Lost in her own wild thoughts, Li Lingyu felt her husband's qi and blood stabilize at last, and she stopped pacing back and forth across the room.
The breakthrough complete, Chen Fan's face lit up with joy. He scooped Li Lingyu up in his arms and planted a fierce kiss right on her lips.
"My love, I have wonderful news to tell you," Chen Fan said, beaming down at her. "I've broken through and become an Alchemist."
"Really?" Li Lingyu's face lit up instantly, but then, as if a sudden thought struck her, she looked as though she were about to burst into tears.
It was hardly her fault for letting her imagination run wild. Everyone knew there was a world of difference in status and ability between a mere alchemy apprentice and a true Alchemist.
There were plenty of alchemy apprentices in the village—after all, anyone who had just touched the craft could call themselves an apprentice. But those who actually managed to break through to become a full-fledged Alchemist were exceedingly rare, numbering no more than a handful across the entire town.
Apprentices could only assist in the process, and even the exceptionally talented ones could occasionally refine only the most basic spirit liquid—and even then, success was far from guaranteed every time.
Now that Chen Fan had broken through to become a junior Alchemist, not only would he be able to refine pills on his own from now on, but his social standing would be entirely transformed.
She knew their situation all too well. Though they technically belonged to a cultivation family on paper, that connection meant practically nothing in reality.
She thought of the surrounding villages, home to hundreds of thousands of ordinary folk, while cultivators numbered mere hundreds, and alchemy apprentices only one or two dozen.
As for actual Alchemists, there were only a dozen or so in the entire town, and even those were the product of generations of day-and-night cultivation and accumulation by the town's prominent lesser families.
Put Chen Fan in town now, and he was a notable figure of some renown—to say nothing of the fact that every junior Alchemist was treated like a precious treasure, holding a status that could even surpass cultivators in the Late Qi Condensation stage.
After all, no matter how high your cultivation level might be, you were still just in the Qi Condensation stage, and wouldn't you still need to swallow the pills refined by people like him?
If Chen Fan had made this breakthrough earlier, his status would have been vastly different, and her family certainly would never have allowed her to marry him. They probably would have hardened their hearts and married off one of their daughters blessed with better talent instead.
To take a step back, even with their marriage already a fact, as a formal Alchemist, he could easily divorce her and remarry someone else—who could blame him? After all, this was an Alchemist they were talking about!
If her family had known beforehand that Chen Fan was going to become an Alchemist, there was simply no way they would have let her marry him.
Trapped in her anxious thoughts for a moment, Li Lingyu asked with a trace of tears in her voice, "Husband, please don't cast me aside. I'll be a good wife, I promise."
Seeing the sudden sorrow on Li Lingyu's face right when he was feeling so happy, Chen Fan paused to think, quickly piecing together what was bothering her. He looked at her and said:
"My wife, I am already more than content just to have married someone as wonderful as you. Come to think of it, I have to thank you for bringing me such good luck so that I could break through."
Seeing the skeptical look on Li Lingyu's face, he quickly continued:
"It was because getting married to you filled me with such joy that I gained a sudden enlightenment on the path of cultivation. Plus, you have such a sweet nature, I felt like I'd found the best wife in the entire world."
Strictly speaking, Chen Fan wasn't even lying—he really had only achieved his breakthrough after marrying her.
"You certainly pulled your weight, my wife."
Li Lingyu snapped her head up, her face flushing crimson with embarrassment, utterly unable to believe Chen Fan would say such a thing.
Here she was, an emotional wreck, and he was still teasing her!
Noticing the shift in his wife's expression, Chen Fan looked a bit surprised. He rubbed his cheek and, recalling what he had just said, a sudden wave of understanding washed over her face:
"My wife, what on earth are your thoughts wandering to? 'Pulling your weight'—that's not what I meant at all!"
Hearing Chen Fan's words, Li Lingyu turned so scarlet she felt ready to faint on the spot.
Realizing the situation, Chen Fan wisely decided to put a stop to any further thoughts of teasing his delightfully scandalous wife.
Instead, he reached into his tunic, produced a porcelain vial, and handed it to her.
"Take this bottle of spirit liquid," he said.
Seeing Li Lingyu's blank expression, he explained: "Your husband is an Alchemist now, surely we can afford to use a single bottle of spirit liquid in our own home! If outsiders found out, wouldn't they think less of us?"
"I refined this spirit liquid myself some time ago; it's helpful for the cultivation of low-tier cultivators. We are newlyweds, so please, my love, stop letting your mind wander and distressing yourself over nothing."
Li Lingyu stood frozen in shock for a moment. Then, after a brief hesitation, she mustered up her courage, leaned closer to Chen Fan, stood on tiptoes, and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.
Before Chen Fan could recover from his stunned silence, Li Lingyu spun around and bolted away.
...
Once the commotion settled down, Li Lingyu returned to the bedroom.
Her lovely face wore a conflicted expression, a tangled mix of the joy and adoration of a woman who had married the right man, alongside lingering anxiety and melancholy.
"Now that my husband has become an Alchemist, his future prospects are bound to soar day by day. This humble wife only fears that I won't be good enough for him anymore."
Chen Fan looked straight into Li Lingyu's eyes and said with utter sincerity:
"What I told you just now wasn't just to humor you; it came straight from the heart. After marrying you yesterday, my heart was filled with such joy that I gained true insight into the Dao of cultivation. If not for you, I never would have broken through. So you really are my lucky star."
"My wife, since we are already married—and just yesterday we exchanged sacred vows to be bound heart and soul as one, never to forsake each other through thick and thin—let me tell you this: whether I am an Alchemist today, or possess even higher cultivation and greater alchemy skills in the future, my words will never change."
"You are my lucky star."
"Husband..."
Hearing Chen Fan's words, Li Lingyu's eyes brimbed with affection, shimmering with deep emotion.
*Ding.*
A harmonious family relationship is the foundation of a thriving household. Your reward has been issued.
Chen Fan felt a flicker of surprise. It seemed his wife really had taken those words to heart, otherwise why would the system suddenly issue a reward?
While Chen Fan was busy inspecting the system interface, Li Lingyu raised her pretty face, gazed intently at him, and reached out to cup his cheeks, leaning in to press her lips against his.
Having stolen her kiss, she tried to pull the same trick and make a run for it, only to find a pair of strong arms wrapping around her waist, pulling her tightly against him.
Realizing escape was futile, Li Lingyu gave up the struggle.
"Husband, hus—husband..."
"Ah!" A startled gasp escaped her lips as she found herself swept up and tossed onto the bed.
Chen Fan could hold back no longer; he lunged forward without a moment's hesitation.
Amidst the heat of the moment, Chen Fan completely missed the notification flashing in his mind.
*Ding.*
A harmonious family atmosphere has triggered a reward.
...
After the passion subsided, their intimate exchange temporarily paused.
Chen Fan held his dazed, sweet wife nestled in his arms, his eyes catching the notification he had missed earlier, and fell into deep thought.
He muttered inwardly:
"So family favorability can actually yield rewards too? If I hadn't given her that speech today... though since it's just the two of us in this household, it looks like I won't be counting on this particular feature for a while."
"Just what other hidden functions does this golden finger possess? What else hasn't been triggered yet?"
He would have to test it out properly when he had the time. Cradling his wife's soft form, Chen Fan couldn't help a silent sigh of gratitude that he was a cultivator—otherwise, how on earth could he keep up? With that, he pulled the quilt up over them both, muffled only by a soft chuckle in the dark.