Transmigrating into the world of Jade Dynasty, I was targeted by the female lead in a reverse romanc

As they walked out of the alley, people around them gave way, looking at Jiang Xiaochuan with awe. Jiang Xiaochuan released Xiaobai and said irritably, "If you do this again, you can deal with it yourself."

Xiao Bai laughed: "How do we solve this? Should we scare them with a sword too?"

"You still need a sword?" Jiang Xiaochuan glared at her. "You could crush them with a single finger."

"That's so boring." Xiaobai took his hand again. This time, Jiang Xiaochuan struggled but couldn't break free. She held it tighter, her voice tinged with laughter, "I just love seeing you protect me."

"Who's protecting you?" Jiang Xiaochuan turned his face away. "I just find it troublesome."

"Yes, yes, yes," Xiaobai replied, scratching his palm with her fingers. "My little husband is the best."

Jiang Xiaochuan's ears burned. He shook off her hand and strode forward, with Xiaobai following him with a smile.

"If you do this again, I won't be so lenient."

Xiao Bai raised an eyebrow, took a step forward, almost touching him, looked up at him, and breathed on his chin: "How am I being impolite? You can't beat me anyway."

Jiang Xiaochuan choked, staring at Xiaobai, then suddenly reached out and gently pinched her waist.

Xiao Bai gasped, her body trembled, and her ears turned red. She glared at him, but her eyes held a smile: "You pinched me?"

"I just cut it off," Jiang Xiaochuan said matter-of-factly. "If I can't beat them, can't I just cut them off?"

Xiaobai looked at him, then suddenly smiled. She reached out and pinched his cheek, her tone indulgent: "Okay, you can pinch me, but..."

She leaned closer, lowering her voice, "Look at me, I'm not that old, am I? My waist is still slim, and my skin is smooth, hmm?"

Jiang Xiaochuan, his face pinched by her, mumbled, "Yes, yes, you're not old at all, you're young and beautiful, okay?"

"That's more like it," Xiaobai said with satisfaction, letting go of his hand and then taking his hand again. "Come on, let's find a place to eat. I'm hungry."

The two wandered around the streets for a while and found an inn that looked fairly clean. The inn was small, a two-story wooden building. The downstairs was the dining hall with a few old tables. The innkeeper was a chubby middle-aged man who was dozing off behind the counter.

Xiao Bai rattled off more than a dozen dish names: "Braised Yellow Sparrow in Clay Pot, Three-Section Snake Intestines, Roasted Bear Tail, Roasted Autumn Leaves, Five Small Insects, Black Heart Fruit..."

The shopkeeper was stunned. He wiped his sweat and said with a forced smile, "Miss, most of what you're talking about... our shop can't make. We do have braised yellow sparrow and roasted bear tail, and we can also get black-hearted fruit, but the rest... we really don't have."

Xiao Bai was a little disappointed, but still ordered braised yellow sparrow, roasted bear tail, and black heart fruit, and also asked for two bowls of rice.

While waiting for his food, Jiang Xiaochuan looked around the inn. There weren't many people in the dining hall, only two or three tables of guests, all of them eating with their heads down, occasionally exchanging a few words in hushed tones. The air was filled with the aroma of food and the faint musty smell of damp wood.

The dishes were served quickly.

Jiang Xiaochuan was hungry and ate heartily, while Xiaobai ate slowly, taking small bites, but her eyes were always curved in a smile, as if she was very satisfied.

After finishing his meal, Jiang Xiaochuan called the innkeeper over: "Get two rooms."

Before the shopkeeper could speak, Xiaobai said, "One room will do."

Jiang Xiaochuan looked at her: "How can one room be enough?"

"Why not?" Xiaobai looked at him innocently. "You're out of money, so be careful with your spending. Besides..." She paused, lowering her voice, "I'm afraid you'll run away in the middle of the night."

"Why should I run away!" Jiang Xiaochuan glared.

"Then you should open two rooms," Xiaobai insisted.

"Fine, let's open it!"

"I'll sleep in your room once it's open."

"you--"

The two started arguing, one sentence after another. The shopkeeper stood to the side, looking at one and then at the other, with a knowing smile on his face, but he didn't say a word.

In the end, Jiang Xiaochuan was defeated. He couldn't beat Xiaobai, and he couldn't win an argument either. What else could he do?

"One room, please!" He gritted his teeth and paid.

The innkeeper led them upstairs with a smile and booked a room. The room wasn't big, with a bed, a table, and two chairs. The bed, however, was large enough to comfortably sleep two people.

"Please rest well, sir." The innkeeper left, winking at Jiang Xiaochuan before closing the door.

Jiang Xiaochuan pretended not to see it. He walked to the bedside and sat down, watching Xiaobai close the door and walk over.

"You sleep on the bed, I'll sleep on the floor," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a roll of bedding from his storage space. It included a quilt, a mattress, and a pillow.

In her mind, Hong Li sighed, "You can't carve rotten wood! You can't plaster a wall of dung! That three-thousand-year-old fox demon, with fair skin, a beautiful face, and long legs, offered to share a room with you, and you actually refused?!"

Jiang Xiaochuan, who was laying out a bedding set on the floor, said upon hearing this, "Otherwise what?"

Hongli was a little annoyed: "Otherwise? You should have said, 'Manager, I want a superior room, a big bed, a soft blanket, and good soundproofing!' Then, at night, after she fell asleep, you could have secretly climbed in—"

"I want to sleep!"

Hong Li coaxed him gently, "Young man, listen to my advice. The path of cultivation is long and arduous, and a Daoist partner is crucial. Lu Xueqi is indeed the main wife, but she's too far away to be of immediate help. This fox is readily available, fresh and warm, and she's interested in you. You won't lose out by taking her in. At worst, you can tell your senior sister that she's a 'spiritual pet' you acquired in the Southern Frontier that has simply taken human form."

Jiang Xiaochuan said helplessly, "There's no way Lu Xueqi would believe that!"

Hongli: "Then just say she forced you. How could a weak young man like you resist a nine-tailed celestial fox with a thousand years of cultivation?"

Jiang Xiaochuan imagined Lu Xueqi's expression upon hearing this and shuddered: "...Then I feel like I'll die even faster."

Hongli said with exasperation, "Coward! You deserve to sleep on the floor!"

Xiao Bai's eyes lit up as she watched him magically produce these things. She walked over, squatted down in front of him, and looked curiously into his arms: "Just how much can you fit in there? Next time you're not going to pull out a beautiful woman, are you?"

Jiang Xiaochuan ignored her and continued to make his bed on the floor. After he finished, he took off his coat, crawled into the quilt, faced the wall, and closed his eyes.

"I'm going to sleep," he said.

Xiaobai stood by the bed, watched him for a while, then took off her coat, got into bed, and the bed frame made a slight creaking sound. She lay down, turned to her side, and faced Jiang Xiaochuan's back.

There were no lights on in the room, only the faint moonlight filtering in from the window, and they could hear each other breathing.

After a while, Xiaobai asked softly, "Jiang Xiaochuan, with such a beautiful woman like me lying here, you really don't have any thoughts about me?"

Jiang Xiaochuan didn't move, and said in a muffled voice, "Yes."

"What are your thoughts?"

I want to sleep.

Xiao Bai laughed, his voice very soft in the darkness: "Liar, you're not a eunuch."

Jiang Xiaochuan fell silent.

After waiting a while, Xiaobai spoke again, her voice slightly coaxing: "Actually, you can do whatever you want, I won't resist."

Jiang Xiaochuan turned over so that he was facing her.

In the darkness, he could see her blurry outline and her bright, sparkling eyes. He looked at her for a moment, then suddenly reached out and gently flicked her forehead.

"What are you thinking?" he said, his tone helpless. "With your cultivation level, what can I do? Would you let me have your way?"

Xiaobai was stunned for a moment, then laughed. She grabbed his hand, held it in her palm, and gently scratched his palm with her fingertips: "You can try, maybe I'll give in."

"I can do whatever I want?" Jiang Xiaochuan asked.

"Okay." Xiaobai nodded, her eyes shining with a light that seemed to be either expectant or something else entirely.

Jiang Xiaochuan looked at her. The two were very close, close enough to smell her faint sweet fragrance mixed with the refreshing scent of soap. He reached out and raised his hand in mid-air. Xiaobai's eyelashes trembled, but she did not flinch.

Then the hand came down and flicked her forehead lightly.

"Dream on," Jiang Xiaochuan said, turning around and walking back to his makeshift bed on the floor. He lifted the blanket, lay down, and faced the wall. "Go to sleep."

Xiaobai froze, raising her hand to touch her forehead. It didn't hurt, just a little itchy. She stared at the bulging blanket in the corner for a while, then suddenly laughed out loud, the soft laughter echoing in the room.

"Jiang Xiaochuan," she said, "you're really interesting."

The quilt in the corner stirred, but didn't respond.

Xiao Bai blew out the lamp and lay down on the bed. The room darkened, with only a sliver of moonlight filtering in from the window, creating a hazy atmosphere. Neither of them spoke, only their breathing could be heard. After a long while, so long that Jiang Xiaochuan thought she had fallen asleep, she spoke again, her voice as soft as a dream:

"Is Qingyun Mountain very far?"

"Um."

"What about Fox Ridge Mountain?"

"It's far too."

"So tell me, what are they doing now?"

"Who?"

"Your senior sister, and Biyao?"

Jiang Xiaochuan remained silent. After a long while, he finally said, "Let's cultivate."

"Cultivation..." Xiaobai rolled over, facing his direction, "What's so good about cultivation? It's so cold and lifeless."

Jiang Xiaochuan didn't reply, and the room fell silent again. Faint chirping of insects came from outside the window, and the distant sound of a night watchman's clapper could be heard. The night in southern Xinjiang had deepened.