Zhu Ji and Ming Yue had been partners for hundreds of years.
However, their personalities differed. Ming Yue was obsessed with wealth, accepting anything, a true lover of all things valuable.
From priceless treasures to a single copper coin, everything was a treasure to her.
Zhu Ji, on the other hand, was a connoisseur of beauty, with exceptionally high standards, preferring quality over quantity and never settling for less.
Since her transformation, no man she had encountered had ever caught her eye.
Ji Shiyou was exceptionally handsome and carried himself with great dignity.
When Zhu Ji first saw him on Mount Sifang, she paid him no mind.
But today, seeing Cheng Zui, Zhu Ji was instantly captivated.
It was the same feeling Ming Yue had the first time she entered the treasure vault of Jinwu Palace.
Having partnered for centuries, they were naturally confidantes and best friends.
They had common ground: their unwavering devotion to what they loved.
Just as Ming Yue would risk her life for wealth,
Zhu Ji's current life goal was to make Cheng Zui marry her.
Zhu Ji approached love with the same directness and unreserved passion that Ming Yue showed for gold and silver.
Her attempts at wooing Cheng Zui, employing all thirty-six stratagems, had only managed to make him blush and shy, with no other progress. Zhu Ji decided to deploy her trump card.
She got out of bed and pushed Cheng Zui against the wall.
Declaring her claim, she then performed a wall slam.
The entire maneuver was executed with fluid grace, like a gazelle leaping, leaving no trace.
Her proficiency stemmed from the fact that she had mentally rehearsed this sequence countless times, knowing it by heart.
Whenever she read about a domineering male lead wall-slamming the heroine in a novel,
she would imagine how her own Prince Charming would do it to her.
She would picture the scene: the overbearing male lead,
how he would push her against the wall, how he would restrain her,
how he would kiss her lips, like rose petals, and how she would respond.
Over time, she forgot her own reactions,
but the male lead's actions became second nature.
In her haste today, she directly applied them to Cheng Zui.
To her surprise, the experience was better than she could have imagined.
Once Zhu Ji kissed him, she couldn't stop, as if Cheng Zui were the most delicious delicacy in the world.
After a long while, Zhu Ji released Cheng Zui, her face filled with satisfaction.
Like a glutton who had just feasted, she wiped her mouth.
Looking at Cheng Zui, who was in a daze, like a clay sculpture,
Zhu Ji placed her hands on her hips, a triumphant, mischievous grin on her face.
Cheng Zui's soul seemed to have left his body; his limbs were as weak as mud.
If he hadn't been leaning against the wall, he would have collapsed.
His body was trembling, especially his legs, which shook violently.
Yet, the feeling in his heart was wondrous: three parts excitement, three parts curiosity, three parts comfort.
The remaining one part, he couldn't describe; it was like an impulse,
or perhaps release, but not entirely. He felt as if he were floating,
as if ascending to heaven. Cheng Zui thought to himself,
"Hey, snap out of it!
Stop grinning like an idiot and let's talk about us.
Men and women should not touch. If we've kissed, we must marry.
When are we going to have our wedding ceremony?"
Seeing Cheng Zui leaning against the wall, grinning foolishly,
Zhu Ji grew impatient. She grabbed the front of his shirt and said fiercely,
though inwardly she thought, "He looks refined and handsome, like a little mochi,
but he's quite solid. He must have a good physique."
"Miss Zhu Ji, we can discuss anything, but please don't touch me."
Cheng Zui, still reeling from the kiss, suddenly came to his senses.
He pushed away Zhu Ji, who was fumbling all over him.
Then, he circulated his inner energy, concentrating his mind.
But it seemed to have little effect, except that his body stopped trembling.
His heart, however, remained unsettled. He said with a shy expression,
"If not touching, then kissing? "Zhu Ji made as if to kiss Cheng Zui again.
"Please, Miss, let me go. I really can't take anymore.
Since we have already had such an intimate encounter,
Cheng Zui should take responsibility. However, marriage is not a trifling matter.
It requires matchmakers and parental consent.
Cheng Zui is an orphan, with no parents, so I can only report to my master and ask for his elder's decision."
Cheng Zui, who had lived in seclusion in the valley since childhood, had never experienced romantic love.
He looked at the "female bandit" Zhu Ji, who was like a flustered little white rabbit
facing a wolf, completely at a loss.
He covered his mouth with his hand and said timidly,
"Responsibility is fine. Where is your master? I'll go talk to him."
Hearing that Cheng Zui would take responsibility, Zhu Ji said happily.
A perfect start, she thought, and she would continue to work hard.
"Please sit down first, and I'll tell you slowly."
Cheng Zui pointed to a chair in the distance, gesturing for Zhu Ji to sit there.
They were too close, and he felt insecure.
"I'm not a fierce beast that will eat you.
We'll have to be open with each other in the future, even sleep in the same bed.
I really don't understand what a grown man like you is afraid of.
But I do like how you blush; it's too cute."
Zhu Ji spoke fiercely, but what could she do when she liked him?
When you like someone, everything about them seems good.
She obediently sat down, but before doing so, she launched a surprise attack.
She reached out and touched Cheng Zui's face, startling him so much that he stumbled back several steps, almost falling.
According to Cheng Zui, he was an orphan whose parents had passed away.
Twenty years ago, his master brought him, an infant, into the valley.
Not only did his master raise him, but he also taught him medicine and cultivation.
This place was called Immortal's Valley, with a hidden entrance that outsiders could not find.
There were only he and his master in the valley. His master was renowned in the cultivation world.
His real name was Qian Qi, and cultivators in the Moonlit Realm called him the Living Immortal.
A while ago, his master heard that someone was impersonating him
and spreading rumors about treasures appearing in the immortal sects.
He instructed Cheng Zui to remain in the valley to cultivate,
while he himself went out and had not yet returned.
Therefore, even if Zhu Ji wanted to see his master, she couldn't.
If disciples of immortal sects heard that Cheng Zui's master
was the famous Living Immortal, they would be ecstatic.
However, Zhu Ji, like Ming Yue, was ignorant of worldly affairs.
The title of Living Immortal did not catch her attention.
She only inwardly complained that this old man had to leave now, of all times, delaying her important life event.
But there was nothing she could do. The Living Immortal was not home.
So, Zhu Ji decided to stay in Immortal's Valley and wait for him to return.
What else could she do? She liked his disciple, after all!
Immortal's Valley was picturesque and beautiful.
Staying there wasn't lonely. Zhu Ji roamed around the valley every day,
teasing the blushing Cheng Zui when she had nothing else to do. Life was quite leisurely.
Cheng Zui always tried to avoid her, fearing she might get her amorous intentions back and bully him.
However, he solemnly told Zhu Ji that she could explore any part of Immortal's Valley at her leisure,
except for the Langya Cave at the bottom of the valley. That was where his master meditated.
It was a forbidden area within the valley, and even as the master's only disciple,
after living in the valley for twenty years, he had never entered it.
Cheng Zui's reminder was well-intentioned, but if he hadn't mentioned it, Zhu Ji might not have paid it any mind.
His warning, however, piqued Zhu Ji's curiosity.
The more she was forbidden to enter, the more she wanted to see what was inside.
She wanted to know what was so special about Langya Cave,
and why the Living Immortal kept it a secret even from his own disciple.
So, two nights later, she quietly got out of bed
and, under the bright moonlight, headed towards the deepest part of Immortal's Valley.