A gentle kiss.

She let him go.

"I’m willing."

She moved her hand from his face, gripping the side of his robes as her other hand gently twirled a lock of his hair. A soft smile graced her lips, her eyes tender as she gazed at him.

"Before I met you, I’d never considered finding a Taoist Companion. So if I had to choose someone in this lifetime to be my Taoist Companion, it would undoubtedly be you."

Javier Sinclair looked at her.

’She said she was willing.’

’She said she was willing.’

The feeling of being so thoroughly accepted made his heart flutter uncontrollably.

Only one thought looped endlessly in his mind: ’She’s willing.’

Javier Sinclair reached out, cupping Celeste Grant’s face, and asked in a low voice, "Really?"

"Mm."

When she nodded slightly.

In that instant, Javier Sinclair’s eyes seemed to hold the entire starry sky.

He lifted her face, bent down, and captured her lips in a kiss. It was dominant and undeniable, yet so exquisitely gentle it felt as though he wanted to melt her very soul into his.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her.

He lifted her up and sat her on the railing at the edge of Moon-Gazing Cliff.

The moonlight was bright, a full moon hanging high in the sky. The two embraced, kissing beneath its glow.

A gentle breeze stirred, scattering flower petals.

A rain of flowers fell.

Countless fireflies flew around them, as if celebrating with them.

In the distance, the swing set swayed gently. Coupled with the sea of flowers covering the ground, the scene was as beautiful as a painting.

Not far from them, a group of people was squatting.

Led by Nerida, Elder Lawson and the others were eagerly watching the show unfold.

Elder Lawson said, "Success! Success! The Exalted One’s proposal was finally successful! We won’t have to worry about his lady running away anymore."

Nerida sighed wistfully, "It wasn’t easy. Someone’s finally willing to have him."

A few others nearby chimed in.

"When will Her Ladyship give us another little Young Master? I hope it’s a girl. I’ve heard daughters are the absolute sweetest. I’ll teach her Arrays, and she can cultivate the Infinite Demon Technique with me."

"Arrays? In your dreams! She’ll obviously study Alchemy with me. And cultivating the Ten Thousand True Demonic Skills with me wouldn’t be a bad choice either."

Alchemy.

The thought of the Young Master’s terrifying attempts at Alchemy made them all shudder.

"No way. If it’s a daughter, she’ll definitely learn how to create talismans with me. My Mysterious Demon Heart Scripture is a gentler Cultivation path, much more suitable for a girl."

"All of you, stop arguing. If you ask me, she should cultivate the Ten Thousand Demons Sword Scripture with me. A girl needs enough power to protect herself when she’s out in the world."

Hearing those voices...

The young couple fell silent.

Javier Sinclair: "..."

He lifted his head.

Celeste Grant, however, started to laugh.

Her hand pressed against his chest.

"There are still people here."

Javier Sinclair gave a sinister smile.

He performed a bit of Magic, raising his hand slightly and giving it a flick toward the spot not far away.

The next moment, cries of "AARGH!" echoed from various spots as the group was swept away by a sudden tornado.

Javier Sinclair looked at her and said in a low voice, "They’re gone now."

Celeste Grant laughed and whispered a comment.

"Let’s have a moment of silence for Elder Lawson and the others... Hahaha..."

She burst out laughing.

She reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You’re so mean, you Archfiend."

"It’s what they get for daring to eavesdrop."

He looked at her and said in a low voice.

"Now no one will disturb us."

As Javier Sinclair spoke, he lowered his head to place a kiss on her forehead, then pulled her into his embrace.

He gently stroked her hair and said in a hushed voice, "Tomorrow, I’ll have the elders pick a date and start the preparations. We’ll become Taoist Companions."

Celeste Grant nodded slightly.

"Okay."

She leaned into his embrace.

Looking at everything before her.

Celeste Grant reached out a hand.

"It’s so beautiful here."

"Do you want to see something else?"

Celeste Grant was curious.

"There’s more?"

He hummed in affirmation, lifted her up, and sat her down on the swing.

He stood beside her next to the swing set, brought his fingers together to use Magic, and made a gentle swipe in the air.

"I shall have these fireflies put on a performance for you."

’Fireflies can perform?’

As it turned out.

They really could.

She looked up and saw all the fireflies from the floral sea rise in unison, morphing into a thousand different forms in the air. At one moment, they formed four conspicuous words: Happy Birthday, My Lady.

At another, they formed hearts that danced through the air.

Then, they even formed a picture: an image of their family of three. There she was, with Javier Sinclair, and their son.

Celeste Grant was astounded. She pointed at the sight before her. "How are you doing this? They’re so obedient and cooperative. Are you controlling them with Magic?"

Javier Sinclair shook his head slightly.

"It wasn’t me."

Javier Sinclair sat down beside her.

"It was this one."

As he spoke, he held out his hand. Just then, a green centipede crawled out from his sleeve and onto his wrist.

"It’s the one commanding these fireflies."

"It?"

Celeste Grant turned her head slightly to look at his hand, leaning in to stare. "Is this that green centipede you keep?"

As she spoke, she poked it with her finger. It felt cool to the touch.

Javier Sinclair used to enjoy refining poison, so he kept some strange and exotic venomous creatures. She’d heard he had raised this particular centipede for over three hundred years.

Celeste Grant glanced at him and said, "You keep it on you all the time? The first time I met you in the bamboo forest, I saw it on you, right above your backside. I actually touched it by accident, which gave me a huge scare. I was afraid it would bite me, but it vanished in the blink of an eye."

It would have been better if she hadn’t brought it up.

At the mention of this, Javier Sinclair gave a light cough.

’Back then, she was a stranger, so there was no need for an explanation.’

When Celeste Grant had come to him, heavily pregnant, he had demanded how she could prove the child was his. The first thing she’d said was that he had a green centipede on his backside. At that moment, he’d barely managed to keep a straight face.

He did keep a green centipede, but he certainly didn’t keep it *on* his backside.

Now, hearing her mention it again.

Javier Sinclair said, "It’s not like that. Why would I ever keep a centipede on my backside? It must have just been crawling around on its own. I disciplined it after that. Now, it’s only allowed on my arm."

Celeste Grant paused, taken aback.

"Oh? So that’s what happened."

Javier Sinclair recalled the scene and said, "Back then, it probably knew I was about to... with you... In any case, it was crawling away on its own to avoid us, and you just happened to touch it as it fled."

Celeste Grant paused again.

"Now that you mention it, that does sound right. It disappeared in the blink of an eye."

Celeste Grant pointed at it.

"What’s its name?"

Javier Sinclair glanced at the centipede on his hand and said in a low voice, "Its name is Sprout."

"Huh? Sprout... it certainly is green. Did you give it that name?" 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

He nodded slightly.

"Mm."

"The name is very fitting. Sprout, little Sprout... it’s cute. The name really suits its color."

"It was only about the size of a bean sprout back then, so I named it Sprout."

Celeste Grant giggled.

"I’m surprised you didn’t call it ’Bean Sprout’ instead."

"It usually goes out on its own to cultivate and forage for food. It only returns when I summon it. So, I’ll say it again: I don’t keep it on my person."

Celeste Grant thought about it. After they had gotten together, she really hadn’t seen the centipede on his backside again. She had, however, spotted it on his robes a couple of times—once on the hem and once on his sleeve. If you weren’t looking closely, you might mistake that flash of green for a simple decoration on the fabric.