The note from the Dragon Maiden detailed the exact location of a stone cave.
After seeing her off, Lin Hui quickly wrote a note with his requests, crumpled it into a ball, and rushed to the location.
He went to a stone cave in the Fog Area and dropped the paper ball inside.
He went back and waited for three days, but after those three days, he couldn’t resist going back to check. According to the Dragon Maiden, it usually took a week to a month to get a reply from this stone cave.
Yet he had tossed it in just three days ago and had already received a response.
Inside the Fog Area, Lin Hui slowly sheathed his sword and stepped over the massive monster carcass before him.
Arriving back at the stone cave, he glanced at a piece of white paper lying on the ground inside.
A single line of reply was written on the paper.
’No Illusory Dragon Lotus. Yun Lingzhi and Purple Cloud Ganoderma available. Prices are ten Yun Lingzhi for one Feather Blood and one Purple Cloud Ganoderma for one Feather Blood.’
The prices were about what Lin Hui expected, not much different from the market rate. The main thing was that they had it in stock. That was the crucial part, as Lin Hui had already sent people to buy up nearly all the local supply.
After writing down the quantity he needed in reply, he tossed the paper ball back into the stone cave.
The stone cave itself was strange. It was surrounded by a bare, flat, gray cliff face, with this hole appearing abruptly out of nowhere.
It looked utterly bizarre.
Having tossed in the paper ball, Lin Hui took the exchanged Feather Blood from his waist pouch. He counted out ten stalks, tied them together with a thin thread, and gently placed the bundle into the cave.
Paynt before delivery—that was the rule for trading at this cave.
Once he was finished, he turned and left, making a ntal note to co back in another three days to check on things.
Just as he erged from the Fog Area and returned to Qingfeng Temple, Lin Hui saw a sowhat familiar figure in the courtyard of the rear manor, gently swaying on a swing.
"Old Han?" he paused, blurting it out subconsciously.
CREAK.
The swing ca to a sudden halt.
Han Xiaoyue, her face veiled, looked at him with a helpless expression.
"I know I’m not exactly young, but could you please not add the ’old’ part?"
She wore a long, white gauze dress with silver trim. Tassels hung from her elbows, drifting in the wind. That, combined with her graceful figure and perfect waist-to-hip ratio, made her quite the eye-catching sight.
Though half her face resembled a skeleton, the other half was like that of a sixteen-year-old girl, completely belying her true age.
In fact, Lin Hui had yet to et anyone from the Inner City who was remotely unattractive.
The people he’d t were either as young as girls or simply old. There was no in-between.
"Right, I’ll be more careful next ti," Lin Hui nodded. "When did you get back? Why didn’t you send a ssage? I would’ve co to get you."
"Why? I’m back, that’s all. All that coming and going is too much trouble. If you want to see , just co to my place," Han Xiaoyue said calmly.
"Fair enough..." Lin Hui nodded and sat down on a nearby stone bench.
"Have you heard about what happened with the Wang Family?"
"Mm, it has nothing to do with us. Wang Yueheng couldn’t tell what was important. It was only a matter of ti before she got into trouble," Han Xiaoyue nodded.
She looked at Lin Hui. She had always treated him, her fake fiancé, with a placid attitude.
After all, she didn’t have much ti left. The chance to experience things she’d never felt before in her final days was a novelty.
She had lived for many years, but had been so busy with various intertwined affairs that she’d never had ti to marry, nor had she ever been close to a man. This current feeling—vague and wonderful—brought a touch of softness to her long-somber heart.
After returning from her trip and hearing the advice of an old friend, a strange idea once again surfaced in her mind.
"Hey, Lin Hui."
’What is it?’ Lin Hui had just been about to sit cross-legged and cultivate his Inner Strength.
He turned his head to look at her.
"Weren’t you saying before that people were pressuring you to get married? Well, now that we’re engaged, nobody’s pushing for marriage anymore. Instead, they’re pushing for us to have a baby. A baby... I don’t have any experience with that. How are we supposed to handle it?" she asked, looking at him earnestly.
"I’m not sure. Why don’t we adopt one?" Lin Hui said hesitantly.
"That won’t work. It would be too easy to tell. My bloodline is different," Han Xiaoyue said, slowly shaking her head.
She began to study Lin Hui seriously, looking at him for the first ti from the perspective of a potential partner.
’His looks aren’t bad, not that I care. After all, with my own appearance, I’m in no position to be picky.’
’His physique, honed by martial arts, is well-proportioned and powerful—not overly bulky, but not skinny either.’
’Even though he’s from the Outer City, he built Qingfeng Temple’s current enterprise from the ground up, step by step.’
’His strength and talent are top-tier in the Outer City.’
’All in all, he’s actually a pretty good candidate for a partner.’
’And despite the rumors about his title, the "Great Yang-Enhancing Invisible Sword," she, having spent ti with him, knew his personal life was extrely disciplined. It wasn’t for a lack of interested won around him; he simply paid them no mind.’
’Putting that reputation aside, he was a talented and highly eligible bachelor of a Martial Artist.’
"So, what are you thinking?" Lin Hui asked with a frown after a mont of thought.
"Here’s the thing. I want to have one of my own, to experience what it’s like. I wanted to discuss it with you. Considering our age gap, you’d be at a disadvantage, so I’m willing to offer compensation," Han Xiaoyue said with great seriousness, as if negotiating a business transaction that needed to be resolved.
"Er..." Lin Hui was montarily speechless.
’He just wanted a fake marriage to fend off trouble, not actually have a kid and be tied down for good...’
’Having a kid would bring way too many worries, and he wasn’t ntally prepared for that kind of thing yet.’
’He had too much to do, too much to worry about, and he didn’t have a sufficiently stable environnt.’
’He felt that, at the very least, he needed to establish the safe haven he envisioned before he’d have the peace of mind to even consider having children.’
"It’s fine. If you don’t want to, I won’t bring it up again. Just pretend I never said anything." Han Xiaoyue saw his hesitation. "In that case, I’ll just make another trip to the Inner City and find a few n..."
"No, you won’t." Lin Hui’s brow furrowed.
Even though their engagent was a sham, his heart still clenched uncomfortably at her words.
"Why not?" Han Xiaoyue asked, perplexed. She didn’t see the problem. If Lin Hui wasn’t willing, she’d just find a few other n to help her experience what she wanted to experience.
"What’s wrong with that?"
"That’s too... casual," Lin Hui said.
"But you’re not willing, are you? If I want the experience, I have to find soone else," Han Xiaoyue said earnestly.
"..." Her words left Lin Hui speechless. He truly wasn’t willing to just casually start a family. It would completely derail all his plans.
"It seems I’ve troubled you." Han Xiaoyue sighed and stood up. "In that case... perhaps we should just go our separate ways. We can call off this fake engagent. Our needs are no longer aligned."
"..." Lin Hui’s heart was a tangled ss. ’Why so sudden? Why make a request like this?’
"Because I’m out of ti," Han Xiaoyue said softly. "I want to use what little ti I have to experience things I’ve never felt and see sights I’ve never seen."
"You an... the corruption?" Lin Hui suddenly realized.
"? You know about it?" Han Xiaoyue gave him a surprised glance.
She seed to have gone through a lot on her trip; she had changed so much from when they first t.
She was no longer as cold and quiet, but now carried a faint air of urgency.
"It seems my request has caused you so conflict. I don’t know why you’re so torn, but since that’s the case, let’s just forget it."
Han Xiaoyue stood up, her expression placid.
"..." Lin Hui was speechless.
But to give in now would be irresponsible toward his own future.
He watched Han Xiaoyue turn and walk toward the courtyard exit.
She soon disappeared around a corner.
’In the end, they were just a temporary, fake pairing. It started as a relationship of convenience, but now Han Xiaoyue’s needs had changed. Their current arrangent could no longer satisfy her, so... now it was ti to part ways.’
Standing up, his hand unconsciously ca to rest on the Ruyi Sword Handle at his waist.
As he walked out of the courtyard, he suddenly stopped short.
He turned his head and saw soone squatting on the ground by the gate.
"Didn’t you leave?" he asked, looking speechlessly at Han Xiaoyue’s back.
"Mm, I got this far and saw an insect I’d never seen before, so I decided to squat down for a look." Han Xiaoyue stood up and turned to face him.
"..." Lin Hui was once again speechless.
"I’m really leaving this ti." Seeing that he still wouldn’t budge, Han Xiaoyue knew the tactic her old friend had taught her was useless, so she decided to drop it.
This ti, she didn’t linger, leaving peacefully down the corridor.
And Lin Hui didn’t try to stop her.
’Although Han Xiaoyue fit his idea of a future life in every way and was a perfectly suitable partner... but...’
’As for her threat to find a few n and actually have a child, he couldn’t tell if she was serious. If she was...’
WHOOSH.
The next second, he found himself outside the main gate of the Qingfeng Temple manor.
He saw Han Xiaoyue, just as she was stepping over the threshold.
For a mont, both of them froze. Their eyes t.
"It might be selfish, but I’ve thought about it. If you were to go find soone else... I wouldn’t like that," Lin Hui admitted frankly.
"I feel the sa, so I was waiting for you," Han Xiaoyue nodded, admitting it just as frankly. If she had truly ant to leave, she would have been long gone by now...
"I need so ti," Lin Hui said.
"I’ve thought about it, and I’m not in that much of a rush. It doesn’t have to be right this second," Han Xiaoyue said.
"Specifically, how much ti do you have?" Lin Hui asked again.
"Within twenty years."
"..." Lin Hui felt that he and Han Xiaoyue might have slightly different definitions of what constituted a long ti.
"Is twenty years a short ti?" he asked.
"Is it a long ti?" Han Xiaoyue retorted.
They looked at each other, both sensing that sothing was a little off.
"I understand. I’ll wait for you," Han Xiaoyue said first, nodding slowly. "Besides, I need to recuperate as well. This body... has beco sothing of a burden. It’s ti to release it and let go."
"...Alright," Lin Hui nodded.
And so, after their third round of back-and-forth, the matter of having a child was settled with a solemn, formal agreent between them.
Twenty years.
He watched as Han Xiaoyue walked out the main gate and boarded the carriage she had arrived in.
When Lin Hui turned around, he saw Mingxia standing by the door, staring at him with wide eyes.
"Tsk, tsk... You’re planning to have a baby with Han Xiaoyue? Don’t deny it, I heard everything!" she said, holding up a hand.
"...She’s my future wife. Is there a problem?" Lin Hui retorted.
"No problem... Of course not..." A strange, yet admiring, look flashed in Mingxia’s eyes.
"Then you can move," Lin Hui said coolly.
Mingxia didn’t dare to challenge him head-on. She could tell Lin Hui was genuinely getting angry. For the sake of learning the Gale Swordsmanship in the future, she wisely backed down and moved aside.
She watched Lin Hui step through the door and vanish in a blur, as if he had teleported.
Mingxia shook her head, speechless.
"I guess only the sick can understand the sick. A normal person like can’t even imagine having a baby with Han Xiaoyue... Tsk, tsk..."
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