Le Gui accidentally stared a little too long. By the time she realized her mistake, Di Jiang had already been giving her a long, deathly stare.

There was an awkward pause before she composed herself. With a perfectly straight face, she pointed at a faint scar on his abdomen. “Your Lordship, look at this scar. It’s a little red. Shouldn’t we apply some medicine?”

“You were looking at my scar?” Di Jiang’s voice carried a dangerous edge.

Le Gui responded with absolute seriousness, “Of course. What else would I be looking at?”

Before he could respond, she swiftly picked up his clothes from the floor and earnestly draped them over him. “Your Lordship, you’re a young and incredibly handsome man. How can you just strip in front of people like this? Lucky for you, I only care about your health and have no improper thoughts. But if it were someone else, they might have taken advantage of your injuries and done this and that to you!”

Di Jiang remained indifferent. “Anyone who dares to covet me has yet to be born.”

Then, after a brief pause, he corrected himself. “Except for you.”

Le Gui, guilty as charged: “…”

After hastily fastening his robes, she looked up and met his deep, piercing gaze. Before she could stop herself, she reached out and covered his eyes with her hands.

Di Jiang: “?”

Le Gui quickly realized that this was not an appropriate action. But since she had already done it…

Throwing caution to the wind, she stood on tiptoe, planted a swift kiss on the corner of his lips, and bolted.

“Your Lordship! A future wife kissing her husband-to-be isn’t illegal!”

Her voice faded into the distance as her figure disappeared beyond the doorway.

Di Jiang stood motionless for a moment before a quiet chuckle escaped his lips.

The sound of laughter in the otherwise silent room startled even himself. He found the situation ridiculous but decided not to dwell on it.

—

As soon as Le Gui rushed out of the room, Ah Hua took one look at her and knew she had done something outrageous again.

“You’re staring at me. Why?” Le Gui asked warily.

Ah Hua snorted. “I’m just wondering how many lives you have. You’re still alive after all this?”

“His Lordship likes me too much to kill me,” Le Gui said smugly.

She had only made that up to provoke Ah Hua, but to her surprise, Ah Hua actually nodded in agreement. Le Gui froze for a moment, then her face turned red.

“What’s with that disgusting expression?” Ah Hua asked coldly.

Le Gui: “…”

Not wanting to disturb her boss while he rested, but also unwilling to be alone with her annoying coworker, Le Gui decided to go out for a stroll. However, just as she was about to leave, Ah Hua blocked her path.

“Take me with you,” Ah Hua demanded.

“No,” Le Gui refused outright.

Since arriving here, the only times Ah Hua made herself visible were when she was pretending to be Le Gui while picking up meals. Most of the time, she remained unseen.

If they went out together, they would inevitably talk. But with others unable to see Ah Hua, it would look like Le Gui was talking to herself. There were already rumors around the village calling her a lunatic.

“If you don’t take me with you, then don’t think about leaving either,” Ah Hua sneered. “You think I want to go with you? If I could leave the Seer Mirror’s ten-meter range, do you think I’d be stuck with you?”

“Then don’t rely on me,” Le Gui snapped.

“I don’t have anyone else to rely on!”

Le Gui narrowed her eyes. “So just because you have no one else, I have to take you? Well, I refuse. What can you do about it?”

With that, she arrogantly walked toward the door. But after only a few steps, she was yanked backward by an invisible force and landed on her butt.

“…Didn’t you say your spiritual energy was damaged?” she grumbled.

“It’s damaged, not completely gone. Even without it, squashing you would be as easy as crushing an ant,” Ah Hua said with a sinister smile.

Le Gui picked herself up, unconvinced. Suddenly, she turned her gaze toward the courtyard entrance. “Your Lordship, why are you outside?”

Ah Hua immediately looked over.

Le Gui took the chance to dash forward, but she was pulled back yet again.

“You think I’d fall for the same trick twice?” Ah Hua said expressionlessly.

Le Gui fumed. “Fine! I won’t go out!”

Ah Hua studied her for a long moment before finally dragging a chair over and sitting by the doorway, making it clear she would keep watch.

Le Gui had never met anyone so persistent. She spent the entire afternoon trying to escape from Ah Hua’s sight, but by the time night fell, she was still stuck in the courtyard.

“If I can’t go, then neither can you,” Ah Hua said smugly, folding her arms.

“Fine,” Le Gui sighed in defeat. “I’ll take you with me, okay?”

She reached for the Seer Mirror and suddenly hurled it toward the courtyard entrance. But just as it left her hand, it floated right back into her arms.

Le Gui: “…”

Her plan to throw the mirror far away and get rid of Ah Hua had failed spectacularly.

Completely exhausted, she slumped over the stone table, unwillingly surrendering to sleep.

When Di Jiang stepped outside, he saw Ah Hua sitting at the doorway, keeping watch, while Le Gui lay motionless on the table.

He walked over to Le Gui, leaned down to examine her, and finally asked Ah Hua, “Did you kill her?”

“…I wish I did.” Ah Hua looked at him with a very strange look, as if she were witnessing the emergence of a new species.

Di Jiang raised an eyebrow. “What are you looking at?”

“You,” Ah Hua replied honestly. “I never thought you were capable of making jokes.”

Le Gui’s breathing was nearly imperceptible, but to beings like them, it was still very clear. Even if Di Jiang had sealed his spiritual core and couldn’t hear from a distance, he had just leaned in close to her face. How could he not tell? And yet, he still asked such a question.

“Master, you should stay away from her. She’s a bad influence,” Ah Hua sighed, unable to imagine the terrifying scene if Di Jiang ever started behaving like Le Gui.

Di Jiang let out a soft scoff and reached out to pat Le Gui’s face.

Disturbed from her dreams, Le Gui let out a displeased grunt, shifted slightly, and continued sleeping.

Di Jiang leaned in when he heard her mumbling something and caught her murmuring softly, “Chicken soup…”

Di Jiang: “…”

Night had fully fallen, yet Le Gui remained asleep. In her dreams, she seemed to forget that she was lying on a stone table and instinctively turned over.

Both Di Jiang and Ah Hua looked at her at the same time. Ah Hua’s eyes gleamed with anticipation, hoping she would fall face-first onto the ground. But just as she was about to slip off the table, it was as if an invisible hand caught her. Suspended in midair, she continued sleeping soundly.

This position was clearly more comfortable than the stone table, and Le Gui rolled over twice, drifting even deeper into sleep.

Ah Hua’s first instinct was to look at Di Jiang, but his expression remained indifferent. He had already turned around and re-entered his room, as if he had never even been there.

…It seemed Le Gui really was going to become their mistress of Wuyou Palace. Ah Hua rested her chin in her hand, deep in thought.

Despite the village’s lack of spiritual energy, the air was crisp and refreshing. Especially at night, the evening breeze carried the sound of insects chirping from the distant mountains, creating a peaceful and serene atmosphere.

In the latter half of the night, Le Gui was abruptly awakened by the cold. When she opened her eyes, she found herself floating midair. She let out a startled cry before dropping straight to the ground, landing with a painful thud.

“Ouch—damn it, Ah Hua! Did you do this to me?” she cursed.

Ah Hua had long since returned to the Seer Mirror. Hearing Le Gui’s accusation, she rolled her eyes. The thought of this fool becoming her future mistress truly left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Le Gui groaned as she picked herself up from the ground. Just as she was about to return to her room to sleep, she noticed a steaming bowl of soup placed on the table.

“This… is chicken soup?!” Her eyes lit up with joy, and she eagerly took a large sip.

Rich, fragrant—she could taste the deep flavors of dried abalone and conpoy simmered into the broth. It was leagues better than the soup Aunt Li had made for her. Le Gui closed her eyes in bliss before finishing it all in one go.

From the mirror, Ah Hua’s voice drifted out lazily. “Aren’t you afraid it might be poisoned?”

“A bowl of chicken soup appearing out of nowhere in the middle of the night, still steaming hot—clearly, it was made by His Lordship. Why would he poison me?” Le Gui said, then turned toward the tightly shut bedroom door and called out, “Thank you, Your Lordship!”

Ah Hua scoffed at her shameless flattery. Just as she was about to return to her rest, Le Gui suddenly pulled out the Seer Mirror and knocked on it.

“Hey, where did His Lordship get the chicken soup from?”

“You’re asking after you’ve already finished it?” Ah Hua was speechless.

Le Gui blinked. “Is that a problem?”

Ah Hua stared at her for a long moment before sneering, “No problem at all. Why wouldn’t it be? You’re practically the future mistress of Wuyou Palace. What can’t you do?”

“I was just asking where the soup came from. Why are you being so passive-aggressive?” Le Gui was exasperated.

Without another word, Ah Hua withdrew into the mirror, refusing to acknowledge her any further.

Le Gui rubbed her nose and decided to return to her room to sleep. The next morning, she went directly to the main room to question Di Jiang in person.

“Chicken soup?” Di Jiang looked up at her. “What chicken soup?”

“The one in the courtyard last night,” Le Gui gestured dramatically.

Di Jiang glanced at her and said indifferently, “I don’t know.”

Le Gui: “?”

After a brief silence, realization dawned on her. “No wonder Ah Hua was so annoyed—it was her doing!”

Di Jiang had no interest in entertaining her nonsense. He took a single sip of his porridge before setting down his spoon.

“You’re not eating anymore?” Le Gui asked curiously.

Di Jiang replied, “No.”

His spiritual core had recovered significantly over the past two days, and he no longer needed ordinary mortal food for nourishment. If it weren’t for boredom, he wouldn’t have even taken that one sip.

“Well, I get it. Drinking millet porridge every day does get old,” Le Gui mused. The food in the village was far too plain. She had been drinking millet porridge for several days straight, and her taste buds were growing numb. Without hesitation, she finished off both her own portion and Di Jiang’s before sighing, “If only we had roast duck…”

Di Jiang ignored her and walked straight to his bed. However, before he could sit down, he noticed someone sneaking in behind him.

“What do you want?” He shot her a sidelong glance.

“Checking your wounds,” Le Gui responded with utmost seriousness.

Di Jiang stared at her for a long moment before uttering one word: “Out.”

Le Gui: “…”