In the Holy Land, Su Qi went to question her master the moment she got out.

When Su Qi learned that her master had taken Jiang Zuo to her place, she was stunned.

She complained, "Master, how could you do that? You should have told me you were taking him there."

"Tell you what? Do you two have some little secret you can’t talk about?"

Su Qi pouted. "There are no more secrets, but... but there’s definitely embarrassing stuff!"

Yue Xi was aghast. "You’ve been together for ten years! You two are practically joined at the hip, yet you still have things you’re embarrassed about?"

Su Qi asked as she ran toward her own quarters, "Master, do you remember what it’s like to be a girl with a crush? Would you show that kind of stuff to your husband? Even if he’s the one you were crushing on."

Yue Xi pondered for a moment, then said with a straight face, "So... so, I took him there on purpose. Hahaha."

Then Yue Xi ended the call.

Su Qi: "..."

She felt like her master was going to be the death of her.

After that, Su Qi arrived at her house. The first thing she saw when she walked in was a photo of Jiang Zuo, and she made a funny face at it.

Then she went into her bedroom and immediately spotted her notebook.

She glanced to the left, then to the right.

’Mhm, just as I thought. It’s been touched.’

******

Jiang Zuo watched Sweet Potato practicing backflips, eating an apple with a blank expression.

As for why Sweet Potato was trying so hard to learn backflips, Jiang Zuo had no idea.

’In theory, Su Qi has no time to bother with Sweet Potato right now.’

Not long after, the door opened. Su Qi was back.

When the door opened, Jiang Zuo habitually glanced toward it. He was sure it was Su Qi coming in.

She would either be exhausted or happy.

However, today was different.

It was Su Qi, but her expression was a little... dejected? Gloomy?

Or maybe... lifeless?

Then, Su Qi looked at Jiang Zuo expressionlessly and said, "Come upstairs with me."

It was only then that Jiang Zuo noticed Su Qi was holding a piece of white cloth.

For some reason, Jiang Zuo had a bad feeling.

Still, under Su Qi’s piercing gaze, he followed her upstairs.

Once they were upstairs, Su Qi hung up the white cloth.

’It looks like she’s about to hang herself.’

Then Su Qi said to Jiang Zuo, "Bring me a stool."

Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but ask, "What are you doing?"

As she tied the cloth, Su Qi replied without turning her head, "Hanging myself. Can’t you tell?"

Jiang Zuo’s brow furrowed. "Why?"

Su Qi looked at Jiang Zuo seriously. "Did you read the notebook? Did you see the last sentence?"

"..."

’He didn’t quite understand. How did Su Qi know he’d read her notebook?’

Nevertheless, he said, "Someone told me that writing that sentence on the last page is a form of entrapment."

Su Qi: "..."

’What’s entrapment?’

Jiang Zuo then added, "Besides, you’re a Cultivator. Never mind moving mountains and filling seas, can a single strip of cloth actually hang you?"

"Of course not," Su Qi said calmly. "I’m just ’dying’ for you to see. I don’t actually plan to die."

"Besides, would you have the heart to let me die?"

Jiang Zuo: "..."

He brought the stool over, and Su Qi stuck her head into the loop. "I’m hanging myself now. I’m dying. I hope you regret this."

Finally, Jiang Zuo sighed. "You’ve hung that from the light fixture. It’ll probably collapse, and then we won’t be able to sleep on the bed."

Su Qi glanced at it, then thought for a moment. "Oh, is that so? In that case, I’ll ’die’ for you some other day."

"..."

Late at night, moonlight cascaded down like a silver veil, bathing the world in a tranquil, silvery glow.

Jiang Zuo and Su Qi sat on the balcony.

Su Qi leaned against Jiang Zuo and asked, "How much did you read?"

"Just a few pages."

"You’re not allowed to read it anymore. It’s too embarrassing."

Jiang Zuo didn’t answer. ’I’ll have to flip through it again when I have time,’ he thought.

When she didn’t get an answer, Su Qi leaned in closer to him and asked, "Did you hear me?"

"I heard you," Jiang Zuo nodded.

The night scenery over the small town was especially captivating this evening. The light from the nearly full moon added a touch of mystery.

And on a night like this, Su Qi herself possessed a unique kind of beauty.

It had nothing to do with her Cultivation, nothing to do with her status, and nothing to do with being a Cultivator at all.

It was a beauty that existed only in Jiang Zuo’s eyes—or perhaps, in his heart.

So, faced with this Su Qi, Jiang Zuo involuntarily leaned in and kissed her.

******

「Early Morning」

Jiang Zuo lay on the bed with a grim expression while Su Qi, sprawled on top of him, watched him with a teasing smile.

"So, I guess I’m just not charming enough, huh? The other day must have been because of that other pretty girl."

"..."

’It must be because my body was frozen in the Holy Land yesterday,’ he thought.

Seeing Jiang Zuo’s dark expression, Su Qi snuggled onto his chest and said happily, "Hurry, hurry, explain yourself."

Jiang Zuo said coldly, "Can we just not talk?"

Su Qi hugged Jiang Zuo. "No way. If we don’t talk now, we’ll have to wait a long time. The ritual is about to begin, and I won’t be able to come out anymore."

"Plus, I can’t have any trace of a man’s presence on me."

"So I won’t be able to see you for the rest of the time."

’Is that so?’

’Finally, I can get some rest.’

Jiang Zuo patted Su Qi’s head. "It’s only for a few weeks. It’ll be over before you know it."

Su Qi looked at Jiang Zuo warily. "Why do I get the feeling you’re a little happy about this?"

"The sooner it starts, the sooner it ends, and the sooner we can go home," Jiang Zuo said earnestly.

"Well, you have to miss me. If you need anything, you can find my master; she won’t be busy until the very end. Oh, and the emergency contact will always work. Don’t hesitate to use it if you’re in danger."

"Also, you’ll have to participate in the ritual too. Remember to go to the second level," Su Qi reminded him.

Jiang Zuo nodded eagerly.

’After this, I can finally do my own thing. No more constraints.’

After she was done giving instructions, Su Qi said shyly to Jiang Zuo, "Let’s... be together a few more times."

"...Aren’t you afraid of being late?"

"It’s fine, I can be late today. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait a long time until the next time. Hehe."

"..."

A long time later, Su Qi happily returned to the Holy Land. She would be gone for a few weeks.

As for Jiang Zuo, he struggled to sit up, only to flop right back down again.

’Nope. I need to rest.’

*******

The Holy Land had already pinpointed the exact location for the ritual. All that was left was to make the necessary preparations before the ritual could officially begin.

This period of preparation would be almost non-stop.

For the sake of the one in the Forbidden Land, no one could carry any trace of a masculine presence.

Participation was mandatory for all Saintesses—except for the male one.

Normally, the Holy Land Array could lock onto any Candidacy Saintess, but it had no effect on him.

Not that they minded. After all, it would be strange if someone who could fight the Forbidden Land to a standstill *could* be locked onto.

As soon as Su Qi rushed over, one of the seniors frowned at her. "Looks like you had a wild time today. You reek of a man’s presence, inside and out. Can’t you show a little restraint during the ritual period?"

Su Qi stuck her tongue out. "Master Qing Yue can’t find a husband, so she wouldn’t understand. I’m going to go bathe and change."

A vein throbbed on Qing Yue’s forehead. If it weren’t for the ritual, she would have killed the little brat on the spot.

Just then, Jingyue came over. "Master, if we keep getting drained like this, I’m afraid I won’t be able to activate my Saintess form when the time comes."

Qing Yue snapped, "Whether you change your face or not has no bearing on the ritual."

"But then I can’t live stream! This is a great opportunity to gain more followers."

"You’re naturally beautiful as you are now. It’s not any worse than your Saintess form. You can stream."

Jingyue shook her head. "I can’t. My fans don’t know ’Jingjing,’ they only know ’Jingyue.’ That’s how I’m able to walk around outside so easily."

"If they find out who I am, I’ll be mobbed by fans."

"It would disrupt my life."

"Get. Out."

’There’s no internet here anyway, so what’s the point of live streaming?’