After finishing the simple yet heartwarming dinner with Ding Mei, Xue Wen felt his body relax in a way it hadn't in years.
The warmth of food in his stomach lingered, and soon he found himself sitting inside the wooden bathing tub that Ding Mei had carefully prepared for him.
Steam curled gently from the surface, rising into the air and fogging up the nearby window.
Half of his body was submerged in the soothing warmth, his tense muscles gradually loosening as he leaned against the smooth rim of the tub.
Closing his eyes, he let the heat seep into his bones, but instead of peace, a flood of foreign memories crashed through his mind.
Slowly, painstakingly, he began sifting through them, piecing together the life of the "previous" Xue Wen, the man whose body he now inhabited.
The truth was sobering.
He wasn't just some independent cultivator; he was currently living as the son-in-law of the Ding Clan.
To be precise, he was the husband of Ding Mei, a girl whose name still sounded strange on his lips despite the affection she had shown him.
Originally, the old Xue Wen had been nothing more than a countryside bumpkin, a young man of no importance in a small village.
Everything changed the day he awakened a one-star canine bone, an ability that marked him as a Bonebearer.
That awakening had turned him into a local hero overnight.
In a village where no one had ever dreamed of such power, his existence was akin to that of a king.
People bowed to him, praised him, and treated him as if the heavens themselves had blessed his life.
But the heavens were fickle.
Soon after his rise, the prestigious Ding Clan extended a marriage proposal.
Their daughter, Ding Mei, would be wedded to him.
To the villagers, this was a miracle, an ordinary boy suddenly elevated to the husband of a noble daughter.
The Ding Clan, after all, was no ordinary family.
They were the greatest clan in the Blue Swan Kingdom, their strength second only to the royal family itself.
Outsiders believed Xue Wen had leapt into the sky in a single bound, securing both wealth and power.
Yet, reality was cruel.
The moment he entered the Ding Clan's estate, the illusions shattered.
Here, his so-called talent meant nothing. In his village, a one-star Bonebearer was revered like royalty.
But in the Ding Clan, even the guards stationed at the gates possessed two-star bones, each of them stronger and more refined than him.
The difference was like heaven and earth.
And then came the cruelest truth of all: Ding Mei herself.
She was a gentle woman, beautiful and soft-spoken, but she carried a heavy curse.
Within the clan, people whispered that she was a Jinx.
Twice before, she had been married, and both of her husbands had died tragic deaths before even consummating the marriage.
Terrified of her bad fortune yet unwilling to waste resources on her, the clan decided to marry her off again, to Xue Wen, the village upstart who knew nothing of their hidden schemes.
The previous Xue Wen had been furious when he learned the truth.
What he thought was fortune had become humiliation.
Though Ding Mei never once mistreated him, he loathed her presence, resenting her for being the reason others in the clan mocked him.
For a whole year of marriage, he never shared a room with her.
At night, he locked himself in his chamber while she was left to sleep alone on a straw mat in the corner of the living room.
The clan gave him a monthly stipend of Marrow Beads, but he spent every single one on himself, cultivation resources, medicines, and luxuries, never sparing even a coin for Ding Mei.
And then… came his downfall.
Just days ago, the original Xue Wen had suddenly fallen ill, stricken with a strange and incurable disease.
His body weakened rapidly, and his cultivation stagnated.
The clan, unwilling to waste effort on him, summoned a Master Alchemist for a diagnosis.
The alchemist's words had been sharp and merciless: Xue Wen would not survive.
The Ding Clan immediately abandoned him, discarding him as a broken tool.
No one visited, no one cared, except for Ding Mei. She remained by his side, nursing him day after day, despite his coldness toward her.
Even when others sneered and told her she was clinging to a dying man, she did not leave.
It was in those final, hopeless days that he, the new soul, the real Xue Wen, had arrived, inhabiting this failing body and inheriting its memories.
A long sigh escaped his lips as he rose from the tub.
Droplets of warm water slid down his skin, the steam clinging to his figure as he reached for the folded clothes that Ding Mei had prepared.
The fresh linen felt oddly comforting as he put them on, as though they carried traces of her gentle care.
When he stepped into the bedroom, he found her there, busily arranging the bedding.
Her slender hands smoothed the blankets with quiet diligence, though her posture stiffened the moment she noticed him enter.
Startled, Ding Mei quickly stepped back, lowering her gaze.
A faint blush spread across her pale cheeks, her movements awkward as she made her way toward the door.
Perhaps she was still embarrassed by how desperately she had hugged him earlier that day, unable to control her emotions when she saw him awaken.
But just as her hand reached for the doorframe, a firm voice cut through the silence.
"Stay."
The word was simple, yet it carried a weight that made her entire body tremble.
Before she could retreat, Xue Wen reached out and gently grasped her wrist.
She froze, turning back to look at him in disbelief.
His eyes, calm, serious, and unwavering, were locked onto her.
Her sapphire-blue eyes widened, shimmering as though holding back tears.
In the entire year of their marriage, he had never once told her to stay.
He had never asked her to share his room, never acknowledged her as his wife beyond empty formality.
She had long grown accustomed to rejection.
Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
Instead, she swallowed hard, her throat tightening.
Her ears flushed a bright crimson, her delicate figure trembling as her shame and hope warred inside her.
Finally, with her gaze lowered and her voice almost a whisper, she nodded shyly. "Mm…"
Unable to meet his eyes, she walked back into the room, her steps hesitant, her face burning red.
Yet despite her embarrassment, she obeyed.
For the first time in their marriage, she would not sleep outside.