wicked divinity

Are You Asleep, Wife?

Marrying a wife as beautiful as a celestial being, yet on the wedding night not being able to touch her, share a bed with her, and instead having to sit huddled in a corner against the wall... Xiao Che keenly felt the malice of fate.

The red candles flickered, casting an intimate glow over the room. A prolonged silence enveloped the space. Both clad in red ceremonial attire, one sat coldly and serenely by the bed, while the other pitifully crouched in the corner, only the sound of their breathing breaking the quiet.

After some time, Xiao Che finally broke the silence. "You wouldn't really make me spend the night here like this, would you?"

Xia Qingyue's long lashes fluttered slightly as she gracefully turned her body and lay down on the bed. The red curtains fell, leaving Xiao Che with only a vague silhouette illuminated by the candlelight. In an instant, Xia Qingyue waved her hand, extinguishing both candles with a gust of icy wind, plunging Xiao Che into total darkness.

"..." If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't possibly win against her, he might have resorted to brute force despite her haughty demeanor.

"I was just joking earlier. Even if I were drunk, I didn't drink a drop all afternoon... Not being able to handle a joke shows a complete lack of fun." Xiao Che muttered resentfully.

"I know you weren't drunk," Xia Qingyue finally spoke. "But I find men who relieve themselves wherever they please utterly disgusting."

Relieve themselves wherever they please?

Could she be referring to the "whooshing" sound when he drained the alcohol from the Heaven Poison Pearl?

Shit!

Xiao Che's eyes widened as he leapt up in outrage. "Are you saying I relieved myself anywhere? Which eye saw me do that! That was the sound of me pouring out wine! Pouring wine... wine! I'm a seven-foot-tall man of the Xiao family; how could I possibly stoop to such uncouth behavior! You can look down on my Xuan meridians, but don't insult my noble character and dignity!"

Xiao Che roared furiously for a moment before hearing Xia Qingyue's calm voice after a pause. "I was also joking."

"!@#￥%..." Xiao Che nearly spat blood in frustration.

Deflated, Xiao Che slumped back into the corner, silent for a long time… Could it be that this woman had a sense of humor?

Normally, he could sleep comfortably in the bed, but on his wedding night, he was relegated to the corner… How could anyone possibly fall asleep in such circumstances? After suppressing his irritation for a while, Xiao Che finally spoke again. "So, when will you return to the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace? Tomorrow or the day after?"

Xia Qingyue: "?"

Xiao Che smiled faintly, his expression composed. "Though I know little about the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace, I at least understand that it only accepts women and enforces strict celibacy. It has countless beauties, yet I've never heard of any marrying. Yet here you are, married to me. Clearly, even within the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace, your talent must be extraordinary—perhaps you're a once-in-a-century genius. Otherwise, they wouldn't have broken precedent for you."

Xia Qingyue: "…"

Xiao Che tilted his head back, staring at the dark ceiling above him. "Someone like you, the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace will undoubtedly want to bring you in as soon as possible. There, surrounded by unparalleled experts and countless rare treasures, your cultivation and status will soar rapidly. You'll likely leave soon, won't you?"

Xia Qingyue remained silent for a long while before murmuring softly, "One month."

"One month?" Surprise flickered across Xiao Che's face, then he smiled faintly, lowering his head and muttering quietly, "Thank you."

Xia Qingyue: "?"

"This month must have been something you fought for me, right? The Ice Cloud Immortal Palace certainly wouldn't want you wasting so much time on someone like me, a cripple. As a daughter of heaven, given how highly esteemed you are by the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace, your future accomplishments may even reach the level of the Palace Master. Others mock me, belittle me, and never take me seriously, yet you, who will surely dominate the Cyan Wind Empire, willingly married me and continue to uphold my fragile male pride... Though I know you do this out of gratitude for my late father, still, thank you."

"Don't mention it," Xia Qingyue replied emotionlessly. Yet inwardly, she was slightly moved because everything he guessed was spot-on. Her master had told her upon finding her that her talent was rare even in the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace. She had even said that after bringing her into the Immortal Palace, she was confident Xia Qingyue would break through to the Earth Xuan Realm before the age of twenty—a realm even Xiao Lie, Flowing Cloud City's strongest expert, had failed to achieve.

Reaching the Earth Xuan Realm before the age of twenty… To people of Flowing Cloud City, this was nothing short of a fantastical tale beyond imagination.

"Before marrying you, I thought you'd treat me with disdain like most others. But in reality, you're much better than I imagined. Not only are you beautiful and talented, but your nature is also kind. As a woman, you're truly perfect..."

Xia Qingyue: "..."

"Hmm, since you're so kind, you wouldn't want your husband sleeping in the corner on your wedding night, right? My bed is quite large; two people wouldn't feel cramped at all..."

Before Xiao Che finished speaking, a chilling killing intent washed over him, making his entire body shiver involuntarily. "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll throw you out!"

Xiao Che pouted, obediently shutting his mouth and reluctantly sitting back down.

"Someone's coming," Xia Qingyue suddenly said.

After a while, Xiao Che heard an extremely faint footstep. Had he not been listening intently, he would have missed it entirely. The person paused briefly at the courtyard gate, then cautiously approached, stopping halfway through the yard before retreating carefully. They clearly dared not venture further due to Xia Qingyue's presence inside the house.

Deep into the night, Xiao Yulong remained awake. His gaze was somber as he stared out the window, his expression shifting unpredictably.

At this moment, the door opened, and Xiao Yang rushed in. Xiao Yulong turned, glancing sideways at him and asked curtly, "How did it go?"

"Well..." Xiao Yang hesitated, carefully observing Xiao Yulong's expression before answering cautiously, "I checked just now, and Xiao Che seems... He doesn't appear to have been locked outside."

"…" Xiao Yulong's expression darkened immediately.

Xiao Yang swallowed nervously and quickly added, "But Brother, don't worry. Xia Qingyue has always shown disdain toward the city lord's son and the Yuwen family's heir. There's no way she could ever fancy Xiao Che, that waste of space. Him not being kicked out probably means she feels pity for him, fearing he'd be ridiculed... Although they're in the same room, there's absolutely no chance they're sharing a bed. He's likely lying on the floor right now... Definitely."

Xiao Yulong's face darkened with fluctuating emotions as he stared toward Xiao Che's courtyard. Clenching his fists tightly, he growled, "Xia Qingyue is the woman I desire. No one else can touch her!! Tomorrow, lure Xiao Che out for me. I need to test him personally. He mustn't dare touch Xia Qingyue!!"

"Yes!" Xiao Yang responded promptly.

Huddled in the corner for half the night, Xiao Che still couldn't fall asleep. He opened his eyes, lifting his left hand to stare at his palm. In the darkness, the faint green glow emanating from the Heaven Poison Pearl stood out conspicuously.

On the Tianxuan Continent, wielding the power of the Heaven Poison Pearl, he single-handedly stirred up chaos across the land, causing widespread unrest throughout the continent... However, this almost depleted all its toxic energy!

Now that the Heaven Poison Pearl had fused with his body, though it was part of him, he could barely sense any poison energy remaining. During the chase that ultimately led to his death, he used the Heaven Poison Pearl's power to kill numerous world-class experts, but in doing so, he exhausted its strength, leaving it completely drained. Depletion and exhaustion were different concepts. Exhaustion could recover slowly, but depletion meant the source itself was nearly gone, perhaps irreversibly.

Currently, the Heaven Poison Pearl retained only its detoxifying, refining, and fusion capabilities... Of course, it still functioned as a storage device.

With his Xuan meridians damaged and the Heaven Poison Pearl's poison energy depleted, he was stuck in an insignificant small town. After a long period of silence, Xiao Che felt a wave of confusion wash over him... With this state, he couldn't even protect his grandfather and aunt, let alone avoid ridicule...

What was even more unbearable was... He lacked the ability to forcefully claim his own wife!

To gain sufficient strength, the first step should be to repair his ruined Xuan meridians.

Repairing Xuan meridians...

Xia Qingyue was certain that his Xuan meridians couldn't be restored to normal. However, this wasn't impossible for Xiao Che, as he was the disciple of the Medical Sage! His master had repeatedly emphasized that medical principles were akin to cause-and-effect doctrines: every cause has an effect, every ailment has a cure. In this world, there was no condition that couldn't be treated, only practitioners lacking the skill.

How to repair his destroyed Xuan meridians, Xiao Che had pondered all day. His meridians weren't damaged during growth but were severely impaired at birth, making them completely unusable and unrepairable through conventional methods. Thus, to restore them, he needed to purify the existing defective meridians, allowing them to regrow. Essentially, this involved destroying the current flawed meridians and cultivating new ones. Regardless of the difficulty, the risk was extraordinarily high. Xuan meridians were closely linked to life force, and any misstep during the process could lead to immediate death.

To discard the old meridians and cultivate new ones, at least three things were required…

"Wife, are you asleep?" Xiao Che called out.

For a long while, there was no response.

"Cough, wife, you're not really asleep, are you?" Xiao Che asked again.

"My name is Xia Qingyue!" Xia Qingyue's voice was soft but tinged with coldness.

"I know your name is Xia Qingyue," Xiao Che scratched his brow, feigning puzzlement. "Wife, I have something I'd like to ask you."

"Call me Xia Qingyue!" Xia Qingyue snapped angrily.

"Alright, fine!" Xiao Che nodded earnestly before asking seriously, "Wife, if you go to the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace, could you manage to obtain these three things: Seven-Paragon Linglong Grass, Purple Meridian Celestial Crystal, and the Core of an Earth Xuan Realm Spiritual Beast?"