Shi Yeshan had never asked about her past before.
In fact, at the very beginning, when they had first married, Su Zhai had covered for his mysterious origins by claiming she had lost her memory. The man hadn't reacted much—he'd simply accepted it calmly.
So why was he asking about it now?
Su Zhai remained silent, her clear black-and-white eyes fixed on him without moving. Her gaze was unusually strange, her lips pressed tightly together as she looked at him.
She didn't want to speak, her pupils focused, seemingly a little annoyed by this as well.
Shi Yeshan circled her wrist with his hand, his tone indifferent. "It's fine if you don't remember."
Su Zhai still looked at him with displeasure. "You can't ask me that. It makes me feel weird when I hear it."
That was a curse.
Shi Yeshan quickly caught on to what Su Zhai meant, but he frowned and asked in return, "Has someone used that against you?"
Seeing his cold and stern tone, Su Zhai was instead amused into a laugh. "What, are you going to stand up for me?"
An identity you could get in bulk from playing a game.
She was just making a casual joke. She quickly pushed past Shi Yeshan, who was blocking her way, and stepped out the door in a few strides. "I'm going to water the flowers."
Her figure flitted around the courtyard, occasionally sneaking peeks at Chu Yi and the Fifth Young Miss in the back. Afraid Shi Yeshan might be displeased, she'd look twice and then leave.
Only Shi Yeshan remained in the room. He pressed his lips together lightly and slowly folded up the paper Su Zhai had used for calligraphy practice, smoothing out the creases with his thumb. Distracted for a moment, the paper tore in two in his hands.
Shi Yeshan stared at the fragments in his hand, silent for a long moment.
…The second time.
Restless as a hot-headed young man.
By the time Su Zhai finished watering the flowers, Shi Yeshan came out and offered to take her to town for a meal.
Su Zhai changed her clothes and went with Shi Yeshan to a restaurant in town, where they ate the beef noodles the place was somewhat famous for, and also bought a few beef pies from the shop to take home.
Money still needed to be saved, but that didn't mean they had to become misers.
Su Zhai paid again, casually handing the change the shopkeeper returned to Shi Yeshan. "Here's some spending money for this month. If you run short, just tell me."
Shi Yeshan nodded. "Got it."
The shopkeeper smiled at the two of them, a little intimidated by Shi Yeshan's status as an Immortal, so he didn't dare tease them, though his eyes were full of knowing amusement.
After dinner, the sun had sunk below the horizon. The deep blue sky was quiet and clear, and the evening breeze carrying the scent of wheat was pleasant against the skin.
There weren't many people on the road. The two walked home hand in hand, and Shi Yeshan asked her slowly, "Is there anything else we need at home?"
Su Zhai actually thought about it carefully, then shook her head and said in a low voice, "I don't dare let anyone see the Spirit Tools and Magical Artifacts at home, but we're not lacking anything."
She just wanted to buy a car for Shi Yeshan.
Also, summer didn't have much left, and the two of them should get a couple of thicker coats and quilts. These were all foreseeable things—they just needed to save up a bit. Shi Yeshan's salary was actually not low.
Shi Yeshan's thumb rubbed against her wrist. "Then what do you lack?"
…Su Zhai blinked and thought it over, deciding she didn't lack anything either.
So she shook her head. "We're doing pretty well right now."
A Su Zhai from a year ago would never have imagined her life now.
A year ago, she'd been worrying about civil service exams. Her father and stepmother's little daughter had just been born, and when she went to visit, her stepmother had smiled and pointed at her, saying to the baby sister, "Your big sister is about to start working soon. She'll buy you a gold necklace then. Say thank you to your big sister."
Her father had chuckled too. "Let my eldest son-in-law buy it later."
The little sister was so adorable—if Su Zhai had the means, she'd be willing to buy the baby a gold necklace too.
Even though she'd never had such things herself as a child.
Shi Yeshan shook her hand, and Su Zhai realized she'd drifted off in thought. The man's tone was gentle. "Do you want some jewelry? You're always reluctant to bother with your hair. Would you like a necklace?"
He suddenly raised his hand and touched Su Zhai's earlobe—soft, with no piercing.
Su Zhai didn't say anything, just leaned a little closer to Shi Yeshan.
He turned his head. "What's wrong?"
She just laughed quietly. "Necklaces are for kids."
But she kind of wanted one…
Officially added to the family shopping list!
Shi Yeshan glanced at her sideways and said slowly, "And how old do you think you are?"
He caught Su Zhai's hand and waved it in front of the both of them. "Hm? Even your hand is this small."
The closer the two got to home, the stronger the smell of smoke became.
An uneasy atmosphere hung in the air. Su Zhai's heart rose into her throat, and she couldn't help quickening her pace, until Shi Yeshan patted her shoulder to soothe her. "It's fine. I can see the fire's already out."
"Fire?!"
The one in the back did it.
Shi Yeshan let out a sigh. "Can we really not send her away?"
Su Zhai: …
"Let's go see what happened first." Su Zhai tugged Shi Yeshan along as they jogged back home. A few wisps of smoke were still curling upward, but thankfully, it had indeed been extinguished.
She and Shi Yeshan inspected the place from front to back, discovering that their own house only had a large scorched patch on the back wall, with the smell of smoke stinging their noses. Chu Yi's two thatched cottages, however, had been burned to the ground completely, and since they had been doused with water, the area was a sodden mess.
Fortunately, it hadn't sparked a mountain fire.
Su Zhai's vision went dark.
Shi Yeshan, however, was already worrying about something else. He turned the tearful Su Zhai to face him, expressionless, and said to her word by word, "Don't let her sleep at our place again."
Su Zhai snapped back to reality: "…Where are they, Chu Yi and Fifth Young Miss?"
She grew tense. "They didn't get burned to death, did they!"
If so, her house would become a haunted residence!
Shi Yeshan, however, shook his head slightly, his tone icy. "Where would such good fortune come from."
The moment he finished speaking, Shi Yeshan's wrist suddenly flipped, and a cold gleam condensed at his fingertip shot toward the distance. The red serpent was struck and sent flying backward.
Su Zhai didn't notice this, but she quickly spotted the red serpent writhing its way back toward them. Surprised, she pointed it out to Shi Yeshan. "Fifth Young Miss's snake—it seems to be telling us to follow?"
Shi Yeshan gazed coldly at the beast, knowing that it was enduring pain to seek help, all for the sake of that little girl. He was somewhat surprised.
A demon that couldn't yet take human form had already developed spiritual intelligence.
At that moment, the red serpent was twisting its body into the shape of an arrow, swimming back and forth restlessly in place. Su Zhai could even detect a hint of urgency in its movements.
She hesitated slightly, but Shi Yeshan was already grabbing her to follow the snake. "If you want to see, then let's go see."
She wore a worried expression—even if they went home, she'd surely be fretting over this for half the night.
She might even sneak out in the middle of the night to check.
The red serpent moved swiftly, leading them back into the rear mountain.
It wasn't far. Before they even entered the mountain, they could hear Chu Yi's arrogant voice. Su Zhai felt somewhat relieved, thinking that at least her house wouldn't become a haunted residence.
Drawing closer, she saw Chu Yi crouching by the small river, holding a rope in her hand, the rope extending into the water. In the river, there was a figure constantly splashing and struggling.
…Fifth Young Miss.
The rope was tied around her waist. She struggled to swim toward the shore, but every time she touched the bank, Chu Yi kicked her back into the river. Her strength was gradually fading, and her strokes had already slowed.
The red serpent let out a cry and charged over, hissing as it went, but was quickly kicked aside by Chu Yi. She also noticed Su Zhai following behind and greeted her cheerfully: "You want to play too? Come on."
Su Zhai said nothing, only tightening her grip on Shi Yeshan's hand.
The clothes on Chu Yi's back were burned to tatters, and charred flesh was faintly visible beneath.
…With wounds that severe, she could still endure the pain to teach someone a lesson.
Shi Yeshan's gaze shifted to the girl in the river, and he asked Chu Yi, "What are you planning to do?"
"She burned my house to the ground." Chu Yi frowned at the person in the river, watching her roll her eyes and float half-dead on the surface. She made no move to pull her up, only flicking the rope and snorting. "Teaching her a lesson."
Chu Yi couldn't kill people, but she wasn't willing to let go of the culprit who had led her into the labyrinthine array and made her lose face. So she simply tied her up and brought her back, planning to deal with her slowly later.
Who would've thought this brat was cunning—first using soft words to earn trust, then seizing the opportunity to set fire and try to burn Chu Yi to death.
If not for Chu Yi's cultivation base, she really would have fallen into this dead brat's hands.
Shi Yeshan tapped his heel lightly twice. "Pull her up. Don't let her die near my house."
Dying near someone's house was indeed troublesome.
Chu Yi, for once, listened. She pulled the girl out of the water and patted her face. "Dead or not? Speak."
The girl's eyes snapped open.
A mouthful of icy river water nearly sprayed all over Chu Yi's face.
Chu Yi dodged the water, but then the girl suddenly produced a dagger and stabbed viciously at her face. Chu Yi barely avoided being hurt. She couldn't help cursing, then kicked the girl hard back into the water. "Stay in there!"
With a splash, water sprayed everywhere.
"I said. Don't let her die near my house." Shi Yeshan's tone was calm. He glanced at the frozen Su Zhai, then suddenly beckoned to the red serpent. "Come here. Haven't you people killed a few before? Pull out the Illusory Image from the labyrinthine array for us to see."
Su Zhai's mind was too simple.
She didn't know how detestable this girl was. Seeing the girl punished, she would only pity her blindly.
It was better to let Su Zhai see how this Fifth Young Miss harmed others.