The Incompetent Husband

During the first month after entering the sect, Xia Lengyue still ran to the servant quarters every day, bringing Ye Xuan spirit fruits, crying as she poured out her longing, and even wanting to help him with his chores.

But as time went on, her visits became less and less frequent.

She began to detest the sour stench of the servant quarters, complaining that it tainted her precious dharma robes.

She started to listen to the words of her senior brothers and sisters, feeling that Ye Xuan was unbearably vulgar.

She began to unconsciously reveal a condescending sense of superiority in front of Ye Xuan.

Until one day, half a year later.

Ye Xuan was covered in filth from cleaning the spirit beast pens when he happened to bump into Xia Lengyue walking side-by-side with the inner sect disciple Zhao Wuji.

At that moment, he forgot his own embarrassment and called out in pleasant surprise, Yue'er!

This call made the two, who had been chatting and laughing cheerfully, stop in their tracks.

Xia Lengyue stopped, her gaze touching upon the filthy and foul-smelling Ye Xuan. Glancing at the handsome and elegant Zhao Wuji beside her, who was covering his nose and frowning, a flash of panic and disgust quickly crossed her eyes.

Zhao Wuji swept a condescending glance over Ye Xuan, a playful sneer tugging at the corner of his mouth.

He seemed to have seen through the subtle relationship between the two, a malicious tease flashing in his eyes.

The next moment, right in front of Ye Xuan, he brazenly reached out and wrapped his arm around Xia Lengyue's slender waist.

Junior Sister, who is this? Zhao Wuji asked, though he already knew the answer. The strength in his hand carried a domineering assertiveness, declaring his sovereignty.

The moment she was touched by that large hand, Xia Lengyue's body trembled violently, and she froze in place.

Ye Xuan's pupils shrank abruptly as he stared fixedly at the hand resting on her waist.

Xia Lengyue frowned slightly, but she did not push him away.

She didn't even put up a token struggle.

After a brief moment of stiffness, as if her spine had been extracted, she compliantly and softly leaned into Zhao Wuji's embrace, looking incredibly delicate and dependent.

She raised her head, and her gaze collided with Ye Xuan's.

Those eyes, once brimming with love and swearing to marry no one but him, were now shockingly complex: there was shame and anger, helplessness, a trace of lingering guilt, but mostly a cold indifference eager to draw a clear line.

In just an instant, unable to bear Ye Xuan's blood-weeping gaze, she panickedly and deliberately dodged his eyes, lowering her lashes, not daring to look at the mud-covered youth again.

Ye Xuan froze in place, his outstretched hand stopping in mid-air. Grime still clung to his fingertips, but he could no longer reach out.

Junior Sister, what's wrong?

Zhao Wuji asked knowingly, his large hand gently caressing her waist as he looked at Ye Xuan provocatively.

Xia Lengyue's body softened again. Not daring to look at the youth who had once risked his life for her, she could only turn her head away and force a smile at Zhao Wuji, her voice carrying a trembling dryness:

It is... nothing. Just an irrelevant person.

She took a deep breath and softly urged, Senior Brother, let's walk a little faster. The smell here... is truly awful.

With that, she quickened her pace, like avoiding a plague god, allowing Zhao Wuji to hold her as they hurried past Ye Xuan.

The moment they brushed past each other, Ye Xuan could even smell the faint fragrance of spirit herbs on her, forming the most cruel contrast with his own foul stench.

The wind blew past, chilling his heart to the core.

Ye Xuan remained in that reaching posture, motionless.

From this moment on, the Xia Lengyue who would have drawn her hairpin to commit suicide for him, swearing to die rather than submit, had died outside the mountain gates of the Supreme Forgetfulness Sect.

Winter of the second year since entering the sect.

In the servant quarters, Ye Xuan was deliberately bullied by several outer sect disciples, who forced him to fetch water from the most dangerous cold pool in the back mountain.

As the chill invaded his body, he fell into the cold pool.

Just as his consciousness blurred, thinking he would die so silently, he fell into a hidden dry cave beneath the water.

There, he found a withered skeleton and an ancient jade slip.

The Five Elements Chaos Art.

Heaven and earth are divided into five elements. Mortals view the five-element spirit root as trash, little knowing that possessing all five elements is the true beginning of chaos...

Ye Xuan read the jade slip with trembling hands.

This was actually a supreme immortal scripture created specifically for the five-element spirit root!

It did not require the purity of a single spirit root; instead, it required the balance of a mixed five-element spirit root. Cultivating this art, the speed of spiritual energy conversion was a hundred times that of ordinary people, and the spiritual power was so profound that one would be absolutely invincible among peers of the same realm.

Ye Xuan felt as if he had found a priceless treasure.

He went into secluded cultivation at the bottom of the cold pool for a full seven days.

When he opened his eyes again, the originally blocked meridians in his body were surging like rivers, and his cultivation had broken straight through to the third level of Qi Condensation!

Although his level was still not considered high within the sect, for a trash spirit root, it was simply a miracle.

Great...

Ye Xuan trembled with excitement, light rekindling in his eyes.

With this cultivation method, I can catch up to Yue'er's footsteps.

He couldn't wait to tell Xia Lengyue this good news.

Moreover, today was a special day; it was Xia Lengyue's birthday.

Ye Xuan tucked the jade slip into his robes and also brought a new hairpin.

Braving the sky full of wind and snow, he climbed up Purple Cloud Peak step by step.

On Purple Cloud Peak, there were layers of restrictions.

But because Xia Lengyue had once given him a pass token, he arrived outside her cave dwelling completely unimpeded.

Ye Xuan stood outside the door, tidying his clothes that had been messed up by the wind and snow, wearing an honest and expectant smile on his face.

He raised his hand, just about to knock.

Suddenly, his hand froze in mid-air.

With his hearing now far surpassing ordinary people after cultivating the Five Elements Chaos Art, even through the thick stone door and the soundproofing array, he clearly heard the movements inside.

It was the sound of clothes tearing.

It was the sound of panting.

It was a woman's irrepressible, bone-deep, charming groans.

Mmm... Senior Brother Zhao... be gentle...

This voice, Ye Xuan was too familiar with it.

It was the voice he had listened to for eighteen years, the voice that had once whispered in his ear on their wedding night.

But at this moment, this voice was tainted with an unprecedented looseness and pleasure, calling out another man's name.

The hairpin in Ye Xuan's hand fell to the ground with a clatter.

No... it's impossible...

Ye Xuan's face turned as pale as paper, feeling as if he had plunged into an ice cave.

He wanted to flee, but his legs felt as heavy as lead.

He wanted to rush in and fight for his life, but reason told him that rushing in now would only bring humiliation upon himself.

The sounds inside the room continued, even growing higher pitched.

Junior Sister... your Lunar Physique truly lives up to its reputation... Dual cultivating with you is better than ten years of bitter cultivation...

This was Zhao Wuji's frivolous and smug laughter.

As long as Senior Brother likes it... Yue'er... is willing to give everything to Senior Brother...

Junior Sister, you are always so dignified and holy; it makes looking at you somewhat dull. There are some ways of serving people that require casting aside all shame... Such dirty work... I suppose you would absolutely refuse to stoop to such a level?

Yue'er's voice immediately became eager and humble, carrying a trembling coquettishness:

As long as Senior Brother doesn't mind Yue'er being clumsy... No matter how shameful the method, as long as it can please Senior Brother, Yue'er is willing to learn...

Every word they spoke was like a rusty saw, repeatedly tearing at Ye Xuan's heart.

Ye Xuan leaned against the cold stone wall and slowly slid down to sit on the ground.

He covered his ears tightly with both hands, his nails digging deeply into his flesh until blood flowed, but the sounds were like a curse, drilling straight into his brain.

I am your husband.

Just separated by this single wall, you are writhing in pleasure beneath another man?

Ye Xuan opened his mouth wide, wanting to roar, but not a single sound came from his throat. He could only let out breathless gasps like a dying beast.

Tears flowed silently, mixing with the dirt on the ground, making him look utterly miserable.

It was unknown how much time had passed before the storm of passion inside finally ceased.

The stone door swung open with a rumble.

Ye Xuan remained sitting in the shadows by the door, like a stone statue that had lost its soul.

Zhao Wuji walked out with his arm around Xia Lengyue's slender waist.

At this moment, Xia Lengyue's clothes were slightly disheveled, her face was as pink as peach blossoms, and her eyes and brows carried a lingering charm.

She was gently helping Zhao Wuji adjust his collar, her tone so soft it could drip water:

Senior Brother, you expended a lot of energy just now and sweated so much. This pill was left for me by Ye Xuan for emergencies, but it is just gathering dust anyway. It is better to give it to you to replenish your strength.

Zhao Wuji smiled and took it. Just as he was about to flirt a little, the corner of his eye caught sight of the dark figure nearby.

Oh, is this not what is-his-name?

Zhao Wuji raised an eyebrow in feigned surprise. Junior Sister Xia, the security at your Purple Cloud Peak is a bit lax. How did a rat slip in?

Hearing this, Xia Lengyue turned her head.

When she saw Ye Xuan slumped on the ground with a tear-stained face, the gentleness on her face instantly froze, replaced by the ashamed anger of being caught in the act.

Ye Xuan?

Xia Lengyue subconsciously pushed Zhao Wuji away, straightened her clothes, and said coldly, What are you doing here? Who let you in?

No explanation.

No guilt.

Her first words were an interrogation.

Ye Xuan struggled to stand up by leaning against the wall. He looked at her with hollow eyes, then at Zhao Wuji, who wore a mocking expression.

With a hoarse voice, he asked the most foolish question:

Why? We are the ones who are husband and wife.

Husband and wife?

Before Xia Lengyue could speak, Zhao Wuji laughed out loud.

He walked forward, looking down at Ye Xuan from above, and reached out to pat Ye Xuan's cheek in an extremely insulting manner:

Junior Brother Ye, a person needs to know their own limits. Junior Sister is now a proud daughter of heaven, with hopes of reaching the Golden Core stage. And you? A useless handyman with five spirit roots. Keeping that marriage certificate is just Junior Sister remembering old feelings and giving you a bite to eat. Do you really consider yourself a husband?

Ye Xuan ignored Zhao Wuji, just staring fixedly at Xia Lengyue: Yue'er... is that what you think too?

Xia Lengyue felt a bit flustered being stared at by his desperate eyes.

But soon, she remembered the Foundation Establishment Pill that Zhao Wuji had promised her just now, and the huge chasm in status between the two of them.

She took a deep breath, her eyes returning to a piercing cold:

Ye Xuan, Senior Brother Zhao is right. Immortals and mortals are different. The current you simply cannot understand what kind of Great Dao we are pursuing. We were cultivating just now, to improve our cultivation bases.

Cultivating... Ye Xuan gave a miserable laugh, pointing at the broken hairpin on the ground: Does cultivation require taking off your clothes? Does cultivation require moaning so loudly? Xia Lengyue, do you take me for a fool?

Shut up!

Xia Lengyue acted like her tail had been stepped on, waving her sleeve in angry humiliation.

Bang!

A streak of spiritual energy directly struck Ye Xuan's chest.

Ye Xuan was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the snow. His recently broken-through Qi Condensation Third Layer aura was instantly thrown into chaos, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, dyeing the broken wooden hairpin red.

Since you have seen it, I will not hide it from you.

Xia Lengyue looked down at him, her eyes devoid of any warmth: Senior Brother Zhao and I share a mutual affection and have long since become Dao Companions. As for why I have not divorced you, it is because my family still needs the care of your Ye family.

If you know what is good for you, just be a husband in name only and do not get in my way. If you do not...

Zhao Wuji added sinisterly from the side: Junior Brother Ye, a handyman dying in the cultivation world would not even make a splash.

Ye Xuan was stunned, not saying a word.

Zhao Wuji walked over and glanced at the wooden hairpin by his feet.

This was a spirit-gathering wooden hairpin that Ye Xuan had spent three whole months carving, finishing it only after his hands were covered in bloody blisters.

Zhao Wuji sneered, raised his foot, and crushed it down heavily, like stomping out a disgusting bug.

Crack.

The fragile wooden hairpin shattered into pieces in the snow, mixing with the dirty muddy water, instantly turning into a pile of useless scrap wood.

This craftsmanship is too rough. It ruins my appetite just looking at it.

Zhao Wuji rubbed the sole of his shoe against the snow in disgust, as if he had stepped on something dirty, and swept a contemptuous look at Ye Xuan:

Junior Sister is the bright moon in the sky. Stop bringing out this kind of cheap street trash to embarrass yourself. Just looking at this thing brings me bad luck.

Ye Xuan knelt stiffly in the snow, his eyes fixed dead on the pile of wood chips.

His hands dug deeply into the freezing snow layer. His nails broke, and blood dyed the white snow red, yet he felt not a trace of pain.

After a long time.

He sighed, his eyes full of helplessness and breakdown: Game dev team, you guys really are not human. To make a plot where the main character gets cucked right at the start. How could you do this?

After cursing this out, he dragged his already frozen, injured leg and limped down the mountain.

Heavy snow fell thickly from the sky, instantly covering his shoulders in white frost, as if even heaven and earth were in a rush to bury this redundant person.

In the wind and snow, Zhao Wuji's mocking voice, tinged with a hint of surprise, drifted faintly from behind:

Heh, I originally thought he would bite, but I did not expect... he really is an obedient good dog.

Immediately following was Xia Lengyue's lazy and careless voice from inside the window, revealing the impatience of having her elegant mood interrupted:

Why bring him up? Just a stray dog, he is annoying to look at... Senior Brother, come inside quickly. It is cold outside, do not let the chill ruin the warmth in the room...

That bottle of pills from earlier... Yue'er still has not fed them to Senior Brother yet...

The window shut with a bang.

The tiny sliver of warm light completely shut Ye Xuan out of the world.

The world was vast and desolate, leaving only a figure whose heart had long since died, walking alone into the endless darkness.