In her mind, "Xue Chenjing" was an utterly villainous antagonist.
If she knew, this play could not go on.
Xue Chenjing understood its warning and said smoothly, "Xue Qiu, that's my full name."
After all, "Qiu" was just one of the courtesy names Xue Xingzhi had chosen for him. He hadn't come of age yet and had never used this name publicly.
Yu Yi was immediately convinced. She folded her hands in front of her and leaned on the table, watching him cook.
Born into a wealthy merchant family, Xue Chenjing had been waited on hand and foot his entire life. He had never had to lift a finger in the kitchen. Yet the system's mission required him to cook personally for it to count. The young master was furious enough to smash pots and pans, but he had no choice but to swallow his pride.
These past few days, he had relied entirely on the system's guidance, practicing in secret several times before becoming somewhat proficient.
This small cabin in the mountains was formed from earth essence, but the food they ate couldn't rely on that essence. If they ate two bites of such food, they would both perish in this godforsaken mountain valley.
The cooking oil, seasonings, and rice in the kitchen had all been bought by him. He had disguised himself as a human and gone to town overnight to purchase them.
However, Yu Yi's food requests were becoming increasingly difficult to prepare with each passing day. Xue Chenjing suffered no small amount of torment trying to make the dishes she wanted, and the frustration in his heart was beyond words.
Today's twice-cooked pork was even worse. Under the system's frantic instructions, Xue Chenjing had hot oil splattering everywhere, burning several blisters on his hands. The tentacles behind him tried multiple times to tear the house down, only calming after the system's patient persuasion.
He had to open the Sword-Sealing Stone and retrieve the Weapon Tempering Platform inside.
As Xue Chenjing was about to flip the wok in frustration after another splash of hot oil on his hand, the system shouted, "Master, stay calm! Calm down! It's almost done! You're doing great, it looks exactly like the recipe picture. It's sure to be delicious!"
Xue Chenjing's furrowed brow could kill a fly. With a face full of long-suffering, he managed to restrain himself.
Yu Yi rested her chin on her hand, watching him at the stove. He was clearly flustered, yet still trying to maintain an air of ease. She listened to the system's desperate shouting, which sounded like a battle cry. She pressed her lips tightly together, barely managing not to laugh out loud.
Xue Qiu, how had she stumbled upon such an adorable husband? No, she shouldn't say she found him - he had actively sought her out, after all. He even had a romance system, and she was his target.
When Yu Yi first opened her eyes and saw his face, she was a bit dazed.
But soon, the information in her mind told her that after transmigrating into this novel called "Tidal Shock," she had burned down the original owner's wooden cabin to avoid crossing paths with the male lead, Pei Jingchao. She had then fled to this remote mortal town.
While in seclusion here, she encountered the son of a local merchant. To thoroughly shatter her female lead halo, Yu Yi had married him and successfully coaxed the young master into hiding in these deep mountains with her.
They had been living in seclusion here for three years.
Yu Yi rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Based on the information she had gleaned from the system over the past few days, she felt this experience was somewhat strange.
First, they had been living here for three years, and Xue Qiu had been cooking for her for three years, yet he was still so clumsy and needed the system's guidance to know how to cook.
Second, they had been together for three years, and Xue Qiu had been trying to win her over for three years, yet she remained completely unmoved. Even knowing he had approached her with ulterior motives, given her personality, she would likely have intentionally controlled herself to avoid falling for him.
But Xue Qiu's appearance was exactly her type. Yu Yi knew herself well - it was impossible for her to remain so steadfast. Even if she didn't fall in love with him, her favorability towards him couldn't possibly be this low.
Finally, and most importantly to Yu Yi, when Xue Qiu had just wiped the water from her face and his hand touched her cheek, her body's first reaction was not a desire to be close to him, but a sense of danger.
A chill had run down her spine, raising goosebumps all over her body. Every muscle had tensed involuntarily, screaming at her to get away from him. She had barely restrained herself from kicking him.
All of this made Yu Yi feel strange. Yet the knowledge in her mind insisted that the man before her was indeed her lawfully wedded husband.
Married and bound by vows? Yu Yi's gaze unconsciously followed Xue Qiu's movements as she pondered.
...
Although Xue Chenjing had struggled to prepare this meal, thanks to the system's step-by-step guidance, the final product turned out quite well. Seeing Yu Yi's eyes crinkle with happiness as she ate with satisfaction, the system finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"See, I told you the master did a great job," the system encouraged its host. "To capture a woman's heart, you must first capture her stomach. Master, you're already halfway there!"
Xue Chenjing picked up some food with his chopsticks for Yu Yi, smiling gently while coldly asking in his heart, "Favorability?"
System: "..."
The system fell silent immediately.
After Yu Yi finished eating, Xue Chenjing ate all the leftovers on the plates. Although he had been badly burned while cooking, the final product did taste quite good.
Moreover, this dish was made by his own hands - how could he waste it?
After clearing away the bowls and chopsticks, Xue Chenjing still had to steam fish for her crane. It was less like a crane and more like a pig, able to eat eight fish in one meal. It disliked raw fish, but also disliked overcooked fish. Too salty was no good, but neither was too bland.
Furthermore, Crane Senior Brother strongly disliked Xue Chenjing and would seize any opportunity to peck at him. The beast was cunning enough to avoid attacking when they were alone, only pecking him sneakily when Yu Yi was present.
Every day, from the moment Xue Chenjing opened his eyes until he fell asleep at night, he might have eight hundred thoughts about killing Yu Yi, but he definitely had eight hundred and one thoughts about killing that feathered beast, Crane Senior Brother.
But he couldn't kill it. The system said that if he killed Crane Senior Brother, Yu Yi's pitiful bit of goodwill towards him would instantly drop to zero and be difficult to recover.
So, to complete that damned system task and open the Sword-Sealing Stone, Xue Chenjing could only continue to endure this humiliation.
Xue Chenjing brought fish to the crane and was pecked twice by the beast, which had seized the opportunity. He turned his head and, sure enough, saw Yu Yi coming out of the house and walking towards them.
Crane Senior Brother knew he wouldn't dare retaliate in front of Yu Yi.
Even a mere beast dared to bully him so openly!
"Master! Master! The favorability has reached six percent! You must cherish it!" the system cried out in panic.
Xue Chenjing's murderous intent faltered slightly. He resisted the urge to wring the crane's neck and, under the system's nagging, suppressed his homicidal thoughts as he walked back.
"Qiu, I noticed your hand seems to be burned. Let me help you apply some medicine," Yu Yi approached him, holding a burn ointment in her hand, and looked up at him with a gentle smile.
Xue Chenjing was stunned for a moment, immediately hiding his hand behind his back. Something writhed frantically beneath the skin on the back of his hand. Moments later, two bright red blisters emerged on his previously smooth skin.
Yu Yi urged, "Give me your hand. Don't hide it, I saw it earlier."
Xue Chenjing obediently extended his hand to her. The youth's palm was long and slender, with distinct bones. His palm was as cold as ever, like winter morning mist, exuding a damp chill from deep within. Blue veins were visible beneath the reddened, scalded skin.
Yu Yi cupped his hand and gently blew on it. She looked up at him, her expression both reproachful and concerned, saying, "In the future, don't hide and endure when you're hurt. Applying some medicine will make it better quickly."
Her eyes were as alluring as peach blossoms, with long, curled lashes. They reflected the bright sunlight, like pools of warm spring water, warm and sweet.
Xue Chenjing was momentarily lost in her sweet gaze before coming to his senses. He asked inwardly, "Favorability?"
The system: "..." Favorability, favorability, you ask about it eight hundred times a day! Each time you ask, you get angry, and it has to comfort you. Will this ever end?
The atmosphere was so good now that the system didn't want to ruin it, so it ignored him.
Without the system's response, Xue Chenjing could guess. This woman was always just saying nice things, with her soft and sweet features. When she looked at him, it seemed as if her whole heart and mind were focused on him, appearing to like him very much, but in reality, her heart was harder than anyone else's.
Hmph, she was the very definition of a stone-cold heart.
Xue Chenjing had always felt that although people were very intelligent, they were also easily fooled. He only needed to implant an unshakeable perception in their minds, and their brains would automatically rationalize and perfect its existence.
Just like the stone-guarding disciples on the back mountain of the Lishan Sword Sect, and those three people from the Ten Thousand Joys Sect.
When he implanted the perception of "he is her husband" into Yu Yi's mind, she automatically fabricated a plausible background for him, which even sounded quite good.
However, her favorability towards her husband was only three percent.
Xue Chenjing stared at the whorl on top of her head, his eyes growing increasingly gloomy, his heart beginning to stir once more.
Yu Yi remained oblivious, her head bowed before him as she carefully applied the burn ointment to his reddened hand. As she applied it, she gently blew on it, whispering, "It doesn't hurt anymore, it doesn't hurt."
Crane Senior Brother finished eating his fish and strode over on his long legs, giving a disdainful "caw" at him.
Xue Chenjing turned his gloomy gaze towards it, looking at it with murderous intent. The crane shuddered at his look, its feathers all puffing up as it flapped its wings and ran behind Yu Yi, cawing loudly in complaint.
Yu Yi pushed its head away, lightly scolding, "Don't cause trouble. How could Qiu possibly be mean to you?"
Xue Chenjing narrowed his eyes. The evil bird dared to complain first, it was simply too much. This could not be tolerated.
He casually raised his hand a bit, and something writhed within his sleeve. The ink-black cuff slid down his arm a few inches, revealing two bright red welts on his wrist. The edges of the welts showed marks of serrated teeth, clearly the handiwork of the crane.
Yu Yi was shocked and pushed his sleeve up further, revealing more welts. "How did you get so many injuries on your arm?"
Xue Chenjing quickly pulled down his sleeve to cover the wounds, withdrew his hand behind his back, and lowered his eyes, saying softly, "I'm fine. It doesn't hurt at all. I know Crane Senior Brother didn't mean it."
Behind Yu Yi, the crane's beak gaped open, its small bird eyes filled with disbelief. "Caw?"
It had clearly pecked his left hand, and hadn't even used much force! How could the wounds have moved to his right hand?
Yu Yi turned around, grabbed Crane Senior Brother's beak, and scolded it, punishing it by not allowing it to eat dinner that night.
The corners of Xue Chenjing's mouth turned up, and suddenly, his mood greatly improved.
