A Happy Family of Three

In a vast, boundless space.

Piercing white was the primary tone of this world. Ye Shu groggily opened his eyes, but the blinding light forced him to shut them again.

"Where is this..."

He struggled to sit up, his brows furrowed tightly.

He remembered still being in his Sea of Consciousness, sitting and discussing the Dao with Medusa. Then, his Master descended from the sky to save the day, followed by skies filled with red silk and a surging giant snake.

The Sea of Consciousness was in extreme turmoil, and he had simply fainted.

He couldn't remember anything after that.

"You're awake?"

Danxia's voice came from behind him. Ye Shu turned his head and saw her standing with her back to him. She wore an elegant white dress, her sleeves fluttering gracefully—a truly beautiful sight. However, her originally solid figure was now as ethereal as smoke and dust.

Ye Shu frowned.

"Master, what happened to your soul body?"

"Shu'er..."

Danxia stood with her hands behind her back, not turning to look at him.

"Do you remember asking if I believed in fate? I originally didn't, but because of you, I did. Later, also because of you, I stopped believing again."

"Perhaps this tribulation was destined."

"I might... need to rest for a while."

She turned her head, looking at Ye Shu with a gentle smile. "Don't worry, I am just too tired. I want to take a nap, and I will wake up."

Ye Shu's heart tightened. He hurriedly stood up and stumbled over to her, trying to grab her hand.

But he only caught a handful of air.

Danxia's figure became increasingly illusory as she slowly drifted away. She tapped her fingertip against her own glabella, then pressed it against Ye Shu's forehead. "These are my lifelong insights into alchemy. You must study them well. From now on, there will be no one else to refine pills for you."

Ye Shu stared at her blankly, his eyes gradually turning red.

"Master... I don't want this... I don't want this... I only want Master to refine pills for me, I only want Master to refine pills for me..."

Watching Ye Shu act shamelessly like a child, Danxia gently patted his head and smiled. "Didn't you say before? In a year, you would sculpt a body for me out of sand. When I wake up, you better not break your promise."

"I hope that when I wake up... I can hug you."

Her voice grew fainter and fainter, her body more and more ethereal, drifting further and further away.

Even with profound reluctance, it was hard to put into words.

"Don't go!"

Ye Shu stood up and chased after her with large strides, but even though he tried with all his might, he could only watch helplessly as that figure grew fainter and further away.

At this moment, Ye Shu had never hated fate so much.

He ran, sprinting wildly.

Yet he could only cry out powerlessly, his voice eventually fading into a call as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

"Don't go... don't go..."

The tiny voice echoed in the room. Qin Ke'er, who was just about to push the door open, suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Who? Who's talking?"

She turned her head, her gaze locked firmly onto the large bed.

The voice had come from there.

Lin Qingxue's heart immediately tightened.

Damn heartless man, why did he have to talk in his sleep at a time like this! She cursed him eight hundred times in her heart, but managed to squeeze out a smile on her face. "Senior Sister, you misheard. How come I didn't hear any sound?"

Qin Ke'er gave her a suspicious look.

"But I clearly heard a voice, and why is Junior Sister's face so red?"

"Do you think there's a possibility..."

She pointed at the bulging blanket on the bed and said, "...that there is actually someone hiding under your blanket right now, but you covered them up because you don't want me to see?"

Damn Senior Sister, why is her imagination so good?

Lin Qingxue gripped the blanket tightly, breaking out in a cold sweat.

But looking at Qin Ke'er's approaching face, she knew very well that once suspicion was established, any further attempts to cover it up would only make things worse.

She had no choice but to take a gamble.

Lin Qingxue gritted her silver teeth and suddenly threw off the blanket!

Swish!

The blanket was lifted, and sure enough, a figure appeared inside.

"This... this is..."

Qin Ke'er stared at the person on the bed, momentarily stunned.

"Senior Sister, you must keep this a secret for me! I went through a lot of trouble to bring her back from the desert. If Master and the others find out, I'm definitely dead!" Lin Qingxue hurriedly made a begging gesture.

Staring at the figure on the bed, Qin Ke'er fell silent for a long while.

"I didn't expect that it was you who saved her."

With that said.

She turned and left.

Only when Qin Ke'er's figure completely disappeared outside the door did Lin Qingxue breathe a sigh of relief.

"Phew~"

She patted her full chest, cold sweat still dripping down her body. "Good thing this lady is smart, otherwise the secret would have been exposed."

She glanced at the lifted blanket.

There, a petite half-snake girl was curled up, holding a jade pendant in her arms, sleeping soundly.

That's right, this was her stratagem!

Use Xiao Qingli to attract Qin Ke'er's attention, making her think that the only one hiding in the bed was Xiao Qingli, and not that "dead" heartless man.

Even if Qin Ke'er racked her brains, she would never guess.

There were two people in her bed!

This was a top-tier battle of wits! Could anyone else have thought of this?

Lin Qingxue hummed proudly and used one hand to lift the left side of the blanket, revealing Ye Shu underneath, and complained in a low voice:

"Idiot, you almost got me killed."

Ye Shu didn't respond. His brows were just slightly furrowed, his expression pained. His hands groped blindly in the air until he grabbed Lin Qingxue's arm, and then he pressed himself tightly against it.

"Don't go... please..."

Caught off guard, Lin Qingxue's face instantly flushed red. She instinctively wanted to push him away, but looking at Ye Shu's pained face, she eventually reached out, hugged him in her arms, and gently patted his back.

"Be good, I won't go. I'm not going anywhere."

As if he heard her words, Ye Shu's brows gradually relaxed, and his breathing became steady.

Lin Qingxue looked at him, her eyes gentle.

She suddenly felt that the current Ye Shu was like a child, making her want to hold him forever. Overcome by maternal instincts, Lin Qingxue gently patted his back, humming an unknown nursery rhyme.

"Be good, Ye Shu. I've chased all the bad guys away."

Moonlight spilled over the two of them like a thin layer of silver gauze. As Lin Qingxue hummed, her head grew heavier and heavier, her eyelids drooping, and before she knew it, she closed her eyes too.

Under the moonlight, the two slept in each other's embrace.

"Mmm... Big Brother..."

A gentle breeze blew past. Xiao Qingli shrunk her body and instinctively leaned towards the warmth, snuggling between the two of them. Her small hands grabbed the corner of Ye Shu's clothes, and a happy smile appeared on her lips.

The three of them squeezed together, sleeping sweetly under the moonlight.

From afar, they looked just like a family of three.