The sun had fully set by the time Yan Shuo and Tantai Zhi returned to the Cloudsoaring Peak.
The courtyard was bathed in the soft, glowing light of floating spirit lanterns. In the center of the jade patio sat a brand new, incredibly massive reclining chair. It was carved entirely from a single piece of Heavenly Wood, radiating a soothing, fragrant spiritual energy that naturally calmed the mind.
Tantai Zhi had completely ignored Yan Shuo's suggestion to "ask the Sect Master" for a chair. Instead, on their way up the mountain, she had casually waved her hand and uprooted a thousand-year-old sacred tree from a neighboring peak, carving it into a perfectly polished recliner in under ten seconds.
"Is it soft enough, Husband?" Tantai Zhi asked, her golden eyes wide with eager anticipation. She had layered the chair with the pelt of a high-tier Cloud Leopard to make it extra plush.
Yan Shuo sat down, sinking into the absurdly luxurious fur. He let out a long, contented sigh. It felt like sitting on a warm cloud.
"It's absolutely perfect, Wife," Yan Shuo smiled, reaching out to pat her hand. "You spoil me too much."
"I am your wife. It is my only job to spoil you," she stated matter-of-factly, kneeling beside his chair and resting her chin on his knee. She looked completely relaxed, humming that familiar, hilariously off-key tune under her breath.
Yan Shuo gently stroked her soft black hair, but his mind was running a mile a minute.
He needed to test a theory. The faded scar from the Nether Wolf, the off-key humming—it was starting to become too much of a coincidence. His pragmatic veteran brain hated unanswered questions.
"Wife," Yan Shuo said casually, leaning back in the Heavenly Wood chair. "I am feeling a little hungry. Since you worked so hard making this chair for me, why don't I prepare a snack for us?"
Tantai Zhi's head snapped up, her eyes widening in absolute horror.
"Husband! No!" she gasped, grabbing his hands as if he had just threatened to throw himself off a cliff. "You are the master of the house! Your noble hands cannot touch dirty kitchen pots! If you are hungry, I will go hunt a spiritual beast right now! I will kidnap the emperor's personal chef!"
"No kidnapping," Yan Shuo laughed, gently squeezing her hands to calm her down. "I actually enjoy cooking. It's a nice way to relax my Qi. Just let me do this for you. Consider it a thank you."
Tantai Zhi melted instantly at the words 'thank you.' Her cheeks flushed a deep, beautiful pink, and she reluctantly let go of his hands. "If... if Husband truly wants to. But please, don't burn yourself. I will supervise."
Yan Shuo stood up and walked over to the small stone table in the courtyard.
He didn't need a kitchen. He casually flicked his wrist, pulling a few items from the massive hoard in his high-tier storage ring.
First, a slab of perfectly preserved, incredibly rare spiritual beast meat that he had hunted a century ago. Second, a small jade cutting board. And finally, a handful of ancient, dried spices and herbs he had kept for emergency rations in his past life.
Tantai Zhi watched him with sparkling eyes, entirely fascinated by the simple, domestic sight of her husband rolling up his pristine white sleeves.
Yan Shuo began sorting through the ancient herbs. He picked up a small, gnarled, deeply ugly black root.
It was called a Bitter-Frost Root. It was essentially a weed that grew in the freezing mud of the Northern Wastelands. It tasted like dirt and battery acid, but poor, starving wanderers would chew on it because it numbed the stomach and generated a tiny bit of internal heat to stave off frostbite. To a peak-level cultivator like the Saintess, this root was basically garbage.
Yan Shuo intentionally tossed the ugly black root onto the discard pile at the edge of the table.
"I don't need this weed," Yan Shuo muttered aloud, picking up his knife to slice the meat.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her closely.
Tantai Zhi blinked. She looked at the discarded Bitter-Frost Root. A strange, incredibly soft expression crossed her flawless face. It wasn't the obsessive gaze of a yandere, nor the cold arrogance of a peak expert. It was a look of profound, quiet nostalgia.
She reached out with her pale, delicate fingers and picked the ugly root off the table.
"Husband," Tantai Zhi said softly, holding the root up to the lantern light. "You shouldn't throw this away. It's actually quite good."
Yan Shuo stopped slicing the meat. His heart gave a hard, sudden thump against his ribs.
"Good?" Yan Shuo echoed, forcing his voice to remain perfectly casual. "It's a Bitter-Frost Root. It tastes like frozen mud. Why would a majestic Saintess like you even know what this weed is?"
Tantai Zhi smiled. It was a small, slightly sad smile. She brought the root to her lips and took a small bite, completely ignoring the bitter, nasty flavor.
"I didn't always live in a jade palace, Husband," she murmured, her golden eyes distant. "A long time ago, when I was very small and very cold, someone gave me one of these. It tasted terrible... but it kept me warm. It kept me alive long enough for him to build a fire."
She looked back at Yan Shuo, her eyes shining with that intense, unwavering devotion.
"To me, this tastes like salvation."
Yan Shuo's brain completely stopped functioning for three full seconds.
Oh no.
The realization crashed into his mind like a physical blow. The beggar girl. The half-frozen sixteen-year-old girl he had dragged out of the snow hundred years ago, and fed a piece of roasted wolf meat, and left in a mortal village a hundred years ago.
He stared at the breathtaking, mature, wildly overpowered 120-year-old Saintess sitting in front of him.
I married the snot-nosed girl I gave my leftovers to?!
His veteran, pragmatic brain completely short-circuited. It was too weird. He remembered her wiping her nose on her sleeve and crying over a dead wolf. And now, she was his terrifying sugar mommy who vaporized people for looking at him wrong.
The sheer absurdity of it made a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck. Suddenly, her unhinged, obsessive devotion made terrifying sense. To him, he was just tossing a stray dog a bone. To her, he was the god who pulled her out of hell.
"Husband?" Tantai Zhi tilted her head, noticing his frozen posture and the slight twitch in his eye. "Did you cut your finger?"
"No," Yan Shuo said quickly, clearing his throat and forcefully putting the knife down.
He had to act natural. If he acted weird, she would ask questions. If she asked questions, he might accidentally reveal he was the reincarnated Demon Lord, and then she would probably lock him in a golden cage forever out of sheer protective madness.
He walked around the table, gently took the bitter root out of her hand, and tossed it into the bushes.
"You don't need to eat weeds anymore, Wife," Yan Shuo said, patting her shoulder awkwardly. He tried to sound like a doting husband, but he just felt like a very confused old man. "I'll make sure you only eat the best things from now on."
Tantai Zhi gasped softly in surprise. To her, his awkward shoulder pat was the height of romantic reassurance. She instantly melted, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face happily against his side.
"As long as I am with Husband, everything is sweet," she whispered.
Yan Shuo stood there, stiff as a board, staring at the courtyard wall. This is fine, he told himself pragmatically. She is a grown woman now. She's incredibly strong. She pays for everything. Just don't think about the snot-nosed kid. Eat the soft rice and keep your mouth shut.
The incredibly awkward moment in the courtyard was suddenly, violently interrupted by the frantic fluttering of a glowing paper crane.
The magical message construct zipped over the courtyard walls and hovered directly in front of Yan Shuo's face, glowing with the frantic spiritual signature of Sect Master Zhao.
Yan Shuo sighed in absolute relief, incredibly grateful for the distraction. He reached out and tapped the paper crane with his finger.
Sect Master Zhao's panicked voice immediately echoed in the courtyard.
"Lord Yan! Please forgive this unfilial Sect Master for interrupting your evening! But we have an emergency! The... the mountain of spirit stones you left at the gates... it's causing a crisis!"
Yan Shuo raised an eyebrow. "A crisis? Did the Su family complain the pile wasn't big enough?"
"No! Miss Su took one look at the pile, fainted, and her bodyguards dragged her carriage back down the mountain!" Zhao's voice crackled through the crane. "The problem is the outer sect disciples! The ambient Qi from your spirit stones is so dense that thirty disciples have accidentally broken through to the next realm while sweeping the stairs! The local economy of the mountain towns has completely crashed due to hyperinflation from the sheer proximity of your wealth!"
Yan Shuo couldn't help it. He burst out laughing, the tension finally leaving his shoulders. He had accidentally caused an economic collapse by throwing his pocket change at his annoying ex-fiancée.
"But that is not the main issue," Sect Master Zhao continued, his voice dropping into a nervous whisper. "Word of your... immense financial display... has already reached the Central Continent. The Golden Dragon Pavilion—the largest merchant guild in the world—has just sent an envoy."
"The Golden Dragon Pavilion?" Yan Shuo muttered, his veteran memory clicking into place. They were an organization backed directly by the Righteous Alliance. If the Alliance needed money to fund their wars, they used the Pavilion to squeeze it out of the sects.
"Yes," Zhao confirmed. "Since the Alliance lost the Asura's Vault today, they are desperate for funds. The Pavilion is hosting their decennial Grand Auction next week. They sent you a Diamond VIP Invitation. Lord Yan... it's a trap. They want to lure you there, treat you like a fat sheep, and goad you into spending your entire fortune to recoup their losses."
Yan Shuo smiled. It was a sharp, dangerous smile that made the air in the courtyard grow slightly heavy.
The Righteous Alliance thought they could scam him? Him? The man who had basically invented modern market manipulation during his reign as a Demon Lord?
"Sect Master," Yan Shuo replied to the paper crane, his voice incredibly smooth and entirely unbothered. "Please tell the envoy that I graciously accept their invitation."
"Lord Yan, are you sure?!" Zhao cried out. "They are ruthless! They will drain you dry!"
"Don't worry about my wallet, Sect Master," Yan Shuo chuckled. "Just have the sect's flying ship prepared for tomorrow morning."
He tapped the paper crane, dispersing the magic, and looked down at Tantai Zhi.
She was looking up at him, her eyes completely devoid of the peaceful happiness from a moment ago. A dark, murderous aura was already starting to leak from her crimson robes.
"They want to steal Husband's money?" Tantai Zhi asked, her voice dropping to that terrifying, raspy whisper. "I will go to the Central Continent tonight. I will burn the Golden Dragon Pavilion to the ground. I will turn the auctioneers into bloody paste."
"No burning, Wife," Yan Shuo said quickly, gently smoothing out the wrinkles in her robes.
He needed to go to that auction. Breaking through to Core Formation required incredibly specific, rare elemental treasures that couldn't be found in his old vault. If the biggest merchant guild in the world was gathering all their best items in one place, it saved him the trouble of hunting for them. Plus, leaving the sect for a few days would keep her distracted and give him time to adjust to his weird new reality.
"We are not going to burn it," Yan Shuo said, his eyes gleaming with pragmatic, absolute confidence. "We are going to go there, we are going to sit in the VIP box, and we are going to legally, completely rob them blind."
He tapped her nose playfully, playing his role perfectly.
"Consider it our first official date. You can wear a nice dress, and I'll buy you something shiny. How does that sound?"
The killing intent vanished instantly.
"A date?!" Tantai Zhi gasped, her hands flying to her cheeks. Her terrifying demeanor entirely evaporated, replaced by the sheer panic of a maiden trying to figure out her wardrobe. "Husband wants to take me on a date?! I need to change! I need to do my hair! I need to go threaten the sect's tailors immediately!"
Yan Shuo watched her spin around in circles in the courtyard and let out a long, exhausted sigh.
Yes, moving to the Central Continent for a few days was going to be highly entertaining.