Chapter 177

The note sent by Long Ji pinpointed the specific location of a stone cave.

After seeing the messenger off, Lin Hui quickly penned a list of his demands, crumpled the note into a ball, and rushed to the designated address. Upon arriving at the stone cave within the Mist Zone, he tossed the paper ball inside.

He returned home and waited. Three days later, unable to resist, he went back to check. According to Long Ji, messages left in this cave usually required anywhere from a week to a month for a response. Yet, despite having thrown it in only three days ago, a reply was already waiting.

Inside the Mist Zone, Lin Hui slowly sheathed his sword, stepping over the massive carcass of a monster lying in his path. He returned to the cave entrance and spotted a sheet of white paper lying on the ground inside.

A single line was written on it:

‘No Phantom Dragon Lotus. Have Spirit-Enriching Reishi, have Purple Cloud Reishi. Price: One Blood for ten of the former; one Blood for one of the latter.’

The prices were roughly what Lin Hui expected, adhering closely to market rates. The crucial point was that they actually had stock. This was key, as the supply in the nearby markets had been essentially cleaned out by Lin Hui’s subordinates.

He wrote a reply specifying the quantities he needed and tossed the paper ball back into the cave.

The cave itself was peculiar. The surrounding terrain was barren, consisting entirely of flat, gray mountain walls, yet this solitary cavern existed right here. It looked incredibly bizarre.

After delivering the note, Lin Hui took the Feather Blood he had exchanged for from his waist pouch. He counted out ten strands, tied them together with a thin thread, and gently placed them inside the cave.

Payment first, then goods—this was the trading rule of the stone cave.

Task accomplished, he turned and left, noting to return and check the status in another three days.

Just as he emerged from the Mist Zone and returned to the Clear Wind Temple, Lin Hui spotted a somewhat familiar figure sitting in the courtyard of the rear residence, slowly swaying on a swing.

"Old Han?" He paused, the nickname blurting out subconsciously.

Creak.

The swing stopped instantly.

Han Xiaoyue, wearing a veil, looked at him with a hint of exasperation. "Although I am indeed not young, could you please not add the word 'Old'?"

She wore a white gauze dress edged in silver, with tassels hanging from her elbows that drifted in the wind. Combined with her gentle figure and the excellent curvature of her waist and hips, she was actually quite eye-catching. Although half her face resembled a skull, the intact half was no different from a sixteen-year-old maiden; one couldn't tell her real age at all.

Then again, Lin Hui hadn't seen a single unsightly person from the Inner City. The people he met there were either as young as little girls or explicitly elderly, with no intermediate state.

"Alright, I'll pay attention next time." Lin Hui nodded. "When did you get back? Why didn't you send a letter in advance so I could pick you up?"

"Why pick me up? I'm back, so I'm back. Being picked up and sent off is too tedious. If you want to see me, just come to my residence," Han Xiaoyue said calmly.

"Fine..." Lin Hui nodded and sat down on a nearby stone stool.

"Do you know about the Wang family matter?"

"Mm. It has nothing to do with you or me. Wang Yueheng couldn't distinguish the severity of the situation himself; something happening was only a matter of time." Han Xiaoyue nodded.

She looked at Lin Hui. All along, she had treated Lin Hui, her fake fiancé, with a peaceful mindset. After all, she didn't have much time left. To experience feelings she had never known in this final period was quite novel for her.

Despite living for so many years, the busyness of numerous intertwined affairs meant she had simply had no time to marry, nor had she ever had close contact with the opposite sex. The feeling now, hazy and beautiful, indeed added a trace of softness to her consistently heavy heart.

Returning from her trip this time, and hearing the persuasive words of her former close friends, a strange idea rose in her mind once again.

"Hey, Lin Hui."

"What is it?" Lin Hui was preparing to sit cross-legged and cultivate his Internal Force. Hearing her, he turned his head.

"Didn't you say before that people were pressuring us to marry? Now that we are engaged, no one is urging marriage anymore, but they've switched to urging a baby. I have no experience with having children; how should this be handled?" She looked at him seriously.

"I'm not clear either. How about... adopting one?" Lin Hui hesitated.

"No way. It would be easily seen through. My bloodline is different." Han Xiaoyue shook her head slowly.

At this moment, she sized up Lin Hui seriously. For the first time, she carefully evaluated him from the perspective of a spouse.

His appearance wasn't ugly—she didn't care about that anyway, as her own looks were unsightly, so there was nothing to be picky about. His figure was proportionate and powerful due to martial arts practice; not overly muscular, but certainly not frail. Although he came from the Outer City, he had built up the Clear Wind Temple's current assets step by step on his own. His strength and talent were considered top-tier in the Outer City.

Looking at it this way, he could really be considered a good candidate for a partner.

Although the title of "Great Aphrodisiac Formless Sword" circulated outside, she, who spent time with him at close, knew very well that Lin Hui's private life was extremely disciplined. It wasn't that there were no women around who liked him, but he simply didn't care.

Throwing that reputation aside, he was a high-quality, genius bachelor martial artist.

"Then what are you thinking?" Lin Hui frowned, looking back at her after some thought.

"It's like this: I want to give birth to one myself, to experience that feeling. I'm just discussing it with you. Considering the age gap, you would be at a disadvantage, so I am willing to provide compensation." Han Xiaoyue discussed it very seriously, treating it like a transaction that needed to be resolved.

"Uh..." Lin Hui suddenly choked on his words.

He just wanted to fake a marriage to block trouble, not actually have a baby and tie himself down. There were too many troublesome things involved in raising a child. He wasn't mentally prepared to face such responsibilities yet. There was too much to do, too much to handle, and the environment wasn't sufficiently stable.

He felt that he would only have the leisure to consider things like having a baby after the safe base he envisioned was established.

"It's okay. If you don't want to, I won't mention it. Just pretend I never said it." Han Xiaoyue saw his hesitation. "In that case, I'll go to the Inner City separately and find a few men..."

"That won't do." Lin Hui frowned instantly.

Although the two were only faking engagement, hearing these words still made his heart uncomfortable.

"Why?" Han Xiaoyue asked, baffled. She felt there was no problem; since Lin Hui was unwilling, she would find a few other people to let herself experience the life she wanted. What did it matter?

"That's too casual," Lin Hui said.

"But aren't you unwilling? I can only find others if I want to experience it," Han Xiaoyue said seriously.

"..." These words left Lin Hui speechless. He indeed wasn't willing to casually start having babies. This disrupted all his preliminary planning.

"It seems I’ve just caused you trouble." Han Xiaoyue sighed and stood up. "In that case, why don’t we just part ways from here on out? Let’s end this fake engagement. Our needs are no longer aligned."

"..." Lin Hui felt incredibly conflicted inside. "Why so suddenly? To make a request like this."

"Because I don’t have time," Han Xiaoyue said softly. "I want to experience feelings I’ve never had before, in the shortest time possible. To see scenery I’ve never seen."

"Are you talking about Corruption?" Lin Hui suddenly realized.

"Huh? You know about it?" Han Xiaoyue looked at him in surprise.

Since returning this time, she seemed to have gone through many things, and the changes in her were far greater than before. She was no longer so cold and quiet; instead, there was a faint impatience about her.

"It seems my request has made you feel conflicted. I don’t know why you’d feel that way, but since that’s the case, let’s just forget it."

Han Xiaoyue stood up, her expression calm.

"..." Lin Hui remained silent.

But forcing him to give in would be irresponsible to his future.

He watched as Han Xiaoyue turned and walked toward the courtyard’s exit. Before long, she disappeared around the corner.

In the end, the two of them had only ever been a temporary, fabricated pairing. From the start, they each took what they needed. Now that Han Xiaoyue’s needs had changed, their current relationship could no longer satisfy her, so…

They were breaking up.

He stood up, his hand unconsciously settling on the hilt of the Ruyi Sword at his waist.

As he walked out of the courtyard, his footsteps suddenly halted.

He turned his head and saw someone squatting on the ground by the door.

"Didn’t you leave?" He looked helplessly at Han Xiaoyue, who still had her back to him.

"Mm. I walked over here and found a bug I’ve never seen before, so I squatted down to take a look." Han Xiaoyue stood up and turned to face him.

"..." Lin Hui was speechless once more.

"This time I’m really leaving." Seeing that he still wouldn’t give in, Han Xiaoyue realized the trick her old friend had taught her was useless, and she finally stopped struggling with it.

This time, she didn’t linger any longer and left calmly along the corridor.

And Lin Hui didn’t ask her to stay.

Although Han Xiaoyue matched his ideals for a future partner in almost every way and was an exceptionally compatible candidate…

As for what she’d said about finding a few men to have a real child with, he still couldn’t tell if she’d been serious or not. If she truly meant it…

Swish.

In the next instant, he unconsciously appeared outside the main gate of the Clear Wind Temple residence.

He looked at Han Xiaoyue, who was just stepping over the threshold.

For a moment, both of them froze. Their gazes met and locked.

“Although it’s a bit selfish, I thought it through. If you go and find other people, I’ll feel uncomfortable,” Lin Hui said honestly.

“I feel a bit like that too, so I was waiting for you,” Han Xiaoyue replied with equal candor. If she had truly intended to leave, she would have been gone long ago.

“I need some time,” Lin Hui said.

“Thinking about it, I’m not really in that much of a rush. It doesn’t have to be right away,” Han Xiaoyue said.

“How long, specifically?” Lin Hui pressed.

“Within twenty years.”

“...” Lin Hui suddenly felt that his and Han Xiaoyue’s concepts of time might differ slightly.

“Twenty years is short?” he asked.

“Is it long?” Han Xiaoyue countered.

As they looked into each other’s eyes, both felt something was a bit off.

“I understand. I’ll wait for you,” Han Xiaoyue said first, slowly nodding. “It works out well. I also need time to adjust my body. This body… carries some burdens. It’s time to unseal them and lay them down.”

“...Alright.” Lin Hui nodded.

And so, after being pushed back and forth three times, the matter of having a child was finally settled as a formal agreement reached through their serious discussion.

Twenty years.

Watching Han Xiaoyue walk out through the main gate and step into the carriage she had arrived in, Lin Hui turned his head.

He saw Mingxia standing by the door, eyes wide, staring straight at him.

“Tsk, tsk… You’re planning to have a child with Han Xiaoyue? Don’t even try to deny it, I heard everything!” She raised her hand.

“...She’s my future wife. Is there a problem?” Lin Hui countered.

“No problem, no problem at all…” A trace of oddity and admiration flashed through Mingxia’s eyes.

“Then move aside,” Lin Hui said calmly.

Mingxia didn’t dare butt heads with him; she could tell that Lin Hui was genuinely a little angry. For the sake of the future Wild Wind Sword Technique, she wisely backed down and stepped aside.

Watching Lin Hui step through the door and vanish in an instant as if teleporting, Mingxia shook her head in exasperation.

“Sure enough, only someone sick in the head can understand another sick person’s world. A normal person like me really can’t imagine having a child with Han Xiaoyue… tsk, tsk.”