Spring days were often rainy, with short daylight hours, especially in these deep mountain valleys. Before dusk, darkness had already descended, and an orange light glowed from inside the small wooden cabin.
A light drizzle fell outside the eaves, and the oil lamp's flame flickered, suddenly extinguished by a gust of wind with a soft hiss.
Yu Yi, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket, unconsciously dozed off while sitting on a round cushion. This place was devoid of spiritual energy, and the spiritual power in her meridians had not fully recovered. Still, she hadn't given up, meditating and practicing for long hours every day.
Any recovery, no matter how small, was worthwhile.
Xue Chenjing approached Yu Yi, his footsteps inaudible. The only lit oil lamp behind him cast his shadow on the ground. As he drew closer, the shadow gradually crept up the hem of her dress spread on the floor.
Something writhed continually at the edges of the shadow, distorting his silhouette into something inhuman. The shadow suddenly expanded, unfurling several grotesque tentacles that coiled around Yu Yi.
The person sitting cross-legged on the cushion nodded off slightly, her body swaying. The shadow projected on the ground seemed to startle, abruptly retracting its tentacles and resuming a human shape.
Yu Yi, half-asleep, lifted her eyelids slightly and called out with a soft, nasal voice, "Xue Qiu?"
Xue Chenjing remained silent for a moment, then crouched beside her and said quietly, "If you're tired, go sleep on the bed."
"No, I'm waiting for you, and I haven't finished this cycle of cultivation yet," Yu Yi murmured, her eyes narrowed and body swaying, clearly on the verge of sleep. She mumbled, "Why did we settle here? We should have found a place with spiritual veins..."
Her voice grew fainter, and she nodded off again.
Xue Chenjing took out a Spirit Pill from his storage pouch. He forcefully divided the pill, no larger than a fingernail, into three equal parts, and fed one small piece into her mouth.
If Yu Yi's spiritual power didn't recover, she definitely wouldn't be able to stay here. But if it recovered too quickly... Xue Chenjing winced, recalling how her sword spirit had mangled his face.
According to his initial plan, he had wanted to feed Yu Yi Earth Impurity every day, letting the filth and evil within it devour her Golden Core and corrode her Spirit Root completely. He wanted to turn her into a cripple incapable of cultivation. This way, she would have to rely on him, obediently stay by his side, and become a puppet solely devoted to loving him and helping him complete his tasks.
But the system was annoyingly persistent. Whenever he considered doing this, it would scream in his head, warning him of mission failure.
It hadn't been so protective of him when Yu Yi was beating him up.
So, Xue Chenjing had no choice but to feed her a small amount of Spirit Pill every day, allowing her to recover just a little bit. This way, she wouldn't have enough spiritual power to attack him again.
After feeding her the pill, he cradled her face, pressing his forehead against hers. Invisible tentacles slowly writhed in the air, embracing them both.
In her light sleep, Yu Yi seemed to fall into a viscous, cold pond. Sticky, damp air seeped through every pore of her skin. The sound of murmuring waves and voices began to echo in her mind again, as if every nerve was being grasped, transmitting an irrefutable message.
—I am your husband, you should like me, like me like me like me like me
Yu Yi mumbled in her sleep, "Mm, I like you, I like you very much..."
Xue Chenjing's eyes brightened with excitement. He eagerly asked the system, "What's the favorability now?"
The system replied, "...Six percent."
The joy in Xue Chenjing's eyes vanished, his expression turning gloomy again as he lowered his gaze, staring intently at the sleeping person.
—No, you don't like me enough, what kind of liking is six percent? You should like me one hundred percent, like me like me like me
Yu Yi's mind felt swollen, and she groaned uncomfortably. Xue Chenjing still didn't let go of her. In his pitch-black eyes, the silvery-white vertical pupils dilated, almost occupying half of his irises. Invisible fine threads, like floating fungal hyphae, extended from within, adhering to Yu Yi's face.
Xue Chenjing's fingertips unconsciously caressed her smooth cheeks. In the dim glow of the oil lamp, the writhing tentacles in the air crowded around them, their appendages wrapping around Yu Yi's wrists, waist, and neck.
The rounded tip of one tentacle pressed against her lower lip, feeling her warm breath as she mumbled, gently rubbing her bottom lip.
—Not enough not enough not enough not enough, you can like me even more, please like me a little more, okay?
"Mm, okay, I like like you..." Yu Yi murmured.
Xue Chenjing asked again, "Favorability?"
The system was speechless. Every night was like this, every single night! The host never tired of it, but the system was growing weary of answering. Nonetheless, it reluctantly replied truthfully, "Six percent."
Xue Chenjing's chest heaved as he took a deep breath. In that moment, the tentacles filling the room expanded in fury, causing the small wooden cabin to implode from within. The four walls and roof shattered and flew outward, dissipating into mist in the light rain.
Raindrops fell directly, splashing visible ripples on the massive cluster of tentacles.
Surrounded by the tentacles, not a single raindrop touched Yu Yi. The voice in her mind continued uninterrupted, pleading with her.
—Will you like me? Please like me a little more, I beg you to like me a little more please please please like me a little more okay?
In the quiet valley, Senior Crane stood obliviously on one leg in the hot spring, its long neck twisted back and tucked into its wings as it slept.
Suddenly, the light rain in the valley began to behave strangely. The drizzle trembled in mid-air, as if under the impact of extremely strong sound waves, yet no sound could be heard upon careful listening.
Yu Yi's lips moved slightly, finally unable to bear it, and she whispered almost inaudibly, "It hurts..."
The system panicked and screamed, "Master, Master, stop quickly, the female protagonist says she's in pain—"
Xue Chenjing's snow-white pupils suddenly contracted, the surrounding iris enveloping them once more, concealing those eerie vertical pupils deep within his eyes. He regained human-like eyes, his expression somewhat dazed.
The trembling raindrops in mid-air returned to normal, falling once again.
Mist from the Earth Impurity drifted out of the rain, restoring the shattered wooden cabin. The small oil lamp on the table flickered, its flame reigniting.
Xue Chenjing lowered his gaze to the person in his arms and said dejectedly, "Still no change?"
The system remained silent.
Damn it, he had gone to such lengths, couldn't she like him a little more? Nothing but a smooth-talking liar!
Xue Chenjing, frustrated and exasperated, shoved Yu Yi away, letting her fall to the ground, and stood up to leave.
Suddenly, a blood-red monster rushed out of the rain curtain, charging towards him on all fours. Its teeth chattered excitedly, its chin dripping with what could have been either rainwater or saliva.
"So annoying," Xue Chenjing growled, kicking it back into the rain curtain. He wiped his face roughly with his sleeve, then tore off the cuff, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it out.
The Bone Demon leapt up instantly, caught the sleeve in its mouth, and carefully protected it from the rain. It ran happily into the night, disappearing from sight.
Xue Chenjing crouched under the eaves, hugging his knees, his shoulders trembling slightly as he occasionally sniffled, trying hard to hold back tears. Otherwise, the Bone Demon would charge over excitedly like a dog smelling excrement, the tactless thing.
He opened his palm, revealing an ancient, grayish-white stone. The stone was irregularly shaped, like a miniature mountain range resting in his palm. In the center, the character for "seal" was inscribed in wild cursive script.
Xue Chenjing attempted to open it again, but to no avail.
The night in the valley grew deep, with only a small flicker of candlelight from the wooden cabin. Xue Chenjing leaned dejectedly against the doorframe, curled up with his knees hugged to his chest in the cold spring night wind, staring blankly at the Sword-Sealing Stone in his hand, looking utterly miserable.
After a long while, the system finally gave a weak chime in his ear, issuing a temporary task urging him to carry the female protagonist to bed and tuck her in before leaving.
The system cautiously said, "If the female protagonist sleeps on the ground like this, she'll get sick."
Xue Chenjing's fingers closed around the Sword-Sealing Stone as he let out a contemptuous snort, his voice thick with nasal congestion, "Let her die of illness then."
"Master, if the female protagonist dies, you'll never be able to open the Sword-Sealing Stone..."
Before the system could finish speaking, Xue Chenjing had already stood up and walked back into the room. He bent down to pick her up and carried her to the bed in the inner chamber. The system called in his ear, "Gently, gently, you need to be more tender."
Xue Chenjing impatiently said, "Shut up."
Under the system's nagging, he resisted the urge to simply throw her onto the bed. He eased his grip slightly, bending down to lay her flat on the bed, then shook out the blanket to cover her before turning to leave.
The system, like a fussy old nanny, said disapprovingly, "You should remove the hairpins from her head, otherwise she'll be uncomfortable sleeping like that."
"What does her comfort have to do with me?" Xue Chenjing said coldly.
The system sighed. Its host was truly a hopeless case. "It's because you're so inconsiderate that the female lead doesn't like you. That's why your favorability never increases."
Xue Chenjing angrily retorted, "If you say one more word, I'll kill her!"
The system: "......"
For the sake of favorability, he had endured so much. What was removing a few hairpins in comparison? Xue Chenjing sat back down on the edge of the bed, leaning over to carefully remove all the ornaments from her hair, placing them on the bedside table.
"Is this satisfactory now?" Xue Chenjing snorted.
The system: "......"
Xue Chenjing: "Speak."
"Yes, absolutely, master is amazing." The system replied wearily. You're truly difficult to please.
What a predicament, why did it have to be bound to the male lead? It wanted to be bound to the adorable female lead, it wanted to be close to the female lead. If it were bound to the female lead, it would surely be very happy right now.
Just as Xue Chenjing was about to stand up and leave, his neck was suddenly encircled by someone's arms.
Yu Yi had struggled awake. Her slender arms reached out from under the covers, wrapping around his neck and pulling him down closer to her. Her voice was soft with sleepiness as she murmured, "Husband, did I fall asleep alone again?"
Xue Chenjing propped himself up on his elbow, his body stiff as he tried to pull back. He turned his head to see Yu Yi's slightly opened eyes, adjusted his tone, and said gently, "It's very late, go back to sleep."
Yu Yi rubbed her eyes, forcing herself to become more alert. She shook her head, "No, I don't want to sleep now. Didn't I say I was waiting for you?"
In the past, she would always be asleep while Xue Qiu was still busy, though she didn't know what he was busy with. By the time Yu Yi woke up, he would have already risen. As a result, Yu Yi had no memory of sharing a bed with him while awake.
Xue Chenjing didn't understand her hint. He lightly patted her forehead, coaxing, "You sleep, why wait for me? I haven't finished cleaning up the kitchen yet."
"Don't clean up, it can wait until tomorrow," Yu Yi said, not releasing her arms from around his neck. One of her legs emerged from under the covers, hooking around his waist. Her dark eyes shimmered in the candlelight, and she said somewhat shyly, "Of course I'm waiting for my husband to do what married couples do."
Xue Chenjing froze. "Hm?"
Yu Yi narrowed her eyes. In the dim light, she saw pure bewilderment in Xue Qiu's slightly swollen peach blossom eyes. He seemed to have no understanding of what married couples did.
They had been married for three years, living alone as man and wife in this remote mountain forest. Could it be that they had never consummated their marriage?
No wonder she had no memory of such things. It was too unreasonable.
The system reacted faster than Xue Chenjing, quickly reminding him, "Master, in the female lead's mind, you've been married for three years. You can't act like you've never done anything. Be more experienced!"
Xue Chenjing: "......"
Yu Yi: "......"
The system had deliberately emphasized "in the female lead's mind," which sounded odd no matter how you interpreted it.
As Yu Yi pondered this, she suddenly heard Xue Qiu say softly, "Alright then."
She looked at him in surprise, only to see the young man lowering his eyes, gazing deeply at her. The bewilderment in his eyes had vanished. He reached out to tuck a strand of her black hair behind her ear, his fingers sliding to the nape of her neck, cradling her head.
The cool touch of his fingertips made her shiver slightly, a tingling sensation spreading across the back of her neck, raising goosebumps.
This looked like the prelude to a kiss.
They were extremely close, their noses almost touching, their breaths mingling. Even across that tiny distance, Yu Yi could feel the cool, moist air from his lips.
Her eyes widened involuntarily, her heart skipping a beat.
Xue Chenjing's fingers at the back of her head applied slight pressure, and Yu Yi's eyelashes fluttered violently before she fainted.
The arms around his neck fell limply, and Xue Chenjing sat up, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
But merely making her faint wouldn't be enough to complete the task. She would surely be suspicious when she woke up tomorrow. Xue Chenjing furrowed his brow in thought for a moment, then leaned down close to her again.
Beneath the shadow of his eyelashes, his black pupils gradually elongated, transforming into silver needles. A bewitching whisper once again entered Yu Yi's subconscious.
-- Your husband is very skilled, extremely skilled. We cultivated together until dawn, and you finally fainted from exhaustion!
The system had originally planned to politely shut down, but upon seeing its host's bizarre actions, it fell silent for a while before asking uncertainly, "Master, could it be that you don't know how?"
Xue Chenjing paused, recalling how he had lost his composure when electrocuted by her sword, helplessly having several of his tentacles severed and his facial bones crushed. He felt nothing but aversion towards such acts.
He lowered his eyes, glancing contemptuously at Yu Yi, and said coldly, "Only humans would indulge in such base physical coupling."
