The bed frame collapsed, and the two people on the bed unsurprisingly fell into the pit together. Xin Mei’s head also struck the bedpost, causing such pain that tears welled up in her eyes.
A hand suddenly gently pressed against the bump on her head. Xin Mei looked up and met a pair of blood-red yet gentle eyes.
“Causing trouble,” Lu Qianqiao said in a low voice, pulling her up from the pit with one swift motion, his palm gently massaging the swelling on her head. Seeing her looking up at him foolishly, he smiled, “Does it hurt badly?”
Xin Mei became excited again, her eyes welling with tears again, her lips trembling again.
Atmosphere—this was the atmosphere!
She threw herself into his embrace, her head burrowing in as if trying to drill inside, rubbing vigorously. Tears and snot came down together, dampening a large patch of his chest garment.
“You’re awake, you’re awake!”
All those beautiful words she had once planned and rehearsed repeatedly were completely forgotten when the moment came. Apart from repeating these three words, she couldn’t think of anything else, nor did she want to think of anything else.
Lu Qianqiao held down her wildly moving head.
At such times, he remained awkwardly unsure of what to say, so he could only repeatedly rub the swelling on her head and use the clean part of his sleeve to wipe her tears and snot.
He had experienced a very long dream where he married Xin Mei as his wife and lived through an ordinary person’s entire lifetime. He awakened fulfilled and without regret, only to face her endless stream of tears and snot.
The virtuous and gentle Xin Mei from his dream—well, indeed… it was just a dream after all…
But this was better.
His fingers slipped into her soft hair, helping her untangle her messy braids, combing through with his fingers carefully.
Xin Mei raised her red eyes that rivaled his own and murmured, “Say something…”
With only her being excited and emotional on one side, the atmosphere was completely gone.
Lu Qianqiao looked at her bloodshot eyes and said in a low voice, “Sleep for a while, we’ll talk when you wake up.”
“I won’t sleep. You speak now.”
He thought for a moment, his ears gradually turning red. He turned his head away, his voice even lower: “I… missed you very much.”
“What? You don’t have a radish stuffed in your mouth—I can’t hear clearly!”
“…”
His finger lightly tapped the swelling on her head. Taking advantage of her jumping from the pain, Lu Qianqiao pushed her away and walked straight toward the entrance.
“Be good, go to sleep. I’m here, I won’t run away.”
“You’re running away right now!” Xin Mei pouted.
Lu Qianqiao gave her an unprecedented smile that could genuinely be called “sweet and doting,” instantly dazzling her eyes.
“When you wake up, I’ll tell you some good news.”
…How was it that she felt completely enchanted? Xin Mei watched him leave the tent with a flushed face, taking a long time to come back to her senses. She turned to look at the bed with its collapsed pit, simply spread the blanket on the ground, summoned Qiuyue, and curled up under its wings to sleep.
He said he had good news to tell her—what could it be? Could it be—that he had made up his mind to consummate their marriage with her and become true husband and wife? Xin Mei rolled around under Qiuyue’s wings, spring feelings burgeoning, and fell into deep sleep filled with spring dreams.
Lu Qianqiao closed the tent flap. Looking up, he met the initially ecstatic then complicated gazes of Limin and Liyan.
Still red eyes, proving the power awakening was unsuccessful. The good news was that he kept his life and didn’t die. Such things had happened before, but how would their proud mistress accept this? She had even specifically set aside a day to come here and wait for the results. Based on their understanding of Li Chaoyang, she would definitely prefer her son to die rather than remain a waste who never awakened for his entire life.
The two War Ghosts silently made way, watching helplessly as he knocked on the door of that snow-white carriage.
The carriage door was pulled open, and a cold wind rushed toward him. Lu Qianqiao was slightly startled to see that inside what should have been a cramped carriage, with ice and snow severe and bone-piercing cold wind, there was actually a separate small courtyard—a whole different world.
This type of magic called “Universe in the Sleeve,” Lu Qianqiao was not unfamiliar with. His dimensional bag was similar to this. Opening up a vast and entirely new world within a small space was a commonly used spell by immortals.
Li Chaoyang wasn’t sleeping as Limin had said. Not only was she not sleeping, she held a massive square-pointed halberd in her hands, sweat dripping from her forehead. All the ice and snow, trees, pavilions and towers in the courtyard had been reduced to ruins—she was practicing martial arts. War Ghosts as powerful as her would never have a moment of relaxation.
Li Chaoyang picked up the snow-white outer robe set aside, slowly draping it over her shoulders. She turned toward the ruins and gently blew a breath—they instantly restored to their original appearance. The sharp, straight rooftops pointing skyward were the unique architectural style of the Western War Ghost native tribes. She sat alone in the small pavilion and spoke: “Come, sit.”
Lu Qianqiao sat across from her. When her pitch-black eyes met his red ones, they instantly transformed into a bloody color.
“You failed.” Li Chaoyang stared at him steadily. “This is the result of being interrupted mid-awakening. That little girl ruined everything.”
“It has nothing to do with her. It was my own fault.”
“I don’t need boring hypotheticals. A War Ghost who fails awakening lives only in shame, especially as the son of Li Chaoyang.”
Lu Qianqiao looked at her quietly, neither sad nor happy. After a long time, he finally said, “Shame lies in how one lives, not how one dies.”
The massive square-pointed halberd whistled upward, ruthlessly thrusting toward his chest. Lu Qianqiao quickly grasped the spear point, and their powers contested against each other through the halberd.
“…Some improvement from before.” Li Chaoyang said coldly, “But completely insufficient!”
She pushed forcefully, and he was sent flying backward along with the halberd, crashing hard into the thick ice and snow.
“You have the name of War Ghost but lack a War Ghost’s strength, yet you dare tell me that living is not shameful! How do you plan to make me feel no shame?!”
She walked forward. Unexpectedly, the halberd suddenly sprang up, shooting back toward her like an arrow. Too late to dodge, a strand of her beautiful long hair was sliced off, scattering over the ice and snow.
Lu Qianqiao half-crouched opposite her, looking up, his voice steady: “I will live on.”
Li Chaoyang sneered coldly: “You may live! But from now on, you are no longer the son of Li Chaoyang! But that little girl’s transgression is too great—the War Ghost clan cannot forgive her!”
The halberd traced a sharp gleam of light, roaring upward like angry waves.
Lu Qianqiao had been inside for nearly half an hour without coming out. The two War Ghosts waiting outside grew somewhat anxious. Liyan sighed, “The mistress wouldn’t really kill the young master, would she?”
“I think the mistress would prefer to kill Miss Xin.”
Limin looked back at the tent. Such a fragile tent—the mistress needed only one finger to tear it apart, along with turning the person inside to dust…
“I see the young master seems to really like Miss Xin. If she kills her, I’m afraid he’d still prefer to die himself.”
War Ghosts had very keen ears. What had just happened in the tent—they had heard every bit clearly… cough cough, even if they hadn’t intentionally eavesdropped, they had heard it anyway.
“Though the mistress never says so aloud, deep down she still hopes the young master can successfully awaken and continue the War Ghost clan’s strong bloodline. This unsuccessful awakening wasn’t mainly the young master’s fault, but Miss Xin’s interference… anyway, I think she’s in great danger.”
Before Limin finished speaking, a tremendous crash rang out. The snow-white carriage instantly shattered into fragments, and two figures rushed out like ghosts, colliding with a nearby tent. That innocent tent immediately turned to dust.
“…Big brother, you were right.” Liyan looked with emotion at those two War Ghosts fighting earth-shakingly. “The mistress indeed wants to kill Miss Xin. We’d better stay clear.”
The two found a relatively safe spot and crouched down together to quietly await the outcome of the mother-son battle.
A sharp whistling sound rang out in mid-air. The square-pointed halberd was thrown high up, radiating dazzling light, aimed at the tent where Xin Mei was sleeping, striking down with thunderous force.
A black whip suddenly lashed out, forcibly restraining the halberd’s momentum. Lu Qianqiao’s mouth leaked a thin line of blood as he frowned and called out, “Mother!”
Li Chaoyang said grimly, “You die, she lives. She lives, you die!”
“Mother, displaced anger has no meaning.”
With a “whoosh,” the halberd slashed across the tent, instantly sending the tent top flying. Inside, one person and one bird continued sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of the chaotic battle outside.
A War Ghost whose power hadn’t fully awakened couldn’t withstand Li Chaoyang’s furious attacks. The long whip made a loud snapping sound as it broke. Lu Qianqiao threw aside the whip and fell to the ground, tightly protecting Xin Mei beneath him.
The square-pointed halberd stopped three inches from his back. Blood from his body dripped down, staining Xin Mei’s clothes red. She was having sweet dreams, murmuring something unknowable, her face completely carefree and without worry.
Li Chaoyang gazed at him quietly. This time he didn’t meet her gaze, only lowered his head, quietly protecting the sleeping girl beneath him.
This scene seemed somewhat familiar… She suddenly remembered many years ago, she too had risked everything to follow a man and been pursued by elders. Back then, she had also used her body to protect that person. Without having said she loved him, she was already willing to give her life.
This kind of sentiment that War Ghosts couldn’t speak aloud—not everyone could understand it. All the touching, beautiful, sweet words—they would never say them. They would only offer their lives or blood, silently protecting and guarding from behind.
War Ghosts only had this clumsy way of loving.
…That person from years past hadn’t been able to understand these things, always doubting her feelings, unable to find peace even until death.
She thought again of that little girl’s fearless and clear gaze, how she had said without hesitation: [“I’ll stay with him.”]
She understood, didn’t she?
Li Chaoyang slowly withdrew her halberd.
“Qianqiao, this is my final forbearance toward you.” She turned and walked away. “I don’t want to see her. Next time we meet, she dies without question.”
The snow-white carriage had been reduced to dust by their battle. She leaped onto Xiaofeng Li’s back, gave a clear cry, and the pitch-black spirit beast generated lightning beneath its hooves, flying up to the clouds with impressive momentum and disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Limin and Liyan breathed a sigh of relief, walking to Lu Qianqiao’s side and sighing in unison: “Young master, you should continue as Cavalry General and establish some military achievements—this way the mistress will feel better too. These years, the Fox clan has grown increasingly powerful, frequently coming to provoke us, while our clan members grow fewer and more sparse. The mistress worries all day, and now your awakening has failed again—she must be very heartbroken. When you have time, remember to return to the clan to visit… well, better not bring Miss Xin along to avoid angering the mistress.”
The two didn’t dare delay and each led their spirit beasts to follow Li Chaoyang.
When Xin Mei woke up, it was already dark. She had been carried to another intact tent and was sleeping on a soft bed.
Turning over, Lu Qianqiao sat right beside her, having changed into fresh clothes, one hand tucking her blanket, lowering his head to look at her quietly.
She grinned and buried her head in his embrace, asking lazily, “Lu Qianqiao, what good news do you want to tell me? Now I’m awake—bring it on.”
A trace of smile rippled at the corner of his eyes. He wanted to speak but felt somewhat uncomfortable, pondering for a long while before slowly saying, “Mother left while you were sleeping—you couldn’t say goodbye to her.”
“She definitely wouldn’t be happy to see me, right?” Xin Mei thought of those cold and bloody red eyes. Although she tried hard to restrain herself, even an idiot could see the killing intent radiating from her. “I’m a pitiful daughter-in-law unloved by her mother-in-law.”
He smiled: “You’re not yet a daughter-in-law… you haven’t actually married me yet. We haven’t bowed to heaven and earth, haven’t drunk the matrimonial wine.”
Eh, what did that mean? Xin Mei looked up at him in bewilderment.
He turned his head away, somewhat embarrassed, his ears gradually turning red: “I mean… would you… want to… do it again?”
Xin Mei stared blankly for a long time, tilting her head to ponder his words one by one. Suddenly enlightened, her eyes grew wider and wider, her mouth opened more and more, extending a trembling finger to point at him, unable to speak for a long while.
“Are you willing? To marry me.” He grasped her hand and squeezed it tightly.
She trembled for a long time before finally speaking seriously and earnestly: “Lu Qianqiao, I believe we should consummate our marriage.”