My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion

A long while, a long while.

Just as Chen Yi was growing impatient, the shadow at the alley's entrance flickered, like a wavering candle flame. Then, his pupils gradually contracted as a familiar petite figure came into view.

She approached, drawing nearer, as if she was merely passing through this street, without noticing Chen Yi at all.

When she passed by Chen Yi, he suddenly struck, a cold gleam appearing for an instant.

Yin Tingxue was so frightened that her whole body tensed, her short legs trembling, as Chen Yi pressed himself forward, placing a blade at her neck the very moment he moved,

"Who are you, and where is this place? If you don't answer…"

Before he could finish, Chen Yi stopped abruptly,

The blade he stretched out had magically turned into a beggar's bowl, missing a chunk of its edge.

Was he begging for food from Yin Tingxue?!

Yin Tingxue blinked at him, and after a moment, Chen Yi came back to his senses, realizing that he had become disheveled and ragged since approaching this place, so perhaps it wasn't surprising that the Brocade Spring Blade had turned into a beggar's bowl…

Nearby, Donggong Ruoshu also looked bewildered, not from the strangeness, but from the absurdity, yet Chen Yi, thick-skinned, stubbornly kept the begging bowl at Yin Tingxue's neck.

The girl trembled for a moment, then steadied herself and replied in a small voice, "I… I am Yin Tingxue, zi… Yintai, this… this is Capital City, don't you know?"

Chen Yi frowned slightly, suddenly unable to tell if the girl before him was an illusion, or if she was indeed the Little Fox he knew.

Nonetheless, he slowly lowered the bowl, making it seem even more like begging.

Chen Yi loosened his tense expression somewhat, exhaled, and was about to speak.

Clink.

A copper coin clinked into the bowl.

Chen Yi paused, looking up at the girl.

"Are you out of food?"

Yin Tingxue produced a bulging money pouch,

"I have a lot of money."

Chen Yi originally wanted to shake his head, but as the words were about to leave his mouth, he saw her ears twitch slightly, and with a faint cold smile, he nodded and said,

"Yes, and then?"

Yin Tingxue furrowed her brow, hesitated for a long while. Chen Yi was waiting for her reply, but unexpectedly she turned around without a word, walked away without looking back.

Chen Yi was taken aback, she walked farther and farther, with no intention of stopping. After a while, he still called out to her: "Yin Tingxue, what do you mean by this?"

"Your attitude is bad, I'm not talking to you." She replied without turning her head.

Chen Yi raised an eyebrow, truly encountering such a situation for the first time; Ying Tingxue actually dares to blame his bad attitude, normally no matter how he bullied her, she would just endure quietly, at most utter a complaint or two, but now her daring had grown inexplicably.

Yin Tingxue disappeared from view, he sneered, not calling her back, but rather squatted back down against the wall, with an air of even a beggar must have pride.

Clutching the begging bowl, Chen Yi fingered the copper coin, his stomach grumbled at some point, crying out in emptiness, the intense hunger sweeping over him.

As if, in the middle of the night, when the hunger nearly drives one mad, seeing a book character feasting heartily.

Chen Yi frowned involuntarily, glanced at Donggong Ruoshu, who showed no sign of change, as if, ever since they entered this area, the entire world was conspiring against him.

As he pondered, at the alley entrance, that petite body appeared again.

She circled back, hand holding the bulging money pouch, and in a couple steps was before the destitute Chen Yi,

"Is your attitude better now?"

Chen Yi, completely confused, figuring out the situation was the most important, he replied, "A bit better."

"Oh, then come with me, there's nowhere else to stay here, come to my house, I'll keep you for the night."

Saying this, the Little Fox, afraid he'd back out, bent down to grab his hand, pulling him up, neither minding his dirtiness nor his poverty…

...…

In an ordinary courtyard located in a regular alley.

At first glance, it looked like Chen Yi's former home in Capital City, though the outline was somewhat different, the roof tiles, pillars, and walls had the aura of the Prince Mansion, a blend of mismatching architectural styles that, looked at long enough, somehow felt harmonious.

Chen Yi stood at the courtyard gate, observing for quite some time, when the door opened, and a middle-aged woman emerged.

His pupils contracted slightly…

Medicine Buddha?

With a dignified and lovely countenance, eyelids lowered in natural compassion... it was clearly Medicine Buddha's likeness, only she wasn't draped in a Kasaya nor holding a meditation staff, her attire exuded human warmth, more like the mother in Yin Tingxue's memories than Medicine Buddha.

Yin Tingxue, pulling Chen Yi along, called out as she went, "Mom."

The middle-aged woman smiled toward Yin Tingxue, then examined the beggar man she brought back, her brows knitting partially due to courtesy's command to not voice disapproval, saying, "This gentleman is…"

Before Yin Tingxue could introduce, Chen Yi stepped forward, "Last name Chen, given name Yi, courtesy name Zunming."

A short sentence, with no further elaboration, and not even a cupped-hand salute, lacking a respectful tone in speaking.

The Princess's expression immediately grew displeased.

Yin Tingxue quickly defended, "He's starving, can't speak much, I'll take him for some food first, then a bath."

...…

Strangely enough, though it was plain food, it tasted like a gourmet feast when swallowed.

And though the washings were quite ordinary, after bathing, there was an invigorating sense of cleansing and renewal.

Chen Yi slowly wiped the remaining water from his neck, puzzled, glancing at Donggong Ruoshu with inquiring eyes; she too seemed puzzled and lost.

Thinking for a moment, Chen Yi recited a Spell, opened his Heavenly Eye, and surveyed the room.

The house was as it had been, nothing out of the ordinary, Chen Yi swept his gaze around, and it soon settled on the side room, where the Princess held Yin Tingxue's hand, scolding her sternly.

"Now tell me honestly, who is he? Why bring him into our house?"

The girl hemmed and hawed, unsure of how to respond, and after a long while said, "I felt sorry for him, so I brought him back."

"There are many pitiable people in the world, simply give charity and let it be, why went so far as bringing him home, Tingxue you are not typically such an impulsive child," the Princess paused, "Be truthful, no lying."

Chen Yi was stunned to discover that even stern, her mother-in-law remained gentle.

Yin Tingxue froze in place, shuffling awkwardly, the Princess gazing steadily upon her, permitting no deceitful words,

"Don't lie to Mother, whatever it is, no lies."

"Mmm… Mother, he, he is…" the girl breathed deeply, resolved to confess, "...my husband."

The side room went abruptly silent.

The Princess was shocked into stillness, clearly not anticipating such a relationship for the two.

She stood fixed, ready to speak, but the typically timid girl somehow found the nerve to then address first:

"Mom, I know you wouldn't expect… but, but he, he truly is my husband, we are married, even in the Imperial Palace, and we've returned together to Yintai Temple, informed Bodhisattva of our union…"

"He was very bad before, now he's changed for the better, he often listens to me, treats me very very well, once carved a Bodhisattva for me and shaped flowers, oh, he cooks for me daily and tucks me in, yet he enjoys teasing and bullying me, which isn't good, though, it's alright, just a bit."

Snow… descended quietly.

Yin Tingxue, fearing a lost opportunity, speeding her speech till fastly racing, feared never seeing her mother again, afraid once the words ceased, her mother would once again vanish.

"Mom, I, I married someone, a good man, many years ago, it's been many years... at last can bring him to meet you…"

At the end, tears fell, she was weeping uncontrollably.

Having listened, Chen Yi's expression immobilized.

Snow descended in drifts, onto roof tiles, accumulating into a snowy highland.

Living under one rooftop with her mother, the days were ordinary, through happenstance discovering in some alley, Chen Yi wandering destitute, taking this entirely downtrodden husband home, to let him know how truly wonderful she was, finally... introducing him to a long unseen mother...

This was the best dream Yin Tingxue could have.