The evening sun cast a lingering glow, painting the sky with fiery hues.
The jujube trees in the courtyard rustled in the wind.
"In fact, there's something I've been wanting to tell you, Brother-in-law," as soon as they stepped into the courtyard, Wen Lingxue couldn't help but speak up. Her voice was tender and sweet.
Today, she wore an elegant and simple long dress, her slender figure exuding a vibrant and pure aura under the evening light, radiating a sense of beauty.
Su Yi was taken aback and replied softly, "What is it?"
Wen Lingxue's face showed a hint of guilt as she said, "Brother-in-law, it was me, my parents, and Uncle who accompanied my sister on her journey seven days ago."
"I actually planned to inform you, but Mother wouldn't allow it..."
At the end of her words, she lowered her head with a sense of guilt.
Only then did Su Yi realize what had happened.
Seven days ago, Wen Lingzhao set off on a journey to the Tianyuan Academy, and the entire Wen family completely ignored him, their son-in-law.
However, Su Yi wasn't surprised.
The relationship between him and Wen Lingzhao couldn't even be described as that between strangers.
On the day of their marriage, it was the first time they met.
After a year, seven days ago was their second encounter.
Although they were husband and wife, they hadn't exchanged a single word from the day they got married until now.
Not even a single word.
They were practically strangers.
But Su Yi didn't expect that Wen Lingxue had been keeping this matter in her heart all this time.
Wen Lingxue furrowed her eyebrows and said, "Also, I heard that Wei Zhengyang is extremely despicable and has said some outrageous things. Brother-in-law, please don't lower yourself to his level."
"I know my sister the best. Although she may seem cold, she would never do anything excessive."
In her words, there was concern and reassurance.
Su Yi gazed at the fair and delicate face of the young girl and was momentarily stunned. He couldn't help but sigh and say, "Among all the Bodhisattvas in this world, I've encountered countless, but there are only a few as kind-hearted as you."
A long-lost warmth filled his heart.
In his previous life, he was wholeheartedly focused on cultivation, decisive and ruthless, stepping on mountains of corpses and seas of blood to reach the pinnacle of the Great Wilderness and the Nine Provinces.
Even his nine disciples both respected and feared him.
But in this present life, as a collateral son of the Su family in the capital city of Yujing in the Great Zhou Dynasty, he had been neglected since childhood, leading to a secluded and gloomy temperament.
Even during the three years of cultivation at the Qinghe Sword Mansion, he had few friends due to his gloomy and solitary nature.
Until he lost his cultivation and married into the Wen family, for his former self, it felt like falling into an abyss. The blow was too great, leaving him like a walking corpse with a heart as lifeless as ashes.
It was in this situation that only Wen Lingxue sincerely treated him well throughout the entire Wen family.
She once put effort into planting a patch of Mu Yang flowers in the courtyard, hoping that seeing those golden flowers basking in the sunlight every day would improve his mood.
She carefully accompanied him, whispering words of wisdom from books, trying to ease his troubles and provide comfort and encouragement.
She also spent a lot of effort cooking various delicacies and personally delivered them to him, who rarely left his room.
...Although at that time, he had never paid attention to these acts of care.
But now, with the awakening of his past life's memories, recalling every little thing Wen Lingxue had done for him in this year, how could he not be moved in his heart?
The young girl was charming and bright, with a pure and clear heart!
"Brother-in-law, did you... really not get angry about it back then?" Wen Lingxue lifted her pretty face, her clear and transparent eyes gazing at Su Yi, her tone somewhat uncertain.
"You, you just think too much. It's understandable that your sister resented and resisted this marriage. As for what others think, if I cared about it, I'm afraid I would have been driven mad a long time ago," Su Yi replied with a smile.
Wen Lingxue finally breathed a sigh of relief. She squinted her crescent-like eyes and said with a cheerful smile, "Brother-in-law, you have the broadest mind!"
Broad-minded?
Su Yi's gaze became a little strange. During his time in the Great Wilderness and the Nine Provinces, who didn't know that Su Xuanjun was someone who would never tolerate being treated unfairly? He always sought revenge for the slightest grievance.
But his little sister-in-law was truly likable!
He couldn't help but ask, "Lingxue, I have something to ask you. Since I married into the Wen family, everyone in the family, except for you, has looked down on me. But why do you care about me?"
Without hesitation, Wen Lingxue said, "I never thought that the man my sister married was worthless."
"And, I... I don't believe that my brother-in-law is a useless person either!"
As she spoke, a determined expression appeared on the delicate and beautiful face of the young girl.
Su Yi smiled and asked, "Why don't you believe it?"
Wen Lingxue stared at Su Yi with her beautiful and clear eyes for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter and said naturally, "With such good looks, how could you possibly be useless?"
Receiving this completely unexpected answer, Su Yi couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter and gave her a thumbs-up, saying, "You have good taste!"
Wen Lingxue giggled, her innocence shining through.
Su Yi continued, "Lingxue, I heard that in about a month, your Songyun Sword Sect is going to hold the year-end grand competition?"
"Yes," Wen Lingxue nodded, the smile disappearing from her charming face. She said with distress, "With my current cultivation, it's probably difficult for me to enter the top ten in the competition. After all, I've only been practicing in the Songyun Sword Sect for a year."
If she could enter the top ten in the year-end competition, she would be able to enter the "Jiayuan" of the Songyun Sword Sect.
And once she became a disciple of Jiayuan, it would be equivalent to having the qualification to go to the Qinghe Sword Sect in Yunhe County for cultivation!
The influence of the Songyun Sword Sect was only limited to Guangling City, while the Qinghe Sword Sect was enough to influence the nineteen cities of Yunhe County!
The two were simply not on the same level.
"A couple of days ago, I forgot to prepare a birthday gift for you, but it's not too late to give it to you now."
Su Yi took out a scroll of a book from his sleeve and said softly, "This is a breathing technique. It may not be top-notch, but it is most suitable for your current cultivation. If you persist in practicing it for a month, it should be enough to get you into the top ten in the year-end competition."
Wen Lingxue widened her eyes in surprise and asked, "Is it true?"
Su Yi smiled as he handed over the book and said, "Can I deceive you? By the way, don't mention this to anyone else. After you understand the secrets of this technique, remember to immediately burn the book."
As he spoke, his expression became serious.
There was no other way. The breathing technique he gave to Wen Lingxue was called the "Mysterious Pure Spirit Jade Technique"!
Although it only recorded the cultivation path of the "Blood Shifting Realm," the complete Mysterious Pure Spirit Jade Technique ranked among the top ten in the "Heavenly Realm Martial Arts List" of the Nine Provinces!
Back then, Su Yi had taught this technique to his disciple, Qingtang. It was with this technique that Qingtang made rapid progress on the path of cultivation, ultimately achieving the Heavenly Realm and becoming the renowned "Empress Qingtang"!
If such a marvelous technique were leaked, even if it only recorded the profound insights of the Blood Shifting Realm cultivation, it would still bring a lot of trouble to Wen Lingxue.
This was something Su Yi did not want to see.
Wen Lingxue's heart trembled as she carefully put away the book and nodded firmly, "Brother-in-law, I will listen to you."
She didn't know that she had inadvertently obtained an opportunity that could drive martial artists crazy!
Otherwise, she wouldn't be so calm at this moment.
Su Yi didn't explain much either. He had many techniques like this in his possession.
In his past life, it was widely known that Su Xuanjun possessed "countless marvelous techniques and extraordinary abilities," and it was not an exaggeration.
"If you have free time, come see me every seven days. By then, I will help you understand the martial arts mysteries of the Blood Shifting Realm."
Su Yi instructed.
Wen Lingxue's clear eyes brightened, and she was filled with joy. "I will definitely come!"
She knew that although her brother-in-law had lost his cultivation now, he was once the outer sect leader of the Qinghe Sword Sect, a prominent figure in Yunhe County.
With her brother-in-law's guidance, how could she not be able to rank in the top ten in the year-end competition?
"Go back quickly. If your mother finds out that you've been here, she'll definitely be furious again."
Su Yi said and couldn't help but laugh.
His mother-in-law had an extremely fiery temper.
Wen Lingxue looked around nervously, then quickly stuck out her little tongue and said, "Brother-in-law, then I'll go first."
The young girl's figure floated away gracefully, and it was evident that she was in a very good mood.
Su Yi watched the girl's graceful figure disappear outside the courtyard before turning back to his own room.
Although it was already dusk, the celebration for the old Madam Wen's birthday was still going on with great excitement.
But all of this was no longer relevant to Su Yi.
Wen Lingxue also did not attend the celebration.
After returning to her room, she took a bath first. Wrapped in a robe, her slender figure lazily lay on the bed. Her pair of crystal-clear, snow-white legs would occasionally lift up and then lightly fall back onto the bed, partially revealed under the robe, teasingly enticing.
The young girl had just finished bathing, her delicate and beautiful features exuding a lazy and charming allure.
She couldn't wait to open the book that Su Yi had given her.
The book was thin, with only a dozen pages. The handwriting on it was like iron strokes and silver hooks, elegant and ethereal. Just looking at it was pleasing to the eye, bringing a serene tranquility to one's mind.
"Brother-in-law's handwriting is as beautiful as he is!"
Wen Lingxue exclaimed in her heart, immediately captivated by the profound insights hidden within the handwriting.
Although the book only recorded the cultivation method of the Mysterious Pure Spirit Jade Technique in the Blood Shifting Realm, it was extremely obscure and profound. Between each word, there were great mysteries.
Not to mention Wen Lingxue, even those highly accomplished individuals in the Great Zhou Kingdom would not be able to fully comprehend the profundity in a short period of time.
Fortunately, there were annotations written by Su Yi himself beside the cultivation method's text, making it effortless for Wen Lingxue to comprehend.
In the early hours of the morning, with the moon casting a slanting shadow, Wen Lingxue finally finished reading the cultivation method. A trance-like expression appeared on her exquisite and ethereal face, and a barely concealable sense of shock welled up in her heart.
Even though she was still young, she was not ignorant about cultivation.
How could she not understand the immense power contained in the technique gifted by Su Yi?
Compared to it, whether it was the ancestral cultivation method of the Wen family or the cultivation methods taught by the Songyun Sword Sect, they were simply crude and inferior.
"No wonder Brother-in-law cautioned me not to reveal this technique. Hmm, he must be worried that this technique will bring trouble to me..."
Wen Lingxue was in a daze, vaguely understanding Su Yi's sincere intentions. Her heart felt warm, filled with joy and gratitude.
Soon, she took a deep breath, and her expression became serious.
Quietly in her heart, she said to herself:
"Lingxue, no matter how difficult things may be in the future, you must find a way for Brother-in-law to regain his cultivation. He... is already pitiful enough..."