Time passed day by day, and in the blink of an eye, half a month went by.
On this day, Yun Qingyue watched eagerly as Li Lianhua finished his meditation and stood up. Seeing her expression, Li Lianhua couldn't help laughing. "Why are you looking at me like that? Don't worry, not only is my poison cured, but my internal energy has also recovered. Through destruction comes creation, and my meridians have widened quite a bit!"
"Yay, that's amazing!" Overjoyed, Yun Qingyue leaped three feet into the air and rushed toward Li Lianhua with her arms raised high. She threw herself straight into his arms, wrapping them around his slender waist.
Bouncing up and down, she said loudly, "That's great, that's great, the poison is finally gone. From now on, no one can ever harm you again, and everyone here is no match for you! If anyone dares to bully you again, you can just beat them back and thrash them until they can't even take care of themselves! Hahaha, I am so, so happy!"
Li Lianhua looked down at the young girl still bouncing around in his embrace. With reddened ears and a flushed face, he raised his arms but did not push her away. Because right now, he was just as happy.
Yet, knowing that someone could be this happy on his behalf made his heart feel even more joyful than the curing of the poison itself!
Still, not everyone possessed such delicate sensibilities; some people could only focus on jumping around in excitement and squealing with joy.
Li Lianhua watched as the person jumped out of his arms and scampered away, smiling and shaking his head. Seeing her fluttering about inside the RV like a silly little butterfly, his smile naturally grew wider, until he even chuckled aloud.
He couldn't help wondering: just how long had it been since he had laughed so heartily? He couldn't remember. It had been so long that he couldn't even recall when he last laughed like this.
This was truly wonderful. Now, someone could be this overjoyed simply because his body was healthy. Such a calm yet fiery warmth was something he hadn't possessed in a long time. As he watched, Li Lianhua suddenly felt a bit greedy!
Perhaps he should find a chance to return to Yunyin Mountain and ask his master and mistress to take in a junior sister for him, or simply have them adopt a daughter—he would cherish her just like a real younger sister!
Finally finished acting wild, Yun Qingyue ran back and stopped right in front of Li Lianhua, her smile radiant like a blooming flower as she proposed, "Such a wonderful day calls for a proper celebration!"
Li Lianhua bashfully declined, "A celebration isn't really necessary. It's not like it's a huge deal."
Yun Qingyue's eyes widened into perfect circles as she pouted and retorted, "How is this not a huge deal? This is a tremendously huge deal, okay? This is a rebirth! A rebirth, do you understand? This means you can choose your own path in life, and everything is completely brand new. You can paint over it with whatever colors you like, do you understand? How could this not be a big deal?"
Stunned speechless by this outburst, Li Lianhua could only nod with reddened eyes!
Catching the signal, Yun Qingyue happily dashed off to the kitchen to rummage through her inventory. She needed to prepare things properly, and there had to be wine. Though she couldn't drink herself, on such a wonderful day, she simply had to let Li Lianhua have a drink!
Li Lianhua watched the person who unreservedly and genuinely rejoiced for him. The young girl before him had a slender yet vibrant figure, her entire retreating back radiating pure joy.
As he watched, tears welled up in Li Lianhua's eyes. It was truly wonderful; his entire heart felt warm and sweet—a feeling he had never experienced before.
This somewhat unfamiliar sensation made Li Lianhua greedily desire more, wanting to keep it forever in his heart and by his side!
In the end, Yun Qingyue decided on hot pot for dinner. That way, they could eat lots of wonderful things without having to pick and choose.
Yun Qingyue prepared a pot with three soup bases: clear broth, spicy, and tomato; vegetable platters, mushroom platters, seafood platters, soy product platters, beef, mutton, and an unlimited variety of meatballs. She had prepared both red and white wine, while setting aside yogurt and milk for herself.
Drawn by the complex aromas, Li Lianhua came over for dinner and was startled by the table full of raw ingredients. "What kind of eating method is this?" he asked.
Yun Qingyue proudly introduced the meal: "Haha, I bet you didn't know! This is hot pot; you cook whatever you want to eat yourself. Hot pot is famous for the rule that everything can be cooked in it! Come on and try it, these are all different flavors. I'll demonstrate for you in a minute. Also, also, how can a celebration be without wine? Ta-da! I've prepared both red wine and white wine, pick whichever one you like!"
Li Lianhua asked cheerfully, "If I'm drinking, what are you going to have?"
Yun Qingyue held up a bottle of yogurt and said, "This is yogurt, and this is milk. I'll just drink these. I've never had alcohol, but just smelling it makes it seem unappealing! Well, enough talking. Dig in, dig in."
After introducing all the items to Li Lianhua, Yun Qingyue took a sip of her yogurt and continued, "Let me tell you, this meat just needs to go into the pot and change color, and it's ready to eat. It cooks really easily, and this, and this..."
Even though there were two people eating, it was somehow just one person chattering away without eating much, while the other remained silent, quietly listening and following suit.
Every now and then, he would look up at the girl's animated expressions and take a sip of wine, thinking instantly that spending a lifetime living days like this would never grow tiresome!
Holding his wine glass, Li Lianhua looked at everything before him and grew increasingly eager to keep this lively, lovely, clever, and witty young girl by his side.
True enough, he was getting greedier by the day. Originally, he had only thought that surviving would be enough, because he still had unfinished business.
Yet now, this ordinary, cozy, and vibrant life had crashed straight into his heart, refusing to be dislodged.
He really needed to hurry back to Yunyin Mountain soon to have a proper talk with his master and mistress about taking in this junior sister as soon as possible. Or perhaps he should talk to Yueyue first, to see what her plans were—he still needed to respect Yueyue's own wishes after all.
However, this current vehicle couldn't be brought out of the canyon; it was simply too conspicuous! He would have to let Yueyue put it away first, and only take it out when no one else was around, otherwise it would be treating her far too unfairly!
He also needed to figure out a way to earn more money; what would he do if Yueyue had to suffer hardships following him? Right! In the secret compartment of his old room at the Sigu Sect, there were still plenty of his belongings. He should find an opportunity to retrieve them for Yueyue to use! Yes, that settled it—he'd make a detour on the way back to pick up his things!
While Li Lianhua was lost in these wild, soaring thoughts, Yun Qingyue finally finished her teaching duties and could focus on eating. *Ah, it smells so good! I haven't had hot pot in ages, mm, so delicious, I want more...*
With her face flushed red from the spice and her tongue darting out, Yun Qingyue grabbed her yogurt and sucked fiercely on the straw. This exact scene was caught by Li Lianhua just as he lowered his wine glass and looked up.
Feeling suddenly parched, Li Lianhua swallowed hard. He picked up the milk Yun Qingyue had set aside for herself and took a sip... but the somewhat thick texture didn't do much to quench his thirst.
Realizing what he was doing, Li Lianhua abruptly lowered his head. He set the milk down, picked up his chopsticks, and tried to fish some vegetables out of the pot. But his racing heartbeat made it a bit difficult to hold his chopsticks steady!
Seeing him put his chopsticks down, Yun Qingyue looked up and asked, "Are you full? That can't be right, how much did you even eat? Do you not like the taste? Should I get you something else instead?"
"Cough, no need, this is very good. I was just a bit thirsty and wanted some water. Don't mind me, just keep eating!" Li Lianhua awkwardly raised a hand to rub his nose, attempting to soothe Yun Qingyue.
"Oh, then go ahead, or do you want any other dishes? I can get you some more!" Yun Qingyue asked with lingering concern; after all, it was completely normal for someone trying hot pot for the first time to feel unaccustomed to it!
Li Lianhua waved a hand and replied, "No need, this is more than enough. You go ahead and eat, I'll go pour some water!"
Seeing no obvious problem with him, Yun Qingyue stopped worrying and went back to her meal, head down.
Standing up to pour water, Li Lianhua let out a long breath of relief once he felt the gaze behind him disappear. What on earth was wrong with him? He was acting all strange—did he drink that white wine too quickly?
No, he couldn't drink this white wine anymore. He should switch to fruit wine; that red wine was a fruit wine, so it should be better. The wine Yueyue brought out was so good, too—fragrant, mellow, rich in soy aroma, smooth, and not burning on the throat. Truly good wine!
Perhaps it was because his injuries had just healed, and he hadn't drunk in so long. He would leave it alone for now and drink it another day!
Returning to the table, Li Lianhua rejoined the battle for food. Watching her favorite vegetables get snatched away, Yun Qingyue glared straight at him in anger, fixing Li Lianhua with a fierce stare.
So hateful! Just because his martial arts were high didn't mean he could just steal her good food, hmph!... Well, alright, they ended up fighting while eating. Li Lianhua accepted the beating unilaterally—it was his own fault for stealing her food!
Although the meal had its little bumps, overall it was wonderful. At the very least, Yun Qingyue ate to her heart's content! After the two of them cleaned up the mess, Yun Qingyue slumped straight back against the sofa cushion.
Gently rubbing her belly with one hand, she whined, "It's all your fault. Why did you have to steal my food? You made me overeat. Ah, I'm so stuffed!"
Receiving no reply after she finished speaking, she looked up and found Li Lianhua holding a teacup in one hand, looking at her with an unreadable expression.
Yun Qingyue asked with puzzlement, "What's wrong with you? Didn't you enjoy the food? If you're not full, you should say something—we're not strangers, is there any need to be shy? What do you want to eat? I'll get it for you!"
Li Lianhua took a sip of tea, set his cup down, and shook his head. "No need, I'm quite full as well. Let's rest for a bit, and then we can go outside for a walk to help digest our food!"
Yun Qingyue's weak, lifeless voice drifted over: "Alright, but I need to sit for a little longer, I'm so full! We must never eat like this again, I must remember this!" She clenched her fist and nodded resolutely!
Sitting across from her, Li Lianhua lowered his head and laughed heartily without making a sound!
After resting for a while, Li Lianhua pulled Yun Qingyue up from the sofa and dragged her outside for a post-meal stroll. However, Yun Qingyue was currently hit by a wave of food coma and refused to walk properly no matter what.
Either she tugged at his sleeve, dragging her feet and grumbling as they walked, or—when Li Lianhua didn't answer her—she dropped his sleeve and walked by herself.
Yet, as she staggered along, she kept muttering complaints about Li Lianhua under her breath. Fearing she might trip, Li Lianhua carefully walked right beside her, guarding her steps the whole way!
By the time the walk was over, Li Lianhua, the number one swordsman in the world, was practically sweating from exhaustion. Yun Qingyue, on the other hand, was feeling quite comfortable by now; after tossing out a casual "thanks," she bounced off upstairs to sleep!
Left dumbfounded and amused, Li Lianhua watched the retreating back of the person who abandoned him the moment she was done with him. Shaking his head, he slowly walked back to his own room to wash up and sleep.
Lying in bed, Li Lianhua quietly pondered: now that the Bicha poison was cured, what should he do next? He couldn't just keep living off Yueyue's generosity, even if he didn't mind. Surely Yueyue would think he had no ambition.
Though his martial arts had recovered, he couldn't just spend his time going around fighting and killing; if he was recognized, it would just lead to a pile of trouble. But he couldn't very well become a schoolteacher either!
What on earth was he actually good at doing? Hmm... his Boshuo Steps were fast, but he didn't want to be a courier—that would mean going long periods without seeing Yueyue.
The Xiangyi Tai Sword had high lethality, so what about becoming a bounty hunter? That was worth considering. Yangzhou Slow was life-giving and could heal illnesses... That's right! He could become a doctor!
He understood a thing or two about medicine already, and combined with Yangzhou Slow, he just needed to find some medical books to study. Yueyue's medical skills seemed very impressive too; if he had her teach him a thing or two, becoming a wandering Jianghu doctor should be no problem at all.
He just didn't know if Yueyue would be willing to wander the Jianghu with him. That RV was way too conspicuous and would easily attract trouble. A regular carriage, on the other hand, wouldn't be good for Yueyue's reputation!
Of course! Taking inspiration from the RV, he could build a mobile house—a two-story one. The second floor could be built as a private boudoir for Yueyue, decorated according to her preferences.
Drawn by horses, it could travel anywhere while maintaining a separate, independent space. Although it would still catch people's eyes, it would at least be somewhat reasonable. That settled it!
As he thought about it, Li Lianhua actually sat up, turned on the light, got out paper and brush, and started sketching and designing their future "home."
The moment the word "home" flashed through his mind, Li Lianhua froze, putting down his brush and sitting there in a daze.
How long had it been, and he was already thinking of this little girl as family? Was it because she appeared when he was at his absolute lowest, yet cared for him with all her heart?
Or was it because this sincere little girl, who wished him nothing but well, had first scolded him awake the moment they met, and then went all out to cure his poison without asking for anything in return?
Did sending Yueyue to his side mean that the heavens didn't think he was all that hopeless after all? A girl this good deserved to live the very best life.
If he truly were a bad person, she wouldn't have braved mountains and rivers and overcome every difficulty just to find him, not to mention the fact that she had also saved his master!
Since that was the case, treating her as family was only right. Earlier that afternoon, he had even thought about having her become his junior sister; when his master and mistress found out, they would surely be even happier. He would gain a junior sister, and they would gain a daughter to dote upon.
Since he had made up his mind, he would find a chance to write a letter to his master and mistress first, mentioning the matter so they could prepare. He would also discuss it with Yueyue; presumably, Yueyue wouldn't object!
Having figured it all out, Li Lianhua picked up his blueprints again and resumed sketching, drawing lines until nearly midnight before finally stopping. It was time to pack up and sleep, or else Yueyue would start scolding him again if she found out!
Honestly, how could such a tiny little girl be so fierce when she scolded him? Her eyes would widen into circles as if they could spit fire, and with her little hands propped on her hips, he wouldn't even dare talk back—he'd just want to coax and humor her!