Chapter One: Please Marry Me, If You Must

As if from another world.

I woke up from the deepest of dreams, as though I had been sleeping in the darkest depths of the ocean for a thousand years before finally surfacing.

Opening my eyes, then closing them, and opening them again, I greedily stared out the window at the rising sun, as if I could see the golden crow dancing within the sun's wheel. The sunlight was so brilliant, outside the window was filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, and I had thought I would never return to the mortal world.

"Miss, you're awake?"

It was a man's voice, unfamiliar, not the one I yearned for even in my dreams. I sat up, the coarse cloth sheet slipping down, revealing a patch of pure white on my chest, no longer the faintly golden-patterned blue-green color I remembered.

The man actually turned his head away, fumbling with a cloth strap from somewhere to cover his own eyes.

What kind of rule is this?

I frowned. "Hey, who are you?"

"I am Feiyang, Zhongyuan Chen Feiyang. Miss... Miss, are you a raccoon?"

I bit my lip slightly, watching his big head closely—Raccoon? I'm a Celestial Raccoon, not an ordinary one! Celestial Raccoons are divine beasts, but what is an ordinary raccoon? A wild beast? Or a pet?

"Hey, how did you meet me? Hmph, you actually brought me home just like that?"

I pulled the coarse cloth sheet up a bit, annoyed as I looked at his shoulder, which remained exposed outside the sheet. If I wanted to cover my shoulders, I'd have to reveal my arms. This person is so clumsy, he doesn't even have a woman's garment. Wu Jiu would have prepared everything for me long ago.

Thinking of Wu Jiu makes me irritable. Wu Jiu always said that our Kunlun clan values loyalty and repays favors. I suppose this person saved me during my tribulation? And he brought me to his bed like this? What can I do, Wu Jiu? If Wu Jiu hadn't taught me anything, how much better would things be?

I laughed, burying Wu Jiu's image deep in my heart. With one hand holding the sheet and the other, I reached over to yank off his blindfold. "Alright, alright. Since you saved me like this, I should pledge myself to you to maintain the Kunlun lineage. After all, when I fainted, you saw and touched everything about me. Why not take another good look at a living, smiling person?"

To be honest, the man whose blindfold I pulled off was quite handsome, though his expression seemed a bit dazed. The scars on his face were oddly placed. I calculated in my mind that if I ever grew tired of him, I could use a spell against him. Oh, actually, no need for trouble. Wu Jiu said mortals suffer for a hundred years, and at worst, I could accompany this man for his remaining decades.

A few decades in the mortal world is just the time Wu Jiu and Hua Weijun spent playing chess, right? But why couldn't I find Wu Jiu alive or dead before Hua Weijun threw me off the Ten Directions Mountain? That guy roamed the mortal world with me for hundreds of years, but when I was about to face my tribulation, he seemed to have ascended?

I looked at the man, my heart thinking of Wu Jiu, thinking of the three golden lights that occasionally shot from his head the other day. Brother Chibao said that mortals cultivating divine bodies is extremely difficult, and in this realm, no one has successfully done it. But my Wu Jiu is naturally different; he must have already been in the Divine Realm by now, right? I should be happy for him. However, Wu Jiu also said that after cultivating a human body, I must stay in the mortal realm for a hundred years before I can re-enter Kunlun. If immortals have passed their divine tribulation, they need a thousand years before descending from the Divine Realm to the Immortal Realm.

*Sigh*, so I won't see Wu Jiu for a thousand years? Hmm, once I've repaid this man's debt, I'll also return to Kunlun to cultivate properly, so I can go to the Divine Realm to find Wu Jiu later.

I was pondering about Wu Jiu when someone unexpectedly pressed me down onto the bed. A sharp pain on my lips made me nearly open my mouth, and then I was kissed. More infuriatingly, his breathing grew heavier, yet there was something intoxicating about it that made my whole body go limp, unable to summon any strength.

Just as I was becoming entranced, I suddenly snapped back to reality, seeing his big head again! I had actually been groped by a mortal!

Before I could regain my senses to slap him, he jumped up on his own, fiercely slapping himself multiple times, then yanked the cloth strip from my hand and covered his eyes again!

I angrily said, "Are you crazy?"

He just laughed.

I noticed that this man was actually quite handsome, and as long as he couldn't see me, his expression was normal, no longer the dazed, foolish look he had before. This smile carried a somewhat carefree and indifferent meaning.

"Feiyang rashly approaching a beauty is not Feiyang. Feiyang cannot guard his eyes, better keep them covered."

I stood there dumbfounded for a long time before understanding what he meant. But he was so amusing in this state that I couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"As Lady said, my tribulation is very different from Brother Chibao's, so she didn't dare let me undergo it at the back of Kunlun Mountain. She's afraid that the attending immortals wouldn't be able to control themselves and would disgrace Kunlun and the Immortal Realm. You, a mortal, can actually control yourself. Hmm, that's quite impressive."

The man named Feiyang smiled again without responding. He seemed neither ashamed because I called him a mortal nor arrogant because I praised his self-control compared to immortals.

I was lucky; this person was quite interesting.

No wonder Wu Jiu said the mortal realm is the most entertaining of the seven realms.

I just wondered, would being stuck in the mortal realm for a hundred years annoy me to death? Last time with Wu Jiu, a few hundred years passed in just that way, but without Wu Jiu, I went insane in Hua Weijun's cave within three days, let alone in the mortal realm?

However, not repaying a kindness not only goes against my Kunlun lineage, but Wu Jiu also said that if I cannot act according to my nature, this matter would remain in my Daoheart. When I ascend from Kunlun Mountain to the Clear Cool Realm in the future, it would be a significant flaw.

"Your name is Feiyang, right?"

"Yes."

"Then, Feiyang, please take off your clothes for me, okay?"

He smiled awkwardly, unwielded his sword, removed his long upper garment, and handed it to me.

The clothes were indeed too large, but they were enough to cover up my embarrassment. They were somewhat worn but clean, carrying his body heat and a faint masculine scent.

Putting on the garment and standing up, I walked over to him and pulled off the blindfold again.

"It's all my fault, since I said I would pledge myself to you. Earlier, Feiyang kissed me, and I shouldn't have gotten angry."

This fool, after I pulled off the cloth strap, actually closed his eyes, not daring to look at me.

"Feiyang didn't do anything. He just brought the lady down the mountain. Miss doesn't need to pledge herself."

I reached out to stroke his eyebrows and eyes, his peak-like sword eyebrows, straight nose ridge. The way this man responded was increasingly to my liking. It seemed this hundred years wouldn't be boring; I might as well play with him.

"Oh, you don't know the reason. Our Kunlun Ximo clan has always required cultivating a human body before ascending to the Clear Cool Realm, but cultivating a human body is extremely troublesome. Men are generally better at cultivation than women in our clan. Some are already in the mortal realm; as long as they undergo their tribulation there, it doesn't matter how many calamitous clouds come. You don't know, Brother Chibao's tribulation hundreds of years ago was truly lively. He dared to use the Three Flowers Gathering Top to blast the calamitous clouds, indeed dispersing them and leaving the attending immortals dumbfounded. If Lady hadn't stopped him, he might not have even been able to shoot the Transformed Arrow. Haha, in our Kunlun, we always ascend to the Clear Cool Realm with a human body. If Brother Chibao had ascended with a red leopard, he would have become the biggest joke among the seven realms' first beast. Just think, if that were the case, when Brother Chibao arrived in the Clear Cool Realm, our Kunlun ancestors would have taken him as a mount, wouldn't they?"

As I spoke, I laughed, laughing so hard I was trembling.

That time was really fun. A bunch of immortals from the Immortal Realm came, supposedly to help fight, but actually just to watch the spectacle. Our Clear Cool Realm's calamitous clouds weren't as simple as those in the Immortal Realm; you couldn't protect them with divine artifacts. Those people had ill intentions, watching Brother Chibao face his tribulation and then watching Hua Weijun propose to my mountain ghost sister. However, though Lady approved this marriage, she wanted Hua Weijun to take me as an apprentice, causing me to immediately be of a lower generation than the mountain ghost sister.

I laughed while calculating in my heart.

If I could become immortal partners with Wu Jiu in the future, this generation's debt would be repaid. My family's Wu Jiu is said to be of very high generation, equal in rank to Lady. But speaking of the Immortal Realm, those people say Wu Jiu is aloof and cold, but that's not true. My family's Wu Jiu has a good temper and a gentle personality. Isn't he the same generation as me?

*Cough*, I thought of Wu Jiu again, forgetting that I was talking to this man named Feiyang.

He wasn't in a hurry, quietly waiting with his eyes closed, calm and composed.

"However, few in the Immortal Realm know how our clan's women undergo tribulation. We are inherently gentle, and our mountain ghost sister is like a delicate beauty easily blown by the wind. Yet, even within the Immortal Realm, few can take advantage of us. Feiyang, do you know why?"

"Feiyang doesn't know."

So strange, this man has something I like about him. Not sure what it is—he resembles someone from our Kunlun clan but also carries a bit of Wu Jiu's essence. He removed his gown for me, standing naked in the chilly spring breeze, completely still. Though covered in scars, he inexplicably became someone I liked.

I pressed my face against his chest, gently stroking the scars beneath his collarbone, and softly said, "Our Ximo clan women only need to cultivate a sincere human body to possess the power of dreams, a power we call 'Awakened Dream Like'. Very few can resist our 'Awakened Dream Like'. Covering your eyes is useless; we can use our eyes and also our hands." I raised my hand to touch his lips, then slowly let go of my spirit, enveloping him within my heart.

"Furthermore, we don't need anything else. Whatever we think, it can come true."

Indeed, his calm and composed expression vanished in an instant. He opened his eyes, his expression resembling that of Wu Jiu, smiling lovingly, then leaned down to kiss my lips deeply.

*Sigh*, this "Awakened Dream Like," am I deceiving him? Or am I using him to deceive myself?

Pulling apart, he opened his eyes, but they were confused. After a while, he regained clarity.

He smiled bitterly. "In that case, Miss can protect herself. That day when Feiyang was going through tribulation was even more troublesome."

But though he said that, when he kissed me earlier, he held my arms tightly and never let go.

"Feiyang, no. 'Awakened Dream Like' must be driven by the heart. When I just obtained a human body after completing my tribulation, as you saw, I had no consciousness at all. My Daoheart wasn't solid, I couldn't even move my fingers, so there was no strength. At that time, if you hadn't saved me here," my voice lowered, "anyone could have... anyone could... done whatever they wanted to Miss."

His arms trembled slightly as he held mine.

It turned out that I was contentedly thinking in my heart, realizing that I could meet someone as good as my Wu Jiu even in the mortal realm.

"Alright, Feiyang, I am fortunate to meet a gentleman like you. Since you've kissed and touched me, and I don't know how many days I've slept on your bed, you might as well marry me. Otherwise, Lady and Wu Jiu will say later that I owe you something and won't repay it."

I felt that my words were quite courteous, gentle, and polite, but the man released his arms that had been wrapped around mine.

"Feiyang dare not."

I was somewhat annoyed. This isn't a man; he's literally a piece of wood.

"Hey, you're so annoying. Are you even a man?"

He smiled with his eyes closed. "I am. If Miss will look down, you'll find I'm a very normal man, and indeed, you're the most beautiful woman Feiyang has ever seen."

I actually believed this piece of wood and looked down to the ground.

Here was just a dilapidated wooden house built on compacted mud. Could flowers bloom on the mud? That's my mountain ghost sister's hobby. I haven't heard of any men in the mortal realm who could do that.

"There are no flowers blooming on the ground. What do you want me to see?"

He was stunned for a moment before laughing heartily.

"Nothing. Miss is truly... truly..." It seemed he couldn't find the words.

"Truly what?"

"Miss Meng'er, you said you would pledge yourself to marry Feiyang, but after pledging yourself, do you know what to do?"

"I know. You go find something colorful to carry me back to your home. Since I said I would pledge myself, it's naturally according to your mortal customs. Do we need to follow our Kunlun and Immortal Realm customs? We practice dual cultivation. With your current mortal cultivation rank, if we dual cultivate, my cultivation would be reduced to one-tenth of its original level. Alright, alright. Since you also said I am the most beautiful woman you've ever seen, you might as well marry me, so Lady and Wu Jiu won't say later that I owe someone something and won't repay it."

Hearing the name Wu Jiu, he opened his eyes, glanced at me quickly, then closed them again.

After a while, he said, "Miss Meng'er, is Wu Jiu your husband?"

I was startled. "Husband? We haven't even married yet. Where did the idea of a husband come from? Moreover, among our Kunlun clan, marriages are rare. It's possible to form immortal partnerships with immortals from the Immortal Realm. Before the tribulation, I didn't even have a human body, my Daoheart wasn't solid, how could I dare to form an immortal partnership?"

"But, Miss Meng'er, in the past ten days or so, even if you hadn't woken up, you've been frequently calling out the name Wu Jiu, sometimes smiling, sometimes angry."

I stared blankly at him. Wu Jiu is undoubtedly the one I love most, but why did this man's tone sound strange when he said that? And why did I feel a bit of pity hearing him say that?