At the foot of the mountain, in the courtyard, there is an ancient well and an old elm tree swaying in the wind.
Jiang Fei stood lazily under the elm tree, looking at the thin, short, and dirty boy in front of him, and casually asked, "Have you thought it through?"
Yun Wunian lowered his head, trying his best to cover the red birthmark on his face. After a long silence, he nodded firmly.
"Okay." Jiang Fei turned around and went back into the house. When she came out again, she was holding a bundle and handed it to him. "You're too dirty. Wash yourself clean and then come to my room."
Yun Wunian glanced at the dirty stains on her body, her face flushed with embarrassment. She took the bundle, but paused when she saw the clothes inside.
Inside the bundle was a white men's suit, which fit his figure perfectly.
Did that woman already know she would come with her? Or... was it her doing that Yan'er was found so quickly by the people in the prefect's mansion?
After pursing his lips, Yun Wunian finally turned and walked into the woodshed.
The woodshed had firewood and a tinderbox, but the wooden barrel was empty.
Yun Wunian carried a wooden bucket, which was half his height, to the well and filled the water vat little by little.
Inside the room, Jiang Fei was leaning against the soft couch by the door, leisurely eating fruit, occasionally glancing at Yun Wunian who was fetching water.
His thin body carried the huge wooden bucket, his chubby face was flushed red, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his birthmark was even more vivid, but even so, he remained silent.
An eight-year-old child, so young, yet so hardworking and patient without uttering a sound, truly precocious and calm.
Jiang Fei smiled and looked away, then lazily closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, the sound of water in the woodshed stopped, and footsteps could be heard in the courtyard.
Jiang Fei opened her eyes and looked over, then narrowed her eyes slightly.
After changing out of her tattered clothes, Yun Wunian looked even more refined. Her dark hair was tied into a ponytail, her eyebrows were slightly lowered, and her dark blue pupils were like a clear pool of water. Her clean face was somewhat haggard due to malnutrition, and she still had a bit of childishness. The birthmark on her left cheek was like a ball of fire.
His white robes and expressionless face only accentuated his aloofness and detachment from worldly affairs.
Jiang Fei stood up, leaned down and looked him up and down.
Yun Wunian stood motionless in front of her, eyes closed and mind at peace.
Jiang Fei looked at his pretentious mature appearance, smiled with narrowed eyes, and pinched his cheek: "You do have a bit of a look."
Yun Wunian was still a child, and when he was being teased and manipulated like this, he looked up at Jiang Fei with his eyes full of reluctance.
Jiang Fei straightened up and casually handed him a jade porcelain bottle: "Change the dressing once a day, and your injuries should heal in about seven days."
After all, it is a spiritual medicine from the cultivation world.
Yun Wunian held the jade porcelain bottle in his hand, his eyes showing some surprise.
Jiang Fei smiled and said, "Don't think that just because you agreed to be my childhood sweetheart, you'll be set for life." She casually fiddled with a bulging money pouch. "From now on, you'll be in charge of cooking, washing dishes, chopping wood, and boiling water in this house. But you're still too young to chop wood, so you'll have to buy it at the market."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yun Wunian's favorability rating increased by 5.
Jiang Fei glanced at him.
Yun Wunian lowered his head, feeling a sense of relief.
He dislikes living under someone else's roof, and it would be good if he could do something for others.
Jiang Fei stuffed the money bag into Yun Wunian's hand: "This is three hundred taels of silver, enough for us to get by for a while. You can take it."
Yun Wunian looked at the money pouch. Three hundred taels of silver could not only last for a while, but could even cover the expenses of an ordinary family for more than ten years.
"By the way, my name is Jiang Fei." Jiang Fei looked down at him. "From what that little girl said the other day, your name is Wu Nian?"
Yun Wunian nodded.
Jiang Fei squinted at him and said, "That little girl also said that you're not mute."
Yun Wunian was taken aback, his gaze lowered slightly.
He couldn't quite remember when the last time he had spoken was.
It was probably when Yan'er asked him his name that he said "Yun Wunian".
He didn't remember many things, but he always remembered the year he encountered bandits, when more than a dozen people lost their lives in the mountains, and the smell of blood was nauseating.
The Taoist priest who took him in used a knife to cut open a corpse, hid the tiny boy under the body, and told him not to speak, that he would come to get him soon.
He waited for a long time, and finally climbed out alone, where he saw the Taoist's corpse. "Never mind," Jiang Fei's voice brought Yun Wunian back to his senses, and Yun Wunian looked at her.
"Since you can't speak, how can you read?"
Yun Wunian's face stiffened, then he looked slightly embarrassed.
Jiang Fei understood; what opportunity would a little beggar have to learn to read and write?
She smiled and said, "Little Wunian, it's time to make dinner. Also, I'm going to take a bath tonight, so remember to boil water." After saying that, she leaned back on the soft couch again, picked up the storybook that was upside down, and casually ate a grape.
Since the child wanted to prove her worth, it just so happened that she preferred to indulge in pleasure.
Yun Wunian looked at her, who was completely at ease, with a somewhat blank expression in his eyes.
He didn't know why she had chosen him and wanted him to be her child husband, nor did he know where she had come from, but he could tell that she had no hostility towards him.
With money in hand, Yun Wunian was greeted with smiles for the first time when he went out. However, because of the birthmark on his face, he could still tell that people were wary of him.
After all... it's an ominous symbol.
Even the neighbors around would avoid it from a distance.
Yun Wunian lowered his head, his hands, which were red from being squeezed by the vegetable basket, and went back to the courtyard to start a fire and cook.
When he was a beggar, he only knew how to cook the vegetable leaves or grass roots he picked up with fire. His cooking skills were extremely poor, and he could barely cook the food.
I thought Jiang Fei would be furious or extremely dissatisfied, but she just ate as usual, without the slightest sign of anything amiss.
Yun Wunian finally felt relieved.
For the next period of time, Jiang Fei and Yun Wunian lived together peacefully.
Yun Wunian was in charge of preparing three meals a day. His small body was barely a head taller than the stove, and he would stand on a stool and hold a spatula to cook every day.
Jiang Fei only had to eat; whether the food was delicious or not, she would calmly finish it.
As time went on, Yun Wunian also realized that Jiang Fei was not as difficult to get along with as he had initially thought, and was even quite easy to talk to. She was just... casual and bold in her actions.
She treated him as an equal, and even gave him a place to stay, making him feel needed.
Aside from his status as her "childhood sweetheart," he was grateful to her.
That evening, Yun Wunian returned from the market and, as he approached the house, he heard Aunt Li's voice: "Madam Jiang must be nineteen years old by now, right?"
Yun Wunian paused in his steps.
Aunt Li lived next door. Jiang Fei was generous and once gave a few taels of silver to the neighbors. After all, he was indebted to them, so although they weren't very friendly to him, they stopped pointing fingers at him all the time.
Aunt Li was the kindest of them all.
“My distant relative who is a constable in the city is about your age and unmarried. He is very fond of Madam Jiang, and even your little brother is willing to accept her…”
Yun Wunian listened to Aunt Li's words, his lips pressed tightly together, and he lowered his head slightly.
He naturally understood what Aunt Li meant; because of the strange birthmark on his face, he had been called an unlucky person by those people since childhood. Accepting him was a huge concession.
"Young man?" Jiang Fei's slow, deliberate voice came from behind.
Yun Wunian also came to his senses.
Aunt Li paused, her voice lowering slightly: "Miss Li, everyone says that the birthmark on your brother's face is an ominous sign, a cursed fate, bringing misfortune to those around him. But my relative..."
Yun Wunian's eyelashes trembled, and he couldn't hear the rest of what she was saying. His hands and feet were a little cold.
Jiang Fei was his only chance to escape his lowly status, but he might be abandoned again...
However, the next moment, Jiang Fei laughed: "That just so happens that I have the Po Jun star in my destiny, which is opposite to his."
Yun Wunian seemed surprised by her words and paused for a moment.
"Miss Jiang?" Aunt Li was also very confused.
Jiang Fei slowly stood up, looking embarrassed: "Aunt Li, to tell you the truth, that young man is my childhood sweetheart."
Aunt Li clearly hadn't considered this, and remained frozen in astonishment for a while before Jiang Fei escorted her to the gate of the house.
Upon seeing Yun Wunian, Aunt Li's expression became even more interesting. She glanced at the seven or eight-year-old boy, then at Jiang Fei, and finally left with a conflicted look in her eyes.
Jiang Fei couldn't help but laugh as she watched Aunt Li's figure disappear. She was afraid that in just a few days, the news that Yun Wunian was her childhood sweetheart would spread throughout the surrounding area.
She turned her gaze back to Yun Wunian. In the past few days, his previously haggard complexion, caused by malnutrition, had improved considerably, and he had become more refined.
Just as Jiang Fei was about to say something, he heard two people carrying hoes coming down from the mountain, whispering, "I heard that a demon has appeared in Youfang Town. He's dressed in red, has red eyes and black demonic claws, and he even eats people. The human world has been affected."
"I heard that the devil is looking for someone, it seems to be his wife..."
"Who knows? That's terrifying!"
"..."
Jiang Fei raised an eyebrow and smiled, while his mind raced. If one day in the immortal and demon realms was equivalent to one hundred days in the human realm, then by the time Yun Wunian was old enough to get married, it would only be a little over a month in both the immortal and demon realms.
There's still time.
But...wife?
It's just a matter of fate with a 10-point affinity.
Jiang Fei decided to ignore the self-deceiving devil and looked down at Yun Wunian, meeting his somewhat puzzled gaze. His eyes were dark and deep, and she couldn't help but reach out and pinch his cheek: "You came back late today."
Yun Wunian looked completely used to it, all traces of reluctance gone from his eyes. He stood there without changing his expression, glanced at her, pursed his lips, and was about to enter the courtyard.
"Wait a minute," Jiang Fei suddenly said, grabbing him by the back of his collar and pulling up his sleeve. "Where did Xiao Wunian go today? He's all dirty."
Yun Wunian's small body leaned against Jiang Fei's chest, her cheeks slightly flushed. She struggled to break free but couldn't, and could only purse her lips tightly.
When she grew older, she could no longer freely rub herself.
Jiang Fei had already clearly seen the stains: "Is it ink?" She understood, "Did you sneak off to the academy?"
Yun Wunian froze.
Jiang Fei murmured, "I almost forgot, you're old enough to go to the academy now." Saying this, she released him and leaned closer, "Little Wunian, are you going to the academy?"
Yun Wunian was stunned.
He had thought that once she said he was more capable and powerful than her, he wouldn't have to be her "childhood sweetheart" anymore. But she would never give him the chance to surpass her. Little did he expect...
"Hmm?" Jiang Fei asked again.
Yun Wunian clenched his fist and nodded.
Only through studying can one have the opportunity to stand out from the crowd.
“It’s not impossible,” Jiang Fei said slowly, then looked troubled. “However, if you refuse to speak, how can the teacher accept you?”
Yun Wunian paused, his lips moved, and his face paled slightly.
Jiang Fei glanced at him, said nothing more, and turned back into her room.
Yun Wunian stood there for a long time before turning around and going into the woodshed.
That night, perhaps because he was distracted, Yun Wunian's dinner was a little burnt.
Jiang Fei continued eating without changing her expression, and after finishing, she turned to go back to her room.
Behind him, a boy's hoarse, unpleasant voice, tinged with a touch of childishness, came from behind: "I can speak."
Jiang Fei paused slightly, turned to look at the young man who was staring at her anxiously, and after a moment of silence, said, "Then why don't you call me 'wife' and let me hear it?"
Upon hearing this, Yun Wunian froze, then pursed his lips and lowered his head for a long time.
Jiang Fei laughed: "It's just going to school. I just had dinner, and I smell burnt all over. I want to take a shower now..."
Yun Wunian suddenly looked up, his eyes brightening slightly, and turned to walk towards the woodshed.
Yun Wunian made dozens of trips to prepare the bathtub, carrying only a small half-bucket of water each time.
The room was warm and cozy, with a faint fragrance that smelled wonderfully comforting.
Jiang Fei removed her outer garment, and as her inner robe fell to her shoulders, she glanced at the wound Xin Qi had left on her chest. This wound would never heal; this body was only maintaining its life force thanks to Rong Shu's spiritual herbs.
However, although the spiritual root was destroyed, some minor spells that only required incantations could still be used, which was an unexpected surprise.
There was a sound of running footsteps outside the door. Yun Wunian pushed open the door, holding a soap pod in his hand, but paused when he saw the scene inside the room.
In the dim candlelight, Jiang Fei's shoulder was half-exposed, her long hair cascading down her right shoulder like silk. There was a deep scar on her chest, and one could even vaguely see the flesh and blood inside.
Yun Wunian looked at the scar, which was much deeper than the whip marks on his body. Although he didn't utter a sound at that time, he still felt unbearable pain. Yet she suffered such a serious injury.
"Engrossed in watching?" Jiang Fei glanced at him and said slowly, "You little pervert."
Yun Wunian snapped back to reality, his cheeks flushing red. He even forgot to put down the soap pod, turned around, closed the door, and left.
Jiang Fei chuckled softly, took off her clothes, and stepped into the bathtub.
Yun Wunian refused to approach the door again, staying in the courtyard until midnight when all was quiet and there was no sound from inside the room. Only then did he carefully push open the door.
Jiang Fei has already returned to her inner chambers to rest.
Yun Wunian stepped onto the wooden stool and carefully scooped out the water from the bathtub.
The sound of someone turning over came from the inner chamber.
Yun Wunian immediately stopped what he was doing and, like a thief, held his breath and looked into the inner chamber.
The next moment, a murmur came from inside: "Who?"
Yun Wunian kept his mouth tightly shut, not making a sound.
Jiang Fei then said, "Come in."
After a moment of silence, Yun Wunian finally went inside when the person inside seemed impatient.
Jiang Fei, dressed in a snow-white undergarment, was lying on her side by the bed. Hearing the noise, she only slightly raised her eyes, her gaze still somewhat sleepy: "Come here."
Yun Wunian hesitated for a moment before stepping forward.
Jiang Fei reached out and gently stroked his cheek, her eyes glazed over: "Xin Qi..." Her voice was tender, as if filled with endless longing.
Yun Wunian paused slightly.
Who is Xin?
Who is she looking for?
She kept him around only because she considered him her sweetheart?
If she had someone she liked, why would she ask him to be her so-called "childhood sweetheart"?
However... Yun Wunian felt much more relaxed.
Since she already has someone she likes, he won't feel too guilty when he cancels the "childhood sweetheart" status in the future.
He would also repay her kindness in other ways, or... help her find the person she loves.
Yun Wunian's favorability rating: 10.
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