I long to return home!

Upon hearing this, Huai Zhen swallowed hard, unable to utter the words he wanted to say, his eyes fixed on Shen Lingjiao's face.

The blond voice echoed in his mind countless times, stirring his emotions. For so long, he had been unaware of the person in this memory, but now he finally understood why.

Huai Zhen looked at Shen Lingjiao seriously, took a deep breath, and said in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, "Lingjiao... I think I like you."

"Um?!"

Shen Lingjiao was stunned. When she looked at Huai Zhen again, her face was flushed like a baby's. After enduring these words, she punched him again and again, anxiously saying, "You scoundrel! I knew right away that old bastard sent you to humiliate me."

Faced with these soft, weak punches coming at him, Huai Zhen remained silent, lowered his head, and pondered his own words. After reflecting on them, he realized that this was exactly what he wanted to express.

“I think I really like you,” Huaizhen said again.

"You sickly brat, your brain must be fried, you're asking for a beating!" Shen Lingjiao hit him for a long time until her delicate hands ached before she stopped. Looking at the sickly man who had been flirting with her, she said, "Hmph, Xiao Jin, let's go. Let him stay here alone." After a cold snort, she hugged Jin Yuluan and disappeared from Huai Zhen's sight without looking back.

...

Three days later, there was a light rain during those days.

Huai Zhen remained motionless in the courtyard, his hidden ailment aggravated by the rainy weather, and his cough sounded worrying.

However, his expression did not change, and it was exactly the same as when Shen Lingjiao left.

On this day, Shen Lingjiao came over carrying the Golden Phoenix. Seeing Huai Zhen sitting cross-legged on the ground looking pale, her previous arrogance had subsided considerably.

"Hey, are you still alive?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Huaizhen looked up and saw that the weathered face revealed the depth of her love.

"Little Jin, warm him up by the fire. It wouldn't be good if that old geezer froze to death and complained to Father." Shen Lingjiao said lightly, putting down the golden-feathered phoenix she was holding and letting it breathe out pure fire to dry Huai Zhen's slightly damp robes.

The scorching flames burned Huai Zhen's body, but there were no unexpected effects. Huai Zhen only felt warm currents flowing through his body, a warmth that felt very familiar and comforting.

Finally, after the robes dried, the flames came to an abrupt end. The golden-feathered phoenix shook its rather plump body and looked at Huai Zhen with some disbelief in its eyes.

Shen Lingjiao's eyes showed no disgust at the moment. She propped herself up on her arms and looked at Huaizhen meaningfully, asking, "What exactly are you here for?"

"I love you, and this love will last a lifetime. I will do anything to protect you, even if it means risking my last drop of blood." Huai Zhen said these words to Shen Lingjiao without blinking.

These words, though mostly omitted from Shen Lingjiao's mind, or rather, she only cared about the promise in them, and asked, "Really anything?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Huai Zhen nodded heavily.

Shen Lingjiao was secretly delighted to receive the affirmation. After chuckling to herself, she coughed a few times to ease the awkwardness and said to Huai Zhenshou in a commanding tone, "Then do a somersault first and let me see."

Upon hearing this, Huai Zhen was stunned for a moment. After pondering for a while, he slowly stood up, gathered his strength in his feet, and flipped in the air. Even though all his spiritual power was trapped, he was still able to do a simple backflip without much trouble.

Seeing how effective her words were, Shen Lingjiao's playful side was truly aroused, and she couldn't help but fantasize about the wonderful times to come.

She coughed lightly a few more times, looked around at the rain-soaked ground and the scattered fallen leaves, and continued to instruct, "Hmm... first clean up my yard."

Upon hearing this, Huai Zhen's expression remained largely unchanged. He glanced down at the magical artifact binding his arms, and finally fixed his gaze on Shen Lingjiao.

Seeing this, Shen Lingjiao was somewhat worried, fearing that the other party might take advantage of her after being untied and retaliate. After some thought, she retreated several feet away until she was sure she had enough distance to escape before she used her magic to release the magic weapon that bound Huaizhen.

Huai Zhen glanced at Shen Lingjiao, who was far away, and felt somewhat unwilling. She then took a broom from the corner and began sweeping the large courtyard by herself.

A gentle breeze pattered against his frail body, and he coughed uncontrollably, but he did not stop until he had finished cleaning the entire courtyard.

Seeing how obedient the person before her was, Shen Lingjiao was secretly delighted. "Looks like I'll have someone to play with from now on," she thought. Hehe...

Before long, Shen Lingjiao walked up to Huaizhen with the air of a mistress, looked her up and down, and said, "From now on, you'll be my little follower, and 'sickly' will be your code name."

"Okay." Huai Zhen forced a smile onto his defeated face.

...

For several days in a row, Huaizhen settled into the Golden Jade Palace, but he spent most of his time in the courtyard, playing with Shen Lingjiao and trying to make her happy.

Conversely, day after day, Shen Lingjiao gradually accepted Huaizhen, and having a follower behind her made the otherwise dull days less tedious.

...

"Sickly boy, how long until you finish practicing your clumsy kung fu? You promised to play with me, and the time for not practicing magic is almost up." Shen Lingjiao sat on the stone steps, propping her head up with her hands, watching Huaizhen practicing Tai Chi in the courtyard.

"Almost there." Huai Zhen chuckled softly, her arms moving slowly and her feet shifting gently, everything was so calm and peaceful.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Huaizhen pushed his palms forward, then laid them flat in front of his abdomen and took a deep breath.

"There's nothing else to do today, come on, Ling Jiao."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lingjiao was overjoyed. Holding the golden phoenix, she jumped down from the steps. With a grab of her right hand, golden spiritual light appeared, and a golden pen appeared in her hand, radiating spiritual charm.

"Sickly brat, you'd better catch this. If you get hurt, you're not allowed to beg for mercy."

"Come on," Huai Zhen replied with a smile, adopting a Tai Chi starting stance with his palms outstretched in front of him, a defensive posture.

"Hehe..." Shen Lingjiao chuckled mischievously, twirling the golden pen to draw some talismans. In no time, all sorts of talismans were drawn, some with binding properties and others with slightly aggressive properties.

shhhhhh!

Three sharp sounds pierced the air as talismans imbued with spiritual light rushed towards Huai Zhen. With a flick of his hands, he caught them all, except for the last talisman, which shone the brightest, which was neutralized by a single palm strike.

"You're cheating! You agreed to only defend, how can you attack?" Seeing that the talisman she had painstakingly written had failed, Shen Lingjiao resorted to shamelessness.

"Alright, I won't attack." Huai Zhen said, putting one hand behind his back and using only one hand to defend.

However, as always, no matter what attack came his way, he skillfully deflected it with Tai Chi, and always appeared relaxed.