Chapter 36 Part 1

The meteor shower continued, but Le Gui had already succumbed to sleep. Only Di Jiang remained on the rooftop, gazing at the sky. It was unclear how long he watched before Ah Hua suddenly appeared beside him, staring at him with a complicated expression.

“What are you looking at?” Di Jiang’s voice was laced with irritation.

Ah Hua hesitated before replying, “I just want to check if something is wrong with your brain.”

The stars above were fixed in their places. Even at the height of his power, moving them was no simple feat. Yet just because of a few words from Le Gui, he had gone through the trouble of conjuring such a grand meteor shower.

“If you wanted to show her the shooting stars, an illusion would have sufficed. She’s foolish enough that she wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Why waste so much spiritual energy?” Ah Hua could not help but ask.

Di Jiang glanced at her strangely. Just as Ah Hua thought he was about to offer some profound insight, he instead sneered, “You’re even dumber.”

Ah Hua: “…”

Le Gui woke up groggily, feeling as though something hard was pressing against her. She let out a dissatisfied hum before hearing an irritable voice above her.

“You little beast, move again and I’ll toss you off!”

She startled awake and finally realized that she was being carried on Ah Hua’s back. However, because she was taller than Ah Hua, her upper body was being carried, while her legs dragged along the ground, leaving two long trails behind them.

[No wonder I kept dreaming that something was hitting my feet.]

Le Gui remained silent for a long time. When she looked up, she saw Di Jiang walking ahead, and the memory of last night’s meteor shower suddenly surfaced in her mind.

“Hey, if you’re awake, get off me.” Ah Hua’s voice was full of annoyance.

Le Gui reflexively asked, “How did you know I was awake?”

“I could hear your heartbeat speed up,” Ah Hua sneered. “Were you thinking about something indecent?”

Di Jiang lazily glanced back at them.

Le Gui’s face grew warm. She quickly jumped off Ah Hua’s back and retorted, “Stop making things up. I wasn’t thinking anything like that.”

“Getting so flustered? Seems like I hit the mark.” Ah Hua chuckled.

Le Gui pretended not to hear her and ran up to Di Jiang’s side. “Your Lordship, where are we going?”

“Aren’t you the one who said we couldn’t stay in Taoyuan Village anymore?” Di Jiang asked in return.

Le Gui’s eyes lit up. “So we’re going back to the Demon Realm?”

Di Jiang suddenly halted, his expression unreadable as he looked at her with amusement. “You really want to return to the Demon Realm?”

“Of course!” Le Gui answered without hesitation.

[Are you kidding? If I don’t go back, how am I supposed to marry you? If I don’t marry you, how am I supposed to get Wuliangdu? And if I don’t get Wuliangdu, how am I supposed to go home?!]

Di Jiang’s smile slowly faded. After a pause, he suddenly said maliciously, “Too bad. You can’t go back.”

Le Gui: “?”

“Who was the one insisting on seeing a meteor shower last night? Now, Master’s painstakingly restored spiritual energy is mostly depleted. Even if we wanted to go back, we can’t,” Ah Hua added nonchalantly.

Le Gui was horrified. “What? That meteor shower used up so much spiritual energy?!”

“Of course. Which means you won’t be going back anytime soon.” Ah Hua smirked, clearly hoping to see her regret her actions.

But instead, Le Gui’s face filled with gratitude. “Your Lordship is so kind to me.”

Ah Hua: “…”

[That damned mirror wants to see me regret it? Not a chance!]

Le Gui once again jogged up to Di Jiang, circling around him excitedly. “Your Lordship, Your Lordship, Your Lordship…”

“You’re noisy,” Di Jiang responded lazily.

“How am I noisy? I just called you a couple of times,” Le Gui grinned, full of energy after a good night’s sleep. “It must be boring walking alone. I’ll keep you company.”

Di Jiang glanced at her. “You think I need your company?”

“Of course! Without me, you’d be so bored,” Le Gui laughed. Seeing that he didn’t argue further, she asked again, “So where are we headed, Your Lordship?”

“The city,” Ah Hua answered before Di Jiang could.

Le Gui frowned. “How long will it take before we can go home?”

“At least ten days,” Ah Hua replied smoothly.

Le Gui: “Then where are we staying in the city?”

Ah Hua replied, “Master has his own place to stay. As for you, just use your own silver to find an inn.”

Le Gui could no longer hold back. “I was talking to His Lordship. Can you shut up?”

Ah Hua shot her a cold look. “No, I can’t.” She simply couldn’t stand watching these two act all lovey-dovey.

Le Gui ground her teeth, then turned to Di Jiang with a pitiful look. “Your Lordship, she keeps bullying me. Can you do something about it?”

“You think Master is some village aunt?” Ah Hua mocked. “He wouldn’t even—”

Before she could finish, she suddenly vanished.

Le Gui froze, then pointed at Di Jiang with a trembling finger. “Did you… kill her?”

“What do you think?” Di Jiang asked indifferently.

Le Gui quickly took out the mirror, and upon seeing a new flower inside, let out a sigh of relief. She tucked it back into her chest and said, “That scared me. I knew she didn’t deserve to die.”

“Keep talking nonsense, and I’ll put you in there too,” Di Jiang warned.

Le Gui immediately acted obedient and nodded.

Di Jiang continued walking. After a few steps, he noticed a gaze drifting toward him and calmly looked back.

Le Gui hadn’t expected to be caught. She hesitated, then grinned at him. “Hehe.”

Di Jiang’s lips twitched slightly, but in the end, he chuckled.

Inside the mirror, Ah Hua seethed. “…..” Truly a pair of shameless lovebirds.

Since there was no way back to the Demon Realm for now, Le Gui simply followed along with Di Jiang on their journey. At first, she thought his depleted spiritual power had left him unable to even fly, but after walking for a while, she realized he could still do so. He just wasn’t in a hurry to enter the city.

[At least this way, he looks like a normal person]

The thought made her wonder—what if Di Jiang had been born in the modern world? No, she shouldn’t even imagine it. A guy like him would be a major crime boss, absolutely terrifying.

Le Gui shuddered at the thought.

Two meters away, Di Jiang, unaware of her inner monologue, glanced at her and stared for a long moment before suddenly moving closer.

Le Gui blinked. “…What?”

He remained silent for a moment. She cautiously asked, “Your Lordship, is something wrong?”

“What were you thinking about?” Di Jiang gazed directly into her eyes.

Le Gui looked confused. “Nothing much.”

[Why is he suddenly asking that? Could he tell I was thinking about him?]

Di Jiang simply responded, “Oh.”

[Oh? What’s with him lately? He’s acting so weird.]

Under Le Gui’s scrutinizing gaze, Di Jiang remained completely composed.

After walking for most of the day, Le Gui’s stamina was nearly depleted. The scenery that had seemed beautiful earlier now felt dull and exhausting. She sighed and complained endlessly until Di Jiang finally lost patience. With a flick of his hand, he tore open a rift in space and brought them directly into the city.

As soon as her feet touched the paved road, Le Gui perked up and quickly pulled out the Seer Mirror, handing it to Di Jiang. “Your Lordship, let my sister out!”

“…Sister?” Di Jiang’s brow twitched at her wording.

Le Gui nodded eagerly.

Di Jiang stared at her for a long moment before casually tapping the Seer Mirror. Inside, Ah Hua, who had been sleeping soundly, jolted awake. The moment she saw Le Gui, she immediately cursed, “You little beast, how dare you tattle on—”

“Hey, we’re in the city now. Let’s go shopping!” Le Gui cut her off.

Ah Hua was momentarily stunned. Then, as she turned her head and saw the lively streets, her gaze swept over the many bustling stalls.

She solemnly grasped Le Gui’s hand. “Sisterhood above all. Thank you sister for bringing me out to play!”

Di Jiang: “…” Two lunatics.

Since arriving in this world, this was only Le Gui’s second time in such a lively place. The first was back in Miaomang Mountain, where street vendors sold both mortal and cultivation-related goods at exorbitant prices. But this city was different—everywhere she looked, there were proper shops, and bargaining with vendors gave her the nostalgic feeling of haggling in the wholesale markets near her university.

After shopping with Ah Hua for half the day, they had bought so much that they could barely carry it all. Finally, they set the bags down and started packing everything into a spatial pouch.

Ah Hua rolled her eyes. “You could have just stored everything immediately instead of carrying it around like this.”

“No normal human rolls their eyes like that. Your eyeballs literally turned 180 degrees,” Le Gui deadpanned before continuing to pack. “Shopping is about the experience of carrying bags in both hands. If I stored everything right away, what’s the point?”

“Ridiculous mortal,” Ah Hua scoffed.

Le Gui hummed as she packed the last few items. But just as she was about to finish, she suddenly paused.

“Wait a second… where is His Lordship?”

“…Wow. You actually remembered him,” Ah Hua said sarcastically.

Le Gui smacked her forehead. “I’ve gotten used to running around with you. I totally forgot he was here. Oh no, we lost him!”

She quickly stood up, ready to search for him.

Ah Hua sighed. “Relax. Even if we lose him, he won’t lose us. He’s probably already at his friend’s place.”

“Friend?” Le Gui’s eyes widened. “He has friends?”

Ah Hua smirked wickedly. “Surprising, huh? But yes, he actually has a friend who lives in this secret realm.”

Le Gui was about to ask more when a sudden gust of wind swept through the streets, kicking up a cloud of dust. Instinctively, she covered her face with her sleeve.

When the wind settled, she lowered her arm—only to find herself in an unfamiliar yet elegant residence. Judging by the surroundings, she appeared to be in a garden.

Le Gui blinked in confusion. As realization set in, a cold sweat broke out on her back.

“Ah Hua?” she called cautiously.

No response.

Le Gui’s grip tightened. Silently, she reached into her spatial pouch and pulled out a dagger—a pretty one she had bought earlier just because she liked the look of it. She hadn’t expected to need it so soon.

“Ah Hua… Your Lordship… Where are you…”