Le Gui, on the other hand, returned to her room with a grin and had the best sleep of her life.

She dreamed again. This time, it wasn’t about school or her roommates but about her grandmother’s home in the countryside.

Her grandmother, with her white hair, saw her and sighed helplessly, “Why are you covered in mud again?”

Le Gui paused, then looked down to find herself small, her hands and feet tiny, her whole body covered in dirt.

She had become her childhood self.

Le Gui grinned and ran toward her grandmother. “Grandma!”

“Ah, don’t come near me!” Her grandmother looked horrified and turned to run, but no matter how fast she tried to escape, she couldn’t outrun a seven or eight-year-old child. In the blink of an eye, Le Gui tackled her in a hug.

“You little rascal, you’ve dirtied my clothes!”

Her grandmother got flustered, just like her mother always did. But Le Gui only continued to grin at her. She smiled and smiled, then suddenly opened her eyes—only to come face-to-face with a pair of hollow, blood-red eye sockets.

“Ah!”

Le Gui jumped up in fright, staring at the bedside in terror.

Ah Hua, satisfied with successfully scaring her, reverted to her usual delicate form and let out a sinister chuckle. “Serves you right, you traitorous worker.”

“Traitorous worker”—another phrase she had learned from Le Gui.

Le Gui: “…”

With her good dream interrupted, sleep was now out of the question. Full of resentment, Le Gui got up and noticed the sun was already high in the sky. She casually asked, “Did Aunt Li not come today?”

Aunt Li was the neighbor next door. Since Le Gui couldn’t cook but had some spare money, she had given Aunt Li a bit of silver when she first moved in, asking her to add an extra scoop of rice when making meals so Le Gui could have something to eat. Aunt Li was a straightforward person. She felt guilty about letting Le Gui share their simple meals, so she insisted on personally delivering the food, arguing that it wasn’t right to take money while making her guest come and get it.

Although Le Gui thought walking next door wasn’t exactly an inconvenience, she respected Aunt Li’s insistence.

Being a farmer’s wife, Aunt Li’s daily routine was always punctual. She usually brought breakfast at dawn. Since Le Gui was too lazy to get up early, she had Ah Hua disguise herself to receive it on her behalf. This had been their routine for the past few days.

Hearing Le Gui’s question, Ah Hua curled her lips. “She came.”

Le Gui hesitated, looked around, then turned back to Ah Hua. “Where’s the food?”

Ah Hua smirked. “His Lordship ate it.”

Le Gui: “…”

“What are you staring at? His Lordship is our master. Anything good should be offered to him first, shouldn’t it?” Ah Hua threw Le Gui’s words back at her. “Though steamed buns, pickled vegetables, and porridge aren’t exactly delicacies, His Lordship can’t fast right now. Eating something simple is still better than nothing. You’re not upset, are you?”

Le Gui gritted her teeth. “Of course not. His Lordship needs to eat well to recover quickly. Only when he fully recovers can he return to the Demon Realm and marry me. I wish he’d eat even more.”

The moment she finished speaking, her stomach let out a loud grumble.

Ah Hua laughed even more gleefully. “Then should we let His Lordship have lunch as well?”

“…Of course.”

The two locked eyes, both finding the other intolerable.

Although the sun was already high in the sky, lunch was still more than an hour away. Le Gui had gotten used to the routine of three meals a day. Having missed breakfast, she found herself unable to return to the days at Diyun Peak, where she could survive on a single apple. Now, with no breakfast, she paced around the courtyard anxiously. Just as she was about to go back inside to lie down, a thought struck her—Aunt Li always made extra food. What if His Lordship didn’t finish it all?

The moment that idea came to mind, her feet immediately changed direction.

“I’d advise you not to go,” Ah Hua drawled, clearly guessing her thoughts. “His Lordship was born from pure demonic energy. His nature is bloodthirsty, warlike, and self-serving. Now that he’s gravely injured and his spiritual core is depleted, he’s more susceptible to those instincts. If he happens to be in a foul mood, do you think you’d make it out alive?”

Le Gui froze, suddenly recalling how Di Jiang had almost strangled her the night before. She hesitated, then silently returned to the stone table and sat down.

“When… when will His Lordship recover?” she asked grimly.

Ah Hua glanced at her. She was about to say that spiritual depletion after battle was normal, and with an intact spiritual core, new energy would continuously regenerate. Given Di Jiang’s level of cultivation, he should be fine within a few days. But… remembering how smug Le Gui had been the previous night, Ah Hua sneered. “Not too long. Just eighty or ninety years.”

Le Gui: “…”

“What kind of face is that? Eighty or ninety years will pass in the blink of an eye. Isn’t that quick?” Ah Hua retorted, then deliberately let out an “Ah!” as if she had just realized something. “Are you worried that mortal lifespans are too short and you won’t live to see him fully recover? No need to worry. It’s just eighty or ninety years. You’re twenty now… so by the time you’re a little over a hundred, he’ll be completely healed and ready to fulfill his promise to marry you.”

A vivid image instantly appeared in Le Gui’s mind—Di Jiang, still young and handsome, holding her hand as she, now an old woman with drooping eyelids, walked down the aisle. She shuddered. “Isn’t there a faster way for him to recover?”

Ah Hua stared at her for a moment, then curled her lips into a smile. “There is.”

“What is it?” Le Gui’s eyes lit up.

“Dual cultivation,” Ah Hua said.

Le Gui: “?”

“Normally, it should be done with someone of a higher cultivation level. But this place is full of mortals…” Ah Hua trailed off as she scanned Le Gui up and down with a critical gaze. “A mortal could work too. It would just take longer—maybe three to five years for him to fully recover.”

“Really?” Le Gui asked excitedly.

Ah Hua was just as enthusiastic. “Really!”

With a creak, the main bedroom door opened. Di Jiang stood tall in the doorway, his expression displeased as he looked at them. “What are you two yelling about?”

“Your Lordship, Ah Hua said I should dual cultivate with you. That way, you can recover faster,” Le Gui answered matter-of-factly.

Ah Hua: “…”

Di Jiang glanced at them both. He said nothing, but his face clearly read, “Idiots.”

The empty food container was placed outside the door, and the room was shut again. Ah Hua was instantly furious. “Are you messing with me?!”

“You were messing with me first.” Le Gui remained calm. “I almost believed you, but then you brought up that nonsense about dual cultivation. If you’re going to trick me, at least make it believable.”

Ah Hua was so enraged that she dove into the Seer Mirror and refused to come out.

With her victory secured, Le Gui cheerfully went next door to find Aunt Li.

After paying a little extra, she finally got a meal for two at lunchtime. She had originally planned to bring Di Jiang’s portion to his room, but when she saw the bowl of chicken soup Aunt Li had made especially for him… That was the only bowl of chicken soup, prepared specifically for the sick.

A moment later, Le Gui cracked open the bedroom door. “Your Lordship, are you still meditating?”

Di Jiang had already finished. Hearing her, he looked up. “What is it?”

Le Gui grinned and ran over to sit beside his bed. “Aunt Li made lunch. Do you want to eat?”

[Say no. Say no. Say no. That way, I can drink the chicken soup!]

Di Jiang stared into her eyes for a long time before saying, “In the future, if you want to scheme, I suggest doing it at least two meters away from me.”

“Hm?” Le Gui was confused.

Di Jiang: “Eat.”

Le Gui: “…”

After all that effort, the result was that Di Jiang joined her in the courtyard for lunch.

“The sweet potatoes and corn are yours. The chicken soup is mine,” she declared, still trying to hold her ground. “Aunt Li said it’s not good for a young lady to be too skinny. I need to eat well and nourish myself.”

Di Jiang picked up the chicken soup and drank it all in one go.

Le Gui: “…”

“It tastes good,” he remarked with a nod.

Le Gui’s eyes welled up with tears.

[My chicken soup! My precious chicken soup!]

“Why are you looking at me?” Di Jiang feigned ignorance. “Surely you wouldn’t begrudge me a bowl of chicken soup?”

Le Gui kept staring, her eyes still glistening, but she forced herself to say, “Of course not. I don’t mind at all. If you like it, then that’s what matters.”

Di Jiang smirked in amusement, then reached for the cooked corn. Le Gui quickly grabbed one as well, afraid she’d end up with nothing.

A simple meal turned into a tense battle for food. Only after she had eaten two pieces of corn did she finally feel secure. But when her gaze fell on the empty bowl that once held the chicken soup, she felt an inexplicable emptiness.

[Long-term goal: Become Di Jiang’s queen and take Wuliangdu back home. Short-term goal: Buy a big, fat chicken and eat until I’m completely stuffed.]

Di Jiang: “…”

After lunch, Aunt Li came to clear the dishes. Di Jiang slowly got up to return to his room, and Le Gui immediately followed.

“Why are you following me?” He didn’t even need to look back to know she was trailing behind him.

“I want to check your wounds. When you were unconscious, I did it every day,” Le Gui replied.

“The Seer Mirror didn’t tell you to stay away from me until I’ve fully recovered?” Di Jiang asked.

Le Gui nodded, then realized he couldn’t see her, so she quickly added, “It did.”

Di Jiang stopped and glanced at her. “Aren’t you afraid?” Last night, he had almost killed her.

Le Gui blinked. “A little. But I don’t think Your Lordship would hurt me. Just like last night—you stopped halfway, didn’t you?”

Then, she deliberately added, “Trust is essential between a husband and wife.”

Di Jiang studied her for a long moment, then sneered. “I can’t tell if you’re fearless or just a fool.”

Le Gui: “…That didn’t sound like a compliment.”

Even though her so-called inspection was meaningless to him, rejecting her outright would only make her start chattering away in her mind again. Di Jiang just wanted some peace and quiet, so once they entered the room, he simply asked, “How do you want to check?”

“You just need to take off your clothes so I can see if the wound is healing properly or if it’s infected. The past few days, everything looked fine, but now that you’re awake, I’m worried that you might move around too much and aggravate it. So I just want to take a look for peace of mind,” Le Gui explained while moving to close the door.

This courtyard was large and cheap, but the downside was that many things were old and in disrepair. Le Gui struggled with the door for a while before finally shutting it with a loud thud.

When she turned around, she was met with the sight of Di Jiang standing before her—completely bare.

Not a single piece of clothing.

Le Gui froze in place, her pupils trembling as if she had been struck by an overwhelming force.

Not even socks…

“Are you done staring?” Di Jiang asked impatiently.

Le Gui stammered, “I-I’m looking…”

The first word barely left her lips before she realized how hoarse her voice sounded. She quickly cleared her throat. “I mean, I’ll take a look right now!”

Determined not to betray the trust he had placed in her, she forced herself to ignore the heat rising in her face and put on a serious expression. She stepped forward and carefully examined the various scars scattered across his body.

She still vividly remembered how his wounds had been torn open, flesh and blood a ghastly sight. Now, most of them had faded into faint marks, with only a few deep cuts still covered by scabs.

[…Why does it feel like he’s recovering even faster than yesterday? As expected of the strongest man in the entire novel. His vitality is truly astonishing.]

Di Jiang’s lips curled into the faintest smirk.

Le Gui tried to keep her gaze steady, but no matter how hard she tried, her eyes still drifted downward.

[Oh wow… it’s huge.]

Di Jiang: “?”