During her years as Shi Yan, due to the injuries sustained by this body, she had indeed consumed some bitter pills. In the beginning, her fake father Shi Qianlv told her that restoring her cultivation to its peak would be extremely difficult, and she might never return to the Void Refining Stage in her lifetime. Thus, he only gave her some pills to heal her injuries and stabilize her cultivation at the Transformation Stage to prevent further decline.
Later, she sought help in Crane Immortal City. Although recovery was possible, it required an astronomical sum for medical expenses and the assistance of a cultivator whose cultivation was a whole realm higher than her original level to unblock her damaged and congested spiritual veins. Upon hearing the staggering amount, calculating her own earnings, and considering the Shi family's fallen state, she decided to remain at the Transformation Stage for the rest of her life.
After all, it wasn’t a level she had painstakingly cultivated herself—she had to learn contentment. The Transformation Stage was more than sufficient for her needs.
Back then, how could she have imagined that one day she would restore her peak cultivation so swiftly? All it took was consuming some candy-like pills—completely painless, even leaving her craving more. One type of pill even evoked childhood memories, resembling the white vaccine sugar pills she had as a child, something like spinal cord sugar pills?
"This one’s quite tasty. Got any more?" Liao Tingyan licked her lips and asked.
Sima Jiao gave her a deep look and summoned all the alchemists who had crafted those tiny pills. The alchemists, busy concocting hair growth pills, had no choice but to set aside their work and meet the Demon Lord with their bald heads, looking miserable.
Liao Tingyan felt somewhat moved, thinking, What kind of pampered concubine treatment is this? Such a grand fuss over nothing.
Then she heard Sima Jiao point at her and angrily demand of the alchemists, "Why does she seem even dumber after taking those pills?!" His tone was utterly sincere, his fury genuine… which only made it all the more infuriating.
Liao Tingyan: "…" What the hell?! I hereby declare you single. Whether I was your girlfriend or not before, I’m certainly not now.
Sima Jiao glanced at her and abruptly changed the subject. "Make more of those toxin-cleansing pills."
One alchemist steadied himself and stepped forward. "Demon Lord, a single Toxin Cleansing Pill is enough to eliminate all accumulated pill toxins and stagnant energy. This old one has refined these pills for years—the estimated efficacy cannot be wrong! One pill is more than sufficient for the lady!"
The Demon Lord had summoned them all to concoct pills for this mysterious lady, each responsible for a different type. If everyone else’s pills worked with just one dose, but his required multiple doses to take effect, where would he hide his face in shame?!
Liao Tingyan covered her face, unable to bear listening further.
Sima Jiao remained indifferent. "Then make some pills that taste the same but don’t have the toxin-cleansing effect."
Alchemist: "???" It finally dawned on him—the Demon Lord hadn’t summoned him to refine medicine, but to make candy pills. Perhaps because he had never received such a simple task in his life, he stood dazed for a long time, seemingly questioning his existence.
And so, Liao Tingyan ended up with an endless supply of candy pills. The people of the Demon Realm had a generous way of gifting things—either by the basketful or in large chests, as if saying, Go ahead, eat to your heart’s content.
Sima Jiao also tried one of the candy pills, staring at her gloomily for a long moment. "One day, I’ll capture Shi Qianlv and slaughter him to my heart’s content."
Liao Tingyan: "…Huh?" Why bring up Shi Qianlv all of a sudden? Sima Jiao said, "You haven't eaten anything good these years, have you?"
Liao Tingyan expressionlessly sucked on a sugar pill, no longer wanting to speak to this man. Give me back my childhood memories! Give me back my nostalgia!
Sima Jiao sat beside her, one leg propped up with an arm resting on it to support his head—a very casual posture. "Do you know why I'm not in a hurry to explain my identity to you?" As he spoke, his other hand reached out and touched her belly, giving it a squeeze.
Liao Tingyan paused her sugar-sucking, her eyes following his hand. Friend? Aren't you being a bit too natural with your movements? Where exactly are you touching? We haven't even confirmed our boyfriend-girlfriend status yet.
She covered her belly with her hand to prevent him from feeling the softness there. Sima Jiao didn't mind, casually switching to stroking her hand instead, kneading her fingers.
He leaned closer to her. "Because... you'll soon find out for yourself."
Liao Tingyan crunched down on the sugar pill in her mouth. Sima Jiao was so close he could hear the grinding sound of her chewing, and the corner of his lips curled upward.
Liao Tingyan couldn't shake the feeling that he was deliberately toeing the line of pissing her off. Seriously, what kind of hobby is this? Does he enjoy being scolded?
She fell asleep doubting her own taste in men. Before she drifted off, Sima Jiao told her that when she woke up after this sleep, her cultivation would be fully restored.
That night, Liao Tingyan slept exceptionally soundly. Sima Jiao sat beside her, kneading her arms, legs, and belly, even stepping on her chest like kneading dough—all to help the medicinal effects unblock her injured and congested spiritual veins. He turned her over and massaged her thoroughly, yet she never woke up.
"How can she still sleep so deeply," Sima Jiao murmured to himself, quietly watching her as the smile on his face gradually faded.
He rarely experienced such peaceful moments, especially during the time he'd lost Liao Tingyan—a period that felt, in his daze, even longer than the five hundred years at Three Sage Mountain.
His pale, bloodless fingers hooked a strand of hair by Liao Tingyan's cheek, slowly twirling it into a curl before letting it slip from his grasp.
...
In Winter City, both mornings and nights were the coldest times. Occasionally, frost flowers would form on the white buildings, only to melt and vanish rapidly when the sun rose, their last traces of moisture dissipating into the air.
The dry cold of Winter City was uncomfortable for Liao Tingyan, who had lived in Crane Immortal City for years. Thus, the palace she resided in was different from the outside—protected by formations, warm as spring. Liao Tingyan even occasionally took the initiative to humidify the air.
On this particular morning, dark clouds gathered above the Forbidden Palace, and snow began to fall. This was because the converging spiritual power had stirred the clouds in the sky, creating this rare snowfall.
When Liao Tingyan woke up and saw the heavy snow outside, she sat up and rushed to the window, sticking her head out to look. Only then did she realize that the spiritual power gathering and leaking around the Forbidden Palace was because of her.
She reined in her unconsciously emitted spiritual power and leaned against the window, closing her eyes to inspect her inner self. The sensation was completely different from the Transformation Stage—the qualitative change had brought about a quantitative leap, making her feel like she could now take on twenty of her former selves.
As she familiarized herself with her Void Refining Stage cultivation, she discovered a newly opened space within her body. She had vaguely sensed it before, but with her cultivation reduced to the Transformation Stage, she couldn't access the sealed space of the Void Refining Stage and hadn't fully understood what it was. Now, she could clearly sense it—and open it.It was like discovering a secret basement at home. Liao Tingyan excitedly began rummaging through the items inside.
There were all kinds of food and daily necessities, covering almost everything needed for clothing, food, shelter, and transportation—all neatly categorized like a large warehouse. Did I store all these things before? I must have been like a squirrel hoarding acorns.
She found some items that seemed frequently used in the past—a mirror whose function she couldn’t figure out, so she fiddled with it before setting it aside. Then she uncovered a few wooden figurines with the Arabic numerals 123 written on their backs and emoticon faces drawn on them.
Ah... weren’t these the emoticons I used to use often? Liao Tingyan felt even more panicked. No way, was it really me who dared to date that big shot back then? Was I ever that bold?
It was simply unimaginable.
Setting the wooden figurines aside, she continued searching and pulled out a Compendium of Spells as thick as a supernatural encyclopedia, along with a crudely handmade notebook with a lock—a small spell array requiring a password. Liao Tingyan tried her birthday, and it clicked open.
Liao Tingyan: "..." Ahhhh!
The notebook wasn’t the diary she had imagined but a study journal documenting her insights on spell practice. The handwriting was, of course, familiar—her own messy scrawl in simplified Chinese, the kind of illegible chicken scratch only she could decipher, something she couldn’t even replicate unless lying down.
Flipping through a few pages, she saw doodles of turtles, chicken legs, fries, and milk tea—signs of losing focus when bored. Further in, she had practiced writing her name repeatedly: Zou Yan , Liao Tingyan , and Sima Jiao , the last one circled with a lopsided heart.
Liao Tingyan: "..." AHHHHHHHHHH!
It’s over—it really was me! The brave soul who dated Sima Jiao, the big shot, was actually me?! Really me?!
Covering her face, she peeked at the doodles with one eye, as if she could sense the emotions behind those chaotic scribbles.
She also found an origami crane inside the notebook. With an inexplicable premonition, Liao Tingyan unfolded it and saw a few words written inside: "Sima Jiao, you big jerk, stupid idiot."
Wow—I was really bold back then. As the song goes, wasn’t it something like "Those who are favored act without fear" ?
Still, despite the insults, the words seemed brimming with bashful affection. Ugh, why is this so embarrassing?
Silently, she refolded the crane and set it aside before continuing her search.
Next, she found a jewelry box with spatial storage capabilities. Though its capacity wasn’t large, it had over a dozen drawers, all filled with beautiful accessories.
Only the smallest drawer was locked—again with her birthday password. Liao Tingyan pulled it open, took one glance, and immediately slammed it shut with a loud bang .
She stared at her hand as if she’d seen a ghost.
Oh my god.
So... I really was in love with Sima Jiao back then.She slowly pulled out the drawer again, gazing at the two rings placed on the red velvet inside. This compartment held only those two rings—one large, one small—simple bands carved with intricate patterns. The inner rims were engraved with English letters: a "J" on the larger one and a "Y" on the smaller.
Liao Tingyan swallowed hard.
Rings weren't something you could just casually give to anyone. It was obvious who she had originally prepared these for—though it seemed she hadn't gotten around to giving them, whether out of hesitation or delay.
"What are you looking at?" Sima Jiao appeared silently behind her again, posing the deadly question.
Now, just hearing his voice filled Liao Tingyan with an inexplicable sense of guilt. Her hand jerked, accidentally yanking the entire drawer out. By the time she tried to hide it, it was too late. Sima Jiao, who hadn't paid much attention at first, noticed her odd behavior and zeroed in on the two rings, picking them up to examine them.
"So nervous. What's the deal with these little loops?" Sima Jiao asked leisurely.
In this fantasy world, couples didn't have the custom of exchanging matching rings, nor were rings imbued with such meaning. Liao Tingyan hesitated. "Nothing much. They just seem like something I owned before."
Sima Jiao hummed. "Looks like they were meant for me."
Liao Tingyan: "..." A faint blush crept up her cheeks.
She watched as Sima Jiao slid the larger ring onto his finger—the middle finger fit best, so that's where he wore it. Then, naturally, he tried slipping the smaller one onto his pinky.
Liao Tingyan stared expressionlessly as he adorned himself with both rings. Any trace of shyness evaporated, replaced by the sensation of a tiny deer in her heart plummeting off a cliff to its death.
Fine, fine. Let him wear them both. Why not order a few more and let him deck out all ten fingers while he was at it?
Sima Jiao chuckled, holding up his ring-adorned hand for her to see. "See?"
Liao Tingyan: "Mm, I see." I see you, a clueless straight man, wearing both rings—including mine—and neither fitting properly.
Still smiling, Sima Jiao shook his head and removed the ill-fitting ring from his pinky. He took Liao Tingyan's hand and slid it onto her finger instead.
After studying their joined hands for a moment, he bent down and lightly kissed her ringed finger. Raising his eyes to meet hers, he said, "I know you liked me before, and you still do now. You'll rely on me, trust me, and want to stay by my side always."
Liao Tingyan: "..." Wow, you're really confident. I didn't even know that myself.
Sima Jiao traced her fingers. "Because that's who you are—and who I am."
OpenNovel