Yun Chunfeng cleared his throat, his tone apologetic. “Though this is your family matter, General, and I should not interfere, I must nevertheless overstep and beg you to be gentler and more patient with your esteemed wife.”
Huo Ci was inwardly miserable: It’s over. He’s hit my weakest spot.
Sure enough, Jiang Xingyan’s expression instantly darkened. She sighed with emotion and said, “The Grand Astrologer is right. I, Huo Ci, truly am a worthless scoundrel.”
“My wife has helped me so much, yet I have been so ungrateful. I am nothing but a heartless, ungrateful wretch—utterly despicable!”
“Today, thanks to the Grand Astrologer’s guidance, I, Huo Ci, swear this: if I ever treat my wife unjustly again, may I be struck by lightning and die without a burial place.”
Huo Ci hung his head even lower.
Serves me right.
He truly had gotten what he deserved.
Yun Chunfeng didn’t try to stop him at all. Instead, he nodded with satisfaction. “General, making vows in the presence of a cultivator will bind you to them.”
Huo Ci was crying inside: Yun Chunfeng, I will kill you one day!
So you get to play the good guy, huh?
After his teasing, Yun Chunfeng’s tone suddenly shifted, becoming somber.
“Please don’t laugh at me, General, but I lost my parents early. Before I began my cultivation training in my youth, I was taken in by a wealthy family in Jiangnan to be a playmate for their young mistress.”
“She was only two years old at the time—round and precious, utterly adorable.”
“Their family name was also Jiang.”
“So, hearing someone with the same surname always reminds me of those carefree days of my childhood.”
Hearing him openly acknowledge this and speak of the past filled Jiang Xingyan with sorrow.
Brother Yun still remembers me.
“Ah, but it’s a pity. In just eight or nine years, Master Jiang dismissed all of us servants, and I never heard any news of them again.”
Yun Chunfeng spoke with such melancholy that Huo Ci suddenly grew alert.
Something’s wrong!
This feels very wrong!
Is this guy here for A-Yan?!
Yun Chunfeng’s feathered eyebrows drooped, concealing endless nostalgia.
“I’ve heard your esteemed wife is also from Jiangnan. Might she know Elder Jiang Hai?”
The moment her grandfather’s name was spoken, both Huo Ci and Jiang Xingyan were stunned.
Huo Ci inwardly cursed: Today I’ve met a male fox spirit!
What could be worse than the sudden appearance of your wife’s childhood sweetheart?
Especially when she’s asking for a divorce!
Jiang Xingyan clenched her fingers, struggling to control her surging emotions.
Xiao Ya seemed to sense her mother’s inner turmoil and pain. She pouted, stretching her little hands toward Jiang Xingyan, and said in a soft, sticky voice, “Mama, hug.”
Jiang Xingyan’s heart ached as she took Xiao Ya into her arms, stroking her head to calm herself.
Now was not the time for reunions.
How could she confide in him about the past while wearing Huo Ci’s skin?
How could she let Huo Ci, wearing her face, reminisce with him about old times?
The thought alone was unsettling.
Fearful that Huo Ci might slip up, she hurriedly spoke first: “The Grand Astrologer is very thoughtful, but my wife is not the person you’re looking for.”
There was nothing wrong with saying this.
Huo Ci narrowed his eyes, staring at Yun Chunfeng.
The look in his eyes was dark and unreadable.
Yun Chunfeng sighed, as if filled with infinite sorrow.
“Very well. It seems the destined connection has not yet arrived.”
“‘I await the one promised to come, with my lone zither by the vine-covered path.'”
“I will simply endure and wait.”
Huo Ci had had enough.
This guy really knows how to put on an act!
He had to do something.
He spoke up abruptly: “Grand Astrologer, if you have such profound abilities, why not use divination?”
“Asking person by person like this—who knows how long it will take?”
Jiang Xingyan really wanted to slap Huo Ci.
But she had just sworn to treat her wife well.
Now she could only glare at him: “Don’t be rude.”
Huo Ci shifted his gaze, adopting a pitiful expression, and leaned against Jiang Xingyan.
“Didn’t my husband just promise not to scold me anymore?”
Heaven knew how difficult it was to call him “husband.”
Huo Ci’s soul was so ashamed he wanted to crawl into a hole.
And that melodramatic, coquettish tone—he couldn’t believe he was capable of making such a sound.
Jiang Xingyan instantly broke out in goosebumps.
Who is this?
What is he doing?
Even Xiao Ya in her arms stared wide-eyed.
The candy in her hand fell to the floor with a clatter.
While Jiang Xingyan bent to pick up the candy, she turned and mouthed a warning to Huo Ci: Act normal!
But Huo Ci seemed not to understand. Gritting his teeth, he wrapped his hands around Jiang Xingyan’s arm and whispered self-reproachfully, “Don’t be angry, husband.”
“I was just curious for a moment. If I’ve caused any offense, I beg the Grand Astrologer to be magnanimous and not hold it against me.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yun Chunfeng’s fingers tighten, and he felt immensely pleased.
“Husband, that Master Jiang must have had some compelling reason to suddenly dismiss all the servants.”
“If the Grand Astrologer was truly so loyal and devoted, why didn’t he insist on following them back then?”
“Now there’s no trace left, and no way to inquire.”
See? After calling him “husband” a few times, it rolls off the tongue naturally.
Playing the weak and vulnerable—it wasn’t as if he didn’t know how.
Yun Chunfeng smiled bitterly. “To be honest, I did intend to follow Old Master Jiang back then. But I was forcibly taken back to my master’s cave abode to cultivate halfway, and only emerged from seclusion a little over a month ago.”
“Moreover, investigating matters related to a cultivator themself requires opening the Heavenly Eye to search, which consumes half of one’s vitality.”
“My skills are inadequate. Seeking rain against heaven’s will already defied the natural order. If I were to privately open the Heavenly Eye again, I’m afraid I would perish on the spot.”
He removed the soft smoke gauze covering his eyes, revealing a pair of eyes that should have been captivatingly peach-blossom-shaped.
But his pupils were completely blank.
Jiang Xingyan’s heart clenched.
Cultivation is so difficult. Brother Yun must have suffered greatly all these years.
And he’s revealed so many heavenly secrets—the backlash must have been severe.
Yet he always smiled and never spoke much of his hardships.
This revelation was to prove his sincerity.
She gritted her teeth and pried Huo Ci’s hand off her arm. “Are you satisfied now?”
“The Grand Astrologer offered his own lifespan to save Western Zhou from famine—how many people did he rescue? Don’t you know that?!”
Huo Ci really felt like crying.
But what did that have to do with him putting on a show of deep feeling to win her sympathy?
A-Yan, wake up! He’s pretending!
Whoa!
The carriage stopped, and the driver called out, “We’ve arrived at Ruyi General Store. Will you be getting off, sir?”
“Wait for us at the entrance.”
Jiang Xingyan wore an apologetic expression as she made amends to Yun Chunfeng: “My wife was rash and has offended you, Grand Astrologer.”
Yun Chunfeng replied softly, “It’s nothing. In the end, it is I who am incapable…”
“How could that be? The Grand Astrologer has talents that span heaven and earth—”
Jiang Xingyan patiently said a whole basketful of kind words before finally comforting him.
Huo Ci was going crazy: Enough already!
He’s not a child—why are you praising him so much?!
Seeing Yun Chunfeng’s expression soften, she handed Xiao Ya to him and then grabbed Huo Ci’s wrist, pulling him out of the carriage.
Through gritted teeth, she scolded him: “If you don’t know how to speak, then don’t. I really don’t know how you became a great general.”
“If you cause any more trouble, go back home!”
Huo Ci felt extremely wronged.
I was just trying to help A-Yan see through this male fox spirit!
Indignantly, he glanced back at the carriage.
A gust of wind blew, slightly lifting the carriage curtain.
Huo Ci saw Yun Chunfeng’s lips curved in a victorious smile, his empty eyes seemingly fixed on him.