Zhang Mingyuan immediately put the two books back into his small world. He sat up straight and adopted a solemn expression.
“Actually, I believe that we as cultivators should purify our minds and limit our desires, prioritizing the Great Dao.”
Su Jinxue: “...”
Watching Zhang Mingyuan change his tune in an instant, she was so exasperated that she laughed.
This bastard truly had no shame whatsoever.
Yet, for some reason, the lingering anxiety in her heart was significantly diluted by his antics.
He was still the same.
He was still the same Zhang Mingyuan who could always make her want to draw her sword in anger, yet could always throw her emotions into complete disarray.
Su Jinxue lowered her eyes, her fingers gently gripping her skirt.
After a moment, she asked softly,
“Did you go to Taixu Sacred Ground to drink with Lingxuzi?”
He feigned composure. “Yeah, just had a couple of drinks.”
Su Jinxue raised her eyes to look at him. “Just a couple of drinks?”
Zhang Mingyuan waved his hand. “Of course. What kind of alcohol tolerance do I, Zhang Mingyuan, have? What could a mere spiritual wine possibly do to me?”
Su Jinxue said flatly, “Lingxuzi's Taixu Drunk can knock out a Mahayana cultivator in three cups.”
“...”
The corner of Zhang Mingyuan's mouth twitched.
How did this woman know everything?
Su Jinxue continued, “How much did you drink?”
Zhang Mingyuan's gaze drifted. “Just... one jar?”
Su Jinxue narrowed her eyes. “One jar?”
“Maybe two jars?”
“Zhang Mingyuan.”
“Three jars! Not a drop more!”
Su Jinxue stared at him without saying a word.
Zhang Mingyuan felt his scalp go numb under her gaze. In the end, he could only stiffen his neck and say,
“Alright, alright, I drank a bit too much, but I wasn't drunk!”
Su Jinxue sneered. “You always say you're not drunk whenever you are.”
Zhang Mingyuan immediately countered, “Slander! Pure slander! When have I, Zhang Mingyuan, ever been drunk?”
Su Jinxue said calmly,
“Three thousand seven hundred years ago, in the Northern Plains Ice Barrens, you got drunk, hugged an ice monument, insisted it was my true body, and even carved a line of words on it.”
Zhang Mingyuan's face froze.
Su Jinxue continued,
“Three thousand two hundred years ago, during the Heavenly Sword Mountain Dao Discussion, you got drunk and flew seven hundred laps around the mountain on your sword, shouting ‘Su Jinxue, come out and get beaten!’ the entire time.”
Zhang Mingyuan: “...”
Su Jinxue's tone grew even colder:
“Two thousand years ago, at the Chixia Sea, you got drunk and tucked your sword into your...”
“Stop!”
Zhang Mingyuan instantly raised his hand, speaking with an air of absolute righteousness,
“Let bygones be bygones! How can we as cultivators dwell on past grievances?”
Su Jinxue looked at him, a faint smile finally appearing in her ruby eyes.
Seeing her smile, Zhang Mingyuan also let out a sigh of relief.
He reached out and grasped her hand.
Su Jinxue's fingertips trembled slightly, but she did not pull away.
The two fell silent for a moment.
Outside the window, the wind and snow raged silently.
The cold fragrance in the bedroom gradually settled.
After a long time, Zhang Mingyuan suddenly spoke, “Little Xuexue.”
Su Jinxue raised her eyes. “Hmm?”
Zhang Mingyuan looked at her, the playfulness on his face fading slightly.
“I'm going into secluded cultivation.”
Su Jinxue was slightly startled. “Seclusion?”
“Yes.”
Zhang Mingyuan nodded, his tone unusually serious. “To break through to the Immortal Realm.”
Su Jinxue's expression shifted instantly.
But Zhang Mingyuan just smiled and deliberately raised his chin. “What? Surprised?”
Su Jinxue was silent for a moment before asking, “Have you made up your mind?”
“I made up my mind long ago.”
Zhang Mingyuan stretched, his tone turning smug and annoying again:
“I was already at the peak of the Mahayana Stage, perfectly consolidated. If it weren't for that inner demon acting up before, I might have ascended to immortality a step ahead of you.”
Hearing this, Su Jinxue cast a cold glance at him. “Ahead of me?”
Zhang Mingyuan instantly got excited. “What, you want to dispute that?”
Su Jinxue said indifferently, “You can try.”
“Oh, I will try.”
Zhang Mingyuan snorted:
“Once I become an immortal, the very first thing I'll do is have a good fight with you, to let you know who the real boss of this household is!”
Su Jinxue stared at him quietly. “Oh.”
Zhang Mingyuan felt a bit uncomfortable under her gaze. “What's with that look?”
“It's nothing.”
Su Jinxue turned her face away, but the corner of her lips curved up slightly.
Zhang Mingyuan scratched his head, then suddenly gripped her hand tightly again.
This time, he didn't joke around.
“Little Xuexue.”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you.”
Su Jinxue froze.
She turned her head to look at him.
Zhang Mingyuan said softly, “Thank you for staying by my side through that inner demon.”
Su Jinxue's gaze trembled slightly.
Zhang Mingyuan looked at the wind and snow outside the window, his voice very soft.
Su Jinxue fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Why are you suddenly saying things like this?”
Zhang Mingyuan held her hand and smiled,
“After this seclusion, some things will be different.”
Su Jinxue's eyes narrowed.
But Zhang Mingyuan didn't give her a chance to overthink, immediately raising his eyebrows as he said,
“Once I, Zhang Mingyuan, become an immortal, I will definitely be the most handsome, elegant, peerlessly talented, and peerless sword immortal in the history of the Xuanling Realm!”
Su Jinxue: “...”
The rare touch of warmth she had felt just now instantly shattered into pieces.
She said expressionlessly, “Can you stay serious for more than three sentences?”
Zhang Mingyuan thought about it seriously. “That's a bit difficult.”
Su Jinxue pressed her hand to her forehead.
Zhang Mingyuan smiled and leaned in closer:
“But don't worry, once I become an immortal, I definitely won't look down on you just because you're a senior who ascended first.”
Su Jinxue sneered. “You dare to even think of looking down on me?”
“Of course not!”
Zhang Mingyuan immediately replied, “I wouldn't have enough time to dote on you.”
Su Jinxue's face flushed red, and she raised her hand to hit him.
But Zhang Mingyuan seized the opportunity to catch her wrist, leaning down to plant a soft kiss on her fingertips.
Su Jinxue froze mid-motion.
She looked at Zhang Mingyuan with a complex expression.
“Zhang Mingyuan.”
“Hmm?”
“How long do you expect this seclusion to take?”
Zhang Mingyuan pondered. “It should be about the same as yours, probably a few decades.”
Su Jinxue's brow furrowed slightly. “So urgent?”
“Yes.”
Zhang Mingyuan nodded. “The sooner, the better.”
Su Jinxue raised her eyes to look at him.
She felt that something was off about him.
Ever since he returned, he seemed to have let out a sigh of relief, yet beneath that relaxation lay a deep, hidden resolve.
Su Jinxue stared into his eyes. “Are you hiding something from me?”
Zhang Mingyuan's heart tightened.
But a smirk immediately broke out on his face. “Yeah, I am.”
Su Jinxue's gaze turned cold. “What is it?”
Zhang Mingyuan leaned close to her ear and whispered, “I secretly studied 《The Miraculous Method of Yin-Yang Accord Dual Cultivation》 behind your back.”
Su Jinxue: “...”
Boom!
A burst of cold air instantly exploded within the bedroom.
Zhang Mingyuan was instantly frozen solid into an ice sculpture.
Su Jinxue sat up from his embrace, her face flushed red as she said coldly,
“Cool your head in there.”
Inside the ice sculpture, Zhang Mingyuan's eyes could still move.
He blinked, as if saying:
Little Xuexue, that's uncalled for!
Looking at his pathetic state, Su Jinxue ultimately couldn't help but let her lips curve slightly.
She tapped her finger.
The frost dispersed.
Zhang Mingyuan shivered, rubbing his arms. “What a ruthless woman!”
Su Jinxue said calmly, “Are you calm now?”
Zhang Mingyuan said solemnly, “Calm as can be.”
“Will you keep talking nonsense?”
“Not for now.”
“For now?”
“Cough, never again, never again.”
Only then was Su Jinxue satisfied.
Zhang Mingyuan looked at her, suddenly smiling again.
“Wait for me to come out of seclusion.”
Su Jinxue raised her eyes. “And then?”
Zhang Mingyuan blinked. “And then I'll continue to plant the Soul-Tracking Imprint on you.”
Su Jinxue was taken aback, then instantly understood what he meant.
Her cheeks flushed red again, and she raised her hand to strike.
Having anticipated this, Zhang Mingyuan flickered and instantly appeared at the bedroom doorway.
“Hahaha! Little Xuexue, wait for your husband to return as an immortal!”
“Zhang Mingyuan!”
The figure at the door paused, but did not turn around. “What is it? Can't bear to let your husband go?”
Hearing his playful words, Su Jinxue clenched her fists in front of her chest, but in the end, she only said softly,
“Come back soon...”
I don't have much time left...
She silently added those words in her heart.
As soon as she finished speaking, the figure at the doorway returned and kissed her goodbye.
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