Chapter 55 – A Pleasant Evening

  That evening, the small home was filled with the warm glow of firelight and the rich smell of simmering stew. Jun De sat at the low wooden table beside Lin Yue while her grandparents bustled around the room with practised ease to prepare their meal.

  Granny Yun moved like a woman half her age, stirring, seasoning, and ladling with precision, while Old Bai laid out pickled vegetables and freshly steamed buns that were still warm to the touch.

  The food was simple, but incredibly good to Jun De, who had been living on fasting pills since he had arrived in this world.

  It was rich in flavour, with the stew being herbal and nourishing, filled with tender root vegetables containing spiritual energy, spirit beast marrowbones, and sliced medicinal mushrooms that Jun De had never tasted before.

  The buns were fluffy, with a sweet bean paste, and the pickled radishes had a perfect balance of sweet and sour.

  Jun De ate like someone who hadn’t had a home-cooked meal in years, which was true since the last time was on Earth when he had been home during a break from university. When he had been in school, he had eaten like a typical student, which meant anything quick and cheap.

  “Slow down, boy. You’re going to scare Yue’er into thinking she needs to learn to cook like this.” Old Bai chuckled while he poured several cups of warm plum wine and slid one over to Jun De.

  “I do need to learn, but it’s harder than refining pills.” Lin Yue said quietly, her face pink as she glanced at Jun De.

  “It’s not. You just need to practice.” Granny Yun said flatly. She placed another plate of buns in front of Jun De.

  Jun De smiled from behind his cup.

  “I’d be happy to help you practice by eating whatever you make.” He replied, and Lin Yue gave him a flustered look.

  As the meal went on, the conversation drifted from the Sect, to their time training, their adventures into the Outer Valley and the Tower of Tempered Will. It eventually settled on embarrassing stories from Lin Yue’s childhood, many of which she tried to interrupt with increasingly red cheeks.

  Jun De said very little, as he hadn’t lived in this world long, and his memories of his past life were foggy on details. The only thing he could discuss was some of the things that happened to him at the Sect, but he left out the more dangerous parts.

  Still, what he shared came across as a surreal and strange experiences more than anything else.

  “That sounds like a place for fools and simple-minded heroes. My apologies, but you don’t look like either.” Old Bai muttered, causing Jun De to chuckle.

  “I try not to be. I would prefer to stay in my courtyard, cultivating and drinking tea, but life has a way of dragging me away from there.” Jun De admitted, and Lin Yue thought he was being modest.

  It was well known that Jun De preferred cultivating, but he had led the expedition into the Inheritance Site and had been the first to conquer the Tower. He was every bit the hero, and he proved it to her by accompanying her to Green Willow Hamlet.

  Notably, none of them spoke of the disappearances, of the tension in Tranquil City, or the rising threat of unorthodox cultivators taking people from their homes in order to refine them for power. It was as if by an unspoken agreement, they had all decided to put those worries aside for the night.

  They wanted to let the peace of the village, the warmth of good food, and the presence of family to create a small sanctuary that would keep the harshness of the outside world at bay.

  After dinner, they moved to a small courtyard where fireflies floated lazily under the large branches of the willow trees. Lin Yue served tea while Granny Yun began to doze off against Old Bai’s shoulder, who only muttered softly and shifted so she’d be more comfortable.

  Jun De leaned back, holding a warm porcelain teacup in his hand while Lin Yue sat beside him, quiet and content. Her eyes were looking up at the stars above, and, as the night went on, she leaned closer to him.

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  The house gradually fell into silence as the night deepened, and the flickering lanterns were dimmed one by one. The warm hearth fire in the kitchen gave off the only soft glow of light. Lin Yue’s grandparents were the first to retire, yawning and mumbling about their old bones and the need to rise early to tend to the herbs.

  Shortly after, Lin Yue offered Jun De a small smile and quietly disappeared into her own room.

  Jun De stayed behind, returning to a small room near the kitchen that was a cramped but cozy space that smelled of dried ink and paper. One wall was lined with shelves full of talisman paper, brushes, and dried herbs, while an old jade-inlaid desk sat by the window, piled high with scrolls.

  This was clearly Old Bai’s workshop, but for now, it had been given to Jun De to use.

  Jun De sat cross-legged on a cultivation mat he had taken from his storage bag. He quietly circulated his Qi through his meridians to drive away his exhaustion. He had found that meditation was more effective than sleep, and it left him feeling refreshed and energized.

  That didn’t mean Jun De never slept, but he found that he had less need of it as his cultivation increased.

  As he mediated, the gentle hum of his golden Qi moved through his meridians like a slow tide, and the faint scent of ink and paper made the space feel grounded, steady and safe. A cool breeze whispered through the shutters, and the soft chirping of crickets was the only sound in the night.

  Jun De was just getting lost in his meditation when there was a soft tapping noise at his door. It was a gentle knock, and Jun De blinked in surprise as he rose and opened it a crack.

  Lin Yue stood outside.

  She appeared to be fresh from her bath; her damp hair hung long and loose down her back, glistening under the silver light of the moon that filtered in through the small window of the room. She wore a simple white nightdress, soft and flowing, with long sleeves and some modest embroidery along the hem.

  The moonlight kissed her skin, giving her a faint, ethereal glow that made Jun De’s breath pause for a moment.

  “I..I just wanted to say good night.” Lin Yue said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked nervous, and her fingers lightly twisted the fabric of her sleeve.

  Jun De gave her a small smile, his hand still resting on the handle of the door.

  “Good night, Lin Yue.”

  Her gaze lingered on him for a long moment, a dozen things unsaid in her eyes. Then, she gave a tiny nod, as if she were reassuring herself. She stepped inside the room and gently closed the door behind her.

  Jun De opened his mouth to speak, to ask her what she was doing, but the words caught in his throat as Lin Yue turned to face him. In the silver glow of moonlight streaming in through the window, she untied the sash at her waist and slipped the nightdress from her shoulders.

  He froze in shock, absolutely stunned by her actions. She was radiant, delicate as moonlight on snow, but there was a quiet certainty in the way she looked at him. Her cheeks turned pink, but she didn’t hesitate.

  Lin Yue stepped close and reached up to touch his face with trembling fingers, before kissing him.

  It wasn’t practiced or bold, but it was warm and filled with unspoken feelings. Jun De kissed her back, and his hands hesitantly found her waist. The air between them shifted, and the quiet night wrapped around the small room like a blanket, cocooning them from the rest of the world.

  Later, when the lamp in the room burned low and the shutters rattled softly in the wind, they lay side by side on a soft cultivation mat beneath a blanket. Lin Yue’s head rested on Jun De’s chest, and her breathing was even and slow.

  No words were spoken between them because there was no need.

  The night was still in Green Willow Hamlet, and the only sounds came from the rustling of leaves in the slight wind. It was peaceful and scenic, one untouched by the madness infecting the outside world.

  But that peace would soon end. On a hill just outside the village stood a group of demonic cultivators that were crouched like wolves watching a sleeping herd.

  Their leader was a lean man with long, black hair tied back by a strip of red cloth. His Qi was twisted and violent, but unmistakably in the 3rd Level of Qi Condensation. But the sense of danger he emitted was greater than his cultivation alone would suggest.

  A sword made of bone hung at his waist, its edges darkened by the corrosion of dried blood.

  Around him were dozens of others, a mix of 1st and 2nd level of Qi Condensation cultivators. They were all dressed in piecemeal robes and armour looted from fallen cultivators and Sect members. Their eyes gleamed in the darkness with hunger and anticipation as they stared at the village below.

  “There are only a few real cultivators here. The village chief is in the 2nd Level of Qi Condensation, but the rest are all worms waiting for the blade.” The leader murmured.

  A younger follower laughed harshly.

  “Then, why should we delay? Let’s gut them and start refining their blood and bones!”

  The leader didn’t answer at first as he watched the village. He had attacked several villages just like this one over the past few weeks, and they never encountered trouble. The Sects were focusing on the bigger towns, and he knew that several other groups were moving on some minor Sects this very night.

  Any fear of the Tranquil Mountain Sect sending their disciples here was completely gone. Soon, Tranquil City itself would become a target, and the Sect would need every person to defend it.

  The leader’s fingers traced a small gourd that hung on his belt. It was filled with the refined remnants of those they had sacrificed before. With just a few more lives, more blood and more spiritual energy, he could break through.

  ‘Who needs talent when another path exists!?’ The leader thought.

  At last, he gave the command.

  “Cast a wide net, and don’t let anyone escape. Kill them all, and we’ll refine them together under the full moon.”