Chapter 75 Xiangli wishes I could tie you to the couch with a hemp rope.

Best wishes for getting well and getting sick again.

At first she didn't take it seriously, it was just a few light coughs. When the cough got worse, she just became a little sleepier than before. In recent days... at most she only saw a little redness, and her body became weaker day by day.

Actually, she hasn't been sick for five years.

If that were the case, she must have been seriously ill. After all, she was just an ordinary person, an ordinary mortal with a weak constitution. If she hadn't been ill for many years, it would have seemed strange...

Until she saw a hint of something strange on Song Xieqing's face that he was trying hard to hide, but only she could see through it.

Every time Zhu Hao woke up in bed, she would either see him guarding her bedside, or standing woodenly by the misty window, his brows set in a coldness that was inappropriate for midsummer.

Once, when Zhu Hao woke up, she ran into Song Xieqing, who was smiling at her with his chin supported. Zhu Hao had her hands buried in the quilt, nervously drawing circles in the dark where he couldn't see her. However, her expression was as calm and composed as usual, without revealing a single clue.

"Song Xieqing, I can't stand lying on the couch any longer. After a whole month, my hands and feet have become as dry as branches. If I lie down any longer, I'm afraid I won't even remember how to walk or how to pick up food with chopsticks." Zhu Hao took a deep breath, buried his face in the soft pillow, and said to Song Xieqing in a tone that was almost commanding, "I want to go to the teahouse with you to have tea, watch a play, and fight crickets. Is that okay?"

He always responded to her requests.

This time it was different. There was a long silence, with only a few dog barks in the distance.

There was a small wet mark on the pillow, and Zhu Hao buried her head in the pillow, unwilling to look at him.

"Pianpian, you can go to Wa Si, but wait for a while."

"Okay." She turned the soft pillow over to its dry side as if nothing had happened. The corners of her eyes were marked with red marks from the pillowcase. "Is it you?"

Zhu Hao asked stubbornly, "Wasi, are you going with me?"

He didn't answer yes or no, but only placed a kiss on her tearful eyelashes, "Pianpian, sleep a little longer."

The night was all around, with gloomy clouds and no moon. The wild frogs in the pond stopped croaking, and dew gradually condensed on the branches and leaves of the flowers in the yard in the clear and dark night. The lights in the room were all extinguished, and then it became bright again, as the morning sun shone on the house.

Zhu Haoshang was still in a daze. She habitually stretched out a hand from under the mattress and swept towards the edge of the couch, only to find it empty.

She suddenly opened her eyes and saw that the chair that was always placed in front of the couch was empty. She looked in the direction where the sunlight came in, but there was no one under the window looking worried.

Zhu Hao, who was in a listless state, didn't know where she got the strength from. She threw off the quilt, put on her slippers, rolled up the curtains, pushed the door open, and ran out in a hurry.

To reach her and Song Xieqing's house, they had to walk around a winding path of fragrant flowers and through a gate with hanging flowers before they could see the main entrance. Zhu Hao completely ignored how breathless and exhausted she felt along the way. The cool morning breeze rushed into her throat, turning into a handful of charcoal that burned her throat like a knife. Without stopping, she walked and ran to the main entrance.

As soon as he stood firm, the door of the house suddenly opened.

The courtyard is covered with lush green pomegranate trees, with one or two bright red pomegranate flowers hanging here and there. The lotus in the clear pond is in full bloom. Looking out from afar, I find that a pair of lotus flowers that were in full bloom have withered without me noticing.

The dog whines, the cat meows, bringing back Zhu Hao's distant sight.

The man was standing at the threshold, with a fat yellow dog with a round belly in his arms and a skinny black and white kitten on his shoulder.

He was like a floating mist in the mountains, which was blown away by the summer breeze carrying the fragrance of various flowers. Zhu Hao's heart suddenly hit, and she didn't know where the collision happened. She only felt petals bursting. Her body felt cold and hot, and her head was buzzing. Zhu Hao took a step to chase him, but just after taking a step, she leaned into someone's arms.

The whimpering of cats and dogs can be heard in my ears.

Song Xieqing rubbed her hair, conjured up a fur cloak and tied it around Zhu Hao. He said in a firm tone, "Since you are ill, you need to wear clothes when you leave the room. Do you understand?"

Zhu Hao pinched his lapel and lay on Song Xieqing's chest without saying a word. The furry thing rubbed against her ankle. Zhu Hao looked down and saw that it was the fat yellow dog and the thin kitten he brought.

As soon as she squatted down, the dogs and cats wanted to crawl into her arms, which made Zhu Hao's heart soften.

Song Xieqing asked gently, "What's the name?"

Zhu Hao raised his head, his eyes sparkling, "Zhu Tuantuan, Song Yuanyuan."

She really liked cats, dogs, birds and rabbits. They would gather around and rub against each other's palms, vying for their favor. When Song Xieqing saw her pale lips pursed into a smile, he couldn't help but smile too.

After a long moment, Zhu Hao casually asked, "When are we leaving? How long will we be gone this time?"

She shifted her gaze from the two balls of fur to Song Xieqing's face. Zhu Hao pretended to be calm and said jokingly, "Is it possible that by the time my husband returns home, I'll be all white-haired and wrinkled?"

Song Xieqing's lips parted as he stared at her with a smile, but the smile was superficial, and there was no warmth in his eyes. He answered truthfully, "Pianpian, I can't promise easily."

Where there is a promise, there is an expectation, and he would rather not have Zhu Hao have any expectations of him.

It was like five years ago, he had never expected that he would be away for several years. The only thing he could promise her now was to teach her to live a good life, have a healthy body, continue to do what she liked, and be the best embroidery lady in the city. In her spare time, she could plant flowers, weed, raise Tuantuan and play with Yuanyuan in the yard. Even if she was too busy to spare time, she was still doing what she liked. She had cried quite a few times in the past month, but at least she could cry as much as she wanted in front of him, and act coquettishly and foolishly in his arms.

That's good.

She had always been a soft-spoken girl with a tough heart, a sharp shrew. Song Xieqing had known this since the first time he met her. She truly loved him and didn't want him to leave, but only if he left could she earn her life. He also knew that although Zhu Hao missed him, he wouldn't dwell on it all day long.

That's good.

The merits of extending the lifespan of mortals and slaying demons and eliminating evil will eventually be atoned for, but Zhu Hao counted again and again. He has been away from home for five years and survived many dangers in a foreign world, but can this only earn him half a year of companionship with the two of them?

Zhu Hao stood up and looked around at her courtyard, which she had decorated with every brick and every tile, every handful of soil. In the midsummer when there were hundreds of flowers in bloom and trees laden with fruits, it was not really beautiful. Looking throughout the garden, only lotus and hydrangea were in full bloom, and the flower beds next to it had only new branches and leaves. In the corner of the house, Song Xieqing had wrapped a bunch of hibiscus flowers that were just beginning to bud around the new swing he had built for her. It would take until next month for them to fully bloom.

During the five years he was away, her heart bloomed and withered like the flowers in the yard.

Zhu Hao hooked his pinky finger and raised her chin towards the east. "Do you see that drooping, low-lying green bush? Don't be fooled by its drooping appearance now. Once the summer breeze passes and autumn arrives, it will sprout leaves and buds, blooming like a crimson cloud across the ground. It happens to be right next to the small pond. When the lotus flowers have faded, it will bloom on the ground, its shadow cast on the pond, replacing the out-of-season lotus leaves and blooming on the water's surface."

"But now that you're gone, I won't be able to see you again." She pointed under the eaves again, "After autumn, when the snow falls on the branches, the two plum trees will finally open their buds... Once the snow melts, the winter jasmine will follow suit."

"Song Xieqing, no matter whether you come in spring or autumn, no matter what season it is, whether it's spring, summer, autumn or winter, there will always be a flower waiting for you..." She held Song Xieqing's fingers tightly, leaving crescent marks on the back of his hand from her nails. She continued, "I wonder what flowers you will see when you return home next time."

"Song Xieqing..." She let go of his hand and squatted on the ground, covering her face. "I actually... I actually really, really miss you. I want to tie you to the couch with hemp rope, but I also want to live well and wait for you to come home, so I know you have to go."

She spoke incoherently, one moment talking about flowers and plants, the next about family matters. Tears as big as beans flowed from between her fingers as she covered her face. Seeing that she could not hold back her tears, Zhu Hao simply gave up and burst into tears. Tuantuan Yuanyuan was so frightened that her ears drooped and she threw herself into the lush vines.

Zhu Hao was like an invisible thread, constantly tightening, making his heart ache and suffocate, making him feel uneasy.

Song Xieqing held her in his arms, stroked her back, and answered her carefully no matter what nonsense she muttered.

Before he met her, he lived in a daze, and if he died one day, he would be dead. But now it is different, he lives for her.

In the past, he saw flowers as just flowers and grass as just grass. He saw no difference between a clear sky and a storm. But now, he realizes that the world that raised his wife is so lovely.

He was not good at saying sweet words, and he felt that dry words were not enough to describe the feelings in his heart. But now he held Zhu Hao in his arms, saying that she was like the sun and the spring flowers, and that he loved her and missed her. Like any ordinary man in the world, he used clichéd sweet words to express the feelings overflowing in his heart.

The clouds and mist gradually thickened, diluting the midsummer heat. The crescent moon peeked out, scattering silver flakes all over the ground. Wild frogs murmured in the depths of the lotus pond. Tuantuan and Yuanyuan took a nap in the shack built by Song Xieqing. Zhu Hao lay on the couch for a long time without falling asleep, so she simply got up, put on her clothes, and got off the bed, putting away the things that Song Xieqing had previously displayed in a conspicuous place.

Zhu Hao snorted and chuckled. She wanted to see how Song Xieqing would quarrel with her when he returned home and saw that she had put his things into the mahogany box again!

…

The desolate area in the far west blocks the six realms. Looking around, you can only see thousands of miles of barren land, scorched earth and cracked ground. Molten lava is bubbling deep in the earth's veins. Black smoke obscures the vision, making it impossible to tell the way back. The surrounding fire hills rise straight into the darkness, with no end in sight.

The black clothes on Song Xieqing's body were burned with scorched holes of varying sizes, and the exposed skin was cracked like scorched earth, peeling from dryness, and burning red. His tightly pursed lips kept bleeding. The cloud boots stepped on the scorched earth rolling with molten lava and had already turned into a wisp of smoke, which was blown away by the heat wave. Song Xieqing stepped on the flames barefoot, and his blood rolled in the scorched earth, which dried up in an instant and turned into white steam. This repeated over and over again, until finally, the black clothes that he wore from the human world also turned into black smoke and dissipated. Only a strand of his wife's hair wrapped around his wrist bone remained intact.

Suddenly, the earth shook and boiling magma burst out of the fire hill. A strange beast that looked like an ape, with white head and bare feet stood in front of him, with blazing eyes and a murderous aura.

Song Xieqing forced a smile, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and then dried up in an instant.

He had no idea how much scorched earth he had walked through, nor how much divine blood he had left to squander. Only after he had destroyed nearly a hundred fire hills spewing magma did he force Zhu Yan, who was suppressed here by the upper realm, to show up.

The barrier was getting weaker day by day. Zhu Yan used the earth's fire to nourish the evil spirit, and he could break out of the cage as soon as the barrier was dispersed.

Once Zhu Yan appears, the world will be in chaos.