When Jiang Zuo got home, it wasn’t dark yet. He still had time.

With the time he had left, Jiang Zuo took out an unused Array Stone.

He then carved a Rune onto it.

This Rune could hold one Basic Magic. The only "Magic" Jiang Zuo knew was Fireball Rubbing.

So, Jiang Zuo condensed all the Fire Element he could gather into a flame and stored it within the Rune.

He then began to control the flame’s output, aiming for a single wisp of light.

He would need a wisp of fire as a catalyst when he prepared the medicine tomorrow.

He checked the kitchen next and found it was barely usable. ’I’ll just have to carve a few Arrays later,’ he thought. ’That should do the trick.’

Once he had everything ready, Jiang Zuo put his things away.

He then sat in the living room to watch TV and wait for Su Qi to return.

’This way, Su Qi shouldn’t have any complaints, right?’

But Jiang Zuo waited for a long time, and Su Qi still didn’t return. She was much later than yesterday.

Jiang Zuo was just about to call her when he suddenly sensed someone at the door.

It was Su Qi.

The door opened, and Su Qi spotted Jiang Zuo the moment she stepped inside.

She was carrying a box. After setting it aside, she walked over to Jiang Zuo with a pitiful look on her face.

She then flopped onto Jiang Zuo, saying wearily, "I’m so exhausted today. My Senior Sister is the worst."

"What happened?" Jiang Zuo asked. He had never seen Su Qi this exhausted.

He didn’t know the first thing about Su Qi’s sacrificial ritual.

Su Qi wrapped her arms around Jiang Zuo. "Carry me," she said.

"..."

Jiang Zuo picked Su Qi up and set her down on the sofa. Sitting beside her, he asked, "Did something unexpected happen?"

Lying in Jiang Zuo’s arms, Su Qi said, "A powerful person suddenly appeared in the Holy Land Array and fought the being in the Forbidden Land to a standstill.

My Senior Sister went to investigate. She’s the one leading the ritual preparations, so once she left, the rest of us were swamped.

We’ve been busy ever since.

I’m so tired now, I could fall asleep any second."

As she spoke, Su Qi snuggled against Jiang Zuo, ready to fall asleep.

Then, to Jiang Zuo’s surprise, Su Qi actually did fall asleep.

Jiang Zuo was left speechless.

Jiang Zuo stroked Su Qi’s silky hair, his expression souring. ’That powerful person Su Qi just mentioned... it couldn’t be me, could it?’

’He had been in the Array today, and he had gotten into a fight.’

’Back then, he’d been beaten so badly he couldn’t fight back at all. But from an outsider’s perspective, it probably did look like they were evenly matched.’

’So, was it his fault that Su Qi was so exhausted?’

Looking at the soundly sleeping Su Qi in his arms, Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but shake his head. ’Looks like it’s best to stir up less trouble in the Holy Land.’

’At the very least, I have to stay away from the Array.’

Jiang Zuo remained seated for a while longer. Once he was sure Su Qi was fast asleep, he carefully carried her into the bedroom.

He laid her on the bed and pulled the covers over her.

As for her clothes, Jiang Zuo decided not to help her out of them. It would cause too much of a fuss and would likely wake her.

’She can just take them off herself if she wakes up in the middle of the night.’

Jiang Zuo, however, wasn’t the least bit sleepy. It was still quite early.

He had planned to go out onto the balcony for some fresh air, but just as he pulled back the curtains to step outside, Su Qi suddenly sat up.

She held out her hands, muttering groggily, "Help me with my clothes."

Jiang Zuo sighed, walked over to Su Qi’s side, and helped her undress.

As he got closer, he saw Su Qi staring at him. She asked in a daze, "Where were you going?"

"Just to the balcony for some air. You go back to sleep."

After helping Su Qi out of her outer clothes, Jiang Zuo urged her to go back to sleep.

Perhaps because she was truly exhausted, Su Qi obediently lay back down.

’Jiang Zuo was curious. What exactly did the ritual preparations entail? Why was it so exhausting?’

’And Su Qi’s Spiritual Qi was almost completely depleted, which meant the preparations involved more than just simple chores.’

With this in mind, Jiang Zuo considered using the Array to see if he could find an answer.

But he stopped himself before he could even start.

’Casually probing the Holy Land might affect Su Qi. One or two days would be one thing, but if she came home this exhausted every day, that wouldn’t do at all.’

In the end, Jiang Zuo only stepped onto the balcony for a brief moment. He spent the rest of the night by Su Qi’s side.

Eventually, he fell asleep too.

For Jiang Zuo, life with Su Qi was peaceful. It could be trying at times, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle.

「The next day.」

A sliver of sunlight banished the darkness as dawn broke.

As the sun gradually rose, Su Qi also stirred from her slumber.

But upon waking, Su Qi was dazed for a moment before fumbling for her phone.

She quickly found Jiang Zuo’s phone instead. The moment she unlocked it and saw the screen, she was instantly wide awake.

’Almost nine?!’

"I’m screwed! I’m going to be late!" Su Qi yelled.

Jiang Zuo woke up then too, but he didn’t quite understand. ’She isn’t in school, and she doesn’t have a job, so what could she possibly be late for?’

"Move, move! Where are my clothes?" Su Qi quickly found them, then sat beside Jiang Zuo. "Hurry, hurry! My hair."

After he combed Su Qi’s hair and tied it with a Hairband, she quickly finished getting dressed.

"I’m heading out!" But after taking only two steps, Su Qi abruptly froze.

She looked at Jiang Zuo. "Where’s the box I brought home?"

Jiang Zuo thought for a moment. "The box? You mean the one you left in the living room?"

’He remembered she had indeed been carrying a box when she got home, and she’d tossed it aside casually.’

"It’s no use, there’s no time," Su Qi said, crestfallen.

She then dashed downstairs like a whirlwind and rushed back up just as quickly.

She was holding the box when she returned. Looking at Jiang Zuo, she suddenly grinned. "Want to go meet a beauty?"

Jiang Zuo was speechless.

For some reason, Jiang Zuo had a bad feeling about this.

"Is that necessary? I can just stay home."

"There’s no time! Here, you take the box. I’ll give you a slip of paper with someone’s contact number.

In a minute, I’ll have someone arrange a meeting spot for you. Just deliver this to them. If you can’t find the person, give them a call.

Don’t worry. Even though they’re Cultivators, they’re very easy to talk to."

As she spoke, Su Qi handed Jiang Zuo a grape-like bead. "This is for temporary communication. Eat it, and you’ll be able to contact me instantly. Eat it if you’re in any danger.

Also, I hear the person you’re meeting is very beautiful. If you dare to take a second glance, you’re dead.

And... remember to miss me."

Just as Su Qi was about to leave, she added, "Oh, they’ll give you Spirit Stones. If they’re a hassle to carry, just leave them with them for now."

Then, Su Qi vanished, moving as fast as a sports car.

Jiang Zuo hadn’t managed to say a single word through all of that.

He looked at the box, then at the phone number. ’Well,’ he thought, ’this brings a few people to mind...’

Then, for the first time in a long while, Jiang Zuo took out his phone and opened the contact list for his Perception No. 1 group.

The first person he checked was Liuyue Xue. Thankfully, it wasn’t her number. Next, he checked Demon Cultivator Mo Yan. Nope, not him either.

Finally, he checked Chi Xue Child. Still no match.

Jiang Zuo breathed a sigh of relief when he confirmed it wasn’t any of them.

’Of course. What were the chances of it being that coincidental?’

A short while later, Jiang Zuo received a message from Su Qi: "One of my junior sisters contacted their Sect. Just go wait for them under the statue at Chuanhe Square."