Chapter 56: Taking Liberties with the Fairy? The Agreement with Liu Hanyan

Xiao Yifeng watched Liu Hanyan’s face harden into that familiar mask of ice—an expression designed to keep the world at arm’s length. He knew exactly why; she was still seething about him tossing the jade pendant away during their last encounter.

However, enough time had passed that his own resentment had largely faded.

A true man knows when to yield and when to stand tall, he reasoned. Impatience over small trifles will only ruin the grand plan. I’ll find a way to reassert my authority as her husband later!

With a flick of his wrist, Xiao Yifeng retrieved the Dragon-Patterned Jade Pendant from his Storage Ring. He held it up with a grin. “Fairy Guanghan, care to explain this?”

Liu Hanyan glanced at the pendant with feigned indifference. “That is merely a trifle I lost to your Master. If you don’t want it, feel free to throw it away again.”

“Want it? Of course I want it!” Xiao Yifeng polished the jade against his chest. “How could I refuse a gift my wife bought specifically for me? And even if I didn’t want it, I couldn’t let some outsider pick it up for free.”

Hearing the hidden barbs in his teasing, Liu Hanyan’s composure cracked.

“Who is your wife? You shameless rogue!” Her beautiful eyes widened in anger. “Who wants to give you anything? I told you, I lost that in a bet! Stop spouting nonsense!”

“Alright, alright, Yanyan. Don’t be so fiery. We were husband and wife in our past life, weren’t we?” Xiao Yifeng chuckled. He knew her weakness well: Liu Hanyan could be coaxed with honey, but never forced with vinegar.

Liu Hanyan felt a shiver of revulsion run down her spine at the nickname ‘Yanyan.’ Her voice dropped to absolute zero. “Xiao Yifeng, what exactly do you want? If you have something to say, speak plainly.”

“Fine, Hanyan,” Xiao Yifeng said, his eyes dancing with amusement. “Since you admitted you ‘lost’ this pendant to me, does that also mean you scammed me out of the Ice Heart Art when I was just a Novice?”

He watched her carefully. Suddenly, he realized that beneath the frost, she was still the Liu Hanyan he knew. Her temper, her personality, her little quirks—they hadn’t changed. She wasn’t the unattainable goddess he had feared; she was real, and his tension melted away.

“That…” Liu Hanyan faltered. Her heroic spirit deflated instantly. “That matter was… my fault. Tell me what you want. If it is within my power, I will compensate you.”

She knew she was in the wrong.

“Actually,” Xiao Yifeng sighed, playing the victim perfectly, “I came to say goodbye. I am descending the mountain.”

“You are leaving the mountain now?” Liu Hanyan asked, startled. She finally noticed he was dressed in casual traveler’s robes, not his sect uniform.

“Yes. I intend to shine in the True Martial Ranking two years from now.”

“You want to solve Wuya Hall’s crisis?” Liu Hanyan’s expression turned serious. “Do you realize the gravity of the situation? This is not a tide you can turn alone. The implications run deep.”

“No one knows the inside story better than I do,” Xiao Yifeng replied, his voice firm. “But Master and Mistress have treated me with kindness heavy as a mountain. I have no choice. Besides… who told you to reject me as a disciple? In two years, I will take the top spot.”

Liu Hanyan remembered that he was a reincarnator, possessing knowledge of the future. Still, she shook her head slowly. “I admit your cultivation speed is terrifying. But your opponents will be the ‘Favored Sons of Heaven’—geniuses at the late Foundation Establishment stage. You have no chance of winning.”

“Oh? You don’t believe me?” Xiao Yifeng smirked. “Then let’s make a bet. If I win first place, you must promise to do one thing for me. If I fail, I will return the Ice Heart Art to you, along with a massive opportunity of equal value.”

He stepped onto the dais, walking slowly toward her with a provocative smile.

Liu Hanyan frowned as he encroached on her personal space. She considered it for a moment, then nodded. “Fine! I accept. But you didn’t need to bet. If you asked for something within my power, I would have agreed regardless.”

“It’s different,” Xiao Yifeng said, stopping directly in front of her. He looked deep into her eyes. “I want to prove to you that I, Xiao Yifeng, am worthy of you. You, Liu Hanyan, are destined to be mine in this life, just as you were in the last.”

“You…!” Liu Hanyan turned her face away, her cheeks flushing with anger. “I told you, I am not your wife! This is meaningless!”

Xiao Yifeng smiled. Without warning, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her.

Liu Hanyan froze. She stood there, stiff as a wooden chicken, her mind blanking out as he held her.

Soft jade in his arms. Xiao Yifeng took a deep breath, inhaling her unique, cold fragrance. “Still the same scent,” he whispered into her ear. “I can’t sleep well without holding you. Consider this… collecting a little interest.”

BOOM!

A terrified and furious aura erupted from Liu Hanyan’s body.

Xiao Yifeng was blasted backward like a ragdoll. He tumbled several steps, barely keeping his footing, and spat a mouthful of fresh blood onto the pristine floor.

“Xiao Yifeng! Don’t push your luck!” Liu Hanyan’s peerless face was frosty with rage, her delicate fists clenched white. Her chest heaved violently. “Do you think I won’t kill you?!”

Xiao Yifeng wiped the blood from his lips and laughed, entirely unfazed. “Not a loss. Definitely not a loss. A mouthful of blood in exchange for hugging the dream lover of every cultivator in the world? I think most men would gladly vomit buckets of blood every day for that privilege.”

Before Liu Hanyan could retort, he gave her one last, deep look.

“Hanyan, I will see you in two years. Don’t forget our agreement!”

With a hearty laugh, he turned and strode out of the hall.

Liu Hanyan stared at his retreating back, her pearly teeth biting into her lower lip. Her hand raised, gathering Qi to strike him again, but eventually, it lowered back to her side.

Xiao Yifeng walked out of the Ice Spirit Hall, suppressing his internal injuries. He nodded to the waiting True Disciple. “I have troubled the Cultivator.”

Chu Mo nodded silently. She summoned her flying sword and escorted him all the way to the perimeter of Feixue Hall.

After Xiao Yifeng vanished into the distance, she stood there for a long time, her small nose twitching slightly. Her expression was one of utter confusion. What just happened in there?

Far away, Xiao Yifeng glanced back at the majestic snow-capped peaks of Feixue Hall. Then, he urged Falling Rainbow forward. The red blade hummed, accelerating into a streak of light that pierced the horizon.

Arriving at the main gate of the Wentian Sect, Xiao Yifeng landed and presented Su Qianyi’s travel pass to the disciples on duty. After a thorough identity check and explanation, the barrier was opened for him.

The Wentian Sect’s mountain-protecting formation wasn’t always at full power, but the Enforcement Hall patrols were constant. Trying to sneak out was a fool’s game; getting caught meant anything from confinement to decades of staring at a wall in a stone cell.

Once clear of the sect’s boundaries, Xiao Yifeng mounted his sword again.

His first destination was not the wider world, but a place much closer to home. He needed to pay his respects at Xiao Village.

The flight was short. The village was located not far from the base of Wuya Hall’s mountain range. In no time, the familiar, dilapidated outline of the settlement appeared below.

It had only been a few years, but without human habitation, the “Cursed Village” had been reclaimed by nature. Nearby locals avoided the place like the plague, leaving it to rot in silence.

Xiao Yifeng landed at the village entrance. He walked along the old dirt path, taking it step by step, immersing himself in the familiar yet alien surroundings.

The vegetation was lush and uncontrolled. Wild grass, waist-high and thick, had swallowed the courtyards and choked the doorways.

Sorrow welled up in his chest. He moved slowly, passing the ruins of his neighbors.

Everything usable had been looted by scavengers from other villages long ago. All that remained was desolation, rotting wood, and the occasional wild rabbit darting through the debris.

“Excuse the intrusion, Uncle Xiao Er…”

He stopped by a collapsed house. The owner had been a woodcutter, a kind man who always had a smile and a handful of wild berries for the village children.

Xiao Yifeng tidied up the overgrown entrance as best he could and lit three sticks of incense, bowing respectfully.

Further down, he saw a house built of green stone—a luxury in this poor hamlet. That was Ye Jiusi’s home.

Ye Jiusi’s father had been an outsider, a skilled and handsome man who had married the village beauty, sparking endless envy among the local men. Now, his home was just another pile of moss-covered rocks.

“Sorry to disturb, Uncle Lin… Uncle Wang…”

Xiao Yifeng stopped at every household. For the structures still standing, he swept the dust from the thresholds. For those that had collapsed, he placed incense before the broken walls.

He had asked Xiang Tiange to procure enough incense for all over 40 households.

Finally, he reached the end of the village.

There stood a mud-brick house that seemed surprisingly sturdy despite the years of neglect.

Xiao Yifeng’s hand trembled slightly as he reached out. He pushed the wooden door open, the hinges creaking in the silence.

“Father, Mother…”

He stepped across the threshold, his voice barely a whisper.