After flying freely out of No Moon Court's gates for a long while—the first time without any elders around—Li Fei spread her arms joyfully, savoring this long-lost feeling of complete freedom.
"Where should we go first?"
She turned back with a smile to look at Lei Xiuyuan. With Lu Gongzhen's gathering still a month away and so many fascinating places in the world to explore, now that they could actually go anywhere, she found herself at a loss for where to begin.
Lei Xiuyuan remained mysterious: "Just follow me."
Always so enigmatic. Li Fei stood beside him on the Whirlpool Turtle's shell, gazing at the scenery stretching endlessly before them. Being out with just Xiuyuan made even familiar landscapes take on new charm—the vast sky, the round sun, the emerald mountain ranges stretching to the horizon. This world seemed just like when they'd first met six years ago.
Suddenly, Xiuyuan asked out of nowhere: "Have you learned Dual Cultivation yet?"
Li Fei choked on her breath, struggling to respond. He really enjoyed these abrupt attacks. Just mentioning Dual Cultivation made her recall Zhao Min Shijie's words when they'd parted earlier.
Four months ago, both their masters had approved their becoming cultivation partners. Yet Chongyi Zhenren, normally so unconventional, suddenly became particular about propriety and refused to teach her Dual Cultivation methods. Returning to No Moon Court, she'd been busy refining her Mystical Treasure and completely forgot to inquire about it. Only today, when saying goodbye to her senior sister, did Zhao Min pull her aside to carefully explain Dual Cultivation techniques, adding: "While Dual Cultivation can enhance partners' cultivation, beginners often become lost in passion. Don't let yourselves get too carried away."
The advice had left Li Fei utterly flustered. Now with Xiuyuan standing beside her bringing it up again, she grew increasingly nervous. Clearing her throat, she mustered courage to answer casually: "Well... I've sort of learned it."
Xiuyuan seemed to chuckle but said nothing more. His sleeves fluttered in the wind, lightly brushing against her arm. He carried a cool fragrance, like the incense often burned in the main hall's Bronze Cauldron. Li Fei felt dazed—that pale youth who'd once picked her a peach blossom at Shining Light Peak had grown so much. In what seemed like a blink, they were now cultivation partners, companions for life's journey, never to part.
"You're amazing. I haven't learned it yet," Xiuyuan said leisurely.
Li Fei was startled: "It's... not difficult."
If she could understand after one explanation, how could someone as clever as him not grasp it?
"Is that so?" He leaned down to blow gently on her face. "Then you'll have to teach me properly later. Be very thorough."
Covering her face, Li Fei stumbled back several steps, nearly falling off the turtle shell. Xiuyuan caught her, but she pushed him away in panic, her face burning as she leaped onto the Horn of the Rhinoceros to put distance between them. He was teasing her again!
"Can't you talk about something else?" she glared at him angrily.
Xiuyuan cupped a hand to his ear: "What? The wind's too loud, I can't hear you."
She moved closer and shouted: "I said can't you talk about something else!"
"Still can't hear you."
As she leaned in again, realization struck. Immediately steering the horn away, she put more distance between them: "You're full of tricks!"Lei Xiuyuan couldn't help but burst into laughter. It had been so long since she'd seen him laugh so freely and joyfully that for a moment, her embarrassment was completely forgotten. Leaning against the Horn of the Rhinoceros, she quietly watched his smiling face. When she noticed his gaze fixed on her, Li Fei smiled back and said softly, "You should laugh like this more often from now on."
Suddenly, Lei Xiuyuan leaped onto her Horn of the Rhinoceros and sat beside her. He blew a playful breath toward her face, but this time his tone wasn't as teasing as before: "I'll try."
Li Fei rested her head on his shoulder as they chatted about everything under the sun, from dawn till dusk, until her throat grew dry from talking. She looked around curiously and asked, "Where exactly are we going? How come we've been flying for so long?"
Unlike riding clouds, their speed on the Mystical Treasure was countless times faster than before. Yet they had flown the entire afternoon—was he planning to traverse the entire Central Land? Lei Xiuyuan pressed her head back onto his shoulder. "Sleep if you're tired. I'll wake you when we arrive."
By the time the sky began to lighten, they landed on a low cliff. Below, clusters of villages lay peacefully in the quiet morning. Li Fei stretched and gazed at the long-unseen mortal scenery, sighing, "I can't take it anymore... wherever this is, just let me sleep."
The winding country path twisted and turned until they soon arrived before a courtyard. It was unclear how many years it had been uninhabited—vines covered the walls, weeds grew rampant, and debris littered the ground.
By the time Lei Xiuyuan finished tidying up both inside and outside the house, Li Fei was already fast asleep under a tree in the yard.
She slept soundly until the dead of night. The bed beneath her was hard, with no mattress, blanket, or even a pillow, leaving her entire body aching. Dazed, she opened her eyes and saw a faint candle flickering in the distance. Lei Xiuyuan sat by the light, his head lowered as he examined something.
"Xiu Yuan," she murmured.
Lei Xiuyuan set down what he was holding and walked over, teasing, "Awake? You actually managed to sleep this long on a bare bed."
Rubbing her eyes, Li Fei sat up and looked around. This was an extremely ordinary dwelling—a plain wooden bed, simple furniture, yet everything was clean. An old perpetual calendar hung on the wall, depicting a majestic Celestial wielding a sword to Slay Demons and Exorcise Evil. The attire resembled that of Star Rectitude Hall.
Puzzled, she moved closer for a better look. The calendar bore the characters for the year Guisi—Guisi year?! Eight years ago?!
Li Fei slowly got out of bed and walked barefoot a few steps before noticing a large wooden chest placed by the table. Most of its contents had been taken out and piled on the table—mostly books, along with a few slightly worn men's garments, small in size, as if meant for a child. Beside them lay several folded red papers, likely couplets meant to be hung by doors during mortal festivals.
She carefully unfolded one of the couplets. Though the handwriting was childish, it was neat and orderly. She read the words aloud softly: "Spring returns to the earth, bringing splendid scenery; blessings fill the world, multiplying joyous occasions... Is this... your handwriting?"
Lei Xiuyuan's calligraphy had a distinct style—every hook habitually curled upward, giving it an unyielding quality. The writing on the couplet was immature and hard to decipher, yet that same unyielding spirit remained unchanged. Setting the couplet down, realization slowly dawned on her. She turned to stare at Lei Xiuyuan, both surprised and delighted. "Is this... where you used to live with Brother Lu?"Lei Xiuyuan gave her head a firm knock. "Only realizing it now? Beyond cure."
Li Fei burst into laughter. "It's your fault for not saying anything! Always so mysterious!"
She quickly glanced around before pushing the door open. The previously overgrown and messy courtyard had been thoroughly cleaned. There were two rooms in the yard—one was the main room they were in, and the other was a kitchen. Even the small earthen well behind the kitchen had been tidied up. An illusion spell shrouded the outer courtyard, and beyond it, towering mountain ridges undulated in the night, their silhouette broken by a massive gap—likely where the Star Rectitude Hall stood.
They had flown for a full day and night, only to end up at the troublesome Star Rectitude Hall.
"Xiu Yuan, how long did you live here before?" Li Fei closed the door and walked back inside, only to see Lei Xiuyuan spreading newly purchased bedding over the wooden bed frame and deftly hanging the bed curtains. Something suddenly felt off. She looked around—there seemed to be only one bed here...
Her nerves flared up again, her limbs stiffening awkwardly. She shuffled to the table and sat down, spotting a cup of tea. She grabbed it and took a big gulp, only to nearly scald her tongue, tears welling in her eyes.
"I lived here for three years. After Brother Lu passed away, I left."
Li Fei stared blankly as he washed his hands and face, then casually removed his outer robe and bent to take off his shoes. She couldn’t sit still any longer and shot to her feet, mumbling stiffly, "I-I’ll go take another look outside."
A faint breeze suddenly swept past behind her, extinguishing the candle flame in an instant. The room plunged into darkness, and Li Fei’s heart leaped into her throat. Then she heard Lei Xiuyuan rustling into bed, his voice calm. "Come here. There’s something I need to tell you."
Something? Unsuspecting, Li Fei walked over. "What—"
Before she could finish, he yanked her onto the bed. Li Fei tumbled hard onto the soft bedding, her head spinning. Lei Xiuyuan grabbed one of her feet and swiftly pulled off her shoe. She yelped in alarm. "Wh-what are you doing?!"
He said nothing, removing both shoes before going for her belt. Panicked, Li Fei instinctively struggled, but he deftly stripped off her outer robe and stuffed her under the covers. Lei Xiuyuan let out a long sigh, wrapping his arms around her and murmuring, "Alright, time to sleep."
Sleep... Li Fei lay frozen for a long moment. He lay motionless beside her, perfectly still—the earlier frenzy of shoe and robe removal might as well have been an illusion.
She’d been tricked again.
Li Fei gritted her teeth in frustration. She wanted nothing more than to stomp on him, left to right, flattening him to vent her pent-up anger. How could anyone be this infuriating? Worse still, she cared about him so much. And the most unbearable part? When he was good, he was incomparably good—but when he was awful, he was incomparably awful.
It was as if he knew exactly how far he could push her without truly angering her. So cunning.
"Angry?" Lei Xiuyuan gently pinched her chin and gave it a little shake.
Li Fei opened her mouth and bit down hard on his finger. Lei Xiuyuan hissed, but his other arm suddenly hooked around her waist, pulling her close. He lowered his head, his lips meeting her slightly parted ones.
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