The sound of insects chirping rang in her ears, and the real earthy scent of soil dispelled the illusion.

Before Meng Ruji opened her eyes, she could already sense the warmth that belonged to another person. When she opened her eyes, she saw Mu Sui close at hand as expected. His body still maintained the posture from before entering the environment, holding her in his arms. His injured hand, which she had bandaged, was now pressed against his chest beneath her.

“Cough…”

Meng Ruji coughed and pulled back slightly. Only then did Mu Sui, who was still somewhat dazed, awaken with a start.

The drowsy confusion quickly faded from his face, and he immediately released Meng Ruji. Leaning against the wall, he stood up directly.

It was still nighttime. By the moonlight, Meng Ruji could see Mu Sui’s slightly pale complexion.

“Are you… Alright?” Meng Ruji asked. Before Mu Sui could answer, a muffled grunt came from beside them as Ye Chuan fell out of thin air like magic, landing next to them.

Meng Ruji was startled, and Mu Sui also glanced at Ye Chuan.

Ye Chuan coughed twice and answered, “I’m fine.”

Meng Ruji: “…”

She pursed her lips: “Good, as long as you’re fine…”

Mu Sui rolled his eyes in the darkness and said nothing.

With one more person, the bottom of the pit became somewhat crowded, because… There was still a large white rabbit lying unconscious on the ground, covered in fluffy fur, its body twitching unconsciously.

The three people each stood against one side, forming a triangle with the rabbit surrounded in the middle.

In the quiet and awkward atmosphere, even the sound of soil falling from above the pit seemed noisy.

“So…”

Meng Ruji was the first to break the silence, asking Ye Chuan, “You have a human form.”

“Of course I do. Previously, my body was filled with malevolent qi that completely controlled my emotions, so I transformed into the form of malevolent qi.” Ye Chuan straightened up and politely answered Meng Ruji’s question. He even cupped his hands in a bow – the etiquette of their medical immortal sect. “I… apologize… Miss Meng. All these years, I have offended you.”

Meng Ruji waved her hand: “You didn’t offend me much all these years, just now counts as an offense.”

Ye Chuan’s expression stiffened, his remorse deepening. For a moment, he was so ashamed he couldn’t say a word.

Meng Ruji was used to bantering back and forth with Mu Sui, so she didn’t expect that the restored Ye Chuan would be so unable to withstand teasing. Seeing his face flush red with shame, she found herself at a loss for words.

Instead, Mu Sui on the side, with a cold expression and a somewhat hoarse voice, asked: “What’s this about malevolent qi? As an immortal, you shouldn’t have any.”

Ye Chuan looked at Mu Sui with even greater shame: “Brother Mu, I apologize…”

“Answer the question.”

Meng Ruji rarely saw him giving orders so commandingly, and raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“Malevolent qi… on immortals’ bodies, it’s not strange.” Ye Chuan sighed. “Perhaps you came to the Land of No Return early and don’t know the current situation in the mortal world. After Miss Meng sealed herself away, over these eight hundred years, malevolent qi has gradually increased in the mortal world, especially in recent years. I had already achieved enlightenment, but when I was in the mortal world, I had long been entangled by malevolent qi.”

Hearing this, Mu Sui lowered his eyes slightly, seemingly contemplating something.

Meng Ruji frowned: “Isn’t malevolent qi something belonging to divine beings? Since divine beings have been extinct from the mortal world, why is there still malevolent qi running rampant?”

Mu Sui glanced at Meng Ruji.

Ye Chuan shook his head and answered: “I don’t even know when I became entangled with malevolent qi. I lived in confusion all along, until today when I was finally freed.”

In other words, he also didn’t know where the malevolent qi came from.

Meng Ruji sighed and asked again: “Then, do you remember, after you struck Mu Sui and me to the Land of No Return, how did you come to the Land of No Return yourself? What happened after that? Why did you possess this rabbit’s body?”

“I… was killed by the Five Guardians of Hengxu Mountain.”

Hearing this, Meng Ruji immediately stepped forward: “My guardians, they’re still there!?” Her voice couldn’t suppress her joy. “How are they?”

Ye Chuan smiled bitterly: “They’re… doing well, I suppose… When they joined forces to kill me, they all looked good, and the formations and techniques they used were quite exquisite.”

The corner of Meng Ruji’s mouth curved up: “I’m somewhat sorry for you, but the children I taught are naturally all excellent.”

“Over the years, I was obsessed with you and resented my sect for expelling me. I thought heaven was unfair to me, but I never realized that it was I whose Dao heart was unstable… When they killed me, I had completely lost my sanity and deserved to die.” Ye Chuan looked at Meng Ruji. “The children you taught are all the best.”

This statement, at first hearing, was somewhat ambiguous.

Especially considering Ye Chuan’s “background.”

Meng Ruji almost instinctively glanced at Mu Sui beside her.

But Mu Sui didn’t focus his gaze on the two of them. He stared at the twitching rabbit on the ground and crouched down.

Meng Ruji withdrew her gaze and sighed: “If only we could return to the mortal world quickly. I want to see them.”

“All these years, they’ve been fighting against immortals affected by malevolent qi. It must be very difficult.”

Hearing this, Meng Ruji felt some heartache. Even though those children had grown up, in her memories they were still the little orphans she had found when they were small, pitiful and helpless, so similar to how she was as a child…

“They’re still guarding Hengxu Mountain…”

“They’re still guarding it.”

Meng Ruji felt somewhat melancholy.

Seeing this, Ye Chuan wanted to comfort her, but Mu Sui, who had been quietly listening, suddenly spoke: “The more malevolent qi there is in the mortal world, the more out of control the situation will become. They won’t be able to hold on much longer.”

With one sentence, the atmosphere at the bottom of the pit dropped to freezing point.

Meng Ruji coldly glanced at Mu Sui. Mu Sui didn’t avoid her gaze and looked up to meet her eyes: “That’s the truth.”

“Thank you for the reminder, Qianshan Jun. All things in the world are interconnected. If the mortal world is filled with malevolent qi, the Land of No Return probably won’t fare much better either. If Hengxu Mountain can’t withstand it, the Land of No Return can’t withstand it either. Zhuliu City is just a drop in the ocean – no one can escape. This applies to me, and to you as well.”

Mu Sui poked at the rabbit’s ears on the ground: “That’s truly wonderful.”

Meng Ruji rolled her eyes dramatically. Ye Chuan on the side became anxious: “It’s my fault, my fault. Don’t argue. If I hadn’t struck you both to the Land of No Return, with Miss Meng present, the mortal world’s situation would surely be much better. Brother Mu is also a capable person. Together, you would surely think of a solution…”

Mu Sui let out a cold laugh, his words carrying unclear meaning: “Is that so?”

Ye Chuan stood there at a loss, not knowing what to do. Meng Ruji said irritably: “Don’t pay attention to him – he’s sarcastic all day long. Striking me was your mistake, but striking him was what he deserved. You should have struck him more.”

“Miss Meng, you shouldn’t say such spiteful things. After all, he is your husband.”

“Ridiculous. Would I have such a husband?”

“But… both your names are carved on the Marriage Tree.”

“Rustle, rustle” – the sound of falling soil.

Both Meng Ruji and Mu Sui looked at Ye Chuan.

“You… don’t… know?”

They really, truly didn’t know!

But their reactions were different! Mu Sui’s gaze was ice-cold, while Meng Ruji’s mouth curved upward as she said: “Tell us more about this!?”

“After I was killed by the combined efforts of the Five Guardians, I came to the Land of No Return… I fell beneath the Marriage Tree. My heart was like dead ashes, and I just waited under the tree for the day of my rebirth. But unexpectedly, one day I saw a light coming from afar. When the light was about to arrive, it dimmed. I didn’t pay much attention, but after a while, I saw your names appear faintly on the trunk of the Marriage Tree…”

The more Meng Ruji listened, the higher her eyebrows rose, clearly unable to contain her elation.

But the more Mu Sui listened, the tighter his brows furrowed, as if truly bearing the weight of a thousand mountains…

“Then…” Ye Chuan saw their completely different expressions and didn’t understand why. His voice grew smaller: “Brother Rabbit was being chased by someone and ran over. I, consumed by jealous hatred, transformed into malevolent qi…”

“And possessed the rabbit’s body?”

Meng Ruji’s tone had already become excited.

Mu Sui turned over the rabbit on the ground and grabbed its ears, lifting it into the air and giving it two slaps: “Open your eyes. If you keep pretending to sleep, I’ll throw you into the Nai River.” His tone was low and cold, as if his killing intent was a blade that had already cut the rabbit into pieces.

As Mu Sui’s words fell, the rabbit that had been twitching with its eyes tightly closed slowly opened them. Its red rabbit eyes had lost their previous fierceness and showed only innocence.

The rabbit looked at Mu Sui, showing its buck teeth and grinning, as if forcing out a smile that was about to cry.

“What he said, is it true?” Mu Sui asked word by word.

The rabbit pursed its lips: “Big Brother City Lord.” When he was in rabbit form, his voice was still very soft and cute, like a child’s. “Don’t blame me. It’s all because one gold wasn’t enough…”

Meng Ruji saw the veins on the back of Mu Sui’s hand bulging.

The rabbit cried out in pain: “It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me who ruined Big Brother Chensha’s plan! It wasn’t me who, while trying to escape when he was casting spells, knocked the gold from his hand, and it wasn’t me who delayed his time by running around. It’s just because your marriage bond was too strong! One gold wasn’t enough to break the marriage bond!”

Mu Sui said nothing, his face dark. His other injured hand couldn’t help but move, and it looked like he was about to strangle the rabbit’s neck.

Meng Ruji was quick with both hands and eyes, snatching the rabbit from his hands and holding it in her arms, rubbing it chaotically: “Oh my dear little rabbit.” Meng Ruji beamed with joy. “Why don’t you become my lucky star?”

“Let me go! Bad woman! Let me go! It’s all your fault! You schemed against my City Lord, big brother!”

“Yes.” Meng Ruji held the rabbit and looked at Mu Sui, who was half-crouching on the ground, with complete satisfaction. Her eyes were full of victorious joy. “I did scheme against your City Lord, big brother. So what? Now you have to call me City Lord’s Wife.”

“Bad woman! Dream on!”

Meng Ruji held the struggling rabbit without any temper. While stroking the fur on the rabbit’s back, she said: “I am indeed dreaming beautifully, but the one who did splendidly is you, my little rabbit.”

The rabbit didn’t dare speak anymore. He stared at Mu Sui with trembling lips: “Big Brother City Lord…” he said, “Why don’t you spare me? Before I left, Big Brother Chensha saw your name fall on the Marriage Tree. He said he had an epiphany and wanted to commit suicide. For this matter, one death is enough, okay?”

“Good.” Meng Ruji laughed heartily and answered: “Your Zhuliu City loves each other dearly. I see it’s truly wonderful!”

Throughout the deep pit, Meng Ruji’s overly piercing laughter made even the dirt and stones shake loose.

Ye Chuan couldn’t help but rub his ears that were numb from her laughter: “Your… marriage was accomplished under such hidden circumstances…”

“I was sincere and genuine.” Meng Ruji smiled at Mu Sui. “I just don’t know what my husband thinks?”

Mu Sui lowered his head, his hair slightly covering his eyes and brows, making it impossible for Meng Ruji to see his expression.

After a moment, Mu Sui stood up. He patted the dirt off his knees, and his expression had returned to its usual indifference, showing no joy or anger.

He extended his hand toward Meng Ruji and hooked his finger, indicating for the rabbit to come over.

The rabbit had been struggling just now, but at this moment, he didn’t dare move. He gripped Meng Ruji’s shoulder with his front paws and turned to look at Mu Sui: “Big brother… I have a heart of pure devotion to you…”

Meng Ruji also didn’t let go: “I won’t let you kill my great contributor.”

“I won’t kill it.” Mu Sui said to the rabbit, “Come here. There won’t be a second time.”

At this point, the rabbit didn’t dare stay with Meng Ruji either. He tremblingly climbed into Mu Sui’s palm.

Mu Sui didn’t crush him to death, so he jumped onto Mu Sui’s shoulder as before and crouched down obediently.

Seeing that Mu Sui really didn’t kill and controlled his emotions extremely well, this unpredictable emotional state surprised Meng Ruji a bit.

“Since you are sincere and genuine…” Mu Sui raised his uninjured hand toward Meng Ruji’s temple. “Then let this marriage bond be till death do us part. Sheng Sheng, wife…” Mu Sui helped tuck the loose hair at her temple behind her ear. In his pupils, moonlight was like smoke.

“The days ahead are long.”