A night

At Li Ningyue's house.

A man and a cat are eating aggressively, fearing that someone will snatch their food.

In their current state, calling them a man and a cat may seem inappropriate. They are like hungry demons that finally eat after millennia of imprisonment.

At their front, a graceful lady staring at them helplessly. Compared to those demons, the lady seems like a fairy that descended from nine heavens.

Of course, those three, a man, a lady, and a cat are Jian Zhen, Li Ningyue, and Xiao Bao.

"Xiao Bao, this is so delicious isn't it?" said Jian Zhen as he ate aggressively.

"Meow~ (yes!)" said Xiao Bao.

The two continue to eat like wolves ravaging their prey.

"Slow down slow down." said helplessly Li Ningyue.

But the two seem to turn deaf and continue to eat. Li Ningyue has no choice but also to continue eating.

And soon after rounds of eating, the man and the cat pair finally got their fill.

*Burp!* the cat and the man burped in sync as they rubbed their stomachs.

Almost immediately after noticing Li Ningyue, they both sat formally and returned to their normal forms.

"Ehem..."

"Thanks for the meal, Ms. Li. I apologize for our inappropriate behaviors, your dishes are so delicious that we cannot stop eating," said Jian Zhen with an apologetic look. "Right Xiao Bao?" Jian Zhen added as he pushed Xiao Bao.

"Meow~meow(Yes it's so delicious~)" Xiao Bao nodded in agreement.

"Forget it, as long as you're satisfied." Li Ningyue said.

Hearing her response, Xiao Bao and Jian Zhen took a glance at each other and smiled.

"So... Why ms. Li suddenly asked us for a meal?" Jian Zhen casually asked.

"It's nothing special, I just want to treat you two for a meal." Li Ningyue smiled.

"Hmm, I see. Then thank you again," said Jian Zhen.

They talked for an hour before Jian Zhen decided to leave.

"Ms. Li, we're going home. Thanks for your hospitality." Jian Zhen said.

"No problem," said Li Ningyue. "Wait, it's dark already dark outside. How about staying here for a night?"

"N-no need!" said Jian Zhen.

"But it's already dark, and the yin energy is concentrated at night. Spiritual beasts tend to be more aggressive and bloodthirsty at night so it's much safer to stay for a night," said Li Ningyue with great concern.

"Then we can just rent a room in the village," said Jian Zhen.

"No, it's a waste of money." Li Ningyue said.

"Uhh okay." Jian Zhen said helplessly, since he didn't want to reveal his true power, he could only agree and stay for a night.

Xiao Bao heard his response jumped around and hugged Li Ningyue's hand. It seems it's happy to stay here.

Jian Zhen on the other hand, his face keeps twitching. "This cat... He only wants the food she provides. Damn glutton." at the end, he can only sigh.

"You can take the room opposite to my room, it's a vacant one, I usually use it to store some of my things. You can use it for now." Li Ningyue finally sounded after playing with Xiao Bao.

Jian Zhen followed the direction where Li Ningyue pointed, after entering the room, Jian Zhen was quite a little surprised at how clean it was. Except for the clean Bed and a Cabinet, there are indeed things at the side, but it's shockingly organized and clean.

As soon as he scanned the room, the first he did was to lie in the bed. It was soft and a little bouncy bed.

As for Xiao Bao? He's with Li Ningyue.

"Damn that lucky cat!" Jian Zhen cursed.

He turns his body and looks at the ceiling.

"Sigh. It's been ten years since my rebirth, during these ten years, I got a cat which is Xiao Bao, and got to know many people." Jian Zhen muttered as he stared at the ceiling.

He suddenly noticed something.

"Am I this carefree and friendly before?" in his previous life, Jian Zhen tended to be wary and cold to others, he killed his enemies without batting an eye, and he didn't even care if it was a child or a woman as long as he deemed it as his enemy, he will only kill with no mercy.

As for love? He doesn't have any thoughts of that, he only needs to be stronger and stronger.

The others call him heartless, a demon, evil, devil, and so on. Yet, after his rebirth he changed.

But soon, he tossed all those thoughts and only thought of it as the result of these ten years.

He suddenly noticed something again. Why did he want to be powerful in his previous life? Why did he want to destroy the world? When did he get to know of Ye?

It seems so long and already forgotten all of it. And maybe because he was tired he soon fell asleep.

A few minutes later as soon as he fell asleep, a shadow appeared by his side.

"You should not worry about the past," the shadow whispered softly, its voice carrying an otherworldly quality.

A moment later, the shadow disappeared without a trace.

…

The moon fell down and the sun gradually rose, along with the shout of a golden crow Jian Zhen slowly opened his eyes, feeling a sense of peace that he hadn't experienced in a long time.

Jian Zhen suddenly raised his guard when the door suddenly opened.

A sweet and gentle voice of a girl sounded softly in his ears. "Oh you're awake, I'm about to wake you up for breakfast."

Coupled with that voice, a tantalizing aroma of a freshly cooked food covered the room instantly waking Jian Zhen up.

The girl was of course Li Ningyue, wearing thin and neat clothes and with a messy bun on his hair, even the previously known heartless Emperor Zhen could not help but be drawn to her.

"Good morning." Jian Zhen said subconsciously.

"Good morning too" Li Ningyue also responded. "We will wait for you at the dining table."

Jian Zhen nodded. "Okay." with that said, Li Ningyue left. Jian Zhen also stood up and quickly fixed the bed and his clothes. Using his spiritual energy, he cleaned his body from any impurities.

After doing everything he had to do, Jian Zhen also followed Li Ningyue to the dining room.

In the dining room, Li Ningyue and Xiao Bao can be seen eating. While Li Ningyue was gracefully eating, Xiao Bao was the complete opposite.

Li Ningyue saw Jian Zhen, she stopped eating for a moment and invited Jian Zhen to eat.

"Oh you're here, come and eat." Li Ningyue said as he asked Jian Zhen to sit down with them.

"Meow! Meow~ (Yeah! Or you can give it to me instead~)" Xiao Bao echoed with a smug on his face.

Jian Zhen sat down instantly after hearing Xiao Bao, but he coincidentally sat right next to Li Ningyue.

The cat coughed lightly when he saw this. Jian Zhen also acted right immediately and was about to move to an empty seat across from Li Ningyue, trying to avoid any awkwardness. But was quickly stopped by Li Ningyue.

"Don't worry, it's okay." Li Ningyue calmly said as she gently touched Jian Zhen's clothes.

Jian Zhen could only listen obediently and sat down without any resistance. "Wait here, I'll get your plate and your food." Li Ningyue's gentle and sweet voice sounded again. She stood up and slowly walked towards her kitchen.

After sensing that she was out of their side, she turned to the side of her kitchen and quickly sat down, her face instantly turning red.

She touched her forehead and muttered softly. "Why did I stop him?". She could let Jian Zhen sit in the empty seat proportional opposite to her, yet she stopped him without thinking.

After a few breaths, she stood up and her expression returned to normal like nothing happened.

On the other side, Jian Zhen and Xiao Bao naturally sense what happened. Both of them already unlocked their divine sense when they were in Nascent Soul and have already surpassed it long ago. But they seemed to turn a blind eye and also act like nothing happened.

After waiting for a few more seconds. Li Ningyue finally returned along with a wooden tray with food in place.

Li Ningyue handed a plate of food to Jian Zhen with a smile, Jian Zhen also smiled in response, and she placed the other foods on the table. After sitting, a weird awkward atmosphere appeared. But this sudden change of atmosphere doesn't affect Xiao Bao as he continues eating.

Seeing Xiao Bao eating, Jian Zhen took a glance at Li Ningyue and could only eat his food, but this time he ate it all normally and gently.