Mu Ran couldn't get out of bed the next morning. She lay there with her eyes wide open, feeling a bit frustrated.
In contrast, Cangshu Bai was refreshed and energetic. After dressing himself, he turned back to brush the stray hairs away from her face and dropped a light kiss on the corner of her lips. "I'm going to cook."
Before heading out, he casually picked up the book "The Overbearing Demonic Cultivator Fell in Love with Me" from the floor and placed it neatly back onto the bookshelf.
Mu Ran had only intended to compensate him because she felt guilty about hiding things from him, but last night, aside from being exhausted, she had actually been served quite pleasurably.
So, while she claimed she was compensating him, it felt more like she had ended up rewarding herself.
The guilt in Mu Ran's heart deepened.
After much thought, she decided she needed to find a different way to make it up to him.
Consequently, Cangshu Bai noticed that his wife had been acting a bit strange lately.
The moment he sat down to pour a cup of tea, Mu Ran would beat him to it. She would pick up the cup, blow on the scalding water until it cooled slightly, and then considerately bring it to his lips.
Cangshu Bai glanced at her but cooperated, drinking the warm tea as she held the cup for him.
When he sat on a stool preparing to wash the laundry, Mu Ran would hurry over with a bucket of hot water to pour into the basin.
She dipped her hand into the basin to test the temperature and looked up with a smile. "It's cold out; we can't let your hands freeze."
As long as he washed, she would squat beside him. If the water cooled even slightly, she would lift the kettle and pour in more hot water.
Another time, while Cangshu Bai was cooking in the kitchen, before a single drop of oil could splatter from the pan onto him, Mu Ran rushed out from some corner. "Jinzhi, watch out!"
She spread her arms and stood in front of him, her exaggerated movements making it look as if she were shielding him from a flying blade.
Holding a spatula, Cangshu Bai looked down at the top of the short girl's head and remained silent.
Mu Ran had been unusually clingy lately. It wasn't normal, and he felt it was necessary to have a proper talk with her.
When he voiced his questions, Mu Ran simply squeezed into his arms, wrapped her hands around his waist, and acted spoiled and affectionate.
" I just like you too much and cherish you too much, so I want to be close to you," Mu Ran said, tilting her small face up, her eyes shimmering with a pitiful light. "Jinzhi, is that not allowed?"
How could it not be allowed?
When she looked like this, even if she asked for his life, he would personally hand her the blade.
Cangshu Bai pulled her into his embrace and closed his eyes in contentment.
In the water vat, the Han Yu swimming around rolled its eyes again.
Tsk, no backbone.
Mu Ran recently found a new task: helping an elderly person living in the same alley repair some items.
The alley they lived in was very quiet with few households. Cangshu Bai's residence was at the end of the alley, while this elderly woman lived at the entrance.
It was quite a coincidence. One day, while Mu Ran and Cangshu Bai were returning from outside, they happened to see an open door where a white-haired old woman had fallen to the ground while moving a chair, crying out in pain.
Mu Ran went over to give her a hand.
The old woman explained that her husband had died young and she had no children. She couldn't move away like the younger people, so she lived here alone, left to her own devices.
She had been moving the chair because it was broken and she wanted to throw it out.
Mu Ran looked back at Cangshu Bai.
He said, "Do it if you wish."
Mu Ran hadn't done any handicraft work for a while and her hands were itching for it; it was good to find something to pass the time.
However, after Cangshu Bai agreed, he gave the old woman a seemingly casual look.
The old woman shuddered for no apparent reason, a forced, kindly smile appearing on her face.
The sun was bright today, the shadows of the trees slanted across the ground, and a light breeze drifted by.
Mu Ran sat in the courtyard repairing an old octagonal table. One of the legs had rotted and needed to be replaced.
The old woman sat nearby and said with a smile, "Why didn't your husband accompany you today?"
Without looking up, Mu Ran said, "Jinzhi is steaming osmanthus cakes and needs to watch the fire, so I came alone."
"I see." The old woman stood up and slowly approached her from behind, a look of greed flickering in her cloudy eyes. "You and your husband really have a wonderful relationship."
"Yes, I think so too."
The old woman finally reached out toward Mu Ran. In the next instant, she was hit by a powerful force and slammed to the ground.
Mu Ran looked over and hurried to help her up. "Old lady, what happened?"
Only then did the old woman truly look at Mu Ran.
The pearl hairpin in her hair shimmered with a faint primordial spiritual light; it was clearly a Warding Spirit Pearl Hairpin capable of automatically protecting its master and repelling attacks from anyone below the Nascent Soul stage.
Looking further down, the seemingly ordinary string of pale glass beads on her wrist was actually Ice-Heart Warm Jade Marrow, which kept the wearer immune to heat and cold and could ward off a hundred poisons.
The unremarkable pale sachet hanging from her waist had simple stitching, but inside were ancient incense shavings that focused the spirit and gathered Qi, capable of even blocking out demonic energy.
Even the plain green silk dress she wore was woven from Celestial Ice Silk, impervious to blades, fire, and water.
Nothing about her appearance was flashy or eye-catching; every item looked like a common ornament for an ordinary young lady, yet every single one was a top-tier dharma treasure, rare in the world and worth more than ten thousand gold pieces.
The old woman finally understood why that terrifying cultivator felt safe letting Mu Ran come to "help" her alone. Seeing Mu Ran getting closer, she cried out in panic, "No, don't come over here!"
Mu Ran stopped in her tracks, confused. Then her eyes lit up as a figure appeared at the door.
Cangshu Bai was a good man who respected the elderly and loved the young. He helped the old woman up, his tone gentle and friendly. "The elderly lady must have been dazed by the fall. We are good people; there's no need to be nervous."
Perhaps because Cangshu Bai's voice carried a soothing power, the old woman stopped trembling and squeezed out a smile. "Yes, the young master is right."
Cangshu Bai walked over to Mu Ran and opened the paper bundle in his hand. "Osmanthus cakes fresh from the steamer. Have a taste."
Mu Ran took a piece and took a bite. "Delicious!"
She picked up another piece and offered it to the old woman. "Old lady, you should try some too."
The old woman glanced at Cangshu Bai standing behind Mu Ran and hurriedly waved her hands. "My teeth are no good, I can't chew. I appreciate the thought, but you two go ahead and eat."
Mu Ran didn't insist. She sat back down, munching on the cake, and continued working on the half-repaired table.
"You are also from the Sect of Everlasting Youth."
The old woman's body trembled as she looked at the young man standing nearby.
Cangshu Bai remained expressionless, his gaze never leaving Mu Ran's figure.
The old woman understood; Cangshu Bai had sent a telepathic message to her.
Wasn't it said that this man had no cultivation at all?
Why could he so easily invade her consciousness?
The old woman swallowed nervously and replied, "Yes."
"A Life-Borrowing Post requires the other party to write their name willingly before you can take their lifespan, appearance, and identity. How did you plan to trick my wife into writing her name?"
The old woman was terrified, but with her consciousness held in his hand, she had no choice but to answer honestly. "I was going to use the excuse that I have no heirs for my property and ask the Madam... to sign her name on an inheritance document."
"You also think my wife is very good, don't you?"
The old woman grew even more frightened. "Yes."
Her throat was suddenly seized by an invisible force, making it difficult to breathe as her face turned a bruised shade of purple.
A breeze stirred the shadows of the trees, sending fallen leaves fluttering down.
Mu Ran ran over and opened her mouth toward Cangshu Bai.
Cangshu Bai chuckled softly and fed her another piece of pastry.
A stray leaf was about to land on Mu Ran's head when he caught it in his hand. He remarked, "The weather is turning cold."
Mu Ran instinctively followed up, "Is the Wang family going bankrupt?"
Cangshu Bai blinked and sent a telepathic message: "What is the name of the Sect Leader of the Evergreen Gate?"
The old woman answered with great difficulty, "Wang... Wang Aotian."
Ah, then it truly was time for the Wang family to go bankrupt.
