The nighttime of Azure Peak Town was considered a wonderful time. Warm lights lined up the streets as families came out after a long day's work.

The cold breeze that followed the setting sun was replaced by the gentle moon hanging in the sky.

"When was the last time you took a night stroll?" Wu Han asked.

"I tried once after you left, but I couldn't…" Luo Lan shivered. She held her arm as cold gathered beneath her skin.

At nighttime it was the worst for her.

The moon's influence amplified her condition.

"Let me help."

He touched her shoulder.

At once, the Qi inside her was absorbed, drawn out as if a dam had burst open.

Everything.

Like an opened floodgate, her Qi vanished within seconds, leaving nothing behind.

Luo Lan felt comfortable. Free.

But also uneasy.

She felt empty inside.

"Isn't this a bit much?" She whispered, blushing.

Her steps suddenly felt lighter. The warmth of the lantern light washed over her skin with vitality. Yet it also felt as if she were walking naked, because now she was truly at her weakest state.

More than that, what unsettled her most was how easily he had done it.

"Did you do something to me?" Luo Lan asked, curious and worried at the same time. She was not angry, but she was unsure how to feel. Now she understood that if they ever came into conflict, he could render her powerless in an instant.

"Of course. I need a failsafe of my own, don't I?" Wu Han replied honestly. "If you were to change your mind and break our deal, how would I protect myself against you?"

He did not hide that he had planted a trap within her.

"Hmp!" Luo Lan pouted. But she was not truly angry. Right now, she felt better than she ever had in her life. No coldness inside her. No Qi. Nothing.

Just a normal girl enjoying the beautiful streets beneath a starlit night.

Before meeting him, she had never dared to dream of such a moment. Despair would always push her to the edge, making her think of ending everything.

"Don't worry. At my current stage, I can defeat anyone below the Foundation Establishment realm," Wu Han said with a laugh. "Or them too! If you asked me to. Hahaha!"

It was not the laughter of overconfidence.

With Qi equal to thousands of spirit stones, Wu Han could pull countless tricks from his sleeve. Though his cultivation level showed only the seventh stage, his mastery and control were enough to force even the strongest in this town onto the defensive.

"Oh, look!" Luo Lan suddenly stopped, her attention caught by a small stall beside the street.

On a wooden tray sat fruits coated in shining sugar, each one glistening under the lantern light.

"What is that?" She asked softly.

Wu Han followed her gaze. "Candy fruit. An apple."

There's an apple in this world too? Wu Han was quietly surprised. Well, considering there are humans here as well…

It seemed that both this world and his own had followed many similar paths of evolution.

She stared at it as if it were a rare treasure.

"Come, come," the vendor called with a smile. "What would you like, young lady?"

Luo Lan hesitated, then pointed carefully. "That one… the biggest one."

The vendor handed it to her on a thin stick.

She took a small bite.

Her eyes widened.

"Bleh!"

"It's too sweet!!"

She covered her mouth, utterly unprepared for the pure, unfiltered sugar.

Having spent her life in a carefully controlled environment, fed only the finest and most delicately prepared food and desserts.

This was the first time she had ever tasted something so raw.

"It will be ten coins, miss."

"Ten?" Luo Lan gasped. She hurriedly searched her storage ring, then turned pale as realization struck.

She had no money meant for mortals.

"Um…" She turned back to Wu Han, who was quietly chuckling.

"I'll pay. Don't worry," Wu Han said, pulling out the coins and handing them to the vendor.

Luo Lan shot him a sideways glare before trying to take another bite of the apple. Her face scrunched up in disgust, but she still forced herself to keep eating. She did not want to waste food.

"I can help too. Just give it to me," Wu Han said, taking the stick from her and biting into the apple himself.

A moment later, he stiffened.

"…Ugh."

It was unbearably sweet.

I hope people in this world know how to brush their teeth, he thought grimly. I hated it when my skeleton army had cavities. The smell was horrible, even after death.

They struggled together to finish the candy apple, their faces twisted in misery as the overwhelming sweetness coated their tongues.

Just as Luo Lan thought she could not take another bite, a new scent drifted through the air.

Warm. Savory. Rich with spice and oil.

It came from a small restaurant nearby, where steam rose from iron pots and the sound of sizzling food mixed with laughter and clattering bowls.

Luo Lan froze.

Her eyes slowly turned toward the source of the smell, shining like a child who had just discovered treasure.

Wu Han noticed immediately.

He followed her gaze and smirked. "Want to try?"

She nodded without hesitation.

"Hahaha, if you weren't a cultivator, you'd be fat by now," Wu Han teased.

Luo Lan punched toward his stomach in protest, but a hexagonal barrier flashed into existence and blocked her fist.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Wu Han wagged his finger at her smugly.

Luo Lan puffed up in frustration, glaring at him for a second before turning away and marching straight into the restaurant.

The moment Luo Lan stepped inside, she froze.

The restaurant was chaotic.

Bowls clattered against wooden tables.

Steam burst from boiling pots, filling the air with the smell of oil, meat, and spice.

Voices overlapped everywhere.

"Two bowls here!"

"More wine!"

"Hey, that's my seat!"

"Move, move, hot soup coming through!"

People laughed loudly. Some argued over food. Others drank with flushed faces.

Children ran between tables before being dragged back by angry parents.

Smoke curled toward the ceiling. Lanterns swayed from the beams.

Luo Lan stood at the entrance, stunned.

She had always eaten in silent halls. Private rooms. Servants who spoke in whispers.

"What are you standing there for? Let's eat," Wu Han said, tugging her forward by the sleeve.

They squeezed into a narrow table near the wall.

Luo Lan sat stiffly, her hands folded neatly on her lap.

Ordering food felt… terrifying.

She had never done this herself before.

An old woman stormed over, her apron soaked with broth and her voice louder than the entire room.

"What you want!?"

Luo Lan flinched.

"I… I…" Her voice came out far too small.

Wu Han glanced up at the menu board. "Shrimp fried rice."

The old woman snapped back, "And you, miss?"

Luo Lan froze.

She had been staring at the board the whole time.

Fried rice. Golden fried rice with eggs and green onions.

That was what she wanted.

Her lips parted. "…I—"

"Hurry! I got ten tables waiting!"

She tried to say fried rice.

But the words stuck in her throat.

"…Rice," she blurted out. "The same."

The old woman snorted. "Got it. Two fried rice then."

After the waiter left, Luo Lan let out a huge sigh.

Wu Han call her out, "Why don't you ordered the noodle? You been looking at it."

"I… I don't know…" Luo Lan murmured.

She had never been afraid in battle. She had fought and killed before.

She had faced countless assassination attempts as the strongest of her generation.

Yet now, she could not even order the food she wanted.

She stared at the table, confused by herself.

Maybe it was because this was her first time going out like this.

Maybe it was because the place was too loud, too chaotic for her to think.

Or maybe…

Wu Han looked at her and spoke quietly, "Or maybe… you never learned how to want."

Luo Lan's fingers tightened around her sleeves.

Now that she had experienced what it was like to be free from her curse, she realized something frightening.

She had nothing else going for her.

The curse and the gift were everything to her. Without them, she did not know what to do.

Wu Han snapped his fingers, and the noise around them suddenly faded.

Luo Lan looked up in confusion. "What did you do?"

"A little help so you won't be overstimulated," Wu Han said. "Now try calling the waiter and order again."

"I don't think it's necessary," Luo Lan replied softly. "Fried rice is fine..."

"You know you didn't want it, so why keep going with it?" Wu Han leaned back against his chair.

Unlike Luo Lan's composed posture, he looked carefree, almost mannerless in the way he sat.

The two of them mirrored each other in opposite ways.

He felt relaxed and free, while she remained stiff and restrained.

"Did you really use your Dao just to lean?" Luo Lan laughed softly.

With her eyes, she noticed a faint pull coming from his body, anchoring the chair's leg so he would not fall over.

The thought that he used something so otherworldly and dangerous for such a trivial task made her laugh even more.

"Of course. I use what I have to do what I want. There's nothing wrong with that," Wu Han said. Then he glanced at her and added, "Unlike you, who can't even use your own voice to order the food you want. You have no right to question how I use my power."

"I guess so…" Luo Lan murmured. She felt pathetic.

She had finally been given a chance to be free.

So why was she wasting it like this?

Her hands clenched. Then she lifted her head.

"Waiter! I want beef noodles. The biggest bowl you can make!"

Her voice rang across the noisy restaurant.

It was so loud that it traveled across the entire floor, and the whole place suddenly fell silent as everyone turned to stare at her.

Wu Han covered his mouth, barely holding back his laughter.

Luo Lan looked around, innocently confused.

"…Did you forget," Wu Han said, "you're still a ninth-stage cultivator?"

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