After the spiritual energy was restored: Goddess girlfriends came knocking.

When Cang Yao returned to the Dragon Court, the palace was empty.

The small room was closed, with a small wooden sign hanging on the door bearing the words, written in a crooked hand: "In seclusion, do not disturb."

He stood at the doorway, looked around, and sighed.

I was going to tell Xiaoxiao this.

She placed the food box she wanted to bring to Xiaoxiao at the door, left a note, and then turned and walked towards the forbidden room.

The forbidden chamber is located at the deepest part of the Hidden Abyss Pavilion and is specifically for students to break through their limits.

The four sides are stone walls, with several luminous pearls embedded in the top, and a spirit-gathering array carved on the ground. The spiritual energy is so dense that it can condense into water.

Cang Yao sat cross-legged on the stone platform and closed her eyes.

The spiritual energy surged through the meridians, like the rising tide, pushing upwards wave after wave.

She tried to calm herself, but all sorts of random thoughts kept popping into her head.

He shook his head vigorously, trying to banish those thoughts.

But as soon as you shake one off, another one pops up.

Cang Yao didn't know what was wrong with her either.

My head is getting heavier and heavier, and my spiritual energy is surging more and more.

She sank.

This sinking lasted for more than half a month.

When Cang Yao opened her eyes, she felt that the whole world was different.

The view seemed much higher.

She stood up, walked to the pool in the corner of the forbidden room, and glanced into the water.

Her figure is slender and graceful, with a breathtaking curve beneath her sloping shoulders.

Beneath the hem of her skirt, two slender, long, and jade-like legs were visible.

Look at that face again.

Her peach-blossom eyes gazed at him with affection, the corners of her eyes slightly upturned, as if they were tinged with rouge, spreading out a faint red hue.

Cang Yao stared at her reflection in the water for a long time.

"Is this me?"

She turned around and looked at her profile.

The curves in the water stretch and undulate like mountains.

"It looks good..." Cang Yao frowned, "I just don't know if Lin Chuxi will like it."

Cang Yao adjusted for a while, then suddenly looked up as if she remembered something.

"How long have I been in seclusion?"

He quickly walked out of the forbidden room, through the corridor, and saw that Xiao Xiao had not yet come out of seclusion.

It then swam across the barrier and broke through the water.

It was still winter when I saw the shore.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

Stepping on the snow, the cold wind rushed into her collar, and Cang Yao shrank her neck, but quickened her pace.

When I pushed open the courtyard gate, Lin Chu was sitting under the locust tree reading a book.

Cang Yao stood at the door and took a deep breath.

"Lin Chu!"

Lin Chu looked up, her expression one of surprise.

The Cang Yao of the past was a pure young girl, with a touch of childishness in her eyes and brows.

Now, she has fully grown up.

She still retains her innocence, but there's something else about her that's hard to define.

The faint red at the corner of her eyes made it look like she had just woken up.

Lin Chu placed it on the table.

He picked it up again, then put it down again.

"You—" his voice trembled slightly, "you're back?"

Seeing his reaction, Cang Yao felt inexplicably happy.

I walked into the courtyard and circled around him.

"Do I look better?"

"Um."

"real?"

"real."

Cang Yao smiled, then walked up to him and raised her hand to show the top of her head.

It only reached his nose.

She sighed, "I've clearly grown taller."

She looked up at him and said, "But I'm still half a head shorter than you."

Lin Chu looked down at her gesturing and reached out to rub the top of her head.

Familiar movements, familiar temperature.

Cang Yao didn't dodge; instead, she moved closer and hugged his arm.

"Have you missed me?"

Lin Chu's body stiffened for a moment.

"Is there or not?" Cang Yao looked up at him, her peach blossom eyes sparkling.

"……have."

"I miss you too," Cang Yao said earnestly. "I think about you every day."

Lin Chu pulled her arm out of her embrace and took a step back.

"Cangyao".

"Um?"

"You can't do that again."

"Why can't we do that?"

"Hold me as much as you want." Lin Chu paused.

Cang Yao tilted her head to look at him, her brows furrowing.

"Why can't I hug him?"

You'll understand later.

"Who cares? I can hug you whenever I want."

Lin Chu sighed helplessly, "Anyway, just be more careful in the future."

Cang Yao pursed her lips.

I don't understand.

However, she did not pursue the matter further.

"How long have I been gone?"

"Half a month."

Cang Yao's expression froze for a moment.

half a month.

There are only a few days left until the Chinese New Year.

After the New Year, when spring arrives, Lin Chu will be heading to the capital.

She lowered her head and drew circles on the snow with her toes.

Lin Chu remained silent.

Although the villagers noticed the changes in her after she disappeared and reappeared, they didn't ask her any questions.

After all, there are cultivators in this world, and everyone knows what they should and shouldn't be curious about.

The next morning, Cangyao took a wooden basin to the stream to wash her clothes.

I overheard the aunties next door chatting.

Cang Yao paused for a moment, eavesdropping, and soon her face turned red.

Aunt Qin said a few more words, and Aunt Sun next to her also joined in, each of them chiming in.

As Cang Yao listened, her eyes widened even more.

Back in the courtyard, Cang Yao kept her eyes fixed on Lin Chu.

During the meal, she sat opposite him with her bowl in hand, eating her rice while watching him.

Lin Chu picked up some food, and she watched.

Lin Chu drank her soup, and she watched.

Lin Chu put down the bowl, but she kept looking at it.

After finishing her meal, Lin Chu went to the yard to hang up the clothes.

Cang Yao followed him out, pretending to pack her things, but her eyes kept glancing in his direction out of the corner of her eye.

After Lin Chu finished hanging up one item, she turned around and glanced at her.

She quickly looked away, pretending to look at the clouds in the sky.

After Lin Chu turned back, she started stealing glances again.

In the afternoon, Lin Chu sat under the locust tree reading a book.

With nothing to do, Cang Yao moved a stool and sat in front of him, resting her chin on her hands, elbows on the stone table, and staring at him without blinking.

Lin Chu had no choice but to finally raise her head.

"What's up?"

"Um."

She gripped the hem of her dress, mustered a great deal of courage, and then spoke softly:

"Lin Chu, when are we getting married?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Chu looked up at her, somewhat surprised.

"What did you just say?"

Cang Yao blinked, then repeated confidently, "I said, when are we getting married?"

Her tone was light and relaxed, as if she were asking about something as mundane as what to eat today or what to do tomorrow.

Looking into her clear, bright eyes, Lin Chu was momentarily speechless.

"Why do you ask that?"

Cang Yao blinked and said matter-of-factly, "I heard people say that you can't live together if you're not married. We live together every day, so of course we should get married."

Lin Chu remained silent for a moment.

"Cang Yao, marriage is not a simple matter..." he said carefully, "it requires mutual affection."

Cang Yao blinked and looked at him intently:

What constitutes mutual affection?

Lin Chu remained silent.

He looked down at the book in his hands, but he couldn't understand the line of text on the page no matter how many times he read it.

He looked up at the woman in front of him.

Her eyes were filled with innocent confusion.

ponder for a moment.

"It's hard to explain," Lin Chu said calmly. "But when you truly understand, you'll know whether you want to marry me or not."

Cang Yao frowned and thought about it seriously for a long time.

Then she raised her head, her peach blossom eyes looking directly into Lin Chu's eyes.

"Then, when I finally understand and still want to get married, shall we get married?"

The wind blew through the withered branches of the locust tree, lifting a wisp of hair from Cang Yao's temple.

Lin Chu looked at the girl in front of her, noticing the seriousness in her eyes and the tightly pursed lips due to nervousness.

"Okay," he said.

Cang Yao smiled, her eyes shining brightly at that moment.

She rested her chin on her hand and continued to look at him.

Lin Chu lowered her head and continued reading.

But after looking for a long time, I couldn't even turn a single page.