Liu Cheng couldn’t sleep that night, his thoughts always wandering back to that message in the pouch and the way Hong Bao had looked at him when she handed it to him. He couldn’t help but notice that as soon as she had done that, she had run off with what now seemed like a flimsy excuse. Maybe she had been worried that he would reject her so she just gave him the message and then left. In that case, she would likely have just as much trouble sleeping as he did.

Liu Cheng sighed to himself and turned to the side. Well, he was a high-leveled practitioner already so he didn’t necessarily have to sleep. Usually, he still tried to maintain a normal sleeping schedule though. After all, it would still be beneficial to a practitioner to rest regularly and especially demon hunters always had to be vigilant when outside. But this one night should be alright. Anyway, no matter what he did, he likely wouldn’t be able to calm down.

Liu Cheng was right about that. While he did manage to fall asleep sometime later, it was already time to get up again soon. As soon as he opened his eyes, his thoughts returned to Hong Bao’s message and his heart started beating hurriedly.

He had felt attracted to Hong Bao the moment he first saw her in the capital of the Long kingdom and he had thought of her every now and then after that, wondering whether she had succeeded in rescuing her lover and was happy with him now. It had been a bit painful to admit to himself that from the very beginning, these feelings had been one-sided but he learned to live with it. Anyway, he didn’t forget to remind himself that having a wife was never a good idea as a demon hunter. That thought made things easier

When he finally met her again in the forest, it had felt like fate was at play though. He just couldn’t help himself. Especially when he found out that this lover of hers wasn’t in the picture any longer because she couldn’t even remember him.

At first, he had had a bit of a guilty conscience because it might not necessarily be that Hong Bao wasn’t in love with that man anymore but that she had just forgotten him because of whatever had happened. In that case, shouldn’t he try to help her regain her memory instead of wooing her himself?

But he and his Master had tried a lot and finally, they had had to admit that Hong Bao likely wouldn’t regain her memories. No matter what the reason for her forgetting them in the first place was, they were unable to reverse it. Thus, they could only give her a place at their sect and allow her to become a demon hunter herself so that she had a task.

With time, Liu Cheng’s guilty conscience had lessened bit by bit until it finally disappeared completely. Anyway, he didn’t even know who that other man was. How could he help? In this case, he felt that it might be better to just try his luck himself. After all, the two of them got along very well. Even though she could sometimes be a bit of an airhead, he also liked that about it. It went to show just how honest she was. She definitely was the perfect wife.

Now, after several years of accompanying each other, there was finally the chance to put that thought into action and let them become something more than just senior martial brother and junior martial sister.

Liu Cheng stood up and took all of his robes out of his spiritual bag. Hong Bao had seen him every day for the past few years so it probably wouldn’t make any difference but he wanted to look nice for such an important occasion.

He selected his best robe and put the others back inside. With great care, he washed up, donned his robe, and styled his hair. He even went the extra mile and searched for an old bronze mirror to take a look at himself. He normally wasn’t particular about appearances so he couldn’t really tell if it was alright though.

"She shouldn’t mind even if it isn’t good. Junior martial sister Hong Bao isn’t that superficial."

He had no idea that it was actually his face that had attracted Hong Bao and had made her join the Chun Feng Sect. If he knew … well, it was better if he didn’t.

Liu Cheng took a deep breath. It was way too much time until noon. What should he do until then? He sat down on his bed and tried to meditate but his thoughts were in an uproar. No, he wouldn’t be able to concentrate until he had met her. Maybe he should already go to the town? Knowing Hong Bao she might be there earlier than the agreed-upon time anyway.

In the end, he shook his head. Maybe Hong Bao wanted to prepare something. He couldn’t disturb her before the appointed time. Actually, it probably wasn’t right to have her confess to him first. As a man, shouldn’t he take the initiative? What was so difficult about that?

Mn … Liu Cheng suddenly stood up, squared his shoulders, and lifted his chin. Right. As a man, he should make the first step. Hong Bao had already started to initiate everything. He could only do some preparations of his own and then say the words before she could do so.

Yes, that was a good idea. He felt like Hong Bao would like it. He could already imagine how her eyes would sparkle when he confessed his feelings first. She was the type of woman to take these things especially seriously.

He hurriedly left his room and flew down into the town.