Chapter 37
◎Marriage Fraud◎
Pei Xueyan reached out and hugged Jiang Qiye's waist, pressing her cheek against his chest: "Were you angry just now? Was it because I didn't agree to dual cultivation with you? Brother, once I recover, we won't cultivate together anymore."
She tilted her head back, her face beaming with a smile: "How about I marry you?"
"Huh?" was his instinctive reaction.
“I told you, even though I thought I was going to die yesterday, I kept my word.” She leaned back against his chest, her tone serious. “Good brother, you don’t know, I’ve been dreaming about you every day these past few days, as if I’ve known you for several lifetimes. It seems we were born to be husband and wife.”
When Jiang Qiye heard her propose to him while she was fully conscious, he felt both sweet and regretful.
What I regret is why he went to such lengths to scheme and manipulate me in my past lives.
She was so cute, so romantic, so innocent; they could fall in love so easily without any tricks!
Why is it that we always have to experience things firsthand before we suddenly understand them?
What he had been pursuing and carefully protecting these past few days was obtained so easily; happiness came unexpectedly.
Seeing him lost in thought, Pei Xueyan reached out and poked his cheek playfully, saying, "Hurry up and get me better! Once I have spiritual power and my cultivation has recovered, and I can fly on a sword with you, let's get married soon, okay?"
Jiang Qiye didn't think about any of that; he was only concerned with where the two of them would live, where they would cultivate, and what preparations needed to be made for their wedding.
They had been married once before, and they can still remember the process.
Should we send out wedding invitations to invite fellow cultivators to attend the ceremony?
After returning to the Qing Sect, should I disturb my master's seclusion?
The master was the one who led him into the mountains, so he must have been the matchmaker.
So what about Ye Xiuluo? Should we summon her back?
Since Master dislikes her so much, will they end up fighting on their wedding day?
After much thought, I realized that waiting for my master to emerge from seclusion would take one or two years, which was far too long.
Pei Xueyan had no idea how far he had gone, or what words he was currently preparing to deceive his cultivation level.
She tugged at his hand, "Brother, pat my head."
Jiang Qiye snapped out of his daze and instinctively raised his hand to touch her forehead, his fingertips feeling a thin layer of sweat.
"Are you sweating? I feel weak all over and sweating profusely right after eating. Oh, I'm really afraid that if I marry you like this, I'll become sickly and become a burden to you."
Jiang Qiye pulled her to sit on the stone bench, then squatted down and clasped her hands together tightly, palms touching.
"What are you doing?" Pei Xueyan looked at him with some confusion.
"I will impart to you some cultivation levels that a mortal body can withstand."
After Jiang Qiye finished speaking, he slowly closed his eyes.
Pei Xueyan was naturally very excited!
This time, it wasn't the shallow spiritual energy used for protection from a distance as before, but rather the power drawn from the melting pill in my heart.
Once this skill is revealed, it is a real drain, with no chance of recovery.
Time passed slowly, and it wasn't until almost half an hour later that he finally finished his practice.
This kind of primal power is extremely harmful to the body. When he opened his eyes, he felt slightly dizzy and his face turned a little pale.
Upon seeing this, Pei Xueyan immediately slid off the stone bench, squatted down in front of him, and held his arm with a worried expression: "What's wrong? Are you injured? I didn't ask you to teach such advanced skills, Brother Qiye, please sit down and rest."
She hurriedly got up, poured a cup of hot tea, and held it to his lips.
She clearly felt an unprecedented power surging through her entire body, as if air was about to burst out from her fingertips, and her body felt incredibly bloated.
Jiang Qiye took a sip of tea, looked at her slightly flushed cheeks, and said softly, "Try it quickly."
"Try what?"
Jiang Qiye instructed, "Stretch out your hand, interlock your thumb and middle finger, and flick it towards that tree."
Pei Xueyan did as instructed, but did not feel any movement.
It doesn't seem to be of much use.
Despite his physical exhaustion, Jiang Qiye quickly formed hand seals and circulated his internal energy, restoring some color to his face. He then recited a few lines of the cultivation technique:
"All things return to emptiness, the mind is still and unmoved; a single thought connects to heaven, and the Dao is naturally achieved."
He then stood up, took her hand, and pointed to an ancient tree on a distant mountain, saying, "Concentrate your mind and gather your energy, channeling it into your arm before flicking it out."
Pei Xueyan took a deep breath and focused her mind and energy as he instructed.
Perhaps due to excessive force, an invisible stream of air shot out from his fingertips, snapping the thick branch of the ancient tree in half with a "crack" as it fell to the ground.
"Wow!" Pei Xueyan exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise.
He couldn't help but marvel: What amazing qigong! Just this little bit has such powerful destructive force. If I could get my hands on the whole technique, wouldn't I be invincible?
Looking at her shocked yet excited expression, Jiang Qiye explained with some pride, "I started practicing this skill when I was seven years old. It would take others at least ten months to get the hang of it, but I mastered it in just ten days."
Pei Xueyan immediately tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek, her voice full of admiration: "You're so amazing! How can you be so amazing! There's actually a divine skill in the world that allows you to launch yourself without a sword, and even mortals can use it! Brother, you're so smart!"
Jiang Qiye suppressed the corners of his mouth, trying to maintain his composure: "What I taught you is less than one-tenth, and it's within the limits of a mortal's body. The martial arts of the Qing Sect are profound and extensive. You will learn from me in the future... I will teach you slowly in the future."
"That's wonderful!" Pei Xueyan excitedly grabbed his hand, witnessing how powerful even such an ordinary divine skill was, and blurted out, "Then let's get married quickly!"
Getting married was a trivial matter in her eyes, something she could say casually.
Perhaps it was out of fear of his master that he wanted to achieve his goal quickly.
Some exclaimed in amazement: "Master, you have practiced your skills for twenty or thirty years, yet you did not know that there was such a divine skill in the world that allows one to launch oneself without a sword. It is unbelievable that mortals can possess it!"
Once she has learned it, she will return to Yishui Manor and teach it to her senior sister, so that everyone in the manor can learn it. Then no sect will dare to covet them or bully them anymore!
Jiang Qiye's heart was stirred by her words "hurry up and get married," and he took it as her genuine desire to be with him.
He held her hand tightly, his eyes full of tenderness, and this time gave a definite answer: "Okay, once you're feeling better, we'll prepare for the wedding."
He needed to prepare, to do it properly, and to tell everyone.
He was going to get married to the most lovely and beautiful woman in the world.
After experiencing several lifetimes together, loving and understanding each other, we can finally be together forever!
The two stayed in a guest room at the temple that night. Pei Xueyan was exhausted from the day and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
After her breathing stabilized, Jiang Qiye quietly got up and went to pay his respects to Master Zijin.
In fact, when he was talking to the real person during the day, he vaguely sensed that the Purple Gold Real Person had already seen the abnormality in Pei Xueyan's physical cultivation, but he did not say it out of consideration for face.
When Master did not leave seclusion, Master was wholeheartedly protecting him, believing that all demons deserved to die.
After much thought, I realized that perhaps only by consulting this unassuming senior could I obtain a fair and objective opinion.
When Jiang Qiye arrived at the temple gate, he saw Master Zijin sitting cross-legged on a futon, meditating. Not daring to disturb him, he waited quietly at the gate for an hour.
"Young friend Jiang, please come in." Master Zijin's voice slowly drifted over.
Jiang Qiye hurriedly pushed open the door and entered, bowed respectfully, and then walked lightly to stand in front of him.
Master Zijin slowly opened his eyes, his gaze clear and warm: "Young friend, are you getting used to living here?"
Jiang Qiye bowed his head and replied, "Thank you for your care, Master. The guest room is quiet and elegant, and I feel very comfortable here. However, I have come late at night to disturb your peace and quiet. I hope you will forgive me."
Master Zijin smiled and waved his hand: "Since you have been standing outside the door for an hour, you must have something important to ask me. It's alright. The Xuanxiu (mystical cultivation) emphasizes doing what you feel at ease. It is fate that I am speaking with you today."
He gestured for Jiang Qiye to sit down on the futon opposite him.
After a moment of silence, Jiang Qiye finally raised his eyes, his gaze earnest: "True Master, you have discerning eyes. I know that you have seen through Azheng's... and Miss Pei's abnormality today. To tell you the truth, after Ye Xiuluo passed on his cultivation to her, my master sent me to kill her. A month ago, I sought her out, but out of compassion, I did not take action. Instead, I went to the illusionary realm to remove her heart core. Therefore, it was I who caused her to lose all her cultivation."
Master Zijin had long since seen through the illusions of the mortal world. Seeing his emotions, he gently comforted him: "You stripped her of her heart core because you were afraid she would suffer a backlash from her cultivation, or because you were afraid that one day you would take action against her? Or perhaps, to give your master an explanation?"
Jiang Qiye was suddenly jolted, as if someone had touched the deepest secret in his heart.
Yes, before entering the illusion, he took her pulse.
Her internal cultivation was often disordered, sometimes stagnant and blocked, and sometimes restless and disorganized.
It's really not a profound martial art, while Ye Xiuluo is considered a grandmaster-level figure. He once fought against ten opponents at the Immortal Sect Conference, which is completely different from this chaotic and harmful cultivation level.
Was it because he was attracted to her beauty that he became lustful?
Or is it truly a case of inner justice at play?
Perhaps, back then, he really just wanted to give an explanation to his master. But the experiences of the three lifetimes gradually shed that indifference, and he began to care about her health and how she could cultivate the righteous path again after losing her cultivation.
After falling in love with her, he was willing to give everything.
Even with so many righteous reasons, they still condescendingly abolished all her years of cultivation, turning her into a complete cripple.
“Both... I fear she'll be devoured by Ye Xiuluo's demonic energy and turn into a demon everyone wants to kill; I'm even more afraid that my master will use the sect rules to force her, leaving me in a dilemma and forcing me to harm her myself. I think that without cultivation, perhaps she can live as an ordinary person, far removed from the conflict between immortals and demons…”
“We became husband and wife in the three lifetimes of the illusion, but I killed her at the end each time. So after it ended, I gave her a potion of forgetfulness, and now she doesn’t remember anything.”
"But did you ask her if she was willing?" Master Zijin gently interrupted him.
"What?" Jiang Qiye was slightly taken aback; he had never actually thought about this question in the past few days.
“Miss Pei has a tenacious spirit between her brows; she is not one to be content to lag behind others. Your attempt to cut off her path of cultivation under the guise of ‘protection’ may not be a kindness to her.”
Jiang Qiye's Adam's apple bobbed, but he couldn't utter a word of rebuttal.
The bronze bells hanging outside the hall produce a clear yet somewhat lonely sound when the wind blows.
“Master, I know I’m being selfish. After waking up, I thought about it for a long time and decided to abolish her cultivation.” His voice was hoarse. “But I had no other choice. If I didn’t abolish her cultivation, it would definitely harm her body. But I’m afraid… I’m afraid that one day she will lose control and truly become the ‘demon’ that Master spoke of. At that time, we will have no chance anymore.”
The Purple Gold Immortal slowly rose and walked to the statue of the Three Pure Ones enshrined in the hall. His fingertips brushed against the cool folds of the statue's robes: "Demons and immortals are separated by only a single thought. Although Ye Xiuluo is an Asura, he once protected the people of a city. You care about her identity, thinking that without that cultivation, she is just a normal person, and you can be together in peace without being criticized. Young friend Jiang, what you need to discern is not whether she has Ye Xiuluo's demonic energy within her, but your own heart."
He walked to the front of the library, handed a simple bamboo slip to Jiang Qiye, and said: "This is the 'Heart Cleansing Manual' that I obtained by chance in my early years. You can study it when you have time."
Jiang Qiye accepted the bamboo slip with both hands. He remained silent for a long time before replying, "Thank you for your guidance, Master. I understand."
"Go."
Jiang Qiye responded with a "Yes," carefully put away the bamboo slips, bowed to the Purple Gold Immortal, and then turned and left the hall.
As soon as he got back to his room and opened the door, a soft, tender little hand wrapped around his waist.
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