# Chapter 1269: Heart's Door
Inside the Star God Temple's inner world.
Birds sang, flowers bloomed, and a stream babbled gently. Cai Zhi sat on a stream rock, her soft cheek resting on her hand, her starry eyes gazing into the distance with a dazed look. Her two fair little feet unconsciously tapped at the stream water, splashing up droplets.
Just then, her gaze shifted slightly. She saw Yun Che emerging from who-knows-where, walking toward her at a leisurely pace.
Cai Zhi's starry eyes "swished" away, and her lips unconsciously pouted a little: "You're leaving tomorrow. Instead of accompanying Sister, what are you doing here?"
Yun Che walked over and said with a mischievous grin: "Of course I came to see my newlywed wife."
That overly intimate title made a clear flash of panic pass through Cai Zhi's eyes. She hurriedly scolded: "Who... who is your newlywed wife!"
After saying that, she lowered her head and muttered a very quiet complaint: "Stingy!"
"Stingy?" Yun Che's eyes widened. "Where am I stingy?"
"You still have the nerve to say that!" Cai Zhi turned her fair face and pointed at the ring on Yun Che's left hand, saying indignantly: "That ring was something Brother left behind. It's my protective charm, and it's the most important thing I own!"
"I gave you my most important thing, and you only gave me a broken sword in return. If that's not being stingy, what is? Hmph!"
"..." Yun Che was speechless. Cai Zhi's thought process... was really hard for him to keep up with.
"That's not a broken sword. It's my—" As soon as he opened his mouth, he saw Cai Zhi's lips were already pouting enough to hang an oil bottle. Yun Che had no choice but to stop defending himself and waved his hand: "Alright, alright. Then what do you want? If I have it on me, I'll give it all to you."
"You said that, you know!" Cai Zhi's starry eyes lit up. Between her lips that curled into a smile, two little canine teeth flashed with a bright jade-white light.
"..." Yun Che suddenly had a feeling he'd fallen into a trap, but he could only steel himself and say: "So... what exactly do you want?"
Without a second thought, Cai Zhi said in a delicate voice: "You gave Sister so many pretty dresses. I want some too! And they have to be just as pretty as hers!"
"...That's all?" Yun Che, who had been prepared to be thoroughly fleeced, was dumbfounded again.
"Of course!" Cai Zhi looked very serious. "Next time you come, you definitely have to bring them! Otherwise... I won't acknowledge you as my husband."
The last half-sentence was said very quietly. As she spoke, a rare blush of shyness flashed across her tender face. She lowered her head, avoiding Yun Che's gaze.
That fleeting, faint pink glow made Yun Che's eyes freeze... Wait, what's going on? Earlier she was so aggrieved, almost on the verge of tears, and even ran off. But now, suddenly...
Could it be that this little girl had feelings for me from the very beginning? She was just being tsundere earlier... Yun Che couldn't help touching his face.
After all, Yun Che was a man; no matter what, he couldn't fully understand a young girl's heart. Mo Li had forced them to be together. For Yun Che, it was basically just going through the motions to let Mo Li have her wish—at most a bit awkward, since he'd already gone through more grand and solemn ceremonies than this several times before.
But to a girl whose heart was just beginning to blossom, it would turn her entire soul upside down. Her feelings toward Yun Che would also subtly change.
"Alright, I'll definitely give them to you. But it doesn't have to be next time."
Yun Che swept his left hand flatly in front of him. Instantly, dozens of women's dresses of various styles appeared before Cai Zhi's eyes.
"Wow!" Cai Zhi's starry eyes widened, and she let out a long, sweet cry.
During the years he spent with Mo Li, one of his greatest hobbies was buying all kinds of beautiful dresses for her. After Mo Li left, every time he saw a dress that would have made her happy, it would tug at his heartstrings, and he would buy it without hesitation.
Before he knew it, he had accumulated this many.
After all, his wife Cang Yue was the empress of a nation and owned half of the Black Moon Merchant Guild. The Yun family was also a wealthy household... they had so much money they couldn't spend it all.
"So... many!" Cai Zhi's eyes sparkled as if filled with countless stars. Every single dress that Yun Che had chosen for Mo Li was extraordinary. Some were extremely magnificent, others extremely elegant. And since Mo Li had always favored red, more than half of these dresses were red.
Cai Zhi didn't get greedy. She chose a multicolored flowing immortal skirt. Pressing it against her body, she spun around lightly. As the hem of the skirt swept, it was as if a rainbow was dancing gracefully.
Although Cai Zhi was six years younger than Mo Li, their body shapes were almost identical. So when Cai Zhi wore this seven-colored flowing immortal skirt, it fit her perfectly.
"Hehe, thank you, Brother-in-law." Gently putting away the seven-colored flowing immortal skirt, her smile was like a young flower bathed in morning dew—indescribably charming and adorable.
She's still just a little girl after all... Yun Che thought to himself. After all, Cai Zhi was only nineteen this year, and her appearance was at most thirteen or fourteen.
Seeing how overjoyed she was over just one dress, Yun Che breathed a silent sigh of relief... Maybe Cai Zhi's condition wasn't as bad as Mo Li had feared.
Watching Cai Zhi's brilliant smile, the corners of Yun Che's mouth couldn't help curling up. He blurted out: "How strange. You were so unwilling just now, like you'd suffered a huge injustice. How did you change so suddenly?"
Hearing Yun Che's words, Cai Zhi's smile faded and her lips flattened: "Even if I'm unwilling, what can I do? I can't make Sister angry."
She said resentfully: "I'm still such a little child, and I have to get married... It's all your fault!"
"You're nineteen. How are you still a little child?"
"Can't a nineteen-year-old be a little child?" Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Cai Zhi said angrily: "I am one!!"
"Alright, alright, you're a little child." Yun Che could tell that Cai Zhi seemed very sensitive about her age. When he met her two years ago, she claimed to be just thirteen and stubbornly denied being seventeen... He didn't know the reason.
Could it be because of her figure?
"The reason I'm starting to accept this matter is that I've somewhat figured out why Sister did this." Cai Zhi's tone suddenly changed. She let out a sigh that didn't belong to a young girl, then looked at Yun Che and said: "Did Sister say something strange to you? Like, there's an abyss in my heart or something."
"Uh..." Yun Che was stunned.
"I knew it." Seeing Yun Che's reaction, Cai Zhi sniffed lightly, then said faintly: "Even though I've performed well enough, Sister has still been quietly worrying about me. But I'm not as fragile as Sister thinks. As long as Sister is well, I'm the happiest person in the world."
"Your sister really does care about you, just like you care about her." Yun Che said.
"Hmph, of course!" Cai Zhi tilted her head. "Because Sister is my only family in this world."
"That was yesterday." Yun Che smiled. "Starting today, I am your husband, which means I'm another family member of yours. By common logic, I should be even closer than your sister."
"..." Cai Zhi's breathing clearly faltered.
"Although the process was a bit strange, the fact is already established. You are now my wife (one of them). I will try my best to treat you well, just like Mo Li did, and I will also strive to become strong—strong enough to be worthy of your dependence."
Yun Che spoke very sincerely. A resolute light shone in his eyes.
Cai Zhi's starry eyes trembled faintly. Then her face flushed with a delicate red, and she angrily scolded: "What 'wife'! Calling me so old! How annoying!!"
After scolding him, she added very softly: "At most... I'm a little wife."
"Huh? What did you say?" Yun Che didn't catch it.
Cai Zhi turned her back to him and pointed a small hand: "You're driving me crazy! Go keep my sister company! Don't bother me anymore!"
This little girl—she was all smiles just a moment ago, and now she flips on a dime... Yun Che said helplessly: "Fine, fine. But remember what I said. Since I've already set my mind on you, even if you're the Celestial Wolf Star God, you won't be able to escape."
Perhaps because of Mo Li's wish, perhaps because of his promise to Mo Li, perhaps because of his pity for Cai Zhi's past, or for some other reason—every word Yun Che said came from the bottom of his heart.
Cai Zhi: "..."
Yun Che left. Cai Zhi still stood there blankly, her heart in utter chaos.
The things Yun Che had said earlier—she should have sneered at them, should have ridiculed them as sweet-talking to deceive little children. But... her heartstrings had been fiercely plucked in that moment. The words she had spoken were just like a girl acting spoiled with someone who had opened his heart to her.
"Phew..."
She gently exhaled, then forced her face to stiffen. She murmured to herself, facing the stream: "What a dangerous person. No wonder Sister likes him. He must have used the same words to deceive many girls... I won't be fooled that easily."
"And he said to let me depend on him... such a naive boast to make..."
"Even Sister says he's a super pervert. I won't let him have his way!"
She complained one sentence after another, but deep in her soul, a persistent thought kept stirring.
Are those words he said... really true...
Her precious, jade-like little feet lightly touched the cool stream water. She lifted her gaze into the distance. When her heart was finally no longer chaotic, what appeared before her were all the scenes of her time with Yun Che...
He meddled and used the Celestial Wolf Prison God Scripture to save her...
He fled in disarray under her barrage of verbal attacks...
He saved her a second time, but she instead caused him to fall into danger. After being scolded by him, he still saved her a third time, risking his life...
He held her tightly in his arms, and the blood he shed for her fell drop by drop onto her cheek... yet he never once thought of letting her go...
…………
Unknowingly, Cai Zhi's starry eyes had become deeply misty. She didn't even realize that the corners of her mouth had quietly curled up, like a beautiful crescent moon.