Xu Liling: “If I had gone, would I have come back so early?”
Could he be upset that he came home early to wait for her, but she went out instead?
Yingran buried herself back in his arms.
“I was so scared.”
Guan Yi thought for a moment.
In such remote mountain wilderness, it was indeed possible that a seriously injured cultivator from Yunzhou passed by, died here, and had their bones picked up and eaten by a dog.
But… dogs eating human flesh didn’t sound very good.
Guan Yi: “Don’t let your dog eat random things from now on. I’m heading off first.”
He patted Xu Liling’s shoulder and flew off on his sword.
Xu Liling held Yingran and sat back inside the house, poured her some water, and gently asked, “What did the walking corpse look like?”
Yingran: “Its face was pale and greenish, I don’t remember the rest. I was too scared.”
Xu Liling pulled her into his arms again and patted her gently.
“Stay indoors more these days.”
Yingran pushed him lightly.
“That won’t do, I have to go to the Xuan Office tomorrow.”
Xu Liling looked down at her without replying.
Yingran pursed her lips and thought: ‘Forget it, I might as well tell him what I’m thinking, or he’ll overthink and we’ll both end up unhappy.’
She opened her mouth to explain.
But Xu Liling spoke first: “What do you want for dinner?”
Yingran blinked.
He’s not jealous anymore?
Yingran: “Did you buy groceries?”
Xu Liling: “I bought pork belly. We still have some bok choy at home. It’s the right season for it.”
The groceries were bought in the village—cheap—so he bought a lot at once.
Yingran thought for a moment.
“I want fried pork. And bok choy soup.”
Xu Liling told her to rest, and went to the kitchen to cook.
Yingran wasn’t scared anymore.
With nothing to do, she went back to her room and resumed embroidering a bamboo-patterned sachet she was making for Xu Liling.
Xu Liling had a cool, pine-snow kind of fragrance on him—he didn’t really need a sachet.
But summer was coming.
A few days ago, when it got hot, Yingran had taken an ox cart to Yunshui County and smelled some unpleasant body odor from fellow passengers.
She figured that since Xu Liling also had to take ox carts to Jinshui Town, it’d be nice to prepare a refreshing sachet for him—so he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable sitting next to others.
While embroidering, she heard some noises from behind the house.
But living in the mountains, hearing odd sounds was normal.
She was used to it and had trained herself not to overthink.
Overthinking anything could make it scary.
Time always passed quickly when doing something.
When Xu Liling finished cooking and came back, he saw her with the needlework and told her not to continue.
“Sewing hurts the eyes.”
Yingran: “I don’t do it often. Just something to pass the time.”
Smiling brightly, she went with Xu Liling to the kitchen.
They brought out all the dishes together and sat down side by side.
Mealtimes were always peaceful.
She chattered on about her day, and casually explained why she insisted on going to the Xuan Office: “I want to buy a carriage soon. That way it’ll be easier for you to go to Jinshui Town, and I can visit Yunshui County too.”
Xu Liling paused with his chopsticks, then continued eating.
“I told you, you don’t need to do anything.”
Yingran pouted.
“But this home belongs to both of us. I can’t let you carry all the burden alone.”
Home.
Xu Liling silently savored the word and said no more.
Yingran ate quickly today.
Afterward, she squeezed onto Xu Liling’s bench and leaned against him, one hand resting around his waist, quietly keeping him company.
After he finished eating, he didn’t tell her to bathe first as usual. Instead, he instructed, “Wait a bit.”
Yingran didn’t understand but still waited patiently as Xu Liling cleaned the dishes and came back.
He took her hand and led her outside.
The weather was warming up.
The night sky was starry, the moon bright, and the wind cool.
Yingran: “Are we going for a walk?”
Xu Liling: “You want to take a walk?”
Yingran: “I thought you were taking me for one.”
Xu Liling: “No.”
As they spoke, he led her around the side of the house and turned a corner to the back.
Yingran gasped at the sight of the winged creature before her.
“A flying beast… Is this ours?!”
Yingran couldn’t hide her joy.
She ran toward the creature and circled around it.
“Where did you get the money for this?”
Even the lowest-grade flying beast cost at least a thousand spirit stones.
And this one was of such rare quality—it must’ve been expensive.
Xu Liling said casually, “Sold something. I told you last night—asked you to stay home today so I could bring this back for you.”
He walked behind her.
Yingran turned her face to him, sounding aggrieved but clearly acting spoiled: “But I was already asleep last night and didn’t hear clearly. And I told you I was going out. You still made a fuss with me.”
Xu Liling: “I won’t fuss tonight.”
He said it so calmly that Yingran blushed and gave him a push.
Then she laughed, looking at the beast with a complicated gaze.
“What did you sell to get that many spirit stones? Don’t tell me you sold a family heirloom?”
Xu Liling: “I don’t have any heirlooms.”
To him, those things were all junk.
He wrapped an arm around her waist, looked down at her.
“Want to go for a ride? Didn’t you say the view from the sky is beautiful?”
Yingran’s eyes sparkled, and she nodded eagerly.
Xu Liling mounted the beast first, then leaned over and lifted her up easily, seating her sideways in front of him.
He held her securely in his arms.
Yingran gave a small cry and teased, “Huaizhen, you’re so strong.”
He looked like a frail scholar.
When he accompanied her back to her family home, her relatives often made him do chores on purpose.
He’d always say, “I can’t carry that.”
But when it came to her, he was always strong.
Xu Liling glanced down at her and flicked the whip.
The flying beast spread its wings and soared into the air.
Yingran nestled in his arms.
The night wind tangled their long hair together—inseparable.
Xu Liling: “How does this feel compared to riding a flying sword?”
It was deep in the night, not a modern city.
The mountains were dim, shadows everywhere.
Yingran still gave him face.
“Really beautiful.”
Xu Liling was unimpressed.
“It’s pitch black. What’s so beautiful about it?”
Yingran bumped her head lightly into his chest.
“Then why did you ask?”
Xu Liling laughed softly.
Yingran laughed too.
She wanted to hug him, but didn’t dare move too much on the flying beast, so she simply leaned fully into his arms and looked up at him.
“Really beautiful.”
Xu Liling lowered his gaze to her for a while, then leaned down and kissed her on the eyes.
Yingran closed her eyes for a moment.
When his lips finally left hers, she opened them with a smile, her eyes curved like crescent moons.
“Look at the sky,” she said.
Xu Liling looked up.
The sky was filled with stars, and under the moonlight, it felt like the light shone just for the two of them.
Yingran said, “I was actually pretty scared standing on the flying horse earlier. I even broke out in a cold sweat. I think I’m afraid of heights.”
Xu Liling asked, “Then why aren’t you scared now?”
Yingran’s eyes reflected the moon, the stars—and him.
“But now, I’m not scared at all. Huaizhen, do you know why that is?”
She waited for Xu Liling to ask “Why?”, so she could tell him, because you’re with me.
But Xu Liling said, “The flying horse is more stable.”
It was the truth, but…
Yingran rolled her eyes at him without hesitation.
Xu Liling pinched her cheek.
The restlessness and darkness within him urged him to do something more—to make her scream in fear.
But he did nothing.
He simply accompanied her for another loop in the sky, then landed.
“The water’s boiled. Go take a bath.”
Yingran nodded, lovingly patted their flying horse, and ran off lightly to the side room to bathe.
As she sank into the warm bath, the soothing water melted away her fatigue.
Yingran closed her eyes and thought contentedly: ‘If only I could spend the rest of my life like this with Huaizhen.’
***
The next morning, Xu Liling woke up and called Yingran awake too.
They had slept early the night before, so when Yingran woke up she was just a bit dazed, not tired.
“What’s wrong?”
Xu Liling replied, “Didn’t you say you wanted to go to the Xuan Office and copy old case files?”
Yingran blinked.
“Didn’t you say I didn’t need to tire myself out?”
Xu Liling said, “Go suffer a little, and you’ll realize how nice comfort really is.”
Yingran laughed at how absurd it was, and got out of bed.
Xu Liling had sold a family heirloom to buy the flying horse.
She wanted to do her part for their future too.
Besides, getting the flying horse wasn’t their end goal—she still wanted to move to Jinshui Town.
That way, it’d be easier for Xu Liling to get to work, and for her to go out and have fun.
As for the distance from her family?
That suited her just fine.
Every time she went home, her father lectured her with the “Three Obediences and Four Virtues.”
Lately, he’d even started saying, “Of the three unfilial acts, having no offspring is the worst.”
But she and Xu Liling had agreed before getting married—they didn’t want children for now.
They were still just kids themselves.
She was only nineteen, and Xu Liling still looked like a youth, though he said he was older than her.
How much older?
He said he hadn’t really counted.
Sometimes, Yingran wondered if he was actually younger and just afraid to say.
Returning to the present, Yingran got ready with Xu Liling.
It was rare for them to rise this early together, and he even helped her comb her hair.
His skills were awful.
No wonder, before they were married, he always wore his hair loose.
Yingran thought this but praised him aloud: “Looks pretty good.”
Xu Liling patted her head.
“You have great taste.”
…Was that a compliment?
Yingran caught the implication—he did her hair badly on purpose, and she still praised it.
He seemed amused.
But his face remained neutral.
Yingran quietly tidied her bun and headed out with him.
With the flying horse, their journey was much faster.
Xu Liling personally dropped her off at the Xuan Office and still had time to get to Jinshui Town.
Guan Yi was already on duty.
He brought Yingran to the back storage room.
“These old case files are really worn. They used regular paper back then. Now the office has distributed new luminous paper—the writing on it can last for centuries without fading.”Yingran found this fascinating.
Guan Yi raised a brow.