She grabbed his restless wrist in annoyance, glared at him, swallowed the candied hawthorn in her mouth, licked her lips to suppress her embarrassment, and said, "I...I laughed, you can see for yourself, I'll only laugh once."

Ah Jiu suddenly found her blushing and angry appearance quite adorable.

He held up the candied hawthorn, took a bite like she did, and smiled as he nodded at her.

Bi Xie watched him chew on the sour hawthorn fruit without changing his expression, and couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth. She smiled brightly, the curve of her mouth like a crescent moon. The bright sun in the sky shone on the corners of her mouth, and her rosy cheeks were like a begonia in bloom. Not only her mouth was smiling, but her eyebrows and eyes were smiling too.

It makes you want to laugh too.

Ah Jiu wanted to touch her face again; it was a warmth he had never felt before.

"Have you learned it?" Bi Xie asked, holding his hand as they continued walking down the street.

Seeing his blank stare, as if he hadn't even noticed the coffin had bumped into several people, she frowned, stopped, and glanced at him. "Ah Jiu, walk properly."

He stared intently at her. The blush on the girl's face had faded, and the corners of her mouth, which had just shown a smile, were now slightly pouting as she glared at him with dissatisfaction. Although Ah Xie looked handsome even like this, he still wanted her to smile at him more. When he smiled, it was like the rose he had carefully planted and which had eventually blossomed; he could never get enough of looking at it.

After Bi Xie finished speaking, he took his hand and walked forward.

He'll definitely be sleeping in a coffin tonight; staying in an inn would be too conspicuous. She needs to find a room to stay in before dark.

But he stopped after taking two steps, and asked her with a troubled look on his face, "A-Xie, will you still smile at me in the future?"

"It depends on how you behave," Bi Xie replied casually. "If you're obedient, I'll be happy, and if I'm happy, I'll smile."

“Then I’ll listen to A-Xie,” he said with a happy grin.

Bi Xie was stunned by his smile. He... learns so fast.

She discovered that he was truly intelligent. Whether it was learning human emotions, cooking, washing dishes, sweeping the floor, interacting with humans, or learning common sense about the world, he could learn quickly and do it better.

For example, the old lady next door has been coaxed by him to make him an extra sesame seed cake every night.

Then he secretly climbed over the wall and presented the sesame seed cake to her as she was meditating.

For example, the landlord of this house is a middle-aged woman who still has a charming appearance. Every time Ah Jiu smiles at her, the rent will be reduced by 30%.

For example, every time he went out, the purse and handkerchiefs his wife would give him when he came back were enough to set up a stall.

Bi Xie wondered what their expressions would be if they knew that Ajiu, whom he admired and fell in love with, slept in a coffin every night.

She shuddered, composed herself, and continued to sit under the moon, breathing and practicing Taoist techniques.

That's right, she's gone back to her old profession.

This is a fantasy world, but also a world where men are superior to women. Very few women work outside the home. She thought about it and realized that being a laundry maid, cook, servant, street performer, fortune teller, or cosmetics shop owner was not suitable for her. After much thought, she decided that being a Taoist priest would be easier. Once she had settled Ah Jiu in, she would roam the world, exorcising demons and monsters. Alone, with a horse and a pot of wine, wouldn't that be wonderful?

Unfortunately, it's easy to lose the true power of this gate, but difficult to rebuild it.

She had been practicing diligently for over a month, but she had only just scratched the surface and gained a basic understanding. She hadn't even touched the door to the Qi Circulation stage yet.

"Ah Xie, Ah Xie—"

Her arm was gently pushed.

"Ah Jiu," she opened her eyes unhappily, glaring at him angrily. Just as she was about to tell him not to disturb her while she was cultivating, she saw the sesame seed cake in his hand, and her stomach immediately rumbled. She swallowed hard. "Where did this come from?"

"Given by my grandma."

"Didn't I tell you not to ask Grandma for sesame cakes anymore?" Bi Xie looked at him while eating a hot sesame cake. "Grandma is old, and it's so late. Don't bother her. Let her rest earlier. Oh, by the way, we're out of salt. I'll go out and buy some tomorrow. Go ask Grandma if she needs anything. She's old and it's inconvenient for her to go out. I'll buy it for her."

"Yes, this is the last time. I've learned how to make sesame seed cakes. I'll make them for A-Xie from now on."

Bi Xie felt as sweet as if he were wrapped in honey. He patted his head, smiled at him, and held up two fingers, waving them. "Then I want to eat two tomorrow night."

"Okay," he said, becoming more and more like a human, looking at her glossy lips with affection and wiping them with a handkerchief. "A-Xie, I want to try sleeping in the same bed as you. How about we go shopping together tomorrow and buy a big bed?"

"No way?" Swallowing the sesame seed cake in his mouth, Bi Xie stared at him, and the more he looked, the more he felt that the words "ill intentions" were written all over his face.

The night before last, he secretly crawled out of the coffin in the middle of the night and said he wanted to try sleeping in the bed with her. If it was comfortable, he would not sleep in the coffin anymore. She was awakened and naturally refused firmly. The reason for refusing him at the time seemed to be that the bed was too small and not enough for two people to sleep in.

A perfectly normal vampire, who doesn't sleep in a coffin, suddenly wants to sleep in a bed with her. What else could it be but ill intentions?

"Why?"

How dare he ask that!

She watched him take a few bites of his sesame seed cake and asked, "Then tell me, why did you buy a big bed?"

He was honest about "sleeping with A-Xie".

Bi Xie took a few more bites of the sesame seed cake, got up and put away the futon. "That won't do either. I don't have any money to buy a big bed. Even if I could, I wouldn't sleep with you. I'm a girl. If I sleep with you, how will I get married in the future? Besides, I don't want to sleep with you."

"What is marriage? Ah Xie, I don't understand," he chased after her to the door, but the door slammed shut, and his remaining voice choked in his throat, "Why don't you want to sleep with me?"

Bi Xie leaned against the door, her heart pounding. This vampire knew too much now, daring to make such an absurd and shameless request as sleeping with her!

The next day, as soon as Bi Xie got up and opened the door, he saw A Jiu, dressed in white like jade.

She shamelessly sold his original snow-white brocade robe as an antique for fifty taels of silver, and bought him ten sets of white robes for only five taels of silver. The one that looks most like the original is the one he is wearing. Every time she sees it, she feels inexplicably guilty.

"Ah Xie," he said, his voice slightly hoarse.

Her heart skipped a beat. Had this silly boy not slept all night and been standing in front of her door all night?

“Wh…what?” She looked up at him, walked around him, and was about to leave. She wouldn’t give in to his pitiful appearance. The thought that the simple, straightforward, kind, and easily bullied Ajiu would become a ghost cultivator who used public office for private gain and went to various worlds to sleep with her hundreds or thousands of years later immediately hardened her heart. “Go make some breakfast yourself. I’m going out.”