“She said using a chamber pot would defile the Immortal Lord’s residence, and insisted on going to the yard to relieve herself. I saw her face full of sincerity, so I agreed, thinking she wasn’t lying, but who would have thought she could be so shameless…”
“Immortal Lord, this mortal is too despicable to be your wife. If you really want to marry, we can find another suitable woman from the East Yi…”
Outside, the intermittent voice of the guardian, Xin Xin, complaining could be heard.
Nan Shan was sitting on the big red wedding bed, both hands protecting her increasingly swollen right foot, not daring to make a sound.
After a long time, the noise outside suddenly stopped, and the door creaked as it was pushed open.
The person who entered was the Ji Yue Immortal Lord.
Nan Shan instinctively retreated, but because of the injury, she let out a muffled groan as pain surged, and tears welled up again.
“Don’t move.”
Ji Yue calmly approached, dragged a chair to sit by the bed, and then stretched out his hand.
His narrow, slender fingers touched the swollen ankle, causing a sharp pain.
Nan Shan was about to retreat again, but Ji Yue didn’t give her the chance.
His fingers turned to her unaffected calf and gently pulled it toward himself.
Though he looked thin, his strength was great.
By the time Nan Shan realized it, her bun-like right foot was already placed on his knee.
“It’s swollen badly, but it hasn’t hurt the tendons or bones. You don’t need to worry about any long-term damage.”
Ji Yue placed his hand on her ankle, and his palm gradually gathered a blood-red spiritual power.
The cool spiritual power immediately eased the burning pain, and Nan Shan froze for a moment, gathering the courage to look at him for the first time.
The person in front of her had a slender figure, dressed in a light blue cotton robe.
His hair was also tied with a fabric band of the same material.
When he lowered his head, his bangs naturally hung down, partially covering his brows and eyes, revealing only his sharp, handsome nose and well-shaped lips.
He looked like a frail scholar but also like a strong bamboo, and no matter how you looked at him, he didn’t seem like an immortal.
“Alright,” Ji Yue suddenly raised his head, his clear eyes meeting hers.
“Try moving it now.”
Nan Shan was still in a daze.
At his words, she cautiously moved her foot.
“It… it doesn’t hurt anymore…”
“But it’s still a bit swollen. You should rest in bed for now. Once the swelling goes down, you can walk again.”
Ji Yue spoke gently, his gaze once again falling on her foot.
Nan Shan followed his gaze and saw that her foot, which had been as swollen as a bun earlier, had already recovered quite a bit.
The skin was still slightly red, and it was only by noticing that she realized her foot was covered in dust, with sand stuck between her toes.
Compared to Ji Yue’s clean and neat fingers… her face suddenly turned red.
Ji Yue, however, didn’t mind.
He took out a clean handkerchief from his sleeve and gently wiped the sand off her foot.
He did this so naturally that Nan Shan didn’t realize it at first, only recognizing what had happened when he carefully placed her foot back on the bed.
“Rest well.”
He spoke softly and turned to leave.
The door creaked again, and as the sound faded, Nan Shan blinked and, once she realized she was alone in the room, looked at her foot in a daze.
Is… is that it?
Nan Shan lay back on the bed, recalling everything that had happened since she came to the East Yi, feeling as if it were all a dream…
No!
She couldn’t relax just because Ji Yue not only didn’t kill her but also healed her injury.
She had to remain vigilant at all times, remembering that he was an evil spirit, and whatever he did must have some ulterior motive.
She must not fall for it.
Nan Shan silently reminded herself over and over again, finally becoming alert and waiting for Ji Yue to appear again.
But after waiting for most of the day, the big evil spirit never came.
Instead, a small evil spirit showed up.
“Lied to me?
I hate it when people lie to me! What were you thinking?
You had the opportunity to be the esteemed Immortal Lord’s wife, but you want to return to your poor mortal life as a village girl?
Are you out of your mind? If you have a problem, just say it, I will never let the Immortal Lord marry a woman with a sick mind!”
“And running away… tsk, you’re really something. You didn’t even know where East Yi was, yet you dared to run off. Were you shocked when you saw the sea?
If the Immortal Lord hadn’t found you in time, were you planning to swim back? Can you even swim? Do you know the difference between swimming in a lake and swimming in the sea?”
Xin Xin stood at the bedside, hands on hips, pointing and scolding, determined to make Nan Shan feel the humiliation he had suffered.
Nan Shan casually dug at her ear and asked, “Did you deliberately come here to say all this just to stay in the Immortal Lord’s room a little longer?”
Her intentions were exposed, and Xin Xin’s fair face turned red.
“You’re talking nonsense!”
“It’s fine, nothing to be ashamed of,” Nan Shan said, ‘comforting’ her.
Xin Xin, irritated, shot back, “Don’t think that just because you’re chosen to be the Immortal Lord’s wife, I won’t dare do anything to you.”
“So, what are you going to do to me?” Nan Shan countered.
Clearly, he was uncertain.
Before revealing the true intentions of these big and small evil spirits, he didn’t dare offend her too much.
Nan Shan wisely shifted the topic:
“Do you have anything to eat? I’m hungry.”
“…You ran away and cried, causing chaos all over East Yi, and now you want to eat?”
Xin Xin looked incredulously at her.
Nan Shan thought to herself, she only ran through a few alleys, and it made all of East Yi chaotic?
Seems like East Yi isn’t that big after all.
Of course, she didn’t dare say that.
With a well-behaved expression, she added, “But I’m really hungry. You wouldn’t want the future Immortal Lord’s wife to starve, would you?”
Hitting the right spot, Xin Xin gave her a look of disdain.
“Wait here.”
Nan Shan immediately nodded, and after Xin Xin left, she sank into deep thought.
The small evil spirit’s performance was just like that of a normal brat.
If he was acting, he was doing an excellent job.
Just as Xin Xin walked out into the yard, he suddenly sneezed.
He didn’t leave for long before coming back, carrying fruits and roasted chicken.
Nan Shan, who had been spoiled by the chefs of Canglan Palace, frowned and asked, “Don’t you have any hot soup or hot food?”
“Having food is already good enough!”
Xin Xin grumbled in a rough voice.
Nan Shan pulled at her lip and obediently peeled a banana to eat.
Xin Xin, seeing her enjoy the food, suddenly asked, “Aren’t you afraid I poisoned it?”
“Everyone knows,” Nan Shan glanced at him, “the food others give you might be poisoned, but the food you take yourself definitely isn’t, and I’m eating a banana. How could you poison it? Smear poison on it and glue it on?”
Though she couldn’t quite pinpoint what was wrong, Xin Xin felt like she had been ridiculed.
“…You only eat bananas?”
“Yep, I only eat bananas,” Nan Shan knew the situation was unclear, and now she should act humble, but still provocatively took a big bite of the banana in front of him.
Xin Xin was both amused and angry.
“Alright, if you can just eat bananas, go ahead.”
Nan Shan shot him a glance, quickly finishing the banana.
Xin Xin sat cross-legged on the floor, obviously intent on watching her.
Nan Shan’s gaze kept drifting to the roasted chicken, but she stubbornly refrained from reaching for it.
After a few moments, Xin Xin gave up and tore off a chicken leg, handing it to her.
“Eat, eat. I can’t bear to let you starve to death.”
“Thanks, Xin Xin,” Nan Shan grinned, taking it and praising, “It’s delicious.”
Xin Xin snorted.
“This is an offering. How could it not be delicious?”
“An offering?”
Nan Shan widened her eyes.
Xin Xin: “What else? I didn’t want to ask that old man for food, so I gave you the offerings. After all, you’re the Immortal Lord’s wife, and everything the Immortal Lord has belongs to you. I’m not crossing any boundaries.”
Nan Shan looked at the chicken leg, then at him, then at the chicken leg again, and finally quickly swallowed the chicken meat in her mouth.
“Well, can I go to the front yard to have a look?”
“You?” Xin Xin raised an eyebrow.
Nan Shan put on a sincere face.
“Don’t worry, I won’t run away this time.”
“I’m not worried about you running away. After all, the Immortal Lord also ordered that you can do whatever you want. I’m not supposed to use the bell to imprison you anymore.”
…
Nan Shan quickly interrupted, “The Immortal Lord allowed me to go out?”
“Yeah,” Xin Xin glanced at her.
“You don’t plan to run away again, do you? Let me remind you, East Yi is surrounded by water. You can’t escape. There’s water everywhere, and the waves are huge. Even if you’re exhausted, you can’t swim away. The Immortal Lord seems to be giving you freedom, but he’s still keeping you confined.”
Nan Shan’s excited heart immediately calmed down.
She forced herself to act casual and said, “I wasn’t planning to run away.””You better.”
Shou Xin didn’t believe a word.
Nan Shan cleared her throat and didn’t want to get tangled up with him over this issue:
“Since the Immortal Lord said I can do whatever I want, why are you acting all hesitant?”
“Because I’m afraid you’ll be disrespectful to the statue of Ji Yue Immortal Lord,” Shou Xin said directly.
Nan Shan raised three fingers: “I swear, I will definitely not disrespect him.”
Shou Xin still hesitated.
“How about this: you tell me what taboos there are, so I can be careful,” Nan Shan quickly said.
Seeing her being somewhat sincere, Shou Xin thought for a moment and said, “The Immortal Lord is compassionate and pure, so there aren’t many taboos. Just don’t look around or make loud noises… Oh, and don’t offer incense anymore, the people who offer incense daily are already enough, so don’t add to the chaos.”
Nan Shan agreed and lowered her head to look at her right foot.
She noticed the red marks had faded quite a bit, so she carefully stepped onto the ground.
“It doesn’t hurt at all now!” she exclaimed in surprise.
Shou Xin got up from the ground, not forgetting to pat the dust off his pants: “Of course, you should see who treated you.”
Nan Shan, as usual, ignored his flattery towards Ji Yue and pulled his small hand.
Shou Xin froze for a moment, looking at their joined hands with a strange expression.
“What are you doing?”
“Going to the front courtyard, what else?” Nan Shan casually said, dragging him outside. Shou Xin struggled twice but couldn’t break free and had no choice but to follow her.
Once again stepping outside the door, Nan Shan stopped and took a deep breath.
Shou Xin: “…What are you doing now?”
“Life is really good,” Nan Shan said, closing her eyes in a daze, answering a question with another.
When she had been desperately running away, only to be stopped by the endless sea, she had thought her life was over.
But unexpectedly, not only was she unharmed, but her foot injury had also healed.
Though she didn’t know what Ji Yue’s purpose was, or what conspiracy might lie ahead, living one more day was still a blessing.
Nan Shan let go of Shou Xin’s hand and stretched her body, but suddenly froze as if stiffened.
“…What’s going on now?” Shou Xin asked, watching her strange posture, stepping back in surprise.
Nan Shan snapped back to her senses, lowered her hands, and carefully spoke: “How long have I been here?”
“I don’t know, maybe an hour?” Shou Xin speculated uncertainly.
An hour…
How could it only be an hour!