Why are there requirements in Chapter 5?

The old ancestor was determined to die.

Di Jiang slept straight through the night before waking up.

As darkness fell, everything was gloomy. There were no lamps lit in the main room, only the moonlight that quietly crept in, casting a dim white glow on the tightly closed window frames.

Di Jiang stared at the ground, trying to wake himself up. He stretched his long legs slightly and kicked two warm hot water bottles in the quilt. The vassal had no intention of doing such a thing. It was no need to investigate who put them there. The new "thing" in the abandoned house was full of tricks and was very clever.

Di Jiang chuckled softly, closed his eyes briefly, and vaguely sensed a slight disturbance. His relaxed expression suddenly sharpened as he saw a head that had moved into the light in the half-foot square of moonlight.

The head's owner had a fleshy face, with only a pair of bright eyes that seemed to glow like two ghostly lanterns in the night. She sat on a small stool, her long dress trailing on the ground, as if she had wiped the surroundings clean. Her body, previously hidden in the shadows, now quietly moved into the light, shaking her head, baring her small teeth, and showing a hint of smugness.

"You're awake?"

She waited for him for two meals, but he didn't get up. Since her concern had no use, she simply came in to wait.

Di Jiang sat up halfway, frowning as he looked at "Xiao Cui," and asked, "Who let you in?"

His voice wasn't harsh; like his appearance, it was cold and low, with a hint of chill in his frail health.

Xiao Cui said, "No one let me in; I came in by myself."

Emperor Jiang never locks his door when he sleeps in his own mansion, but no one else dares to come in like her.

"Tea or water?"

"Xiao Cui" walked to the table and pointed to two teapots of different colors, asking...

"water."

Xiao Cui hesitated for a moment, "The water is cold, but the tea is still hot. I specially brewed a pot for you when I came in."

"Water." Di Jiang still insisted on water, and his brows furrowed deeper and deeper. Duan Jiuyou had heard Xiao Cui say that this was a sign of annoyance, so he came over with a cup of hot tea. "Let's drink something hot."

"So you asked that question for nothing?" Di Jiang didn't respond.

"How would I know you wanted water if I didn't ask you?" Xiao Cui held the cup to his lips, coaxing him like a child, "Take a couple of sips to moisten your throat first, and I'll heat the water up for you to drink later."

Di Jiang forced down half a cup of water, then pushed it aside. "Xiao Cui," who had offered to boil water for him, lingered by the bedside. She sat down beside him and said, "Your Majesty, it's especially cold outside today."

Di Jiang didn't know whether he should praise her for remembering the prefix. Just now, she had been so bold, using "you" in front of him for so long, and only now did she remember to be respectful.

Then what?

Di Jiang asked with his eyes.

“Aren’t you afraid of the cold?” said Xiao Cui.

"I'm not afraid." Di Jiang glanced at her, giving "Xiao Cui" a disdainful look.

“It’s hailing! Isn’t that strange? There was a thick blizzard outside, and the wind and snow were howling like ghosts. I had to hunch my shoulders and peek into your house.” Xiao Cui ignored his stubbornness and earnestly told him about the “horror” outside.

Di Jiang listened to the whistling wind outside the window.

The weather in the Ten Realms is indeed unpredictable, but it's certainly not so bad that one moment there are stars and moon and the next a gale. This wind clearly only started after she sat down next to him.

"What are you planning?" he asked Xiao Cui.

This was actually a double entendre, but neither of them pointed it out.

"Xiao Cui" said, "The weather outside is bad, so you shouldn't go hunting today. Anyway, our family is so wealthy that even if we don't go out for ten days or half a month, our granaries will be full of coins. Your Majesty's power is boundless, and both people and beasts fear your might. If you hunt them all down, leaving only our deserted house, won't you feel lonely?"

The room was poorly lit, and both of their faces were shrouded in shadow. Xiao Cui peeked at them and caught only a glimpse of a pale chin and a cold, indifferent smile.

Di Jiang looked at "Xiao Cui"—she used both soft and hard tactics, simply because she felt that his methods were cruel and that he would take several lives once he left.

"You've come all the way to me trying to persuade others? Don't you know that the Wilderness Clan cannot tolerate those who are not of our kind?"

"...Of course I know."

—But you have killed too many people. You need to accumulate merit. You cannot become the Lord of the Heavenly Realm if you have committed too many killings!

These words echoed in Duan Jiuyou's mind, and she knew she would have to talk to him about it sooner or later, but now was not the time. She needed to make him happy, take good care of him, and stop bothering him so much before she could list them out one by one.

Duan Jiuyou, with a secret plan in mind, said sincerely, "Dinner is ready, it's all your favorites, why don't you get up and have some in the main hall?"

She had never cared so much for anyone before. As soon as she said it, Di Jiang didn't react, but she was moved herself. She counted on her short, chubby fingers: "There are cloud rolls, eight-treasure rice, glutinous rice lotus root and sweet vinegar fish."

Di Jiang loves sweets, she noticed this at breakfast. He hadn't touched the cucumber shreds before because of the strong vinegar flavor, but he wasn't completely averse to sour foods. He ate the bamboo shoot shreds with a little sweet vinegar quite often.

Duan Jiuyou concluded that the Emperor preferred mild sourness and strong sweetness, so at dinner time he specifically instructed the kitchen to replace the old vinegar with sweet vinegar and to pay attention to the amount used when adding it to the dishes.

Duan Jiuyou thought she had made thorough arrangements, but Di Jiang did not show any satisfaction. She watched him lift the covers and put on his satin boots. After sitting for a while, she asked, "Isn't there anything spicy?"

His taste isn't limited to one thing; he wouldn't eat rice if everything was sweet.

Xiao Cui looked surprised: "Why are you making demands now?"

Didn't they say he eats everything? And this morning, he sat there like a quiet sullen person, not touching what he didn't like, but eating a few more bites of what he did like. How obedient he is!

"You have better insight than they do."

Di Jiang stepped past "Xiao Cui" and took a black silk robe embroidered with gold pythons and clouds from the screen. "Xiao Cui" squinted at him, suspecting that he didn't know how to dress himself. Seeing him haphazardly trying to tie the sash, she couldn't help but mutter a string of "I'll do it, I'll do it, I'll do it."

One end of the ribbon was pulled by a chubby little hand, and the distance between the two instantly closed. Di Jiang looked down and watched her chattering in front of him.

"You have to tie this like this, and this one too, it comes around from here and then from this side..."

Di Jiang didn't study at all. He tilted his head slightly to one side and took a serious look at "Xiao Cui's" current appearance for the first time. He thought to himself that she was really ugly. She already had little hair, and she had tied it all up in two buns on top of her head. Other girls dressed up however they wanted to look good, but she took the easy way out and didn't leave a single hair on her forehead, leaving her big forehead exposed.

However, he didn't dislike "Xiao Cui." As he had just said, she was more perceptive than others, and being perceptive meant less talk. He didn't know how long she planned to stay here, but he figured he could save himself some trouble every day.

Dinner was still served in the main hall. This time, "Xiao Cui" was noticeably more attentive in serving the food than in the morning. This was partly to ease tensions and partly to hope that he would listen to her advice and stop committing murder and other heinous acts.

She deliberately left a half-open window in the main hall. The north wind blew against the windowpanes, making a loud clanging sound. She deliberately looked towards the window and pretended to be worried and surprised: "It's not even the coldest part of winter yet, how can it be so cold? Even with charcoal burning inside, it's still freezing to the bone. If we go out, we'll definitely freeze to death when we come back."

Di Jiang didn't respond and focused on eating. There was a plate of spicy stir-fried tofu on the table that suited his taste. "Xiao Cui" wasn't paying attention to serving the food and scooped out two spoonfuls of glutinous rice lotus root in a row. He poked at it with his chopsticks.

The two chopsticks clashed, and "Xiao Cui" seemed to wake from a dream, only then putting the third spoonful onto the tofu.

She mixed his rice with a kind expression, a feeling that was hard to describe. She was genuinely happy that he liked the dishes she chose.

After finishing his meal, Di Jiang put down his chopsticks, and soon a maid handed him a handkerchief to wipe his hands. Duan Jiuyou saw him slowly wipe his hands twice and take a moment to glance at the sky.

The raging snow seemed to be frozen in his eyes. With a sharp glance, the gaze returned to his hand. The dark night, which had been filled with swirling winds and swirling snow, calmed down under his gaze. Even the moon, which looked like it had been gnawed down to its rind, broke through the clouds and shone through the clouds, revealing a peaceful and clear sky.

Duan Jiuyou's magic was ordinary. Seeing that the clouds had dispersed and the wind and snow had stopped, the people around him moved outside the hall, their brows furrowed in anxiety.

She secretly made a hand seal.

The wind and snow outside the window began to rise, then quickly dissipated, then rose again, and then dissipated again.

The two secretly engaged in a battle of wits, both remaining silent and unassuming. In the end, the wind still died down, and nothing changed except for the still chilly night.

Duan Jiuyou loosened his clenched fist and watched helplessly as Di Jiang led his men away.

For several days afterward, Di Jiang left right after dinner, and the windy and howling weather never returned. Duan Jiuyou was not proficient in magic and could not gain any advantage against Di Jiang, who was skilled in both formations and magic.

She could only watch him hunt all day long, until half of the mountain was bald, yet he still enjoyed it immensely.

However, Di Jiang's body had suffered damage to his primordial spirit. By the tenth day, his complexion had turned ashen, and he was clearly sickly. Even wrapped in the thickest clothes, he could not warm up. Duan Jiuyou held his hand and looked at him, almost thinking he was a cold corpse.

But he threw a tantrum on this particular day. He refused to wear the clothes that Xiao Cui offered him, and even tried to shake them off while rubbing his hands. His fear of the cold was ultimately due to Duan Jiuyou, so he found her particularly displeasing on the day his old injury flared up.

A plume of white smoke rose from the bathhouse in the backyard. This was the medicinal bath that Emperor Jiang was to take that day. The spirit healer went in and out, and it took a full three hours to invite Emperor Jiang into the bathhouse.

This process did not require anyone to serve it; all that was needed was to add the medicine soup every half hour. "Xiao Cui" volunteered to take on this task, and chased away the medicine boy who was supposed to add the medicine.

The bathhouse was not far from the kitchen where medicine was brewed. Duan Jiuyou carried a large tub in his arms and walked steadily.

She is now in the shape of "Xiao Cui" and has her own strength, so this amount of water is easier for her than carrying a bamboo basket.

The door opened and closed again. Duan Jiuyou, fearing that the emperor would feel cold, pushed the door open with one foot and then deftly hooked it shut with the other.