Regardless of whether she wins or loses, even if she cultivates for a thousand or ten thousand years, he will still be there for her...

bet......

As the afternoon sun began to set, Zhao Chai'er stepped into the room, somewhat absentmindedly.

Yan Huanyue quickly withdrew her hand before he stepped into the room.

Pei Xuanzhi showed no dissatisfaction, but turned his face away, clutched his chest and coughed violently a few times, then silently wiped away the tears that had welled up in his eyes with his sleeve.

Before Yan Huanyue could ask him what was going on, he turned to look at Zhao Chai'er, who had entered the room in a daze. He seemed quite enthusiastic about the matter and said in a hoarse voice:

“Brother Zhao, I know you are a person who seems carefree but is actually very sensitive. You have your own insights into many things in the world, but you are just not willing to talk about them with others.”

Zhao Chai'er looked at him in surprise, as if she had seen a kindred spirit, "You... how did you know?"

Pei Xuanzhi's pale, chapped lips managed a weak smile. "When we entered the shop that night, you offered us your room. It seems that you are someone who, despite being considered uneducated by some, is actually quite responsible and chivalrous. It's just that no one has ever really gotten to know you."

Zhao Chai'er suddenly felt that her usual carefree and irresponsible demeanor seemed to have become a fake skin draped over her body.

It's as if that young man, once neglected and aimless in his hometown, truly harbored many untold bitter feelings and profound thoughts, which were then seen through at a glance by a stranger he met for the first time in this distant place.

This inner turmoil was unprecedented.

Zhao Chai'er unconsciously straightened her body, her ten fingers clenched tightly, even the ten toes inside her ill-fitting shoes were pressed together tightly.

With an eager gaze filled with genuine agreement, she stared wide-eyed at Pei Xuanzhi and asked again with even deeper sincerity, "How...how did you know?"

Pei Xuanzhi pressed his fist to his lips and coughed with difficulty for a while.

Zhao Chai'er stood by his sickbed, holding a cup of warm water, and said to Yan Huanyue:

“Miss…Madam, you should go about your business. Brother Pei and I still have some important matters to discuss.”

Seeing that Pei Xuanzhi's two sentences had convinced Zhao Chai'er to trust him, and that she might reveal her innermost thoughts, Yan Huanyue got up to let the two of them talk in detail. She then sat by the south window, tidied the snow cherry blossom in the pottery jar, and listened quietly to their conversation.

Pei Xuanzhi's gaze followed her to the south window, then quietly withdrew, gently refusing the cup of warm water Zhao Chai'er offered, and said:

"I know Brother Zhao has a pure heart. Judging from your face, with a high forehead and square nose, you are destined for great fortune. However, there is a scar under your lip, which spoils this auspicious appearance. It seems you have been involved in a verbal dispute..."

Zhao Chai'er was so nervous that she didn't care about anything else. She immediately sat on the edge of his bed, leaned over anxiously, and kept saying, "Brother Pei! Brother Pei!"

He was too excited to speak for a moment, but Pei Xuanzhi's pale face showed a look of difficulty and regret, and he sighed:

"This matter is inherently difficult to resolve, and Brother Zhao wants to keep it to yourself... Who in this world is without fault? By doing this, you are only punishing yourself. It shows that you are a kind and righteous person who is not understood by others. But Brother Zhao, you still have great fortune ahead of you. If you do not properly resolve this unexpected disaster, you will be letting down many people in the future."

Zhao Chai'er had never met someone who understood him so well. He could see through Pei Xuanzhi's lazy, cowardly, and nonsensical exterior to his inner nobility and struggle. He deeply believed that Pei Xuanzhi was the most discerning person to recognize a hero.

Moreover, he had heard that Pei Xuanzhi was the son of the Tianyan Sect's leader, which meant he must be a master of fortune-telling and destiny-predicting, just like those sorcerers.

Good fortune...

This judgment filled Zhao Chai'er's eyes with hope, who had been wavering and even given up trying. Yes, who doesn't make mistakes? The difficulties in front of us are not really difficulties. As long as we overcome them, there will be everything to look forward to.

"Brother Pei, you must help me with this matter."

Pei Xuanzhi coughed. "However, fate is unpredictable. If you don't explain the reasons in detail, even with my deductions, I won't be able to see the whole picture. What do you think...?"

Zhao Chai'er was so nervous that her throat went dry. Without thinking, she picked up her cup and drank the water in one gulp, which helped her clear her head. Then she spoke seriously:

"Brother Pei, I originally felt guilty about this matter and planned to flee my hometown. Whether I lived or died was entirely up to fate, so I only looked at the good or bad omens and did not ask for a solution. But now that I've heard what you said, I... Brother Pei, you must help me!"

Pei Xuanzhi said, "I am unwell and may be powerless to help, but with the people of Tianyan Sect here, why would you miss the opportunity that Heaven has given you?"

Having lived in constant fear, Zhao Chai'er now had the assurance of future good fortune, and her yearning for life surged forth. She even replaced her so-called "friend" with herself.

"Brother Pei, you just asked us what the stakes were back then... how should I put that..."

Zhao Chai'er exhaled, her eyes glancing slightly upwards, as if the scene from that day was still yesterday.

In those few days, a young and beautiful woman came to Mingyu City and would have lunch at Yunlai Restaurant every day at noon.

The hooligans and idlers who frequented Mingyu City quickly noticed this stunningly beautiful single woman and eagerly made bets on who would strike up a conversation with her first.

Zhao Chai'er was one of them.

One day, this woman, who never interacted much with the locals, took the initiative to talk to the second son of the unscrupulous merchant Fang Jinyin and asked him many questions about the local customs and traditions.

This aroused jealousy among a group of scoundrels who had been secretly eyeing the property for a long time, and old grudges about being cheated out of their money and given inferior goods by the Fang family were quickly reignited among them.

But those powerless scoundrels who beat teachers and bullied classmates in school rarely learned anything. They were good at showing off their strength when they were young, but when they grew up, they were nothing more than powerless, despised street rats.

When they get together, all they can do besides secretly cause trouble is boast about their power.

After the tavern owner at the end of the city had started cursing at the Fang family, someone suddenly mentioned:

"What's so great about that Fang family? They just have a little money. The rice my mother bought from them was mixed with sand. When we went to return it, they said we were the ones who mixed it in to cheat them out of money. Those bastards, the sons of rich kids! They cheat people out of money to build a new house. Why don't they just die!"

The oldest among them, Liu Dahe, drank a bowl of mixed liquor and said loudly, "That's right, I bet his new house will collapse tonight. Who's betting? If you lose, you'll have to go and ask that girl for his hand in marriage!"

Zhao Chai'er, drunk, retorted instinctively, "How could it collapse? That bastard hired craftsmen from Chang'an to build his house."

"Whoa..."

The people around were cheering.

Liu Dahe suddenly got angry, slammed his wine bowl down with a "bang," and said, "Want to bet or not?"

Zhao Chai'er, imagining the girl's appearance, felt an unbearable itch in his heart, wishing he could hold her in his arms right now. So, with bleary eyes, he let out a hiccup and said:

"Let's gamble it out. Everyone can be a witness. If everything is alright by dawn tomorrow, you'd better prepare fifty taels of silver as a betrothal gift and go propose to that girl. After we get married, you'll have to call us grandpa and grandma!"

Liu Dahe, in a fit of rage, stood up and said, "Fine! If you lose, you'll have to prepare fifty taels of silver as a betrothal gift for your father to propose marriage. And from now on, when you see us, you'll have to call us Grandpa and Grandma!"

Two men who couldn't even scrape together fifty copper coins made such a boast, and the shop's accountant couldn't stop laughing.

The accountant originally looked down on the Fang family's behavior, so he joined in the fun and wrote a contract, asking the two of them to put their fingerprints on it and gamble.

Zhao Chai'er was so enraged by the commotion that she pressed her bright red finger down without hesitation.

When he was woken up by someone from the roadside, he was sleeping near the Fang family's new house and witnessed the house, which was basically completed, turn into a pile of ruins overnight.

People were talking about it, saying that the Fang family members were all trapped underneath and died.

He couldn't believe his eyes, thinking he was still dreaming. He felt a surge of anger, but then he started to feel a chill of fear.

He ran home in a daze, slept for two whole days with nightmares, but remembered nothing when he woke up.

When he regained consciousness, he heard that Liu Dahai was getting married to that girl.

He simply couldn't believe that someone like him, a good-for-nothing, could possibly be worthy of a girl like that.

But he watched with his own eyes as the girl's red embroidered shoes emerged from the dilapidated sedan chair, and beneath the red veil lifted by the wind, the girl's face was as bright as jade.

In that instant, her bright red lips curved slightly, and her large, clear eyes glanced at him with a smile.

At the simple banquet that Liu Dahe's parents had pooled their money to host, Zhao Chai'er was invited to sit in the seat of honor. Liu Dahe, deeply grateful, raised his glass to him and said:

"Brother, I never expected you to actually scrape together fifty taels to help me with the betrothal. From now on, you treat me like your father, and I'll treat you like my brother. We'll treat each other as equals. This cup is for you!"

What fifty taels? What's this about to betrothal gifts?

He was horrified. He had never done any of these things, and besides, he was idle all day long and had no proper work. Where would he have gotten fifty taels?

He wanted to argue, but a group of people forced him to drink. The wedding banquet was lively and bustling, but he became increasingly suspicious.

When I stumbled home at night, a pair of hands dressed in a red wedding gown reached out beside me. The hands were cold and bluish-white.

The old bed at home usually creaked and groaned whenever he turned over, so it was never quiet. But that night, it bravely remained silent. When her icy hand touched his brow, he felt a chill run through his body.

In a daze, he was a little confused and asked vaguely, "Didn't you marry that old man? How did you end up in my bed?"

She laughed and said, "You dug up someone's grave and stole fifty taels to offer as a betrothal gift. I just assumed you wanted to marry me. But it doesn't matter, I don't mind if it's too much."

He mumbled incoherently, "But I despise... You're all married now, and Dahe is practically my brother. I'm not some kind of scumbag, and I don't want to touch my brother's wife."

She pinched his chin and said, "But I really enjoy brothers fighting."

Zhao Chai'er burped and cursed, "You'd even take those pigs and dogs that steal your brother's wife? You're really not picky. Do you even like sleeping with your sisters, girlfriends, and me?"

She laughed and said, "Sleep with me? You think you're worthy?"

Zhao Chai'er retorted, "If you're worthy, why shouldn't I be?"

As the night deepened, he felt increasingly cold, with no idea whether anything had happened.

After that night, he fell seriously ill. After recovering, he heard that Liu Dahe was also sick, but he felt guilty and did not dare to see Liu Dahe.

I've run into her a few times on the street. She always watches him silently and smiles, as if he were a little snack that she'd devour one day when she's in a good mood, truly breaking the skin and bones, swallowing him whole.

The person she used to like suddenly became extremely creepy, and to bolster her courage, Zhao Chai'er cursed at her a few times.

But a few days later, I heard that she had died; she had fallen into the river and drowned.

Zhao Chai'er went to see it herself. When she was pulled out, the water plants wrapped around her legs had not yet been cleaned off, and she was still wearing the red embroidered shoes she wore on her wedding day.

She was new to this place and had no enemies. Was it because of the things he said to her?

He felt a little regretful and secretly burned paper money for her a few times.

Until recently, Liu Dahe broke into his house one night with a bloodstained embroidered shoe, foolishly wanting to gamble again.

He was getting a headache from the madman's nagging, but because of the things he was preoccupied with, he was quite forgiving and asked, "What are you betting on?"

Liu Dahe's eyes were wide open; he hadn't slept in ages. His eyes were bloodshot, like spiderwebs digging into his eyeballs. He mumbled incoherently:

"I bet on whether my wife is dead or not. The loser has to pay with their life. I bet she's not dead, hahahahahahaha."

This devoted man has gone mad because of this.

Zhao Chai'er comforted him, "She's dead, Brother Dahe. Let me take you home."

Unexpectedly, Liu Dahe clapped his hands and laughed loudly, "Hahahaha, you lost, you lost, she will come looking for you."

He hadn't taken it seriously at first, but then Liu Dahe suddenly passed away, and his parents died too.

One night, as Zhao Chai'er was walking down the street, he saw her again standing in the dim light of a wall at the street corner, looking at him and laughing.

"So I ran away. She must be dead. I saw her buried with my own eyes, and there were never any signs of her grave being dug up... She must have crawled out of somewhere, angry that we used her as a wager that day..."

Zhao Chai'er's lips turned blue. She looked away from Pei Xuanzhi and said, "Brother Pei, do you think she's very strange?"

Pei Xuanzhi said calmly, "You're using her as a wager."

"Yes... but in reality, nobody really thought it would actually work out."

Pei Xuanzhi paused for a moment, then said, "He's got a big heart for playing around, keeping you all entertained for so long."

Zhao Chai'er said, "You mean she really isn't a ghost?"

Yan Huanyue said, "I wonder how the Fang family's house collapsed."

Pei Xuanzhi glanced at her, then said to Zhao Chai'er:

"Just explain this matter to the Tianyan Sect disciples in the front hall. There will always be those who want to find out. You've met Elder Feng; he's knowledgeable and experienced, and he'll make the arrangements. Brother Zhao, you don't need to worry too much."

As they were talking, Pei Hanzhou, along with Feng Ye and Xu Fengqiu, entered the room. Upon seeing Zhao Chai'er sitting by Pei Xuanzhi's bedside, they wondered what brought them together so intimately.

Pei Xuanzhi recounted Zhao Chai'er's story. Zhao Chai'er knelt excitedly before Pei Hanzhou, cupping her hands and saying, "Sect Leader Pei... you must help me!"

Pei Hanzhou gently raised his hand, and Zhao Chai'er, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly stood up.

Pei Hanzhou turned to Feng Ye and said, "Senior Brother Feng, arrange for an inner disciple to lead an outer disciple to investigate first. If the problem can be solved, solve it now. If it cannot be solved, do not fight it head-on. Send a message back to the sect or seek help from a nearby sect."

Feng Ye replied, "Yes."

After saying that, he led Zhao Chai'er out and arranged the matter with Xue Jingnian from the inner sect and Mu Huage, the most outstanding disciple from the outer sect.

Xu Fengqiu, who was anxiously following Feng Ye out, caught sight of a little girl playing with a puppy in the corner of the courtyard and suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Inside the room, Pei Xuanzhi asked, "About the Jiang family..."

Pei Hanzhou said, "The Jiang family head handled it very well, there's no need to ask any more questions, just rest well."

He then said to Yan Huanyue, "Baoying, you should go to the north tomorrow. I will take care of Xuanlang for the time being."

Yan Huanyue stood up and said, "Yes."

Xu Fengqiu was burning with anxiety. He needed to go see Emperor Mingdezong first, and Pei Hanzhou needed Pei Xuanzhi to recover some of his strength. They would set off tomorrow.

After all the visitors had left at night, and it was inconvenient to bathe here, Yan Huanyue used two cleansing spells to clean herself and Pei Xuanzhi.

Then he sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed and absorbed most of the Five Elements Dew given to him by Pei Hanzhou.

A gentle breeze filled the room, carrying the sweet fragrance of plants.

Pei Xuanzhi leaned against the headboard, flipping through a book, the pages turning in the breeze.

He held back for a long time, but finally couldn't help but sneeze. He wrapped himself tighter in the blanket and didn't make a sound to disturb her.

As the moon rose high in the sky, Yan Huanyue released the hand seals, feeling refreshed and clear-headed. Her mind was much clearer than before, and the innate spiritual energy within her body, containing the purest essence of heaven and earth, flowed quietly through her spiritual meridians.

The spiritual sea can contain spiritual energy, and it has a few more breaths of energy than before.

During introspection, the innate spiritual energy is less chaotic, and the amount of spiritual energy absorbed from the five elements is much more balanced than before.

"Senior Sister Yan?"

She turned her head to look at Pei Xuanzhi, only to see him point to the soft pillow next to him and say, "The soft pillow behind me isn't enough, it's a bit uncomfortable, could you put another one in for me?"

Yan Huanyue got up and knelt beside him, helping him up with one arm around his shoulder and placing a soft pillow behind him with the other.

His half-loose long hair brushed against his cheek, stirring up ripples in his heart.

Pei Xuanzhi silently tilted his head back, secretly inhaling the fragrance of her black hair, while the small, lustrous pearl earrings on her ears brushed against his thin lips.

His eyes were almost filled with tears. He suppressed his breathing and slightly parted his lips, wanting to take that alluring little pearl into his mouth.

But after Yan Huanyue settled him in, she straightened up, looked at him with clear eyes, and said, "When I was talking to Zhao Chai'er today, I don't know when you learned the art of observing qi, but you were able to see that he has good fortune in the future."

Pei Xuanzhi leaned against the soft pillows, staring blankly at her.

After the surge of passion, Jinwu always thought she was willing to merge with them at any time.

After experiencing the ultimate pleasure, the greed in his bones and blood continued to grow. Deep in his soul, the unsatisfied golden mist would often begin to fiercely retaliate against him after the excitement subsided.

He clenched his fists, suppressing the golden mist that still excitedly wanted to crawl out from the depths of his soul, and said with a faint look in his eyes, "Most people believe that they will have good fortune in the future, especially those who are currently experiencing bad luck."

Yan Huanyue said, "Oh? It seems that the saying of judging fate by observing qi, although it is a fraud, actually has a lot of basis for judging people."

Pei Xuanzhi gave a nonchalant "hmm," and the golden mist, dissatisfied with his inaction, began to twist and tear at each other.

Yan Huanyue said, "Rest early. You can read this book after you recover."

Pei Xuanzhi held the book, his head drooping, and said softly, "Tomorrow... when we meet again, I will certainly not be on the verge of life and death."

Yan Huanyue smiled and patted his head, saying, "You're not either now."

"I know......"

Pei Xuanzhi raised his eyes and looked at her intently.

Hundreds of years is but a blink of an eye; he has already obtained the Crying Spirit Blade. If he could also acquire Thousand-Year-Old Child, he could stay by her side no matter how many thousands of years she cultivated...

.

Sure enough, as long as they didn't accompany the patient on the journey by spirit horse carriage, the time to reach the Northland was much faster, and they arrived at the ancient city of Xichuan in three or four days.

As the ice and snow melt in the north, spring is in full bloom.

In the boundless wilderness, the outer disciples, whose spiritual power was not particularly strong, in order not to consume too much spiritual power, one person rode a sword and pulled a plow, while another stepped on the plow. In the back and forth, they had already turned the ground twice.

To resist the demons north of the natural barrier, and to prevent the human race from suffering from hunger and deprivation, so as to better nurture more people with spiritual roots, is of paramount importance.

Therefore, spiritual practitioners who have absorbed more spiritual energy from heaven and earth than their fellow beings need to make even greater contributions.

Every year during the planting season, most sects will assist with farming within their jurisdiction.

What would take farmers many days to accomplish, they can complete planting on a plot of land in just two days, saving a lot of manpower.

The sect's spiritual plant managers are also equipped with spiritual herbs to help the crops grow; they simply scatter them by flying swords while turning the soil.

When they arrived at Xichuan yesterday, Mu Huaci of Wenshitang, who used to lead the spring plowing team, was already waiting there.

This afternoon, he led the outer disciples who came and several inner disciples who volunteered to come, and completed the spring plowing in Xichuan.

The local farmers eagerly welcomed the young people, and Mu Huage led them to flee to Hengsu overnight to cultivate the land.

Yan Huanyue left a little late and was surrounded by local farmers who insisted that she come to eat. It took her a long time to get away.

As she flew across Hengsu in the moonlight on her sword, she saw a green lamp glowing like jade in the night.

She lowered her sword and descended a short distance. In the dim light of the lamp, she saw Zhao Chai'er, who should have been with Xue Jingnian and Mu Huage, being carried by two people on a sedan chair, walking up the mountain road outside Hengsu City.

-----------------------

Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-04-29 00:47:23 and 2024-05-01 14:11:31!

Thank you to the little angels who threw the grenades: 2 little carrots;

Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Mengxin (1);

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Spring Breeze 20 bottles; ivyyyy 18 bottles; Bubble, Be a Little Rich Woman, 024 10 bottles; Wangzai Doesn't Like Milk 6 bottles; Xiyu Xiyan, Geyunduan, sine 5 bottles; Wuxue 3 bottles; Moshang Yanyuyao 2 bottles; Mama Mia, kurosakiiji, Huaijin Woyu, Yikou Yunduo, Tool Preset, Yuebanmio, Xuerong, Tiaotiao, Xutuzhi 1 bottle;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!