Chapter 13 Marry Me

Xiao Che withdrew his consciousness from the Sky Poison Pearl, collected the girl's clothes left forgotten on the ground, purified the poison on them, and then returned to the Heavenly Poison Pearl. He could only heave a small sigh of relief after having covered her modesty. Who the hell is she? Why is she here? Why does she want my blood? How did she know about the Sky Poison Pearl? And how did she get into the space within the Sky Poison Pearl? He just couldn't come up with an answer despite having wracked his brains for one. He silently watched the girl before reaching out to gently nudge his digits against her upper lip. There was a slight warmth on his fingertips. Her breaths were no longer as cold as before as each exhalation brushed against his skin. These were all clear signs of life. "Excuse me?" He tried to shake her awake while calling out to her. No matter what era, a woman's looks were always their strongest asset and their most powerful weapon. If she were an ugly monster instead of an elf-like beauty, he would've kicked her out of the Sky Poison Pearl with no hesitation. She was such a mysterious figure who bit down on his finger to suck his blood. Even he was scared silly. Her appearance in the Sky Poison Pearl was nothing short of bizarre. Despite having faced her, he felt no danger but an irrepressible pity. She was far too beautiful to be associated with the word 'dangerous'. This was not so much the nature of men, but rather how low most men were. Xiao Che kept trying to wake her to no avail. Defeated, he took a few steps back and stared at her in silence. She doesn't seem ordinary at all… Xiao Che thought to himself. Judging from the wounds on her body and the tattered clothes, the poison in her system was no accident. Someone had intended to harm her. For a girl of her age, the most common poison would be enough to kill her but whoever tried to harm her used poison that frightened even him. Whoever casted it must be an extremely frightening individual. What was even more impressive was how she was still alive! What was he supposed to do with her? Was he going to allow her to sleep in the Sky Poison Pearl? He pondered before silently leaving the Sky Poison Pearl and keeping the girl within. Her act of sucking his blood seemed to be an unconscious stunt. Such a beautiful girl couldn't possibly be a villain. Even if she were one, so what? What dangers would threaten him at his age? I don't know when she'll wake up either. Xiao Che began to make his way back after purifying the poison on the ground. He could hear only his footsteps in the dead of night. When he neared the back of the Xiao household, he noticed someone approaching him. He stopped… It was already so late. Who was trying to sneak around? The figure also spotted him, stopped in their tracks, and asked vigilantly, "Who is it?" Xiao Che's jaw dropped. His voice came out feeble. "Aunt Lingxi?" "Huh?" The figure let out a soft cry and raced over. As they got closer, a delicate face revealed under the moonlight belonged to none other than Xiao Lingxi. Her eyes widened when she finally caught sight of Xiao Che. "Xiao Che? What are you doing here?!" "I…" He scratched his head. "...couldn't sleep. I came outside to stargaze." "Stargaze? Isn't tonight your wedding night? Why aren't you with Xia Qingyue to…uh…consummate your marriage? You're out here to stargaze?!" Xiao Lingxi grabbed Xiao Che's arm and pouted with anger. "Don't you know how dangerous this place is? There are magical beasts here that attack people. There might also be bad people who try to break in through here because of how dark it is. What will happen if you run into them? I've been telling you that you mustn't come here without Grandpa or me even when it's daytime. You… You disobeyed me again!" She lightly pinched his arm as she rambled on as punishment. "Hey! Oww! Ouch!" He cried out in pain and begged for mercy. "I was the one at fault, Aunt Lingxi. I won't do it again." "You won't get a next time!" She glared at him. "...There won't be a next time! I'll ask you to come with me if I ever want to come around the back mountains," Xiao Che solemnly vowed. Having said that, if it weren't for his memories from his past life, he would never dare to come to this place alone at night. "That's more like it… Don't do it again!" "So… why are you here, Aunt Lingxi? It's already so late," he asked, puzzled. "I…" Xiao Lingxi's voice grew quieter. She seemed dazed. "I don't know why I haven't been able to sleep tonight. I noticed how bright the stars were. So, I thought of coming here to stargaze." He swept a glance at the sky and smiled. "We would often sneak out in the middle of the night in the past to enjoy the night breeze and watch the stars. We always get reprimanded by Grandpa when he finds us." "Yeah," she hummed. "That's what I was thinking as well. I wanted to know what it was like going out to see the stars by myself... because I'll be alone from now on. I can't see the stars with you anymore." "Huh? Why?" "You idiot! You're married! You'll be with your wife from now on. Why would you sneak out with me to enjoy the night breeze? "Xiao Lingxi rolled her eyes at him and smiled mirthlessly. "No way! I'm willing to accompany you to come out here for the stars as often as you want, whenever you want. Look! Aren't I just accompanying you right now?" Xiao Che said with a smile. "You've got guts! You actually snuck out to the back mountains on your wedding night… Wait! Did Xia Qingyue kick you out?" Xiao Lingxi stomped her foot in anger as she concluded. "Hmph, she's going too far! I'll go talk to her!" "Don't mind her." He immediately took her hand. "She didn't drive me out. I was the one who wanted to come outside. Maybe I had a premonition that I would meet you here. Come on, let's go to that place." "Ah…" He held her hand and led her to a familiar spot. It was atop a low hill, covered by soft and tender grass. Xiao Che and Xiao Lingxi leaned against one another as they bathed in the pleasant night breeze. It was calm. "I thought I would lose you after you married, Xiao Che. Xia Qingyue is beautiful. She's better than me at everything. I thought you would remain by her side and that you won't have time for me." Her eyes shone brighter than the stars under the night sky. "You had that little faith in me, Aunt Lingxi?" He retorted. "I just told you this morning that even a hundred Xia Qingyue's won't be able to compare to you. You forced me to… Err, you made an agreement with me. I'll abide by it…" "I can't forget about you after marrying Xia Qingyue. I'm not allowed to spend less time with you. I'll still be at your beck and call. And the last thing… Xia Qingyue's place in my heart will never exceed yours… That's everything, isn't it?" "..." Xiao Lingxi froze. Her eyes grew misty. "I know I was being excessive. I was just…joking. Why do you remember all that?" "Duh." Xiao Che nodded without hesitation. "Because you and Grandpa are the most important people in my life. No one else can compare. I promise you that even if I get married, you will never lose me, just like how I never want to lose you." "Haha…" She giggled, overjoyed as she clung onto his arm and leaned her head against his shoulder. "You truly are the best behaved and most obedient." A dark cloud drifted through the sky, temporarily obscuring the full moon. Their surroundings dimmed with the lack of light. "When I think about it… Ah, it's been months since we came out here to count the stars. We used to sneak out on the regular. It didn't matter if it was cold. There were so many stars that one winter night. Do you remember? We were here for a very long time and fell asleep against one another. And then, it snowed that night. We were left frozen in sleep. By the time Father found us, we had become two little snowmen. We only recovered after being left near the stove for two days and taking so much medicine. Father was so angry but he couldn't find it in himself to hit us so he sent us out to plow the snow when we finally got well." Xiao Che laughed and interjected, "We only did it for a little while before we started to play in the snow. We even made a big snowman that looked like Grandpa. He was laughing so hard he forgot to punish us." "Yup! Dad has always been like that. He acts like such a fierce guy, but he has never severely punished us. He only ever pretends to scare us. All we have to do is act like a child and he's wrapped around our fingers." Xiao Lingxi smiled warmly. "There was that one time." Xiao Che's smile grew. "It was when I was twelve and you were eleven. Grandpa got you your own courtyard because you couldn't keep sleeping with me. I remember you would cry for hours daily while you begged him. You even refused to eat in a fit of anger, but Grandpa was assertive and refused… You could only comply after a while." "T-That was when I was younger. I didn't know anything!" She lightly pinched his shoulder. "Some things about girls are only known after they grow up. Hmph!" "Like what?" His eyes widened. "It's just...it's that boys and girls shouldn't sleep together after they grow up! There's no way you don't know!" She then added, "You also can't go around kissing everyone like when you were a kid!" "Ah…" He turned his gaze sideways to see Xiao Lingxi's delicate features under the bright starlight, and gently pulled her in. "But, I always want to kiss you. What should I do?" "Well, marry me then!" She replied smugly with pink tinting her cheeks. "I'd marry you if you weren't my aunt." "..." Xiao Che suddenly stared blankly ahead as he finished. Xiao Lingxi was also dumbstruck… It was as if a spell had been cast.