The next morning, Lou Chengfeng’s hearty, booming laughter rang out from outside once again.
Lou Yue lay in bed, staring at the canopy overhead—
Xiao Rangchen had said he was leaving that morning, but in truth, he had deliberately been trying to win her sympathy and lure her into switching back to her female form.
Her male form was an illusion created by the Formless Secret Art—a disguise impossible to see through, an outer shell of a man wrapped around her real female body.
Any injuries sustained in her male form, along with the marks they left behind, would be reflected exactly on her female form, because they were real.
But injuries sustained in her female form would not carry over to her male form. Switching to the male form meant restarting the Formless Secret Art, as if she were putting on a freshly cleaned shell. The marks would be hidden as well.
Therefore, to outsiders, the way to determine which form was real was to see where the injuries appeared—the one thing that never changed.
This was also the only flaw in the Formless Secret Art that she had discovered over the past year.
Lou Yue recalled how Xiao Rangchen had repeatedly stroked her finger bones the night before.
She raised that hand and examined it carefully, inch by inch.
Only when she reached her little finger did she finally spot the faint mark hidden on the inner side. Though the cut had healed, it remained slightly raised.
She had cut it that day while searching everywhere for him, using her hand to push aside the grass and thorny bushes. After returning, she had applied the medicine Liufeng Xin gave her, but perhaps the wound had been too deep—or perhaps she had simply missed it. In the end, the mark had remained.
Lou Yue abruptly sat up.
What Xiao Rangchen had said he needed to “confirm in person” actually referred to two things—
First, the person who had dual-cultivated with him was her.
Second, her true gender was female.
The two ground squirrels and the blood had merely helped him confirm that it had not been a dream. They could not prove that the person who had dual-cultivated with him was her, and there was still a possibility that he had mistaken someone else for her.
The ground squirrels could not speak, nor were they clever enough to reveal her appearance. As for the blood, it proved even less—this was not modern times, when advanced technology existed.
What had truly allowed him to identify her were the injuries—the marks on her body.
When they had dual-cultivated, there had been a wound on her hand. He remembered it.
When he came yesterday, she had activated the Formless Secret Art again, making the wound disappear. The clothes she wore also left her neck exposed, but there were no marks there. He had no way to prove anything.
So he had pretended to be pitiful and coaxed her into switching back to her female form. Then he searched for the wound, the marks, any evidence that might have been left behind.
He had found the kiss marks he had left on her body, exactly as they had appeared in his dream. Only then had he become completely certain that the person who had dual-cultivated with him was her.
Before that, he had always believed that the male form was her true appearance, while the female form was an illusion created through magic.
Yet now, the wounds and marks appeared only on her female form, while her male form bore none.
Furthermore, she had been in her female form when she dual-cultivated with him, and his cultivation had advanced afterward. Combined with the fact that she belonged to the Lou family—a family whose women were born to be treated as cultivation cauldrons—
By this point, he had confirmed the second fact: her true gender was female.
And last night, she had not denied it either.
Lou Yue: “……”
Back then, he had strung her along for two whole years with a single sentence—“I like you”—before leaving.
Now he had pretended to be pitiful and tricked her into revealing her flaw again.
That scoundrel was truly devious!
She had known from the beginning that he was a scheming man. How could she have fallen for him again after two years?
Lou Yue climbed out of bed in a huff, angrily switched to her male form, shoved open the door, and stormed outside.
“Hey, son, you’re up! Come over here and take a look!” Lou Chengfeng called out.
Her gaze fell on the demon beasts he was teasing with a branch. One was a chubby, gray-furred creature with a black stripe running from its forehead down its back. The other was gray as well, but had a white stripe between its brows and a dull, vacant expression.
They were the two ground squirrels that had betrayed her.
Lou Yue glared viciously at Xiao Rangchen.
Xiao Rangchen curved his lips faintly, then lowered his head and leisurely scratched the white-striped ground squirrel beneath its chin.
When the black-striped ground squirrel saw Lou Yue, it looked puzzled at first, scanning her back and forth several times before recognizing her. With a whoosh, it shrank behind Xiao Rangchen’s legs. The white-striped one remained as blank and dazed as ever, showing no reaction at all.
Lou Yue snorted. Xiao Rangchen reached out and grabbed the black-striped one, dragging it out from behind him. In less than a moment, it panicked and scurried back into hiding.
Lou Yue did her best to keep her voice calm. “Xiao Rangchen, come over here.”
Xiao Rangchen rose and followed her inside.
Lou Chengfeng casually glanced over, paid them no mind, and continued teasing the two half-human-sized demon beasts with their foolish expressions.
Xiao Rangchen closed the door behind him. “What is it?”
“What did you bring them here for?” Lou Yue asked, grinding her teeth.
A smile appeared in his eyes. “You already know, don’t you?”
“You actually wanted me to confront them?!”
“I kept it in reserve, just in case. Unfortunately, it wasn’t needed.”
There was a hint of anger in Lou Yue’s voice. “You’re disappointed?”
“I was just a little curious to see how it would turn out.”
Lou Yue enunciated each word. “Xiao. Rang. Chen.”
Xiao Rangchen came over and took her hand, coaxing her softly. “If looking at them irritates you, I’ll send them away later.”
Lou Yue scoffed. “It’s looking at you that irritates me.”
He pondered for a moment, then offered a perfectly serious suggestion. “If one kick wasn’t enough last night, you can kick me off the bed again tonight.”
Lou Yue laughed despite herself, though she was still angry. “You’re planning to get into my bed again tonight? Xiao Rangchen, your shamelessness is thicker than the city walls!”
“Let me ask you something.” She took a deep breath and fixed him with a sharp gaze. “How did you think to check the wounds and marks on my body?”
Xiao Rangchen was silent for a moment before slowly curving his lips.
“Do you remember that night when you got drunk after surviving your tribulation? You didn’t fall asleep immediately. I kissed you.”
His fingertips gently brushed the side of her neck.
“And I left marks there too.”
“The next day, you changed back into your male form right in front of me. When I saw that the marks had disappeared, I was only puzzled for a moment and didn’t think much of it. Not until this time.”
“I deliberately asked your father, while he was drunk, how one could distinguish reality from an illusion. He reminded me to look for something tangible that never changed. He said that no matter how powerful an illusion was, it would always have a flaw. An illusion could only conceal things.”
He looked at her with absolute certainty.
“And on you, the things that truly exist and never change are your wounds—and the marks I left behind.”
Lou Yue: “……”
So her own father had made a major contribution to exposing her identity.
Seeing the emotions shifting in her eyes, Xiao Rangchen gently clasped her hand, his voice turning more serious.
“Lou Yue, I know that the women of the Lou family are born to be treated as cultivation cauldrons.”
“But my feelings for you have nothing to do with that.”
The room fell silent. Sunlight slipped through the gap in the window and fell upon their clasped hands, warm and tender.
Lou Yue pressed her lips together, deliberately looking away as she changed the subject. “How long are you planning to stay?”
“I promised your father that I’d leave the day after tomorrow.” Xiao Rangchen squeezed her palm, his gaze fixed on hers. “Will you come with me?”
Lou Yue’s heart stirred, though her expression remained guarded. “Where?”
“The Chaotic Abyss Sea.”
Lou Yue frowned.
The Chaotic Abyss Sea bordered the Chaotic Abyss. It was the stretch of ocean surrounding the outer edge of the Chaotic Abyss.
The Chaotic Abyss was one of the two great forbidden zones in the world, second only to the Wasteland.
But the Chaotic Abyss was far more dangerous than the Wasteland. It was a special plane that imprisoned countless savage ghosts and evil spirits. In the original story, Long Aotian had accidentally fallen into the Chaotic Abyss while adventuring in the Chaotic Abyss Sea. It took him three years to finally escape.
“Why are you going to the Chaotic Abyss Sea?”
Xiao Rangchen replied, “I want to increase my cultivation as quickly as possible.”
Only the Wasteland and the Chaotic Abyss Sea lay beyond the control of the great clans. For a rogue cultivator who wanted to advance, there was nowhere else to go. Besides, there might be a magical artifact there capable of helping his master restore his soul.
Lou Yue didn’t want Xiao Rangchen to follow the same path as he had in the novel and fall into the Chaos Abyss. She barely hesitated before saying, “I’m going with you.”
She paused, then added, “My mother’s memorial day is only a few days away. Wait for me in the city at the foot of the mountain.”
A smile immediately spread across Xiao Rangchen’s face. “All right.”
After Lou Yue and Xiao Rangchen went inside and closed the door, Xuanba, who had been perched beneath the eaves beside Lou Chengfeng, suddenly spoke.
“You’re quite pleased with him.”
Lou Chengfeng was teasing the white-furred marmot with a twig. He answered casually, “You mean Rangchen? That boy really suits me. If only he were my son—ha ha! Then at least I wouldn’t have to put up with Lou Yue’s temper every day.”
“Hmm… Perhaps I should have him acknowledge me as his godfather too. Aiai already has. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if he did as well?”
Xuanba gave him a cool glance. “Lou Yue probably wouldn’t agree.”
Lou Chengfeng watched as the white-furred marmot foolishly tried to catch the twig and failed again and again, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. “She doesn’t care. She’d probably be delighted if I had a few more sons and daughters to bother, so I’d bother her less.”
“Rangchen is an excellent boy. He’s gifted, and he works hard. I woke up early this morning and saw that he hadn’t slept at all. He was taking a cold shower in the side room, saying he’d worked up a sweat practicing with his spear.”
“Just look at him. He’s already at the middle stage of Spirit Transformation, yet he still cultivates and practices his spear day and night. If he isn’t formidable, who is?”
He sighed, his voice full of admiration. “That boy has such steady judgment and such a composed temperament. Aiai told me before how dangerous it was when they were hunted by Cang Ya. Now that I’ve met him in person, I finally understand that surviving such a desperate situation was never merely a matter of luck.”
Xuanba suddenly poured cold water on him. “Lou Yue’s feelings for him are not ordinary.”
While the black-furred marmot wasn’t looking, Lou Chengfeng quietly gave it a light kick on the rump, then immediately pretended nothing had happened. Thinking the white-furred marmot beside it was responsible, the black-furred one promptly kicked back, sending the dazed white marmot tumbling to the ground. The white marmot looked both foolish and wronged.
Lou Chengfeng laughed until he doubled over. He brushed Xuanba off. “You don’t understand. That’s just deep brotherly affection. They went through the wilderness together and survived life-and-death situations side by side, so naturally they trust each other deeply. That’s how close human brothers are.”
Xuanba decided not to say another word. He climbed straight to the highest point of the roof, where he basked in the sunlight and enjoyed the rare peace and quiet.
That night, as soon as darkness fell, Lou Yue placed wards on her door and windows, just in case someone with a face thicker than the city walls decided to climb through her door or sneak in through a window.
At dawn the next day, she was dragged down the mountain by Red Sash, along with Liufeng Xin and Xiao Aiai. Red Sash only said mysteriously that she was taking them somewhere new and exciting to broaden their horizons.
Once they entered the establishment, they discovered that this so-called exciting new place was a pleasure house.
Inside, the air was thick with perfume, and men and women came and went, each with their own unique allure. Red Sash opened a private room with practiced ease, then summoned six men with lightly powdered faces and soft, seductive features.
Her noble excuse was that she wanted the girls to learn a thing or two about men’s tricks, so they wouldn’t be easily deceived by men in the future.
Lou Yue: “…”
Red Sash had specifically reminded the non-drinking Lou Yue to make sure she got the others home safely. By the time Lou Yue wanted to leave, she had no choice but to stay.
After watching a group of men sing and dance for what felt like an eternity, Lou Yue finally dragged all three of them back just as the evening’s romantic atmosphere was beginning to heat up.
She had sent them all back to their rooms and hadn’t even reached her own door when Xiao Rangchen blocked her path.
He caught the strong scent of cosmetics and the musk worn only by aristocratic men clinging to Lou Yue. In a low voice, he asked, “Where have you been? Why are you only coming back now?”
Lou Yue answered lightly, “I was just out having some fun with them.”
“What kind of fun?”
She looked up at him with amusement. “What? Are you keeping tabs on me now?”
Xiao Rangchen stepped closer.
“Am I not allowed to ask?”
His approach forced Lou Yue to retreat a step. “I told you. We were just having a little fun.”
“Playing with men?”
Lou Yue choked for a moment. How had he figured that out?
With her back against the side wall of her room, she cast him a sidelong glance, the corners of her lips curling into a lazy smile. “I didn’t play with anyone.”
Xiao Rangchen suddenly bent down and leaned toward her neck, taking a light sniff. His voice was low and husky.
“You reek of other men.”
Lou Yue laughed at his expression and gently pushed him away. “Are you a dog? Why do you keep sniffing me?”
“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Xiao Rangchen said flatly.
“So?”
“Can’t you spare me some time?”
There was a hint of wounded reproach in his tone. Lou Yue exposed him without the slightest concern. “You’re only going to be waiting at the foot of the mountain for a few days.”
He seemed to sigh. “It’ll be several days before I can see you.”
“I think you’d do just fine even if you didn’t see me for two years.”
Xiao Rangchen fell silent.
After a long moment, he said hoarsely, with utmost seriousness, “I wouldn’t.”
Lou Yue suddenly remembered the lonely sight of him drinking alone in the tree, his fingers repeatedly brushing over the hairpin she had given him. She remembered, too, the way he had lowered his head and reverently kissed it.
She took the initiative to raise her arms and hook them around his neck, her voice softening. “Be good and wait for me at the foot of the mountain. When the time comes, I’ll leave with you.”
Xiao Rangchen placed a hand against her waist and drew her closer into his arms.
All he could smell was that lingering musk belonging to another man. His lips pressed into a tight line, and he said nothing.
Lou Yue chuckled. Her heart softened. Turning her head, she quickly planted a light kiss on his cheek, then withdrew her arms and started to leave.
“Hurry back. Don’t let my father find you here.”
Xiao Rangchen reached out and pulled her back. Bending down, he lowered his head and kissed her on the lips.
The instant their lips met, Lou Chengfeng’s bewildered voice came from behind them.
“What… are you two doing?”
