The small door eased open, and Yu Qianqian emerged from the room in an oversized black robe that did not fit her figure.
Her wet hair hung loose over her shoulders, water still dripping from its ends.
There were no women's clothes in the house, so Lu Guan had made do with his own.
With the mud washed away, the woman resembled a lotus rising from the water, her beauty beyond compare.
Far from concealing her beauty, the oversized black robe made her face look smaller, her neck more slender, and her collarbones more exquisite.
Moonlight fell on her face, lending it a lustrous white sheen like the finest mutton-fat jade.
Only her small face was faintly flushed, her gaze wandering as she dared not look the man before her in the eye.
In the deep darkness of night, Lu Guan did not notice these details. Seeing her emerge, he hastily asked the question that concerned him most:
"Miss Yu, about that martial art..."
Yu Qianqian narrowed her eyes slightly, her lashes trembling. Hearing the young man's impatient voice, she felt a breath lodge in her chest.
Martial arts, martial arts. Am I worth less to you than a Gang Condensation Realm cultivation manual?
She walked slowly over and sat beside him.
A starry night, a small courtyard, a man and a woman alone together.
The night breeze brushed through the old tree, its leaves rustling.
"Lu Guan, do you think I'm beautiful?"
The young man nodded repeatedly. "Beautiful! Now, about that martial art..."
The woman gave up.
She rolled her eyes at Lu Guan and folded her arms tightly. "Without brush and ink, what am I supposed to write it down with?"
Lu Guan rose at her words, unbothered by her attitude, and went inside to fetch brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
As long as she gave him the martial art, never mind one roll of her eyes-even several more would be no problem.
Yu Qianqian took the paper and brush and began writing by moonlight.
After roughly an incense stick's worth of time, the paper was covered in small, elegant characters.
"Take it."
The woman shook out her hand. Pouting, she let out a deep breath and set the brush on the table.
"I'm hungry."
Lu Guan took the paper and looked down. A line of small text immediately appeared on his panel.
[Gang Condensation · Four Symbols Heaven's Will Saber (uninitiated)]
A gleam of delight appeared in the young man's eyes.
A complete martial art-he had saved a Dao Seed.
"Hungry? I'll go buy something to eat."
Lu Guan had just lifted his foot to leave when he stopped and slapped his forehead. "Right, there's a curfew."
The street vendors, taverns, and eateries had long since closed for the night.
At this hour, he would not find a single soul on the streets, let alone food.
"A curfew? Why is there a curfew?"
Yu Qianqian asked with a slight frown, puzzled.
After all, the very concept of a curfew had never existed in her mind.
Wasn't evening, when the splendid lanterns first lit up, the perfect time for men to listen to songs in the pleasure houses?
Back at the prince's estate, nightfall was when the bustle only began.
Lights blazed, strings and flutes played without pause, and the kitchen could serve piping-hot late-night snacks at any time.
Lu Guan explained patiently, "Perhaps Qianqiu County has bad feng shui. Yin Soldiers Borrowing the Road passes through often, hence the curfew."
Clever as she was, how could the woman miss the mockery in Lu Guan's words?
This so-called Yin Soldiers Borrowing the Road was plainly a demon at work.
"Qianqiu County isn't peaceful at night."
As a member of the Demon Suppression Bureau, Lu Guan knew some inside information ordinary people did not.
The four major demonic forces were merely those out in the open.
White Bone Mountain, Yellow Flower Ridge, Weasel Grave, Wild Boar Ridge-these were the demonic scourges the people of Qianqiu County constantly spoke of.
But what truly kept Zhou Kaishan awake at night was another demon.
No one even knew its origins. They could only give it the name "Yin Soldiers Borrowing the Road."
It was not borrowing the road, but seeking to claim lives.
Yet this demon killed only one person each time, never engaging in wholesale slaughter.
Thus, Zhou Kaishan's curfew was actually a deliberate attempt to avoid this demon.
The common people thought the county office was considerate of their circumstances and feared trouble might arise at night. How could they know that behind this curfew lay a commandant's fear?
They knew only of the four major demonic forces outside the county town, unaware that another demon would occasionally slip into town under cover of darkness to take lives.
After all, the real world was no game. Demons were not wild monsters that only spawned in the wilderness and obediently stayed in one place.
Yet while some turned a blind eye, others refused to be blind with their eyes wide open.
Lu Guan was very interested in demons.
He did not know this demon's exact strength, but he could be certain it was stronger than the tiger demon of Yellow Flower Ridge.
Otherwise, it would not have made Zhou Kaishan swallow his anger like this.
At the very least, it had to be at the Perfected True Qi Realm.
Perhaps even...
I wonder which of us is stronger?
It was Cultivation, after all. If he encountered this demon, he would certainly have it test whether his treasured saber was sharp!
"Then... what do we do about dinner?"
Yu Qianqian was dumbfounded.
After starving for so long, a few flatbreads could hardly make up for it.
At the prince's estate, there would naturally have been all kinds of precious medicines to nourish her and restore her Qi and Blood at once.
Ginseng soup, lingzhi broth, snow frog jelly-the kitchen always had them ready.
But their present means were limited, and the young man before her did not look wealthy.
And so, nourishing food had become the woman's best option.
But now you're telling me there's nothing to eat?
"Lu Guan, give me back the martial art." Yu Qianqian held out her hand.
Once he had read it, he knew it. In truth, the sheet of paper was already of no use to Lu Guan.
The panel had recorded the cultivation method. All that remained was allocating points.
But looking at her pitiful appearance, for the sake of the Four Symbols Heaven's Will Saber, he said gently:
"How about I cook for you?"
"You can cook?"
Yu Qianqian blinked, somewhat surprised.
Even by her standards, Lu Guan was undoubtedly a genius.
Across all of You Province, it was not that no one had reached the Perfected True Qi Realm at his age, but there were only a scant few.
And every one of them came from a great aristocratic clan, enjoying precious medicinal baths from childhood and attaining such achievements only through their lineage's wholehearted investment in their upbringing.
By contrast, this young man came from a small county town, yet was not inferior in the slightest.
To reach this point without resources could only have taken talent, single-minded focus, and one hundred percent perspiration.
With his time so precious, he had somehow learned to cook as well?
Did he have twenty-four two-hour periods in a day?
"Of course. I'd have starved long ago if I couldn't."
Both his parents had died, piling frost upon snow for a household that had never been well-off.
He could not afford the nourishing meals sold at eateries, so he could only cook for himself.
This had also honed Lu Guan's culinary skills.
He regarded them as a gift poverty had given him.
A short while later, a steaming bowl of beef noodles was served.
The noodles were hand-rolled, springy and smooth, while the beef-bone broth was milky white and rich.
Several slices of braised beef lay neatly over the noodles, topped with a handful of chopped scallions.
Steam rose, and the fragrance spread through the little courtyard.
Yu Qianqian's eyes lit up.
She took the bowl and chopsticks, lowered her head to sniff, and swallowed.
Then she looked up at Lu Guan.
"You have beef at home?"
Lu Guan nodded.
Eighteen was the age when his appetite was greatest. At the time, he had still been tempering himself in the Qi and Blood Realm, so naturally he kept plenty of beef at home.
The woman slurped up a mouthful of noodles and mumbled, "Then why didn't you just give me meat?"
Her gaze fell on the few thin slices of beef in her bowl.
She counted five. She had already eaten three, leaving two at the bottom of the bowl.
"Lu Guan... my Qi and Blood are almost dried up."
She raised her head, a hint of cunning flashing in her eyes. Her lips gleamed with oil, yet her expression was utterly aggrieved.
"You have to take responsibility for me."