Yu Yi woke up to find the room still shrouded in darkness.
She got up and lit a candle, glancing at the water clock on the desk - it was already halfway through the Chen hour (7-9 AM).
The windows of this household were covered with translucent tiles, made from shells ground as thin as paper and attached piece by piece to the window frames, giving off a pearl-like luster.
Even when strong sunlight passed through these windows, it would transform into a soft, frost-like glow. Now, with just a single candle lit inside, the reflection from the translucent tiles on all four sides created a gentle radiance that illuminated the entire room.
Yu Yi put on her clothes and pushed the window slightly open. Outside, the sky was dim, covered by thick clouds. With her Thunder Spirit Root, she was particularly sensitive to the electrical energy in the air - clearly, last night's storm hadn't exhausted all the thunder and lightning in the clouds.
"Liang Province, Liang Province..." Yu Yi muttered, stroking her chin. Suddenly, her eyes lit up with excitement, "Ah, so this is where I am."
She recalled reading about this place in a geographic chronicle. The book mentioned that Liang Province was a coastal city, and thirty li away from it, there was an Immortal Ascension Platform on a reef island. Legend had it that a powerful cultivator had once achieved ascension there, causing the gates of heaven to open.
The aftermath of that ascension lingered long afterward. Ever since then, around the anniversary of the cultivator's ascension, Liang Province would experience thunderstorms. These weather patterns varied in duration - sometimes lasting mere moments, other times persisting for ten to fifteen days.
During such weather, ordinary people mostly stayed indoors, afraid to venture out. However, for cultivators with Thunder Spirit Roots, it was an excellent opportunity to refine their abilities.
Yu Yi had been struck by lightning the previous night, and her Thunder Spirit Root had absorbed plenty of electrical energy. After meditation to process it and a good night's sleep, she now felt refreshed and energized - so much so that she felt she could transform into an electric pole and power an entire village for a day.
Unfortunately, this world didn't have electric lights yet.
It was said that during thunderstorms, those who climbed the Immortal Ascension Platform could witness visions of that powerful cultivator's ascension. For those destined to ascend, the gates of heaven would open slightly, allowing them to glimpse the immortal realm and gain enlightenment.
Since she was already here, Yu Yi couldn't pass up such an opportunity. She quickly dressed herself properly and headed out.
Just then, Xue Mingyuan came in from the courtyard carrying a large tray of breakfast items, including the fish that Crane Senior Brother had been craving all night.
As the aroma of fish wafted through the window crack, there was a loud clang from inside the room, followed by Crane Senior Brother pushing open the window with his wings and tumbling out.
Xue Mingyuan couldn't help but smile, his eyes crinkling, "Yi'er, let's eat something first. Crane Senior Brother's timing is perfect too."
He carried the tray into the hall, and Yu Yi followed, helping to arrange the small dishes and pastries on the table.
Xue Mingyuan placed a bowl of soft eight-treasure congee in front of her, saying, "When I got up this morning, Qi Steward sent someone to ask what we'd like to eat. I requested them to make eight-treasure congee. Try it - it should taste good."
Yu Yi scooped up some congee with her spoon. The porridge was very thick, filled with red dates, longan, peanuts, lotus seeds, and other ingredients. The sweet fragrance wafting up with the steam made her mouth water before she even tasted it.
"Thank you," Yu Yi said gratefully. After taking a bite, she smiled and added, "It's delicious."
The last time she had eight-treasure congee was at Cloud Mountain, made by Xue Chenjing. She still wondered how he had gathered all the ingredients in that remote valley. He had added plenty of sugar, but the congee had been slightly burnt.
The beans in the congee had been cooked to mush, making it impossible to distinguish what they originally were. When eaten, the sweetness barely masked the burnt taste.
Back then, she had only taken one bite before spitting it out, putting down her spoon in disgust and declaring that the burnt congee was inedible.
Xue Chenjing had been furious enough to bite someone, surrounded by that gloomy aura that made her want to draw her sword. Yet he had forced himself to smile tolerantly and apologize, explaining that he had dozed off while cooking it in the middle of the night and hadn't paid attention to the heat.
He had tried to coax her into taking just one more bite, insisting that if she would just eat and swallow that one bite, he would consider his task complete.
Yu Yi had stubbornly refused, even rinsing her mouth with water right in front of him. No matter how he pleaded, she wouldn't touch the congee again.
Out of options, Xue Chenjing had finally snatched the bowl away from her in frustration, his eyes red as he angrily finished the entire bowl of burnt congee himself. Not only did he finish what was in the bowl, but he also stormed into the kitchen and ate all the remaining congee in the pot, like a child throwing a tantrum.
He ate so much he ended up crouching by the stove, feeling nauseous.
Seeing him like that, Yu Yi had started feeling a bit guilty, wondering if she'd been too harsh. Then she heard the system shouting: "Master, please endure it a bit longer, this is all for the female lead's favor points!"
"Poison? No, no, no! You absolutely cannot think like that! You can't even consider it! Master, she's your wife!"
"You're about to be sick yourself, which proves the congee really wasn't good, so you can't blame the female lead. Hey, hey, hey, don't be angry - it's my fault, I gave you the wrong cooking instructions. Let's find a different recipe and make another pot of congee..."
Yu Yi took another spoonful of congee, savoring the sweetness on her tongue. She noticed that when she was with Xue Mingyuan, she rarely heard the system's voice, and it was also difficult to read his thoughts.
Xue Mingyuan noticed her expression and asked curiously, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the congee?"
Yu Yi snapped back to reality, looked up at him, and replied, "No, it's very good. It's cooked perfectly - the rice is soft, and the peanuts and lotus seeds are tender enough to melt in your mouth."
Xue Mingyuan swallowed his food, put down his chopsticks, and made to stand up, saying, "If you like it, I'll go get you another bowl."
Yu Yi quickly said, "No need, no need. I can't eat that much - one bowl is enough."
Only then did Xue Mingyuan sit back down. He ate his meal methodically, not only paying attention to Yu Yi and pushing her favorite dishes toward her but also taking care of Crane Senior Brother.
Whenever he noticed the crane looking at certain dishes or pastries a bit longer, he would automatically put some onto the plate with the steamed fish.
Crane Senior Brother would nuzzle his hand in gratitude, seemingly quite fond of him.
When they were almost finished eating, Yu Yi put down her chopsticks, and Xue Mingyuan said, "During these days, the area around Liang Province has been experiencing thunderstorms. To prevent citizens from getting hurt, the city gates are closed, so we'll have to impose on our hosts for a few more days."
Yu Yi nodded, "Then we should prepare some thank-you gifts."
"Don't worry about that," Xue Mingyuan poured her a cup of tea to cleanse her palate, speaking in an unhurried, melodious voice, "I heard from Qi Steward that the family believes in the Dao and wants their young children to pursue cultivation. So I plan to transcribe some introductory scriptures as gifts for them."
Indeed, such gifts would be more appreciated than money. After all, a family that could own such a magnificent villa probably didn't lack for wealth.
Yu Yi naturally agreed, saying, "Then I'll select some basic sword manuals as gifts too. If those children have the talent and fate to pursue cultivation, they might choose the path of the sword."
Xue Mingyuan nodded, "That's good."
Today, Yu Yi wore a sleek dress with narrow sleeves - a white outer robe over a scarlet inner garment, with a red sash tightly cinching her waist, accentuating its graceful curve. The white skirt had slits that revealed flashes of the eye-catching red underneath as she moved, like rays of sunlight occasionally breaking through dark clouds.
Xue Mingyuan's eyes caught that glimpse of red as he asked, "Are you going out?"
"Yes, I heard there's an Immortal Ascension Platform outside Liang Province where one can see the gates of heaven during thunderstorms. I want to go take a look." Yu Yi tilted her head back, looking out from the square courtyard at the sky where thick clouds gathered and faint bolts of lightning danced between them. She estimated it wouldn't be long before another thunderstorm broke out.
Xue Mingyuan said somewhat enviously, "It's a pity that only cultivators with Thunder Spirit Roots have the chance to climb that platform."
Yu Yi turned back to comfort him, "Don't worry, if I see anything, I'll tell you what the heavenly gates look like."
Crane Senior Brother, still traumatized from being electrocuted by her the previous night, abandoned his meal at the mention of her going out in such weather and immediately slid off the table, hiding underneath it.
Yu Yi felt both annoyed and amused. "I understand. I won't let you take me there."
Xue Mingyuan smiled and said, "I'll look after Crane Senior Brother. Will you return soon?"
Yu Yi's gaze shifted from Crane Senior Brother back to Xue Mingyuan. He was gentle and attentive, considerate to the smallest detail, yet he knew his boundaries and wouldn't cling to her inappropriately like a certain someone else.
Yu Yi looked at him for a moment before nodding. "Alright, thank you for your help."
With that, she summoned her Green Bamboo Sword with a wave of her hand, and her figure transformed into a dazzling rainbow, flying into the dark sky.
Xue Mingyuan stared in the direction she had gone, frowning slightly as if in pain, and raised his hand to massage his brow. His brother was being unbearably noisy, constantly churning in their shared mindscape, giving him no peace.
Xue Chenjing struggled violently against the silk threads binding him, even though they remained firmly wrapped around his soul, and shouted, "You useless thing! Scared of a little lightning? Why didn't you go with her? If you won't go, let me out! Let me follow her!"
Xue Mingyuan hadn't wanted to respond, but his brother was too loud. That anxious emotion rolling through their mindscape even affected him, making it difficult to maintain his peace of mind.
He let out a soft breath and said gently, "Don't worry, she'll come back."
Xue Chenjing suddenly fell silent, his fingers gripping the threads in front of him. After a while, he laughed bitterly and said through gritted teeth, "Yes, she'll come back. Crane Senior Brother is still here. She trusted you enough to leave him in your care."
Xue Mingyuan turned to look at the crane emerging from under the table. His heart skipped a beat at those words, and he couldn't suppress a feeling of joy as he murmured, "Yes, I'm honored."
Xue Chenjing: "..."
After a moment of silence, he suddenly became more frenzied, demanding, "Xue Mingyuan, do you love her? What right do you have to love her? Look at the oath stone in our mindscape—she's mine! I went through countless efforts to win her!"
Yu Yi's favorability toward him had already reached sixty-eight percent. Even if some of that was thanks to Xue Mingyuan's efforts, surely some of it belonged to him!
He couldn't tolerate Xue Mingyuan stealing his portion—what right did he have?!
Xue Mingyuan didn't respond further. He cleaned up the bowls and dishes on the table, handed them to the servants waiting outside the courtyard, washed his hands, spread out rice paper, and began transcribing scriptures.
Crane Senior Brother wandered around the courtyard for a while, but when thunder and lightning began crackling overhead again, he quickly took shelter inside, watching Xue Mingyuan write with a bobbing head.
After finishing one scripture, Xue Mingyuan hung it on a nearby rack to dry. Seeing him blow on the paper, Crane Senior Brother flapped his wings to help fan the ink dry faster.
Xue Mingyuan reached out to pat his head. "Thank you, Crane Senior Brother."
The person in their mindscape seemed provoked by this scene, trembling all over. Xue Chenjing had always known how likable Xue Mingyuan was—everyone loved him, even Crane Senior Brother preferred him.
Lying in the cage woven by their parents, each thread of thought-force represented how they had chosen Xue Mingyuan over him. If even their parents did this, what could he expect from others?
The defiance and rebelliousness in Xue Chenjing gradually softened, like a moth finally accepting its fate and ceasing to struggle. He lowered his head in submission and pleaded, "Brother, I was wrong. Please don't love her. I'll agree to anything you want, just please don't love her."
Xue Mingyuan's hand froze, and ink dripped from his brush tip onto the paper, blotting the character he had just written. He was almost finished with this scripture, with only two or three characters remaining.
He set down his brush and lifted the rice paper, regretfully scanning the dense characters before crumpling it into a ball and crushing it with spiritual power, scattering it outside the window.
"I want you to destroy those demons that share your existence."
"Would you agree to that?"
