Chapter 80: The Lost Sword Technique Reemerges

“My dear husband, what kind of reward do you intend to give me?” Qin Xuanxi leaned against the door, her waist slightly curved.

“Just… a peck!” Song Ye replied awkwardly.

“A ‘peck’? What do you mean by that?” Qin Xuanxi frowned slightly.

“It’s like this—” Song Ye shaped his right hand like a bird’s beak and tapped his own lips. “A little peck!”

Qin Xuanxi narrowed her eyes. What kind of reward was that? It looked more like a slap! But she doubted Song Ye would dare offer such a ‘reward’ to her.

Seeing her confusion, Song Ye said, “Never mind, I’ll just show you directly!” As he spoke, he leaned forward, intending to kiss her cheek, but then quickly abandoned the idea.

He remembered that time at the tea stand, when he had only tried to take her hand and was instantly immobilized by her spiritual pressure. If holding her hand had such consequences, he could only imagine what would happen if he tried to kiss her cheek without warning.

He realized it had to be with her consent. A surprise “attack” would surely end badly!

“Imagine my right hand is your lips,” Song Ye said, holding up his right hand with the fingers gathered like a bird’s beak, then tapped his own lips again. “Just like this—a peck!”

Now, even if Qin Xuanxi was inexperienced in the affairs of the mortal world, she understood what Song Ye meant.

So, in Song Ye’s words, a “peck” actually meant a kiss. In the tales of common folk, this was called “tasting rouge!”

But she wasn’t wearing any rouge on her face or lips—there was nothing for him to “taste”! Even if she were, she wouldn’t let him!

Besides, what kind of reward was this? Who was rewarding whom?

Qin Xuanxi hadn’t expected that someone as honest and upright as Song Ye could have such a mischievous side.

“Enough, I don’t want this so-called reward of yours!” Qin Xuanxi said, then pointed to Murong Qingyi on the handcart. “Just bring this woman in now!”

“Little lady, you don’t want my reward?” Song Ye feigned disappointment. “Are you not even mentally prepared to kiss me? Well, to be honest, it takes a long time to prepare for such things—just like marrying you. I, too, need time to get ready for that!”

Qin Xuanxi’s brows knitted again. She felt as if Song Ye had seized the chance to postpone their marriage.

“Who says I’m not prepared?” she quickly retorted. “I’m even ready to have children with you! It’s not that I don’t want your reward, but if someone saw us, it wouldn’t be proper!”

“It’s the dead of night—who would see?” Song Ye replied.

“How about this?” Qin Xuanxi proposed. “Like you said, imagine my right hand is your lips.” She brought her right hand together like a bird’s beak and swiftly tapped her lips. “Just a peck—consider me accepting your reward. Is that good enough?”

“That works!” Song Ye agreed. After all, things needed to progress step by step. For Qin Xuanxi to compare her right hand to his lips and ‘peck’ her own lips with it was already a significant concession.

Afterward, Song Ye pushed the cart bearing Murong Qingyi into Qin Xuanxi’s courtyard.

Because of Qin Xuanxi’s orders, the Purple Guard was not stationed there to protect her. Each morning, Qi Shuyi would stop by to ensure her well-being, but at this hour, the courtyard was empty save for Song Yan, who was sleeping soundly inside.

“How is Song Yan?” Song Ye asked.

Qin Xuanxi replied, “She’s asleep in the house. She’s truly well-behaved—when the hour comes, she climbs into bed herself and doesn’t need me to coax her.”

Qin Xuanxi thought that if Su Nian could see from the afterlife how obedient her daughter was, living happily with Song Ye, she would surely be comforted.

“That’s good. I’ll come for her in the morning—sorry for the trouble tonight,” Song Ye said.

Qin Xuanxi smiled gently. “My dear husband, we’ll be family from now on. There’s no need to be so polite with me.”

Song Ye smiled, thinking to himself that this lady demoness spoke of being family, but wouldn’t even let him give her a simple ‘peck’. Clearly, her words were more generous than her actions.

Of course, he kept these thoughts to himself.

After leaving Qin Xuanxi’s house, Song Ye returned to the East Market to continue his patrol. He would have to patrol until dawn, then report at the yamen before he could finally rest. By then, his fortuitous task would be complete.

During this period, with Murong Qingyi at Qin Xuanxi’s side, she was entirely safe—even if the five great sects, Xuanqing Palace, Mooncatcher Sect, Divine Wind Gate, Tianxi Sect, and Seven Stars Gate, joined forces, they would not be her match.

Among the five sects, only Seven Stars Gate seemed particularly zealous about vanquishing the Blood Sword Demon Lord, going so far as to disregard the ethics of the immortal path and interrogate Murong Qingyi by force in her own home in the dead of night.

Clearly, the Seven Stars Gate had ulterior motives in this hunt for the Blood Sword Demon Lord; otherwise, they would not be so relentless.

But all this had nothing to do with Song Ye. As long as they didn’t cause trouble on his patrol, he had no intention of interfering.

Meanwhile, in Qin Xuanxi’s courtyard, she checked Murong Qingyi’s injuries, finding nothing serious. After a few hours, she would awaken on her own.

In truth, Qin Xuanxi had sensed the battle between five cultivators in the alley by East Market. Four were sword cultivators, one had used the seventh lightning technique, Violet Thunder Descent. Such scuffles were common among cultivators, and their levels were low—like watching ants squabble, she paid them no heed.

But then, without warning, someone used a sword technique that required at least the Void-Breaking Realm. Yet, none of the five present were at that level, which meant there must have been a sixth person who unleashed that sword technique.

She naturally did not suspect Song Ye—she was certain he had no cultivation whatsoever.

What puzzled her even more was that she could not discern from afar what sword technique it was. If she could not sense it, perhaps it was a long-lost sword technique, unfamiliar to her, making it impossible to judge from a distance.

That meant the sixth person was likely the inheritor of a forgotten sword art.