Chapter 9

You can run but you can’t hide.

Ming Yan’s help had merely upgraded him from a scarf to a coat.  

Who wouldn’t call that tragic?  

The fox’s death grieves Ming; when the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.  

Ming Yan suddenly recalled the day when the female lead, Mu Qingqing, had threatened to test her with the Demon-Slaying Whip. Thinking of how the original owner—a mere little monster—had likely ended up as a coat or scarf just as inexplicably, she couldn’t help but sigh.  

Yet in the Cultivation world, the weak were prey to the strong—such was the natural order.  

Apart from silently mourning the departed coat for a moment, there was little else Ming Yan could do.  

“Husband, give me the coat.”  

Steadying her emotions, Ming Yan spoke up.  

She wouldn’t wear it, but it was the last trace the little fox demon had left in this world. She would find a quiet, flower-filled spot on the mountain to bury it properly.  

May he find a better fate in his next life.  

And never again become someone else’s clothing.  

Chu Xuanqing pulled her into his arms, inhaling the familiar, clean scent of her skin. His cold body instantly warmed. “There is no coat. I was just teasing.”  

Ming Yan: “???”  

You damn liar, when did you learn to deceive?!  

“You want it?”  

Chu Xuanqing sounded amused.  

Ming Yan punched him in the chest, grinding her teeth—  

What I want is your damn life.  

“Enough, no more games.” Chu Xuanqing extinguished the lamps with a flick of his fingers and pressed his sulking Dao Companion against his chest. “It’s late. Didn’t you say you needed your beauty sleep?”  

His little Dao Companion often came up with strange phrases, and over time, Chu Xuanqing had picked them up too.  

Of course, only between the two of them.  

But Ming Yan was wide awake now.  

With emotions swinging so wildly, who could sleep?  

Besides, one look at Chu Xuanqing told her he had once again failed to obtain the Cultivation Method.  

Until he secured it, she wouldn’t have peace of mind.  

And if she wasn’t at peace, she wouldn’t be happy—and if she wasn’t happy, neither would Chu Xuanqing.  

Nestled in his arms, Ming Yan began stirring up trouble. “I don’t care, I don’t care! You promised to bring me a gift every time you went out. You didn’t this time, and now I’m upset!”  

Chu Xuanqing’s temple throbbed under her relentless pestering. “This trip was for official business.”  

In short, he hadn’t gone shopping.  

No gift was to be expected.  

But Ming Yan wasn’t about to listen to reason. “Official business means you can skip my gift? Chu Xuanqing, you’ve changed! You weren’t like this before. Is it because we’ve been together for ten years? Are you tired of me? Planning to divorce me and find some young fairy instead?”  

Chu Xuanqing: “…”  

“Waaah, you’re not answering! You really are thinking about it!”  

Ming Yan escalated theatrically.  

With no other choice, Chu Xuanqing raised his right hand and summoned something from thin air.  

A flash of white light pierced the darkness, revealing a gleaming silver longsword before Ming Yan’s eyes.  

“Such a beautiful sword!”  

Ming Yan gasped.  

The Profound Sky Sect was full of sword cultivators, so she had seen many blades over the years—razor-sharp ones, heavy and dull ones—but none as exquisite as this.  

If swords were people, this one would undoubtedly be the Sword Blossom of its kind.  

“Husband, are you giving this to me?”  

Her eyes sparkled, already eager to claim it.

She had long wanted to find a sword for herself, but unfortunately, none of the previous swords had caught her eye. A fairy like her deserved a blade as beautiful as she was.

However, the next moment.

The silver-white “Sword Blossom” suddenly spoke: “Chu Xuanqing, you little brat, you finally let me out!”

Ming Yan: “…”

Little brat?

Did she hear that right?

“Shut up—”

Chu Xuanqing shot it a sharp glare.

Sword Blossom trembled and whined, “But… but I haven’t been out for so long!”

Ming Yan: Damn!

This sword was even better at acting cute than she was.

“If you don’t shut up now, I’ll throw you into the Sword Smelting Furnace.”

Chu Xuanqing remained unmoved.

Sword Blossom twitched and sobbed, “Wah, fine, I’ll shut up.”

“Pfft.” Ming Yan found it amusing. This was the first time she’d seen a talking sword.

Generally speaking, swords couldn’t talk.

But if it had a Sword Spirit, that was a different story.

Out of ten thousand swords, perhaps not a single one would develop a Sword Spirit. But once a sword did, it was no ordinary weapon.

Ming Yan had heard before.

Chu Xuanqing possessed an exceptionally fierce Lifebound Spirit Sword that had nurtured a Sword Spirit.

But she had only heard rumors—she’d never seen it in person.

“Husband, is this your Lifebound Spirit Sword?” Ming Yan asked cleverly.

“Sort of.”

Chu Xuanqing answered reluctantly.

Ming Yan stifled a laugh.

Who would have thought that someone as cold and aloof as Chu Xuanqing would raise such a sword?

No wonder he rarely let it out.

“Then, husband, what’s its name?”

“It doesn’t have one.”

At first, it didn’t need a name. Later, when it developed a Sword Spirit on its own, Chu Xuanqing found it annoying and refused to name it.

Ming Yan’s eyes sparkled. “Then let me name it!”

Chu Xuanqing said, “As you wish.” After all, he had already decided to give the sword to Ming Yan.

“What should we call it?” Ming Yan racked her brains.

She was terrible at naming things—Daju’s name was proof enough—but she was also overly confident, always convinced she could do better.

“I’ve got it!” Ming Yan suddenly had a brilliant idea.

Since this was Chu Xuanqing’s Lifebound Spirit Sword, it was destined to be the very blade he would use for his Wife-slaying Dao Attainment—to stab her. Therefore, the sword’s name should be—

“Wife-Slaying Sword?”

“Terrible.” Chu Xuanqing didn’t mince words.

“How is it terrible?” Ming Yan protested, punching his arm again. “I think it sounds amazing, and most importantly, it’s meaningful.”

“What meaning? Isn’t it just that snack you kept pestering me for earlier?”

“Snack??”

Ming Yan was dumbfounded. What did Wife-slaying have to do with snacks?

“Shaqima.” Chu Xuanqing’s voice was cool and clear, as melodious as a guqin.

“…” Ming Yan was speechless.

Talking to this man was like speaking to a brick wall.

There was no way he’d ever understand her profound reasoning.

Ming Yan yawned. “Whatever, I can’t be bothered to explain. A humble name is easier to raise—let’s just call it Xiaobai for now.”

“Mm, as you wish.”

Chu Xuanqing held Ming Yan, gently patting her back as if soothing a baby. “Sleep if you’re tired.”

Ming Yan had been exhausted all day, and she had just thrown a small tantrum.

As soon as Chu Xuanqing said this, she also felt extremely drowsy. Resting her head on his arm, her eyelids soon grew heavy, and she fell into a deep sleep.

But she didn’t see it.

After she fell asleep, Chu Xuanqing gently pricked her fingertip and drew a drop of blood.

The blood seeped into the silvery-white blade, causing it to emit a faint red glow.

The next day, major news spread throughout the Profound Sky Sect.

It was said that Jiang Sinian, the head disciple, had encountered a rampaging demon while setting up a barrier at the foot of the mountain. After dozens of fierce battles, he slew the demon with his sword, earning widespread praise within the sect.

For this great achievement, the sect master was overjoyed.

He announced that several Peak Lords and elders would jointly open the Spirit Cloud Secret Realm for Jiang Sinian, aiding him in breaking through to the Transformation Spirit Stage in one go.

Everyone knew how difficult it was to reach the Transformation Spirit Stage.

For an ordinary cultivator without fortuitous encounters or mediocre talent, it was possible to exhaust their lifespan without ever achieving Spirit Transformation.

For Jiang Sinian to have such fortune was akin to a carp leaping over the dragon’s gate—he would undoubtedly become a prominent figure in the Cultivation world.

It wasn’t impossible for him to eventually succeed his master as sect leader.

For a time, Jiang Sinian’s residence was bustling with visitors, the comings and goings never ceasing.

But this had nothing to do with Ming Yan.

The rampaging demon being slain was good news, and she was happy for the villagers below the mountain. However, her own life was still hanging by a thread. The novel’s plot had already begun, and in the Cultivation world, everyone despised demons. If she showed even the slightest flaw, she might become the next “scarf demon.”

This added a sense of urgency to Ming Yan’s heart.

For some reason, Chu Xuanqing hadn’t discovered the Cultivation Method she had placed in that room.

She was certain she had left it in plain sight.

Unless Chu Xuanqing was blind, he would have seen it the moment he entered.

Unless… Chu Xuanqing never entered the room at all.

Suddenly, Ming Yan had an epiphany—

That was it!

She had heard that Jiang Sinian only returned at sunset the next day, yet Chu Xuanqing had come back in the middle of the night to crawl into bed and sleep. Wasn’t that blatant slacking off?

Who would have thought this dog of a man, who usually acted so dignified and put on the airs of a model worker, would slack off at a critical moment?

Ming Yan gritted her teeth in frustration.

If Chu Xuanqing were here right now, she would definitely bite him.

And yet, he still had the nerve to force her to attend classes and not skip them?

She, a mighty demon at the Transformation Spirit Stage, had to mingle with a bunch of fledgling cultivators who hadn’t even reached the Golden Core Stage—did she have no dignity left?

Not to mention, these fledglings kept looking at her with pity, as if she were stupid. Like right now—just because she couldn’t make her sword fly.

Was that any reason to look at her like she was an idiot?

Wait… she couldn’t make her sword fly?

Ming Yan, the mighty Transformation Spirit Stage demon, finally snapped out of her thoughts and examined the Peach Wood Sword before her.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Though she disliked sword flight due to her fear of heights, she still knew the basics. For a sword cultivator, controlling a sword was as fundamental as eating or drinking for mortals.

Yet now, while the other students’ swords danced with vigor, hers lay on the ground like a dead fish.

No—not even a dead fish. At least a dead fish would flop a few times. This was more like a corpse, thoroughly lifeless.

Ming Yan didn’t want to lose face. If word got out that the little mistress of Celestial Pivot Peak couldn’t even wield a flying sword, what kind of joke would that be?  

She secretly mustered her strength and got serious: “Fly for me!”  

Peach Wood Sword: *La-la-la, I can’t hear you, turtle chanting sutras.jpg*  

Ming Yan: “…If you don’t fly, I’ll burn you to ashes!”  

The Peach Wood Sword remained unmoved, but a streak of silver-white light flashed across the sky.  

The disciples looked up.  

Suddenly, the silver light stopped right in front of Ming Yan.  

And began wailing:  

“Waaah! Woman, how could you be so fickle? When we were watching the stars and moon together, you called me your sweetheart! Now that you have a new Peach Wood Sword, you’re pretending you don’t know me anymore, waaah!”  

“Who’s pretending?! You better explain yourself clearly! Everyone, listen to me—it’s not like that, I didn’t—”  

Before Ming Yan could defend herself against accusations of being a two-timing scoundrel, she turned around and saw her classmates and teacher staring in horror at the little white sword in front of her.