Chapter 143: Sword Spirit (2)

"Ling Xi," he repeated smoothly, deciding to match her conversational pace. "I'm—"

"Lin Yuan. I know." Ling Xi interrupted, leaning forward slightly in the air. "I've been awake for the last two hours, you know, just... quiet. Watching. You talk to your wife very sweetly, by the way. It was cute. I almost didn't want to interrupt."

A sudden flush of heat touched the tips of Lin Yuan's ears, accompanied by a small, genuine blush. For a Spirit Severing expert, being casually teased by a miniature nine-tailed fox spirit about his private moments was a jarring and thoroughly disarming experience. It immediately set the tone for their dynamic. She was playful, observant, and possessed a familial, irreverent cheekiness that completely shattered any expectation of a solemn, subservient master-spirit relationship.

He cleared his throat, setting the plain gray sword down flat across his knees, handling it far more carefully now, and studied her properly.