Chapter 59

She was his destination, and also his journey home.

For someone like him, who had long ago renounced the world, there was only his lonely self in this world. Although his birth mother was alive, her presence or absence made no difference. He was like a lonely ghost in this world. He once thought he finally had a place in the sect, but in the end, the greater his joy, the greater his despair. Whether it was the sect, his master, or his fellow disciples, they were not the close friends he thought they were. This place merely provided him with a shelter.

Apart from this shelter, he got nothing. With no hope, there was no disappointment. He buried all his yearnings deep in his heart, forcing himself to be thoroughly free of desire. With no desire, one becomes strong. He had no expectations of others. No matter how much they did, to him, they were just strangers.

But who would have thought his heart would actually regain hope because of someone?

Finding his way home, he felt his heart pounding, so vivid that he couldn’t help covering his chest to feel the beating beneath.

One beat after another, the pulsing made him sigh with satisfaction.

He didn’t want much, just that one person. But he was also greedy – he wanted all of her.

Tan Ye suppressed all his hopes in his eyes, which shone brightly, pure and clear, even purer than a child’s. He sat at the table taking care of her as she ate breakfast.

The donkey meat pancakes were pre-sliced before being served. The donkey meat inside was pre-cooked with the shop’s secret formula spices and added to the dough. The broth had soaked through the inner layers of the dough.

“Why aren’t you eating?” She had almost finished what was in front of her and saw that Tan Ye’s bowl and chopsticks were still clean. She frowned.

She reached over and put a few slices of pancake in front of him.

“Don’t tell me you’re not used to this. I heard dragons like to eat monsters and children. I’m too lazy to catch monsters – it takes too much effort and they’ve done no harm to people, so I don’t feel right. As for children, that’s even more unacceptable. Eating children is despicable. Children are doing their own thing, why eat them?”

Su Heng patiently persuaded. At this moment, she had a plan in mind. She would accompany Tan Ye in a beautiful dream, accompany him in love, in romance. The deeper he fell, the more vicious the final blow would be.

After getting along with him for some time, she had slowly figured out his temperament.

His temperament was not as good as he appeared, but for those close to him, he had ample patience and tolerance. No matter how Madam Man treated him, he never thought of revenge.

Su Heng thought about it for a while and figured Tan Ye’s reaction would probably be similar to how he reacted to Madam Man. He would surely be sad, perhaps even in despair, but he would only torment himself. She shouldn’t be affected much.

She pondered it herself, rubbed her hands, and felt this was pretty good.

Tan Ye didn’t care about family affection anymore. As for friendship, it was even more trivial. No matter how he treated outsiders, he was always indifferent. This was hopeless. After much thought, a romance trial seemed the best.

As for whether he would seek revenge on her after passing the trial…

After the trial, he would either have let it go, or failed. If he let it go, he naturally wouldn’t come after her.

If he failed…

Failing ten lifetimes, he would probably be too busy trying to make amends to bother with her.

Returning to the Divine Realm, he would be too preoccupied with himself to bother with her.

“I’m actually not used to mortal food.”

Indeed, he was unaccustomed. Later, in Chaoyun Sect, he began fasting early on.

“Then you’re missing out on a great pleasure,” Su Heng said, looking at the broth dripping from the pancake. The truly delicious places required asking locals. The clean-looking places outside weren’t necessarily better than here.

“I think you just haven’t had anything good. Mortal food can be really delicious when done well. I tasted the donkey meat and found it very flavorful. Since we’re here, wouldn’t it be a pity not to try?”

She spoke and lowered her voice, blowing into his ear, “I read in mortal medical books that donkey meat can nourish qi and blood, nourish yin and supplement the kidneys. More importantly, it can strengthen yang.”

“Don’t you men all love this? Don’t tell me that because you’re a dragon with two, you don’t need it at all? Or are you afraid that if you eat it, you might accidentally invigorate your yang and not be able to handle it?”

Tan Ye looked at her in shock, appearing quite startled.

She looked at his chin. “Looks like I guessed right?”

Tan Ye choked on a mouthful. “That’s not the case!”

He coughed a few times between his words, barely steadying himself, but she had her arm on the table, looking at him with teasing laughter in her eyes, clearly not believing him.

“Then what are you afraid of? It’s just a few pieces of donkey meat. Mortal men aren’t afraid of supplements, so what are you afraid of?”

Speaking of which, she was a bit regretful. At night, she wanted to take the opportunity to explore, but unexpectedly, he explored her instead.

With her words, Tan Ye picked up his chopsticks. Along the way, he had been mostly accommodating her diet. The two of them could exist without eating or drinking. She liked to eat and drink, so he took care of her, only occasionally being fed a mouthful or two by her.

He lowered his head and bit into the still steaming pancake. As his teeth bit down, the meat filling juices inside the dough shot out in an instant, filling his mouth.

It took some getting used to at first, but then he became accustomed to the feeling of the juices permeating his mouth. He could also taste the flavors inside.

He slowly finished what was in front of him and smiled at her.

She pulled him over and cleaned the grease from the corners of his mouth and hands like she was taking care of a child, similar to how he had taken care of her in the Western Regions.

She had never taken care of anyone before, but she was good at learning and did it very well.

At first, Tan Ye’s body stiffened, but when she really wiped his lips, his originally rigid body softened and let her do as she wished.

“I heard that the beef soup in Luoyang is unparalleled.” Tan Ye watched her happily busying herself in front of him. His hand, which was originally going to stop her, fell back down.

Taking care of people was nothing new to him. He had taken care of many people, fellow disciples, and mortals he encountered. But being taken care of was extremely rare.

It was very strange. He couldn’t tell what that feeling was for a while. Tan Ye lowered his eyes and saw her slender white fingers right in front of his face.

He moved and Su Heng said “ah”, “Don’t move.”

He subconsciously sat still. He could clearly feel the texture and temperature of her fingertips as they brushed his face.

This was a completely different feeling from intimacy.

His heart swelled in his chest, filling his entire body. He felt as if he was soaking in warm water.

With the barrier for concealment, they didn’t have to worry about being seen no matter what they did.

As her fingers brushed past his cheek, his long, thick lashes lowered. He turned his face with the momentum. Seeing this, her fingers went directly over. His long lashes brushed past her fingers. Where they swept, a light itch rose on her fingers.

“You’re so handsome.” She looked at Tan Ye’s face and said with sincerity.

Tan Ye’s crystal-like eyes were open. Her words left him sitting there speechless for a long time. After a while, a sunset-like color bloomed on his jade-white face.

“Why are you blushing? I’m telling the truth.” It was the first time she had earnestly taken care of someone. She didn’t have much experience before. Previously, when she saved him, she would just toss him somewhere, sit with her legs crossed, and wait for him to wake up.

Whether she was being sincere or perfunctory was very easy to detect. Tan Ye felt her sincerity and genuinely felt the sensation of being cherished.

Something he had never experienced before felt especially joyful when obtained.

He sat there and let her finish tidying him up.

Seeing her retract her hand, Tan Ye sighed with regret. It wouldn’t be bad if it continued like this.

“Alright, if we keep sitting here, it’ll be noon soon. They should be about done eating over there too.”

Tan Ye said they wouldn’t be. “Based on Miss Mei’s habits, after eating the pancakes, she will definitely want to eat other things. She’s young and was previously confined to Danxun Valley by her father, not allowed to go out. Now that she finally has the chance, she’s naturally like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, doing as she pleases.”

Su Heng glanced over. Tan Ye’s expression became extremely innocent. “Miss Mei is young and inexperienced. Her joys, angers, sorrows, and happiness are all on her face. It doesn’t take much effort to know.”

“Speaking of which, why don’t you like her?” Su Heng asked, full of doubt. “In principle, don’t you men all like girls who seem to have no schemes?”

This question had been weighing on her mind for a long time.

“Is it because she’s not pretty enough?”

Tan Ye’s eyes blinked in confusion a few times, not quite understanding why she had been obsessing over this question for so long.

“Being good-looking…maybe just so-so.” He placed his palm on her hand, holding it, carefully caressing it.

“Actually, no matter how good a person’s appearance is, it’s nothing more than two eyes and a mouth. Being good-looking, perhaps at the beginning, one might have some interest in the person because of their appearance. But as time goes on and you see their appearance more, you get used to it. Even a stunning appearance becomes ordinary and doesn’t move you at all. I had a rough childhood and don’t care about appearances.”

Su Heng thought about it and recalled that when they first met, he was indeed a stinky, hard stone, disdaining her beauty. She also showed pure, innocent naivety in front of him, but it had no effect on him.

She once thought it was because her purity and stupidity were fake, not as naturally innocent as those born with it.

“As for innocence…” Tan Ye clenched his fist, pressed it to his lips and coughed, “I don’t buy that. Among my junior sisters in the sect, quite a few are young, similar to Miss Mei. This kind of girl lacks mental maturity, so forget it.”

She furrowed her brows, “So you’re saying those novels are all lies?”

Damn, those novels wrote a whole bunch about scheming men who love innocent and cute girls like Mei Shuangshuang, of course with a pretty face too.

Thinking about it herself, there might be some truth to it, but it turns out to be nothing?

“Maybe some people like that, but I don’t.” Tan Ye looked at her, “I like someone like you.”

“But in the world, someone like you, there’s only you alone.”

When Tan Ye spoke of love, it was like a gentle stream, circling the heart.

She chuckled and pecked his lips, “I sure love hearing that.”

“So in the future, don’t lump me together with Miss Mei anymore. In my eyes, her personality is just that of a child who hasn’t grown up at all.”

Tan Ye sighed and gripped the hand in his, “In this life, I only love you and only want to be close to you.”

Hearing this, she slowly blinked. That one sentence had exhausted all his strength.

“So also don’t talk about me with other women, even if that woman is just a child now. Hearing it still pains my heart.”

Su Heng looked at him puzzled but still nodded, “Okay, you don’t like her anyway. Since you don’t like hearing it, I won’t mention it.”

“I have no relationship with her at all. The only affection is gratitude to Valley Master Mei. Beyond that gratitude, she and I truly have no connection whatsoever. I’ve had no interest in her for ten years. It’s been that way and will remain so in the future. It won’t change.”

Su Heng pointed to herself, “Then what about me?”

Tan Ye’s eyes moved. He leaned over, his lips landing on hers. Her lips were as delicate and soft as camellia petals. He enveloped her lips, lightly biting and slowly sucking.

Su Heng was startled. Her entire body instinctively retreated. Tan Ye’s hand originally holding hers quickly released, then grasped her elbow, pulling her closer and blocking her escape.

He kissed very gently and very long. The shallow touch made one feel the tenderness and passion even more.

Tan Ye lightly sucked on her lips before leaving after a long while.

His slender fingers supported her head, gently stroking her long hair. He panted lightly, “Do you understand now?”

Su Heng licked her own lips as if savoring carefully, “It’s sweet.”

She didn’t answer the question. Tan Ye was stunned for a moment. In that brief pause, she pounced again, her lips meeting his. Only this time, she took the initiative.

Mei Shuangshuang especially liked to pester Chen Kun to tell her about things outside. She had been cooped up for too long and wished she could spend all twelve hours of the day outside.

Listening to him while eating, she couldn’t be happier.

Chen Kun walked with her on the street. In the distance, he spotted Tan Ye and Su Heng, “Immortal Lady, Immortal Lord!”

Su Heng and Tan Ye weren’t with them, so the three of them ended up walking on the street in an odd way.

Chen Kun beamed and waved at Mei Shuangshuang, indicating he was going over, leaving Mei Shuangshuang alone facing Zhu Chi.

“Where did you two go?”

When he ran up to them, he sensed something off between the two. To be precise, something was off with Tan Ye. This Immortal Lord, who in his eyes seemed gentle but unapproachable, now had moist eyes. His originally sharp brows and eyes shone with tenderness, as if there were ripples in his eyes.

“We didn’t want to disturb you, so we specially found another place.” Tan Ye smiled, his brows and eyes softening, exuding genuine warmth.

He glanced at Chen Kun in front of him and Zhu Chi on the other side. Zhu Chi had a hand gripping Mei Shuangshuang’s shoulder.

Tan Ye smiled understandingly, “Looks like we still came too early.”

How could they have come too early? He felt those two came too late.

“Miss Mei is a very good girl,” Tan Ye suddenly spoke.

He looked straight at him, his gaze gentle, his expression showing a hint of emotion, “Because of her young age, her words and actions may be inappropriate. Please be tolerant.”

He spoke so sincerely that it caught Chen Kun off guard.

Facing Tan Ye, Chen Kun waved his hands repeatedly, “No…”

His skill of navigating social situations since childhood came out. Even if he didn’t mean it, Chen Kun spoke without any incongruity.

Su Heng watched from the side, finding it hard to face. Tan Ye’s face took too much advantage. When he wasn’t smiling, it was sharp as a blade. But when he truly softened, it was completely gentle and harmless. It seemed with that face, he was the only purely good person in the world. It made one feel that even raising their voice at him would be a sin.

Su Heng stared intently at his face, wanting to know how he switched effortlessly between sharpness and innocence. That face had never changed.

“That’s good then.” Tan Ye looked even more sincere, “Miss Mei is not bad. Treat her well.”

Chen Kun was saddled with such a big burden by him. It wasn’t good to deny it now, since he had spoken so nicely before. Retracting his words would be going back on his word.

It was best not to speak clearly. Laying it all out, one either prepares to draw swords or becomes intimate. Otherwise, leave half spoken for people to ponder over.

As Chen Kun turned around, Su Heng pinched Tan Ye’s palm, “Do you need to be so petty?”

Pairing up Mei Shuangshuang and Chen Kun, Tan Ye actually thought of that!

“I feel about him the way you feel about Miss Mei.” Tan Ye simply said.

Knowing they had no chance and having witnessed her special treatment of Chen Kun, even if just a little, it stuck in his throat like a fishbone.

He had to personally remove it to feel at ease.

He had one hand behind his back, the other hidden in his wide sleeves, pinching her palm.

The sleeves were wide, perfectly concealing his hand movements. Plus with the crowd around, unless one got close, they couldn’t tell what their hands were doing at all.

“But they are a precious pearl of a cultivation family and a gentleman of an official’s family. The two have almost no connection. Can they be together?”

Tan Ye still had his hands behind his back, his eyes brimming with gentleness, “It’s fine. Doesn’t Young Master Chen want to cultivate? I can teach him some basic breathing and cultivation methods to help him pass the entrance exam of Danxun Valley. Then seeing each other day and night, how could it not be possible?”

When Tan Ye started arguing sophistically, no one could match him.

Once his jealousy flared up, it was very hard to quell. Instead, it intensified over time and had to be dealt with personally by him.

Su Heng didn’t speak. She turned her head to look at him.

“What is it?” Tan Ye watched the three people over there mixing together, looking like they wished the sky would fall and the earth would split.

“You’re jealous?”

Tan Ye was startled, then readily admitted it.

“You look quite handsome when jealous too.”

Tan Ye gripped her hand, “Is that so?”

But he didn’t want anyone to occupy her attention.

“But I think Zhu Chi has a higher chance with her.” She said, telling Tan Ye to look at the three of them, “Then what do you plan to do?”

“Then all three together.” Tan Ye answered without any hesitation.

Su Heng gritted her teeth, “I haven’t even enjoyed that, yet you’re arranging it for her?”

“Embracing beauties on both sides, a blessing of Qi State, I want it too!”

She had just finished speaking when Tan Ye turned around. His snow-white robes instantly spread out like wind and snow. In the blink of an eye, they had arrived in a nearby alley. A barrier was instantly added at the entrance of the alley.

His palm pressed on the nape of her neck through her long hair, but the force was unusually gentle, without any coercion.

“But I don’t want you to have anyone else besides me. I will be jealous.”

His palm gently pressed on the nape of her neck.

“So don’t, okay?”