Itachi Uchiha and Xia Qingyue

Xia Qingyue finally appeared wearing the same red phoenix coronet. Her soft and shiny black hair fell gently behind her shoulders. She slowly came to stand before Itachi's side at the front of the carriage. 

Itachi stretched out his hand at Xia Qingyue curious to see what she would try to do and how his chakra would respond to the same. As he took her hands in his palm, a piercing cold energy unraveled onto Itachi's hand.

The biting cold sensation slowly disappeared as Itachi channeled his chakra and put his arm down with a silent indifferent expression. Aside from a curious tilt of his head, there was not any change in the expression on his face.

After some time at the Xiao clan manor, the entourage finally arrived.

Itachi 's expression did not change as he kept pace but he naturally wanted the wedding to end as soon as possible.

Xiao Lie and Xia Hongyi sat on the highest seat of the hall, smiles plastered all over their face as they watched Xiao Che and Xia Qingyue enter. Xiao clan's leader, Lord Xiao Yunhai was there as well along with the otherElders of the Xiao clan.

The wedding ceremony finally began. As it went on, Itachi's expression remained neutral.

"First bow to heaven and earth!" 

Itachi glanced at Xia Qingyue through the corner of his eye while bowing in the direction of the doorway, to the heavens and earth.

 ....….

 "Husband and wife, exchange bows!" 

Finally, Itachi turned towards Xia Qingyue and Xia Qingyue also turned to face him. The two of them bowed and as they both bent towards one another, Itachi's cold eyes met Xia Qingyue's cool one as they looked at each in the same emotionless way.

Itachi kept the same neutral facade as the rest of the things proceeded the same way until he was finally able to excuse himself from the hall, bidding Xiao Lie a farewell.

Once Itachi entered in the room, Xia Qingyue sat there quietly. Itachi did not approach her but instead walked to stand near the window.

 "Your grandfather was disrespected during your own wedding, you must be really upset, right?" 

A soft clear voice entered Itachi's ear, though his expression remained unchanged.

Itachi ignored her jab and spoke instead: "You can take down that phoenix coronet now. That thing is too heavy and if you wear it for too long, it would become uncomfortable."

After a slight pause, Xia Qingyue raised her hands and silently took off the phoenix coronet. At that moment, a beautiful breathtaking face appeared in Itachi's line of sight. As she raised her charming eyes and met Itachi's in contact,

Itachi said in an even tone: "Your reputation precedes you..Miss Qingyue." measuring her with his unblinking eyes before he withdrew his gaze and noticed the moon through the window, which appeared incomparably different in this world. It was far bigger in the midst of countless stars radiating a much deeper glow. It was a welcome change from the gloomy looking one back in his world, "As for your question, why should I feel anger at people whose opinions hardly matter. In fact, instead of feeling anger, I pity them for wasting their efforts with unnecessary action."

Xia Qingyue's eyes held a mixture of surprise as she said slowly, "You are not what the rumors say."

Itachi smiled lightly, turning towards her, he said "Rumors …are a pretty unreliable source of information. Rumors say that your face is even more beautiful than the real moon. Is it though?"

Xia Qingyue rose as she slightly parted her lips: "Rumors say that your vein was disabled so you can only stay at the 1st level of the Elementary Profound Realm. Because of that, you have a weak physique and low self esteem since you only stay at home. However, your personality is completely different from what the rumors claimed you to be. So, I suppose what you said is right, we shouldn't just accept things based on rumors alone" 

Xia Qingyue stopped before Itachi as she stared straight at Itachi and said, "Although, you deliberately hide and pretend to hide your true character, I sensed your arrogance ever since I laid my eyes upon you. You are completely the opposite of those rumors. Earlier at my place, I froze your hand with my Profound energy but your calm reaction surprised me. If your hand wasn't so still, I would have doubted that I failed to use my power. In the wedding hall you and your grandfather Xiao Lie were mocked during such an important occasion. Your disabled Profound Vein is a fact but your true personality and state of mind has fooled everyone." 

As Qingyue finished speaking, Itachi's eyes became a darker shade of red for an instant but it vanished as soon as it appeared.

Itachi smiled a bit as he looked at Xia Qingyue, if she had said that to Xiao Che, she would have been right on the mark, but now, Xiao Che and Itachi were two completely different people. Itachi may not be able to cultivate right now but he still had another source of strength and his visual prowess of all--- the Mangekyo Sharingan. Thus, he was confident to be able to defend himself until he could repair his profound veins and start cultivating.

Itachi looked at her as he said in a self-depreciated manner of voice, "So, you understand my true personality? Hmm, I don't understand myself, even now…Besides, hardly anyone is who they seem to be. Although, I suppose, it is easy for you to see through a facade designed to fool the herds. You could say I am arrogant, but then again, so what?  Strength is the only truth in this accursed world of 'yours'. Hence, arrogance is merely the result of a lack of understanding of your own strength or enough confidence in one's strength. I am arrogant because I understand my strength. Even, your arrogance stems from understanding your true strength."

Qingyue narrowed her eyes when Itachi mentioned her strength as she said "Oh, but you can't even cultivate so what sort of understanding gives you such arrogance or is it because you lack of understanding of your own situation…which is just merely foolish."

Itachi merely chuckled as he looked at her "Oh ! Does that mean your peak elementary profound strength gives you the right to have be this arrogant or is it because you have already reached the peak of Nascent Profound Realm that you are this confident."

Qingyue's lips slightly parted as her eyes widened a little as she said "Impossible! you can see through my true strength! It's.."

Itachi looked at her, his eyes morphing to Sharingan as he took a step forward "I know. You are using an artifact to conceal your profound energy. My eyes probably can see through many things. Lies and illusions…... are the simplest puzzles to see through. Not much can remain hidden from these eyes."

After a while, Qingyue's eyes returned to that calmness as she said in somewhat even tone "But how? I can't sense any profound energy from you. And how are you able to sense my profound strength?"

Itachi eyes returned to it's normal state as he looked at Qingyue. When Itachi first came to this world, he didn't want to reveal his strength, but he realized that even if he tried to hide his profound strength, sooner or later he would have to face his enemies i.e. Xiao Che's enemies. Although, Itachi had travelled to this world without meaning to but this was his new reality now. For better or worse, Xia Qingyue was his wife. Itachi had always been cold towards everyone except his own. Without even realizing it, Itachi was beginning to treat Xiao Che's family as his own…even Yun Che's enemies as his own….

Xia Qingyue was just as obsessed with power as Yun Che's memories portrayed her to be but since Itachi had already married her, he had to give her a chance to understand where true strength lied. But, for that to happen, she would have to understand that giving up her emotions wasn't the only way to pursue strength and that it could be gained through other means as well. That's why he had shown himself this early. No matter which world it was, women were always creatures of curiosity. It was even more true for someone like Xia Qingyue with her indispensable obsession to reach the realms of the gods.

Itachi side stepped her as he sat at their wedding bed and replied, "You can't sense any profound energy from me, that's simply because I am not cultivating in the profound way due to my crippled veins as you already said. It's just as I said, my eyes possess are somewhat special ability. When you touched me earlier, I had already saw through your strength. You could say that I cultivate a unique type of energy that doesn't require the use of profound veins or rather I cultivate my soul strength instead. "

Qingyue's eyes blinked as she looked at the seated Itachi while she racked her mind to understand the meaning behind his words. Honestly, she was truly surprised to know more about this man who see had just married for the sake of her father's word, but now, she was in for constant surprises. Staring at his abyss like dark eyes, for the first time in her life Xia Qingyue, the cold beauty with icy personality was curious to know more about another man. She decided to sit on the other end of the bed as she tried to come up with an adequate response and her own questions regarding these revelations.

Qingyue asked Itachi in a slightly impatient tone "I see. You have truly kept yourself hidden, but I am confused about something, if you have been hiding yourself this well, why tell everything to me now? After all, I am just an unknown person and don't say you were mesmerized by my beauty, since you clearly seem to be better than that."

Itachi looked at her as he chuckled at her impatient tone and said "The reason is quite simple really, you and I have similar goals or rather I should say we both have a single absolute goal that is: to gain strength that will allow us to be above everything. "

"And I think we can collaborate with each other to reach our absolute goal since I am not arrogant enough to believe that I can reach at the top just on my own but even if I can, there is just not enough time left."

"And before you say whether I have the ability to co-operate with you or not. You naturally can try to find out and make your own decision based on the results."

Qingyue's eyes narrowed as she coldly replied "Similar goals… I wonder about that. As for collaboration, even though you may have found an alternate source of strength. I doubt your strength is enough for you to help me to reach my goal. Even I don't know how much strong I must become to acquire the right to get to 'that place'…." 

Itachi smirked as he looked at her cold, Uchiha-like, stuck up attitude which was like the 'superior clan members' of the Uchiha clan.

"You shouldn't worry about my strength since I can see through your cultivation base and still spout such words, I naturally have the confidence to fulfill my words and don't misunderstand, I am not asking this because I am desperate. It's simply because I am your husband now, even if only in name, I must fulfill my duty. And your definition of strength is too small. Knowledge is also one of the greatest of strengths that any cultivator could wield, on the contrary, ignorance is a bane in the path of cultivation"

"Even if your unusual eyes allow you to have some advantages, you will still need your profound veins. But" Xiao Qingyue creased her eyebrows and gently spoke: "It was heavily damaged during your childhood and your family did not notice. Because of that, it was never repaired and now that you have already grown up the damaged Profound Veins have fully formed into its disabled state!!"

Itachi's expression did not change as he simply said: "That may not necessarily be true, since my profound veins can't be repaired, all I need to do is to destroy them and get new ones"

Xia Qingyue inclined her head to glance at him: "Destroy them and get new ones. Looks like you always had the notion of repairing your Profound Vein?"

"I'll get them by the end of this month." Itachi said simply.

Xia Qingyue looked at him deeply. She saw not only confidence and arrogance but a deep layer of coldness in his eyes. She sighed in her heart and softly spoke: "The Profound Sky Continent is a big place with numerous amounts of talented people, perhaps there really may exist a person who can repair your damaged vein. I should not have said what I had said earlier with such assertion, you can just take it as my ignorance."

Itachi's impression of her improved dramatically. He thought about it a bit and then asked: "The icy cold power you used earlier, it was a bit unusual. Your master is not a person from Floating Cloud City, are you a disciple of the Frozen Cloud Asgard? Of course, it explains the suppression of emotions. Why did you agree to this wedding? Was it because of father-in-law's pride and word?"

Xia Qingyue was silent for a while as she calmly replied "You really are different. You could deduce that much just from that incident. Yes! I am a disciple of the Frozen Cloud Asgard. My master is indeed from Frozen Cloud Asgard, so I can be regarded as a disciple of Frozen Cloud Asgard…. This fact, the only person in Floating Cloud City who knows of that is my father. You are now the second. I am telling you this…. because you are my husband now and this is the most basic form of my respect for you."

Of course, Itachi was already aware of all that but he had to get it out of her, so he responded calmly: "Since, you are one of the Frozen Cloud Asgard's disciple, you must not be allowed to be married to anyone or have any relation with a man. But, even so, you have kept my grandfather's face and allowed him this happiness, for that I am grateful"

"You don't need to be grateful. Know that …. My life was saved by Uncle Xiao Ying."

Xia Qingyue raised her glittering cold eyes: "Since you already know that I belong to the Frozen Cloud Asgard, you should know that for me to continue to practice the Frozen Cloud arts, my heart must be like a Frozen Cloud. Frozen Cloud Asgard only accept women and they must be pure and uncontaminated for life. Although I did marry you, I cannot love anyone in this lifetime. You must understand my commitment."

"Heart like ice ….You do possess that at least. As for your commitment of not loving anyone in this lifetime…. I understand" Itachi mused with a smile.

Xia Qingyue slowly said "The Profound Sky Continent respects the strong so there are countless doctors around. Just because your Profound Vein was broken does not mean that your life is completely ruined."

Itachi said with a glint in his eyes "You misunderstand, I don't need a doctor to cure myself…it's just a matter of time before I have the means to repair them. Now, I should go to the toast."

As his voice fell, the sound of slow footsteps came from outside the door. Xiao Hong's voice sounded "Young master, it is time for you to propose the toast."

With one last look at Xia Qingyue, Itachi said "We will talk later." 

As he followed Xiao Hong to the toast.  

As soon as Itachi left, a bright ice aura swept over the room and a white figure with bluish white robes appeared in front of Xia Qingyue. Xia Qingyue stepped forward and spoke "Master."

 "Qingyue, do you wish to return to Frozen Cloud Asgard with me?" 

Xia Qingyue shook her head: "Master, Qingyue intends to stay for a while. If I leave as soon as I got married, he will suffer even harsher of endless ridicules. I ask master to give me a month's time, so I won't hurt him nor allow others to make fun of him by the time I leave."

The woman dressed in white looked at her. After a while she nodded slowly and smiled faintly: "Alright. It is the first time in hundreds of years that a Frozen Cloud Asgard disciple could be married. Since it had been an exception, another month's worth of wait is nothing."

"Thank you for fulfilling my wish, Master." Xia Qingyue's body lowered again as she hesitantly whispered softly "Master, is it really possible to repair his Profound Vein. He appeared far too confident to be lying when he said that he could replace them?"

The woman in white shook her head without delay "Did he say that. Well…there are no such things as absolutes in this world…. but at least to me, it seems to not be possible. I must go. I will pick you up a month later. During this period, I will not go anywhere far. If you encounter any unresolvable problems, inform me." 

 "I bid master farewell." 

Xiao clan hall

Itachi arrived at the main hall and went straight towards his grandfather, all the while ignoring everyone else. Itachi folded his hands together as he respectfully bowed his head towards Xiao Lie and said "Grandpa I am not feeling good today. So, forgive me but I did like to retire to my chambers with your blessings. The toast can continue without me."

Xiao lie was surprised to hear Itachi but after an instant he smiled as he nodded and said "Its fine. Go take care of Qingyue and yourself. I can handle this"

Itachi nodded as he hurriedly left the Xiao clan hall. Itachi could have easily pretended to flatter the guests but he didn't see the point in wasting his precious time with these so-called elders hence, he gave this excuse. While he was going back towards his chambers, Itachi sensed an unusual profound energy leaving Qingyue's room. Itachi instantly activated his Sharingan as his figure vanished in the body flicker technique while his Sharingan tracked the cultivator leaving off in a trail of icy profound energy.

As soon as he saw that icy profound energy, he instantly understood who it could be as he relaxed and undid his Sharingan. While returning to his room he thought 'so that was the vast energy pool of a sky profound cultivator. I suppose I have a long way to go…. that must have been Xia Qingyue's master.…Chu Yueli.'

Itachi turned towards his chambers while thinking about his circumstances that led him to this strange new world. Although, Itachi had the knowledge of the future in his hands now which was his greatest trump card but he wasn't stupid enough to believe that he was invincible. Yes, precognition could assist him, but to properly utilize this gift, he needed to be very cautious.

Itachi reached his chambers as he opened the doors to his room, he discovered her sitting near the window meditating while the cold moonlight illuminated her beautiful features. Even Itachi was mesmerized for a second but soon he escaped his revery and took a seat on the chair in the corner of the room.

Qingyue blinked her eyes as she looked at Itachi in question "You came back sooner than I expected you would"

Itachi sighed while he relaxed in his chair and replied: "I skipped the toast by giving an excuse"

Qingyue nodded her head at him as she said in a flat tone "You skipped the toast of your own wedding"

Itachi chuckled at her ridiculing of him as he said in a similar flat tone of voice "Of course I did. You are not going to make me skip my 'wedding night' too. Are you? How are we going to sleep? There is only a single bed. With you needing to maintain your purity and icy heart, I doubt I will get to sleep on the bed."

Qingyue hesitated a bit as she said "I will sleep on the floor since it is my problem"

Itachi shook his head as he stood up to check something to change into "No need… there's something that I have to do tonight anyways, so, I will just sneak back in the morning."

Qingyue narrowed her beautiful eyes at his back as she asked "And where are you going at this time of the night, and even, for the entire night"

Itachi shrugged his shoulders as he found a simple black robe along with a red cloak for himself. He turned around to Qingyue as he said "I am not really leaving right this instant since the toast must still be going on. And of course, I got to tell you, 'my wife', about my nightly activities. I will go to Xiao Lingxi first since she appeared worried for me in the morning…. some searching…. some stargazing….and maybe a little bit of sleep"

Qingyue's eyebrows twitched as Itachi said Lingxi's name but her pride didn't allow to speak her mind as she thought to remind this brooding bastard that she was his wife, even if, only in name. How could he meet another woman at his wedding night? Since she couldn't say that, she just irritatingly asked "What exactly are you going to search in the middle of the night?"

Itachi motioned towards the stars as he said in an amused voice "A divine princess is going to fall down from a star tonight…I am going to rescue her and then, in return, I will get the way to repair my profound veins."

Qingyue coldly snorted as she said in a mocking tone "Although, I did say that your looks are quite good but I didn't mean that you could try to woo your star princess to get what you want. Keep your stupid fantasies to your self."

Itachi smiled as he said seriously "But, that is really the truth of the matter. I don't like to lie unnecessarily."

Qingyue stood up while ignoring Itachi's comment as she stared at the moon through the window.

Itachi stepped up to her side as he gazed at the moon along with her. The both of them didn't speak for some time just basking in the silence and glow of the moonlight in this starry sky.

Itachi was the first to break the silence as he said with a small smile towards Qingyue "You know… you are someone easy to get along with, Miss Qingyue. Xiao Che maybe my name for now but you should call me Itachi…. It is more familiar to me than any other name…after all it's the last tie up that I have to my parents."

Qingyue looked at him sideways while she said: "Itachi…it's certainly a strange name …you can just call me Qingyue"

Itachi nodded as he asked her "So, Qingyue when are you going to leave? Since Frozen Cloud Asgard does not allow it's disciples to marry much less lose their purity. You can't stay here for too long."

Qingyue hesitated as she replied "One month….that is the time I was able to ask for but don't worry I am not going to tell anyone about it"

Itachi chuckled as he said "Its fine…I understand….thank you for everything. You don't need to worry about anything more. I will take care of the rest. But since you gave me this much face and you are my wife at least for this month. I will help you out with something"

Qingyue blinked her eyes at Itachi as she asked "Help me? With what?"

Itachi glanced at her as he said in an analyzing tone ""Isn't it true that you wake up every day at three in the morning? And not only that, but for the next half hour, your entire body would be ice cold, and your four limbs sore." 

Xia Qingyue's gaze wavered, unwittingly asking, "How do you know that?"

Itachi continued to speak. "Also, after training in the Floating Cloud Secret Arts, every time your profound strength makes a breakthrough, within the next two or three days, isn't it true that your entire body would be ice cold, your four limbs sore, and you'd be unable to eat or sleep peacefully?"

Xia Qingyue's gaze once again violently shook… because what Itachi said was not wrong at all! She glanced at him as she spoke with an uneven breadth "How do you know that"

Itachi gestured towards her as he said with a measured tone of voice "I checked your pulse when I touched your hand the earlier day, also, I can see the ice-cold energy trapped in your profound veins through my eyes….it must be a side effect of cultivating the Frozen Cloud arts …it makes sense"

Qingyue looked at Itachi doubtfully as she said "You can check pulses"

Itachi replied "Since I am a cripple, I could only become a doctor to cure myself. Although, I have the means to cure my profound veins but I don't have the materials needed to treat them. So, might as well use my medical expertise to remove the cold energy in your body"

Qingyue was silent for a few seconds after which she said ""No need. The Frozen Cloud Arts is the Frozen Cloud Asgard's exclusive profound technique. Once you start practicing the Frozen Cloud Arts, your entire body will have a hard time adjusting to the cold and will more or less show some negative side effects. In the Frozen Cloud Asgard, this is common sense that's known to all the disciples. Even master and master's ancestors experienced this. Once the Frozen Cloud Arts have been trained to a certain extent, these negative side effects will disappear completely on their own."

Itachi smiled as he said "You don't lose anything in this. Don't worry I won't do anything excessive. Your sect is right about not letting you develop a relationship with a man, that would be disastrous for the Frozen Cloud Asgard."

Qingyue doubtfully looked at Itachi as she said "Can you really know do it?"

Itachi nodded nonchalantly as he said "Yes I do, my master was a great medical saint, all the medical knowledge that I possess, I acquired from him. Executing acupuncture is a simple means to eject unwanted impurities from a cultivator's body. The Frozen Cloud arts that you practice leads to the entrapment of excessive yin energy in your profound veins, since you don't have a way counter that excess yin energy, one way to counter it, is to eject that yin energy manually using acupuncture. I will just use acupuncture technique to release the energy from the veins present in your hands. Then, you can see the results for yourself, I will only continue if you want me to."

Qingyue gazed at Itachi who was quietly waiting for her response. As she observed his attitude, she suddenly felt like his visage was surrounded by a dense layer of fog. In just a few meetings, her entire opinion of him had changed so drastically. Xiao Che…. No Itachi wasn't a weakling or trash at all...when she first came here she thought that she would have to keep him in line but Itachi respected her choice right from the start…it was weird in a way that he so easily accepted the outcome of this sham marriage Apart from that, there was just this aura of confidence and arrogance with a hint of sadness wrapping around him that made him an unsolvable mystery to her. Now, he even had a medical saint as a master, and knew to do acupuncture. After a few moments of weighing things she decided to agree since he was just trying to help her even if he failed she wouldn't lose anything at all. She hesitantly replied "Fine…there's no harm in attempting it. How do we begin?"

Itachi gestured towards her hands as he said "Just let me touch your hands, then, I will use the silver needle to perform acupuncture on them"

Qingyue's emotions went into turmoil as she looked at Itachi's sincere face. She hesitated for some time before finally turning around and taking her hands out towards Itachi which were glistening like the highest graded jade without a hint of blemish, she warned "I will kill you…. Freeze you…then destroy your ice sculpture if you have any stray thoughts"

Itachi chuckled as he took out the silver needles from a drawer, while taking Qingyue's hands in his own. He spoke while bringing his hands forward "You must always remember one truth that will always stand true…..we are husband and wife…..it doesn't matter whether you stay with me or leave me…it doesn't matter if we can't really be together due to the rules of your sect….the undeniable truth of this day shall never change, now and forever. This is just the beginning of our journey and in time, I hope we can form a bond…..and no, this is not a so called love confession, it's just the truth of our situation."

Qingyue was shocked to hear Itachi's words, at the same time, she was confused as she couldn't understand what went inside his mind.Although, he appeared to be cold and emotionless but right now he didn't seem to be a genuinely cold person due to his sincere words.

Itachi took her hands in his own as Qingyue tried to focus her mind somewhere else. Her hands were soft like cotton while her fair skin was fairer than snow. He put his hand forward while channeling chakra into the silver needles as he pierced her skin…. after following the method given in Yun Che's memories and constantly releasing the ice-cold energy in her veins for about one minute Itachi finally finished his treatment.

"It's done, try to use you're the profound energy in your hands now and tell me how you feel"

Itachi's voice brought Qingyue out of her world as she sat up while fixing her robes gently.

Qingyue tried to feel her profound energy, just as she circulated her Frozen Cloud arts she felt like a limiter that stopped her before wasn't there. Her profound energy was flowing smoothly, there was no blockage in the meridians of her hands.

"This cold energy is really too poisonous for you." Itachi muttered in a small voice, then closed the silver needle case and said "Qingyue , how do your hands feel now?"

Qingyue raised both of her hands, her eyes wavering. Light, cozy, warm… that was how her hands felt right now. As if she was suddenly freed from some kind of heavy restraint. It was the first time since she started cultivating the Frozen Cloud Arts that she had felt this kind of warmth in her palm and arms. She lifted her eyes to look at Itachi, asking in astonishment "What exactly is this?"

"It's actually really simple. I just released the cold air inside your hands and the meridians in your hands. At the same time, I unblocked the clogged meridians. That's all." Itachi merely said: "We might need to repeat the same procedure a few times, one time maybe not be enough, although once the treatment is complete it will clear all the blockage and allow your cultivation speed to at least rise by thirty percent."

"Did you just say… that the speed at which I cultivate the Frozen Cloud Arts will increase by thirty percent?" Xia Qingyue suddenly turned her head. Itachi's statement absolutely shocked her.

 "Yes." Itachi nodded. "Although I am not sure whether you will allow me to continue the rest of the treatment."

 "If it really has the effect that you claim… then why would you say that I wouldn't agree to have you do it?" Xia Qingyue asked.

"Well…" Itachi lifted the corner of his mouth as he explained: "To extract the cold air from your entire body and clear the meridians, then you definitely need to have needles all over your body. Since you need to have needles on your body, then of course you'd have to undress. At the very least you would have to show me your entire back… You won't even let me touch your hand, are you willing to undress in front of me? Of course, you have my word that I won't cross the line…it's up to you whether to believe that or not"

With that said, Itachi sat in the window, continuing to gaze at the moon.

Watching Itachi's back , Xia Qingyue's expression continuously changed. Finally, she came to sit in front of Itachi voluntarily as she asked "These things, where did you learn them from? From your acupuncture technique just now, you definitely have the qualifications to join those huge medical school. How could you remain unknown, and instead have this reputation as a cripple?"

Itachi curled his lips "These things were all taught to me by my master."

"Your… master?" She had never heard of Itachi having any kind of master.

 "My master was a great medical saint. I met him when I was very young. I am his only successor. That is why I know some medical techniques. As for the rest, you shouldn't ask too much. Also, don't tell any outsiders that I practice medicine. Even my grandfather and little aunt are unaware. Aside from myself, you're the only other person who knows. He was 'this' world's greatest doctor, without peer" 

As Itachi thought about his…Xiao Che's…. dead master. Itachi's expression reformed into one of respect as he was suddenly overcome with an overwhelming amount of sadness, regret and grief while he said in a daze "As for your other question about why I didn't join a medical school, that's simply because I wasn't always the way I am now….The cripple Xiao Che is no more….I am Itachi now…. "

Suddenly he woke up from his daze giving a confused look to Qingyue as he shook his head to rid himself from Yun Che's emotions.

'I got distracted in his memories…..but what was that? It felt too real, like they were not just his memories… but my own.'

Itachi wiped the sweat off his forehead as he sighed and decided to investigate this issue later.

Qingyue looked at Itachi's face as she suddenly felt sad for him. She decided to ignore it for now while asking," Then, you are sure that what you said about letting me permanently cultivate thirty percent faster is true?"

"Since I said it, then I wouldn't disgrace my master's name as a doctor", Itachi said with certainty

Xia Qingyue let out a small sigh of relief "You're sure you only need to see the back."

Itachi turned to her with a hint of surprise as he said in a confused manner, "You are willing to do it"

When Xiao Che had tried to cure her ….swindle her… He had to use all kinds of words and promises and even that was the case after Xia Qingyue and Xiao Che had already spent a lot of time together. But this time, she already agreed so easily.

'Is it because I have already shown her that I am not as brain damaged as the previous Xiao Che. Well, I suppose when you have strength and knowledge people's perspective of you instantly becomes better.'

It was exactly as Itachi thought, although Xia Qingyue valued her purity and despised any contact with men. There was one thing that she desired above all else—Power!!Yes! If she could increase her strength by just undressing in front of her husband for a bit. She was willing to accept that. But even Itachi's genius mind couldn't truly grasp the reason why Xia Qingyue would so readily accept this…..but, in time, both of them would come to truly understand the reason behind this strange occurrence.

Xia Qingyue nodded her head as she avoided looking into his eyes but suddenly she said in a cold voice "Yes! But if you do anything appropriate, I will blast you out of the door"

Itachi sweat-dropped as he sighed in his heart, 'Nope something's never change….although, I suppose it's good progress. But I don't really need to touch her too much anyways since I am not trying to fool her'

 "Well, I do acknowledge your beauty and charm but I am not one of your so-called suitors. I have my own self-esteem. Anyways, let's take it on the bed. Shall we? Might as well use it for something productive?" Itachi said carefully then closed his mouth and picked up a silver needle.

The moment the needle was in his hand, his expression became heavy with concentration.

Xia Qingyue walked towards the bed as she turned her back to Itachi . She gently laid down on her stomach. She closed her eyes and unbuttoned her dress. Her crimson dress slowly slid along the lines of her fragrant shoulders and jade like arms. The dazzling white back of a beautiful girl, without a stitch to cover it, appeared in front of Itachi's eyes.

She pulled over the quilt, holding it at her bosom. The red dress continued to slide down, revealing an ample and alluring bottom, exposing the liquid curve of her jadelike back. Her back was slender, yet not scrawny, clear and lustrous without peer. The skin of her neck and shoulder were flawlessly soft and seemingly pink, as if it had been lubricated. Itachi's rapt gaze widened, as he went into a trance.

"Start immediately! You're not allowed to have any other ideas!" Xia Qingyue closed her eyes, her voice cold

As Xia Qingyue felt Itachi gradually approaching her, she simply decided to trust him on this. She couldn't resist the temptation of a thirty percent increase to her cultivation speed.

Itachi appeared behind her as he took a light breadth which Qingyue felt on her back. She tried to ignore it for now.

Without his finger touching her skin, Itachi expertly pierced her skin through her profound acupuncture point while his fingers began flying in multiple directions.

Suddenly, his regular eye morphed into a pin-wheel like pattern as his speed pf piercing her skin increased even further as one by one all the silver needles pierced her skin.

Xia Qingyue felt that every time a silver needle pierced her skin, it was carried forward along with a strange form of energy which she wasn't familiar with. Her heart instantly skipped a bit.

Was he really not lying? Does he really cultivate some different form of energy? But how is that even possible? And if there really was such a method to cultivate?...Just what is up with him.

With his profound veins, he could only stop at the first level of the Elementary Profound Realm. The only profound energy that he could use was the most basic and smallest kind. However, as each needle was inserted into her back, she didn't even feel the presence of profound energy!

Itachi continued to focus on his task as he tried to incorporate the Sharingan along with the method in Xiao Che's memories. Whenever a silver needle pierced down, the Sky Poison Pearl in his palm would lightly flicker once. Following the silver needles, the Sky Poison Pearl's power silently entered Xia Qingyue's body. Of course, this power wasn't some kind of poison, but rather was a purifying force.

To disperse the cold air and clear the meridians were only side effects, dispersing that wouldn't increase her cultivation speed by much. What he was really doing was opening her profound entrances. The reason for him doing that was because Itachi needed to wrap things up here as soon as possible. Since, he only had twenty years before that black entity reappeared. With her potential, Xia Qingyue could prove to be a valuable ally since she wanted to go to the Realm Of The Gods anyways.

…

After a few minutes, Itachi finally retracted the last needle as he swiped the sweat on his forehead. He leaned on the chair next to the bed, while he put the needles back in the box.

Itachi said in a little tired voice "It's done…you can wear your clothes now"

She threw her clothes back on and immediately used her profound strength. As the Frozen Cloud Arts rushed forth, she almost jumped in fright, because her profound strength transferred practically the moment the thought crossed her mind. The speed at which it circulated within her body was much faster than before.

Just as she turned her head around to look at Itachi. She noticed a trail of blood flowing from his eye, she instantly felt a weird feeling that she quickly tried to sweep away. She froze coming forward as she thought to say something but her mind became blank.

Itachi noticed Qingyue staring at him as he frowned at her, "Is there something wrong?"

Qingyue came out of her stupor as she gestured towards his eye, "Your eye, it is bleeding…"

"Oh! It must be because of the Sharingan", Itachi said non-chalantly as he wiped it off with a cloth.

He continued, "So, how do you feel now"

"You really are a genius doctor." Xia Qingyue gave him a complex look: "I can circulate my profound energy much more smoothly. But, you clearly know that I don't have any kind of affection for you. After one month, I will still forever leave you… Why expose all of this to me? Why grant me such a large favor and try so hard for me?"

Itachi smiled at her complex look while he replied calmly, "There are many reasons as to why I did this. Most of which you won't understand right now…some are more complex than others. But, the simplest among them is because you are my wife and I value my relations, even the nominal ones."

Qingyue gave him a deep look as she said in an exasperated tone, "For that reason alone, you would expose yourself to me. You are weird, Itachi"

Itachi chuckled as he stood up and came close to her, "Well, I suppose there is another reason, all things considered, you really are a beautiful woman"

Qingyue snorted at him, "Don't joke around, you are clearly not mesmerized by my beauty"

Itachi's expression turned serious as he decided to satiate her curiosity, "You know, I wasn't lying when I said that we have similar goals ."

Qingyue gave Itachi a confused look while she said, "But I already told you that I am a part of the  Frozen Cloud Asgard, thus I can't join you or cooperate with you in any way"

Itachi lightly smiled as he said "Does that mean if your sect allowed you would be inclined to listen my proposal"

"But my sect will never allow that"

Itachi merely smiled, "We will see in time"

Qingyue shook her head at Itachi's tendencies to say weird things as she said with a trace of emotion, "Thank you….Itachi….for helping me. I promise to repay this debt to you, someday."

Itachi nonchalantly nodded his head while walking up to the door as he turned back to look at her saying, "There is another gift that I have granted you. Your master would be able to confirm it for you. Don't tell her about me….goodnight. I will see you later."

Qingyue grew intrigued hearing him say gift. She also wanted to tell him to come sleep in the room but refrained herself from doing so.

After Itachi disappeared along the doorway, Xia Qingyue stood near the windows gazing at the window for a long time. Today, she had come here thinking that she would need to deal with an obnoxious man but what she actually discovered, had left her completely and utterly stunned. Unconsciously , Xia Qingyue had already developed a form of respect for Itachi.