"Did he mention anything else?" Zhu Qingyue casually asked.

"He knew about me. He knew everything about… I couldn't make sense of more than half of it, but he said my path has already been paved, and that I shouldn't stray from it."

Li Meirong felt Zhu Qingyue's lips press against the top of her head again.

"It seems like sound advice. What else did the Old Sage say to you?" Zhu Qingyue persisted.

"The fox…" Li Meirong's eyes snapped open with a sudden realization. 'Snowball still hasn't returned!'

For some odd reason, whenever Zhu Qingyue was around, she didn't feel like she was missing her fox spirit at all. But now that she remembered the Wise Sage's words, her worries resurfaced.

"He said not to abandon the fox. Speaking of, I thought you were supposed to be with Snowball? The girl you assigned as my maid said Snowball accompanied you today. Why isn't he back?" Li Meirong asked.

Zhu Qingyue gently stroked Li Meirong's long black hair. "Oh, the fox spirit joined me for a while, but we parted ways. I can only assume it is because your servant picked him up. Perhaps they made a little detour."

Li Meirong nodded in agreement. With the way Snowball constantly kept disappearing, it made sense that he'd take a detour before returning home. She only hoped the little fox spirit wouldn't get into any sort of trouble on the way.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Li Meirong cuddled against Zhu Qingyue and mumbled, "Zhu Qingyue?"

"Hn?" he answered lazily.

"Were you really ill all this while?"

Zhu Qingyue paused for a moment before answering. "I was terribly ill. One could say that you were my cure. Without you, I would have had no reason to continue living."

"H-how can you say these kinds of things with a straight face…"

Li Meirong raised Zhu Qingyue's arm and ducked her head beneath his sleeve, hiding her flustered cheeks with the fabric. She hadn't noticed Zhu Qingyue's eyes which glittered with his amusement.

"So, you're really fine now?" she finally managed to ask, stealing a peek at him.

Zhu Qingyue's lips opened in mock surprise. "What, do you not believe me? Do I need to prove my physical prowess repeatedly? If you are so forgetful, I do not mind demonstrating my capabilities every night to refresh your memory."

"No need! There's no need!" Li Meirong squeaked out, and then pursed her lips tightly.

She earned a deep, masculine chuckle in response.

"How about every second night?" he asked.

"Do you ever stop teasing?" Li Meirong demanded, annoyed.

The corners of Zhu Qingyue's lips hooked up, golden eyes twinkling with humor.

"I do not do this thing you call teasing," he countered.

A furious blush consumed Li Meirong's face. "You are such a fiend!"

She wriggled around to face Zhu Qingyue and angrily hit her fists against his ridiculously broad chest.

"How am I the fiend when you are the one hitting me?" Zhu Qingyue's voice rumbled with his chuckles.

Li Meirong leveled a fierce glare at him as she hit his chest again. "It's because you deserve a beating!"

Zhu Qingyue spread his arms as if to surrender, his voice going completely solemn. "My wife is right. This husband wronged his wife, and lives to regret it."

"Big brute." Li Meirong said, narrowing her eyes accusingly and pursing her lips. She wrapped her arms around Zhu Qingyue and held him tight.

Zhu Qingyue smiled helplessly, tucking a stray hair behind Li Meirong's ear. "I will do better next time."

Li Meirong jerked her head back to glare up at him and snorted. "What 'next time'?"

With that said, she buried her head back into his chest, and proceeded to tap her little fists against his back. Although it appeared as though she wished to hit him non-stop, she didn't put any force into her blows.

The silver-haired man's lips curved upwards into a rare smile. From an outsider's perspective, it would be difficult to perceive his exact mood, but someone who knew him well would be able to discern a never before seen expression of contentment gracing his pale features.