Ruyi recalled a time long ago.

Shen Qiyuan had found her, already transformed into a demon, among the ruins of the enemy nation’s capital city, and suddenly struck out at her. That long sword had pierced through the skin and flesh of her heart – with just a little more force, he could have taken her life.

Under such fury at the time, she didn’t doubt his determination to kill her in the slightest. But at the final moment, Shen Qiyuan still stopped.

“Can demons cultivate to become gods?” he asked in a hoarse voice.

Ruyi almost thought she was hallucinating, but the person before her looked at her with bloodshot eyes and asked again: “Can they?”

“No.” She mercilessly extinguished his hope.

The person before her let out two choked sounds from his throat, then threw away his sword and walked step by step up the mountain.

The wind was strong on the mountain, with scattered drops of cold rain falling. Ruyi didn’t know what he intended to do, but still instinctively followed. The two walked one after another to the cliff edge halfway up the mountain, walking for a full hour.

At the time, Ruyi very much wanted to ask what he had been thinking along the way, but given their awkward positions, she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

The two just stood there in the drizzle.

The sky changed from bright daylight to dusk. Her fingers grew somewhat cold from the wind, and she thought this person might as well give her a quick sword strike.

“I have to go.” Glancing at the surging demon horde at the mountain’s base, Ruyi finally spoke.

Shen Qiyuan seemed somewhat angry. His dark robes flew over like wind, suddenly wrapping around her throat.

“Truly leaving?” His cold voice was like a blade, cutting to the bone with each word.

“Truly.” She feigned nonchalance, though her fingers secretly clenched tight.

With this departure, the two would find it difficult to meet again.

She knew how angry Shen Qiyuan was and hadn’t planned to obstruct him further. But just as she turned around, he still tossed over a bottle.

From the smell and weight, she felt it contained his blood. But given the current circumstances, she would rather it contained poison.

Nothing was more painful than discovering their mutual love only when they couldn’t be together.

She never opened that bottle, but in the later battle at God-Slaying Valley, it was shattered by his sword thrust, falling into the battlefield and vanishing without a trace.

Ruyi thought that what Shen Qiyuan feared most now should also be receiving such a bottle.

Therefore, she was determined not to drag him down.

Going to the Nine Heavens to be an immortal would allow his cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds daily, beneficial and harmless to him. The two weren’t parting forever either; as long as there was opportunity, he could still descend.

Thinking this way, Ruyi’s expression relaxed. She returned to the Meeting Immortals Inn with the two of them and even brewed ginger tea to place before Shen Qiyuan.

Shen Qiyuan watched her writing something with her brush, head down without looking up, and couldn’t help asking in a heavy voice: “Aren’t you afraid that one day in heaven equals one year on earth?”

She raised her eyebrows: “What’s to fear? I’ve already fulfilled the original host’s wishes. Even if she passes away naturally after a hundred years, I can continue cultivating as a demon.”

Having waited through three thousand years, what was one or two more years?

Shen Qiyuan’s feelings were opposite to hers.

Having already endured over three thousand years, to face separation again was truly an extremely difficult thing.

But why did it seem like only he was suffering?

Looking at her consistently indifferent expression, his heart felt slightly hollow, and he couldn’t help wondering if this person had truly been in love with him these past days. Could he have misunderstood something?

“These are the matters you need to handle within two days.” Withdrawing her brush tip, Ruyi turned the paper around and handed it to him. “I’ll arrange things for the Meeting Immortals Inn. Great Qian’s court situation has finally stabilized – you must put some thought into it. Also, Wei Zijue has always been protected by your divine power. Before leaving, transfer it to me. I’ll ensure he successfully recovers Great Qian’s lost territories and keeps Great Qian stable for at least a hundred years.”

Looking at the well-organized plans on the paper and hearing her chatter on about Wei Zijue, the light in Shen Qiyuan’s eyes finally dimmed.

He nodded, very gracefully accepting the paper, carefully folding it and placing it in his sleeve pocket: “With you and Wei Zijue in Great Qian, I’m naturally at ease.”

Ruyi detected the displeasure in his words, but with her own heart currently a tangled mess, she had no extra energy to comfort him. She simply pulled him up and pressed him onto the bed.

The moist air after rain drifted in from the flower window. Snow-white skin pressed against firm muscles, naturally creating countless alluring scenes.

Shen Qiyuan looked up with complex emotions.

He suddenly asked: “When you parted with Wei Zijue back then, was it also like this?”

The person before him froze, her movements suddenly stopping, her long eyes looking at him in confusion: “Like what?”

Before he could explain, she seemed to suddenly understand, her long lashes lowering as she curved her lips in a smile: “Perhaps. It’s been so long, I don’t remember.”

Shen Qiyuan belatedly realized he might have said the wrong thing and frowned as he spoke: “I didn’t mean…”

The person before him pressed against his lips, her slender fingers moving downward to refasten her opened clothing, smiling as she said: “Today has been tiring enough. I should take pity on you, too. Let’s sleep now.”

“Ruyi.” He frowned. “Having lived several thousand years, I’m naturally not stubborn or pedantic. How could I hold those things against you? What I meant is that you’re naturally unrestrained – you didn’t need to be bound before, and you won’t need to be in the future, so…”

The more he spoke, the worse it got. Shen Qiyuan nearly bit his tongue.

The person beside him showed no reaction, breathing evenly, having already entered dreamland, never opening her eyes again no matter what he said.

The sky outside gradually brightened. Shen Qiyuan couldn’t fall asleep at all, quietly yet restlessly watching the person beside him, finally waiting until she woke from sleep.

Ruyi arranged her clothing and rose, smiling at him as if nothing had happened: “There should be breakfast downstairs by now. You can eat in the main hall.”

She looked completely unlike someone angry.

Shen Qiyuan breathed a long sigh of relief, softly humming acknowledgment. He wanted to reach out and take her hand, but unluckily encountered her raising her hand to adjust her hairpin, completely missing the opportunity.

Withdrawing his hand, Shen Qiyuan thought it must be a coincidence.

However, when the two went downstairs together to sit at the breakfast table, he handed her chopsticks, but she happened to accept the bamboo chopsticks Fuman offered, completely missing his gesture.

Shen Qiyuan couldn’t help pressing his lips together.

“What’s wrong with you two? You both look so poor.” He Tinglan said puzzledly. “Don’t tell me you got caught in the rain last night?”

Speaking of rain, Zhao Yanning sighed: “Yesterday’s rain was so strange – heavy one moment, light the next. Thank goodness the drainage ditches outside didn’t flood today.”

Qingyi nodded: “There was thunder too.”

A group of people began chattering about this and that, everything seeming no different from usual.

But Ruyi knew that because of Zhao Shu’s favor, Hua Fuman and Zhao Yanning planned to take positions in the Ministry of Justice. Qingyi had also received rewards and could take the martial examination for a military position. He Tinglan’s new residence was near Houchao Gate, and she planned to properly manage the grain shop closer to that area.

The day when the Meeting Immortals Inn would disperse was already near.