Husband and Wife

Bai Qianshuang watched the entire process and noticed that Ye Chuan's alchemy technique was highly unusual. The medicinal herbs were tossed into the small alchemy cauldron, and with the churning black spiritual flames, they quickly condensed into pills.

To think that other alchemists might take months or even half a year to refine a single pill—yet here was Ye Chuan, effortlessly releasing that faint black energy to refine the herbs, the same energy that had once drained her own spiritual power.

"Hmm?" Ye Chuan set down his phone but caught Bai Qianshuang giving him a strange look. "What's wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"The pill you just refined..."

"Huh?" Hearing Bai Qianshuang's hesitant response, Ye Chuan froze for a moment, his mind racing.

What was going on?

Could Bai Qianshuang see what was happening on his phone?

He was certain that no one else could see the app interface on his phone—he used it often enough to know. Yet Bai Qianshuang had apparently witnessed him refining a pill for Lan Xiaoke?

"You... saw me refining pills just now?" Ye Chuan asked.

Bai Qianshuang, noticing his confusion, only grew more puzzled herself. "Wasn’t that what you were doing? You summoned a small alchemy cauldron and used spiritual flames to refine those immortal herbs."

Me? Summon a cauldron?

Wasn’t that just the image on my phone?

There was nothing like that in reality.

Ye Chuan pondered—could it be that they were seeing different things?

"But why..." Though he found it strange, since his "system" hadn’t actually been exposed, he relaxed a little.

"Yeah, I just refined a pill for Xiaoke," Ye Chuan said to Bai Qianshuang.

Though she found his reaction odd—jumpy, even—Bai Qianshuang didn’t suspect anything. Or rather, she hadn’t been suspicious in the first place; she was just surprised by how fast his alchemy was.

"Xiaoke absorbs spiritual energy incredibly quickly," Bai Qianshuang remarked, shifting her focus to Lan Xiaoke. The girl had been silent the whole time, but Bai Qianshuang could sense the rapid rate at which she was drawing in energy.

Not only that—the faint glow around her body indicated that she wasn’t just absorbing it quickly, but refining it just as fast.

She really was talented.

Just... incredibly lazy.

After about two hours of absorbing energy, Lan Xiaoke opened her eyes and realized she had already broken through to the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Whew~"

Stretching lazily, she flopped onto the sofa. "So tired..."

Glancing up, she noticed Ye Chuan sitting nearby, arms crossed, legs propped up, watching her with an unreadable expression.

"I did cultivate!" Lan Xiaoke blurted, as if expecting him to scold her.

"Here, refine this Crystal Pill," Ye Chuan said, tossing her a small jade vial. "Once you absorb it, you’ll break through to the Crystal Core stage."

"Huh?" Lan Xiaoke stared at the pill in her hand. "I’m not hungry."

"Is this about hunger?" Ye Chuan deadpanned.

Lan Xiaoke crawled over like a kitten, resting her chubby, baby-faced cheeks on his thigh.

"Ye Chuan, let me rest a bit~ Wanna go play games? Cards? I’ll do all the work~?"

"Break through to Crystal Core first, then you can rest." Ye Chuan patted her cheek, and she let out a soft, whining sound.

Just then, his phone rang.

He picked it up—Luo Xi was calling.

"Hey, my beautiful wife?" Ye Chuan answered.

"Ugh, why’d you call me that all of a sudden?" Luo Xi’s voice carried a hint of surprise, but she quickly continued, "Chuan, my mom made some slow-cooked soup. Can you go pick it up for everyone? I’m still out and won’t be back for a while."

"What are you up to?"

"Volunteering at the orphanage today. You know, after that monster attack last time, there are so many more kids there now... It’s heartbreaking."

"Send me a selfie."

"A selfie?" Luo Xi sounded confused but complied.

Image.jpg

"What’s this for?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to see you," Ye Chuan said. "Alright, I’ll go get it soon."

"Okay~ Bye, Chuan... husband~"

Before he could respond, she hung up with a shy giggle.

Ye Chuan glanced at his phone, then turned to find the white-haired girl pressed right up against him.

"What’s up?"

"Are you going out? Can I come?" Lan Xiaoke asked.

"Let me guess—anything to avoid cultivating, right?"

"It’s exhausting. Worse than all those positions you make me do," Lan Xiaoke nodded vigorously before clinging to his arm. "Please, Ye Chuan? Let me take a break. I’ll do anything!"

Ye Chuan flicked her forehead.

"Fine, let’s go for a walk." He still needed her to break through to Crystal Core tonight so he could check the refreshed items in the points store.

"Yay!" Lan Xiaoke bounced up and scampered off to change.

Bai Qianshuang was busy cultivating, so Ye Chuan didn’t disturb her, simply leading Lan Xiaoke out the door.

He rarely took her out alone. As they walked toward Luo Xi’s place, the white-haired girl seemed in high spirits, swaying playfully with each step.

"Luo Xi’s mom is amazing. She’s always making such delicious soups," Lan Xiaoke mused. Since her revival, she’d been enjoying every meal.

"She used to have health issues," Ye Chuan said casually. "What about you? How’s your family doing?"

"Ah..." Lan Xiaoke rarely—if ever—brought up her family, as if it were some kind of secret. At his question, she turned away before looking up again.

"Ahaha, the weather’s nice today, huh?"

Ye Chuan glanced at the overcast sky but didn’t press. "You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. That includes the thing with your heterochromatic eyes."

Lan Xiaoke’s long bangs usually covered one eye, but whenever she moved energetically, Ye Chuan would catch glimpses of it.

White hair, mismatched eyes.

And under his spiritual sense, nothing about her could stay hidden.

"Mmm, it’s not that I’m hiding it on purpose," Lan Xiaoke mumbled, tugging at his sleeve. "It’s just... kind of embarrassing."

"My family isn’t something worth talking about."

Her expression dimmed, as if recalling something unpleasant.

Just as she hesitated over whether to explain, she felt a hand gently pat her head.

"You don’t have to say anything. Everyone’s got a rough past."

She looked up, meeting Ye Chuan’s faintly amused gaze.

"Right?"

"Mm!"