One month later—
In the blink of an eye, autumn had arrived.
The wild geese migrated south, and the mountains around the Dragon House were also covered with a layer of gold.
In front of the main hall of the inner palace, two maids stood guard at the door, whispering about their master. "Since Miss Li came back from the Eastern Region, I feel that she is always depressed and can't cheer up."
"I saw it too. Do you think something happened in the Eastern Region?"
"But didn't I hear that the war was going well? There were no casualties in the Dragon House, and when the flying ship came back a few days ago, it brought back a lot of natural materials and spirit stones. I heard that they were all spoils of war from the demonic sects."
… …
At the desk in the main hall, Li Longling, wearing a light golden home dress, propped up her cheek and softly rubbed the feathers on Ah Feng's belly. She had raised it again for several years now.
Hearing the two maids talking at the door, she did not stop them, but just let out a breath and asked Ah Feng, "Ah Feng, do you think... should I go to the Black Star Sect?"
"Chi."
"Anping hasn't written to me for a long time. Has he forgotten me?"
"Chiu?"
"Ah-- that's right. Anping has Sister Pei, Young Miss Xiao, and the others. He must accompany them."
Li Longling sat straight, turned Ah Feng's head 90 degrees to look at the portrait hanging on the wall, and used its eyes to look at her fiancé's face. Her heart felt inexplicably stifled.
Although Ye Anping promised that he would marry her in the future, she thought about her situation.
Not only was she disabled by blindness, but she was also young and didn't have an attractive figure. Although she boasted that her face was one of the best in the Western Region, the girls around Ye Anping were all beauties, not to mention that she was only in the late stage of Foundation Building…
At her age of twenty, the late stage of Foundation Building was considered a great achievement, but it paled compared with Xiao Yunluo and the other girls.
And because she chose to inherit the family business left to her by her father, she could not accompany Ye Anping all the time like Xiao Yunluo and the others.
The more Li Longling thought about it, the more depressed she became. She felt that between her and Ye Anping, there was only one promise he made to her.
If she didn't do something, Ye Anping might really forget her.
But what could she do?
Ye Anping was already a Nascent Soul cultivator. His cultivation was comparable to her father's, and Xiao Yunluo and the others were always beside him. Even if she were to follow Ye Anping, she would have to do her best not to hold him back, so how could she help him?
"Ah– Ah Feng, am I just like a decorative vase next to Anping..."
"Chi~~"
"Can't you say a word to comfort me? Parrots can talk, but you are a phoenix..."
"Chi..."
Li Longling sighed slightly. Her ears moved as she heard a series of subtle footsteps approaching from outside the hall. She took a deep breath and patted her cheeks before sitting up straight and showing the majesty of the Lady of the Dragon House.
Tap tap tap—
"Miss!! Miss!!"
"Hmm..." Li Longling saw through Ah Feng's eyes that it was Ling'er, who had been with her for more than ten years. She relaxed a little and pretended to be dealing with the affairs of the Dragon House, then replied calmly, "Come in."
Ling'er opened the door of the main hall and ran to Li Longling's desk. She put a jade slip with the totem of the Black Star Sect on the table.
"Miss, there is good news! It's from Black Star Sect!!"
The haze in Li Longling's heart was swept away instantly. She thought that Ye Anping had finally sent her a letter, but she was the leader of the Dragon House after all, so she couldn't act so surprised.
"What's the big deal? Good news is good news. Why are you in such a rash?"
"But Miss, it's really..."
"Heh-- let me see."
Li Longling looked calm on the surface, but she couldn't wait to pick up the jade slip and plunge her spiritual sense into it.
She was quite happy thinking that Ye Anping had sent a letter to ask her for help or to ask how she was doing recently. However, when she saw the contents of the jade slip, she frowned slightly.
The jade slip said that Feng Yu Die was pregnant with Ye Anping's child. It was sent by Xiao Yunluo, who invited her to visit the Black Star Sect...
Ling'er didn't know what Li Longling was thinking, and she said happily, "Senior Feng is pregnant! Miss, go to the Black Star Sect in a few days... I will arrange guards..."
As she said that, Ling'er wanted to run out, but was stopped by Li Longling. "Wait."
"Huh? Miss, do you have any other instructions? Do you want me to prepare a gift for Senior Feng?"
"..."
Li Longling hesitated to speak and suddenly felt a little blocked in her heart.
The jade slip said that Feng Yu Die was already five and a half months pregnant.
But why did she receive the jade slip to inform her only now? It was as if he suddenly remembered her existence, and it was not even Ye Anping who sent the message to her, but Sister Xiao...
Did Ye Anping really forget her...
"Well... I understand. I won't go. Ling'er, arrange for someone to send the gift from me later..."
"Ah? Miss, aren't you going over? Miss, haven't you been talking about Young Master Ye every day these days? Take this opportunity to meet him."
Li Longling exhaled slightly and forced a smile. "I won't bother him. Anping must take care of Sister Feng. I'd better not go..."
"Ah? But Miss..."
"Okay~ I'll go after Sister Feng's baby is born. During this time, let Anping accompany Sister Feng well..." Li Longling propped on the table, stood up, and put Ah Feng on her shoulder. "I'll go back to the bedroom to rest. Ling'er, if anyone comes, please send them away... I won't see guests today."
Ling'er didn't know what was wrong with Li Longling, but she could clearly see that she seemed very sad.
"Ah..."
However, before she could ask, Li Longling took Ah Feng out of the main hall door and headed toward the bedroom along the corridor.
She stepped slowly with her embroidered shoes as the walking stick hanging at her waist swayed slightly.
Li Longling looked through Ah Feng's eyes at the carefully tended fish ponds planted with grass on both sides of the corridor, but she felt increasingly depressed. It was autumn, and autumn had always been a sad and lonely season since ancient times.
"Cold and desolate, miserable and miserable... It's hard to see anything good in this situation."
However, although she said so, Li Longling also understood one thing.
Love between men and women was worthless in the long journey to immortality. She could understand why Ye Anping rarely came to see her...
She naturally didn't want to make trouble for Ye Anping because of her little willfulness. As a wife, she should silently support her husband from behind the scenes. She couldn't help Ye Anping too much but at least she shouldn't cause him trouble. How could she be so willful for a little bit of love...
Li Longling looked gloomy, and there was a trace of sadness that was difficult to conceal in her eyes, but she still forced a smile as she jokingly comforted herself. "Anping won't forget me, right?"
"Chi?"
"Well, of course not. Anping promised to marry me... I'll just wait. A hundred years, two hundred years, or even a thousand years, I can wait..."
As she spoke, Li Longling suddenly burst into tears, overwhelmed with grief.
But soon, she came to her senses. She raised her hand to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes and took a deep breath, calming down again.
She retracted the sight spell from her eyes, making her vision dark, and then continued to move forward along the path she knew by heart.
Rustle...
The embroidered shoes gently rubbed the ground with a rustling sound.
After she walked about two hundred steps along the corridor, Ah Feng, who was beside her, suddenly cried.
"Chiu Chiu!"
Li Longling didn't understand. "Ah Feng, what's wrong... Hey?!"
Bang—
Before she could finish her words, her head seemed to hit something, and she lost her balance, falling backward.
However, a pair of strong arms hugged her waist and held her in his arms.
Ye Anping was actually quite puzzled. He originally wanted to give Li Longling a surprise. Seeing her walking from the main hall to the back hall alone, he went around here and planned to show up halfway to see if she would be overjoyed and pounce on him.
However, Li Longling appeared not to see him as she walked with her head down the whole time and bumped into his chest.
"Longling, what's wrong?"
Ye Anping raised his hand and gently caressed the sparkling corner of Li Longling's eye.
Hearing Ye Anping's voice, she hurriedly borrowed Ah Feng's sight again, and when she saw his face, she froze for a moment, then she opened her arms and threw herself at his chest.
"Anping– I thought… I thought you forgot me..."
"..."
Ye Anping took a step back before bracing himself. He looked at Li Longling's excited look, and he was stunned for a long time before he answered, "How could I forget you?"
"Then, why didn't you write to me? I know you are busy and can't come to the Dragon House to find me, but… why didn't you send a letter to tell me that Sister Feng was pregnant? I thought you..."
"..."
So that's it... Ye Anping showed a somewhat apologetic look. "The main reason is that I don't have a messenger eagle pet and I rarely stayed in one place these years... When I was in the Eastern Region, I was always in the enemy camp and didn't have the chance to write to you..."
Li Longling bit her lips and pinched Ye Anping's waist through his clothes. When she realized that she had lost her composure, she let go of him, turned around, wiped her eyes, and took a deep breath. "So... Anping, what do you want me to do for you this time?? Actually, you didn't have to come all the way here. If you want my help, just send me a jade slip. "
"Longling, can I only come to you for your help?"
"Then… it can't be that you're here to talk about love with me, right? Miss Feng is even pregnant now, and you are not with her..."
"Yu Die has my sister and Yunluo to look after her. I think she'll be fine..." Ye Anping smiled helplessly. He took out a red letter from his storage bag and handed it over. "Here, my letter of engagement."
Li Longling froze for a long time, then reached out to take it and clenched it in her hands.
"You're so mean, you made me wait so long..."
"I wanted to send it earlier, but I couldn't find the time. After returning from the Northern Region, I went to the Eastern Wall in the Central Region, and then to Bright Star Sect in the Southern Region. After the Bright Star Sect, I came back to arrange my marriage with my sister, then I immediately set off for the Eastern Region a few days later..."
Li Longling smiled slightly, and then turned her head, pretending to be angry, and scolded him. "You used the excuse of sending the betrothal letter, but you didn't even prepare the betrothal gifts for me... I'm really angry."
"...Who said I didn't prepare it?"
"Huh?"
Ye Anping smiled and took out a white porcelain bottle from the storage bag.
"The tears of the ten-thousand-year-old turtle from the Southern Region... it should be able to cure your eyes. One month before coming to the Dragon House, I went to the Stargazing Sea in the Southern Region to find it for you... I drifted on the sea for a whole month for this."
"..."
"Moreover, you are already in the late stage of Foundation Building, and you are about to form your core. I also brought you some natural materials and treasures that you need. When the time comes, I will take you to the Black Star Sect to find Xuanji and ask her for the best place for you to form your core…"
"..."
Seeing Li Longling frozen, Ye Anping shook his head slightly, then simply took her hand and led her to the bedroom at the back.
"Let's try it. If it doesn't work, I will find other medicine for you…Longling, I promised you that I would help you heal your eyes, and I will definitely do what I said. And this is not only my promise to you, but also my promise to your father…"
Li Longling silently held Ye Anping's hand and walked into the bedroom.
Ye Anping now hoped that the tears of the ten-thousand-year-old spirit turtle could heal her eyes.
If it didn't work, it would be very embarrassing.
He asked Li Longling to sit on the bed. He then walked around, closed all the doors and windows of the bedroom, lit two dim oil lamps, and took out a set of silver needles.
Ye Anping put the silver needles and oil lamps aside, stroked Li Longling's back, let her lie down, and placed Ah Feng on the bird stand beside her.
"Chi?"
"Longling, lie down and relax..."
Li Longling only came back to her senses at this moment. Using Ah Feng's sight, she looked at Ye Anping, who was sitting by the bed, heating the silver needles with an oil lamp. She pursed her lips and grabbed his wrist.
"Eh? What's wrong?"
"Anping..."
Li Longling slowly clenched her left hand into a fist, and after a little consideration, she suddenly sat up, leaned forward, and kissed Ye Anping on the lips.
Ye Anping was stunned for a moment but did not move away. Only after Li Longling took the initiative to move away did he speak. "Longling… what are you doing..."
Li Longling slowly untied her hairband, letting her hair fall behind her like a waterfall, and then reached out and touched Ye Anping's lips.
"Anping... Do you remember what I said before?"
"..."
"You have me, and I have a family." Li Longling pursed her lips as she sat on his thigh, facing him. She hooked his neck with her arms and brought her face close to his. "Anping, I want to be yours..."
Ye Anping opened his lips slightly, lowered his eyes, and replied with a smile, "Longling, you are already mine."
"Well... Not yet, so make me yours, okay? Just like Sister Xiao and the others."
"Let me treat your eyes first..."
Li Longling immediately asked back, "Or, do you dislike me, Anping?"
"..."
Hearing this, Ye Anping shook his head slightly, then put down the silver needle that had been lingering over the oil lamp before gently hugging Li Longling's waist and taking the initiative to bite her lips.
Plop—
Then, they fell on the bed together.
Li Longling was a little nervous. Through the eyes of Ah Feng, she watched Ye Anping push her down. She felt strange for some reason, because from this perspective, she could not see the look of the woman under Ye Anping, and it was like seeing him push another woman down.
However, the touch and warmth of the lips were real.
The not-so-large but strong arms embraced her, and her mind gradually became blurred. She only felt a warmth spreading from her heart into her whole body.
"Longling..."
"Well... It's okay... oh..."
With a slight stinging pain, Li Longling withdrew the eye-shifting technique, and her vision returned to darkness again, but she was not afraid of it this time.
At this moment, the warm body temperature was like a beam of light, completely dispelling the darkness in her eyes...
Enveloping her and pushing her consciousness into the sea of clouds...
… …
Meanwhile—
In the City Lord's Mansion of Heavenly Sorrow City, Eastern Region—
A messenger hawk from the Black Star Sect came from the west, landed on the window sill of the room of the City Lord's Mansion tower top, and pecked at the window with its beak.
After a while, the window was opened by Yun Yiyi, who was wearing a golden long dress, and then she stretched out her little hand to take the jade slip with the Black Star Sect's emblem from the hawk's claws.
In the room, Yun Xi was lying on the bed with bandages all over her body, looking at the ceiling with resentment.
Yun Jiujiu was sitting on a chair wearing her robe that was several sizes too big, with the right sleeve of the robe empty, her right arm hanging around her neck, and a bandage wrapped around her head.
Seeing Yun Yiyi receiving the jade slip, Yun Jiujiu asked while drinking, "Sister, who sent it?"
"Well... it's from the Black Star Sect, it should be Young Miss Xiao or Anping?"
After Yun Yiyi sent away the eagle, she sat back at the table, sent her spiritual sense into the jade slip, and read the contents. Then, her eyebrows shot upward, and she was stunned.
"Miss Feng, she actually..."
Hearing that it was about Feng Yu Die, Yun Jiujiu also asked hurriedly, "No-bird? What happened to her?"
"She... is pregnant with Anping's child. It's been five and a half months, and she is now in the Black Star Sect to take care of the pregnancy."
"..."
Yun Jiujiu frowned, and even Yun Xi, who was pretty much despondent, suddenly revived and turned her head to look at her elder sister.
Then, Yun Jiujiu and Yun Xi said in unison, "What the hell?!!!"
"Miss Feng is pregnant. It seems that she got pregnant on the way back to the Black Star Sect by Anping..."
Yun Yiyi breathed a sigh of relief, put the jade slip on the table, and looked at Yun Jiujiu with interest. "Jiujiu, I'll tell Dad to take you to the Black Star Sect, right? If we leave now, we should be able to catch up with Miss Feng..."
"Why should I go? So what if she's pregnant, what does it have to do with me?" Yun Jiujiu looked away. "Damn, what kind of luck is this? How come she did it so soon..."
"Aren't you going to be my dowry maid in the future?"
"When did I become your dowry?!!" Yun Jiujiu stood up with a frown, raised her right hand, and dropped it on the table, hitting herself so hard that her whole body trembled. "Hiss—"
"It's settled then. Third Sister, do you want to..."
Yun Xi smiled wryly and sighed. "Forget it... Hehe, if I go over, she might have a difficult delivery, hehe... hehe... uh..."
"You're right."
?
Seeing her elder sister agree, Yun Xi froze for a moment, then she smiled even more sinisterly. "Hehehehe..."
Yun Yiyi sighed, not paying attention to her. "Jiujiu, let's just go there together."
"I won't go! It's none of my business! Damn it, if you have that time, you might as well stay in the Eastern Region and kill a few more demonic cultivators..."
"Really? If you don't go, Anping will probably be disappointed."
"..."
Yun Jiujiu paused, and she asked in confusion, "If I don't go, what does it have to do with whether my brother-in-law is disappointed or not?"
"Aren't you and Miss Feng close friends? When Miss Feng sees me there but not you, she will probably be sad."
"..."
"Okay, let's go. Don't you have something to say to your brother-in-law? You practiced so many times in front of the mirror, don't think I didn't hear you..."
?!!!
When Yun Jiujiu heard this, her face instantly turned red like an apple, and she raised her right hand and hit the table beside her.
Pah–!!!
Then, she immediately covered her right hand and rolled on the ground with a grimace."Hiss-- oh ay..."
Yun Yiyi shook her head slightly. "Okay, I'll go tell Dad, then we'll head over there. Third Sister, you come too... I was just joking with you. Anyway, the war in the Eastern Region has almost been settled..."