Zhang Mingyuan's expression shifted into a gnashing of teeth.
He was already feeling deeply guilty, yet the Heavenly Dao had to pull a stunt like this on him.
He really wanted to punch this unreliable Heavenly Dao big brother to death right now!
But his fists clenched and unclenched, ultimately releasing in defeat.
Forget it, let them talk. This has nothing to do with romance, only a sigh at how cruel the ways of the world are!
At this moment, Zhang Mingyuan was in no mood to eat meat or drink. He only wanted to find a quiet place to calm down.
Beside him, Chu Jinghong, still completely oblivious, yelled for his master not to leave, clamoring that this was good stuff seasoned with Xuanhuang Mother Qi by Martial Uncle Heavenly Dao, and that not eating it would be a sin!
Zhang Mingyuan glared at his rebellious disciple in annoyance. With a slight movement of his fingertips, his magic surged, grabbing a massive meat leg from afar and stuffing it into the disciple's mouth.
“Just eat!”
With those words, he transformed into a wisp of clear wind and drifted away from the banquet.
Seeing this, everyone exchanged bewildered glances.
Only the Heavenly Dao, gazing in the direction of Zhang Mingyuan's departure, stroked the beard on his chin, smiling without a word.
Zhang Mingyuan drifted aimlessly through the Yunxue Immortal Territory, eventually sitting down at the edge of a solitary cliff.
The night wind was biting, whipping up snow that filled the sky.
Below the cliff was a churning sea of clouds, swallowing and breathing the cool moonlight.
Though the solitary moon overhead was bright, it carried an unmelting chill.
All around was silent, save for the wind blowing through the pine forest.
He stared at the moon, scratching his head in frustration.
He felt he had rejected her cleanly and decisively, which should have been correct. Yet, the moment he closed his eyes...
...the image of the girl weeping like rain, completely heartbroken, would flood his mind!
It made him feel like an unpardonable, heartless scoundrel!
Reason told him to cut ties cleanly, but his conscience made him feel a lingering guilt.
The two emotions fought back and forth in his head. It was truly frustrating!
Just then, a faint, elegant fragrance wafted through the wind.
A figure in a white gown, resembling a fairy under the moon, descended upon the flying snow.
The fairy's red lips parted slightly. “What? Are you feeling bad for her?”
“Oh, my dear wife, please don't tease me! You know my heart only has room for you.”
The fairy gave a soft hum, clearly highly pleased with this answer.
“I will allow you to go see her again.”
“No way!” Zhang Mingyuan replied resolutely.
“Going there would only hurt her more. It's better to cut ties cleanly and thoroughly.”
“So... you actually care about her deeply in your heart?”
Hearing these chilling words, Zhang Mingyuan's soul almost leaped out of his body.
He sprang up from the ground, raising both hands high:
“Absolutely not! She and I are completely innocent!”
“Saving her back then was purely because she was a rogue cultivator, just as miserable and pitiful as I was when I first arrived in this world. It was definitely not out of lust!”
“And when she pestered me back then, I rejected her openly!”
“You knew about it back then too, and my disciples can all testify. If you don't believe me, go ask that rebellious disciple Chu Jinghong!”
“As for this matter, I just feel... she didn't mean to harm me, after all. She just had those feelings for me...”
“Ah, I don't know how to describe it. Anyway, it's just frustrating!”
“In short, I only love you. Don't overthink it!”
After blurting out his explanation, Zhang Mingyuan slumped like a deflated balloon, sitting back down on the ground and irritably scratching at the snow and dirt with his fingers.
Su Jinxue watched him quietly without a word.
After a long while, Zhang Mingyuan began to feel uneasy.
“Wife, why aren't you speaking? You're not... angry, are you?”
He looked up.
Under the moonlight, her expression remained cold and elegant, her crimson eyes resembling scarlet glazed glass.
Zhang Mingyuan quickly stood up straight, standing at attention.
“Wife! Don't be angry. I just feel like I'm the type of... you know, I'm just... ah!”
Zhang Mingyuan mumbled and sputtered, the words at the tip of his tongue but too embarrassing to say.
Suddenly, Su Jinxue smiled.
That smile was like a spring breeze melting snow.
She took a step forward, pulling Zhang Mingyuan directly into her embrace and pressing his head against the crook of her neck.
Her delicate hand gently stroked the back of his head, her voice as soft and warm as water:
“Alright, I know that though you seem heartless on the surface, you are actually a kind person at heart.”
“You merely feel pity for the karma of this situation, not romantic affection for Shen Ningyan. I know all of it...”
Zhang Mingyuan stiffened completely.
Nestled against her fair, soft neck, with the unique fragrance of his wife swirling around his nose, his cheeks flushed bright red all the way to his ears—perhaps dazed by the scent or something else.
He suddenly broke free from that gentle embrace, looking away at the mountain moon in an attempt to cover his embarrassment:
“Nonsense! Since when am I kind-hearted??”
“This Lord is an Immortal Lord! I fought my way up from the very bottom!”
“I kill without batting an eye! I've killed more people than the pigs slaughtered at RT-Mart!”
“This Lord just thought that Shen Ningyan was too—”
His voice cut off abruptly.
Su Jinxue wasn't annoyed at being pushed away. She simply crossed her arms and stared at him playfully:
“Too what? Why did you stop?”
Zhang Mingyuan's face was so red it looked ready to bleed. Furious and flustered, he decided to play dirty.
He suddenly raised a finger, the laws of annihilation surging at his fingertip.
“Wife, your husband advises you to watch your tone.”
Seeing the laws of annihilation in Zhang Mingyuan's hand, Su Jinxue immediately felt her dantian being stirred.
Filled with embarrassed annoyance, her crimson eyes glared intently at Zhang Mingyuan as she took step after step toward him.
“Zhang Mingyuan, how dare you!”
Zhang Mingyuan shuddered.
Su Jinxue pressed closer and closer while he retreated step by step, until he had nowhere left to go, with half his foot dangling over the cliff.
“Hehehe, wife, I was wrong!”
He hastily extinguished the law and raised his hands in surrender.
“If you come any closer, I'm really going to fall.”
“Hmph, so be it. A husband who flirts around outside deserves to fall to his death.”
“Damn, wife, you're so cruel!” Zhang Mingyuan clutched his chest, pretending to be heartbroken.
“Alright, alright, stop acting.”
Su Jinxue rolled her eyes at him and sat down right at the edge of the cliff.
Seeing that his wife really wasn't angry, Zhang Mingyuan eagerly scrambled over and sat obediently right next to her.
The two sat side by side in silence, quietly watching the clouds and the moon, the mountain peaks and the sea of mist.
“Zhang Mingyuan...”
“What is it, Little Xuexue?”
“This Lord allows you... to temporarily lie on my lap.”
“!”
“What are you looking at! Forget it if you don't want to!”
“I'm coming, I'm coming! I absolutely must!”
Showing no restraint, Zhang Mingyuan lay straight down on the cliff's edge, comfortably resting his head on Su Jinxue's lap.
Su Jinxue looked down at him, her cheeks flushing with two blushes like burning red clouds.
“Wife, why is your face red?”
“Shut up. This Lord just feels warm.”
“Oh? A Red Dust Immortal who attained the Dao through the Frost Law actually feels warm...”
Before he could finish his sentence, a fair fist slammed into Zhang Mingyuan's eye socket.
“Ow—!!!”
Zhang Mingyuan behaved himself.
Looking at the dark bruise forming around his eye, Su Jinxue felt both amused and exasperated.
Frost power condensed at her fingertips, and she gently pressed it against his eye to cold-compress it.
Once the bruise faded, her fingertips gently caressed his brows and eyes:
“Does it still hurt?”
“Not at all.”
“Does that mean I hit you too lightly?”
“No, no! It was absolutely perfect!”
“Pfft.”
This silly man always knew how to make her laugh.
“Zhang Mingyuan.”
“Hmm?”
“Actually... I'm a bit jealous. I originally didn't want you to be alone with Shen Ningyan...”
Hearing this, Zhang Mingyuan immediately sat up and pulled Su Jinxue tightly into his arms.
Her cheek rested against his chest.
“Wife, I only love you. I don't care if she's some Heavenly Immortal goddess or an eternal empress—in my eyes, none of them can compare to even a fraction of my Little Xuexue!”
“Hmph... you always know just what to say...” Su Jinxue pinched Zhang Mingyuan's thigh.
Zhang Mingyuan winced from the pain, but he tightened his embrace around his wife even more.
At this very moment, looking at the distant mountains and sea of mist, and feeling the warmth in his arms, a hint of complexity emerged in his eyes once more.
“Wife, do you think Shen Ningyan will be able to find a man as handsome and powerful as me in the future?”
Su Jinxue: “Narcissist.”
Zhang Mingyuan: “...”
After a long silence, his wife's voice came from his arms once more:
“She will...”
Zhang Mingyuan smiled.
The sea of clouds rushed toward the mountain snow, and their lips lightly met amidst the rosy clouds.
Quite some time passed.
“Zhang Mingyuan.”
“Hmm?”
“I am very satisfied with your performance today.”
Zhang Mingyuan smiled. “Then what reward does my wife have for me?”
“Your reward is to sleep on the bluestone slab outside tonight.”
“Wife, you're too cruel! It seems your husband must severely punish you tonight!”
With that, Zhang Mingyuan scooped his wife up in a bridal carry.
He was just about to carry her back to the Immortal Lord's Peak to show her just how 'capable' her husband could be!
Right in the midst of this romantic moment, an extremely drunken voice echoed through the mountains and the sea of mist:
“Worthy Brother~ hic! Worthy Brother~ hic! Where are you~! Big Brother~ hic! Big Brother is, hic, looking for you~”
Rate on N.U.
