A Marriage Contract on Paper: Marrying a Male Spirit to Extend My Life - Chapter 4

Although the Yellow Springs Water could not be obtained just yet, clearing away the Curse of Dead Qi was merely a trivial matter for Fu Jinshu that he could accomplish with a casual wave of his hand.

However, he could not make it too obvious either; otherwise, it would startle the enemy and immediately arouse the vigilance of the person who had cast the spell on Wei Yunchan, while also drawing the attention of others especially Wei Zhiyin. After all, for someone on the brink of death to suddenly and visibly improve was far too bizarre.

This matter had to be handled step by step, taking it slowly.

Anyway, with him around now, Wei Yunchan was not going to die. Or rather, even without him, Wei Yunchan would still not die; this man was far from an ordinary person, and his fate was exceptionally stubborn.

After burning away a cluster of dead Qi, Fu Jinshu gave a single-handed sweep, and all the talismans within the room spontaneously caught fire and vanished, leaving not a single speck of residual ash or powder behind.

He walked over to the bed, climbed onto it once more, and slept on the inner side. Reaching out a hand to touch, the spot where Wei Yunchan lay was still entirely ice-cold.

Thinking that he might as well finish what he started and see a good deed through to the end, Fu Jinshu edged a bit closer to Wei Yunchan. He was much shorter in stature than Wei Yunchan, so even when close, his feet couldn’t reach Wei Yunchan’s, but by pressing close, he could somehow transfer some of his own body heat over to Wei Yunchan.

More importantly, that dead Qi would automatically evade his body, and as a result, the dead Qi surrounding Wei Yunchan would be dispersed somewhat, at the very least allowing him to enjoy a sound sleep.

That night, Wei Yunchan experienced warmth in his dreams for the first time in his life.

Waking up the next day, Wei Yunchan first sensed a wave of soreness and numbness radiating from his arm, followed immediately by the heat of breath puffing against the side of his neck, as well as the weight resting upon his legs.

—Fu Jinshu was clinging to him like a little monkey, sleeping soundly.

Wei Yunchan tried to move his other arm and was surprised to find that he could muster a tiny bit of strength. Raising it with some difficulty, he gave Fu Jinshu a push.

The force was light, akin to scratching an itch for Fu Jinshu.

Fu Jinshu rolled over, turning his back to him to continue sleeping without being affected in the least.

Wei Yunchan turned his head to look at the back of his dark head, his thin lips parting slightly: “Lazybones.”

He must eat a lot and sleep a lot to have grown this white, plump, and round.

Truly, fools have foolish blessings.

For several consecutive days, Wei Yunchan was able to regain consciousness and even drink some rice porridge and hot soup. Although he still couldn’t walk on his own feet, he had at least temporarily stepped away from the gates of hell and shouldn’t be in any immediate danger to his life for the time being.

Madam Wen became even more convinced that Fu Jinshu’s arrival had warded off the malevolent spirits and protected her son, making her attitude toward Fu Jinshu increasingly warm and affectionate.

It was only after dawn on the second day that Wei Yunchan learned Fu Jinshu was actually a young boy.

Watching Fu Jinshu put on a young master’s padded jacket, his hair not styled into a maiden’s bun but simply tied into a ponytail secured with a greenish-blue ribbon, Wei Yunchan stared at him for a long while before uttering just two words: “Absurd.”

Consequently, that very night, he forbade Fu Jinshu from sleeping on his bed.

Fu Jinshu could not speak yet and could only use pen and paper to communicate with him.

[Just because I’m a boy, you won’t let me sleep with you anymore?]

Wei Yunchan retorted, “Otherwise?”

[Then pretend you don’t know; I can be a girl from now on.]

Wei Yunchan simply could not comprehend his train of thought and merely emphasized, “I cannot possibly marry a man as my wife.”

Fu Jinshu lowered his head to write.

[But you already have. If you mind, I can wear skirts and tunics in the future, and you can just tell everyone outside that I’m a girl.]

Indeed, their marriage certificates had been stamped with seals, and Fu Jinshu’s name had already been entered into his family’s ancestral registry. To divorce or annul the marriage would require the consent of their parents and negotiation from both sides.

Annulling it was definitely out of the question for now; his parents were both convinced that this Fu Jinshu was a lucky star sent to save his life, and they were eager to cradle him in the palms of their hands, absolutely refusing to agree to his demands.

Wei Yunchan had never been one to act rashly or seek instant success. Pondering for a moment, he said, “As you like, but still, you are not allowed on my bed.”

Fu Jinshu didn’t genuinely want to cling to sharing a bed with him anyway, and seeing him show such strong resistance, he stopped pressing the matter. In any case, without him sleeping alongside him, the one who would suffer was Wei Yunchan himself.

[Fine.]

Fearing people would gossip, Fu Jinshu didn’t move out to sleep alone either, simply placing bedding and a pillow on the lounging daybed inside Wei Yunchan’s room, where he slept quite comfortably and sweetly.

Wei Yunchan thought it was truly bizarre; ever since that day, he had never experienced that warm-as-spring dream again.

However, his body really was improving day by day. In the blink of an eye, the bitter winter had been weathered through.

Outside the window, peach blossoms were coaxed into a shy blush by the eastern breeze, and willow catkins fluttered in the air warm spring had arrived.

Fu Jinshu had been following Shuangniang’s youngest daughter, Wei Tingyu, to the private school to study and learn characters for three days now.

Ever since agreeing to dress as a “young maiden” for Wei Yunchan, Fu Jinshu had truly put on skirts, tied up his hair buns, and whenever he walked out, anyone who saw him would only think of him as a delicate and charming little maiden.

The only ones who knew the truth were the people within the Wei family, but Wei Zhiyin had tactfully hinted to everyone not to gossip idly, so no one dared to expose the matter.

Upon arriving at the private school, when other young masters and misses asked Wei Tingyu about him, she would reluctantly reply, “This is my eldest sister-in-law.”

Although Wei Yunchan was frail in body, he was, after all, the legitimate eldest son of the Wei family. Leaving aside whether he would live long or not, the position of future Yunliang City Lord currently belonged exclusively to him.

For a time, everyone’s attitude toward Fu Jinshu became exceptionally respectful. Coupled with the fact that his appearance was truly extraordinary, after going to the private school for a few days, even older students would occasionally come over to steal a glance his fame had unexpectedly spread far and wide overnight.

One day, while Fu Jinshu was reviewing the homework left by the tutor, a piece of stationery among the pile of books caught Wei Yunchan’s attention.

He pinched the corner of the letter paper with two fingers, pulled it out, unfolded it, and upon seeing the contents written upon it, his expression turned somewhat playful.

Fu Jinshu raised his head to look at him.

The weather was gradually warming up. Today, Fu Jinshu was wearing a dark-patterned fine silk and satin skirt in a smoky pink shade, which set off his oval face to look indescribably pretty and vibrant.

Wei Yunchan raised a hand to pinch his chin. Although his fingertips didn’t exert much force, they sank right into the soft flesh along his cheek.

The soft, pliable texture gave Wei Yunchan the illusion that he was pinching a meat bun.

“Change back to men’s clothing when you go out tomorrow.”

The posture of being forced to tilt one’s head upward was not comfortable, but Fu Jinshu did not struggle; he merely felt puzzled by his words.

Wei Yunchan nonchalantly put away the stationery and released him.

Fu Jinshu picked up his brush to write.

[Why?]

“Ugly, an offense to the eyes,” Wei Yunchan stated thus.

Fu Jinshu turned his head to look at him, suspecting there was something wrong with his aesthetic sense.

[What should we do if other people laugh at you for taking a male wife?]

Wei Yunchan’s tone carried a chilling casualness: “Kill them.”

No one dared to bring trouble upon themselves in front of him; at most, they would only gossip behind his back. As long as it didn’t reach his ears, everyone could live in peace.

Fu Jinshu was not frightened by him and merely nodded to indicate his compliance.

By now, the Curse of Dead Qi on Wei Yunchan’s body had mostly dissipated, and his health was improving day by day. However, the sickly aura on his face was still clearly visible—emaciated and pale, failing to reveal what he truly looked like.

Yet Fu Jinshu knew that Wei Yunchan’s looks were guaranteed to be exceptional; his nose bridge was high, his eye sockets deep, and paired with the fact that Madam Wen was a renowned beauty back in her day, Wei Yunchan’s appearance would most likely surpass hers.

Every evening at dinner, Fu Jinshu would continuously pile food into Wei Yunchan’s bowl. Wei Yunchan would pick and choose, but his appetite truly grew larger day by day, and his face had started to fill out with some flesh, making him look far less terrifying.

Madam Wen was endlessly gratified, constantly nagging in Wei Yunchan’s ear: “Xiqin, you need to treat Jinshu a bit better. Mother doesn’t ask you to treat him as a wife; treating him as a younger brother will do. It’s all thanks to Jinshu that you see how your physique is growing increasingly robust.”

Facts speak louder than words. Ever since Fu Jinshu married in, the favorable changes occurring in his own body were plain for Wei Yunchan to see, and he could not help but believe that this Fu Jinshu truly possessed some strange mystical powers.

For instance, sleeping next to Fu Jinshu guaranteed that he would have a sound sleep that night.

Therefore, after verifying this twice, Wei Yunchan once again permitted Fu Jinshu to sleep on his bed.

Though he attached new conditions.

“Sleep like this only; do not cross the line.”

Fu Jinshu glanced at the hands they had linked together and nodded noncommittally.

Then, upon waking up the next day, Fu Jinshu was still draped all over Wei Yunchan in all sorts of bizarre sleeping postures.

If the temptation of a good night’s sleep hadn’t been so overwhelming, Wei Yunchan would have loved to sentence him to sleep in the woodshed just to save himself the annoyance every single morning.

Moreover, this little dumpling simply had no awareness of his own weight; when he pressed down on Wei Yunchan, Wei Yunchan’s current physical strength left him completely unable to budge.

Overall, however, days were getting better by the day it was just that whenever some people rejoiced, others inevitably worried.

“Immortal Master, your talisman is failing.”

“Nonsense! This old Daoist’s talisman is blessed with a golden-scaled brush; how could it fail?”

“This humble woman is definitely not lying! That Wei Yunchan’s health is improving day by day simply because he married a male wife to ward off bad luck, and he broke your talisman!”

A long-browed Daoist priest opened his eyes, his white pupils startling and terrifying.

“Just you wait while this old Daoist goes over to investigate for himself.”

Shuangniang heavily kowtowed several times: “Thank you, Immortal Master!”