Xuan Yi sat on the leaves of a pear tree outside the courtyard, listlessly watching Fucang perform his so-called “morning lessons.” First, he swung around a wooden sword, then he sat cross-legged on a cushion without moving.

Was he sleeping again? Did mortals need to sleep so quickly? She drifted over and crouched before him, staring at him.

An extraordinarily bone-chilling mass of cold air was planted right in front of him. Fucang didn’t even need to open his eyes to know it was that female ghost again. She was truly quite powerful—even under the blazing sun she could walk around so brazenly.

It seemed he could only ask the earth immortal to come subdue her.

Fucang opened his eyes and indeed saw her jade-porcelain pale face positioned right before his eyes. Sunlight fell on the golden rings in her hair, shining brilliantly.

He suddenly felt he couldn’t look directly at her and shifted his gaze away, saying flatly, “I’m going to pay respects to the earth immortal. If you must boldly pester me, then follow along.”

With that, he rose and walked out of the courtyard. Xuan Yi floated lightly behind him, looking around everywhere. At one point, she pointed at the crowded tile-roofed houses along the roadside and asked, “Do mortals all live in houses like these? No gardens? What about reception halls?”

…It sounded like she might be some kind of wealthy family’s female ghost.

Fucang, after all having the temperament of a youth, still answered, “This is where the cultivators under the earth immortal live. The gardens and reception halls you mentioned only exist in wealthy families. The places where common people live are even more dilapidated—tile-roofed houses are already quite good.”

So that was it. Xuan Yi caught up with him and subconsciously grabbed his sleeve, asking again, “Why do you talk in your sleep? Do you dream every day?”

He immediately pulled his sleeve back forcefully. “Dreams are the most common thing. Who doesn’t dream? When you experience things in dreams, naturally you’ll speak aloud.”

Mortals were actually this interesting—they could even dream every day.

Divine beings had no dreams. If one suddenly dreamed one day, it meant either a great fortune or a great calamity was foretold. She remembered that night years ago when Mother took her back to the banks of the Cuihe River—Mother had dreamed. Upon waking, she told her that she had dreamed of the clear waters of the Cuihe River, and after that, she perished.

Xuan Yi continued to float at his side. “Then what did you dream about yesterday? What sleep-talking did you say?”

Fucang said coldly, “I dreamed I was catching a powerful female ghost.”

After speaking, he suddenly stopped before a vermillion building. The door was slightly ajar, and inside, pure energy was abundant with an extremely clean aura. He didn’t enter the door nor speak, just bowed respectfully outside the door three times.

After finishing his bows, he used his peripheral vision to observe the female ghost at his side. She showed neither fear nor any intention to flee, but she seemed no longer as enthusiastically interested in the surrounding scenery and was just playing with her sleeves with her head lowered.

Even the earth immortal didn’t care about her? Fucang’s heart suddenly grew suspicious. As he turned and walked away, he asked, “What exactly are you?”

Xuan Yi smiled leisurely. “Guess.”

His face turned cold and he closed his mouth without speaking. After walking for a while and seeing she was still following at his side, he frowned. “Don’t pester me.”

Xuan Yi abruptly stopped in her tracks. That’s right—she indeed couldn’t keep pestering him. This trip to the mortal realm was to help him resolve his karmic ties, not to repeat past mistakes. But how exactly should these karmic ties be resolved? She had absolutely no clue.

…It seemed she could only follow him and see.

She transformed into a clear breeze and followed far behind him. He didn’t return to that courtyard but instead left the Qing Di Temple. A carriage had stopped before the temple gate, surrounded by a bustling crowd of women. When they saw him emerge, they immediately burst into a “buzzing” chatter. They were quickly dispersed by several mortal guards wearing armor and holding long halberds.

The carriage slowly advanced along the main street. At this time, the morning sun had just risen. This chaotic mortal town was full of pedestrians everywhere, with turbid air rolling about. Only where Fucang passed was there overflowing pure energy, exceptionally clean.

After turning several corners, the carriage stopped before a courtyard. Xuan Yi hid her body behind dense branches and leaves, revealing only her two eyes. Fucang got out of the carriage, somehow now holding several books in his hands—was this a place where mortals attended lessons? It was so small and shabby, without even a scenic lake.

Seeing him enter the door, she quietly lay on the eaves and peeked through the window cracks. This place was somewhat similar to the Hall of Harmonious Virtue, filled with writing desks and cushions. Many young mortals sat chatting and horsing around. At a rough glance, they were all male with no females. It seemed what Qi Nan had said before about women having low status in the mortal realm was true—they weren’t even allowed to attend lessons. This was too excessive. How would they be able to hold positions in the mortal realm when they grew up?

Soon, an old man with a white beard came in. Just like Lord Baize Dijun, he also held a book and recited from it, making her drowsy with boredom. Fortunately, time passed quickly in the mortal realm. Before long, the white-bearded old man left. This shabby place didn’t even have immortal children to deliver meals—the disciples brought their own lunch boxes and showed off their dishes to each other.

Xuan Yi noticed Fucang wasn’t in the room, so she transformed into a clear breeze and looked through every lunch box inside, then snorted dismissively and stole a few meatballs to stuff in her mouth, grabbing a few pastries along the way as well.

Ignoring the disciples’ alarmed remarks like “Where are my snacks?”, she darted out of the large room. Seeing pure energy floating in the back courtyard, she quietly moved closer and saw him reclining in the corridor, still reading a book. Beside him lay a fat tabby cat. As he read, he reached out to scratch its neck, making it meow wildly.

He wasn’t eating? She had heard that mortals would starve to death if they didn’t eat things. Xuan Yi wasn’t clear on exactly how long they could go without eating before dying. After hesitating for a long time, she was ultimately extremely reluctant to pick through the stolen pastries for quite a while, selecting the ugliest one and gently tossing it onto his clothes.

Fucang suddenly sat up and looked around. Seeming not to see anyone, he casually fed the pastry to the fat tabby cat beside him, saying in a low voice, “Hungry, aren’t you?”

Did he think this cat was that stupid lion?

Xuan Yi struggled through picking among the remaining pastries for a long time, selected the second ugliest one, and gently tossed it. This time his reaction was extremely quick—he swiftly reached out to catch it, and at the same time his gaze fell on the slender figure hiding her body behind the tree leaves.

After a long while, he seemed somewhat helpless and spoke. “You’re still here.”

No, she wasn’t. Xuan Yi shrank back.

Fucang didn’t go over there either. He casually fed that pastry to the cat as well. Xuan Yi immediately became annoyed and threw all the pastries at him in one go. She didn’t believe he could feed them all to that stupid cat!

He became even more helpless and merely said, “I don’t like eating these things. Don’t throw them anymore.”

Xuan Yi stopped for a moment, then asked in a low voice, “Then what do you like to eat?”

Fucang said flatly, “I don’t want to eat anything. What exactly are you? Why do you keep following me?”

Xuan Yi completely ignored his latter questions and only reminded him, “Mortals will starve to death if they don’t eat.”

Fucang looked at her figure hiding in the tree shadows, narrowed his eyes, and suddenly said, “I want to eat beef bone soup noodles from Rongxing House at the north corner of the street—no spices, no scallions, the beef should be thirty percent fat with tendons, cut to palm-size, three slices is enough. Then add thousand-layer crispy cakes from the shop at the south corner of the street with three wooden boards on the door—three pieces, the sesame on top can’t be too much or too little, and no scallion oil.”

After waiting for quite a while, she finally spoke. “…Just stay hungry then.”

Fucang laughed softly twice. The fat tabby cat beside him, having eaten and drunk its fill, had already fallen asleep against his leg. He stroked it twice when he suddenly felt her throw something else at him. He instinctively caught it, and holding it in his hand, it was incomparably cold—it was actually a ball of white snow, ingeniously crafted into the shape of a nine-headed lion.

“What is this?” He played with this white snow nine-headed lion. Those protruding nine heads were not at all annoying but instead made him feel especially adorable and dear.

“Something for you to play with.” Xuan Yi spread out her handkerchief on the ground and sat down with her head lowered, continuing to shape white snow. This time she was making the two golden carp from his home.

The sparse sunlight filtering through the leaves above her head was suddenly blocked. She raised her head. This divine lord who had become a mortal had somehow come to stand opposite her at some point, then crouched down before her. Seeing a leaf had fallen on her forehead, he reached out with his finger to gently remove it.

“What are you making this time?” he asked.

Old scenes returning.

Xuan Yi closed her eyes, smiled, and quickly finished shaping a golden carp with her head lowered. She held it in her palm and asked him, “Is it beautiful?”

He looked at the golden carp, then his gaze fell on her face as he nodded slightly.

She then placed the golden carp in his hand and said in a low voice, “Then this time, I’ll give it to you.”