My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion

Icicles formed under the eaves, with small drops of water dripping down slowly.

Chen Yi took a deep breath, not wanting to look any longer. Honestly, it was quite pointless; it was just the Little Fox dreaming. What was there to see?

Dreams, after all, lacked any real imagination. Just ordinary and average. Any dream Chen Yi had would be better than hers.

It just wasn't interesting.

Chen Yi sat in his place, silent, his gaze slightly drifting, and asked inwardly, "Old thing, what's going on with this Illusion Dream?"

The Old Saintess didn't know what he had seen, she only sensed that Chen Yi's tone was much more serious than before. After pondering for a moment, she said, "It's hard to say for sure. Illusion Dream is called so because it adapts to the heart's desires. People dream of what they wish, without any restrictions. You may even become the Jade Emperor in your dream, but... this Illusion Dream is not made by just one person; it's composed by countless residual spirits lost in dreams.

Waking one person is easy, but waking everyone is incredibly difficult, filled with dangers no less than climbing a mountain of knives or passing through a sea of fire."

"Waking one person is easy..." Chen Yi murmured upon hearing this, then asked, "Tell me, how does one wake someone up?"

His involvement here had nothing to do with the Vacuum Home or the Three Five Evil-Slaying Sword. He only wished to take Yin Tingxue and Donggong Ruoshu away from this place. Among all the people he had met, he was the only one without grand ambitions.

If he could just directly wake someone and leave, it would save a lot of trouble.

"Simply waking someone up isn't hard to do. People dream by day and by night... dreams are a transformation of reality. If they dream beautifully, they naturally become enamored unless they wake naturally. If they have nightmares, terror will of course wake them."

The Old Saintess spoke as though she was also using her divine sense to survey the surroundings. Everything felt warm and blissful; even the candlelight radiated a cozy hue.

"Better to wake everyone up."

As soon as these words hit her ears, the Old Saintess blinked, then immediately chuckled and said, "I knew it, you're soft-hearted."

"Wrong, I just enjoy a challenge."

Chen Yi straightened up, as if unwilling to argue further, as Yin Weiyin watched him turn and leave the guest room without a word about his destination.

Going to visit "Princess Consort Xiang," his mother-in-law, Yin Weiyin figured it out quickly. Her Golden Boy husband still had a touch of childishness. It was just a dream; seeing or not seeing, what did it matter?

But then she reconsidered, thinking that if it were her, she might want to meet too.

For peace of mind, that's all.

As if a snowflake had landed on her heart, melting instantly, its chill sleek seeped in. In the past, she and he were not aligned, and at first, they were even at odds, unwilling to delve into his heart. Yet now, residing in Donggong Ruoshu's body, she suddenly began to understand him a bit.

She shook her head, puzzled by this turn of events.

In the side hall, the Princess initially seemed shocked but was about to sternly scold Yin Tingxue. However, she then noticed the man, brought home, approach from the doorway.

As he came closer, Yin Tingxue became inexplicably nervous, stepping forward to stop him. Instead, he reached out and patted her head, facing the Princess.

"Uh... how should I say this... Mother-in-law?"

He paused for a long time before finally speaking, somewhat stammering,

"... I, no, son-in-law... no, never mind... I'm just Chen Yi."

The Princess scrutinized him with an initially guarded and suspicious look, but after this clumsy introduction, she couldn't help but feel amused.

Such a bashful person seemed unlikely to be a bad one.

A tinge of embarrassment swept across Chen Yi's face, unwilling as he was to face such a scene. Normally harsh and mocking toward others, he had forgotten how to handle such "meet the parents" moments.

"Do you have anything to say?" Fortunately, the Princess finally spoke, her tone somewhat warmer, easing the tension.

From the corner of his eye, Chen Yi noticed Yin Tingxue looking up at him, her eyes slightly shimmering. She had been anticipating this day for a long time.

He took a deep breath and said, "Um... maybe Tingxue told you, we're already married. It was a hurried marriage, without a matchmaker, without the proper paperwork, no fitting door or matching family background..."

As he trailed off, his gaze had already drifted aside, his heart becoming inexplicably uncertain the more he spoke. It was as if everything was blank, completely empty.

In his peripheral vision, Yin Tingxue was smiling at him, her little face beaming with joy.

The blank emptiness was filled not just with spaces but with his wife, his Little Fox, her smiling face, her anticipation. She gently held his hand, giving him strength, as if countless colors filled the void...

"Don't worry..." she whispered softly, "Mother's gentle, she wants a good son-in-law too."

"...I'm not scared," he retorted coldly.

"Oh, oh, I'm scared. I'm really nervous." Yin Tingxue clung to him, her small hands warm.

As the halting conversation continued in the side hall, light snow fell intermittently outside, its duration uncertain. Even now, it still fluttered down, melting upon contact with the window frames. This town remained asleep.

The Princess was still there, her gaze upon them growing gentle and kind, waiting for him to speak.

Finally, he said,

"Still, I'm... her husband, and she's my true love."

Everything fell into a momentary silence.

He almost seemed to hear the sound of snow.

...…

...…

Yin Weiyin pondered for a long while, finally understanding why.

Previously, she indeed didn't know Chen Yi's heart, partly because she regarded herself as an Immortal, indifferent, and partly due to the lust for slaying the Chi Long and taming the White Tiger, causing her to neither see clearly nor hear accurately.

There was always more to Chen Yi than just lust. He had a complex character, with many emotions intertwined, which made him sometimes hesitate and sometimes act decisively. His sensuality was merely the most prominent aspect of him.

Perhaps, from Yin Weiyin's perspective, she couldn't see so much... but as an observer now, she saw how he deeply cherished past affections.

She raised an eyebrow slightly, realizing he now had another weakness to exploit.

In an instant, numerous thoughts surfaced and sank, countless threads extending and intertwining.

For example, although she was disinclined to bear children due to her cultivation, if he truly desired a child, when Miss Lin became pregnant, their offspring could reside with her, wouldn't that be wonderful?

Or, by firmly bonding with Yin Tingxue, she could keep Zhou Yitang favorably aligned between them, enabling her to be unaffected?

Or perhaps, facing him at her death, imitating Emperor Wu of Han and Lady Li's story, entrusting him to ardently love Yin Weiyin even if he should be reluctant... with his deep emotional loyalty, how could he not be wholly devoted?

Various thoughts churned, extrapolating endlessly. Reflecting on this, she looked out at the falling snow, somewhat regretful.

Why couldn't she, too, have such a similar dream?

Even if he wouldn't be overly enchanted, a bit more attachment would do...

Somewhere unnoticed in her heart, the identity of "Taiyi" had already separated from that of "Taichua Goddess."