Helan Yanting stared at the point where their palms met, at the silver moonlight slowly spreading there. His expression was one of mild surprise, and a glint of light danced in his eyes.
“As you can see, Your Highness,” Feng Yunshu said seriously. “To be honest, I'm not really Feng Yunshu. To be precise, I'm a cultivator from another world. By accident, I was reborn into the body of the eldest daughter of the Feng family and have been living under her identity ever since.”
This was probably one of the rare moments when Feng Yunshu was truly serious, her eyebrows knitted in solemnity.
“Xiaoling, the spiritual fox that your Yuan Kingdom's envoy presented to the emperor, is actually my spiritual pet. She came here to find me and was accidentally captured by you.”
After saying that, Feng Yunshu looked up at Helan Yanting and said slowly, “I've told you everything about myself. What about you, Your Highness? I've always suspected that you might be a cultivator like me. Who exactly are you?”
“Hehe.”
Helan Yanting chuckled softly. He gently stroked Feng Yunshu's inquisitive little head and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“Who would have thought that I'd end up marrying an immortal maiden by chance? It seems I've really struck gold.”
Feng Yunshu pouted and placed her hands on her hips proudly. “Of course! Meeting me is the luckiest thing that's ever happened to you in your life, Your Highness.”
She thought Helan Yanting would refute her, but instead, he nodded with a smile and said, “Yes, in all my years, most of my good luck must have been spent on marrying you, my immortal maiden.”
Feng Yunshu blushed and deliberately averted her gaze from his gentle, smiling eyes.
“However, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed, my lady. I'm not a cultivator. As for why there are spiritual pets in my courtyard, it's because of a gift I was born with. When I was born, a master once said that my fate was extremely special and that I had a spiritual root.”
Feng Yunshu studied the man in front of her carefully, trying to glimpse his fortune. But all she saw was a blur. To her surprise, she couldn't see through his destiny.
“Your Highness, with such a strong spiritual root, if you were to become a cultivator, you'd most likely achieve the path of righteousness and ascend to immortality.”
At this, Feng Yunshu pouted in annoyance. “You gifted ones are so lucky. You can achieve immortality with little effort, unlike me, with my incomplete spiritual root. I've been cultivating for almost a century, but instead of achieving immortality, I got struck by lightning...”
“You're such a silly immortal maiden, my lady. One cultivator in the mansion is enough. I'll just focus on taking good care of you. How does that sound?”
“I...” Feng Yunshu blushed like a cooked shrimp. “I don't need your care. You must have an ulterior motive, trying to get me to help you...”
“I have no other wishes for you, my lady. I only hope that you'll be safe, happy, and free from worry.”
“Thump, thump, thump...”
Feng Yunshu suddenly heard a strange, pounding sound. She was just wondering where it was coming from when Helan Yanting's deep voice reached her ears. “Why has my lady's heartbeat suddenly quickened?”
Feng Yunshu snapped back to reality. She quickly covered her racing heart, her blood boiling like bubbles in a pot. “I... I'm sleepy!”
Stuttering, Feng Yunshu turned and fled into the inner room. “It's getting late, Your Highness. You should go back too! I'm not staying here to pick a fight with you. I just want to find out the truth about the original owner's death and help her reclaim what's rightfully hers.”
Helan Yanting heard a sudden thud inside, as if someone had kicked a stool. He frowned and was about to rush in. “Are you okay, my lady?”
“I'm fine, Your Highness. Don't come in. If you do, I won't be able to rest tonight! You should go back!”
Feng Yunshu's panicked voice came from the inner room. Helan Yanting stopped in his tracks.
“I won't come in. Watch your step.”
There was no more sound from the inner room. Feng Yunshu was lying in bed, pulling the covers over her head. Her head was buzzing, her heart pounding. She felt completely out of sorts!
After a long time, when Feng Yunshu no longer heard Helan Yanting's voice, she slowly pulled the covers down and gasped for air. She almost suffocated herself.
“Your Highness?”
Feng Yunshu called out tentatively. After getting no response for a long time, she pulled the covers aside and got out of bed.
Thank goodness he's gone...
Oh my god, what just happened to me?!
Feng Yunshu walked over to the table in a daze and poured herself a cup of tea to calm her nerves.
“Master, do you have feelings for Prince Helan?”
Xiaoling suddenly popped out, looking at Feng Yunshu with bright, inquisitive eyes.
Feng Yunshu was startled. She quickly denied it. “Of course not! You little thing don't know anything. Stop talking nonsense...”
Xiaoling pointed at the silver moonlight surrounding Feng Yunshu seriously and explained innocently.
“Master, if you didn't have feelings for Prince Helan, why would your spiritual power leak out? This is clearly a sign that your spiritual focus is weakening.”
Feng Yunshu looked down at herself and only then noticed the silver moonlight floating around her body. It was as if she was wearing a hazy veil, half-hidden.
“Ah, this...”
Feng Yunshu's mind went blank. She gently picked up Xiaoling and rubbed her little head. “Xiaoling, if I really fall in love, will I no longer be able to cultivate and achieve immortality?”
Xiaoling nuzzled into Feng Yunshu's arms. “Master, even immortals must have emotions, right? Otherwise, why do you always say that your master still looks after you from the heavens?”
Xiaoling's innocent answer suddenly sparked an idea in Feng Yunshu's mind. It was as if a knot that had been weighing on her heart for a long time had suddenly been untied.
After a moment of silence, Feng Yunshu stared at the bright moon outside the window and murmured to herself, “Yes, who says immortals can't have emotions...”
This night was destined to be a sleepless one. Feng Yunshu tossed and turned in bed, not knowing when she finally drifted off to sleep.
Early the next morning, Feng Yunshu was awakened by a commotion.
“Search the place thoroughly!”
“Miss, Miss, wake up quickly! Something's happened!”
Ziyuan rushed in and woke Feng Yunshu up. She pointed outside the courtyard and said in a hurry, “Miss, a bunch of armed guards broke in early this morning. It looks like they're searching for something!”
Feng Yunshu jolted awake. She threw off the covers and got out of bed. “Ziyuan, don't panic. I won't let them get away with this.”
As she said this, Feng Yunshu glanced at Xiaoling, who was sound asleep on the couch. Her brows furrowed slightly.
“Xiaoling, wake up quickly. Use your spiritual power to transform into a cat right now.”
Xiaoling was dreaming about gnawing on a drumstick, smacking her lips. Suddenly, she heard Feng Yunshu's voice in her head. She woke up immediately and without hesitation, released her spiritual power to transform from a fox into a cat.
Almost at the same time, Feng Yunshu's door was kicked open. Several tall figures barged in, followed by Feng Manshu's determined voice—
“It's her! My maid saw Feng Yunshu carrying the spiritual fox on the street. She must have stolen the emperor's spiritual fox!”