"Daydreaming again?"
A familiar large hand landed on Luo Luo's head.
He pressed down on her head with one hand, leaned in, and stared into her eyes.
Luo Luo blinked back dazedly.
This guy—his skin was pale but rough, his features wild and handsome, with a short, slanted cross-shaped scar on the left side of his face.
She knew she wasn’t dreaming, but she still wanted to make sure.
Quietly raising her hand, she pinched, pinched again, then pinched hard.
No pain. None at all.
Her expression gradually fell. "I must be dreaming."
He burst into laughter. "You’re not dreaming!"
Luo Luo pouted, her eyes drooping. "I pinched, but it didn’t hurt."
He glanced down, staring at her hand in disbelief—the one currently digging into his arm. "…You’re pinching me. Of course you don’t feel anything."
She gave him a deadpan look. "You didn’t flinch either."
He rolled his eyes. "I’m a corpse puppet. How would I feel pain?"
"Oh…" Luo Luo nodded slowly, then suddenly jolted upright. "Li Zhaoye, you’re really back?!"
"What else?" He grinned, leaning in with a sinister whisper. "The zombie’s come for you!"
His face—pale as death—loomed closer.
Luo Luo quickly raised her hand to push his forehead away, laughing as she shoved him back.
He let himself fall backward against the pear tree, his long arm snaking out to pull her into his embrace.
"Stay still. Let me hold you for a bit."
"…Okay."
She obediently buried her face in his chest, her heart swelling with warmth until it overflowed.
Before she knew it, his robes were soaked through.
The spring breeze was still a little chilly.
His arms locked around her, his chin resting on her head, leaving her unable to move.
‘Stop crying already!’ Luo Luo scolded herself miserably. ‘My face is freezing.’
After enduring the damp fabric for a while, she finally wriggled, trying to pull away.
His grip loosened.
Luo Luo tilted her head to look at him—only to find him slightly hunched, arms still loosely wrapped around empty air, his eyes dull and unfocused.
He had fallen asleep standing up, still holding her.
It wasn’t hard to imagine how exhausted he must be.
The tears she’d just wiped away welled up again.
After a moment’s hesitation, she nestled back into his arms, pressing her cheek against him.
"Mm…"
After some thought, she awkwardly reached behind herself, grabbed his wrist, and pulled it back around her, manually securing the embrace.
Rustle, rustle.
Snow-white pear blossoms drifted down, covering them both from head to toe.
Luo Luo didn’t know when she’d fallen asleep.
When she woke, she was lying on her bed, with Li Zhaoye sitting beside her, watching her with amusement.
"Fell asleep standing up," he teased. "Luo the Sleepyhead, are you some kind of sleep deity?"
Luo Luo: "…"
Before she could retort, he laughed louder. "And you drooled all over me!"
Luo Luo: "…"
No way she’d admit those were tears.
She huffed and turned away, yanking the blanket over her head.
If she spoke to him again, she’d be a dog!
"Hey!"
He tugged at the blanket.
"Hey hey!"
Luo Luo pressed her lips together, wrapping herself tighter.
Li Zhaoye tried pulling a few more times before giving up, chuckling. "Fine, I’ll pretend I didn’t see you drooling. Happy?"
Luo Luo: "…"
She’d never met anyone more infuriating.
He kept trying to peel the blanket off. "Come out and let me look at you." He grumbled, "Stuck in that hellhole, I didn’t even see a single female mosquito."
That got her attention. Luo Luo flung the blanket off. "You wanted to see female mosquitoes?!"
He grinned, leaning in. "Just you, my little mosquito!"
Luo Luo: "…"
She poked him. "I’ll bite you to death!"
The human and the corpse puppet sat side by side on the second-floor windowsill.
"Aren’t you going to ask how I got back?" He glanced at her.
Luo Luo put on a serious face. "Tell me."
She’d steeled herself—no matter how heartbreaking it was, she wouldn’t cry in front of him.
Last time, when Qing Xu killed him, his soul had shattered into fragments.
This time, after blowing himself up, he must’ve been reduced to dust.
How did those scattered pieces come back together? The cost must’ve been enormous.
He gazed into the distance. "I fought with the old man."
Luo Luo: "Huh?"
"The Sage," Li Zhaoye said, deliberately downplaying the title before emphasizing, "that old coot."
Luo Luo brightened. "The Sage is alive?"
He shrugged. "A wisp of his remnant soul lingered in his obsession. We fought, then went our separate ways."
"Oh…" Luo Luo understood. "The Sage sent you back!"
Annoyed, he clicked his tongue and shoved her head. "As if I needed his help."
Luo Luo gave him a polite, fake smile.
Li Zhaoye: "If I weren’t worried you’d lose your mind waiting, I’d never owe him a favor."
Even if the Sage was his ancestor, he wasn’t happy about it.
Luo Luo: "Yeah, yeah, sure."
She turned to him, eyes sparkling. "What about the Sage? Did he return to his own world too?"
"Mn." Li Zhaoye’s undead-handsome face soured. "He pushed me, I pushed him."
"Oh—that’s great!" Luo Luo swayed side to side, beaming.
Like a happy little roly-poly doll.
Whispers suddenly floated over from afar.
"Oh no, oh no no no!"
"I told you guys not to mention Senior Brother in front of Little Junior Sister! Look what happened—she’s lost it!"
"Ugh… Sitting on the windowsill chatting with a corpse puppet in broad daylight? Super creepy!"
"Wait, why does daylight matter? Is it less creepy at night?"
"What do we do? Little Junior Sister’s gone mad! Can she be saved?!"
"…"
Luo Luo blinked gloomily, then turned to exchange a look with Li Zhaoye.
He smirked ominously. "Let’s not tell them yet."
Luo Luo nodded solemnly. "Okay!"
Midnight.
Zhao Yu woke up shivering.
Groggily reaching out, he found his blanket missing. Just as he was about to open his eyes—
A bone-chilling premonition struck him.
Something… hard and icy was right beside him.
"Wh-what the…?"
Trembling, he cracked one eye open.
A deathly pale face greeted him.
"Gah—!"
Before he could fully process it, the corpse’s eyes snapped open, its lips stretching into a grotesque grin as it hissed:
"Come… play… with… me…"
A moment later.
"GHOOOOOST!!!"
A three-hundred-pound body tumbled out of bed, scrambled across the floor, and fled down the mountain path, howling like a banshee.
The same scene played out across every peak.
"AAAAAH DEMON!!"
"Master! Sect Leader! Save me!"
"Ghost! Ghost! GHOOOOST—!"
"…"
Li Zhaoye rubbed his temples. "Aren’t they cultivators? How are they this superstitious?"
Luo Luo: "…They’re mostly scared of you."
One by one, lanterns lit up across all thirteen peaks.
After the chaos subsided, someone finally realized:
"It’s Senior Brother! Senior Brother’s back!"
"Where? Where? Where?"
"Where is he now? Which peak did he scare? Are there any peaks left untouched?"
"Quick, block them up ahead!"
"Roast chicken! Bring the roast chicken!"
Li Zhaoye and Luo Luo, on their way to the main peak for mischief, suddenly caught the aroma of roast chicken.
The two exchanged a glance, climbed over the courtyard wall, and peeked inside.
Right in the middle of the courtyard, a crowd was already rolling up their sleeves, ready and waiting.
Zhao Yu gnashed his teeth. "I told you—roast chicken would lure these two foxes in!"
Senior Brother Buyang cracked his knuckles. "Senior Brother, it's been a while since we sparred!"
Someone raised a rallying cry: "While he's still a corpse puppet, let's gang up and beat the crap out of him!"
Li Zhaoye: "Tsk—!"
Luo Luo covered her mouth, stifling a laugh, then teleported mid-air to watch Li Zhaoye get mobbed.
A night of wild antics ensued—pure chaos.
"Are you hurt anywhere? Let me check!"
Back in the pavilion, Luo Luo leaned in, feigning concern for Li Zhaoye.
"Get lost." He pressed his palm against her forehead and pushed her away. "Focus on cultivation."
Luo Luo: "Oh."
She obediently sat cross-legged opposite him. When she glanced up, he was already deep in meditation.
Something felt off.
He hadn’t taken any hits during the fight—why the rush to cultivate now?
Then again, Li Zhaoye had always been a cultivation fanatic. Maybe it wasn’t strange after all.
Shaking her head, she steadied her mind and followed him into meditation.
Three days passed in a blur.
The two did nothing but cultivate.
Then, in a flash, Luo Luo realized what was wrong—he’d only held her once after returning, and since then, hadn’t touched her at all.
Every time she got close, he pushed her away.
Luo Luo: "..."
It took her three whole days to notice!
She tilted her head, studying him.
His spirit, tempered through countless trials, was now immensely powerful. Even the space around him faintly trembled as he breathed.
A torrent of spiritual energy swirled around him, his pale face solemn and imposing—quite the picture of dignity.
When his cycle of cultivation ended, she called out: "Li Zhaoye."
He opened his eyes. "Hm?"
Luo Luo’s cheeks warmed. "You said you missed me to death."
Li Zhaoye: "I did. What about it?"
Luo Luo gave him a pointed look. "...You don’t act like it at all."
Li Zhaoye blinked slowly. "You’re not creeped out by a corpse puppet?"
Luo Luo shook her head hard. "Nope!"
She wanted to hug him, kiss him—as long as it was him, she didn’t care.
Li Zhaoye remained stone-faced. "No. Close your eyes. Cultivate."
Luo Luo: "?"
Suspicion crept into her expression. "Li Zhaoye, are you... jealous?"
Last time he’d acted like this, it was over her admiration for the Sage.
His jaw twitched almost imperceptibly.
Luo Luo gasped. "Wait—you are jealous?!"
What even triggered it this time? She hadn’t done anything while he was away!
He scowled. "This is just a corpse puppet. No different from a mosquito fish, got it? Once I refine my true body, then you’ll see how much I missed you."
Luo Luo: "..."
He was deflecting!
"Not even a kiss?" She leaned in.
His pupils dilated at the sight of her lips, and he jerked his head away.
Luo Luo guessed wildly: "Is the corpse puppet... incapable?"
That made him flinch violently.
"Stop thinking nonsense." He glared, half-furious, half-flustered. "Close your eyes. Cultivate."
Luo Luo: "...Fine."
Once she’d settled into meditation, Li Zhaoye’s eyes snapped open.
He stared at her for a long moment, then stood, conjured a plant puppet to take his place, and stormed out of the pavilion.
"Just you wait!"
He had to refine his true body as fast as possible. Now. Immediately.
She was right.
This was about jealousy.
Back when he’d first crafted this corpse puppet, she’d stared at it dumbstruck, even fantasizing about keeping both. Enraged, he’d sliced it apart without hesitation.
Who’d have thought he’d one day end up possessing it himself?
Now he was stuck as an... incomplete man.
No—incomplete corpse.
:)
