Ruan Tang's happiness was captured in Xu Lai's gaze, and he couldn't help but become mesmerized. A stony-faced Ruan Tang was certainly charming in her own unique way, but she was most beautiful when she smiled. Especially when she smiled, her eyes would curve like crescents, as if all the stars in the sky were hidden within them. Yiyi took after Ruan Tang in this regard; her smile was just as captivating.

A full five minutes passed.

Wei Qing still hadn't opened her eyes, and Ruan Tang began to panic. "Xu Lai, is she going to be okay?"

"Don't worry, she's fine."

"But she's completely still…"

"Only a tortoise would be that still. Besides, her eyelashes are twitching."

Ruan Tang was at a loss for words.

Xu Lai really had a way with words. If Wei Qing heard that, she would definitely not let him off the hook!

Another ten minutes passed. Just as worry began to wash over Ruan Tang's face, Wei Qing finally opened her eyes. The second pupil within each of her eyes was no longer blurry but perfectly clear.

"Your double pupils are truly beautiful," Xu Lai praised.

Upon closer inspection, one could vaguely see a golden light emitting from Wei Qing's pupils. They were more than beautiful—they were dazzling!

A tightness gripped Ruan Tang's heart. She knew Wei Qing was extremely sensitive about this topic and was about to make excuses for Xu Lai when Wei Qing bowed deeply, her voice choked with emotion. "Thank you. I can never repay you for saving my life. The only way is to…"

"Let's forget about repaying me with your body," Xu Lai shook his head. "Having Ruan Tang is more than enough for me."

"...work for you like an ox and horse," Wei Qing finally managed to finish her sentence.

"What's this about being an ox or a horse? You saved me five years ago; it's only right for him to save you today," Ruan Tang said earnestly as she hugged Wei Qing tightly. "I'm just so relieved you're okay."

"Mhm."

Wei Qing's face turned a little red. As Ruan Tang hugged her, she realized she was only wearing a coat, which did little to conceal her body…

"Ruan Tang, I'm going to go change," Wei Qing whispered.

"Oh, right, right!"

Ruan Tang followed Wei Qing into the house. From the corner of a small cabinet on the kang, Wei Qing took out a white dress, her eyes gradually turning red.

"Two years ago on my birthday, my body was covered in feathers. My grandma went to the mall and personally picked out this dress for me. She hoped I would recover soon and be able to dress up beautifully."

Ruan Tang knew what happened next. While Wei Qing was abroad seeking treatment, her grandmother was in a car accident and unfortunately passed away.

"Quick, put it on," Ruan Tang said tenderly. "Your grandmother must have had excellent taste."

Wei Qing changed into the white dress. There was no mirror, but she knew she must look beautiful, just as her grandma had hoped.

After Wei Qing had changed, she invited Xu Lai into the room to sit down. The house was surprisingly empty and devoid of any clutter. This was mainly because the villagers had stolen all the furniture and valuables, leaving only the bedside cabinet that was built into the wall. However, the bedding was exceptionally clean, carrying the fresh scent of laundry detergent. Clearly, even after being labeled a monster by the villagers, Wei Qing hadn't given up on herself.

"There's nothing in the house. Please excuse the mess." Wei Qing rolled up the bedding. "Come, sit on the kang."

Only after speaking did she remember that Ruan Tang was now a multi-millionaire boss and would probably find this place disgusting. As she began to regret her words, Ruan Tang slipped off her shoes and sat down with a light laugh.

"I used to visit my grandmother's old home with her when I was a child. During the winters in The North, with snow falling outside the window, sitting on a warm kang was so comfortable. In the blink of an eye, more than a decade has passed."

The stone that had been weighing on Wei Qing's heart lifted. She smiled as well. "We have firewood. We can heat up the kang tonight. You two should stay here for the night before you leave."

Ruan Tang was about to refuse when she met Wei Qing's clear gaze.

She wasn't sure why, but she had a sudden feeling she wouldn't see Wei Qing again for a very long time.

She couldn't help but ask, "Are you leaving?"

Wei Qing nodded gently. She was, indeed, leaving. That one gesture from Xu Lai had shown her just how vast the world was. She wanted to go to the Immortal Domain, to see the ancestral land of the Chongming Bird.

"You could die," Xu Lai stated.

The Cultivation World was a cruel place where the strong preyed on the weak. Although Wei Qing possessed the Chongming Bird bloodline and the fortune of ancestral reversion, making her a true chosen of heaven, countless prodigies had appeared throughout history, and very few survived. The dead were nothing but a handful of white bones, their names not even worthy of being remembered in the long river of time. Yet if she stayed on Earth, even if she couldn't completely break the shackles of cultivation, living peacefully for a hundred or even a thousand years wouldn't be difficult.

"I've already died once before," Wei Qing said. She then gave another respectful bow. "I, Wei Qing, owe you and Ruan Tang a life. I would brave a mountain of knives and a sea of fire to repay you."

Xu Lai gave her a deep, meaningful look. "We owe each other nothing. Our karmic debt is settled."

"What's all this about mountains of knives and seas of fire, or slaving away for us? You really haven't changed at all," Ruan Tang said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. The Wei Qing of the past had been exceptionally cheerful and was said to be a huge fan of Mr. Jin Yong's martial arts novels; even the way she spoke had the flavor of the pugilistic world.

Have I really not changed at all...? Wei Qing mused to herself.

She shook her head with a bitter smile. In the end, she had changed. The words might be the same, but the state of mind behind them was no longer what it once was.

"You two sit tight. I'll go to the fields and pick some vegetables." Wei Qing's tone made it clear she intended to show off her cooking skills.

"I'll go with you." Ruan Tang went along, worried that the villagers might continue to bully Wei Qing.

The two of them left together.

Xu Lai, meanwhile, crouched at the doorway and patted Zhu Liu's face. "Still trying to scam people by faking accidents?"

"..."

It wasn't that Zhu Liu didn't want to speak; it was that he couldn't, as if his mouth had been sealed with tape.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Zhu Liu's heart began to pound faster and faster. He suddenly realized that the true culprit behind his and his wife's miserable state might not be Wei Qing. It was Xu Lai! After all, the villagers had been bullying Wei Qing for over two years. If she really knew some Demon Art, she would have used it long ago. Why wait until today?

"Not talking, huh? Quite the stubborn one. Well then, you can just keep lying there." Xu Lai curled his lip, then got up and went back inside to take a nap on the kang.

Zhu Liu was on the verge of tears.

Sir, don't go! I really can't talk! Please, have mercy and undo this Demon Art before you leave!

「As the sun began to set.」

Not only did Wei Qing show off her skills, but Ruan Tang also tried her hand, with the result that all the vegetables were burnt. In the end, Xu Lai was forced to cook himself. Unfortunately, the fresh vegetables and fruits the two women had brought back had already been turned into a culinary nightmare.

So, Xu Lai simply pulled a long, Emerald Green Bamboo stalk from his Storage Space. It was gleaming and translucent, like jade. The moment Wei Qing saw it, she instinctively swallowed, and her stomach began to growl loudly. Noticing her own loss of composure, she quickly clutched her belly in embarrassment.

"This is called Jade Bamboo. It can only take root and sprout from Supreme Jade Marrow, supplemented by heavenly and earthly treasures," Xu Lai explained. "There is a Jade Bamboo Forest in the ancestral land of the Chongming Bird where it takes ten thousand years for a single segment to grow. A ten-segment Jade Bamboo is rare, a twenty-segment one can be counted on one hand, and there are only a handful with more than fifty segments. From seventy segments onward, the Jade Bamboo is considered the ultimate treasure of your clan."

Wei Qing did a quick count. The stalk in Xu Lai's hand had well over a hundred segments...

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