Aries' plan to leave was decided at the dinner table.
Even though Mawen didn't want her to go, he couldn't change her mind.
He felt upset that his daughter wouldn't listen to him and was worried she wouldn't take good care of herself out there alone.
Actually, Aries never really listened to him before, so he let it go—he couldn't stop her anyway.
Still, after everyone left, he pulled Aries aside and whispered a bunch of reminders, fussing over all kinds of little things.
All his fatherly love showed in how much he worried.
Then he told Sky to help pack Aries' things. But honestly, there wasn't much to pack in the house.
After calming her father, Aries went back to her room.
She opened the door and immediately felt a rush of blood to her head.
Her young husband was kneeling on the bed, fixing the bedding. Because of how he stretched, his waist curved out.
When he heard the door open, he turned around instinctively. His almond-shaped eyes locked right on Aries.
"Wife."
Faced with this scene, Aries made a decision.
Time to eat meat!
"Mm~"
He still had so much to say to her, but there was no time!
The next day, when Aries left, she only brought some silver. Nothing else.
Most of her old clothes were already thrown out. The few pieces left were ones Sky had washed.
The only new outfit she had was the one she was wearing—made by Sky.
So Aries didn't see any point in bringing anything else. With silver in hand, she could just buy whatever she needed.
She left the carriage behind for them to use. She planned to buy a new horse once she reached the town.
Mawen and Sky walked her to the village entrance, both reluctant to see her go.
"Take care of yourself. Wait for me to come back!"
Aries didn't say it to anyone in particular, but both men felt the words were meant for them.
Actually, she was talking to Sky.
Back when Jade (as Aries) was still around, she wasn't home much, and Mawen still managed fine. So Aries wasn't worried about him.
She only worried about Sky—afraid that without her there, he'd be mistreated by Mawen again.
But thinking of how Sky had recently figured out how to get along with Mawen and even managed to cheer him up, Aries realized her husband was smarter than she thought.
Maybe she didn't need to worry after all.
Once she reached the town, she bought a horse. This time, she didn't bother getting a carriage—she just rode straight toward the capital.
Aries had never been to the capital before, but there was only one main road leading there. As long as she didn't take a wrong turn, she'd be fine.
The horse seller had told her that.
She wasn't in a hurry, and there was no need to rush. She just let the horse walk slowly along the road.
She'd left in the late morning anyway. Even if she rushed, she wouldn't make it to the capital by nightfall.
Since she'd have to stop and sleep somewhere, there was no need to stress.
Aries realized that this world, apart from the gender roles being reversed, wasn't much different from the other small worlds she had visited before.
With that understanding, she felt completely at ease.
Before nightfall, Aries reached a small county town and found an inn to stay for the night.
But when she lay in bed alone, she couldn't fall asleep. Her thoughts were full of Sky.
In the end, she didn't sleep at all. She spent the whole night practicing cultivation.
Meanwhile, Sky also couldn't sleep. Even though it had only been a few days, he already felt used to having Aries around.
Now that she was gone, he couldn't sleep.
He blushed as he moved from the inside to the outside of the bed, resting his head on Aries' pillow.
He nuzzled into the pillow, thinking he could still smell her scent.
He missed his wife. Missed her strong, warm arms.
He hoped she'd come back soon, so she could hold him while they slept.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt he was becoming too clingy and spoiled.
Mm~ It's all Aries' fault for teaching him these things!
Last night, she hadn't even listened to him begging her to stop. And then she… she asked him those embarrassing questions…
Even though it felt amazing, how could she say things like that?
It was just… too shameful!
But still, he wanted her to come back soon.
Without her holding him, even the blankets didn't feel warm.
Mm~ that's all it is!
He definitely wasn't thinking about anything else.
When morning came, Aries checked out of the inn and got ready to continue her journey.
Half an hour later, she saw an old nun walking on the main road.
Next to the old nun was a young girl in a nun's robe, looking dazed and empty, as if her soul had left her body.
Aries looked at the young nun a bit longer than usual, which caught the old nun's attention.
Plenty of people had looked at the girl, but the old nun noticed Aries' gaze was different.
It was like she could see through everything.
"Amitabha."
The old nun greeted Aries with a chant. "This benefactor—did you notice something strange about my little disciple?"
Though she said it as a question, her tone made it clear she already believed Aries had seen something.
Aries wasn't surprised. In a world where she—a soul from another world—existed, there were bound to be other supernatural beings or spiritual types too.
There were people like this nun who truly had skills.
She just didn't expect to run into one so soon after leaving home.
Aries nodded politely.
"I did notice something."
The nun's eyes lit up. She chanted again and said, "Young friend, would you mind helping me take a look?"
Heh—aren't monks supposed to give up worldly things? This nun was surprisingly direct.
Just now she was calling her "benefactor," and now it was "young friend"?
It wasn't that the nun was being fake. She was truly worried.
Her little disciple Yunxin was in serious danger.
It all started earlier that summer. The nun, Wuchen, was chanting with Yunxin in the temple.
Suddenly, Yunxin collapsed.
At first, Wuchen thought the little one had just fallen asleep. It wasn't the first time.
She even gently tapped her with the wooden fish to wake her up.
But this time, the girl didn't wake.
Wuchen assumed she was just tired—after all, Yunxin was only seven or eight.
Feeling sorry for her, Wuchen carried her back to their room to rest, then returned to her chanting.
But when dinnertime came and Yunxin still hadn't woken up, Wuchen started to worry.
She checked on her and realized something was seriously wrong.
Yunxin had lost one of her three souls.
There were only the two of them at the temple that day, and no visitors had come.
If something had entered the temple, Wuchen would've known.
So when did Yunxin lose her soul? And how?
Wuchen immediately started a ritual to call the soul back, but no matter what she did, she couldn't sense where it had gone.
Yunxin eventually woke up, but she was blank and dull. She just sat around all day and couldn't even talk.