# Chapter 21: Sharing the Bed
Habit is a terrifying thing. It can quietly and imperceptibly alter a person's soul.
During the wedding procession, when Yun Che tried to support Xia Qingyue, she froze his arm mercilessly. The first time he called her "wife," she almost flew into a rage. The first time he held her hand, Yun Che could feel the icy killing intent emanating from her...
And now, just a few days later, Yun Che's "Qingyue wife" was rolling off his tongue more and more smoothly. She had let it be, accepting the address on the surface at least, regardless of what she might think inwardly. Not only was she no longer bothered by him holding her hand, even undressing in front of him was no longer so awkward.
These past few days, Yun Che had unquestionably slept in the corner. But with a thick blanket spread on the floor, it wasn't too uncomfortable to sleep. Every day at the third hour of the morning, he would wake up on his own and use silver needles to "regulate" her. These days, she had become increasingly aware of how astonishingly her constitution had been changing.
The light was dim, but Xia Qingyue's bare back was still like jade, her skin fairer than snow. Yun Che held silver needles, his fingertips dancing, and before long he was drenched in sweat. After half an hour, another "Tong Xuan" procedure was completed. Yun Che put away all the silver needles and let out a long breath. In his exhaustion, his mind suddenly spun, his body swayed, and he collapsed directly onto Xia Qingyue's bare back. An indescribable feeling of warmth and soft silkiness instantly spread from his chest.
Xia Qingyue's eyes snapped open, a flash of anger in them. She was about to use force to send Yun Che flying far away when she suddenly sensed that his aura was extremely weak... several times weaker than any previous time.
Xia Qingyue immediately retracted her profound energy. Using only a small amount of strength, she pushed Yun Che away, then quickly pulled on her clothes, turned around, and reached out to support Yun Che's body, looking at him and asking, "What's wrong with you?"
Yun Che's face was pale, without a trace of color. His eyes were half-open, as if he had lost even the strength to open them fully. He shook his head slightly and said weakly, "It's nothing... just overexerted my strength and energy a bit... I'll be fine after resting a while."
Xia Qingyue's eyes flickered slightly, and a pang of pain she shouldn't have felt stirred in her heart again. The first time he had performed the acupuncture on her, he had been completely drained. And while one episode of exhaustion might be relatively easy to recover from, these past few days he had been performing the procedure on her every single day, each needle pushing his profound energy to its absolute limit. His body was frail to begin with. Such continuous depletion—how could he endure it? There was a very real possibility of permanent damage to his body.
"...You don't need to push yourself this hard for me," Xia Qingyue said, her eyes complex.
Yun Che grinned and laughed, "No, you're worth it... because you're my... lawfully wedded wife!"
Xia Qingyue: "..."
Yun Che closed his eyes, slowly gathering his strength, and said in a very soft voice, "Although you married me only out of gratitude, and never see me as your husband, I have no choice but to see you as my wife. Unless I divorce you, taking care of my own woman is one of a man's most basic responsibilities and dignities..."
After saying these words, Yun Che felt a warm sensation in his chest... Damn! Even I'm moved by that. No way this woman doesn't feel a thing!
For a while, he didn't hear Xia Qingyue speak. He opened his eyes, took a few shallow breaths, and put on a pitiful expression as he said, "Qingyue wife, I think I might not be able to walk right now. Could you... help me over there?"
His gaze indicated the corner—his sleeping spot.
Xia Qingyue glanced at the blanket spread on the floor. The inappropriate pain in her heart deepened a little more. She shook her head, turning toward the bed, "You sleep on the bed. I'll sleep there."
Hearing this, Yun Che immediately became agitated. Summoning strength from somewhere, he grabbed Xia Qingyue's arm as fast as he could, "No! Absolutely not! Even though you surpass me in every way... I'm the man and you're the woman! As a man, how could I let a woman sleep on the floor while I sleep on the bed! If you insist on sleeping there, I'd rather sleep in the courtyard!"
His voice was urgent, carrying a resolute firmness that allowed no argument. Having said that, he struggled to get up, making as if to get off the bed.
A complex expression appeared on Xia Qingyue's face. She bit her lower lip lightly, and after a brief internal struggle, she made her decision. She gently pushed Yun Che's weak body inward, then pulled the large red blanket over both herself and Yun Che.
"Don't touch me." Xia Qingyue lay down on the outer side of the bed, her back to Yun Che, not letting him see her expression at that moment.
Yun Che smiled silently. He quickly arranged himself into the most comfortable sleeping position and closed his eyes in satisfaction, "Don't worry. With your profound energy, even if I wanted to, there's no way I could do anything to you... Hoo, sharing a bed... this is what it means to be husband and wife..."
Xia Qingyue: "..."
"So tired... Qingyue wife, I'll sleep first... Mm, tomorrow I'll have Little Aunt make me a pot of snow ginseng chicken soup to nourish myself... Mm..."
Yun Che's voice grew softer and softer, and by the time his voice fully faded, his breathing had become exceptionally steady... He had fallen peacefully asleep in his extreme fatigue.
Xia Qingyue quietly turned around, looking at Yun Che's face so close to hers. Her eyes flickered with an extremely complex light...
From the moment she joined the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, she had resolved to abstain from all emotions and desires for life. She had never imagined that one day she would sleep in the same bed as a man. She had firmly believed she would never allow such a thing to happen. Before marrying Yun Che, she wouldn't even permit him to touch her at all...
But now, she was sleeping in the same bed as him, and in her heart, there wasn't even much of a sense of unacceptability...
What is happening to me? Is it because of this feeling of guilt toward him?
Perhaps...
Her mind in a tumult of distracting thoughts, she unknowingly drifted into slumber as well. She didn't realize that falling asleep so quickly with a man lying beside her meant that, subconsciously, she had almost completely lost any guard or resistance toward Yun Che.
This sleep, Yun Che didn't wake until the sun was high in the sky. When he opened his eyes, Xia Qingyue was no longer by his side, nor was her figure in the room.
Although he had rested all night, his body still ached quite badly. Yun Che sat up, let out a heavy breath, and muttered to himself, "If this keeps up, I might actually collapse from exhaustion. It seems I've been pushing myself a bit too hard."
"But only by doing this can I get her to actively seek out those three items for me."
Yun Che got out of bed and changed his clothes. As he took off his outer garment, he gripped the pendant hanging around his neck and stared blankly for a moment... On the first day of his rebirth, his overlapping memories had already raised a huge question about this pendant. Because in his previous life on the Cang Yun Continent, he had also worn a pendant around his neck, exactly the same as the one he was wearing now! The pendant seemed to be made of silver and could be opened in the middle, revealing two smooth small mirrors on either side—but that was all. There was nothing else particularly special about it.
On the Cang Yun Continent, his master had told him that when he was found, he was already wearing this pendant around his neck. And the pendant he had now was one he had worn as far back as he could remember. His grandfather told him that his father, Xiao Ying, had obtained it from somewhere and had placed it on him at birth—thus, it was his father's memento.
Two lives... the exact same pendant... What was going on?
After changing clothes, Yun Che's consciousness entered the Heavenly Poison Pearl. In the emerald-green world, the crimson-haired girl still floated quietly in her original position, showing no signs of waking.
These past two days, he had subtly inquired of his grandfather and Xia Qingyue whether there was any place where people with red hair grew. Both had answered, "Never heard of it," which only deepened Yun Che's curiosity and confusion about the girl's identity. However, he had not told anyone about the girl's existence.
After changing into lighter clothes and stretching, a tantalizing, fresh fragrance suddenly reached Yun Che's nose, making his mouth water immediately. Following the scent, he spotted a soup jar on the table. He rushed over, opened the lid, and a puff of steam rose with an irresistible aroma.
"Snow ginseng chicken soup... Hoo! Little Aunt is the best!" Yun Che's stomach growled fiercely. He picked up chopsticks and began devouring it ravenously. When he was about a third of the way through, the door pushed open, and Xiao Lingxi, dressed in light yellow, walked in gracefully. Seeing Yun Che's eating manner, she parted her lips and said, "Eh? Chicken soup? Smells great! And it seems to have snow ginseng in it too. Xiao Che, who made you this chicken soup? Hmph, you didn't even tell me, just sneaking a meal all by yourself!"
Xiao Lingxi's words startled Yun Che. "Little Aunt, did you not send this?"
"Of course not!" Xiao Lingxi finished speaking, and her expression turned strange. "In this Xiao Clan, the one who would cook soup for you, besides me—hmph—it could only be your lovely Qingyue wife! Looks like you two have a pretty good marital relationship."
Xiao Lingxi's words carried a distinctly sour note. Yun Che put down his chopsticks and murmured, "Her... how could she... possibly make chicken soup for me..."
That just didn't make sense!
"Hmph! No matter who made it for you, you've always liked chicken soup anyway, so just drink it all—I came to tell you that the people from the Xiao Sect will be arriving this afternoon. The entire Xiao Clan is preparing right now. When the time comes, you absolutely must be careful. Whatever you do, don't accidentally offend anyone from the Xiao Sect." Xiao Lingxi said very seriously.
"Got it. At most, I'll just not go out. It's not like they could possibly pick me anyway." Yun Che responded with a look of indifference.
"You can't just not go out." Xiao Lingxi wagged her fair finger at him and said seriously, "I heard from the Clan Head that the young master from the Xiao Sect wants to review everyone in our Xiao Clan... not a single person can be absent! When the time comes, you absolutely must not lose your manners."
"There's even less to worry about there. Little Aunt knows I've always been the most polite." Yun Che answered with a smile, then lowered his head and resumed wolfing down the soup.
"Alright. Then I'll go help Dad over there. If you have nothing to do after finishing the soup, you should come over too." Xiao Lingxi said, then turned and left.