Today, The Villain Couple is Settling Scores Again

The candlelight flickered in the room, casting a dim glow through the pale yellow bed curtains, enveloping the two figures on the bed. The light seemed to fade significantly.

Shen Jizhi had control over the three most vulnerable spots.

Jian Huan lay with a pillow beneath her waist, her slender neck arching backward as she bit her lip hard, stifling the soft moans threatening to escape her throat.

As ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌‍a sudden torrential rainstorm rattled against the window, scattering her thoughts, Jian Huan suddenly recalled the first time she had met Ran Mu'er years ago.

Ran Mu'er had winked at her suggestively, her breath warm and fragrant as she whispered—

"Swordsmen are all physically strong, especially their core and waist strength..."

"Don’t worry, you’ll understand once you try it..."

With a sudden jolt, Jian Huan’s teeth loosened their grip on her lip. Her lips parted, and a soft, involuntary moan slipped out, like tender shoots sprouting after the rain.

She had lost count of how many times this had happened.

Overwhelmed, she reached out to tug at the hair of the man nestled against her, her voice trembling with a hint of tears. "Shen Jizhi... we have to go to Ran Mu'er’s place tomorrow morning..."

As she moved, her body instinctively curled inward.

Shen Jizhi let out a low groan, catching her hand and pulling her closer, pressing against her. His sweat-drenched body trembled slightly.

Jian Huan flinched like a cat stepping on a scorching ember.

In her dazed state, she thought to herself, *Thank goodness he brought those musk spirit fruits earlier, and we both ate them.*

Compared to ordinary people, cultivators had a much harder time conceiving.

But precautions were still necessary. The musk spirit fruits had contraceptive properties, no side effects, and even benefited those with wood spiritual roots.

Both of them had wood spiritual roots.

Though, come to think of it, among all the spirit fruits hidden in this room, there were so many musk spirit fruits.

Was it really a coincidence?

Jian Huan glared at the man buried in her chest with tearful, red-rimmed eyes.

He had left her body covered in marks that were impossible to ignore.

Jian Huan shifted her legs, pushing against him, and snapped, "You... why aren’t you..."

She trailed off, unwilling to finish the sentence.

As if floating among the clouds, Shen Jizhi lay atop her, seemingly unwilling to move. Hearing her words, he lazily asked, "Why aren’t I what?"

Jian Huan: "..."

When she didn’t respond, Shen Jizhi deliberately moved. "Hmm?"

Jian Huan, furious, tightened her grip on his hair with all her strength.

"Ah—" Shen Jizhi hissed in pain, his voice low. "...Jian Huan, that hurts."

Jian Huan didn’t let go. Her lashes fluttered as she spoke quickly, "...Get out!"

Shen Jizhi: "Okay..."

Jian Huan yanked hard, forcing Shen Jizhi’s head up.

He didn’t dare provoke her further.

Obediently, he withdrew, kneeling on the soft bedsheet as he leaned down to check if she was hurt.

But Jian Huan kicked him away.

Her eyes flicked briefly to his... condition, and she quickly pulled the blanket over herself, casting a cleansing spell to tidy up. She wrapped herself tightly, as if afraid he might try again, and shooed him away. "Go back to your own room!"

She had initially planned to discuss the dual cultivation techniques Ran Mu'er had mentioned with him.

But... never mind. They could talk about it another time.

Hearing this, Shen Jizhi got out of bed and picked up the scattered clothes from the floor.

As he dressed, he glanced at the cocoon-like figure on the bed. With a faint smirk on his otherwise cold and composed face, he said, "I didn’t charge you anything. After working all night, can’t I rest here for an hour?"

A pillow flew toward him, accompanied by a single word: "Go!"

Shen Jizhi chuckled softly, walked over, picked up the pillow, and returned it to her.

Jian Huan glared at him.

He lay down beside her, pulling her close through the blanket, his voice as soft as flowing water. "Enough now. Let’s rest. I’ll wake you up."

Jian Huan shot him a glance with her dark eyes, gave a small huff, and acquiesced.

After a moment’s thought, she rolled into his embrace, burying her head against his chest and finding a comfortable position. She didn’t move again, allowing herself to drift into sleep.

Shen Jizhi stiffened slightly.

It was like resting under a tree on a sunny afternoon after sword practice, when a stray cat suddenly jumped onto his lap, curled up its paws, and dozed off.

He didn’t dare move, afraid of disturbing her.

His heart was so full that he wished time could freeze in this moment.

After a while, Shen Jizhi gently kissed the top of Jian Huan’s head as she slept, murmuring, "Jian Huan, sweet dreams..."

Her internal clock was precise.

When Jian Huan groggily woke up in the morning, she found herself fully dressed. It seemed he had even applied some medicinal ointment and possibly fed her some spirit pills or fruits.

She felt full of energy, and the bruises on her body had faded to faint marks.

While a Golden Core cultivator’s body could heal minor injuries on its own, it usually didn’t happen this quickly.

Jian Huan pushed aside the bed curtains and stepped onto the floor, her feet slipping slightly as she appeared by the window in a flash.

She peered through the half-open window and, as expected, saw Shen Jizhi practicing his sword forms on the cliffside.

Jian Huan propped her chin on her hand, watching him for a while, then went out to join him for a bit of sword practice. Afterward, they headed to Medicine Granny’s place at the agreed-upon time.

It was still early when they arrived. Medicine Granny and Ran Mu'er were having breakfast.

It was a simple, homely meal—white porridge, eggs, pickled vegetables, and a bowl of richly colored braised pork with fermented rice.

Jian Huan’s appetite was immediately whetted. She let go of Shen Jizhi’s hand, ran over, and with sparkling eyes, raised her hand. "Granny, I want some porridge too!"

Medicine Granny nodded at Shen Jizhi, then stood up. "Alright, I’ll get you a bowl."

As for Shen Jizhi, he never ate such things. It was only people like Jian Huan, who, despite being cultivators, still had the hearts of ordinary folk, that enjoyed these mundane delicacies.

Jian Huan held up two fingers, smiling brightly. "I want two bowls."

Shen Jizhi walked over and, hearing this, glanced at her with a flicker of amusement in his eyes.

She was getting one for him.

The two sat down.

Ran Mu'er, who had mostly recovered from her injuries, looked thoughtfully at Jian Huan, then at Shen Jizhi. She pulled out a partial map of the Jiang family’s estate she had managed to obtain and handed it to Jian Huan.

Jian Huan reached out to take it.

Ran Mu'er leaned in, covering her mouth as she giggled. "So, was I right? Swordsmen are..." She raised her eyebrows suggestively, glancing at Shen Jizhi, her voice tinged with envy. "Did you have a good time last night?"

Jian Huan: "..."

Ran Mu'er pressed further, "Did you use my dual cultivation techniques? How were they?"

Jian Huan: "..."

Beside her, Shen Jizhi, who was handing her chopsticks, raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly at the question.

Jian Huan coughed loudly, ignoring the question and pretending she hadn’t heard. She pushed Ran Mu'er back with a stern face.

She quickly scanned the map, then passed it to Shen Jizhi. Before Ran Mu'er could say more, Jian Huan cut in, "Have you found suitable identities yet?"

They needed legitimate identities to infiltrate the Jiang family.

Ran Mu'er’s expression turned serious. "Not yet."

She had found a few options, but none were quite right.

"I heard about one that might work," Jian Huan said, sharing what she had learned from her two senior sisters the previous day. "The Jiang family has hired the Golden Three Chefs from the Gathering Spirit Pavilion. There’s one man and two women, which fits us perfectly. Plus, they’re in the city, so it’ll be convenient for our plans."

Ran Mu'er frowned. She was aware of this, but posing as the Golden Three Chefs wouldn’t be easy. "Do you know how to cook?"

Jian Huan glanced at the cool and composed man sitting nearby, idly playing with the map scroll, and said with a hint of pride, "He does."

Ran Mu'er was surprised and was about to say something when Medicine Granny walked in with two bowls of porridge.

The old woman’s eyes drooped slightly as she asked, "The Golden family’s three children?"

Jian Huan nodded, her eyes lighting up. "Yes! I was just about to ask you, Granny. Do you know them?"

The Golden Three Chefs worked at the Gathering Spirit Pavilion in Approaching Immortal City and were locals.

Medicine Granny had lived in Approaching Immortal City for fifteen years. As a physician, she knew many people, so it was possible she had crossed paths with them.

Sure enough.

Medicine Granny set down the porridge, wiped her hands on her apron, and recalled, "The Golden family used to live near the bridge." She paused, glancing at Shen Jizhi. "They were about as poor as he was back then."

Shen Jizhi, who had by now amassed a decent amount of spirit stones, didn’t even lift his eyes. He simply played with Jian Huan’s fingers under the table as Medicine Granny continued.

"About ten years ago?" Medicine Granny couldn’t remember the exact year, but the night itself was unforgettable. "Their youngest sister nearly died, and they had no money for treatment. It was winter, snowing heavily, and in the dead of night, the brother carried his sister on his back while the older sister held a broken, extinguished lantern. They wandered the city, crying. I heard the commotion and went out to help. I couldn’t bear to see them suffer, so I lent a hand. Over the years, as they prospered and made something of themselves, they never forgot me. Every festival, the three of them bring me food and drink..."

“Such good kids…” Medicine Granny sighed with a smile. She snapped out of her thoughts, glanced at the three people at the table, and understood what Jian Huan and the others meant. After a moment of contemplation, she said, “I’ll call them over. They should agree.”

Thanks to Medicine Granny’s connections, Jian Huan and her group welcomed the Golden Three Chefs that very afternoon.

Almost without hesitation, and without even asking for a reason, the three siblings of the Golden family agreed immediately.

For the next ten days, Shen Jizhi followed the eldest Golden brother to learn cooking—just enough to get by.

Jian Huan and Ran Mu'er, meanwhile, followed the two younger sisters, mimicking their expressions and movements, while also preparing the talismans and spiritual tools they would need for their trip to the Jiang family.

Fortunately, the three Golden siblings weren’t talkative, so impersonating them to infiltrate the Jiang family wouldn’t be too difficult.

The day before the Jiang family’s birthday celebration, someone from the Jiang family would come to pick up the Golden Three Chefs.

An hour before their departure, the sun had yet to rise, and the cave was bathed in a deep blue hue, somewhere between darkness and light.

On the stone table, three life lamps brought by Shen Jizhi from the Equipment Forging Hall flickered with an eerie blue flame, resembling ghostly fire.

The patterns on the lamps were ancient and intricate, exuding a mysterious aura.

Jian Huan bent over, staring at her life lamp with wide eyes, curiously reaching out to touch the flame.

The flame was cold, like snow.

Given that the Daoist Sect Leader’s trustworthiness was questionable, they couldn’t risk revealing the truth about Ran Mu'er stealing the Bodhi Pagoda to him.

If the Sect Leader sided with the Jiang family, they would alert their enemies and fail before they even began.

The group had agreed with Medicine Granny that if any of their life lamps went out, or if they went missing for more than thirty days, regardless of the Sect Leader’s trustworthiness, they would expose the Jiang family’s schemes.

By then, they would already be in danger or trapped, and things couldn’t get much worse.

If anyone in the Nine Regions believed their story, they might still have a chance of being rescued.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

After a moment of thought, Jian Huan withdrew her hand, stood up straight, and suddenly bowed respectfully to Medicine Granny.

Medicine Granny, who was checking whether they had enough spiritual pills for the journey, twitched her sagging face, thinking, “Here she goes again.”

Sure enough.

Jian Huan earnestly advised, “Granny, if we don’t make it back, remember to burn some paper money for Shen Jizhi and me during the festivals.”

Shen Jizhi handed Jian Huan the spiritual disguise tools and nodded at Medicine Granny. “We’ll trouble you, Granny.”

Medicine Granny: “…”

Ran Mu'er, who was applying makeup in front of a mirror, overheard and turned her delicate, charming eyes toward Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi. She then said, “Granny, burn some men for me.”

For the past ten days, these two had acted so proper during the day, but every night they feasted like wolves.

Meanwhile, she had been stuck in this cave, eating nothing but plain meals.

“Burn a lot of them,” Ran Mu'er pouted her lips, casting a flirtatious glance at Medicine Granny, who looked like she wanted to poison them. “Sword cultivators, blade cultivators, Buddhist cultivators… Granny, I want them all.”

Hearing this, Jian Huan blinked, raised her hand, and eagerly added, “I also want a Buddhist—”

Before she could finish the word “cultivator,” a cool hand reached from behind her neck and covered her mouth. Shen Jizhi’s voice was calm but firm. “You can’t have that one.”