Of the three pairs, Ji Lan and Jiang Tian’s group was by far the most normal.

Ji Lan wasn’t much of a talker. Upon reaching the river, she simply kicked off her shoes and stepped into the water, spearing fish with swift, decisive movements. Years of martial arts training had sharpened her reflexes. She was precise, efficient, and utterly composed. One strike, one catch.

Jiang Tian, a shy teenager, didn’t dare initiate conversation with her. But upon seeing her skills, his enthusiasm skyrocketed.

With a slight flush on his cheeks and eyes gleaming with excitement, he waded into the river as well. Gazing at the clear water teeming with fish, he swiftly caught several of his own.
By the time they were finished, their baskets were overflowing.

Meanwhile, in another part of the village, Yan An stood before a fenced-in chicken coop, eyeing the plump roosters and glossy-feathered hens, her fingers twitching with anticipation.

‘So that’s why the production team asked if I knew how to catch chickens during the audition.

If all I have to do is chase chickens to earn a high paycheck, I’d gladly do it every episode.’

But… would Qi Yan be willing?

Yan An stole a glance at the man beside her.

He stood there silently, his expression unreadable.

The sun was beginning to set, hanging low on the horizon. Its golden light cast a warm glow over his figure, softening his sharp features. No longer bathed in the harsh brightness of midday, he appeared more languid, almost relaxed.

From where she stood, slightly turned to the side and looking up at him, he seemed to be bathed in light, so dazzling that she couldn’t look away.

Suddenly, Yan An was reminded of the first time she had ever seen Qi Yan.

Back then, she had just arrived in this world, not even a day in. Curled up in a small alley, half-submerged in a lake. She was lost in thought when a figure quietly approached under the moonlight.

The autumn night carried a slight chill. He wore a worn-out sweater jacket, hands tucked in his pockets, his steps slow and unhurried as he walked across a carpet of fallen ginkgo leaves and stopped beside her.

In her previous world, the cultivation realm, Yan An had always lived deep within the spiritual mountains, hidden away in a secluded valley pond. And no human had ever seen her true form.

This was the first time a human had ever appeared so close to her.

New to this world, she knew nothing. Where she was, why her original world had suddenly collapsed, or if her friends had survived.

So, she did the only thing she could. She stayed still, pretending to be an ordinary Copper Coin Grass plant, choosing to remain unchanged in the face of the unknown.

The human crouched down and reached out, tugging at one of her leaves.

For some reason, an overwhelming sense of danger washed over her. An instinct she had never felt before.

Her heart pounded with fear, but she dared not move, every fiber of her plant form brimming with vigilance.

If he really meant to harm her, she would have no choice but to fight back!

But in the end, he didn’t do much. He only gave her leaf a little tug before rubbing his fingertips over its smooth, round surface, murmuring softly, “Pretty round.”

Yan An thought to herself, ‘Of course! I’m the roundest Copper Coin Grass in the entire Copper Coin Grass clan.’

Just as she was about to bask in her own pride, he plucked her leaf right off.

The sensation was similar to having a strand of hair yanked out, sharp but bearable.

Besides, just like humans had plenty of hair, she had plenty of leaves.

Losing one? Not a big deal. She endured it in silence. After all, when she was happy or sad, she sometimes plucked her own leaves too.

It wasn’t like she was in danger of going bald.

But if he plucked another one, she would get angry!

And sure enough, he reached out and plucked a second leaf.

Yan An was furious. Just like a mighty tiger fallen from grace, and now being bullied by mere dogs.

Back in the cultivation world, she wasn’t the strongest, but she wasn’t weak either. As long as she didn’t step onto some big shot’s territory, no one dared provoke her. Mostly because she had a lot of friends, hence no one wanted to mess with her.

Yet here she was, in a single night, getting plucked twice by an ordinary human!

Even if his aura felt a little dangerous, she couldn’t just sit back and accept it!

The Copper Coin Grass plants across the lake trembled, reacting to her growing rage. She was ready to shift into her human form and send this guy straight to the eighteenth level of hell.

The movement was obvious. There was a breeze, but not strong enough to shake the leaves this much.

Qi Yan was slightly startled. He lifted his gaze toward the water.

At that moment, the moon slipped out from behind the clouds, casting a cool, silvery glow over his face.

And just like that, all of Yan An’s anger vanished.

‘How could someone be this, this, this ridiculously handsome?!’

In two hundred years, she had never seen anyone this good-looking.

And that was no small feat, considering the demon race was renowned for their breathtaking beauty.

But this man… this face… wasn’t he exactly the type she had been dreaming of before she crossed over?

Find him for dual cultivation. Make him the father of my children. Perfect.

The once-agitated Copper Coin Grass immediately stilled, surrendering without a fight.

Of course, Qi Yan had no idea what had just happened. He answered a call from the hospital, then left in a hurry. Taking two pieces of Copper Coin Grass leaves with him.

…

“Yan An.”

A voice called her name, both familiar and unfamiliar.

She blinked her long, thick lashes and snapped back to reality.

Qi Yan was watching her, his deep gaze steady as he met her eyes. He gestured toward the chicken coop, speaking as naturally as if giving orders came second nature to him. “Go on.”

“Huh? Oh…Oh! Okay! I’m going now!”

Yan An scratched her head, realizing she had once again been staring at him in a daze. Flustered, she turned away, her cheeks burning red.

If this were the cultivation world, she would’ve thought he was a fox spirit.

But the thing was, she knew the most handsome fox spirit in the fox clan, and even he wasn’t this good-looking!

Lowering her head, she quietly opened the coop door and stepped inside.

Outside the fence, Qi Yan stood still, silently watching her without offering any assistance.

His gaze was unreadable.

【…Did An An just get completely mesmerized by Film Emperor Yan?】

【Not gonna lie, I was mesmerized too! Film Emperor Yan is so handsome, it should be illegal.】

【Don’t even remind me. That sunset shot just now? I’m done for. Completely gone. How can someone this gorgeous even exist?!】

【Uh… Just wondering, is Film Emperor Yan seriously not planning to help? He’s just letting An An catch the chickens on her own?】

【Ahhh! How can you expect someone this breathtaking to chase chickens?! He should just stand there while everyone else offers the chickens to him!】

【I think An An hasn’t even noticed anything’s off. She’s too busy being dazzled by his beauty.】

Yan An really hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

After all, three years ago, in that brief period when they were together, this was exactly how things were.

Looking at the roosters and hens, she suddenly thought of her friends from the cultivation world. Her mood dipped slightly.

It seemed like only she and Liang Baiyu had crossed over. As for the others, she had no idea what had happened to them.

Had they stayed in their original world, living on as usual? Or…

Yan An shook her head, pushing the thoughts aside.

The path of cultivation had always been like this. The longer one lived, the more separations and farewells they experienced.

Life and death, partings and reunions. It was simply the norm.

One day, she too would leave this world. There was nothing sad about it. As long as she lived happily and did the things she wanted, that was enough.

At the very least, for now, she had to work hard and earn money to raise her six little seeds.

And to make money, she had to catch a chicken for dinner first.

How hard could that be?

Yan An clenched her small, fair fists and charged straight toward the area with the most chickens.

The chicken coop instantly erupted into chaos.

Loud clucking filled the air as plump roosters and hens flapped their wings and darted in all directions, moving swiftly and nimbly.

Yan An, confident that she would succeed without fail, lunged but came up empty-handed.

Not only did she fail to catch a chicken, but she also ended up face-planting on the ground, her mouth full of feathers.

!!!

Unwilling to accept defeat, Yan An yanked the stray feathers from her hair, got up, and tried again.

And just like before, she failed.

Panting for breath, she stood in the middle of the coop, watching the chickens scatter into the corners.

She finally realized it. This was a trap carefully designed by the production team.

The space was large, and the number of chickens was deliberately kept low, giving them plenty of room to escape.

Not only that, but these chickens seemed handpicked. Each one was robust, with lightning-fast reflexes.

No, scratch that. They could fly.

And how did she figure that out?

Because she just heard the production team laughing.

Yan An turned to look, and the crew burst into even louder laughter.

Meanwhile, the livestream chat was going wild.

【HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA】

【HAHAHAHAHA】

【Yan An is way too serious about catching chickens LOL】

【I knew it! These chickens were definitely specially selected. The production team is up to no good!】

Yan An could not see the barrage of comments, but she could hear the cameraman beside her chuckling.

And mind you, this cameraman had not laughed once the entire day.

Fine. It seemed like everyone was here to watch her make a fool of herself.

Gritting her teeth, Yan An turned her back to them, secretly considering using her spiritual power to cheat.

With her abilities, how could she possibly lose to a bunch of overgrown chickens?

But the moment she tried, the system prompted her. External use of spiritual power requires a minimum of 10,000 points.

Yan An checked her balance.

She only had 300,000 points left and had already spent some.

Spending 10,000 just to catch a chicken…

That was enough to buy 10,000 lollipops.

Never mind. She would just catch the chicken with her bare hands. QAQ

Letting out a deep sigh, Yan An steadied herself, refocused, and picked out the biggest, plumpest rooster in the coop.

Larger size meant easier to grab, right?

Locking onto her target, Yan An rubbed her palms together, inching closer… closer… even closer…

And just as she was about to strike, she lunged.

This time, she actually caught it.

Well, almost. She only managed to grab one of its legs.

Still, this was basically a win. Overjoyed, she prepared to secure the rest of the rooster.

But the rooster was not going down without a fight.

Sensing the imminent danger, it flapped its wings wildly and struggled with all its might.

Dust flew up from the ground, stinging Yan An’s eyes.

Instinctively, she shut them, giving the rooster just the opportunity it needed.

In an instant, it broke free and fled.

Her eyes stung unbearably. Yan An rubbed them, deciding it was finally time to use her spiritual power.

After all, internal use of spiritual energy was cheap. Washing her eyes would only cost 100 points, and as a bonus, it would leave her with even shinier, bling-bling eyes.

But before she could activate it, someone suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her up from the ground.

A deep, low voice, calm and steady, brushed against her ear, carrying a faint tingling sensation.

“Can you still open your eyes?”