Today, The Villain Couple is Settling Scores Again

As the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, the moon hung nearly full in the sky.

The clear moonlight slipped through the half-open wooden window, casting the shadow of the spirit tree's branches and leaves onto Jian Huan's face, still flushed from earlier.

On the table sat the Mid-Autumn gift box Shen Jizhi had sent, with three small spirit fruits remaining.

The rest had already found their way into her stomach.

Well, perhaps a tiny bit of the golden wood fruit had also ended up in his.

Jian Huan unconsciously pressed her lips, which still tingled faintly, and let out a soft cough. Her shimmering eyes wandered over the spirit fruits before settling on the talisman book she had been reading earlier. She paused.

She had a daily reading plan, and according to that plan, she needed to finish this talisman book tonight before she could sleep.

But after forcing herself to read a few lines, the words entered her eyes only to evaporate from the top of her head.

She couldn’t remember a thing.

Her mind kept flashing back to the image of Shen Jizhi biting into the golden wood fruit.

Jian Huan sighed in frustration.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

This wouldn’t do.

She sat up straight, gave her cheeks a firm pat, and then pulled out a blank sheet of paper. She began writing down the tasks she needed to accomplish in the coming days, hoping to calm her mind.

**Daily Tasks:** Drawing talismans, practicing swordsmanship, meditating, soaking in spirit baths, and reading.

She had been diligently completing these tasks every day.

**Money-Making Goals:** Opening a shop on the Xuantian Mirror.

Her Xuantian account had already been established, which meant she was halfway there. Next, she and Jiang Mian would recruit some reliable junior disciples and follow the plan step by step.

**Pending Matters:** The Bodhi Tower.

There was no progress on this front yet.

According to the Imperial Pacification Office, Medicine Granny, Ran Mu'er, and the others were fugitive remnants of the demonic clan, and their real names were listed on the bounty notices. They had been living under aliases all these years. Even if they claimed there was more to the story, they had no evidence to back it up. The righteous sects wouldn’t take their word for it.

Moreover, according to Medicine Granny, there were likely many high-ranking figures within the righteous sects who were secretly aligned with the demonic clan—though who they were remained unclear.

This had already deviated from the original plot, where the demonic clan’s boss was currently living next door to her.

In any case, they would need to wait until Ran Mu'er woke up to get more details. Without further clues, there was no point in rushing.

**Pending Matters:** Shen Jizhi.

Hmm, he probably had around eighty thousand spirit stones on him. He must have handed over a lot of spirit tools to the Equipment Forging Hall when he returned. Back in Ningzhang City and Jiuzhou City, she had noticed him crafting spirit tools when she went to see him.

Now that he was at the Golden Core stage, those spirit tools were worth quite a bit. He would turn them in this month, and the Equipment Forging Hall would settle his payment at the beginning of next month. Jian Huan wasn’t sure how much exactly, but it had to be at least tens of thousands. Combined with what he already had, he’d have enough to repay her.

Next month’s beginning… hehe.

Jian Huan happily put down her brush and crumpled the paper into dust.

The thought of money calmed her restless heart. She picked up the talisman book, finished reading it, and then returned to her bed to meditate and rest.

---

Next door.

Shen Jizhi lived in the westernmost room of the three-room cottage. The middle room, adjacent to his, belonged to Jian Huan. The eastern room was currently empty, storing some of her miscellaneous items.

At the moment, the doors and windows of his room were tightly shut, blocking out the moonlight.

Shen Jizhi leaned against the corner of the wall, his head slightly lowered, motionless.

The lingering scent of Jian Huan still clung to his lips, faint but intoxicating.

His heart trembled with longing, his strong body tense and restless.

Shen Jizhi tilted his head back against the wall, his gaze lazily fixed on the ceiling.

His cold, refined features were tinged with a flush of heat, his eyes bloodshot.

The young man’s suppressed breaths echoed softly in the dark room like a whisper of the night…

After a while, he let out a long exhale, closed his eyes, and sighed softly.

Back in his days of struggling on the streets, he had always looked down on those who indulged in their desires.

But now, he had become what he once despised.

Yet, he had no desire to return to the past—to a life devoid of desire, wandering like a soulless corpse, where it didn’t matter whether he lived or died.

As the night deepened, Shen Jizhi composed himself and walked over to the table.

On it lay a storage pouch he had tossed there earlier. With a thought, he released several baskets of spirit stones from it.

Instantly, the translucent spirit stones glowed like fireflies, densely packed in the baskets, illuminating the room as if it were daytime.

There were roughly a hundred and seventy thousand spirit stones here—eighty thousand that Jian Huan knew about, and ninety thousand she didn’t.

Before reuniting with her, he had completed a mission for the Immortal Storage Tower but hadn’t collected the reward until today.

Shen Jizhi glanced at the stones, then walked over to his bed. He pushed the small wooden bed aside and lightly tapped the floor beneath it with his sword in a specific pattern.

The seamless floor slowly slid open, revealing two hidden compartments, each containing a storage pouch.

From the compartment marked with a tiny house, he took out a pouch and added eighty thousand spirit stones to it.

With this addition, the pouch now held three hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones.

The current three-room cottage wasn’t enough. If he wanted to build it the way she envisioned, he’d need to save more.

The other compartment, marked with a sword, held around forty thousand spirit stones.

This was entirely his personal stash.

The remaining eighty thousand, Shen Jizhi returned to the original storage pouch and carried with him.

After some mental calculations, he realized that with this addition, her share was now complete.

It was time to come clean with her.

The Mid-Autumn Festival in a few days would be the perfect opportunity.

---

The next day, Jian Huan and Jiang Mian left the dining hall and headed toward the Talisman Hall.

The lazy autumn sun hung in the sky, occasionally accompanied by the chirping of birds, making one drowsy.

Jiang Mian, arm in arm with Jian Huan, yawned and asked, “Jian Huan, what did you think of the first-year disciples we met earlier?”

Last night, Jian Huan had mentioned the shop idea to Jiang Mian. Since Jiang Mian had been with the Jade Clarity Sect for a long time, she knew many junior disciples and had picked out a few she trusted. Jian Huan had asked her to arrange a meeting, and they had just had lunch together.

Jian Huan thought for a moment, recalling the junior disciples they had met, and replied, “I liked their personalities. In a few days, once they’ve drawn their talismans, I’ll take a look. If they’re good, we’ll proceed.”

She turned to her best friend, dragging out her words in a playful tone, “Oh, Jiang Mian, what would I do without you…”

The two friends laughed and chatted as they walked under the trees.

The evergreen camphor trees on either side of the path cast dappled shadows on the ground.

“What’s got you two so happy?” A senior disciple from the Talisman Hall passed by, carrying a wooden box, and greeted them with a smile.

Jian Huan and Jiang Mian quickly stopped to return the greeting.

Jian Huan’s gaze fell on the wooden box in the senior’s hands. She knew these were meant to be delivered to the Equipment Forging Hall.

Some ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​‍spirit tools required talismans to be inscribed on them. Not all craftsmen from the Equipment Forging Hall knew how to draw talismans—though Shen Jizhi was an exception. Still, even he could only handle simple ones. For more complex talismans, they had to seek help from the Talisman Hall.

Jian Huan blinked and asked, “Senior, are you delivering these to the Equipment Forging Hall again?”

The senior sighed, “Yes. Normally, they’d come to pick them up, but our elder is quite particular. He insists I deliver them as soon as they’re done, saying they clutter up the Talisman Hall and irritate him.”

Jian Huan had heard about this elder. He was notorious for his obsessive-compulsive tendencies, and his disciples often suffered under his demands.

Lost in thought, Jian Huan suddenly spoke up as the senior passed by, smiling brightly, “Senior, let me deliver them for you!”

The senior paused, confused. “You’ll deliver them?”

Jiang Mian was also surprised, but after a moment, she understood and chimed in, “Senior, just let Jian Huan do it. She wants to see Senior Shen!”

“I do not!” Jian Huan immediately denied, coming up with a perfectly legitimate excuse. “My talisman brush and spirit ink are running low. I need to go to the Equipment Forging Hall to replace them!”

Whether the senior believed her or not, the wooden box ended up in Jian Huan’s hands.

At lunchtime, the Equipment Forging Hall was quiet and nearly empty.

Jian Huan stepped into the main hall, looking around but seeing no one.

She walked further inside, her footsteps echoing.

A thin man poked his head out upon hearing the noise and, seeing Jian Huan, said, “Junior Sister Jian? Are you here to see Senior Shen? He’s on the third floor…”

Jian Huan hesitated, her words caught in her throat. Before she could speak, Shen Jizhi appeared like a cat at the top of the staircase between the first and second floors. The simple white disciple robe he wore seemed to elevate his already elegant and refined demeanor, making him appear otherworldly. With a light tap of his foot, he landed gracefully on the ground. His gaze swept over Jian Huan’s face almost imperceptibly, then shifted to the items she was holding in her arms. He reached out and took them, casually asking, “What brings you here?”

Jian Huan let go of the box and pointed to it, explaining earnestly, “These are the spiritual tools your Equipment Forging Hall sent to our Talisman Hall. We’ve finished working on them, and the elder asked me to deliver them.”

“I see. Thank you for your effort,” Shen Jizhi replied, holding the box as he headed toward the materials room on the first floor. After taking a few steps, he noticed that Jian Huan had stayed behind, her hands swaying lightly at her sides. Her eyes darted around, looking everywhere but at him. A faint trace of amusement flickered in his eyes, though his expression remained as cool and distant as ever. “By the way, isn’t your talisman brush in need of new spiritual ink? Let me help you replace it.”

Jian Huan silently counted to three in her mind before nodding with a hint of restraint. “That works.”

She kept her expression composed and followed him.

A lanky man standing nearby scratched his chin as he watched their retreating figures, muttering to himself.

“Aren’t they supposed to be married? Why do they seem so awkward with each other? They’re not as warm as even me and my fellow disciples. So formal.”

“And I guess we’ve been wrong about Senior Brother Shen. People in the hall always complain about his cold attitude, saying he barely responds when spoken to. But it seems he’s the same with his wife.”

“I’d heard that Senior Brother Shen and Junior Sister Jian were deeply in love, and their little cottage was always lively. But I guess after three years, the passion has faded.”