After leaving the Spirit Pagoda, Xia Yi took Mu Xi on a stroll through Shrek City.
Mu Xi was driving her red sports car, her expression clearly a bit tense, mixed with excitement and anticipation.
Although she'd known Xia Yi since their time in Eastsea City, this was, strictly speaking, the first time Xia Yi had taken her out on a proper date.
"What are you nervous about? I'm not gonna eat you," Xia Yi said, sitting in the passenger seat, grinning at her. "Careful, you're about to drive up onto the sidewalk again."
"You've got a lot of nerve to laugh. If it wasn't for you back then, I wouldn't have driven onto the sidewalk in the first place," Mu Xi muttered under her breath, her expression gradually relaxing. Even she wasn't sure what she was so nervous about.
She just felt a little out of sorts.
It wasn't so bad when she was alone with Xia Yi, but if Leng Yaozhu and the others were around, she became even more self-conscious.
"I thought you might just kick me out of the car," Xia Yi laughed heartily.
Mu Xi turned red and muttered, "You really enjoy being abused, don't you?"
"As long as it's my Xi'er doing the abusing, I'll happily take it!" Xia Yi chuckled.
"Ugh, you're a married man and still act like a clown. Can't you grow up a little?" Mu Xi scoffed, though a small smile crept onto her lips.
Whenever she saw Xia Yi like this, she would recall the young man from Eastsea City—brash and ambitious, wild yet composed, proud but sincere.
She often wondered how Xia Yi could remain so "childish" no matter what he went through.
Yes!
Childish was the word.
Mu Xi nodded inwardly, satisfied with her choice of expression. "Childish" suited Xia Yi perfectly.
"It's called keeping a pure heart," Xia Yi said seriously.
"A pure heart? You? How do you even say that with a straight face?" Mu Xi burst out laughing. If anyone else had said it, she might believe it.
But Xia Yi?
Forget it.
She couldn't even tell what part of him looked remotely like he had a "pure heart."
"I don't get it either. Maybe I'm just naturally shameless," Xia Yi replied, completely unfazed.
"Hehe, even our Xi'er smiles like a goddess. Why don't you smile more often?" Xia Yi teased, grinning as he watched her laugh.
"You…" Mu Xi's smile froze, and she bit her lip. "Were you just trying to make fun of me?"
"Make fun of you? Silly Xi'er, why would you think that?" Xia Yi shook his head with a helpless smile. "Do you like milk tea?"
"Why?" Mu Xi asked, raising an eyebrow.
"There's a milk tea shop ahead. Let's go sit down," Xia Yi suggested with a grin.
"Sure." Mu Xi nodded, parked by the roadside, and after the two got out, she stored the car back into her soul tool storage ring.
Xia Yi took her hand and led her into the milk tea shop. They found a window seat and sat down.
Just as they sat, a server came over. "What would you two like to drink? Ah! Are you… Are you Master Xia Yi?"
The moment she recognized Xia Yi, the server looked utterly shocked.
If she hadn't covered her mouth right away, she might've screamed out loud.
Even so, others in the milk tea shop had already heard her, and curious eyes turned toward their table.
"You know me? Am I that famous?" Xia Yi asked, clearly intrigued, not caring about the attention at all.
"Of course! I just saw your pole dance video this morning!" the server blurted out.
"Right…" Xia Yi's mouth twitched slightly. How had he already forgotten about that embarrassing video?
"I'll take two Snowy Milk Teas," Mu Xi said to the server, barely holding back her laughter.
Are service workers nowadays really this bold?
How could she just blurt out something like that?
Then again, this was Xia Yi.
If it were any other soul master, being called out like that by a milk tea shop worker might have led to them storming off or retaliating in anger.
Mu Xi had somewhat misjudged the server. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't dare mention something like that in front of Xia Yi.
The only reason she had the courage to say it was because the video had spread from Xia Yi's own social circle.
On top of that, neither Xia Yi nor Leng Yaozhu had said anything publicly about it.
They acted like they didn't care at all.
Leng Yulai even added fuel to the fire.
So people naturally assumed Xia Yi really didn't mind.
"Got it! Right away!" The server, noticing Xia Yi's expression turning a bit stiff, realized she'd said too much and hurried away before he could get angry.
"Go ahead and laugh. No need to hold it in," Xia Yi gave Mu Xi a side-eye.
"Hehe, I didn't think I'd ever see you so embarrassed," Mu Xi giggled behind her hand.
"What can I do? I was sick in the head back then. Totally Ancient Moon's fault—she made me do it." Xia Yi sighed dramatically. If he'd known this day would come, wild horses couldn't have dragged him into that dance.
"I always thought someone with your thick skin wouldn't even understand the concept of shame," Mu Xi teased with a half-smile.
"See? You still don't understand me. I actually have very thin skin. If it weren't for Ancient Moon's endless pestering, tantrums, and guilt-tripping, I'd never have done it," Xia Yi protested.
Hearing this, Mu Xi's eyes lit up with interest. She stared at him intensely. "Then, what if I tantrum, cry, and guilt-trip you into doing it again?"
"Xi'er, you wouldn't really be that bored… would you?" Xia Yi said nervously, regretting ever bringing it up. He should have known better.
Women were competitive by nature, and the likes of Ancient Moon and Leng Yaozhu were the ultimate examples. He really should have kept his mouth shut.
"I'm kidding! Don't take it seriously. I'm not that bored," Mu Xi quickly said with a laugh, seeing how uneasy he looked.
"Oh good. I knew Xi'er was the most reasonable," Xia Yi sighed with exaggerated relief.
Seeing how his mood swung so wildly, Mu Xi was even more entertained. She looked at him with a sly grin. "I won't ask you to dance a pole dance… but how about an axe dance?"
Axes were sacred tools for a blacksmith like Mu Xi—nothing to joke about.
But she remembered someone posting a parody of Xia Yi's pole dance, replacing it with an axe. It was hilarious and had gotten a ton of likes.
If Xia Yi were the one to do it for real, it would definitely be a hit.
"Axe dance?" Xia Yi's eye twitched. Where did she even get that idea?
"Okay, Xi'er, how about we not joke around like this anymore?" Xia Yi shrank back a little. Honestly, he was kind of afraid she might be serious.
"Hehe. How about this: if you do it, I'll pay for today's drinks," Mu Xi offered, winking at him.
"Please, you think I care about a couple of milk teas?" Xia Yi scoffed. "You'll have to offer something better than that to tempt me."
"Then I'll wash your clothes for a month," Mu Xi said sweetly, blinking.
"Nope. At least two months," Xia Yi mumbled. Even with his current cultivation, where his clothes were practically dust-proof, he still liked to change regularly.
Especially his underclothes.
Not washing and airing them just didn't feel right.
"Three months!" Mu Xi decisively held up three fingers.
Without another word, Xia Yi leapt onto the table and dramatically pointed at the ceiling."Music!"