The hazy mist in the Internal World was getting thinner and thinner.
Thanks to the repeated tempering of various martial arts, they had already absorbed the ethereal shadows of stars within the Xuan Dan Sutra, making the stars more tangible and perfect.
Each Xuan Dan had to endure the long and tedious grinding of an Internal Breathing Realm martial artist, transforming through the art of qi condensation.
Yet in Ying Bing’s hands, it felt as easy as plucking a chess piece from a board.
“The Xuan Dan Sutra can be practiced like this?”
The wave of fulfillment brought by the stars in the Internal World was something Ke Mo was too busy to notice.
He could see that although Ying Bing seemed relaxed, each time she attached a star, it represented the culmination of a martial art that fit perfectly within her Internal World.
If it were up to him, it would take an unfathomable amount of martial comprehension.
Still stuck in the first layer of the Internal Realm.
But from now on, the starry sky inside the Internal World belonged solely to him, and there was no longer any need to resonate with heaven and earth when projecting the Internal Realm outside.
Stars twinkled, the sun dipped in the west, and the Qingyuan realm was enveloped in the tranquility of dusk.
Ke Mo retracted his view of the Internal Realm, feeling as though the trapped aura of a dynasty had been subdued by a colossal red giant holding up the heavens, no longer exerting any influence over him.
Stars swirled within the Internal World, and with a pop, Ke Mo opened the Dan furnace.
Just in time to see Ying Bing gently dissipating her Internal view as she descended. Someone was popping out of the furnace, arms outstretched towards her, and the once-cold, divine aura suddenly felt very down-to-earth.
The crowd at Danding Peak leaned back slightly.
Was this the same person who had just been so gentle?
“How does it feel?”
“From now on, my speaking shouldn’t be all royal and stuff.”
Ke Mo, wearing an expression of calm confidence, helped her stabilize.
“Let’s go home,” Ying Bing replied, realizing his invigorated state made her sigh in fatigue.
She didn’t even bother resisting when Ke Mo held her tightly.
“Okay, okay, I’ll carry you.”
Without hesitation, Ke Mo supported her long legs and picked up Ying Bing. He thought to himself, the old saying was indeed true: behind every accomplished guy, there’s a soft and squishy girl.
He could feel that Ying Bing wasn’t as easygoing as she appeared.
In fact, he’d seen her weak many times before when she suffered from the biting cold every day, always frowning. Several times he wanted to ask her how she was, but every time he met those icy, snow-like eyes, he just couldn’t say a word.
But now, she was softly resting against his back, her hands wrapped around his neck, lazily resembling a kitten.
“Ice Chunk, how can you find so many martial arts that suit me?”
Ying Bing leaned her cheek against his shoulder, her tone casual. “I came up with them in my spare time, picking through what fits you.”
Ke Mo’s mouth twitched; was that even human conversation?
For a moment, he couldn’t tell who the real genius was.
“No wonder I’ve never heard of those martial arts….”
“It’s fine, I’ll teach you bit by bit, just catch up.” Ying Bing, the self-proclaimed teacher, already had a curriculum prepared.
Ke Mo suddenly felt something was off. “Hey, how did you know those fit me?”
“While watching animations in the Internal World.”
“No wonder every time you finish an anime, you stare at the sky for so long! You’re working hard; how about a nice bath tonight?”
“Okay….”
Ying Bing instinctively nodded, only to suddenly remember something important.
Tonight was the time for system rankings again.
But he couldn’t possibly know anything about the system, nor could he predict the outcome in advance. It had to be a coincidence, right?
—
She raised her lovely face to look at him, but as the wind blew, Little Li hummed a little tune.
It sounded a bit odd.
“What song is that?”
“Zhu Bajie Carries….”
“Carries what?”
“Ahem, I can’t remember clearly. I heard a monk singing it.”
A Buddhist chant has such a jumbled, festive tune?
But seeing him so sincere, Ying Bing tightened her embrace a bit more, muddling through as she was carried back to Qiushui Pavilion.
Little Li had just returned, but Qiushui Pavilion was already filled with the scent of smoke as Gu Xueqin flitted about in the kitchen, with Li Dalong helping out.
Even though Li Mo’s culinary skills had improved, nothing could replace his mom’s flavors.
He didn’t even need to enter the kitchen; he already guessed tonight’s dinner would have baby bok choy.
In the yard, besides the residents of Qiushui Pavilion, the King of South Border was there too, fiddling with an abacus, seemingly calculating something.
“Uncle Zhong, are you calculating military salaries?”
Li Mo had just delivered Ice Chunk to her room to rest, and casually asked if there were any investment opportunities.
Zhong Qin lightly coughed. “With your help, there shouldn’t be any major chaos in the South Border, but I don’t have much private property, and I can’t afford to give you too little in dividends either.”
“Dividends?”
“Right! The imperial decree has already come down. Once the date is filled, I’ll return to the capital to report back. The emperor will help arrange things for you. By the way, when did you fill in the auspicious date?”
“…..”
Li Mo thought to himself, how would he know?
The imperial decree was with Ice Chunk; he had no idea when it was filled out or not.
“Uncle Zhong, since you’ve contributed along with the emperor, it would be too polite to give a gift in return.”
Glancing at Ice Chunk’s room upstairs, Li Mo asked, “How are royal weddings usually conducted?”
Zhong Qin relaxed his brow. “Aside from the higher standards, royal weddings aren’t too different from an ordinary family.”
Li Mo imagined himself in a suit, Ice Chunk in a wedding gown, exchanging rings after the host asks, “Do you wish to spend the rest of your life with him/her?”…
Uh, Nine Heavens and Ten Earths probably shouldn’t follow that flow.
He had seen it in dreams, but unfortunately, those weren’t reality, and the details were very vague.
“How do regular families handle it?”
Just then, Ice Chunk, who had just gone upstairs, came back down, her face serene and beautiful in the night.
She entered the kitchen to bring out dishes, seemingly unaware of their conversation.
“For major events in life, even in common households, there are many details, like the groom has to go to the bride’s home to carry her…”
Li Mo nodded, noting everything he said to ask Clan Leader Shang later, casually picking up the baby bok choy Ice Chunk brought.
Every time Zhong Qin got to the point, Ice Chunk would return, just in time to bring back a plate of food.
“Ice Chunk, if you’re curious about something….”
“Curious about what?”
Ying Bing tilted her head, her expression clearly showing she didn’t understand what they were talking about.
“…..”
At this time, Li Dalong and Gu Xueqin exited the kitchen, Old Li’s face full of joy.
“I just heard everything. As someone who has been through it, I know it’s definitely more straightforward. Want me to demonstrate for you, my boy?”
Old Li couldn’t help his son much at all; in fact, he often felt like his son had outgrown him.
But now, he finally found his authority as a father.
