Chapter Twenty-One: The Twin Pupils

Just after dinner, Fairy Xueyun came by again. She intended to sleep with her daughter tonight and insisted on telling a bedtime story.

"Once upon a time, there was a very wicked demonic cultivator. This cultivator killed many other cultivators, until finally, the great masters of the immortal cultivation world joined forces to slay him."

Jiang Wan asked, "What about a demonic cultivator who isn't wicked?"

Fairy Xueyun, who was telling this story to warn her daughter, was momentarily stunned by the question. "A non-wicked demonic cultivator? There is no such thing. Let me tell you, all demonic cultivators are wicked. We immortal cultivators and demonic cultivators are natural-born enemies. In the future, if you encounter one, it will be either you killing them or them killing you."

Jiang Wan let out an "oh." Her mother was truly terrible at storytelling; it was far inferior to the novels she used to read. There was no detail, no plot, just a blunt lecture that she should never become a demonic cultivator. The only benefit was that it helped her fall asleep. Jiang Wan drifted off, forgetting her goal of breaking through to the third level of Qi Refining.

When she woke up the next morning, she remembered her training. She picked up her white cat, Fat Tiger, and petted him. "Fat Tiger, I forgot to practice last night. You must remind me tonight. No matter what, I have to break through to the third level of Qi Refining."

"Meow—" Fat Tiger agreed with a meow.

Jiang Wan took out her turtle and shook it, but it was sleeping even more soundly than she was. Forget it; she couldn't count on it.

"Little Junior Sister, get up and have a chicken leg! That Fairy Nangong is here again with Elder Tonghua. Previously, when Master Chuzhou was severely injured and needed to marry to balance his Yin and Yang, they seized the opportunity to demand four spiritual veins. Now that Master Chuzhou has recovered and even leveled up, they’ve come back to say they don't want those three spiritual veins anymore, but they are insisting on the wedding happening as soon as possible! For a prestigious clan like the Nangongs, they are truly shameless!"

Jiang Wan, surprised, handed a piece of her chicken leg to Fat Tiger. "What did my mother say? Surely she wouldn't agree, right?"

Zixiang shook her head. "I don't know. The Sect Master is in seclusion, and Master Chuzhou is also in seclusion. The Sect Mistress shouldn't agree to it."

Jiang Wan didn't think she would either, but she was dying to see Nangong Shuyin. Last time, she had seen a green aura of luck above the woman's head, and she wondered if it had faded yet. "Sister Zixiang, take me there."

"Is this little Jiang Wan's courtyard?"

Before Jiang Wan could finish her sentence, she heard a voice outside—it sounded exactly like the white-haired Master Nanchen. Before the words had even faded, Master Nanchen appeared at her door and scooped her up into his arms. He really did find holding this little girl comfortable.

"Eating a chicken leg first thing in the morning, little one? Aren't you tired of it?"

Jiang Wan looked at the chicken leg in her hand, then at his snow-white Daoist robes. "Not tired of it! It's delicious, I love it—better than candied haws! Master Nanchen, why are you looking for me?"

Master Nanchen couldn't exactly say he was looking for her to heal his injuries by being near her. Because the Chaos Pearl she possessed naturally balanced Yin and Yang, it allowed the injuries he sustained from practicing water-attribute techniques to recover automatically. Instead, he rolled his eyes and said, "I'm here to take you to see some excitement!"

[One Good Deed a Day: 1/3. Task complete. Reward: Double Pupils.]

Jiang Wan: *What did I do? I haven't done anything, how could I have performed a good deed?*

Master Nanchen flew with Jiang Wan directly to the main hall. Inside, Fairy Xueyun was discussing the annulment of the engagement with Elder Tonghua.

"Since your Nangong clan has no sincerity in fulfilling the marriage contract, we are not obligated to continue with it either. Here is the marriage document. To preserve the girl's reputation, I can announce that you were the ones who proposed the annulment. Afterward, we shall each go our separate ways, and neither will hinder the other's future."

Elder Tonghua, dressed in pink robes, clearly had no intention of calling it off. She sat there composed, clearing her throat. "Fairy Xueyun, why would you say such a thing? Aren't we here to discuss how to have the two children marry as soon as possible? Master Chuzhou's advancement is a joyous occasion. Combined with his marriage to our Miss Shuyin, your Ten Thousand Talismans Sect would have a double blessing. What a wonderful thing."

Fairy Xueyun took a deep breath. After everything that had happened, who would still want to marry into their family? If they had sent charcoal in the snow when Chuzhou was injured, the marriage would have continued, but after their extortion attempt two days ago—demanding three spiritual mines and a ninth-grade talisman treasure—Fairy Xueyun felt nauseated. If she brought such a daughter-in-law into the sect, she feared she would die of disgust just from seeing her every day.

"Elder Tonghua, are you getting old and losing your memory? That wasn't what you said two days ago. Since we can't provide the spiritual mines and the talisman treasure, let's just annul the engagement!"

Held in Master Nanchen's arms, Jiang Wan watched the thick-skinned Elder Tonghua continue to insist on the marriage while she chewed her chicken leg.

"The events of two days ago were just the greed of an old woman. These two children are fated to be together; please don't tear them apart because of my momentary greed. Master Chuzhou was able to gather the thousand-year-old blood ganoderma for Miss Shuyin, which shows how much he values her."

Fairy Xueyun's expression darkened as she looked at her son, who was just walking into the hall. She worried that he might still have feelings for Nangong Shuyin. Upon seeing Chuzhou, Nangong Shuyin immediately stood up and walked to his side, looking aggrieved and gazing at him with a syrupy voice.

"Brother Chuzhou, how are you feeling? Before, when I wanted to heal you, it was Elder Tonghua who insisted on raising the price... I was so anxious. Brother Chuzhou, please don't break off the engagement, okay? I have already reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment and will soon attempt to condense my Golden Core. When that time comes, we can practice together, and surely, surely..." She twisted her body, looking shy and coy, as if she couldn't continue.

Watching this, Jiang Wan felt so disgusted she couldn't even finish her chicken leg. Thinking of the "Double Pupils" the system had just rewarded her with, she put away the chicken leg, covered her eyes with her oily little hands, and pretended to be too shy to watch. In reality, she peeked through her fingers, using her Double Pupils to see if Nangong Shuyin was a "green tea" or a "white lotus."

As the Double Pupils flashed in her eyes, Master Nanchen pulled her hands away and wiped them with a handkerchief. "Look at you, getting grease all over your face."

Jiang Wan withdrew her Double Pupils without seeing anything specific. "Oh, Brother and the Fairy Sister are acting all shy. Fairy Sister, why is there no primordial Yin in your belly? The books my father showed me say that for those with Pure Yang and Pure Yin constitutions, one must be complete for cultivation. Brother has primordial Yang, but you lack primordial Yin in your belly, so the cultivation effect won't be good at all!"

The entire hall went silent in shock. Master Nanchen quickly covered her mouth and prepared to carry her away, but Fairy Xueyun stopped him.

"Stop right there. What kind of books has your father been showing you?"

Jiang Wan replied, "The day Father took me to the library, I just picked up a book, and that's what it said. I don't know what book it was."

*Wait, is the title of the book really the most important thing right now?*