"You little rascal, have you forgotten me?"
Pei Xuanzhi had a slight understanding of the principle of knowing when to stop, and the next day at dusk, the spirit horse slowly stopped in front of an inn in Qingshui City.
Yan Huanyue jumped off the carriage shaft, turned around and helped him down, fed Lingju a pill, and then Lingju dragged the carriage to the backyard by himself.
Yan Huanyue booked two guest rooms at the counter, and Pei Xuanzhi followed quietly behind her without any objection.
After everything was settled, Yan Huanyue set up a protective barrier, sat cross-legged on the bed, and took out the small black box.
Fu Yinhuan, who was in the box, had been bleeding and dehydrated for many days. She was thin and pale and was leaning against the wall, sleeping with her eyes closed and her breathing very shallow.
The fat mouse scurried around on the iron chain, happily swinging on the swing.
Yan Huanyue dissolved a pill in a bowl of warm water, pinched his chin and fed it to him, then turned around and put a handful of rice in the rat's bowl.
She looked at the person pretending to be asleep and said calmly, "Fu Yinhuan, are you still not going to tell me about what happened after I died in my previous life?"
Fu Yinhuan remained fast asleep.
Yan Huanyue kicked it directly, the chains clanging loudly. The fat mouse, who was having a good time, was startled and scurried behind her to eat rice.
Fu Yinhuan coughed violently and slowly opened her eyes.
Because half of his tongue had been cut off, he spoke somewhat indistinctly:
"Your past life? After you died in your past life, the Sky Patrol Division and various sects colluded with the demons. They were all evil people. Now you know that. Hurry up and get rid of those human traitors and lackeys. Go kill Wen Jian and Pei Hanzhou. Otherwise, what's the point of living this life again?"
Looking at his inhuman appearance, Yan Huanyue calmly said:
"Killing you is quite exhilarating. Oh, by the way, Fellow Daoist Tan is now a distinguished guest of the Xue family of Chang'an, and Yu Zhao is a promising young talent. Xiao Tiran is about to join the Heavenly Patrol Division, and you... are still spouting nonsense here. Tsk, the world is so unpredictable, who can say for sure?"
Because of the pills Yan Huanyue had given her, Fu Yinhuan was acting strangely. She tilted her thin neck, which was now just skin and bones, and laughed loudly:
"How can those fools be compared to me? Including you, if you hadn't been reborn before me, you wouldn't even be worthy of carrying my shoes. If I were reborn before Yongbei, I would surely make the world my own. You better serve me well, and I will slaughter cities for your amusement."
Yan Huanyue laughed and said, "You have quite the ambition. You have neither the ability to nurture the people and bring peace to the world to obtain long-term benefits, nor the virtue to breathe in the heavens and earth to show the great power of all living beings. All you have left is that little bit of killing and plundering ability. You don't think that you are the most clear-headed and the most capable, do you?"
Fu Yinhuan, in a daze yet unusually excited, said, "What do you know? Heaven and earth are incomplete, all things are in conflict, the great way is that the strong are respected, if you don't seize, you die, if you don't plunder, you lose, I am the master of heaven and earth..."
Yan Huanyue said calmly, "When selfish people like you gain a little power, you start to preach that the strong are respected, making everyone think that it is only natural to devour the weak and that the weak should die and be drained dry. In the end, it is just whitewashing. You probably can't even understand what a true strong person is."
After saying that, he poured another bowl of water made from the pill into Fu Yinhuan's stomach, watching him writhe on the ground in pain.
"This medicine is called 'Heart-Severing Pain.' It will cause you pain for an hour every day, but it won't really harm you. Isn't that good? It cost me one mid-grade spirit stone. Please take a look and evaluate it first. Once my cultivation level is high enough to search your soul, I will help you sever it."
Fu Yinhuan was drenched in sweat, pale as a demon, her blood-stained fingertips gripping the talisman on the ground so tightly that her nails were about to crack.
"Yan Huanyue...you're going to exhaust the last bit of affection I have left..."
Yan Huanyue stomped on his finger and broke it, concluding, "Disgusting."
She left the black box without looking back. Seeing that it was completely dark outside, she put away the barrier and prepared to eat some food before continuing her meditation.
She went next door to find Pei Xuanzhi, but smelled a faint medicinal scent wafting from the crack in the door and heard coughing sounds coming from inside.
Someone inside said, "Young man, you look very ill. Why didn't you tell the people who came with you?"
After a long while, Pei Xuanzhi said weakly:
"She'll be worried... She probably won't come out until midnight, so please send a meal to her door before you turn off the stove."
Yan Huanyue hesitated for a moment before finally reaching out and knocking on the door.
A moment later, a young waiter carrying a tray opened the door, greeted her, and slipped past her.
Pei Xuanzhi was sitting at the table, unusually flustered.
He put down the book in his hand, hugged a black porcelain bowl, his Adam's apple bobbed, and tilted his head back to drink what was in the bowl.
He must have drunk too quickly, because he choked and coughed for a long time, looking at her with teary eyes.
Wiping away her tears, she said in a hoarse voice, "Shouldn't Senior Sister be meditating and cultivating for a long time? Why did she come out?"
Yan Huanyue took the bowl from his hand, sniffed it, and put it back on the table. "Why are you drinking medicine for a cold?"
Pei Xuanzhi wiped the medicine stains that had splashed on the book. "I don't know when I caught a cold wind, and now I have a bit of a headache. I've run out of pills, so I asked the waiter to buy some medicine and brew it in the backyard. I'll make do with it for a day."
Have you eaten yet?
Pei Xuanzhi shook his head, his slender fingers bracing against the edge of the table. He slowly leaned closer to her, and casually breathed on her cheek:
Why do you have a bloody aura about you?
Yan Huanyue said without changing her expression, "Most women have blood in their bodies every month."
Pei Xuanzhi paused for a moment, then returned to his original position and sat up straight, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks. "I also have blood-replenishing pills."
Yan Huanyue asked, "Didn't you say you didn't have any?"
He picked up a book, casually flipped through a couple of pages to distract himself, then placed a bottle of pills on the table and said unhurriedly, "I do have some of these."
Yan Huanyue said, "No need. Don't wait until you're injured and bleeding and there's no medicine left."
As he spoke, he suddenly remembered that he had broken out in a sweat and vomited blood last night, and had also taken three Qingxin pills, which were slightly cold in nature, so he was probably not able to withstand it.
She went to get some light food. After Pei Xuanzhi finished eating, he said he felt dizzy and wanted to sleep for a while while washing up, and told her to go back to her room and not to worry about him.
Yan Huanyue naturally couldn't leave him alone here, so she went to get the blankets, washed up, and then sat on the outside of the bed to meditate.
When she released the incantation at night, Pei Xuanzhi was holding a book and had fallen asleep leaning against the headboard.
Yan Huanyue took the book from his hands and helped him to sleep.
The bed was pitch black at night, and a wisp of cool mist crept into her bed, gently caressing her fingertips.
Yan Huanyue remembered the blood he vomited last night, so she let it wrap around her wrist and rub gently against her palm.
She was somewhat curious and slowly closed her five fingers.
The mist tightened, and Pei Xuanzhi groaned in his sleep, unconsciously murmuring, "Sister, no..."
Yan Huanyue let go, and the wisp of mist began to complain, rubbing against her arm fiercely, demanding a response.
She closed her eyes and fell asleep, but the mist climbed onto her forehead and touched her eyelids with its tip, trying to wake her up.
Yan Huanyue ignored the waves of coldness on her eyelids. The golden mist had no choice but to coil around her neck and play with her hair.
Another wisp of coldness spiraled up from her ankle, rubbing against her leg and probing forward.
It quickly crawled to the back of her knees, and Yan Huanyue had to block it.
It crawled out from under her skirt, wrapped around her waist, and bound her tightly.
In a short while, her quilt was already covered in golden mist.
Helpless, Yan Huanyue set up a barrier to prevent them from getting into her clothes, then left them alone and went to sleep.
I woke up to find the blankets beside me ice-cold.
Pei Xuanzhi was sitting at the table drinking his medicine. Seeing that she had woken up, he suggested, "Senior sister, let's go."
Yan Huanyue got out of bed to check his pulse and, after confirming that he was alright, packed her things and left in a spirit horse carriage.
The journey went smoothly, and by the time they arrived at the Tianyan Sect, it was still before most of the disciples were returning to the sect.
As soon as they arrived at Changqing Palace to pay their respects, Pei Hanzhou said, "Su Huaiyuan sent a letter saying that Madam Lu died on the night of the sixth day of the month. You had just passed through Xianyang, and he had not been able to find any trace of you."
Yan Huanyue was somewhat surprised. The Lu family was fine when they left on the sixth day of the lunar month, but she did not expect that Madam Sun would die that very night.
Pei Xuanzhi's eyes were slightly red as he suppressed his emotions and said with great regret, "I took a detour and a different route, originally intending to see different places, but I ended up missing out."
Pei Hanzhou originally thought that he had a distant relationship with the Lu family and that the Lu family probably didn't treat him very well.
Although he is a bit aloof, he grew up in the Lu family and has to go back for the New Year. It's understandable that he's feeling sad right now.
Yan Huanyue had the same thought. When she was in the Lu family, Pei Xuanzhi often visited Madam Sun.
Although he hasn't mentioned it seriously, he must have some feelings for her since she was a child, since he took care of her from a young age.
The hall fell silent for a moment before Pei Hanzhou finally spoke, asking, "Then shall I escort you back to Chang'an?"
Pei Xuanzhi coughed and said, "There's no need for that. Life and death are common occurrences. The person is probably already in the ground by now. The journey has been tiring, and it would be sad to go back."
Yan Huanyue asked, "Then should we set up a memorial tablet?"
The faint redness in Pei Xuanzhi's eyes had faded completely. He pondered for a moment and said, "There's no need for that. Seeing it every day will inevitably bring sadness when I think of the past. It's better to ask someone to go and burn some paper money for me."
Yan Huanyue thought that he did indeed have some feelings for her.
Pei Hanzhou had already asked someone to offer condolences. He was worried that Pei Hanzhou would feel it wasn't enough, but Pei Hanzhou didn't expect that he would only want to burn paper money.
Without asking further questions, he used his spiritual power to examine Pei Xuanzhi's physical condition as usual, and then frowned and asked, "Why did you exhaust yourself again after only recovering a little?"
Yan Huanyue said, "When I found him after traveling from Yongbei, he was injured, and he also had the charm on him..."
Pei Xuanzhi interrupted, "I didn't mean to."
Seeing that he didn't want to talk about it, Pei Hanzhou decided to ask him about the situation before he went into seclusion, so he only said:
"Don't run around this year. Go into seclusion now, and I'll prepare some elixirs for you."
Pei Xuanzhi glanced at him in surprise, then turned to look at Yan Huanyue, who looked completely indifferent and even responded to him with a puzzled expression.
He slowly lowered his eyes and replied softly, "Yes."
.
With Pei Xuanzhi left in Changqing Palace, Yan Huanyue felt much more at ease.
Upon re-entering the Heavenly Stele, a completely new scene unfolded.
She fought for an hour in the Heavenly Stele Secret Realm, and when she came out, her ranking instantly climbed six places.
It seems that the recent efforts to expand the spiritual sea and spiritual veins have been quite effective.
She walked out of the Heavenly Stele, went in again, and this time came out having climbed a ranking.
The true level of skill will only be known after most people return and re-rank the Tianbei system following the New Year.
She felt much more relaxed and refreshed today, having completely stretched her muscles and bones.
I was planning to go back to take a bath, but on the way I saw a golden shadow leap up a tree in the woods and sit on the trunk.
It gently wagged its fluffy tail, licked its paws from time to time, and then blinked its big, round eyes, looking at her with curiosity.
Yan Huanyue stopped in her tracks. "You little rascal, have you forgotten about me?"
The little golden raccoon played with the leaves beside it with its furry paws. Seemingly bored, it turned around and prepared to jump to another tree.
Yan Huanyue pretended to be indifferent and looked around. Suddenly, a spell flew out, and the little golden fox struggled to land in her arms.
Yan Huanyue hugged it tightly and said with a grin, "Why don't you like people anymore?"
It was tiny, and when it was held in her arms, it immediately quieted down, looked up at her intently, its eyes filled with her, and its fluffy tail wagged back and forth.
Yan Huanyue rubbed its head, "That's a good boy."
On the way, they ran into Ning Wuyang, who hadn't gone home for the New Year. Ning Wuyang tried to pet and tease the kitten, but the kitten found him annoying and just snuggled into Yan Huanyue's arms.
Ning Wuyang was very interested and asked, "Will you sell this cat? I'll give you twenty coins."
Yan Huanyue refused, saying, "Not for sale."
Ning Wuyang looked at its round head with curiosity, poked it, and asked, "Is it male or female?"
Yan Huanyue said, "I haven't seen that."
Ning Wuyang laughed and said, "If you want to raise them, you can castrate both the male and female, so they won't bark randomly when they're in heat. Or you can find another one to make a pair, but I don't know if they'll like each other."
The kitten, who was sleeping peacefully in her arms, suddenly bristled with fur.
It raised its head and pricked up its ears to listen, only to hear Yan Huanyue say, "Oh? Are there any experts nearby?"
Ning Wuyang said, "If it's a male cat, you're good at swordsmanship, so you can do it yourself. Just remember to use the medicine properly. If it's a female cat, Elder Chu should be willing to help."
Yan Huanyue nodded and said, "I'll go back and give it a bath, then I'll check on it again."
Its leisurely and carefree mood vanished instantly, and it was about to run away, but it held Yan Huanyue firmly in its arms.
It struggled, waving its paws, but was clearly no match for the enemy, and could only meow softly.
Once back in the room, as soon as Yan Huanyue let go, it immediately darted away, jumping onto a table in the distance and scrutinizing her.
It angrily swung its tail and licked its messy, fluffy fur.
Yan Huanyue was so fond of its soft and cuddly appearance that she couldn't contain herself and felt an urge to devour it whole.
She gritted her teeth and waved, and it immediately tried to run away.
It had barely taken a step when it flew into the air to her side, and as soon as its furry claws landed on her sleeve, it struggled to run away.
After taking a bath, Yan Huanyue forcibly gave it a bath and dried it using a magic spell.
When Yan Huanyue tried to determine its sex by touching its hind legs, it clung tightly to its tail and frantically tried to escape, its loyalty was somewhat unexpected, so she had no choice but to give up.
He then cuddled it in bed, covered it with a blanket, and stroked its fluffy tail as they discussed:
"You can stay here. Let me hug you. I'll find you some fish to eat tomorrow."
The kitten absolutely refused, its little head rubbing against her neck, trying to escape from the warm blankets.
Yan Huanyue felt extremely ticklish from being rubbed, and laughed happily and contentedly.
The kitten never expected her to be so domineering and frivolous in private. How could she so easily agree to something like using a knife?
It couldn't help but whimper and slap her hand with its paw.
With a "whoosh," it leaped out of bed and onto the windowsill, wagging its tail and baring its teeth at her in dissatisfaction.
Yan Huanyue got up and lifted the half-drawn curtain to look at it from afar.
It became somewhat reserved under her loving gaze, its tail gradually drooping, and it turned its head away from her eyes.
Kittens are truly creatures that can make people temporarily forget their troubles and find comfort.
Yan Huanyue watched its tail drooping gently under the edge of the bed, its two little ears twitching from time to time. She really wanted to snatch it away, give it a good rub, and then cuddle it to sleep.
But it no longer liked to come near her, and seemed to have grown unfamiliar with her, unable to tolerate her getting too close. So she could only regretfully lie back down.
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2:58:22 on December 4, 2023 and 1:44:51 on December 6, 2023!
Thank you to the lovely angels who threw landmines: Cute Cheese, Luck+1, San San, Chi Yu Jing Sui Wan, and Twenty-Four Flower (1 each);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Luck+1 90 bottles; Bean Sauce 54 bottles; Yu Ming 44 bottles; Familiar Number Bacteria 28 bottles; Tiptoe Jump Jump Jump 22 bottles; Did the author add roots today?, To Time's Micro Love Letter, Coconut Coconut, Sea Tomato 20 bottles; Little One, Anthology 18 bottles; 55998157 15 bottles; Wan, Song Strawberry, Tomato Scrambled Eggs, Sleep Until the Clouds Rise, White Cat White Hair 10 bottles; Xiao He, Y. 7 bottles; Mushroom Tired, Never Retreat from the Beginning, Sister Jiajia, Jiu Li 5 bottles; 42293163 4 bottles; Seven Days Without Eating 2 bottles; Bu Jie, 25126060, Chop Chop Chop Chop, Life Like This, kurosakiiji, Zhou Man's Sword Bone, Orange 彡, Xia Minglang, 47243335, momo, Cute Cheese, Osmanthus Water Chestnut, Let Me Eat Sweet Cookies! Pepsier, Kokoro, and Akira 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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