Yan Lingji: What? One hundred?!

"Are you sure?" She looked up, her dark eyes reflecting the flickering lamplight. "You want to give this to me?"

"Certain, and positive."

Zhao Linchuan looked at Yan Lingji, his tone earnest.

"You are my wife. Between husband and wife, we should advance hand in hand."

"Once we become Title Douluo, we will gain a massive increase in lifespan. I hope we can walk this path together until the end."

He cast his gaze toward the deep night outside the window, a rare softness entering his voice.

"Instead of one of us growing old one day, leaving the other to linger in this world in sorrow."

Yan Lingji's eyelashes fluttered, and her voice trembled slightly.

"I..."

She fought to keep the tears from falling. Since being rescued from that dungeon, she had never shed a single tear in front of Zhao Linchuan.

She did not want him to think of her as weak.

Yet, at this moment, that stinging sensation surged from her nose to her eyes, impossible to suppress.

She gently placed the spirit bone and the God-given spirit ring back onto the coffee table, then turned to lean slightly against Zhao Linchuan's shoulder, whispering softly:

"Give me a child... would you?"

Outside the window, the chirping of insects began, and moonlight squeezed through the gaps in the shutters.

The night passed in silence.

The next morning, as the sky began to brighten, the crowing of a rooster drifted from outside the tavern.

Zhao Linchuan and the two women went downstairs one after another and sat at a corner table by the window.

The landlady recognized them and diligently served steaming buns and rice porridge, adding two extra side dishes.

Bibi Dong took a bite of a bun, her cheeks puffed out, and she spoke indistinctly:

"Linchuan, after we obtain the spirit ring for Sister Lingji, let's not rush back, okay?"

She swallowed the food in her mouth, looking at Zhao Linchuan with bright, expectant eyes.

"The competition Teacher mentioned doesn't start for another two months. Can we wander around a bit longer?"

"Of course." Zhao Linchuan picked up his bowl and took a sip of porridge, following her lead. "Even if you hadn't asked, I didn't plan on heading back just yet."

"Great!" Bibi Dong chirped happily, the bun on her chopsticks nearly falling.

She caught it quickly and pressed on, "Where should we go next? Are we going to continue acting as heroes?"

Her tone carried the excitement of a child talking about a favorite toy.

Sweeping through fallen spirit masters these past few days had been bloody, but that sense of swift, righteous vengeance was far more interesting than being cooped up in Spirit Hall to cultivate.

"Let's put the heroics aside for now." Zhao Linchuan set down his bowl, his gaze sweeping over the two women as he lowered his voice. "In a couple of days, I'm going to take you grave robbing."

"Grave robbing?"

The two women spoke in unison, though their reactions were starkly different.

Bibi Dong's eyes lit up; her chopsticks hung in mid-air, forgetting to bite her bun, her tone eager. "Whose grave?"

Yan Lingji, however, looked at Zhao Linchuan with a strange expression, her brows slightly furrowed. "Are we that short on money?"

As she spoke, she set down her chopsticks, reached up to pull the six hairpins from her bun, and her dark hair cascaded down like a waterfall, resting on her shoulders.

She then slipped the jade bracelet from her wrist and pushed these items toward Zhao Linchuan.

"If you're short on money, sell these for an emergency."

Zhao Linchuan looked at the pile of jewelry, feeling both amused and helpless.

"Oh, my dear wife." He sighed, stood up, and walked around the table to stand behind Yan Lingji.

He picked up the hairpins and inserted them one by one. Yan Lingji did not move, letting him fuss over her hair.

Once her bun was reset, Zhao Linchuan returned to his seat, took Yan Lingji's hand, and slid the bracelet back onto her wrist.

"I am short on money, but not so short that I need yours."

He picked up his bowl again, took a sip of porridge, and continued:

"I intend to dig up the ancestral graves of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

"You must know, they are the wealthiest sect on the continent; the burial goods must be countless."

"Since they're just sitting there, I'll borrow them for a while."

"You certainly know how to 'borrow'." Yan Lingji said with a strange tone, her eyebrows arching slightly. "Aren't you afraid they won't agree?"

"That's why I'm doing it first and asking later."

Zhao Linchuan smiled, completely unbothered.

"Besides, the owner of the tomb didn't object, did they?"

Yan Lingji shot him a glance and stopped dwelling on the topic, asking instead, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Well, let me think..." Zhao Linchuan pondered for a moment before a wicked grin spread across his face. "If you give me a hundred children later on to expand our family, that would be the greatest help of all."

"A hundred!"

Yan Lingji yanked her hand back, letting out a startled cry.

Her voice was so high-pitched that guests at the nearby tables turned to look.

"A hundred...!" She quickly lowered her voice and leaned in closer, her expression a mix of annoyance and amusement. "Are you trying to kill me?!"

She began counting on her fingers, looking perfectly serious.

"Even if I did nothing else and stayed home to give birth to your children non-stop, it would still take over eighty years to have a hundred of them!"

"And that's not even counting the time you'd need to sow the seeds..."

Only after the last few words left her mouth did she realize what she had said; her cheeks flushed a deep crimson, and she swallowed the rest of her sentence.

Zhao Linchuan couldn't help but chuckle.

"What are you laughing at!" Yan Lingji, flustered and embarrassed, reached out and pinched his arm.

"I'm laughing at how carefully you've calculated it."

"Of course I have to calculate it carefully, so I don't get swindled by some scoundrel!"

The two of them went back and forth, their voices neither too loud nor too soft, yet each sounding more righteous than the last.

Bibi Dong sat opposite them, holding half a bun in her hand. Watching this scene, she suddenly felt that the meat bun in her hand was no longer appetizing.

She took a bite, chewed, swallowed, and took another. Even though it was the same bun, with its savory filling and fluffy dough, she simply couldn't taste anything.

Moreover, she hadn't even finished a single bun, yet she inexplicably felt as though she were already stuffed.

After the meal, the trio set off toward the Sunset Forest.

At the edge of the forest, ancient trees towered into the sky, their branches and leaves blocking out the sun, with only scattered spots of light filtering through the gaps.

The air was thick with the scent of rotting leaves and damp earth, and occasionally, birds would flutter into the air, shaking loose a few withered leaves.

Zhao Linchuan led the way, feeling his path forward. After several twists and turns, he actually guided the two women into a hidden valley.

After squeezing through a narrow stone crevice that only allowed one person to pass at a time, the view suddenly opened up.

A valley resembling a paradise on earth unfolded before them. In the center lay a spring, one half milky white and the other vermilion. The two colors remained distinct, never encroaching upon one another, while rising steam billowed from the surface, shrouding the surrounding air in a hazy mist.

This was the top-ranked must-visit location on the Douluo Continent—the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well!