“Sweetheart, sweetheart, you’re finally home!” Liu Dazhuang came running out in tears, still clutching two butcher’s cleavers.
Ji Yingjin wiped away her tears and held Ji Zhaoxi’s hand, examining her from head to toe. “You’ve lost weight, you’ve lost weight.”
Liu Dazhuang was heartbroken too. “That meat they have outside is no good. Can it really make you strong if you eat it?”
Ji Zhaoxi was subjected to a thorough inspection by Ji Yingjin and Liu Dazhuang. One moment they were checking whether her hands had filled out, and the next they were examining whether her hair was black enough.
“Father, Mother, I’m perfectly fine,” Ji Zhaoxi said helplessly, allowing them to pinch her cheeks.
After Ji Yingjin had inspected every inch of Ji Zhaoxi, she finally noticed Wen Shubai standing behind her.
Wen Shubai was still holding gifts of all sizes—things he had bought before coming here.
“Father, Mother, this is my Senior Brother,” Ji Zhaoxi said with a light cough, pulling Wen Shubai forward.
“Uncle, Auntie, I’m Wen Shubai. Thank you for having me,” Wen Shubai said warmly, inclining himself slightly in greeting.
Liu Dazhuang was overjoyed. “So you’re the immortal who’s our Xixi’s Senior Brother! Xixi often praises you in her letters and says how well you take care of her. Thank you so much, Immortal.”
Liu Dazhuang sized Wen Shubai up. As expected of the eldest disciple of the Tianjue Sect—he looked ethereal, as though he hardly ate at all.
People kept poking their heads through the doorway to look inside, and Liu Dazhuang puffed out his chest proudly.
Who had said sending his daughter to the Tianjue Sect was a waste of the money he’d earned slaughtering pigs? Now even the Tianjue Sect’s eldest disciple had come to their home. What a glorious thing!
“You’re too kind, Uncle. Xixi is my junior sister. It’s only right that I take care of her,” Wen Shubai replied gently. But on closer inspection, there was a hint of awkwardness on his face.
Ji Yingjin had hardly spoken. Why did she feel that something was off?
Liu Dazhuang ushered the two of them into the courtyard, chattering without pause.
“Shu Bai, what kind of meat do you like? We can get you anything. I heard that you cultivators don’t eat much. Wouldn’t that be depriving your taste buds…”
Ji Zhaoxi secretly tugged at Wen Shubai’s sleeve. Wen Shubai lowered his head, and she whispered, “Senior Brother, if my father asks you to drink later, don’t.”
A flicker of amusement passed through Wen Shubai’s eyes. He said softly, “I know, Junior Sister.”
Walking ahead of them, Liu Dazhuang called out, “Shu Bai, you’ve already brought gifts just by coming here. These things must have cost quite a bit, right? We’ll have a few more drinks later…”
Ji Zhaoxi immediately looked at Wen Shubai.
She had just warned him, hadn’t she?
Meeting her gaze, Wen Shubai couldn’t help letting out a quiet laugh.
Walking at the very back, Ji Yingjin wiped her hands and stared suspiciously at the scene.
The next moment, she saw Ji Zhaoxi trip over a pig bone on the ground. Wen Shubai immediately caught her, and Ji Zhaoxi wrapped her arms around his arm and complained.
“Senior Brother, why have I been so unlucky lately?” Ji Zhaoxi said unhappily.
Wen Shubai instinctively wanted to rub her head, but he forcibly stopped himself.
Ji Zhaoxi looked at him in displeasure. Wen Shubai’s ears turned slightly red as he lowered his voice. “Junior Sister.”
Ji Zhaoxi got angry and walked ahead, while Wen Shubai followed after her, trying to coax her in a low voice.
Ji Yingjin stared at the scene in utter astonishment.
“Is this what the Tianjue Sect’s eldest disciple is really like?”
Liuli popped out and answered in a crisp voice, “That’s right!”
Ji Yingjin fell completely silent.
In other words, after her daughter went to the Tianjue Sect, she not only gained a spiritual root—she had also brought the sect’s eldest disciple home to be her son-in-law.
Could it really be just as the letters said? Could her daughter truly be a genius?
The Ji family began preparing the meal. Wen Shubai felt awkward doing nothing, so he drew a bucket of cold water from the well. A few thin pieces of ice floated on the surface, and he began washing the vegetables.
He had originally wanted to help cook, but Liu Dazhuang tactfully refused him.
Though not particularly tactfully.
“Shu Bai, you don’t even eat vegetables. How would you know what tastes good or bad? Just let me handle it!”
He had heard that even when the Tianjue Sect’s disciples ate, they only consumed things like leafy greens.
Liu Dazhuang had serious doubts about Wen Shubai’s cooking skills.
If someone cooked food badly, that would be a complete waste of ingredients!
Wen Shubai sat on a short wooden stool, his expression solemn as he washed the mud-speckled napa cabbage in the basin.
He rinsed every leaf until it was spotless and gleaming.
Ji Zhaoxi sat beside him with one hand propping up her chin, watching the way her Senior Brother washed the cabbage. Her heart began to itch with mischief.
Of course, Wen Shubai noticed Ji Zhaoxi’s gaze, but he could only pretend not to.
Yet her stare was far too intense. Wen Shubai pressed his lips together, and his Adam’s apple bobbed.
“Junior Sister…”
Before he could finish, Ji Zhaoxi suddenly leaned closer and quickly kissed him on the cheek.
Wen Shubai froze completely. The cabbage in his hands slipped into the basin, and he hurriedly glanced toward the kitchen, his voice flustered.
“Xixi…” His voice carried a hint of huskiness, and he looked somewhat awkward. “What if Uncle and Auntie see us…”
Ji Zhaoxi raised her brows, looking triumphant. “Then let them see.”
She wasn’t afraid. Her Senior Brother was hers.
Seeing how uneasy Wen Shubai looked, Ji Zhaoxi not only refused to back down—she kissed him again and rubbed against his shoulder.
Wen Shubai was utterly silenced. He sat stiffly on the little wooden stool. He was just about to speak, but the moment he met her eyes, bright with laughter, his heart softened.
In the end, he simply closed his eyes and silently endured it. His ears turned completely red, the flush spreading all the way down to the base of his neck.
The two people in the kitchen watched the scene in silence.
As he chopped meat, Liu Dazhuang whispered, “Is Xixi being a little too domineering? Nothing bad is going to happen, is it?”
He hadn’t expected his daughter to be so domineering even in the Tianjue Sect. Could it be that she had kidnapped the eldest disciple and brought him home?
Ji Yingjin looked at Ji Zhaoxi bullying Wen Shubai without restraint and nodded with satisfaction.
Her daughter truly was impressive. She had cultivated the Heartless Path with both hands firmly grasped, and she had even settled her lifelong marriage. Her Senior Brother also seemed to have a gentle temperament.
When her daughter had flown down from the sky just now, she had made her parents so proud. Even now, Ji Yingjin felt delighted whenever she thought of the looks on the neighbors’ faces.
Meanwhile, Liuli continued with her grand work.
Her young mistress’s life was simply too legendary. She worked hard every day, but she still couldn’t finish writing everything.
[Thus, everyone looked toward Immortal Ji, who was flying through the air on her sword. From the way she wielded her sword, one could sense just how profound her cultivation was—far beyond what the man beside her could ever hope to reach (her Senior Brother).]
[At that moment, Liu Canfu gazed despairingly at the scene before him. He had never imagined that Immortal Ji had already surpassed her former self by such a tremendous margin (not that this is meant to imply that the former Immortal Ji was weak).]
The other servants in the Ji household were also whispering among themselves.
“After going to the Tianjue Sect, Miss came straight back with the Tianjue Sect’s eldest disciple, intending to make him the Master and Madam’s son-in-law.”
“But Miss likes meat, while the Tianjue Sect’s disciples don’t even eat vegetables. How is he going to cook for her in the future…”
