My Wife Is The Final Boss

Yun Qian's residence in the North Garden wasn't extravagantly luxurious, but because of its high and vast terrain, one could see the magnificent view of Celestial Bright Peak through the window.

The temple halls stood clustered at the mountain peak, their domes so remote that the patterns on the sides of the halls were indistinct.

Xu Chang'an stood by the window, staring blankly at the distant scenery.

In his hand, a sharp blade left silvery traces on the cutting board, the rhythmic sound of chopping akin to a musician lightly tapping chimes with drumsticks.

The task of chopping vegetables had deeply ingrained itself in Xu Chang'an's heart, making him adept even when preoccupied.

Xu Chang'an's hands worked, but his expression was absentminded.

Yun Qian and Li Zhibai were seated just outside the kitchen... it's unclear what the teacher and the young lady are discussing together.

Today's teacher was odd; she not only changed out of her worn Daoist robe but somehow her new robe gave off an impression of being a long dress.

However, he'd seen Li Zhibai change into a long dress from across the Sword Hall window before, so this was unworthy of surprise.

She also brought a jar of Jade Dew Wine, clearly stating it was a gift from Zhu Pingniang for him to pass on to Xinyi Zhu Pingniang in Qinling; this event seemed even less surprising, instead leaving him touched by how meticulous the teacher was.

After all, gifting flowers to God, Qinling receiving wine would certainly please him, gaining goodwill from a steward was always beneficial for someone like him without connections.

What caught Xu Chang'an off guard was...

As he entered the room earlier, Li Zhibai extended her fair and exquisite palms from her long sleeves, landing softly yet without force on his head, even gently ruffling his hair.

Although the saying goes, "A man's head and a woman's waist should only be looked at, not touched," Li Zhibai was his elder, so it wasn't improper.

However, when Xu Chang'an looked up at that moment, he was stunned.

Li Zhibai's dark hair hung down, appearing untidily groomed yet exceptionally smooth, as smooth as her countenance under the moon.

Li Zhibai too felt it was inappropriate to touch Xu Chang'an's head, so she switched to patting his shoulder, leaving an expression in her eyes that lingered with Xu Chang'an to this day.

An expression of surprise over an unexpected event, mixed with an elder's affection for the younger, a hint of resistant struggle... but it ultimately transformed into a sigh, relief, and appreciation.

Appreciation?

What was the teacher appreciative of?

Xu Chang'an had a keen sense that this was something important enough to affect his standing in Li Zhibai's eyes, yet he was utterly confused, leaving him dazed even as he entered the kitchen.

He perked up his ears to catch the sounds outside, but just as he focused, he heard an overly gentle voice.

"Ms. Yun, are you hungry? I've brought you..."

Li Zhibai's words made Xu Chang'an pause, his fluid motions slightly faltering.

One must not lose focus while chopping vegetables.

Because Xu Chang'an was an ordinary person, a knife cut would naturally make him bleed.

"Hiss." Xu Chang'an inhaled reflexively, looking down to find a deep cut on the joint of his left middle finger, with blood slowly oozing out, staining some vegetables.

This knife was quite sharp; he had been using it since his time on the island, never allowing it to dull.

Xu Chang'an had cooked meals for Yun Qian with this knife for many years, used it to trim both his and Yun Qian's hair into buns, but also had his fair share of cuts, especially when he was just starting to practice cooking, injuries were commonplace.

Yet, it had been a long time since he last cut his hand.

It seemed...

The teacher's gaze and the words "Ms. Yun," indeed had a significant impact on him.

Since he was a cultivator, he summoned what little Spiritual Power he had left to begin healing the wound.

Unfortunately, he just exhausted his Spiritual Power to nurture Yun Qian's body, which slowed the healing considerably, but as an Open Source Realm cultivator, being able to stop the bleeding and pain was satisfactory to Xu Chang'an.

"Forget it."

Xu Chang'an patted his own face and took a deep breath.

He shouldn't overthink it.

The intent of a chef while cooking is crucial, should he remain distracted, not to mention pleasing the teacher, even Yun Qian would find the meal unsatisfactory.

Thus, Xu Chang'an forcibly dismissed all extraneous thoughts and focused intently on preparing dinner.

The rhythmic chopping sounds resumed in the kitchen.

——

Outside.

Li Zhibai noticed the chopping sounds reemerging, her nose twitched, sensing a faint hint of blood, guessing what had happened.

She looked at Yun Qian.

Before her, the young lady in plain-colored long dress seemed remarkably gentle, yet strangely... though she had been speaking quite well, Yun Qian suddenly raised her sleeve to cover her eyes, as if shielding herself from seeing something.

But now she lowered her sleeve, revealing eyes of both tenderness and reminiscence.

What was wrong with her?

Li Zhibai didn't understand Yun Qian's actions, just as Xu Chang'an didn't understand why Li Zhibai looked at him that way.

Yun Qian lowered her head.

She simply recalled the times on the island when the young man diligently practiced cooking skills, his fingers bearing unhealed wounds for a long while, constantly acquiring new ones.

These fragmented, chaotic, blurry remnants of memories brought Yun Qian nostalgia and fondness, yet were paradoxically painful.

Naturally, she wouldn't voice it to others.

"Let's go to the study." Yun Qian said as she slowly rose, her interest piqued by Li Zhibai's earlier discussion on the knowledge of rouge, preparing to have Li Zhibai explain her stored cosmetic boxes further, and, incidentally... show her collection.