Chapter 108: The Grown-Up Zhang Zixuan

The wife Zhao Zhigao brought home, Madam Xu, was a native of Peach Blossom Village. Her parents were ordinary farmers there, and the whole family was known for their sincere and simple nature. From a young age, Madam Xu was accustomed to hardship and hard work, often rising early and working late in the fields alongside her parents.

One day last year, when Zhao Zhigao was handling a case in Peach Blossom Village, he saw Madam Xu busy in the fields and was immediately taken with her. After all, Zhao Zhigao had only two requirements for a wife: she must not mind his modest means and be willing to endure hardship. Although he was now a head constable, his monthly salary was quite low. The second requirement was that she had to be well-built and capable of bearing children.

The day after returning from Peach Blossom Village, Zhao Zhigao sent a matchmaker back to propose to Madam Xu. For her, Zhao Zhigao was the best prospect—he held a respectable job in the city, and her parents no longer needed to worry about her going hungry once she married him.

After their marriage, the couple moved to Pear Blossom Alley and became neighbors with Song Ye. Yan City had been destroyed and rebuilt, so the houses in Pear Blossom Alley were all brand new. Given the current incomes of Song Ye and Zhao Zhigao, neither could afford to buy a new courtyard, so they were merely tenants.

Song Ye had recently been promoted to head of the robust squad. Though he could no longer become the Prefect’s Deputy, he still held the honorary title “Deputy Prefect-in-Waiting.” If one day the county princess returned alive, he could assume the position officially. The Prefect had promoted Song Ye precisely because of this possibility. This time, Song Ye did not refuse the Prefect’s offer, for he had no reason to.

“Sister-in-law, this basket of eggs is for you,” Song Ye said, setting a basket full of eggs on the stone table in the courtyard.

“Brother Ye, you shouldn’t have. You’ve gone to so much trouble. Stay here tonight and have dinner with me and my sister,” Madam Xu replied.

Song Ye did not decline. “Alright.”

Actually, he hadn’t spent any money on the eggs; they were a reward from his daily tasks.

[Basket of Eggs]: Twenty-three eggs, each one fresh and perfect.

After a while, Song Yan, who was sitting in the courtyard eating flower pastries, stood up and looked toward the gate. Her hearing was sharper than that of ordinary children, and she had probably caught the sound of familiar footsteps again.

Song Ye’s hearing was even keener. Fifteen minutes earlier, he had already recognized that Zhang Zixuan was approaching the courtyard. He noticed her footsteps had become heavier than a few months ago, likely due to some physical burden.

When Song Ye saw Zhang Zixuan outside the gate, he understood the reason for her heavier steps—she had grown again. He didn’t know what kind of tonic she had been taking these past two years, but her development was remarkable. If he weren’t familiar with her nature, he might have suspected she was stuffing two large pomelos under her clothes.

Zhang Zixuan had just turned twenty this year and had fully blossomed into a young woman. The childish innocence that had once graced her face had faded.

Because of her striking figure, she was quite eye-catching when walking through the street. Not long ago, a brothel madam, failing to recognize her, had tried to recruit her on the spot as the top courtesan. Of course, the madam was soundly beaten by Zhang Zixuan, losing several teeth in the process.

“Song Yan, it’s been almost half a year. You’re almost taller than me now,” Zhang Zixuan said at the gate, comparing her height with Song Yan, who was running toward her.

Song Yan took a flower pastry from the oiled paper bag and offered it to her, but Zhang Zixuan shook her head. “Sister doesn’t want any. You can eat them all yourself.”

Song Yan nodded vigorously, clearly happy to finish all the pastries alone.

“Master Zhang, you’ve been busy lately. It’s been almost six months since you last visited,” Song Ye said with a smile.

“Yes, I’ve been quite busy. My master assigned me a private cave for cultivation. I’ve been in seclusion there for nearly half a year and only recently emerged,” Zhang Zixuan replied.

“Looks like your cultivation has improved a lot. Truly deserving of the title ‘Master Zhang,’” Song Ye laughed.

He then probed her cultivation level.

[Zhang Zixuan: Third Level of the Profound Realm]

At the age of twenty, it was no small feat for Zhang Zixuan to have reached the third level of the Profound Realm. She had started her training late, only officially beginning at fifteen, and lacked a strong family background or special favors from Su Xiqiu. Her progress was solely due to her own effort and considerable talent.

Of course, Song Ye himself had made great strides over the past three years. Though he had not encountered any extraordinary opportunities, he diligently completed three tasks daily, steadily increasing his attributes. His latest stats were as follows:

[Level]: 103
[Health]: 3,237
[Essence]: 150

Just this morning, he tested his current damage output on the wooden dummy in his player space.

Now, relying on raw physical strength alone, he could deal 987,000 damage to the wooden dummy.

According to the damage reference table, a first-level Void Breaker cultivator deals 800,000 damage, while a third-level Void Breaker deals 950,000 damage on the dummy. This means Song Ye’s power was equivalent to a third-level Void Breaker cultivator.

Compared to cultivators in this world, Song Ye had two major advantages:

First, he never aged, so his physical condition remained perpetually youthful.

Second, his growth was limitless; his attributes could continuously accumulate, whereas most cultivators faced bottlenecks that halted their progress for extended periods.

Currently, Song Ye’s two female bodyguards, Yu Muqiu and Cheng Wanting, had greatly improved their cultivation under his nurturing.

Yu Muqiu’s bodyguard cultivation had been raised to the Seventh Level of the Immortal State.

Cheng Wanting’s bodyguard cultivation had reached the Fifth Level of the Immortal State.

The Immortal State was the first of the “Three Realms of the Immortal Sovereign,” meaning both of Song Ye’s female bodyguards were now Immortal Sovereign bodyguards.

As for the purple-grade bodyguard Wei Li, his cultivation was still at the first level of the Void Breaker Realm. Song Ye had never given him any pills since the two gold-grade female bodyguards were still in urgent need of nourishment. There were simply no surplus resources to spare.

“Don’t call me Master Zhang anymore,” Zhang Zixuan pouted slightly. “You and Brother Zhao always like to joke like that. If I fail the Master trial in the future, won’t I be utterly humiliated?”

Song Ye smiled. “I believe you will definitely pass the Master trial someday.”

Zhang Zixuan clicked her tongue. “I’ll take your kind words to heart.”

Suddenly, her voice softened as if speaking cautiously. “By the way, Brother Song, has the court found any news about Sister-in-law lately?”

Song Ye shook his head. “No. It’s been three years. The court has probably given up.”

Zhang Zixuan pursed her lips. “Brother Song, don’t worry. Sister-in-law will be safe and sound. If I travel abroad, I’ll help you look for her.”

Song Ye nodded. “Thank you in advance.”

Though Song Ye did not know where Qin Xuanxi had gone, as long as he knew she was alive, that was enough.

If Qin Xuanxi ever returned, Song Ye guessed the first thing she would do would be to smash the golden statue of the Flute Immortal outside the North City Gate.