Chapter 908: Habit Becomes Second Nature

Chapter 908: Habit Becomes Nature

The days of Zhao Changhe and his group usurping the Night Palace for debauchery lasted about ten days.

During these ten days, Ye Wuming experienced both pain and joy.

When they were not in dual cultivation, Ye Wuming accompanied Ling Ruoyu, teaching various laws, telling ancient stories, and sharing tales from beyond the realm; the little girl massaged her mother’s discomfort from splitting her soul, strolled with her through the Night Palace, and they were as thick as thieves.

Originally, Ye Wuming had some doubts about “whether this really counts as my daughter,” but after these days together, she felt that if anyone tried to take her daughter away, she would fight them to the death.

Ye Wuming herself didn’t realize that the attribute she shared most with Ye Jiuyou was not darkness or stillness, but loneliness.

Back then, Ye Jiuyou also had a bunch of subordinates—misfits like Anmie, countless corpse puppets, and shadow beasts—making things seem lively. But Ye Jiuyou never treated them as anything but tools, never trusting them, and it turned out that Anmie and the others were full of treachery, all traitors.

She was always alone. For ten thousand years, dwelling in the abyss, gazing at her own reflection in the mirror—that loneliness touched Zhao Changhe’s heart.

He sympathized with and pitied the most fearsome demon in people’s hearts, giving her affection... In the end, the demon heart turned human, soft as silk wrapped around a finger. It wasn’t that Zhao Changhe’s flirting skills had reached the Heavenly List, but that a divine arrow fell from the nine heavens, precisely at the time when Ye Jiuyou was examining truth and becoming mortal, striking the softest and most needy place in her heart.

Ye Wuming seemed to have friends and subordinates around her, but in truth, she was the same as Ye Jiuyou... She had never trusted them, even destroyed them with her own hands.

Zhao Changhe said, “You don’t care about the bond of three years together, but I do.”

Ye Wuming perhaps truly didn’t care... but no one had ever said to her that they cared. Zhao Changhe had said so many offensive things, yet he didn’t know that what truly broke her defenses was this simple sentence, and what it meant in the context of risking his life to save her.

Watching the harmony around Zhao Changhe, Ye Wuming didn’t want to become part of it, but she couldn’t help comparing herself and feeling bitter. Zhao Changhe was brought by her, guided by her in cultivation and fortune, yet in the end, she was just an outsider, even an enemy.

They laughed and talked joyfully, while she was only fit to dwell in the empty Night Palace, under the blue sea and azure sky, lonely as the Moon Palace.

Then Ling Ruoyu appeared... her attributes were founded by Ye Wuming, her face so similar, her aura so fitting, nestling in her arms, calling her “Mother” with clear, foolish innocence, gently massaging her temples.

Others could hardly understand that a being like Ye Wuming, who had lived for millions of years, only in these ten-odd days experienced an emotion called “happiness,” smiling more than in all the previous millennia.

She had never been happy, only in these days.

But these days were also painful.

After all, those dogs and bitches rarely spent time not dual cultivating; most of the time they were at it. There was no way to complain about it—Zhao Changhe’s healing was indeed the top priority; it wasn’t as if they could let him take a full year to recover normally.

But when he dual cultivated with Jiuyou, Ye Wuming was a tragedy.

Only part of her soul had returned to her body; the main soul was still entangled in Ye Jiuyou’s body. Every time Zhao Changhe did something with Ye Jiuyou, it was no different from doing it with Ye Wuming herself, clearly experiencing every sensation, reaching the peak together with Jiuyou.

Ye Wuming tried to fall into a deep sleep to shut herself off, but Ye Jiuyou wouldn’t allow it.

Each time, she deliberately stirred the soul, disturbing her so she couldn’t enter meditation, insisting she experience it.

Each experience interwove with the memory of the last time using her own body, until later Ye Wuming could hardly tell whether she was passively feeling these things inside Ye Jiuyou’s body, or if Zhao Changhe was actually doing it with her, Ye Wuming.

The most infuriating thing was that it was never just one person. When Zhao Changhe dual cultivated with Piaomiao, Ye Jiuyou shamelessly clung to him and kissed him, making Ye Wuming want to self-destruct in anger.

You, Ye Jiuyou, are now the Heavenly Dao of this world—can you have some shame?

Oh, right, Zhao Changhe doing this with the Heavenly Dao—does Zhao Cu have a special term for it... Zhao Ritian?

The author’s mind started to wander again, and Ye Wuming could do nothing but find joy in misery, only to be left with eyes rolled back in a daze amid those wandering thoughts.

If it weren’t for keeping Ruoyu, she would have driven these dogs and bitches out long ago. For the sake of her daughter, the sacrifice was not small.

...

“Master, you’re here.” Outside Ye Wuming’s bedchamber, Ling Ruoyu was sparring with Longque. Seeing Zhao Changhe arrive, she jumped up happily and greeted him warmly.

Zhao Changhe affectionately rubbed her head: “Didn’t I say to call me ‘Dad’ in front of Ye Wuming?”

“It doesn’t matter now; whatever I call you is the same.”

Zhao Changhe: “?”

Actually, Zhao Changhe didn’t have a direct sense of Ye Wuming’s pain these days.

Although he knew in his heart that Ye Wuming’s soul was inside Ye Jiuyou’s body, similar to the situation with Yangyang and Piaomiao before, human thinking is always influenced by perception. Ye Wuming was well hidden inside Ye Jiuyou, making it impossible to sense another soul alternating within, and on top of that, there was Ye Wuming’s body here being motherly and daughterly with Ruoyu—perceptually, they seemed like two separate people. So Zhao Changhe never felt that when he dual cultivated with Jiuyou, he was also doing something with Ye Wuming.

On days when he wasn’t dual cultivating for healing, he would occasionally come to Ye Wuming’s side, not to see her, but mainly to accompany Ruoyu and Longque.

He didn’t quite understand Ling Ruoyu’s words and didn’t bother to think much, asking with a smile: “How’s the practice?”

Longque said: “I had Xinghe repeatedly simulate that strike from Luochuan before; now it’s easy to break through, but this little fry can’t compare to Luochuan. I don’t know how it will be when facing him again.”

Ling Ruoyu slapped the table: “Why am I a little fry again! Mother said that move, aside from lacking power, my simulation is already very standard.”

Zhao Changhe recalled something... The Heavenly Book could memorize an opponent’s skills, analyze and simulate them, as long as they weren’t beyond its scope. Clearly, Luochuan’s strike, aside from power, did not exceed the Heavenly Book’s principles at the law level; it could be fully imprinted and simulated.

These days, Ye Wuming and Ling Ruoyu should have been analyzing the opponent’s skills.

Longque said: “Lack of power is the biggest shortcoming. Both are Ye Wuming, but the current Ye Wuming is like a sickly person being bullied—is it because her insights are insufficient? She has plenty of insights now, things she never tried before, she’s tried them all...”

A palm flew out from the bedchamber, slapping Longque flat to the ground.

Longque twitched twice and fell silent.

Ling Ruoyu tried to pull her companion out of the mud like pulling a carrot, but couldn’t. Without holding Xinghe, Ling Ruoyu was a true little fry.

After pulling for a long time without success, she unceremoniously gave up, turned to Zhao Changhe with an apologetic smile: “I learned a bit of fortune-telling from Mother today. Would you like me to tell your fortune, Master?”

Longque: “?”

I’m still in the mud, and you’re telling fortunes.

Zhao Changhe snapped his fingers, and Longque, whom Ling Ruoyu couldn’t pull out no matter what, popped out of the ground with a “bang.”

Ling Ruoyu’s expression changed slightly. She thought to herself that Master had been so injured he could barely move before; ordinary people would need years to recover. He was recovering so fast, feeling like he wasn’t far from full recovery. Was the dual cultivation method really that miraculous?

Given the current power comparison, Mother, who only had part of her soul in her body, would probably be completely suppressed, unable to move...

Forget it, don’t think about that scene. Ling Ruoyu picked up Longque again, stroked her like a cat, and comforted: “Queque, be good, don’t cry...”

Longque struggled: “You’re clearly laughing.”

“Am I?”

“You and your mother bully me every day. I’ll have my father bully your mother.”

The two little companions were about to start fighting when Zhao Changhe grabbed one in each hand and separated them: “Does Ye Wuming really bully you every day?”

Longque tattled: “Every time you bully her, she comes and hits me.”

Zhao Changhe didn’t react for a moment: “When have I ever bullied her these days? Every time I come here, she hides and doesn’t see me; I haven’t even seen her twice!”

Ling Ruoyu immediately flicked the knife handle, signaling Longque not to let slip and remind Zhao Changhe, then smiled apologetically to change the subject: “Master, do you want a fortune reading?”

Longque shut her mouth. Zhao Changhe laughed: “Even your mother can’t fully see my fate line; how can you?”

“She can see part of you too.” Ling Ruoyu was eager to try: “Besides, when she reads you, she does it secretly. If I read you, Master will cooperate actively, won’t you? The effect will naturally be different.”

“Alright, alright.” Zhao Changhe doted on her to death: “How should I cooperate? Tell me.”

Ling Ruoyu jumped with joy: “Just stretch out your palm for me to see.”

Zhao Changhe extended his right hand, then switched to his left: “Left for men, right for women, right?”

“Actually, either is fine.” Ling Ruoyu took his hand, examined it for a while, then looked up at his smiling face, closed her eyes, and began to calculate.

Zhao Changhe tilted his head and watched, feeling a bit amused.

It felt like a dream of the old fortune-telling hut, with that blind man putting on airs.

Ling Ruoyu calculated for a while, opened her eyes, and scratched her head.

Zhao Changhe laughed: “Can’t figure it out?”

“No…” Ling Ruoyu hesitated. “I might have miscalculated…”

Zhao Changhe was puzzled. “What were you calculating?”

“My parents’ fate, of course—whether the three of us can live happily together as a family.”

“And the result says no?”

Ling Ruoyu scratched her head. “It’s more like… first ask if it’s true, then ask if it’s possible.”

Zhao Changhe didn’t take it seriously. Biologically, Ruoyu wasn’t his and Xiaxia’s child, so of course they weren’t a family of three. Besides, from another angle, this family was far too big to be just three. Fate was the hardest thing to predict precisely because there were countless interpretations. Even Ye Wuming couldn’t calculate it all, so what could a little rookie like you, just starting out, possibly figure out?

But then Ye Wuming’s voice came from the bedchamber: “Don’t reach for what’s beyond your grasp. It’s good enough if you can figure out the friends around you. Do you think Zhao Changhe is someone just anyone can calculate? If he were that easy, Luochuan would have attacked long ago.”

Ling Ruoyu let out an “oh,” sounding quite disappointed.

Zhao Changhe noticed Ye Wuming’s voice sounded a bit listless, lacking energy as if she were sick. He asked curiously, “What’s wrong with her? She seemed pretty lively when she was slapping Longque earlier.”

Ling Ruoyu looked innocent. “Earlier, she was teaching me fortune-telling, then suddenly her face turned red and she ran inside and shut the door. I don’t know if she’s sick. Grandpa can heal, right? Should we go check?”

Zhao Changhe: “…”

Ye Wuming getting sick? Are you kidding me?

Ye Wuming shouted from inside, “What sickness? You’re the one who’s sick! Don’t come in!”

Zhao Changhe found the tone strange and felt confused. Without hesitation, he tried to flash through the door.

A wall of spatial energy blocked his path. Caught off guard, Zhao Changhe slammed into it with a loud “bang,” his body splayed out like a giant character, then slowly slid down.

Before he reached the bottom, he formed his hand into a blade and slashed straight down.

The spatial wall shattered. Ye Wuming, only a remnant soul, couldn’t stop Zhao Changhe, who had mostly recovered. He easily broke into her private chamber.

The moment Zhao Changhe landed, his eyes went wide, and he slowly stepped back.

In the center of the bedchamber stood a large bathing tub. Ye Wuming was completely submerged, only her head above water, her phoenix eyes glaring at him with murderous intent.

“Uh…” Zhao Changhe forced a smile. “I didn’t expect you’d be bathing here for no reason… But why does bathing make you sound so weak…”

Ye Wuming ground her teeth.

For no reason? You were just going at it with Jiuyou until you were half-dead, and I was going at it here too, with something sticky flowing endlessly—how could I not bathe?

Why was she weak? You ask why? Even now, my limbs are limp, while you’re all radiant and cheerful.

So were you two actually dual cultivating or draining each other?

Neither spoke. They stared at each other for a while, eyes flickering, and both recalled a scene from long ago.

They couldn’t remember the context anymore… It might have been at the Cui family or somewhere else. Zhao Changhe had been lying weakly in a bathtub, and Ye Wuming had appeared in the void, watching him.

Back then, she looked at him with cold detachment. Whether he was bathing or healing meant nothing to Ye Wuming—it was like looking at a stone by the road. No matter how embarrassed or angry Zhao Changhe was, he couldn’t stop her from coming and going as she pleased. All he could do was say some defeatist words and ask her if it was big.

Now the tables had turned. Ye Wuming was in the tub, powerless to stop him from coming and going as he pleased.

After who knows how long—maybe just a few seconds—Ye Wuming spoke expressionlessly, “Seen enough?”

Zhao Changhe didn’t retreat. He answered calmly, “It’s not like I haven’t seen it before. You saw mine, I see yours—we’re even.”

“…” Ye Wuming said coldly, “What did you come here for today? It doesn’t seem like it was just to keep Ruoyu and Longque company.”

“Yeah.” Zhao Changhe said, “I was planning to find you today anyway.”

“What is it?”

“My injuries are almost healed. At least I’m no weaker than when I separated Piaomiao and Yangyang back then. So what I could do then, I can do now.”

Ye Wuming fell silent.

The meaning was clear: Zhao Changhe was asking if she was ready. The sisters could be separated.

As for preparation, there wasn’t much to prepare… except one thing: after being entangled for so long, could they each reach the other shore?

Ye Wuming felt it was still a bit early, but at this moment, there was almost no need to weigh the pros and cons. Even if she could never reach the other shore in this lifetime, she didn’t want to keep being a weed inside Ye Jiuyou’s body.

“I’m ready.” Ye Wuming answered quickly. “What does Jiuyou say?”

“Jiuyou has no problem… As the main body, she’s confident she can still reach the other shore after you separate.” Zhao Changhe sighed. “But I have a problem.”

Ye Wuming said flatly, “Speak.”

“After you separate, does this period of living in Ye Palace come to an end?”

“Of course.” Ye Wuming sneered. “Do you think you can just occupy my nest and turn it into a den of debauchery forever?”

“After we leave… will it go back to the way it was, with heaven and man never meeting?”

Ye Wuming said, “Yu’er can come anytime. I’ll also descend to see her.”

“What about me?” Zhao Changhe asked.

“What does it have to do with you?”

“If that’s the case, I think we should delay the separation.” Zhao Changhe took a step forward. “I haven’t seen enough yet.”

Ye Wuming was furious. “I already gave you Ye Palace before, and you refused it! If you want to come, come—what’s it to me?”

Zhao Changhe showed a hint of a smile. “Do you really want to separate that badly?”

“Obviously.”

“Haven’t you figured it out yet? If you want to separate sooner, you need to beg me for help. Does this look like the attitude of someone begging?”

Ye Wuming stared at him coldly, saying nothing, her expression clearly saying, “Help if you want, don’t if you don’t.”

Under her glare, Zhao Changhe walked step by step to the edge of the tub, reached out, and lifted her chin. “I’ll give you one day to prepare. Return this body’s remnant soul to its original form. Tomorrow night, place both bodies side by side. I won’t ask you to beg me humbly—just say it yourself: ‘I’m ready, come in.’”

Ye Wuming didn’t know if she could bring herself to say such a shameful thing. What terrified her more was that being touched by him again felt so familiar—like shaking hands with your own left hand. The sensation of his fingers, she had felt countless times these days, whether lifting her chin or in even more humiliating positions. When her soul was inside Ye Jiuyou’s body, she had experienced it all countless times.

Even now, being completely exposed in the tub, she felt so used to it that she couldn’t even muster the will to cover herself.

Habit was a terrifying thing.