When Yan Cha arrived, half of the immortal market had been destroyed beyond recognition.

She dug Zhen Huan Gong out from the rubble, both anxious and angry: “You were supposed to report to the Heavenly Gate. How did you end up fighting with someone here?”

Gen Qi was no easy immortal to deal with. Zhen Huan Gong’s face bore some injuries, but upon seeing her arrival, he immediately regained his spirits. Brushing off the remnants of formation patterns on his robe, he cleared his throat and said: “He provoked me first.”

Hearing this, Gen Qi on the other side rolled his eyes: “How can you say that without shame? I was properly buying a hairpin, had already given the spirit pearls, yet you insisted on snatching it.”

“I already said I saw it first,” Zhen Huan Gong furrowed his brows, divine light again emerging from his hands.

Yan Cha quickly grabbed his hand and bowed distantly toward Gen Qi: “These days the weather is dry, everyone’s temper is short. Today is the day for reporting duty, may both Supreme Lords please proceed to the Heavenly Gate? This little immortal will take care of this place.”

Hearing this, Zhen Huan Gong frowned: “Why should you clean up?”

With a light sigh, Yan Cha spoke gently in his ear: “Has the Supreme Lord forgotten? This little immortal is, after all, your immortal partner. It’s only natural that I should take care of some matters.”

Immortal partner.

…

…

His expression softened, and Zhen Huan Gong pressed his lips together as he looked at her, suddenly feeling somewhat aggrieved: “So you do know you’re my immortal partner. For three years, apart from cooking for me and occasionally accompanying me to immortal banquets, you hardly paid attention to me at other times. Other people’s immortal partners call them husband, but you call me Supreme Lord.”

Yan Cha was startled, raising her head in surprise.

The man before her had a bruise on his cheekbone. His tall frame was slightly bent toward her, and his usually fierce face was now filled with dejection, like… yes, like that large, affectionate qilin divine beast he raised.

She couldn’t help but want to sniff if he had been drinking.

As soon as she leaned closer, he directly pulled her into his embrace, his strong arm carefully encircling her shoulders, while his other hand messily pinned something into her hair bun.

“I’ll clean up myself, then go to the Heavenly Gate,” with his chin resting on the top of her head, Zhen Huan Gong asked with flickering eyes, “Then will you stop being angry with me?”

His immortal energy was too domineering and intense, suddenly enveloping her entirely. Yan Cha was truly stunned for quite a while. When she finally reacted, she didn’t understand: “When have I ever been angry with the Supreme Lord?”

The hand pressing her shoulder tightened, and Zhen Huan Gong said in a muffled voice: “You are angry.”

Yan Cha looked confused, turning her head to glance at Supreme Lord Qian Tian, who had been watching the show all along.

Qian Tian was laughing heartily behind his fan. Meeting Yan Cha’s inquiring gaze, he straightened his expression and mouthed words to her.

—Just be angry, he likes it when you’re angry.

Yan Cha:?

These days, who would like their immortal partner to be angry?

Shaking her head, she decided to appease this Supreme Lord first. The market had already been thrown into chaos, and they couldn’t afford further delay: “I’m not angry anymore. Will the Supreme Lord please depart quickly? Immortal Er’er is approaching her vacation, and if you go any later, you might have to report to Supreme Lord Li Ye.”

Hearing this, both Zhen Huan Gong and Gen Qi felt a chill down their spines. They immediately used hand seals to restore the market to its original state, then each took their path, hurrying toward the Heavenly Gate.

As he left, Zhen Huan Gong indistinctly tossed a sentence her way: “If you’re not angry, then don’t call me Supreme Lord next time.”

Yan Cha’s eyelashes trembled.

The surroundings gradually returned to their bustling state. She stood in place, lost in thought for a while, before slowly walking toward the Upper Armor Palace.

These Supreme Lords are quite strange, Yan Cha thought. At first, they were extremely cautious, afraid she might have improper intentions, constantly reminding her to keep her place. Then, in the blink of an eye, for some unknown reason, they wanted to pull her across boundaries.

But if she truly crossed those boundaries, would he then find her annoying?

Shaking her head, Yan Cha decided to ignore him and just focus on her duties.

However, in the days that followed, Zhen Huan Gong became even more peculiar.

He would suddenly take the notion to bring her to watch stars and the moon, or when he went out on business, he would bring back a Weaver Girl’s embroidered Milky Way gown for her. He began to dine with her and started telling her about his past.

When they rested or cultivated, they sat on their respective beds separated by a screen, but he began to strike up conversations with her. Although what he said was cultivation techniques, she couldn’t fully grasp it, it truly gave her some insights.

No matter how slow-witted Yan Cha might be, she could feel his acceptance and affection.

She couldn’t quite understand what Zhen Huan Gong saw in her. After much thought, perhaps it was feelings developed over time. Anyone who spent three years with him, living together day and night, might develop some affection.

Such a thing was too fragile; she dared not touch it. She could only respond to him politely and respectfully call him Supreme Lord.

Zhen Huan Gong was very aggrieved. Holding a wine jar, he asked Qian Tian: “Why is she so impervious?”

Qian Tian laughed with schadenfreude: “She’s not your beloved; why do you care if she’s impervious or not?”

Zhen Huan Gong: …

Stubbornness always has its retribution. Sometimes, face isn’t that important, but unfortunately, he couldn’t go back in time to take back those words.

The Nine Heavens encountered a once-in-a-millennium grand meteor shower. Er’er had early on set up a banquet at the Immortal Viewing Terrace, inviting gods from all major immortal sects to bring their families to watch.

But on the morning of the meteor shower, Er’er fell asleep from exhaustion, and when she woke, her complexion didn’t look good.

The Nine Heavens’ security suddenly became extremely strict.

Yan Cha wore the Milky Way gown Zhen Huan Gong had given her, pinning up her hair while asking the person behind her: “The Heavenly Gate meeting early this morning—are you sure it’s alright if you don’t attend?”

Zhen Huan Gong sat up drowsily, saying languidly: “Cultivated too urgently, injured my meridians severely. Even if I don’t go, Immortal Er’er will understand. Besides, today is just for watching the meteor shower, nothing important.”

Yan Cha nodded, tidying herself up, then helping him dress and arranging his hair. Seeing his face was extremely pale, she couldn’t help but say softly: “You’re already a Supreme Lord, how could you still injure yourself from cultivation?”

“I don’t want to either,” Zhen Huan Gong pouted, “but among the Five Great Immortal Sects, I was the last to be named a Supreme Lord.”

If he didn’t cultivate faster, he would fall even further behind the others.

His competitive nature couldn’t be changed, and Yan Cha wasn’t in a position to advise him further. She simply prepared his headdress and clothes for him, then slowly moved with him toward the Immortal Viewing Terrace.

Scattered meteors had already begun appearing in the dome of heaven, streaks of light trailing tails, looking very beautiful. Yan Cha observed and exclaimed: “Truly worthy of being a millennial spectacle.”

Zhen Huan Gong’s head ached severely; he only responded softly without looking closely.

A stream of fiery light suddenly burst forth with dazzling brightness.

Yan Cha let out a surprised soft cry, her clear pupils filled with wonder.

However, the shadow of that fiery stream reflected in her pupils grew larger and brighter, and Yan Cha’s expression changed from wonder to panic.

“Supreme Lord,” she tugged at Zhen Huan Gong’s sleeve, “what is that?”