Chương 4: My Darling Wife Cares For Me So Much!

Inside the chamber, Su Luoyang smoothed down her robes, preparing to leave the awkward atmosphere behind.

"Um… I would really love to take a bath and wash this green sludge off. Where exactly is the bathroom, darling?" Xiao Xuan's voice cut through the quiet. Su Luoyang froze. She spun around so fast her ponytail whipped through the air.

"You are forbidden from addressing me in that ridiculous way!" Su Luoyang snapped, her voice laced in fury as she inadvertently unleashed a heavy martial aura that instantly suffocated the entire room.

"Alright! Alright! My bad!" Xiao Xuan raised his hands in surrender, his heart hammering against his ribs. The weight of her martial aura felt like an invisible boulder pressing against his chest. Note to self: do not tease the ice princess when my physical stats are currently in the negatives. In the corner of the room, Xinyue was quietly trying to suppress her laughter. Su Luoyang took a deep breath, pulling her martial aura back inside her core as she regained her regal composure.

"Xinyue, prepare the hot water and escort him to the bath," Su Luoyang instructed, her voice snapping back into a cold, professional tone.

"It is already late. Make sure the kitchen serves him a proper dinner, and move his belongings to the sleeping chamber right next to mine for the night."

"But Lady Luoyang—!" Xinyue protested, her face turning pale at the thought of serving the stinky cripple. Su Luoyang didn't say a word; she merely shot a fierce look toward her maid that instantly made the girl accept defeat.

"Ensure you are not late for breakfast tomorrow," Su Luoyang added indifferently, turning her back on Xiao Xuan as she elegantly swept out of the room. The moment her white robes disappeared past the door frame, Xiao Xuan cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled toward the hallway.

"My darling wife cares for me so much! Her love is truly as vast as the Eastern Ocean!!" Outside in the corridor, Su Luoyang's footsteps stumbled, a crimson flush spread across her cheeks. Infuriated and unable to bear his shameless shouting for another second, the ice princess abandoned her majestic walk and used a high-level movement technique to sprint away from the corridor. Inside the room, Xinyue's fists were clenched so hard her knuckles were turning white.

"Are you insane?! Why in the world would Lady Luoyang care about a useless moron like you?!"

"Tell me, Xinyue, are you currently married?" Xiao Xuan asked curiously. He slowly stood up from the bed. His physical build was taller than the maid's, forcing him to tilt his chin downward to look straight into her furious eyes. Xinyue felt a wave of nervousness wash over her. The boy's confidence was unnatural; before today, he had never even dared to look at her face, much less maintain eye contact.

"No…" she muttered.

"Exactly. That is precisely why your single mind cannot comprehend the complexity of the love between husband and wife," Xiao Xuan lectured shamelessly, waving a hand in the air like a grand philosopher.

"I understand that you feel sidelined now that she prioritizes her handsome husband over you, and that's why you constantly resort to bullying me."

"But Xinyue, this is a battle you simply cannot win…" Xiao Xuan continued the endless rant, weaving a delusional tale about how much he loved his wife and how her coldness was just a classic expression of her hidden affection for him. Xinyue's veins bulged against her temples. This boy had been acting strangely ever since he woke up. He kept addressing the towering Clan Leader as 'Father' when he had always used 'Respected Sir' before.

He casually dropped words like 'Darling' to a goddess who could slice him in half. Where did this sudden boldness come from? She felt an overwhelming urge to just punch him square in the jaw and knock him back into a coma right then and there. But she forcefully controlled her fists. As she stared at his smug face, a sudden realization struck her mind that brought her comfort. The purple lightning didn't just burn him… it completely fried his mind.

It was best to ignore his delusional rants and let him drown in his own madness. When he would inevitably offend the masters during breakfast tomorrow, the Clan Leader would punish him without her having to lift a finger.

"Shut up and follow me to the bath," she said flatly, turning around and walking out without another word. Xiao Xuan smiled inwardly. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He slowly limped behind Xinyue, his eyes eagerly scanning the grand manor. The meticulously crafted red pillars, the elegant wooden bridges, and the traditional stone masonry amazed him.

"Hey Xinyue, be a dear and lend me your shoulder," Xiao Xuan called out, stumbling slightly as he tried to reach for her arm.

"My legs are completely shot." Startled by his approach, Xinyue jumped a full three feet away, her face twisted in disgust.

"Keep your filthy hands to yourself!" she berated, her hand instinctively dropping to the small dagger at her waist.

"Walk on your own! If your legs don't work, then crawl on the floor! If you try to touch me again, see if I don't personally cut your hand off and feed it to the beasts!" Xiao Xuan chuckled. He kept his hands to himself, limping forward through the winding corridors. Having finally reached the chamber, Xiao Xuan lay on the floor panting like a dying dog while Xinyue marched inside the attached bathroom to prepare the hot water.

Walking back out a few minutes later, she looked down at his pathetic form with an indifferent glare.

"The water is ready. Your clean robes are laid out on the bench inside. I will go to the kitchens and retrieve your dinner. Do not drown yourself." With that final warning, she turned on her heel and swept out of the chamber. Xiao Xuan dragged himself off the floor and shuffled into the bathing space. His eyes instantly went wide. The room was spacious, constructed entirely out of white marble.

Warm, steaming water poured from a dragon-shaped metal spout that functioned much like an automated tap back on Earth, filling a big stone pool that looked like a luxury bathtub. As he began to peel the cold, sticky green paste from his skin, a horrifying doubt rose in his mind. Terrified by the implications of traditional web novel curses where the protagonist wakes up missing his most vital physical assets, Xiao Xuan rushed over to the huge polished copper mirror on the wall.

He rapidly dropped his pants, spinning around to check his reflection from top to bottom, front to back. He let out a sigh of relief. He looked almost exactly like he had on Earth, only with clearer skin and a sharper jawline. Thank the heavens, he thought. I can work with this. With his most terrifying anxiety successfully resolved, he stepped into the steaming stone pool, letting the hot, mineral-rich water wash away the foul green sludge and soothe his aching muscles. …

Meanwhile, in a luxurious chamber on the other side of the estate, a tense argument was brewing. Liang Shufen paced around her private quarters, her elegant robes swishing with every furious step.

"I will never accept that scoundrel! My poor Luoyang's future is ruined because of him! Why did she have to marry a fool like him? Which son from the great warrior and merchant clans wouldn't have made a better alliance?" Su Zhongtian sat at the table, awkwardly trying to calm his furious wife.

"But it was Luoyang's own decision. Besides, it is precisely because we cannot trust those so-called 'great clans' that she chose… a simpler man as her husband."

"A simpler man? He is a coward!"

"He may be a coward, but at least he is harmless and honest," Su Zhongtian justified.

"He even survived the test of the heavens. Perhaps we should keep an open mind."

"If we had a son of our own, this wouldn't have happened!" Liang Shufen cried, pointing an accusing finger.

"And that wasn't a test, it was a punishment from the heavens! The moment he married into our family, he brought catastrophic bad luck with him. Both you and Luoyang got hurt!" Su Zhongtian sighed heavily.

"That was a minor inconvenience and nothing else. Everything turned out well in the end. After seeing him today, I feel perhaps we judged him wrong before. He seems… redeemable."

"What?! Just because that shameless brat started calling you Father, you think he is redeemable now?" Liang Shufen rebuked sharply.

"You know that is not what I meant!"

"A purple lightning strike was unheard of until now. Both Luoyang and I sustained physical injuries from just the residual energy. If not for our high cultivation bases, we wouldn't have survived it! Yet he took a direct hit, and he only sustained burns? He is already awake and talking normally!" Su Zhongtian explained, his eyes narrowing.

"There are countless tales of miraculous warriors emerging from across the continent. I just think there is a possibility that the purple lightning was not a curse, but a blessing from the heavens."

"I wouldn't be so annoyed if that were true…" Liang Shufen muttered, her mood softening slightly at the thought of her daughter having a powerful, heaven-blessed warrior as a husband. But the moment she pictured Xiao Xuan's foolish, grinning face, it made her furious all over again.

"Just stop worrying about these things and take some rest," Su Zhongtian consoled her. It was better to get her calmed down for now, or heaven only knew what kind of disaster would happen at breakfast tomorrow. He could only pray for the best. … Back in his new quarters, Xiao Xuan had finished his bath and dressed in the crisp white robes left for him. He limped out of the bathroom. Sure enough, Xinyue had already placed a tray of food on the table and vanished.

As he sat down, the rich, savory scent of seasoned meat and roasted herbs filled the room, instantly soothing his exhausted senses. He hurriedly took his first bite, his eyes lighting up. The food tasted amazing. A rich blend of exotic spices and perfectly cooked spiritual meats that far surpassed any five-star restaurant on Earth. He had expected the spiteful household to feed him stale leftovers, but it appeared his official status as the young lady's husband still commanded basic kitchen respect.

Having thoroughly cleared the plates, he collapsed backward onto the exceptionally soft bed, staring up at the carved wooden ceiling as the silence of the night took over. This was just the beginning stage of his journey. He had managed to successfully irritate Xinyue away for the night. But there were far more spiteful elders and arrogant young masters that he would have to deal with moving forward. If he wanted to win over his in-laws and earn Su Luoyang's affection, he would have to cultivate and grow stronger.

But first he needed to gather data and learn about the geography, history, and rules of this specific cultivation world. To do that, he needed a reliable partner. Having firmly decided on his agenda for the next day, Xiao Xuan pulled the silk blanket over his shoulders, closed his eyes, and quietly lost himself to the dream world. Bang!

"Xiao Xuan!" Just as his consciousness was about to cross into a peaceful slumber, the heavy wooden doors of his newly assigned chamber were blasted open against the wall with a crash. Accompanied by a sharp cry of his name, the midnight quiet was shattered like a thunderclap. Xiao Xuan's eyes snapped open. He bolted upright in bed as he glared into the darkness at the sudden intrusion. Seriously? Do these ancient people have no sleeping manners?!