She quickly set down the jade chopsticks, covered her lips with her hand, her shoulders trembling slightly as she let out a series of faint, delicate coughs that made one instinctively pity her.
“Cough, cough… Brother Qingzhi…”
Light and shadow shifted outside the hall as Song Qingzhi walked in.
He was still dressed in snow-white Daoist robes, immaculate and untouched by dust, his figure elegant and Aloof like a lone pine standing against falling snow.
Under the brighter light inside the hall, Su Tiantian finally saw him clearly.
His complexion was the cool, jade-like white of someone long unexposed to sunlight, making his brows and eyes appear all the more sharp and ink-dark, as though painted. His nose bridge was high and straight; his lips were beautifully shaped yet extremely pale, as if all warmth and color had been drawn out of this perfect shell.
Most captivating were his eyes pale irises like glazed glass reflecting snow. When his gaze shifted, it carried not a shred of emotion, only a vast, lucid stillness.
“How is your injury?” he asked, his tone as flat as if he were asking about the weather.
“Thank you for your concern, Brother Qingzhi.” Su Tiantian snapped back to herself and struggled to maintain her frail expression, her facial muscles protesting.
“Yao’er… is much better now.”
Her inner monologue was screaming: Better my foot! My mouth is so bland I could be a taste-testing instrument!
Human food is not supposed to be like this!
(System: Ding! Target character ‘Song Qingzhi’ curiosity +5%. Host, seize the opportunity. Display weakness. You may attempt preliminary physical contact to stimulate a protective instinct!)
Stimulate a protective instinct?
The little person in Su Tiantian’s head was already tap-dancing with excitement.
Still, she followed instructions, pretending to rise and pay her respects only to “weakly” stumble under her feet.
She fell precisely toward Song Qingzhi.
The plan was to perfectly collapse into his arms, ideally with their eyes meeting and sparks flying!
However, Song Qingzhi merely shifted slightly to the side.
And extended a single finger, precisely pressing against her shoulder.
She wobbled like a roly-poly toy, then stood firmly in place.
Su Tiantian: “……”
Big brother, that’s not the right reaction! Romance novels don’t go like this!
Even more awkward was what happened next.
“Grrrrr—”
An extremely loud, extremely abrupt rumbling sound came clearly from her stomach.
In the silent room, it was like a thunderclap.
Su Tiantian: “!!!”
Song Qingzhi: “……”
The air seemed to freeze.
Su Tiantian stood stiffly in place, stuck in a half–throwing-herself-into-his-arms pose.
The fragile expression on her face shattered completely, leaving only crushing secondhand-embarrassment despair.
She could even feel the finger resting against her shoulder twitch, almost imperceptibly.
Help!
Her first practical attempt at seduction had not only failed it came with a bonus, epic-level public humiliation!
(System: …Warning! Host behavior severely deviates from character persona! Deducting 1 point as a warning!)
Su Tiantian wept rivers in her heart.
Is this my fault?! It’s the body’s instinct! She’s hungry!
After a long while, Song Qingzhi’s emotionless voice sounded from above her head.
“Does it not suit your taste?”
“Huh? No, no!”
Su Tiantian jerked her head up, hands waving like windshield wipers as she tried to salvage the situation.
“I—I’m just… not fully recovered yet, so I don’t really have an appetite.”
Inside, she was screaming: I want roast chicken, roast lamb, braised pork! The kind that glistens with oil!
Is this watery stuff meant to feed rabbits?!
Song Qingzhi’s deep eyes swept over her. The gaze was calm and unruffled, yet she felt as though she’d been seen straight through.
He said nothing more, only glanced again at the table of food.
Then he turned and left.
Su Tiantian watched his cool, Aloof figure disappear through the doorway.
Like a frost-wilted little cabbage, she collapsed into her chair.
“System, ‘the army fails before it even leaves, leaving heroes in tears’… Is my path of seduction doomed to be paved with thorns (and hunger)?”
(System: Target character’s emotional fluctuation is minimal. Logical chain remains intact. Host is advised to proceed cautiously.)
Half an hour later, just as Su Tiantian was sighing at the window, wondering how to recover her image.
A maid entered carrying a white jade tray. On it sat an exquisite green-jade bowl, warm white steam curling from its rim.
“Miss Su, this is spirit chicken congee specially ordered by His Excellency from the small kitchen. His Excellency said… since your injuries have not healed, you should eat something warm, soft, and easy to digest.”
The maid’s voice held a trace of surprise and respect.
Su Tiantian froze.
She accepted the bowl. The porridge was cooked perfectly the rice grains almost completely dissolved.
Blended smoothly with finely shredded chicken, dotted with a few strands of emerald-green spirit vegetables.
The aroma was rich, yet not nearly as bland as the earlier dishes.
Holding the spoon, her hand trembled slightly.
Staring at the bowl, her emotions tangled into a mess.
Was this concern? Or another layer of probing?
(System: Warning! Target character behavior deviates from database predictions! Host, heighten vigilance. Do not be deceived by small favors! Now, please execute the intelligence relay task.)
“Yeah, yeah. Am I the kind of person who bows for a bowl of porridge?”
Su Tiantian muttered then honestly lifted the spoon. After one sip, her eyes lit up.
“So good!”
After the maid left, she was just about to keep eating when the light in the room suddenly dimmed and the temperature dropped sharply.
A dark purple shadow slowly condensed into form before her.
The newcomer wore a black robe embroidered with gold patterns. His ink-black hair cascaded like a waterfall, his skin pale to the point of translucence.
The tails of his phoenix eyes were naturally tinged with faint red, his pupils a rare deep violet. When he looked at someone, his gaze seemed to smile without smiling, as though it could draw the soul right out.
Su Tiantian stared, dumbfounded. The spoon clanged back into the bowl.
(System: Warning! High-risk target detected: ‘Demon Lord · Jin Chuan’!)
“Oh my god…”
Su Tiantian murmured, eyes glued to him.
“This face is just illegal! Prettier than a woman how is anyone else supposed to live?!”
In her mind, she unconsciously compared this seductive monster with the cold immortal from earlier.
One was like snow atop lofty mountains pure and Aloof.
The other like a demonic lotus blooming in the night bewitching all beings.
Good grief, the cultivation world’s beauty standards are insanely competitive!
Jin Chuan lazily toyed with a strand of his hair, his voice carrying a casual, amused lilt.
“Little Yao’er, I hear you’re getting married?”
Su Tiantian instantly straightened, snapping into report mode.
“Rest assured, Your Excellency! Step one of the plan was a complete success wedding in three days! Next, I guarantee I’ll make Song Qingzhi devoted to me and hand over Yunmiao Peak’s intelligence with both hands!”
Jin Chuan raised an eyebrow slightly. A faint smile rippled through his deep violet eyes.
The smile was gentle, like a spring breeze yet beneath it lay frozen cold.
“Very good. I knew you would never disappoint me.”
He leaned forward slightly, his phantom form enlarging before her, his voice soft as a lover’s whisper.
“Remember you are always under my control. If I discover you harbor even a hint of betrayal…”
The surrounding air seemed to solidify, invisible pressure squeezing Su Tiantian’s breath tight.
She hastily forced out a sycophantic grin.
“How could that be! My loyalty to Your Excellency is as clear as the sun and moon!”
“It had better be.”
Jin Chuan chuckled softly and straightened. His phantom form gradually dissolved into the air, leaving behind a warning that lingered faintly.
“Complete your task properly.”
Once he vanished completely, Su Tiantian clutched her chest and let out a long breath.
“That scared me to death… but wow, that Demon Lord is really something! If I didn’t know he was the villain, I’d be climbing the wall already!”
(System: Host, please correct your attitude! Focus on the mission!)
“Got it, got it!”
Su Tiantian pouted and picked up her spoon again.
“Looks like I need to speed things up. I can’t afford to offend either side…”
As she drank the porridge, she pulled out a small notebook.
“Seduction Plan V2.0: Tomorrow, attempt the combo move ‘innocent cluelessness + accidental physical contact.’ Key point: absolutely no more going hungry!”
In the bamboo grove behind the main hall, Song Qingzhi listened to his subordinate report that the porridge had been delivered and nodded faintly.
“Your Excellency, Junior Sister Bai Weiwei has been waiting outside for some time, requesting guidance in sword techniques…”
“Not today,” he replied calmly.
“Have her return and cultivate diligently.”
The subordinate bowed and withdrew.
Song Qingzhi’s fingers brushed lightly over a bamboo leaf as he recalled those eyes momentarily flustered because her stomach had growled.
They seemed somewhat different from the always meek and downcast “Su Yao” in his memories.
Back in the room, Su Tiantian finished the last mouthful of spirit chicken congee, let out a satisfied burp, and felt as though her very soul had been nourished.
She took out the notebook titled Seduction Plan V2.0 and began writing furiously.