Chapter 3

Jiang Yiguang admired her handiwork for a moment, then turned and left with satisfaction.

She didn’t know, however, that after she departed, three little paper dolls floated out from the gap under the door and scrutinized the note stuck to it closely. These paper dolls were made by Fu Juan’s mother to keep little Fu Juan company. The spiritual power left in them had long dissipated; their ability to cavort about now relied entirely on Fu Juan nurturing them with her own Qi Luck. They were very close to Fu Juan and itched to give Jiang Yiguang a good beating upon seeing her. But Jiang Yiguang carried a magical artifact left by Jiang Li, so beings of their modest cultivation didn’t dare make a move.

“The sky’s still dark. Her sneaking around the door is definitely ill-intentioned. Just before, she was peeping at Little Juan like a pervert.”

“She’s gone now. What does this note mean? Could it be a threat to Little Juan?”

“But I don’t think it’s a talisman. It looks like ordinary stationery? And her spiritual apertures aren’t open, she doesn’t know techniques. It should be nothing, right?”

“Don’t forget whose daughter she is. That senior is away on business, but she must have left her magical artifacts. Didn’t she trap Little Juan before using the senior’s artifact? Even if we can’t see anything wrong, it’s best to be careful.” The little paper dolls whispered among themselves. One even carefully plastered itself against the note. Suddenly, a ghostly blue flame flared up, instantly burning the note on the door to ashes.

“Fu Yi, are you crazy? What if you get burnt to nothing?” The other two paper dolls yelped in fright, hurriedly calling out.

The paper doll called Fu Yi laughed mischievously, “Anyway, if something happens, Little Juan can just cut new paper and draw talismans to summon us back.”

…

Seven o’clock.

Jiang Yiguang, half-asleep and half-awake, was fully jolted awake by her alarm.

The weather couldn’t be called clear. The orange-red sun seemed cut from tissue paper, hanging somewhat bleakly in the sky. Jiang Yiguang gingerly touched the wound on her forehead, wincing as tears sprang to her eyes. The minor post-waking grogginess was instantly chased away by the pain.

She reached for her phone and glanced at it: nearly ten messages, all from the same person.

Fu Juan’s name in the contacts list had been pushed down by new messages. Adhering to the principle of “out of sight, out of mind,” Jiang Yiguang directly cleared the chat log. Once the two characters of Fu Juan disappeared from view, she leaned back against the headboard and unhurriedly opened the messages. Amid a series of spammed stickers, only two or three lines contained usable information.

Lu Yaotiao: 【Jiang Jiang, there’s a Fox Immortal Temple at the Southern Mountain, I hear it’s really effective for romance? Wanna go pay a visit?】

Lu Yaotiao: 【I heard a senior worshiped at the Fox Immortal Temple, and her crush confessed to her after. Is there really a Fox Immortal blessing romances?】

Jiang Yiguang met Lu Yaotiao in high school. The eldest daughter of the Lu family was a thrill-seeker; they shared similar tastes and hit it off immediately. Three years of high school friendship hadn’t faded after they went to different universities. Instead, reuniting after graduation made them closer. Lu Yaotiao was aware of the Jiang family’s background. Any family in business, whether believing or not, would hire someone to set up Feng Shui arrangements—the Lu Family Villa was personally arranged by Jiang Li. Jiang Yiguang normally loved messing around with Lu Yaotiao, but the abnormality starting yesterday had brought her reason online. She frowned and thought, even praying for romance, you’d seek the Matchmaker God, right? What did it have to do with a Fox Immortal?

Jiang Yiguang: 【You don’t even have a crush. Don’t tell me worshiping at the Fox Immortal Temple can give you a chance to ‘crush’ on someone?】

Lu Yaotiao, who was on the other end, was awake. Seeing Jiang Yiguang’s message, she immediately replied: 【What if it works? After all, even iron trees can bloom.】

Jiang Yiguang pondered for a moment. There was only one person Lu Yaotiao could call an “iron tree.”

【Iron tree? You wouldn’t be talking about Xie Qingdu, would you?】

Xie Qingdu was a year above them. She had a “first love” face and was the goddess who captivated the entire campus.

Lu Yaotiao often mentioned Xie Qingdu, clad in a linen white shirt, flicking her hair and smiling back at her. But Jiang Yiguang couldn’t recall any of it; she could only sketch a blurry silhouette.

In her heart, no matter how good others were in a thousand ways, they ultimately couldn’t compare to Fu Juan’s fleeting shyness, like a delicate water lily yielding to the autumn breeze.

Lu Yaotiao: 【Yeah. I don’t get it! Her crush is immature, lacks self-control, emotionally unstable… Oh my god, how did that person become her crush?】

Jiang Yiguang: 【Even if Xie Qingdu got together with a toad, what’s it to you?】

Lu Yaotiao: 【Of course, it’s nothing to me. Please, bring the topic back. I’m just curious about the Fox Immortal Temple. In a word, are you going or not?】

Jiang Yiguang initially wanted to refuse, but before she could react, her hand had already very honestly typed “Going” and sent it to Lu Yaotiao. Belatedly aware, Jiang Yiguang termed it “loss of control.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest, pondering for a long while before thinking inwardly, “Do I absolutely have to appear there? Is this a plot point?”

【Yes, host. In the original novel, your appearance there caused things to go wrong.】

Jiang Yiguang pressed, “How did things go wrong exactly?”

The unreliable System turned mute again, as if it had never existed.

Jiang Yiguang didn’t hold out much hope. She slowly washed up and went downstairs.

She thought Fu Juan had long since left, but a glance towards the dining room revealed a figure bathed in sunlight. She wore a white shirt, her cheeks pale and bloodless, yet showing no weariness or listlessness from illness. She was cold and aloof, like an unattainable snow lotus. The gaze she cast over was chilly, rarely revealing her true emotions. Yet just like that, at the moment their eyes met, Jiang Yiguang felt her heart struck by something. Her mind went blank, only able to hold the image of the alluring, cold beauty in the sunlight.

In that instant, the impulse to imprison Fu Juan at home rose again in Jiang Yiguang’s heart, so that Fu Juan would belong only to her.

【Ding, detecting the host is having inappropriate delusions. The host has the following options:

A. Swiftly walk to Fu Juan’s side and gently whisper “Good morning.” (Reward: Eating instant noodles without seasoning packet)

B. Step forward and demand: “Why are you still at my house?” (Reward: Charisma Points +1)

C. Walk to the dining room, face Fu Juan, and proclaim loudly: “I don’t eat food handed out in contempt.” (Reward: Daoist Skill Points +1)】

The System’s cold, emotionless mechanical voice pulled Jiang Yiguang from her “enchantment.” She lowered her lashes, staring at the light screen only she could see. She had no leisure to sigh at the ridiculousness of the task, and decisively chose “C” based on the reward, even though she didn’t quite grasp what “food handed out in contempt” referred to.

A thought suddenly flashed through Jiang Yiguang’s mind. She asked inwardly and cautiously, “What if I don’t do it—”

The cold mechanical voice immediately sounded.

【The System will enforce compliance compulsorily.】

Jiang Yiguang had no desire to experience the loss of body control while conscious. That was even more terrifying than dumbly finding herself crouched at Fu Juan’s door in a daze—at least for the latter, she was completely unaware. Composing herself, she adopted her past attitude towards Fu Juan, striding forward with an arrogant gait, heading straight for the person with the coldly beautiful brows.

But when Fu Juan’s focused, deep gaze fell on her, Jiang Yiguang jolted as if struck by electricity, unable to utter a single word.

“Eat breakfast.” Fu Juan’s gaze lingered on Jiang Yiguang for only a moment before withdrawing. Her voice was like jade balls striking silver bells—clear, cold, and crisp.

Fu Juan was strong-willed by nature. Whatever she could do in the past, she had to do now, and do it better than before. After her legs were crippled, the Xuanzhen Dao Court gradually marginalized her. They certainly valued Fu Juan’s Innate Dao Bone, but after that incident, her foundation was damaged. Even if she could continue cultivating, her future was clearly limited. The Mystic Sect didn’t need a crippled leader like her. If Jiang Yiguang faced such a blow, she would absolutely give up on herself. But Fu Juan was different. In those dark, deep eyes burned an ambition even fiercer than before.

“I-I-I don’t eat food handed out in contempt.”

Prompted by the System, Jiang Yiguang, who had come back to her senses, stammered her scripted line.

Fu Juan’s expression didn’t worsen, nor did it improve. She remained very calm, so calm she didn’t even raise her head to glance at Jiang Yiguang.

In the silent dining room, the surging embarrassment almost drowned Jiang Yiguang entirely. The usually thick-skinned her suddenly grasped a word called “shame” at this moment! She dared not look at Fu Juan’s expression anymore and fled outside in a panic.

After Jiang Yiguang left, the three little paper dolls flew out and circled around Fu Juan.

“I say, Juan’er, she’s the eldest daughter. Why would you need to make breakfast for her?”

“Exactly, exactly. That ingrate, with a wolf’s heart and a dog’s lung, she’s a baddie!”

“You really don’t need to go to such trouble. I say we should have just left her to her own devices before!”

Hearing the little paper dolls’ chatter, Fu Juan suddenly smiled softly, “Trouble? Don’t I need to eat as well?” As she spoke, she reached out and pulled the plate she’d prepared for Jiang Yiguang towards herself, expressionlessly spearing the fried egg on the plate. The little paper dolls trembled in fright at her rare smile, the three tiny ones huddling together in a shivering pile.

A few minutes later, the vibration of a phone broke the eerie atmosphere.

Fu Juan stared fixedly at the message Wang Xuanming sent, remaining silent for a long time.

The “Fox Immortal Temple” was first discussed on the “Z” University forum, touted as having a “100% Matchmaking Rate,” attracting many students to come visit and check in. The Fox Immortal Temple hadn’t caused any trouble so far, yet the inexplicable “matchings” still reeked of something shady. The Xuanzhen Dao Court secretly assessed it, deeming the danger level not high, and released it as a training mission.

Wang Xuanming happened to pick up this task.