By the time Chen Yi got back, the sky had already darkened.
In a sudden burst of pressure, Yu Xian made time to cultivate with Yulan and resolutely added a point to his cultivation on the panel.
Cultivation is like that, accumulating little by little, so that there can be a climax at the end.
Under the osmanthus tree.
The osmanthus branches and leaves that had been cut by Ding Le's Sword Qi had been cleaned up by the servants of the royal mansion, and the lamps had been lit in the courtyard, giving the night a hazy beauty.
Yu Xian sat under the tree, and the yellow gourd had been spun to full brightness by him. He poured himself a cup, and the wine flowed like amber.
According to his needs, Doctor Huang was also constantly improving the wine.
For example, using more expensive and better aged brews to soak the medicinal materials, adding or reducing a few medicinal ingredients, making the taste of almost every gourd slightly different.
He slowly savored it all by himself.
Yulan had been driven away by him to meditate and sense spiritual energy.
Although Yulan seemed firm in his presence, she had not seen any progress after more than a month of bitter cultivation, so her unconsciously slackened heart still felt as if she were destined to be a maidservant in this life.
In such a case, some external intervention was necessary to give her the motivation to continue.
When Chen Yi walked in, she saw the slightly lonely figure drinking alone under the tree, and felt a slight stir in her heart.
This man was like a mist, hiding stories that ordinary people could hardly touch, making people want to explore deeper.
A hint of curiosity appeared in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it.
She knew very well what she wanted.
Now the opportunity to become a cultivator was just in front of her, and she no longer needed to compete with Yulan for affection, nor be an appendage to a man.
Although this man possessed her and gave her pleasure as a woman, she would never allow it to hold her back.
To gain power and freedom.
Thinking of the Cultivation World that Chen Xiao had mentioned to her, it was the place she should go. Everything now was nothing but a virtual reality.
Yes, that's it.
Chen Yi forcefully suppressed the agitation in her heart and walked towards Yu Xian.
"Have you found out?"
Yu Xian handed the wine cup to Chen Yi. Since Ding Le had come so unexpectedly, there must be some reason behind it, so he had to use Chen Yi to investigate.
She was Duke Fu's person, and the royal mansion's intelligence system should not just be left unused.
Chen Yi didn't mind that Yu Xian had just drunk it, and she drank it directly, and a warmth rose from her abdomen, quickly dispelling the chill of the night.
"His name is Ding Le, the Second Elder of the Everjoy Sword Sect. He succeeded his junior brother's position as the Second Eldest Tributor. The Everjoy Sword Sect is the first martial sect in this county, and now there are two Grandmasters.
Moreover, I heard that the Everjoy Sword Sect was initially unwilling to send someone here because they were not able to reach an agreement with the Royal Mansion about the death of the second tributor and the compensation.
But they suddenly agreed for some unknown reason.
This time, Ding Le's visit to you was not ordered by Prince Wang. He just wanted to use you to establish his authority.
As you wished, I've revealed your breakthrough to middle-stage Innate. Prince Wang was very surprised. His reward will come down tomorrow, and your monthly salary will be raised to five hundred taels."
"Is there any way to find out why he agreed?"
Yu Xian instinctively felt something was wrong.
But his social circle was too limited, and he spent all day in sensual pleasures, so he had little access to information.
However, he was unwilling to spend his time and effort cultivating those connections.
After all, he came to the Mortal World to retire and enjoy himself. If he got involved in intrigues and schemes, he would have come here in vain.
Fortunately, strength is the essence of this world.
As long as he broke through the late-stage Qi Cultivation, he would be able to handle any slight accidents with ease.
It was time to find a substitute for the magic artifact.
Yu Xian thought secretly.
"I can try. Prince Wang is also investigating, but he might not tell me."
Chen Yi's expression was blank, even cold, just like how she was in front of Duke Fu.
Ever since that day on the river, Chen Yi knew that her identity had been compromised, but since Yu Xian didn't mention it, they remained silent about it.
"It doesn't matter if I can't find out." Yu Xian grabbed her cold little hand on the table, with a gentle face, "You've worked hard."
Chen Yi's body stiffened, trying to pull her hand free.
But after trying, she found that she couldn't move at all, so she had to let a certain someone play with her little hand.
"I am not working hard."
Compared to the days when she was being trained, her days now could be considered heavenly.
She also thought about it during her cultivation breaks, if Yu Xian hadn't agreed to let her cultivate that day, she might have been very satisfied with this life.
But there are no ifs.
"Ah, don't always tense up your face, smile a little. If you're always frowning, you'll get wrinkles and won't look nice."
Yu Xian stood up, looking Chen Yi in the eyes, his fingers brushing along her brows as if to sweep away her melancholy.
Chen Yi knew that the man in front of her was acting, his gentleness no more genuine than her own, but her heart couldn't help but flutter.
She closed her eyes, not daring to look into Yu Xian's eyes, but her heartbeat was speeding up.
"If you like my old self, I can change back."
"What I want is not your fake gentleness, but to see you genuinely happy, like the day you sensed the spiritual energy. Your smile was so beautiful that it almost made my heart skip a beat.
I thought we had some sort of feelings for each other."
Chen Yi felt Yu Xian's low voice tickling her heart like a cat's paw, causing her whole body to tremble.
Because she was aware of the gap between them, she couldn't resist this kind of gentleness.
Just like an ordinary boy hearing that his goddess likes boys with good cooking skills.
So he practiced his cooking skills for his goddess, spending two months' salary to personally prepare a five-star luxury meal for his confession.
But the goddess only took a bite, politely said thank you, and didn't give any chance.
However, faced with a billionaire boss's burnt fried rice, the same woman would cry with gratitude, saying that it was the best fried rice she had ever tasted in her life.
Is it the fried rice that's important?
No, it's status.
She'd think, if he's willing to personally cook fried rice for me, does he really like me just a little bit?
Chen Yi thought the same.
He's willing to act gentle in front of her, maybe he really has just a little bit of feelings for her?
After all, she's now his property, there's really nothing to gain from her.
Chen Yi wavered.
She opened her eyes and saw the gentle eyes that were as deep as the night, almost hooking her soul away.
She pressed herself tightly against him.
Twelve seconds later.
Chen Yi firmly pushed Yu Xian away, wiped her mouth, and bravely said:
"That's all you've got!"
She staggered towards the room.
Yu Xian licked the bitten lip, shook his head, and laughed.
"If she's so easily swayed, how will she survive in the Cultivation World?"
He caught up with her and found that the door to the room was coincidentally unlocked, so he swaggered in.
Before long, there came Chen Yi's embarrassed and suppressed voice from within the room.
"What do you want to do?"
"I want to."
"That's not what I meant, don't come any closer."
"Oh, then I'll go find Yulan."
"Don't...if you want to come, just come. I'm used to it anyway."
"Huh? Seems like it's gotten a little bigger since last time..."
...
Second floor.
Yulan had been meditating for half a day, but couldn't calm her mind. She opened her eyes irritably, looking at the well-thumbed Eternal Youth Technique in her hand, extremely troubled.
How could she not find a shortcut?
She wasn't greedy, just wanted to reach the entry-level, so she could marry her master at that time.
Suddenly Yulan's ears perked up, hearing the creaking noises and suppressed moans from downstairs.
Her face reddened, quickly understanding what was going on.
Then her mood got even more chaotic.
What if her master had also promised Sister Xiao Yi that once she reached the entry-level of cultivation, he'd marry her? Then she, who came first, wouldn't even be able to be a concubine?
No, she couldn't let this happen!
Yulan closed her eyes forcefully, holding her breath. In the tightly wound tension, her consciousness suddenly emptied, her spirit seemed to focus on a single point, and all the noise and distractions faded away, one by one.
Under some special competitive pressure, Yulan, who had been cultivating for so long, for the first time fell into a deep meditative state.