“That’s the difference between the Xuan Dao world and the mortal world. Anyway, get copying. I have work to do.”
Yingran nodded and watched him leave.
Though a part of her yearned for the Xuan Dao world, she was now a mortal—and she liked her mortal life very much.
So she didn’t think too much of Guan Yi’s words and got to copying case files.
***
From outside the tightly shut window came a low, hoarse voice.
Yingran froze, her scalp tingling in fear.
Slowly, she rose to her feet.
This was the Xuan Office—surely there wouldn’t be any ghosts?
Was she imagining things?
But the voice continued: “I… system… wrong world… let me in…”
This time, Yingran didn’t scream and flee.
She forced herself to listen closely.
She was stunned, doubting her ears.
Had she just heard the words system and mission—the kind that only appeared in transmigration novels?
She stopped copying and walked toward the source of the voice, listening carefully.
The voice was weak and difficult to hear: “Host… wrong… connect quickly… demon lord… world destruction… save…”
“Host… let me… restart…”
Yingran listened quietly.
From these broken phrases, she pieced together a wild, unbelievable guess.
She stood in deep thought for a while, then suddenly turned and bolted outside.
“Ghost!!!”
She burst from the archive room, face full of panic—though in truth, she wasn’t afraid, just overwhelmed.
After nineteen years in this world, it seemed she was suddenly being called a “host” with a system and a mission.
She didn’t know what the mission was, or what system it referred to.
But she did know—she was currently very happy.
If she went off to do that so-called mission, everything she had now would be shattered.
Worse—based on her experience reading transmigration novels—she might even have to leave Xu Liling and go do something strange and ridiculous.
“Host?!”
The voice burst out again in disbelief.
Xuan officers rushed over in response to the noise, kicking open the window of the storage room—and sure enough, they found a body outside.
A corpse.
Guan Yi frowned.
“Whatever that thing was, it possessed this corpse and fled… It could bypass the Xuan Office’s formations.”
The officers said, “Its cultivation must be high. We’ll have to report this to the court and see if they need to send higher-level officers.”
Yingran hid behind the officers, not daring to look at the corpse.
She looked up at the blue sky instead and thought:
I hope that system never comes back for me.
Whatever that mission is—I don’t want to do it.
***
That morning, when Xu Liling had dropped her off, he said he’d come back in the afternoon.
By evening, he came to pick her up.
Guan Yi, per her request, didn’t tell Xu Liling what had happened.
Still, those broken words from the system lingered in Yingran’s mind.
She couldn’t fully ignore them.
On the way home, Yingran leaned quietly against Xu Liling, deep in thought.
Xu Liling looked at her for a while and said, “The view’s beautiful right now, and you’re not even looking.”
Yingran looked up.
Their flying horse stepped through the glowing clouds, the colors like silk banners painting the sky—it truly was beautiful.
Xu Liling placed a hand on her belly and gently patted it.
“Tired?”
Yingran nodded.
He asked, “Going again tomorrow?”
Yingran paused and shook her head.
“No.”
She had only encountered the system because she went to Yunshui County.
It was probably lying in wait there—best to avoid it.
Xu Liling brushed aside her hair, tousled by the evening wind.
“What should we have for dinner?”
Yingran thought for a moment.
“Porridge. I want something light.”
Xu Liling replied, “Alright.”
Yingran looked at him for a long time, then cast aside her chaotic thoughts and smiled.
‘Why worry myself over it? I still have a good life to live with my husband.’
She said, “I saw something interesting today while copying old cases—there was a little sprite in Yunshui County who once…”
She chatted with him in a rambling way about the story she had seen today while sorting through old case files.
To a mortal like her, those mysterious Daoist matters were as novel as tales of the supernatural.
But because she lived within such tales, they also made her somewhat afraid.
Xu Liling listened, occasionally commenting, “That spirit creature and the Xuan Attendant were both useless.”
Yingran curled up in his arms, laughing aloud.
She teased, “Yes, yes. You, the bookkeeper, are the most powerful. You can kill demons with just an abacus!”
As they joked, the flying steed landed in front of the small courtyard.
Yingran’s heart had already become completely light and cheerful.
As usual, Xu Liling tossed the meat bones to the dog, then went to tie up the flying steed in the back of the house.
Yingran stayed in the courtyard, collecting the clothes Xu Liling had washed in the morning.
Night gradually fell, and smoke began to rise from the kitchen chimney.
Since porridge took longer to cook, Yingran and Xu Liling sat at the kitchen door, shelling edamame under the kitchen light.
She said, “How about I go to Jinshui Town tomorrow to find a job? Then I could leave with you and return home with you every day.”
Today, walking home with Xu Liling gave Yingran a feeling like no other.
Xu Liling replied, “There’s no job in Jinshui Town easier than sorting old case files.”
Yingran pouted.
Xu Liling said, “If you just want to have fun in Jinshui Town, I’ll take you tomorrow.”
Yingran laughed, leaned over, and flopped onto Xu Liling.
“Okay.”
***
The next morning, Xu Liling woke Yingran up.
After they washed up together, he did her hair and rode the flying steed with her to Jinshui Town.
Jinshui Town wasn’t large, but it had many big shops.
Small vendors from Yunshui County liked to come here to restock.
Xu Liling worked as a bookkeeper in a bookshop there.
A bookkeeper didn’t need to stay in the shop all day.
He just needed to tell the shopkeeper if he was going out.
The shopkeeper had seen Yingran before, and today greeted her with a big smile, giving Xu Liling time off to show her around the town.
Yingran wandered around Jinshui Town with Xu Liling, eating and browsing.
After noon, an urgent matter arose at the bookshop, so Xu Liling went back to handle it.
Yingran found a teahouse and listened to a storyteller.
In the evening, she returned home with Xu Liling and told him the tale she’d heard.
Xu Liling didn’t offer any commentary today.
Looking at her smiling face in the glow of the sunset, he said, “How about from now on, you come to Jinshui Town with me in the morning, and we return home together at night?”
Yingran wanted that too, but…
She shook her head.
“We can’t afford to go out playing all the time. We already eat meat now and then—compared to ordinary households, we’re already living lavishly. We have to save money.”
Xu Liling didn’t reply.
He rubbed his chin against the top of her head.
“I’ll change jobs, find one that earns more spirit stones.”
Yingran quickly said, “No. Jobs that earn lots of spirit stones are usually dangerous. You’re doing great as a bookkeeper.”
“We’ll just save up slowly.”
She tilted her face up and kissed his chin.
Xu Liling lowered his head and kissed her lips.
Their gestures held no passion—just like two small animals affectionately nuzzling each other.
***
Half a month later.
“Good thing your brother-in-law bought the flying steed half a month ago,” said Guan Yi sternly after finishing his investigation of the sale. “If he’d gone yesterday, he might have been killed by that seller.”
He had brought two Xuan Attendants to investigate and now turned to Yingran with a serious expression.
Yingran was filled with lingering fear.
“How can a normal person suddenly turn into a demon? Wasn’t he just an ordinary man?”
She hadn’t been to Yunshui County in a while, and today, shortly after Xu Liling had left for Jinshui Town, Guan Yi came by to ask about the flying steed purchase.
Yingran asked why he suddenly wanted to check on that.
Guan Yi told her that the seller, Ma Chi, had turned into a demon.
Over the past two days, he had already killed two customers.
Because Ma Chi had originally been a mortal and lacked experience in killing, he was discovered quickly and had now gone into hiding.
Since Xu Liling had interacted with Ma Chi during the purchase, Guan Yi was visiting as a routine procedure to gather information.
“If a mortal never awakens their spiritual roots, they’ll never be able to cultivate. But becoming a demon only requires a stroke of fortune. That’s why demonic cultivation is rampant.”
“Our Yi King Continent is still relatively better off—demonic cultivators remain hidden. I heard in Yunzhou it’s total chaos. Demonic cultivators kill openly there.”
“But demonic techniques are all unorthodox and twisted. Sure, the cultivation progresses quickly, but it comes at the cost of your life. The higher your cultivation, the more likely you are to go mad, lose your senses, or die suddenly. Anyone who can cultivate the Dao wouldn’t choose the demonic path.”
The two Xuan Attendants spoke casually.
Guan Yi motioned for them to leave, saying he wanted to have tea with Yingran.
Inside, Yingran poured him water.
He took out two protective spirit talismans and handed them to her, his tone low and serious: “The opportunity Ma Chi had to cultivate into a demon isn’t so simple. These two protective talismans—one for you and one for your husband. Make sure he tries to come home before dark from now on. Don’t stay out too late.”
Yingran grew even more nervous.
“Is it that serious?”
Guan Yi looked around warily, as if afraid of something.
He lowered his voice again.
“The chance Ma Chi had—it was a blessing from the Holy Demon.”
“A blessing from the Holy Demon?”
“Shh, keep your voice down!”
Guan Yi glared.
“Anything tainted with the Holy Demon’s aura is considered a gift from him. This is no ordinary demonic chance—it’s like a mortal receiving the highest-tier spiritual root, guaranteed to become an immortal eventually.”
“Remember that storyteller at Yuehong, the one talking about the Holy Demon? His name shouldn’t be spoken.”
Yingran frowned.
“The Holy Demon is that powerful? Has he come to Yunshui County?”