When Di Jiang finally woke up, five days had passed. The moment he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a ceiling made of neatly arranged blue bricks.

The room was spacious enough, with a bed, table, chairs, and a wardrobe, though everything seemed a bit old. The doors and windows were tightly shut, and the faint scent of aged wood lingered in the air. It wasn’t unpleasant.

Di Jiang slowly sat up. Looking down, he realized that his robes were gone. He was now dressed in simple, clean mortal clothes.

“Sister Le Gui, come quick! The sweet potatoes are ready!”

“I’m coming! I want the long one!”

Outside, the voices of a child and Le Gui could be heard. Di Jiang pinched the bridge of his nose and began meditating to restore his energy.

Outside, Le Gui happily munched on a roasted sweet potato. The child next to her burst into laughter when he saw the smudge of ash on her lips.

“Sister Le Gui, you’re a grown-up, but you still eat so messily!”

Le Gui wiped her mouth carelessly and said seriously, “You don’t get it. The ash from sweet potatoes is good for you. Look how tall I’ve grown—it’s all thanks to eating ash.”

“Really?” The child was skeptical.

Le Gui nodded solemnly. “Really.”

The child opened his mouth, ready to bite into the sweet potato skin, but Le Gui quickly stopped him in alarm. “I was lying to you!”

The child froze for a moment, then suddenly huffed in anger and ran out of the courtyard, shouting loudly, “Sister Le Gui is a bad person!”

It was dusk, and smoke curled up from chimneys in every household. The restless children, still waiting for dinner, heard the commotion and immediately rushed out, joining in as they ran through the village, all chanting together, “Sister Le Gui is a bad person!”

Le Gui had only been joking and hadn’t expected the child to take her seriously. She hurriedly finished her sweet potato in a few bites and turned to go back inside, only to accidentally meet the gaze of the person behind her.

The clothes he was wearing now were ones she had specially asked someone to buy from the city. They had cost nearly fifty taels of silver, enough to feed ten farming families for a year. The fabric and tailoring were of the highest quality, yet somehow, when he wore them, they gave off an inexplicable air of plainness.

Too simple, not fitting for him, but undeniably striking in a way that was hard to describe.

Le Gui stared at him for a long moment before suddenly bursting with grievance. “Who was it that said we’d leave together?!”

As she spoke, she strode toward him.

Di Jiang stopped her in her tracks. “Stay where you are.”

Le Gui halted, looking at him in confusion.

“Finish scolding me first before coming over,” Di Jiang said unhurriedly. “I want some peace and quiet right now.”

“What are you talking about? I wouldn’t dare scold you,” Le Gui pouted, but still stepped forward to support him.

[You shameless bastard! You said we’d leave together, but you slept so soundly that I couldn’t wake you up! If the village hunters hadn’t found me and brought us back in their ox cart, I’d have ended up with another set of bloodied hands! You ungrateful scoundrel!]

Di Jiang: “…”

“Your Lordship, I’m so happy you’re awake,” Le Gui said sweetly.

Di Jiang stared at her for a long moment. “Heh.”

Le Gui: “…”

[What kind of reaction is that? I saved your life! Okay, maybe you wouldn’t have died without me, but if not for me, you’d have been lying out in the wilderness instead of on a comfortable bed!]

While grumbling inwardly, Le Gui followed him inside. Once he was settled back on the bed, she poured a cup of water that had already cooled and handed it to him. “Your Lordship, have a sip.”

Di Jiang didn’t refuse and drank half of it.

With his spiritual energy depleted, his body had become weak. He had also temporarily sealed off his spirit reservoir, making him no different from a mortal—he could feel thirst and hunger.

“How long did I sleep?” He returned the cup to Le Gui.

Not wanting to waste any, she drained the rest in one gulp before exhaling in satisfaction. “Four or five days, I think.”

Di Jiang nodded thoughtfully.

Seeing him suddenly go quiet, Le Gui couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you curious about where we are?”

“Taoyuan Village,” Di Jiang said calmly.

Le Gui gasped. “You actually know?!”

Di Jiang glanced at her, not understanding why she was so surprised.

Clearing her throat, she asked again, “Then aren’t you curious about why we’re staying here?”

Di Jiang asked instead, “How much silver did it cost to rent this courtyard?”

“…How do you know everything?” Le Gui was speechless.

Indeed, she had rented this place with the silver left from selling her robes.

She hadn’t expected that even the mortals in this secret realm used silver for daily transactions. Since she happened to have some, she was able to easily rent an empty courtyard from a villager.

Though the place wasn’t large or luxurious, it had two spacious tiled-roof rooms, more than enough for them to stay in.

“Your Lordship, how long will it take for you to fully recover?” Le Gui asked tentatively.

Di Jiang lifted his gaze. “Why do you ask?”

“Of course, I want to go home as soon as possible,” Le Gui replied obediently. “Taoyuan Village is nice, but it’s not our home. I want to go back to the Demon Realm, back to Diyun Peak.”

Di Jiang raised an eyebrow. “And what will you do there?”

“What else?” Le Gui suddenly grew shy and playfully slapped his shoulder—only to accidentally reopen his newly healed wound.

Di Jiang: “…”

She hadn’t expected him to be so fragile like a mortal, and quickly scrambled to help him dress the wound. By the time she managed to wrap it up again, he had already lain back down, adjusting his pillow.

“…Sleeping again?” Le Gui was speechless.

Di Jiang closed his eyes. “Mm.” The spiritual energy here was thin, making sleep the best method for recovery.

“I still want to talk to you!” Le Gui complained.

[We haven’t even discussed marriage yet, and you’re already asleep again!]

Di Jiang: “Leave.”

“…I’m not leaving. I want to keep you company.” Le Gui refused to budge.

[This is outrageous! He woke up twice and didn’t mention marriage even once! Is he regretting it? Ha! Men are all the same! When they need you, you’re their precious darling, promising to marry you. But the moment they don’t, they suddenly get ‘tired’ and ‘need sleep,’ avoiding all mention of their promise.]

Di Jiang: “…Leave.”

“Why?” Le Gui frowned.

Di Jiang shot her a cold look. “You’re too noisy.”

Le Gui’s eyes widened. “I haven’t even said a word!”

[I didn’t even move! If you want me gone, just say it outright! What a joke! No wonder my mother always said that when a man stops loving you, even your breathing is annoying. So now my breathing is too loud for you, huh? Why don’t I just breathe you to death then? Drive you to insomnia and madness? Make you—]

“Out. Now.” Di Jiang had reached his limit.

Realizing he was serious, Le Gui reluctantly got up. “Alright then, get some rest. If you need anything, just call me. I’ll be right outside.”

[Damn it, what is this situation? I’m being dismissed, yet I still have to be polite about it? All this just for that stupid Wuliangdu! The sacrifices I make! When I get back to the real world, I’m going to buy ten copies of Supreme, black out every part with Di Jiang’s name, and burn them all to ashes!]

Le Gui grumbled internally as she bit her lip and left the room. Once the door closed behind her, Di Jiang finally felt some peace and quiet.

Le Gui sat in the courtyard, her displeasure written all over her face.

By now, the sky had completely darkened. The children who had been running around earlier had all returned home and were probably already asleep after dinner. Having eaten a roasted sweet potato earlier, Le Gui wasn’t hungry at all. She simply sat there, staring blankly at the sky.

The night was clear, with countless stars twinkling brightly, making the sky appear even more vast and pure. Without warning, memories of her grandmother surfaced in her mind. She remembered how, when she was little, her grandmother had lived alone in the countryside. Every summer and winter break, she would go stay with her, only returning home once school resumed. Later, when her grandmother’s health started to decline, her mother brought her to the city to live with them, and Le Gui never went back to that old countryside home again.

So many years had passed. She had nearly forgotten what she had been like back then, yet here, in this foreign world, she found herself reminiscing about the past once more.

Ah Hua, who had been observing her in silence, hesitated for a while before finally emerging from the Seer Mirror. Le Gui felt the mirror in her arms tremble slightly, and when she turned her head, Ah Hua was already sitting beside her.

Though Ah Hua no longer had that blood-soaked appearance since her lingering resentment had faded, appearing so suddenly in the dead of night was still enough to give someone a fright.

Le Gui stared at her in silence for three seconds before asking, “You awake now?”

“…Yeah.” In truth, Ah Hua had woken up half an hour ago but had been too lazy to speak. If not for seeing Le Gui looking so pitiful, she wouldn’t have come out at all.

A brief silence fell between them before Ah Hua spoke again. “You seem upset.”

“A little.” Le Gui didn’t deny it.

Ah Hua hesitated, then asked, “Because His Lordship told you to leave?”

Le Gui pursed her lips. “What do you think he means by this? He’s not planning to go back on his word, is he?”

“What word?” Ah Hua was momentarily confused before realizing Le Gui was talking about the promise that if she won first place, he would marry her. Ah Hua wasn’t entirely sure herself.

Seeing her hesitate, Le Gui grew even more uneasy. “You told me before that he’s not the kind of person who would break a promise.”

“Yes, but I also said he does as he pleases.” Ah Hua was completely sincere in her answer.

Le Gui stared at her for a long moment before suddenly jumping to her feet.

“Where are you going?” Ah Hua asked in alarm as she saw Le Gui marching toward Di Jiang’s room.

Le Gui replied with determination, “I’m going to make him explain himself!”

Ah Hua: “…”

She watched helplessly as Le Gui kicked open the door. A shiver ran down Ah Hua’s spine, and she squeezed her eyes shut in despair, flashes of memories with Le Gui running through her mind.

Sure, this person was shameless and thick-skinned, but she was also the first friend Ah Hua had ever made. And tonight, she might lose her forever…

While Ah Hua was still grieving the inevitable, Le Gui had already charged into the room.

Even though Di Jiang had sealed his spiritual powers, it didn’t mean he could sleep through someone violently kicking open his door. The moment she barged in, his eyes snapped open.

One stood on the floor, the other lay on the bed. Their gazes locked, and Di Jiang’s voice was laced with displeasure. “What are you—”

Before he could finish, Le Gui stormed over, grabbed his face, and kissed him.

The moment their lips met, pain shot through her, bringing tears to her eyes. When she pulled away, she saw a fresh cut on his lip.

“You said that if I took first place, you would marry me!” she growled, wiping the blood from her lips, ignoring the sharp sting. “You can’t go back on your word!”

Di Jiang gazed at her silently. Just as her confidence wavered and she was about to retreat, he grabbed her and pulled her onto the bed.

Le Gui let out a startled yelp, her hand landing on his chest. Instantly, her fingertips were stained with blood.

“Your wound—”

Before she could finish speaking, her chin was seized, forcing her to look into his eyes.

“This is all you’ve got?” His tone was indifferent.

Le Gui’s eyelashes fluttered nervously. Just as she was about to ask what he meant, their lips met once again.