Chapter 18

#My compassion for Xie Xuanqing was completely destroyed by Xie Zhuo.

The mere thought that one day that young man would turn into the person I’m currently arguing with makes me want to wash my eyes with lime water three hundred times, or better yet, just blind myself to put an end to it.

That night, filled with anger, I reflected on what I had to do the next day. The following morning, I got up early, didn’t say goodbye to Xie Zhuo, and left the house directly.

I didn’t go to find Xie Xuanqing, but instead returned to my own immortal mansion from five hundred years ago.

Now that Xia Xia was heartbroken by Xie Zhuo, and she had locked herself inside to mourn, I took a huge risk by coming here, because what I planned to do to Xie Xuanqing today required a lot of spiritual stones.

Following the principle of “taking from myself isn’t stealing,” I headed straight for the place where I kept my money in my immortal mansion.

In Kunlun, the Queen Mother of the West has always advocated for a natural and frugal cultivation path. Whether small immortals or great immortals, rich or poor, everyone in the immortal mansions makes efforts to simplify their attendant staff. For example, in Mengmeng’s mansion, there isn’t a single immortal servant.

Because of my own greed for good food back in the day, I had a little pig demon working as a cook in my mansion, but other than that, there was no one else. Later, after Xie Zhuo entered the mansion, he didn’t like outsiders, so he sent the pig demon away.

I made my way inside smoothly, almost unnaturally so, and even the pain in my body when near Xia Xia didn’t surface much.

I didn’t dwell on it too long and took all the spiritual stones from my little treasure chest.

It’s not that I’m being harsh on myself, but because I know that I’m about to ascend to become a celestial. Once I’ve ascended, many people from Kunlun will be sending me gifts.

Being poor for three to five days won’t kill anyone.

With a bag full of spiritual stones, I didn’t rush to find Xie Xuanqing. Instead, I headed straight for Kunlun’s East Market, where I found a rather shady business location—Cuihu Tai.

A place I’m quite familiar with.

Kunlun is a land for immortals, led by the Queen Mother of the West. There are twenty-four positions for great immortals, and currently, Kunlun has been standing for 8,000 years. Including myself, there are nineteen immortals in the twenty-four positions, with five vacancies. These positions are responsible for various duties in Kunlun, and the vacant seats are rotated among the other immortals.

Before my ascension, I was one of the commanders of Kunlun’s defense army. After my ascension, the responsibility of guarding Kunlun was rotated among the immortals, but I took over the unified management.

It may seem like an important position, but in reality, it’s just a leisurely job.

After all, most immortals are calm and peaceful, unlike me and Xie Zhuo who are somewhat unconventional. There’s hardly any theft or conflict; even when occasional fights break out, they’re kept under control and don’t lead to fatalities.

With the Pangu Axe’s barrier protecting Kunlun, we only need to patrol the barrier every day. The defense army has already been running for thousands of years and has a well-established system, so there’s no need for me to make changes or offer suggestions.

Thus, after I took office, the place I visited most often was the East Market in Kunlun.

The East Market in Kunlun is the most chaotic place in the entire region.

Unlike the West Market, which is run by residents of Kunlun, the East Market is home to not only immortals from outside but also demons and all kinds of strange beings.

Kunlun doesn’t restrict immortals, demons, or strange creatures from trading, but to prevent evil beings from sneaking in, the defense army conducts regular inspections at the East Market every month.

Before my ascension, I was the one inspecting, but once I became the head of the defense army, these duties were delegated to the lower-ranking generals.

Back then, we used to inspect the East Market rigorously, especially Cuihu Tai, because it’s a place… falsely advertised as an inn.

It’s run by beautiful fox demons of all shapes and sizes, male, female, or androgynous, with the slogan, “We’ll satisfy your every need.”

Because of their dedication to their work, their reputation spread even outside of Kunlun, and many immortals, demons, and strange beings came to visit.

However, because of the nature of the business, people’s desires run wild, making it a perfect place for evil beings to hide.

Therefore, every time the defense army conducted an inspection, we’d shut them down for an entire day to thoroughly check. Over time, we got to know the innkeeper there quite well.

As I walked up to the entrance, a male fox demon, dressed flamboyantly with his chest half-exposed, saw me. He was about to call out “Immortal,” but paused when he saw my face.

He stood up straight, instinctively adjusting his clothes.

“General Fu,” he smiled stiffly. “Is this a surprise inspection today?”

Yes, I had always come here for inspections before, but today…

I kept a stern face, holding my ground, and patted the bag of spiritual stones at my waist.

The male fox demon froze for a moment, then looked troubled, perhaps afraid of serving me.

I didn’t make things difficult for him and asked, “Where’s Old Qin?”

Old Qin is their head steward, responsible for both money and people. He always accompanied us during inspections.

The male fox demon answered weakly, “Steward Qin is also receiving guests.”

How diligent! The manager even personally attended to the guests. No wonder they’re so famous.

“Tell him to come see me.”

I’ve been here so many times for inspections that even after returning to this time five hundred years ago, I remember the way clearly. I found Old Qin’s room without trouble and sat down to pour myself a cup of tea, waiting for him to arrive.

During this brief moment of waiting, I suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity mixed with unfamiliarity.

Five hundred years ago, I often drank and sparred with the soldiers, sometimes meeting friends to admire the snow on Kunlun’s high mountains or chat with these innkeepers and staff after completing official duties.

But after marrying Xie Zhuo… or rather, after meeting him, the time I spent alone diminished considerably.

In the beginning, it was me chasing after him, with no time for anything else. Later, we got married, and he loved to follow me around.

To others, we seemed inseparable, like glue, but I lost a lot of the time I had to myself.

But this was something I had prepared for before marriage. Between a husband and wife, it’s never the same as being alone.

I gave up some of my time, and Xie Zhuo gave up some of his. We got married, and life became not just mine, but ours.

Though our marriage was sudden, I was clear in my heart about it, so after marriage, I didn’t feel much of a gap. I quickly adapted to the feeling of being with someone.

Xie Zhuo had no past in our marriage, so I tried to integrate him into my life as much as possible.

I had even brought him along to hang out with friends.

But with his cold expression and reluctance to speak, whenever we went out, everyone felt an inexplicable pressure from him, except for the slow-witted Mengmeng. Gradually, my other friends became distant.

As time passed, I became an immortal in Kunlun, the head of the defense army, and my life became more and more distant from these trivial, yet real, moments.

Knock knock A pair of white, impossibly slender fingers knocked on the table in front of me.

I looked up and saw the exceptionally handsome face of the fox demon steward, Old Qin.

His hair hung loose, and his fox-like, charming eyes held a half-smile, as if brimming with spring water, as he gazed at me with a teasing look. “General Jiuxia, coming alone today to my Cuihu Tai Terrace—what sort of inspection are you planning this time?”

This fox spirit was a little too seductive, even though he was a man.

Other than sparring with fellow generals at the barracks, it had been far too long since I’d been this close to a man who wasn’t Xie Zhuo.

I blinked and glanced at his half-open chest. A few strands of hair dangled over his nearly perfect collarbone, swaying slightly, making me want to brush them aside.

I cleared my throat, regained my composure, took a sip of tea to steady myself, then shifted back a little. Only after mentally preparing myself did I look up at him again.

“Today, I’m a guest.”

Old Qin raised his eyebrows. Then he slowly sat beside me, rested his chin in his hand, and leaned closer to study my face.

I couldn’t help but inch back again.

Old Qin chuckled. “Immortal Jiuxia, with how flustered and shy you are, you hardly look like a guest.”

I steadied myself, reminding myself that this was a fox spirit over eight hundred years older than me—I mustn’t let his looks sway me.

“I’m not the guest you need to entertain.” I pulled out a pouch and took out seven fine spirit stones.

Old Qin’s eyebrows lifted again. He was a fox who loved money, and now his smile turned more genuine and charming as he looked at me. “These spirit stones are quite nice. Which noble guest would Immortal Jiuxia like me to entertain?”

“A quiet little demon.” I pushed the spirit stones over one by one. “Bring out your seven prettiest girls.”

Old Qin’s slender fingers began pulling the stones toward him, one by one. “What kind of demon is worthy of such extravagant hospitality from you, Immortal Jiuxia? I’m almost jealous.”

“One I like,” I said.

Old Qin’s hand paused. He looked up at me.

I put on a serious face, hoping he’d take my request seriously. “Today, I’m going to drive him away.”

I thought to myself, if I suddenly told Xie Xuanqing that I didn’t like him and told him to stay away, he’d definitely not believe me. He might even think I had some unspeakable reason behind it. So instead, I’d mislead him, twist my feelings into brotherly affection. I’d take my brother to a brothel, surround him with pretty girls. Wouldn’t that make it clear I didn’t like him romantically?

If Xie Xuanqing got the message, he certainly wouldn’t want to marry me anymore.

But Old Qin, a seasoned flirt in matters of love, looked at me for a moment before laughing behind his hand. “Jiuxia, if you’re trying to push someone away, you’re spending your money all wrong.”

I blinked. He went on to advise me, “You’d do better to hire a few companions for yourself—let him think you’re a flighty playboy. That’ll scare him off for sure, won’t it?”

I thought about it and realized—he had a point!

So I split the seven spirit stones, pushing aside three. I pointed at the remaining four to the left and said, “Get four for him.”

Then I pointed at the three on the right and said, “And three for me.”

Old Qin scooped up the three stones on the right in one swift motion. “What a coincidence,” he said, “Three is exactly my going rate.”