Chapter 11

Chapter 11

I had given the cultivation that Cangyu once transferred to me to Xuanya instead.

Perhaps it was because of this demigod’s cultivation combined with the power of the celestial peach, but Xuanya remained in a deep slumber. The moonlight illuminated his handsome profile, yet I didn’t dare look for long.

I dressed myself and fled before he could wake.

I didn’t even return to Fangfei Hall, escaping through the night to the West of Weak Water.

Having lost half my divine power, I was incredibly weak. Without divine energy to fuel it, the Monster King’s Inner Core fell silent once more.

This escape exhausted much of my magic. I reverted to my original form and collapsed heavily onto the ground at the West of Weak Water.

In the final moment before I lost consciousness, my only thought was: even after a thousand years, I haven’t improved one bit.

I don’t know how long I slept.

Sihun told me I had turned into a clumsy-looking peach tree.

If it hadn’t been for the Golden Bell he gave me ringing, he really wouldn’t have known how to find me among that cluster of trees.

He drew water from the Immortal Spring to irrigate me, allowing me to undergo transformation.

He said Cangyu had woken up, but he had turned into a youth and couldn’t remember much of the past. “This has something to do with you, doesn’t it?”

I nodded.

He asked if I wanted to return to Fangfei Hall.

I shook my head.

Sihun took me back to Sihun Hall.

Since the palace had a pool of Immortal Spring water, it was convenient for me to nurture my body. With the nourishment from the Immortal Pool, I was able to maintain a stable transformation.

Life became very peaceful.

Until one day, Sihun, with a long face, begged me to marry him.

The mist from the Immortal Pool swirled around us. I rested my chin on my hand and looked up at the troubled Sihun.

“Why?”

“Because the Heavenly Empress wants to choose a celestial companion for me.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” I teased, enjoying his misfortune.

“But I only want to marry you.” The sincerity in his eyes made me feel a bit dazed.

“But I…”

While I was lost in thought, Sihun stepped into the Immortal Pool and pulled me into his arms without a word.

His clothes were soaked. My cheek rested against his chest, and I could hear his heartbeat.

“Ruogui, I will take good care of you. I won’t let you suffer any more grievances.”

My heart skipped a beat, and I froze. His peach-blossom eyes were full of gravity and earnestness.

“Ruogui, be my celestial companion, alright?”

I hesitated.

In the gap of my hesitation, he swept me up from the Immortal Pool in a princess carry. Realizing I wasn’t wearing any clothes, I panicked and flailed my arms.

“Hey! Sihun! Put me down!”

Those peach-blossom eyes rippled with a soul-stirring tenderness as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.

“I won’t.”

“I don’t want to owe anyone else anymore,” I muttered. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to pay them back.

“I am not ‘anyone else.'”

He was so serious it made me a little afraid. “Stop joking, Sihun.”

“Alright, Ruogui, I’m begging you, please marry me. Just help me ward off those unwanted suitors. All those ascended female fairies are staring at me,” he said, suddenly breaking into a laugh.

So he just wanted me to play a part. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“You should have said so earlier. You scared me to death.”

“No way. You didn’t actually think I liked you, did you?”

“…”

If I said yes, wouldn’t that be a bit awkward?

“Don’t worry, the kind of woman I like is a gentle, quiet, elegant, and poised Fairy,” he mocked. “You’re far from it.”

“Then that’s truly a stroke of luck,” I shot back, refusing to be outdone.

I agreed to be Sihun’s celestial companion in name only. The engagement ceremony was set for three days later at Sihun Hall.

Sihun was so serious it didn’t seem like a joke. He threw himself into the preparations, busying himself by scouring the Three Realms for engagement gifts to give me.

On the day of the ceremony, according to the customs of the Immortal Realm, one had to wear moon-white.

Another moon-white dress.

Choulu loved moon-white dresses the most, worn without any ornaments. The immortals praised her as a hibiscus emerging from clear water, naturally beautiful without any adornment.

However, Sihun instructed the Ritual Immortal not to treat me poorly.

According to the rules, I had to sit in the Youluan Carriage and symbolically fly three circles from the horizon where the sun rises to Sihun Hall.

I think I might have been a bit motion sick; sitting in the Youluan Carriage, the golden curtains before my eyes felt dizzying.

We had surely circled more than three times.

“Ritual Fairy, are we there yet?”

I poked my head out of the carriage to ask the Ritual Fairy.

Wait…

The person before me had his back turned. He wore an ochre robe, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. At his hip hung a Crescent Moon Dagger, and his dark hair was tied high with a Peach Wood Hairpin-there was no sign of the Ritual Fairy.

“Sister Ruogui, we’re almost there. Just wait a little longer.”

I stared blankly at his blood-red eyes and his innocent yet cunning expression. It seemed the person before me was Xuanya, not Cangyu.

Xuanya tilted his head and smiled at me, revealing a hint of a canine tooth.

He stood on the back of the Youluan, holding three sets of reins in his hands. The Youluan and the Golden Crow had never gotten along; they didn’t seem to respect the Golden Crow Clan. They shrieked and struggled, only to find they couldn’t break free.

“What a joke. The Ancient Flood Dragon this Little Lord used to drive was far wilder than you.”

In the distance, I saw the cliff at the end of the path. It was the place where I had once shared wine with Cangyu and where he had given me the demon core.

Beneath this cliff was a natural cave dwelling, fully furnished with everything one might need.

It seemed this bridal kidnapping had been planned for a long time.

Xuanya scooped me up-still dizzy from the ride-and gently placed me onto the bed.