Invincible Dad-Chapter 586: Telling Peach Blossom_1

「The next day.」

On the morning of Tomb-Sweeping Day, a light rain drizzled continuously, its droplets striking the tiled roofs with a crisp patter.

Ruan Tang woke up very early.

She stretched and called out, "Grandma."

Only after the word left her lips did she remember, and her expression turned gloomy for a moment.

Even though this was an Obsession Barrier, she knew her grandmother had passed away long ago. All of it was just a dream, merely a dream.

"Awake?" Xu Lai poked his head in from outside and smiled. "Get washed up and eat. Ruan Lan and Yiyi are already ready and waiting for you at the door."

Ruan Tang said nothing. She stared at Xu Lai's face, bit her lower lip hard, and said, "Xu Lai, thank you for letting me see Grandma again."

"There's no need for such politeness between us. Hurry up and get out of bed." Xu Lai pulled back the covers and urged her, "The rain is about to get heavier."

"Then you can just make it stop," Ruan Tang said, blinking coquettishly at him.

Xu Lai was momentarily stunned, then he grinned. "Fine. I won't just make it stop, I'll make it a sunny day!"

"You're the best, big brother!"

Xu Lai felt a very strange sensation creep into his heart. He sized up Ruan Tang from head to toe as if he were meeting her for the first time. "Were you possessed by Ruan Lan?"

"It seems you don't like it." Ruan Tang's face grew hot. Feigning composure, she changed her clothes. "Let's just go sweep the tomb. We can skip breakfast."

"Don't say that." Xu Lai chased after her. "I like it a lot. Honey, say it again."

"Please have some dignity, Mr. Xu."

"Just one more time..." Xu Lai pleaded, still chasing her.

Ruan Lan, who was catching raindrops dripping from the eaves with Yiyi, couldn't help but chime in, "Is this the part where you promise 'til the seas run dry and the rocks melt'?"

While sweeping their grandmother's tomb, Ruan Tang and Ruan Lan greeted the other villagers they happened to meet.

The rain stopped and the sky cleared, revealing a beautiful rainbow stretching across the horizon.

Ruan Tang whispered to her grandmother at the graveside for a long time. It was evening before she finally, reluctantly, stood up to leave.

"Let's go home."

There was none of the usual sadness on Ruan Tang's face from her past visits. Instead, she wore a relieved smile, as if basking in a spring breeze.

On the way home, Xu Lai didn't drive, as Ruan Lan had suggested they practice the flight Formation.

「Twenty minutes later.」

When Ruan Tang arrived at Haitang Court, she was pale and felt nauseated.

"Was the flight too fast? Are you motion-sick?" Ruan Lan scratched her head. "Sis, let me get you a cup of hot water."

Xu Lai's expression was complicated. It wasn't just his wife; even he felt somewhat lightheaded. Ruan Lan's piloting skills with the Formation... were truly 'masterful'! That's not even mentioning the one time she crashed into a mountain peak, the two times she nearly plunged into a river, and the three times the Formation simply malfunctioned. The sky was vast, empty of planes and birds. And yet, whenever Ruan Lan saw a crossroads on the ground below, she would actually stop and wait for the traffic lights!

As a result, Ruan Tang was in bed before seven in the evening, completely exhausted from the journey's ordeal.

After telling Yiyi a story and lulling his daughter to sleep, Xu Lai's figure flickered and reappeared at the foot of Mount Haitang.

He sensed Ji Jie's presence.

Ji Jie wore a blood-red palace dress, her lips strikingly crimson in the moonlight. She wasn't surprised by Xu Lai's sudden appearance. Instead, she smiled and said, "Long time no see."

"You've come for the broken sword," Xu Lai stated, already knowing her purpose.

Ji Jie was direct. "Yes," she nodded.

She had once made a deal with Xu Lai: Jing Ke's residence on Earth in exchange for a broken sword from the Quasi-Emperor's Tomb. That broken sword could be traded for half a Nine Revolutions Immortal Pill, an item of immense value.

SHINK.

A sword covered in rust stabbed into the ground. It was the Mojian Wuzheng.

Ji Jie stepped forward, carefully scrutinizing the No Righteous Sword.

She kept her expression neutral, but her heart was reeling with shock. The Quasi-Emperor's Tomb... Xu Lai had actually found it and come out alive. This man... just what Boundary had he reached?

Ji Jie gave Xu Lai a deep look. "The blade and the hilt have already fused into one. Separating them will be troublesome."

"I will do what I promised," Xu Lai said. Although the No Righteous Sword was Gu Yan's precious weapon and was even inscribed with the Cloud Water Rust, Xu Lai had never been one to break his word.

He was about to flick his finger when Ji Jie's delicate voice stopped him. "Wait."

"In our Moon Clan, there is a saying: a whole sword must not be broken, lest it bring great disaster," Ji Jie chuckled lightly. "A legendary sword belongs with a hero. You deserve this sword. Of course, you'll need to give me something of equal value in return."

Xu Lai's smile was inscrutable.

This woman was very intelligent—more so than the vast majority of people he had met in his life. Although some mysterious figure among the stars was offering a high bounty for this broken sword, an innocent man invites trouble by possessing a treasure. Ji Jie knew she lacked the power to defend the sword. Even if she successfully traded it for the half of an Emperor's Elixir, she wouldn't be able to keep it. She might even be killed to be silenced.

So, she had decided to sell him a favor, letting Xu Lai bear all the potential risks.

"Given Mr. Xu's Boundary, you must be aware of the bounty on this broken sword," Ji Jie said, narrowing her eyes. "Half a Nine Revolutions Immortal Pill, capable of extending one's life by fifty thousand years! Treasures and spiritual gems of that caliber are exceedingly rare. It's impossible for you to have them. So, I hope you will give this some serious consideration."

"Consider what?" Xu Lai asked calmly.

"Marry me." Ji Jie locked her eyes on his, speaking each word with deliberation. "Marry me. The Moon Clan will be yours, the broken sword will be yours, and the entire Solar System... will also be yours!"

Xu Lai laughed.

Ji Jie laughed too, confident that no one could refuse her offer.

Near the security booth at the foot of Mount Haitang, someone had planted several peach trees.

"A Moon Clan wedding is very simple," Ji Jie said, beckoning with a hand. The buds on the peach trees instantly blossomed into beautiful flowers, releasing a soft, sweet fragrance. "Place a peach blossom on me, and I am yours." With a coy and radiant smile, a blush appeared on her cheeks, as if she were a shy bride-to-be.

"You and I are not fated to be. Tell the peach blossoms there is no need for them to bloom."

With that, Xu Lai vanished.

Where he had stood, two transparent little jade bottles remained, each containing fifty elixirs. The peach blossoms, which had just bloomed so brilliantly, withered in an instant.

Ji Jie fell silent.

She didn't glance at the two jade bottles, nor did she care whether the hundred elixirs within could extend her life by fifty thousand years and raise her Boundary. The Crown Princess of the Moon Clan felt a boundless sense of defeat.

He's rejected me again.

She looked at the eight peach trees and began to murmur, "Tell the peach blossoms... they need not bloom."

"They need not bloom..."

Ji Jie began to laugh, a hollow sound. "Xu Lai, oh, Xu Lai... I'm finding it harder and harder to want to kill you."

"But alas, with the resurgence of Spiritual Energy on Earth, the Moon Clan will be in greater danger if Earth is allowed to continue developing." Ji Jie gracefully pinned up her hair. "I wanted you to join us. You would have been the king of the Moon Clan, and I would have been your queen."

"But... you rejected me again."

"This is fine too. It's fine."

Ji Jie grabbed the two bottles of elixirs, and her figure slowly faded away from the foot of Mount Haitang.

The peach trees outside the security booth withered and died completely in less than ten breaths of time.