“Extra food.”

 

At the Star-Picking Pavilion, where the four disciples often meditated, Luan Ling set the food box on the table and lifted the lid.

 

“Who wants to try it fir—”

 

Before she could finish, the eldest senior brother had already swallowed a pastry like a starving wolf.

 

“…st—poison.”

 

She finally got the last word out just as his eyes rolled back and he tilted his head, looking as though he were suffocating, unable to speak.

 

“H–He… what’s happening to him?”
Luan Ling panicked. She hadn’t expected her senior brother to be this simple-minded.

 

Zhu Yin glanced at the still-writhing Li Xiao, stood up with her erhu in hand, walked over, and delivered a swift, precise blow to his back.

 

“Cough—cough—really delicious,” Li Xiao said once he recovered, completely serious.

 

“Are you sure he’s fine?”
Seeing him like this, Luan Ling picked up one of the red pastries, hesitating.

 

It was something given by a stranger immortal. She’d only brought it back out of curiosity—she hadn’t planned on eating it at all.

 

“It’s the taste of love! It tastes like my mother!” Li Xiao exclaimed excitedly.

 

…What?!

 

Luan Ling stared at him, then at the pastry, and the burly man’s face surfaced in her mind.

 

The taste of mother…

 

So that’s what he meant by “you’ll understand once you eat it.”

 

“There’s no ‘mother’s taste’—it’s just sea salt flavor,” Si Zhuo said, examining the strange pastry in his hand. “Though I admit, it’s quite good.”

 

Senior Sister took a bite of hers as well, then silently finished the entire pastry.

 

Seeing all three of them eat it, Luan Ling finally took a cautious bite.

 

As Zhu Yin lifted her erhu and began to play, the ordinary pastry in Luan Ling’s hand seemed to glow with a layer of golden light.

 

“It’s peaches! There’s the fragrance of peach blossoms!” Her eyes lit up.

 

“Junior Brother, did you bring these back from the God of Cuisine? They’re incredible,” Li Xiao said, already stuffing another piece into his mouth.

 

Uh… Luan Ling really didn’t dare tell him the truth.

 

“They were actually… a gift from a student at the neighboring academy.”

 

“Someone capable of such delicate flavors must be a clever young lady, right?”

 

“…No. A rough-looking guy.”

 

Li Xiao fell silent.

 

“You really dare accept food from strangers. You’ve got guts,” Si Zhuo said, wiping his hands with a handkerchief before returning to his cultivation spot.

 

“I just ran into him by chance… and I think I might’ve ruined his big moment,” Luan Ling said, only now realizing it.

 

If she ever had the chance, she really should apologize. After all, she’d single-handedly strangled a confession in its cradle.

 

.

 

Early the next morning, Luan Ling went to finish up her follow-up work.

 

After the You hour, before classes began, Dugu summoned Si Zhuo and assigned him a commission.

 

When Si Zhuo received the information, he discovered it was related to the same pregnant immortal woman from last time—and it was part of a chain quest.

 

“These trivial matters are also part of strengthening cultivation. Remember, always prioritize the client’s needs—”

 

Before Dugu could finish, Si Zhuo vanished from sight.

 

Sigh. Why was every disciple of the Qilin Hall so troublesome? Dugu felt that before his research bore fruit, he might go bald from worrying about those four brats.

 

After several days of practice, Si Zhuo had become much more proficient with spatial transfer and quickly located the immortal woman.

 

This time, however, she didn’t seem to be asking him to deliver anything.

 

“I…”
She stroked her belly, hesitating for a long time without finishing her sentence.

 

Si Zhuo spoke for her.

 

“Is it because of your husband?”

 

She looked at him uncertainly, fell silent again, then finally said,
“I want to commission you… to follow him.”

 

Before he could reply, she hurriedly added,
“The Celestial Realm has been unsettled lately. When he comes home at night, he looks unwell. I’m worried he hasn’t been eating properly, so I’d like you to… keep an eye on him.”

 

Si Zhuo gave her a meaningful look but said nothing more.
“All right.”

 

She called it supervision, but it was really surveillance. He’d seen plenty of such twists among elders back home.

 

Turning away, he soon disappeared from her sight.

 

.

 

Meanwhile, Luan Ling had been busy all day and found herself stuck.

 

What she’d thought would be the simplest task had become a nightmare.

 

The gates of the divine manor stood right before her—but she couldn’t proceed.

 

“My lord, I really was sent by the Celestial Academy. Repairing this gate is my task,” Luan Ling pleaded, holding up a spirit slip stamped countless times, on the verge of collapse.

 

“Little brother, it’s not that I don’t want to let you work,” the celestial soldier guarding the gate said apologetically.
“Orders from above. Without twelve complete seals, I can’t allow you to proceed.”

 

Twelve seals? Did they think this was some kind of scavenger hunt?!

 

What kind of celestial suffering was this—she’d spent an entire day just trying to fix a door.

 

“You see? I already have eleven,” she insisted, showing the slip.
“There’s even a Real Immortal’s seal on it! Even a Real Immortal approved it!”

 

“I’m only following orders,” the soldier said helplessly.
“If I bend the rules and something happens, I’ll be charged with dereliction of duty. A hundred years of cultivation would be wasted.”

 

She understood the logic—but she was dizzy from all the transfers and couldn’t find the last immortal anywhere.

 

Seeing her dejected expression, the soldier suddenly remembered something.
“Little brother, I know the last immortal you need. He often visits the Cloud-Viewing Tower. Try looking there.”

 

Luan Ling perked up immediately.
“Thank you, my lord!”

 

After leaving, she realized she hadn’t asked where the Cloud-Viewing Tower was and had to ask for directions again before finally reaching a towering structure.

 

Before she could even extend her divine sense, she spotted a familiar figure.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

She patted the person in front of her, earning a weak cough in response.

 

Si Zhuo took a deep breath and turned around.
“Commission. Catching cheaters. Don’t interfere.”

 

Catching cheaters? That sounded spicy.

 

Curious, Luan Ling followed his gaze—and saw a familiar face.

 

“Isn’t that… isn’t that—”

 

“That’s him.”

 

She couldn’t believe the target was Chang Tao.
“Didn’t he and the immortal lady seem perfectly fine just days ago? How did it turn into this?”

 

She remembered the smile on the immortal woman’s face, her gentle expression when she handed them the food box.

 

How did it end up like this?

 

“Whether it’s real or not, we’ll know once we follow them,” Si Zhuo said, walking ahead.

 

“I’d love to, but I still have a punishment task,” Luan Ling replied.
“Once you figure things out, let me know.”

 

Si Zhuo raised a hand in acknowledgment and followed Chang Tao to the third floor.

 

Leaning against the railing, he hadn’t waited long when Luan Ling suddenly reappeared beside him.

 

“Don’t you have a task?” he asked.

 

“I do,” she said helplessly.
“But the immortal I need is on this floor too.”

 

“Then what are you waiting for? Want me to kick the door for you?”

 

Luan Ling looked at him with a complicated expression, then slowly turned her head toward the room he was staking out.

 

“The immortal I’m looking for… is in that room.”

 

Si Zhuo: “……”

 

If he understood correctly…

 

They exchanged a look, their expressions equally complicated.

 

After a moment, Si Zhuo straightened up. Luan Ling grabbed him.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Kicking the door.”

 

“Don’t,” she said seriously, then added,
“Let me.”

 

Something like this absolutely required her personal involvement.

 

She strode forward, lifted her leg, and kicked the door open with all her strength.

 

Bang—!

 

The crash startled the two figures inside who had been lost in passion.

 

“Who’s there?!” Chang Tao shouted.

 

“Your grandpa!”

 

Luan Ling walked calmly past the curtain into the center of the room, staring at the disheveled immortals with barely concealed ridicule.

 

Si Zhuo glanced at the door lying on the floor and followed her in.

 

“It’s you…” Chang Tao recognized them immediately. The immortal behind him turned his head away just as quickly.

 

“You’re really something,” Luan Ling said coldly.
“Neglecting your wife and child, abandoning your post at the Western Heavenly Gate—was it all for this immortal behind you?”

 

She turned to the bowed immortal and snapped angrily at Chang Tao,
“If you have such preferences, why deceive an immortal woman into bearing your child?!”

 

“Isn’t it just a fair exchange?”
The immortal behind him spoke before Chang Tao could.

 

“We helped her cultivate and gave her a residence rich in spiritual energy. She bore Chang Tao a child. There’s nothing unfair about that.”

 

“Bullshit!” Luan Ling cursed.
“Is she a tool? Who are you to decide what’s fair?! What gives you the right to hurt her like this?!”

 

“If the Heavenly Realm allowed us, why would we resort to such measures?!” the immortal retorted sharply.

 

“The Heavenly Realm doesn’t allow it?”

 

Luan Ling laughed.
“I’ve memorized the Heavenly Laws since childhood, and there isn’t a single statute forbidding the two of you from marrying.”

 

“There may be no such law,” the immortal said darkly,
“but what about the judgmental eyes of other immortals? We’re meant for each other. If not for worldly ignorance, would we have been driven to this?”

 

“How interesting,” Si Zhuo said coolly from the side.
“That’s between you and the Heavenly Realm. What does it have to do with her?”

 

“Whether she agreed or not,” Luan Ling said, staring at the silent Chang Tao,
“even if she did agree, you still had no right to use her.”

 

“If it was just a transaction, then why—”

 

“A divine body is not a commodity,” Luan Ling said calmly, playing with a small flame in her hand.
“Do you need me to teach you what it means to be an immortal?”

 

“Immortals are born of nature, and nature grants them the chance to nurture new gods. A divine body belongs solely to oneself and returns to nature.”

 

“That’s written in black and white in the first chapter of the Heavenly Laws. I can go through every clause with you if you’d like.”

 

The immortal fell silent, turned to Chang Tao, and smacked him with a jade pillow.

 

“Husband, say something!”

 

Something snapped in Luan Ling’s mind.

 

“You two are unbelievable!” she shouted.
She dropped the flame, stepped forward, and hurled a porcelain vase straight at him.

 

“Ah—!”

 

Caught off guard by her accuracy, the immortal clutched his forehead and screamed at Chang Tao,
“Husband, he hit me!!”

 

“That’s because you deserve it, bastard!” Luan Ling shouted, about to throw another.

 

Chang Tao leapt out of bed and raised his arm to block her.

 

“Get out! This is none of your business!”

 

Mid-sentence, he caught one vase—but missed the next.
It smashed into the immortal’s other cheek, even harder than before, shattering against his forehead.

 

Si Zhuo raised an eyebrow at Chang Tao’s furious expression and quietly withdrew his hand.

 

“We may not have the authority to interfere,” he said lightly, tilting his head with a provocative smile,
“but since the immortal lady paid in spirit stones…”

 

“…then it is our business.”

 

Luan Ling smiled as well. In the next instant, she flashed behind the immortal, infused divine power into her fingers, and raked them across his face.

 

The immortal, unskilled in combat, screamed. Chang Tao rushed to help—only to feel the air beside his ear split sharply.

 

Instinctively, he turned.

 

A searing pain exploded below his waist.

 

A pain he had never experienced before.

 

Chang Tao’s vision went black. He didn’t even manage to scream before he was sent flying.