Girlfriend?

"Zhou Yuling often went to her master's house to pick up medicinal pills for Zhou Ye, and as time passed, she grew familiar with him..."

The memories that suddenly surfaced in Gao Xian's mind allowed him to clarify the other party's background and the nature of their relationship.

The original owner was handsome and had a silver tongue, which had stirred Zhou Yuling's heart, leading the two to become a couple.

Zhou Yuling was relatively conservative, so at most, they had only ever held hands. Today was the first time they had been this intimate. Perhaps it was because of their long separation...

That was precisely why, due to his overly intimate behavior, he had been scolded by Zhou Yuling.

Seeing Gao Xian staring blankly, Zhou Yuling felt a bit uneasy. She gave him a gentle nudge: "Don't scare me, are you alright?"

Gao Xian snapped back to reality. He clutched his chest and said in a hoarse voice: "My heart has been shattered by your palm!"

"Do you know? What flows out of my broken heart isn't blood, but all the love I have for you..."

For some reason, this greasy, cheesy line of affection flowed naturally from his lips.

Zhou Yuling breathed a sigh of relief; if he could still joke around, he was fine. She also knew she had used too much force earlier and felt a twinge of guilt.

She gently massaged his chest and said softly: "I didn't mean it, brother, don't blame me. Let me rub it for you..."

Zhou Yuling's voice was naturally sweet and smooth, and by pitching it higher, it became even more bone-meltingly tender. Her bright eyes carried a smile, blending a delicate, lively charm with a clever, spirited wit.

Although Gao Xian had Zhu Qiniang and Qingping, they were ultimately very mature women and certainly lacked this youthful, adorable side.

His bones felt half-melted, and his hand moved uncontrollably, following her small hand as it massaged him.

The Lightning Dragon Hand was something even the "Iron Lady" Zhu Qiniang couldn't withstand. Zhou Yuling hadn't paid much attention at first, thinking that since she wanted to make it up to Gao Xian, letting him touch her a little didn't matter.

As a result, Zhou Yuling felt as if she had been electrocuted; her entire body went limp against Gao Xian.

Her delicate face flushed, and her bright eyes brimmed with a watery, spring-like intensity.

Gao Xian secretly felt smug: With my technique, whether it's petting a cat or wooing a girl, it's all within my grasp...

"My father is coming." Feeling like she was about to lose control, Zhou Yuling hurriedly blurted out.

Gao Xian felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head. He gave a violent start, and the fire in his heart was instantly extinguished.

If Zhou Ye discovered them, he might very well be beaten to death on the spot.

He hurriedly let go of Zhou Yuling and helped smooth out the wrinkles on her clothes.

Zhou Yuling swatted his hand away, looking somewhat amused: "Look at how scared you are. My father practices his morning breathing exercises at this hour; he's currently in deep meditation."

Even so, Zhou Yuling was still a bit afraid that Gao Xian would act up again. She took a few steps back to create some distance and huffed: "You, you're getting worse and worse!"

Gao Xian had no other thoughts now. He gave a dry laugh: "You scared the life out of me."

He then added as an explanation: "I just missed you too much!"

"Hmph, you didn't come to find me when you arrived at the Flying Horse Market, yet you say you missed me? Who are you trying to fool!"

Zhou Yuling poked Gao Xian's chest with her finger: "Your heart is rotten!"

"No, no, I only just arrived at the Flying Horse Market myself. I didn't even know you were here."

Gao Xian hurriedly complained: "I've had such bad luck. First, my house was burned down, and then I encountered an evil spirit..."

He recounted yesterday's events in detail, especially emphasizing the terror of the evil spirit.

"If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have come to the Spirit Talisman Hall, and I wouldn't have met you. This is fate."

Gao Xian sighed: "I suppose it's a blessing in disguise."

"Evil spirits are very troublesome."

The smile vanished from Zhou Yuling's face. Her father was skilled with the Lesser Yang Talisman and had dealt with many evil spirits; she knew full well how terrifying they were.

"Wait here for a moment." Zhou Yuling gave an instruction and hurried away.

Before long, Zhou Yuling returned to the room. She handed Gao Xian a crimson magic talisman and lowered her voice: "This is a Six Yang Talisman. Take it to suppress the evil energy."

"Huh? Ah!"

Gao Xian took the talisman in surprise. This was the Six Yang Talisman that Zhou Ye had valued at fifty spirit stones!

The moment the talisman was in his hand, even without activating it, he could sense the intense, pure magical power within it.

"The Six Yang Talisman is a first-tier high-grade magic talisman. Its intense yang energy is specifically designed to counter evil spirits. Because of the unique nature of the Six Yang Talisman, it will automatically trigger when it encounters an evil spirit. It's like fire meeting water; they have a natural relationship of mutual restraint..."

Zhou Yuling said softly: "Evil spirits are terrifying. Keep this Six Yang Talisman on you for protection."

"This is too expensive."

Gao Xian was moved to tears; no beauty had ever treated him this well. He felt a bit embarrassed—he really didn't dare take a talisman worth fifty low-grade spirit stones.

"Consider it a loan. We'll talk about it when you have money."

"That doesn't seem right..."

Zhou Yuling grew a bit impatient: "Don't be so wishy-washy, you're a man. Just take it."

Gao Xian couldn't bear to refuse the beauty's kindness, and he was truly afraid of dying, so he stopped pushing back.

He accepted this favor, and he would definitely repay it!

He said, filled with emotion: "Ling'er, you are so good to me!"

Zhou Yuling lifted her chin triumphantly and poked Gao Xian in the chest with her finger. "You must remember my kindness. If you can't remember it, use a knife to carve it into your heart so you don't forget!"

"If you can't pay me back in the future, then you'll have to give me both your person and your heart as payment."

"Fine, no problem, it's all yours." Gao Xian was feeling exceptionally generous and magnanimous at this moment.

"That's more like it."

Zhou Yuling was quite satisfied with Gao Xian's attitude; she leaned in and gave him a kiss on her own initiative.

Gao Xian felt an itch in his heart again, but before he could make a move, Zhou Yuling turned and headed out of the room. Standing at the doorway, she made a shushing gesture at him. "My father is about to wake up, so you'd better behave yourself..."

With that, Zhou Yuling quietly opened the door and hurried away.

Gao Xian sat in the room feeling a bit conflicted; he, an old man who had lived two lifetimes, was being handled by a young girl.

No, that wasn't right—she wasn't just a young girl; Zhou Yuling was only a year younger than him!

It had to be said that the lively and charming Zhou Yuling was incredibly attractive, and being with her was very relaxing and pleasant.

Women like Zhu Qiniang and Qingping were too mature; they calculated everything too clearly and acted with too much restraint. Being around them always involved too many considerations, lacking this kind of pure, simple joy.

The key was that Zhou Yuling was truly good to him, and it was the kind of kindness that asked for nothing in return.

He felt a little unworthy of it.

Fortunately, the original owner of this body, scumbag that he was, hadn't been a scumbag to Zhou Yuling. He would just have to reluctantly take on the heavy responsibility of taking good care of this beauty.

However, was he really going to give up all the beauties in the world for Zhou Yuling?

Gao Xian thought about it for a long time, but he actually couldn't make up his mind!

It was then he realized that he might be a bit of a scumbag himself.

Gao Xian took out the Wind and Moon Mirror and discovered that his Humanity Aura had increased by nearly fifty points.

It was clear that Zhou Yuling truly liked him!

At the hour of Si, which was a little past nine in the morning, Zhou Ye came to call for Gao Xian and took him to the main room for breakfast.

The Zhou family had two old maids who were responsible for cleaning, cooking, and other chores; they lived in the west wing.

The breakfast was nothing more than steamed buns, pickled vegetables, and rice porridge, but everything was flavorful. The ingredients used all contained spiritual energy.

Gao Xian ate his fill and felt very comfortable. He once again felt sincere envy for Zhou Ye; having reached this stage, with no worries about food or clothing and a life of luxury, this was what it meant to be a cultivator.

After the meal, Zhou Ye sent the maids away and said to Gao Xian in a friendly tone, "I am an old friend of your teacher, so I'll be bold and call you nephew."

"Uncle Zhou, you are just like my teacher!"

Although Gao Xian's emotional intelligence was average, he knew he had to hold on tight when someone offered him a leg to cling to.

Zhou Ye nodded; this kid was quite clever and sensible. The main thing was that the Deer Antler Powder he refined was truly effective.

After a night, the medicinal power remained persistent, leaving his entire body filled with strength.

Ordinary Deer Antler Powder stimulated blood and qi to achieve the goal of yang-invigoration, but it actually consumed the body's essence. Gao Xian's Deer Antler Powder, however, could strengthen that essence.

For this reason alone, no other yang-invigorating medicine could compare to it.

Moreover, Gao Xian's Deer Antler Powder left no toxic residue.

Generally speaking, taking medicinal pills would leave behind dregs. After taking pills like Deer Antler Powder, one's urine would usually change color, and it would come with a series of negative side effects like kidney pain.

Gao Xian's Deer Antler Powder could invigorate the yang and solidify the foundation without any negative side effects, which meant it could be taken long-term—it was truly too powerful.

His morning meditation had been exceptionally effective.

The magic talismans Zhou Ye was best at crafting were of the Lesser Yang Talisman series, but when it came to the Three Yang Talisman, it required the consumption of yang energy.

The higher the grade of the magic talisman, the greater the consumption of yang energy.

Gao Xian's Deer Antler Powder was simply too useful to him. He had to have a good talk with Gao Xian.

Zhou Ye said quite considerately, "I don't need spirit stones for the True Yang Spear; we can trade it for your Deer Antler Powder instead..."