After Eloping, I Mistook My Ex for a Stand-In

This is an older version of the story in my column, After My Engagement Was Broken, I Became the Immortal Venerable's White Moonlight.

[Important note: This is a GL story. It was posted under a romance tag because I selected the wrong one before, and I can't change the tag myself.]

When Mu Yanxi went through a tribulation, she spent a blissful lifetime with someone. After returning, she couldn't help feeling that it had ended too soon.

Looking at the Dao Companion contract that had appeared on her, she learned that the person from her tribulation was a revered ancestor who had saved the world. Perhaps rekindling their relationship wasn't such a bad idea?

But then she found out her Dao Companion cultivated the Path of Ruthlessness.

No problem. She could cultivate the Path of Passion.

Rumor had it that her Dao Companion had ventured deep into the Demon Realm and offered herself to the demons.

No problem. Love was free, and she could grudgingly accept marrying for a second time.

Rumor had it that her Dao Companion had resisted the charms of a beautiful Demon Venerable and had even killed her wife to prove her Dao.

No... Sorry, she valued her life.

She'd just pretend she'd never been in love.

As the only person in the world at the Mahayana stage, Immortal Venerable Yi Wulan of Minglan was just one step away from ascension. Mu Yanxi, meanwhile, had fallen all the way to Foundation Establishment after her tribulation.

Everyone sneered, "What's she so arrogant about? She's just a stand-in who's been left to live as a widow."

Mu Yanxi wholeheartedly agreed. She left a note and ran away, claiming she was searching for an opportunity to break the Dao Companion contract.

She didn't find an opportunity, but she did meet a lone female cultivator first. The woman was quiet and always came to her rescue at the most dangerous moments. Even when Mu Yanxi's old injuries flared up, she came up with a way to guide her spiritual energy by mingling their souls.

There was just one problem: after every cultivation session, Mu Yanxi felt a little... weak.

One bright and sunny day, with birds singing and flowers in bloom, Mu Yanxi finally found a way to forcibly break the Dao Companion contract. Struggling to contain her excitement, she put on a sorrowful expression and said, "I can never repay you for saving my life, but I've already conceived the Immortal Venerable's child. You don't need to worry about me anymore."

As the female cultivator's gaze swept over her belly, Mu Yanxi was about to speak with smug confidence.

But a voice as cool and clear as jade rang out, carrying a chill like ice and snow. "Is that so?"

Theme: This is a GL story, but the orientation tag can't be changed.