From the Heavens Descended an Immortal Sister

"Um... Qing'er, let's cook dinner together today."

Fang Ren stood at the kitchen door, gazing at Mu Huanqing in her apron, and couldn't help but wipe the sweat off his forehead that was as large as beans.

At this moment, Mu Huanqing was intensely focused on the oil in the pot, cradling a live fish that they had just bought tonight in her arms, with one hand holding the lid, seemingly ready to toss the fish and cover the pot as soon as the temperature of the oil was just right.

The fish kept wriggling and flapping its tail, its mouth wide open, looking straight at Fang Ren as if begging the human for a swift end.

"It's fine, Ah Ran, I've already watched a tutorial. As long as I fry it until both sides are golden brown, I can add water and seasoning, and then I won't have to worry about anything else," Mu Huanqing said with dead seriousness, not even turning her head.

"No, that will ruin another pot," Fang Ren said with resignation.

"That's okay, failure is the mother of success!"

"So the tutorial you watched was about throwing the fish alive directly into the oil?"

"No, the tutorial showed to cut open the belly and remove the innards... but that's just too cruel! I want to give it a quick end!" As she spoke, Mu Huanqing even patted the fish in her arms as if to comfort it, as if saying... just a moment, and it won't hurt anymore.

Fang Ren slapped his forehead speechlessly. Sister, that's what you call cruel! Inhuman!

Fang Ren immediately went in, turned off the stove, snatched the fish from her arms and said, "I have a more humane method."

"Faster than frying?" Mu Huanqing blinked and looked at him.

"Of course."

As he spoke, Fang Ren took out a rolling pin from nearby, tossed the fish onto the chopping board, and with one strike to the wriggling fish's head, it stilled in an instant, knocked out.

"Ah Ran, it seems in pain…" Mu Huanqing frowned immediately after watching him strike the fish.

"You are mistaken, it's thanking me."

With that, Fang Ren took up the knife beside him and began to clean and gut the fish, and after some cleaning-up, he finally managed to get it into the pot.

Truth be told, Fang Ren had also never cooked before; even the method of banging the fish was learned from the "Fish Slamming Technique" from Li Xingwang Jing Haichuan during a trip to the countryside.

Now, preparing a fish, he had no choice but to look at his phone, constantly checking the time, guesstimating when to sprinkle water, when to add seasoning, and even making sure the fire's intensity was precisely according to the online tutorial.

With nothing else to do, Mu Huanqing sat next to the rice cooker, watching the rice within and trying her hand at some seasoning.

"Ah Ran, I suddenly have a question to ask you," Mu Huanqing said out of the blue.

"Then ask away."

"What would you do if Liu Qianqian liked you?" Mu Huanqing asked.

"Huh?"

This question genuinely took Fang Ren by surprise. He looked at Mu Huanqing and smiled, "Why are you suddenly asking such an impractical question?"

"I said it's an 'if.' If it was the case, what would you do?" Mu Huanqing pressed.

"Well, if it's just an 'if,' then so be it. I'm about to marry you; could I then go and like her?" Fang Ren said, "Besides, there's no 'if' in this matter. She could never like me; she only sees me as a friend."

Mu Huanqing did not intend to drop the subject and said with a slightly jealous tone, "Ah Ran, you confessed to her twice, so you must have really liked her..."

"That's all in the past. Now I only like our Qing'er."

"You just suddenly stopped liking her after being together for more than three years?"

"No choice. I was rejected twice; of course, I had to move on. Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing," Fang Ren explained.

"If Ah Ran hadn't been rejected, we wouldn't be together now..."

"Isn't it the same for you, Qing'er? If you hadn't been injured, you wouldn't be with me," Fang Ren replied, "What happened was destined, what didn't happen was up to us."

If Liu Qianqian could speak her true feelings and if Mu Huanqing hadn't been injured on the battlefield, the two of them definitely would not have met.

"Yeah, I was overthinking it," Mu Huanqing nodded with a slight smile on her face.

What she actually wanted to know was not about these events; she wanted to understand why Liu Qianqian, even though she obviously liked him, still rejected him. That she could not comprehend.

But even though she wanted to know, she couldn't directly ask Fang Ren, so she went with "if."

"Actually, Liu Qianqian despises me now," Fang Ren continued, noticing her hint of jealousy.

"Why?" Mu Huanqing inquired.

"It's probably because I discovered her secret the day before we went out for the trip," Fang Ren pondered and said.

"Can you tell me about it?"

Checking the time and adding a bit of seasoning to the pot, Fang Ren said, "She might be considered a rather unlucky girl."

"Because of what?"

"Spirit Embryo, you know about this, right? She is a girl with the Spiritual Embryo Constitution. From a young age, her marriage is not her own to decide, and when she reaches a certain age, she must marry some cultivation genius. It's that kind of destiny that's determined from birth," Fang Ren said.

"Spiritual Embryo Constitution?"

"Right."

Mu Hui was stunned. In an instant, the knot in her heart unraveled. Liu Qianqian, why had she refused the confession of someone she liked? It turned out she was born to contribute to the Human Race through marriage.

"Then her refusal of you was right," Mu Hui said.

"Ah?"

Fang Ren couldn't quite understand what she meant by that. Refusing the confession of someone you don't like—wasn't that just an ordinary thing?

"For the sake of the Human Race, personal feelings... indeed don't count for much," Mu Hui said.

"What are you talking about?" Fang Ren was feeling helpless. "First of all, she certainly has no romantic feelings for me. Secondly, you say personal feelings don't count for much for the sake of human society, but is the happiness of human society decided by the marriage of one girl?"

"The Human Race's struggle against the Void until now, indeed, is not determined by the marriage of one girl, but every person should do their utmost for the safety of their race. Having the ability, what reason is there not to contribute?" Mu Hui said.

Fang Ren couldn't help frowning and let out a sigh, "So are you saying that she should marry someone she doesn't like, give birth to a baby with higher cultivational talent, and live unhappily ever after?"

Mu Hui looked at him, her expression serious as she said, "Compared to the countless warriors who have paid with their lives on the battlefield for their race, what is one person's marriage? Those who have the ability but fail to contribute are a disgrace to this era."

Fang Ren, seeing her serious demeanor, suddenly found himself at a loss for words. This was the first time he saw her using such a serious face towards him, with a tone that brooked no dissent.

"Does it have to be this cruel?" Fang Ren asked.

"But the battlefield is crueler," Mu Hui said.

"I think her desire to defend her marriage freedom is not wrong."

"She isn't wrong, but I don't understand why in the current situation she still wants to defend marriage freedom. Just by having a child with an exceptionally talented cultivator, she could prevent many more warriors from losing their lives. Why talk about marriage freedom at this time?"

Having heard all this, Fang Ren also began to take it more seriously and said, "On this Earth, there are many more 'able but not contributing' people than her. Why is everyone only forcing her to contribute? Just because her constitution is special?

What about those who would stop at nothing for their own desires, have the ability but don't go to the battlefield? What are they? Why does nobody force those people to contribute to the Human Race? They are trampling over society, so why is no one forcing them?"

"..."

Mu Hui was at a loss for words.

She believed her viewpoint was correct, but Fang Ren wasn't wrong either.

Many people have the ability to protect their country but fail to do what they should, instead existing in society as a scourge. Compared to these people, what's wrong with Liu Qianqian wanting to defend her marriage freedom?

Seeing Mu Hui silent, Fang Ren sighed. He felt a weight in his chest. This was the first time he felt that Mu Hui was so heartless. It seemed that whenever human race issues arose, she would take the moral high ground to judge everything.

But this wasn't Mu Hui's fault, after all, being the Xuan Nv, of course, her concerns were always for the greater good.

Glug, glug—

The fish in the pot was still bubbling away, and the rice cooker still streaming hot. Both of them looked at a pot each, and suddenly, both fell silent.

This was the first argument between them.

After a long while, Fang Ren spoke in a somewhat low voice, "If you had cultivational ability, would you also have to choose a partner who could father a child with better talent?"

"There is no 'if' about this..." Mu Hui said softly, "I won't regain my cultivation abilities, and I won't leave Ah Ran."

"I'm talking about if, what if one day you suddenly recover?" Fang Ren asked with furrowed brows.

He now had the power to restore her cultivation abilities. This topic was no longer hypothetical, but a question of his own choice.

Mu Hui's gaze darkened, a hint of sadness in her voice as she said, "If I recovered my abilities... I would definitely have to return to the battlefield..."

Having said this, Mu Hui looked up at Fang Ren, her eyebrows relaxing a bit as she smiled and said, "But mate selection and all that have nothing to do with me anymore. Ah Ran and I are nearly husband and wife, and I can't possibly recover my cultivation abilities."

"In the event of recovering your cultivation abilities, if everyone pressures you to 'contribute to the Human Race' and tries to forcibly separate us, compelling you to marry another man, would you be willing?" Fang Ren asked, turning to look at her.

"I..."

Mu Hui was once again speechless.

It was only at this moment that she suddenly realized, Liu Qianqian... she too was right.

What was wrong with rebelling against the shackles placed on her, just to be with the person she loved?

She suddenly found that her perspective on the issue had always been from too lofty a position.

After a few seconds of silence...

Mu Hui suddenly ran over and threw herself into Fang Ren's arms, hugging him tightly and affirming, "I'm not willing! I don't want to be separated from Ah Ran!"

It was then that Mu Hui realized the gravity of the situation. Although it was just a 'what if,' what if it actually became reality... Just the thought frightened her.

With her status as Xuan Nv, if she truly regained her cultivation ability, she might indeed be forced by some to marry and bear a child with the man possessing the greatest cultivation talent in the world.

At that time, her desire to be with Fang Ren—would be a marriage opposed by all of humanity.