My sympathy for Xie Xuanqing was destroyed by Xie Zhuo.

To think that one day that youth would become the person arguing with me now—I wish I could wash my eyes three hundred times with lime water, might as well blind these wretched eyes of mine and be done with it.

In the evening, I pondered what I would do tomorrow with resentment, then got up early the next day. I left without saying goodbye to Xie Zhuo.

I didn’t go to find Xie Xuanqing either, but returned to my immortal mansion from five hundred years ago.

Now that Xiaxia’s heart had been thoroughly broken by Xie Zhuo, she was too heartbroken to leave her chambers. I was taking a big risk coming here, only because what I planned to do to Xie Xuanqing today didn’t require much, except that it would cost quite a few spirit stones.

Following the principle that stealing from oneself isn’t stealing, I found my way to where I hid money in my immortal mansion with practiced familiarity.

Xi Wang Mu had always advocated a natural and frugal way of cultivation in Kunlun. Whether minor immortals or great immortals, poor or rich, everyone’s immortal mansions had minimal attendants. For example, Meng Meng’s mansion didn’t have a single immortal servant.

Back then, I was fond of good food, so I kept a little pig demon as a cook in my immortal mansion, with no one else besides. Later, after Xie Zhuo moved in, he disliked outsiders and dismissed even the little pig demon.

I made my way in smoothly, unusually so. Even the body pain that should have appeared when approaching Xiaxia barely manifested.

I didn’t think too much about it and took all the spirit stones from my treasury.

It wasn’t that I was being harsh on myself, but because I knew I would soon ascend to become a higher immortal. After being promoted to the immortal rank, plenty of people in Kunlun would send me gifts.

Being poor for a few days wouldn’t kill anyone.

With a pocket full of spirit stones, I didn’t rush to find Xie Xuanqing, but headed straight to Kunlun’s East Market, finding an indecent place of business—Cuihu Terrace.

A place I was very familiar with.

Kunlun was the realm of immortals, with the main deity Xi Wang Mu presiding over twenty-four higher immortal positions. By now, Kunlun had been established for eight thousand years. Counting me, there were nineteen of the twenty-four higher immortals, with five seats still vacant. The twenty-four higher immortals managed different duties in Kunlun, and the still-vacant positions were governed by other higher immortals in rotation.

Before my ascension, I was one of the leaders of Kunlun’s Defense Army. After ascending, the responsibility for Kunlun’s defense was rotated among the higher immortals, eventually becoming unified under my management.

It seemed like an important position, but it was a sinecure.

After all…

As people who had attained immortality, apart from outliers like Xie Zhuo and me, most immortals were generally very peaceful.

Robbery and theft were almost non-existent. Fighting and brawling happened occasionally, but people could control themselves without causing fatalities.

Defense against external demonic invasions relied on the Pangu Fu barrier. We only needed to patrol and guard the barrier daily, and this task, which Kunlun’s Defense Army had been doing for thousands of years, already had a mature operating system. It wasn’t up to me to change or offer suggestions.

So, after I took office, the place I visited most was the East Market within Kunlun.

Kunlun’s East Market was the most diverse place in all of Kunlun.

Compared to the West Market, which was run by permanent residents of Kunlun, the East Market had not only immortals from outside but also demons and various extraordinary people.

Kunlun never prohibited outside immortals, demons, humans, or strange beings from entering to trade. But to prevent evil spirits, demonic entities, and those carrying malevolent energy from infiltrating, the Defense Army would send people to the East Market for routine inspections every month.

Before I ascended, I had to patrol in person. After becoming the chief general of the Defense Army, these tasks were naturally delegated to lower-ranking officers.

Back then, the place we checked most strictly was Cuihu Terrace, because it was a place… euphemistically called an inn.

Inside were beautiful fox demons conducting business—male, female, and those neither male nor female—all were available. Their slogan was “satisfaction guaranteed.”

Because the operators inside were too dedicated to their profession, their reputation had spread beyond Kunlun. Many immortals, demons, spirits, and extraordinary people from outside came to visit, drawn by their fame.

But precisely because it was such a place, people’s distracting thoughts flourished, making it easiest for evil spirits and demons to hide within.

So whenever our Defense Army came to inspect, we would have them close for an entire day for a thorough investigation. Over time, we became familiar with the manager in charge…

As soon as I reached the entrance, a male fox demon greeter spotted me. He was dressed flamboyantly with his chest half-exposed. Before he could call out “Immortal Master,” he saw my face.

He froze, unconsciously straightening his body that had been leaning against the railing, and adjusted his clothes.

“General Fu,” he smiled somewhat stiffly, “Is today a spot check?”

Yes, previously I had only come here for inspections, but today…

I kept a straight face, maintaining my composure, and patted the bulging spirit stones at my waist.

The male fox demon was startled again, then his face showed difficulty, seemingly afraid to serve me.

I didn’t make it hard for him and asked, “Where’s Lao Qin?”

Lao Qin was their steward, managing both money and people. Every time we came for inspections, Lao Qin would accompany us.

The male fox demon weakly replied: “Steward Qin is also attending to guests.”

Look at that dedication! Even the manager was personally involved! No wonder their reputation was so widespread.

“Tell him to come see me.”

I had come for inspections so many times that even after returning to five hundred years ago, I still remembered the way clearly in my mind. I found Lao Qin’s room effortlessly, sat down, poured myself a cup of tea, and waited for him.

In these moments of drinking tea, I suddenly felt this sensation was both strange and familiar.

Five hundred years ago, I often drank and sparred with my soldiers, occasionally met friends to enjoy snow and brew tea on Kunlun’s high mountains, and would also chat and gossip with these business owners and attendants after routine inspections…

After marrying Xie Zhuo… or rather, not marrying, but after meeting him, my time spent alone suddenly decreased significantly.

At first, after meeting Xie Zhuo, I loved clinging to him and had no time to care about other matters. Later, after marriage, he loved following me.

In others’ eyes, we were inseparable, like glue and lacquer, but I lost a lot of my time alone.

But this was also the mental preparation one should make before marriage—how could married life be the same as being single?

I gave up my time, and Xie Zhuo gave up his. We got married, and it was no longer one person’s life, but two people’s days.

Although my marriage to Xie Zhuo happened suddenly, I was very clear in my mind. So after marriage, I didn’t experience any gap and quickly adapted to the feeling of being together.

Xie Zhuo was a person without a past in our marriage, so I wanted to integrate him into my life as much as possible.

I had also taken him to play with my friends.

But with his cold face and reluctance to speak, every time we went out, my friends always felt inexplicably pressured just looking at him. Only the obtuse Meng Meng could withstand it; other friends gradually grew distant from me.

As time passed, slowly, I became a married higher immortal of Kunlun, the chief general of the Defense Army, growing increasingly distant from this complex yet real life…

“Knock, knock,” a pair of excessively fair, slender fingers tapped on the table in front of me.

I looked up to see the fox demon Lao Qin with his exceedingly beautiful appearance.

With his hair draped down, his fox-like, charming eyes seemed to smile yet not smile, like they contained spring water, as he looked at me with a smile: “General Jiu Xia, coming alone to my Cuihu Terrace today, what kind of inspection do you plan to conduct?”

Fox demons were excessively seductive, even if he was male.

Except for sparring with army generals, it had been too long since I had been so close to a man other than Xie Zhuo.

I blinked, looking at his half-exposed chest. On those nearly perfectly shaped collarbones, a few strands of hair hung down, swaying gently, making one want to brush them aside for him.

I cleared my throat, regained my composure, took a sip of tea to calm myself, then moved back a bit. After some mental preparation, I finally looked up at him.

“Today, I am a guest.”

Lao Qin raised an eyebrow. Then he slowly sat down beside me, propped his chin with his hand, and leaned close to examine my face.

I couldn’t help but move back a little more.

Lao Qin laughed at me: “Immortal Master Jiu Xia, you’re so awkward and shy, how can you be here as a guest?”

I steadied myself, thinking that this was a fox eight hundred years older than me—I couldn’t let his beauty cloud my judgment.

“Indeed, I’m not the guest you need to entertain.” I took out my pouch and removed seven high-quality spirit stones.

Lao Qin raised his eyebrows again. He was a fox who loved money, and now, looking at me, the smile on his face became more genuine and alluring: “These spirit stones are excellent. Who is the distinguished guest that Immortal Master Jiu Xia wants me to entertain?”

“A demon who doesn’t like to talk.” I pushed the spirit stones one by one in front of him. “Bring your seven most beautiful women.”

Lao Qin’s beautiful fingers drew these spirit stones one by one from the table: “What kind of demon deserves such elaborate entertainment from Immortal Master Jiu Xia? It makes this humble demon quite envious.”

“A demon I like,” I said.

Lao Qin’s hand paused, and he looked up at me.

I put on a serious expression, hoping Lao Qin would take my request seriously: “Today, I want to drive him away from me.”

I thought, if I suddenly told Xie Xuanqing that I didn’t like him and wanted him to stay away from me, he definitely wouldn’t believe me.

He might even think I had some unspeakable difficulties. If that’s the case, I might as well misdirect my feelings for him as brotherly affection. I’ll take my “brother” to a brothel and get him some beautiful girls—wouldn’t that show I don’t like him?

Once Xie Xuanqing understood this meaning, he would not want to marry me afterward.

But Lao Qin, the veteran of love affairs, looked at me for a while and then covered his mouth, laughing: “Jiu Xia, if you want to drive someone away, you’re spending this money the wrong way.”

I was stunned as he advised me: “Why not find a few people for yourself to play with, making him think you’re frivolous and shallow? That would be the way to drive someone away, wouldn’t it?”

I pondered for a moment and found it very reasonable!

So I divided those seven spirit stones, pushing three aside. Pointing to the four on the left, I said: “Find four for him.”

Then, pointing to the three on the right, I said: “Get me three.”

Lao Qin grabbed the three spirit stones on the right in one motion: “What a coincidence,” he said, “I happen to be worth three.”