The lamplight flickered, and the candle wax dripped a deep crimson. The bedroom was as bright as day, and the mirror still reflected a faint, shimmering light.
He Lan Tan’s hand was still gripped around Song Yin’s arm. He hadn’t expected her to suddenly sit down, and the sudden movement nearly made him stumble along with her.
Song Yin’s white pear blossom umbrella was placed beside the rug. She pressed the back of her hand firmly over her face, and only the sound of her fake sobbing could be heard.
The Phoenix Feather Sunflower was still clutched tightly in her palm—glaring evidence of her theft.
He Lan Tan sighed. Grabbing her waistband, he tried to make her turn around.
She refused to turn, sitting firmly on the rug as if she were nailed to it, doing nothing but crying.
She wept with a sense of immense grievance, turning the tables on him: “You must think I’m a very bad person!”
“…I don’t,” He Lan Tan said helplessly. Having been robbed, he now found himself in the position of having to coax the thief.
“Really?” Song Yin lifted her head to look at him. Behind the back of her hand, half of her face was visible, her eyes as red as a rabbit’s.
“That’s good, then.” Without waiting for a response, Song Yin stopped crying immediately. With no sense of guilt whatsoever, she brazenly began stuffing the Phoenix Feather Sunflower into her rabbit-shaped bag.
A hand reached out to block her, grabbing the Phoenix Feather Sunflower.
Song Yin pulled, but He Lan Tan would not let go.
Song Yin pulled again. Not only did he refuse to let go, but his other hand also grabbed her waistband, dragging her closer to him.
“This was supposed to be ours anyway,” Song Yin said righteously. “I’ll give the first-place prize back to you. Let’s trade. I want this one.”
The Phoenix Feather Sunflower should have been the first-place prize, but it had been replaced this year due to special circumstances. She would give him the Heavenly Bone that Jiang Zuilan had won for coming in first in exchange for the Phoenix Feather Sunflower. It was a fair trade.
As for why she hadn’t brought the Heavenly Bone with her at all, or why she had come empty-handed to take the Phoenix Feather Sunflower, that was unimportant.
He Lan Tan didn’t respond. He simply stared into her eyes and said, “Aren’t you a ‘very bad person’? Then explain your behavior—and this outfit.”
Song Yin was still dressed in her black night-traveling clothes.
It was the first time he had seen her in black. She wore no hairpins or jewelry; there was none of the fluttering, bright-colored silk she loved so much, and no jingling bracelets. The night gear was cut cleanly and efficiently, making her skin look strikingly white in contrast, and her slender waist looked as though it could be snapped with one hand.
“Um, I can explain.” While stalling for time, Song Yin quietly reached for her umbrella, intending to cast a spell a second time.
However, she ran into a problem again. Her magic felt as though it had hit a membrane; the signal was cut off, and there was no reaction at all.
He Lan Tan had already seen through her objective and remained calm. “You cannot leave this room.”
Last time in Qinglong Prefecture, in the time it took him to go downstairs to get some pastries, she had vanished from the room.
He had spent an entire half-month studying the remnants of her array markings until he finally developed a counter-array. She would not be able to leave silently without saying goodbye again.
He had spent all that time researching just to catch this heartless little charm demon.
Song Yin also realized the truth: he had set up an array in the room.
She remembered now. Once, when she met him, he had transfer talismans in his hand. When she stole his wallet, there were fire charms inside as well. She had always assumed he had them simply because he was rich enough to buy them. Now she understood; he practiced both alchemy and talisman cultivation. Since talismans and arrays were closely related, he clearly had knowledge of arrays as well.
She truly couldn’t escape.
Song Yin grew sulky. The corners of her mouth slumped, and she stopped faking her tears. In a fit of pique, she kicked his foot.
“Get up. The floor is cold.” This time, when He Lan Tan pulled her, she took the opportunity to hook her hand into his and let him pull her up.
Even after standing up, she was unhappy and tried to shake off his hand. She swung her sleeve wide but couldn’t shake him. Instead, he pulled her toward him, wrapping his arms around her firmly from behind.
“Did you come to steal the Phoenix Feather Sunflower?” He Lan Tan held her tightly in his arms, his chest pressed flush against her back. His palms covered her hands as he tightened his grip around her waist. His chin brushed against her shoulder as he lowered his head to whisper in her ear, his warm breath stirring the air.
She hadn’t come to sleep with him.
Why hadn’t she come to sleep with him?
Song Yin didn’t answer. She didn’t know much about pharmacology and didn’t know the full medicinal range of the Phoenix Feather Sunflower. She was afraid that if she answered, she would blow her cover and expose her Master’s physical condition.
“Xiao Lan wanted it. Since she got first place, this prize fits the tradition better,” Song Yin said, making up an excuse involving Jiang Zuilan.
She even used the opportunity to grandstand: “See, I’m not a bad person. I value my friendship with my sisters very much.”
He Lan Tan remained silent.
For the past few days, he had been struggling with his feelings. He hated that she wouldn’t give him an official status, and he hated himself for not thinking of using a marriage contract to force her.
Who would have thought that such a low-tier tactic would actually work on this little charm demon?
Finally, he concluded that it was all because she was a charm demon—it was all because she had used her charms on him. All his hesitation and internal conflict were because he was under her spell.
Once he took the Phoenix Feather Sunflower and refined the Clarity Pill, everything would be fine.
“Why didn’t you actually come to find me?” he whispered into her ear while holding her waist.
His breath tickled the hair by her ear. It was a bit itchy, so she tilted her head to avoid it. In truth, she had long forgotten the harsh words he had said about her not coming to find him.
Or rather, she had never cared in the first place. Whether he spoke harshly or not didn’t stop her from seeking him out. Who she wanted to sleep with and when she wanted to do it depended entirely on her mood; nothing else mattered.
Song Yin remained silent, and He Lan Tan wasn’t in a hurry. He waited patiently for her to answer or to make up more lies to deceive him.
Although the little charm demon loved to lie, she was quite cute when she did it.
Song Yin didn’t feel like making up lies. This wasn’t a hunt or a game; this was a major matter involving her Master’s cultivation.
She simply gripped the Phoenix Feather Sunflower and refused to let go.
He Lan Tan glanced at her hand. The two spiritual plants glowed brilliantly, making her hands look as white as fine jade.
He sighed inwardly. It just so happened that this medicine could provide clarity, and it just so happened that she, a charm demon, had come to steal it. It was fate. Fine.
“I’ll give the medicine to you,” He Lan Tan surrendered.
Song Yin’s eyes lit up. She immediately looked at him with intensity, like a cat that had won a fight and secured a piece of dried fish.
He Lan Tan tapped the back of her hand, took the smaller plant, and left her with the larger one.
“Half for each of us. You can go back to your sect now and report to your third junior sister.”
He Lan Tan only needed a very small amount of Phoenix Feather Sunflower to create a Heaven-grade Clarity Pill.
Song Yin didn’t know the exact dosage her Master needed, but in the past, each winner received one. Since her Master had allowed Jiang Zuilan to enter the competition alone knowing this, one should be enough.
Song Yin nodded, agreeing to his distribution.
With the Phoenix Feather Sunflower in hand, the mission was accomplished. Since there was an array in the house and she couldn’t leave anyway, Song Yin relaxed. She let out a yawn as her naturally indifferent personality resurfaced.
She simply lay down on He Lan Tan’s bed, leaning lazily against the pillow. She didn’t forget to pull a corner of the quilt over her stomach.
Her pear blossom umbrella was placed by the bed. He Lan Tan went to pick it up, and she didn’t refuse; the umbrella stayed submissive in his palm.
He Lan Tan held the umbrella with both hands, examining the patterns on it from bottom to top.
It was a twenty-four-rib pear-white umbrella. Pink flowers bloomed occasionally, covering half the surface, cycling through the four seasons.
The patterns shifted, and beneath them were semi-transparent lines like silver threads. Every two lines connected to form a changing circuit; countless arrays intersected on a single panel of the umbrella. No wonder she could come and go without a trace.
“Is the eye of the array located here?” He Lan Tan pointed to a small array on the umbrella. There was a cluster of pink flowers on a branch there, and its movement was more regular than the other complex blossoms.
His knowledge of arrays was, of course, far inferior to Song Yin’s.
In fact, Song Yin had guessed correctly earlier: He Lan Tan had so many talismans because he was rich and had bought countless ones. Even the array in this room used to trap her was only half-researched by him; he had asked for help from experts to finish the rest.
If Song Yin could calm down and spend the time to try a few more times, she might have broken the room’s array easily in less than an hour.
But she chose a more time-saving and effortless method: dealing with He Lan Tan directly.
Song Yin glanced at it. “That’s an array made using mathematics. It uses L’Hôpital’s rule and calculations for the center of an ellipse. Oh, you wouldn’t understand.”
Despite the string of terms He Lan Tan didn’t recognize, he continued to hold the umbrella quietly and listen to her.
Song Yin rolled over. “For those of us who are talisman and array cultivators, it’s very mentally taxing. Oh, like I said, you wouldn’t understand.”
He Lan Tan reached for her finger again, pinching the pad of it. “Then tell me something I can understand.”
“I won’t.” Song Yin lifted her head with the lazy pride of a kitten.
“I don’t talk to people who can’t learn Advanced Mathematics.”
He Lan Tan wasn’t angry. He was already a once-in-a-generation genius in alchemy; even when he was just a “medicine human,” he could perfectly replicate an Earth-grade pill after just one glance. For years, he had been able to hold his own against his uncle, the top figure in the Medicine Sect.
This was the first time someone had looked down on his talent and called him stupid.
He continued to fiddle with Song Yin’s fingers while examining the pear blossom umbrella, occasionally finding a topic to ask about regarding the arrays he could understand.
Song Yin lazily rested her hand in his, occasionally squeezing back, answering him half-heartedly.
After explaining a few points about the wonders of arrays, she became wary.
As demon cultivators, they didn’t look at spiritual roots; their teaching methods were unique.
Song Yin had entered the path of arrays through mathematics under the tutelage of Sikong Lan. This was the only such practice in the entire cultivation world, and she couldn’t let others trick her into revealing secrets.
She glared at He Lan Tan. He was so annoying.
If he wanted to kill her or cut her, he should just do it. What was the point of quietly prying for her sect’s top secrets?
“Humph.” Song Yin abruptly pulled her hand away from his.
She grabbed the blue quilt, turned over, and pretended to sleep. She wrapped the quilt around herself, covering her chin, and refused to acknowledge him again.
He Lan Tan looked at the dark night outside the window and shook her awake.
Song Yin ignored him, pulling the pillow into her arms and closing her eyes tight, determined to sleep.
He Lan Tan sighed softly, got out of bed, washed some fruit, and brought them to her bedside.
The fruit was red and fresh, and its sweet, refreshing fragrance drifted straight into Song Yin’s nose.
Song Yin opened her eyes. This was fruit grown by the nobility of Zhuque Prefecture; the yield was small and only supplied to guests. She hadn’t tried it yet.
Her appetite defeated her desire for sleep, dragging her out of the blue quilt. She wanted to eat that fruit.
She sat up straight, leaning against the headboard. Taking the plate, she held it in her arms and began munching away.
The skin of the red fruit was slightly waxy, and the flesh was as sweet and juicy as rock sugar.
Song Yin didn’t hold back. she took a few from the plate and put them in her rabbit bag to share with her sect later. Since He Lan Tan didn’t object, she assumed the whole plate was hers.
One was left on the plate. She used a small dagger to deftly cut it into pieces, thinly peeling away a layer of skin from the flesh. She only ate the core and not the skin.
He Lan Tan sat down beside her. Song Yin didn’t even look up; she picked the largest, brightest orange-yellow piece from the center and handed it to him, pressing it accurately against his lips.
“How could a bad person feed you fruit? Hurry up and eat.”
He Lan Tan slowly finished the crescent-shaped piece of fruit. Once Song Yin finished hers, she cast a cleaning spell on herself and then reached out to touch his fingertips, casting one on his hands as well.
“Speak. I know the rules.” Song Yin put her hands on her hips. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch. How do you want me to pay you back for this medicine?”
He Lan Tan arched an eyebrow and smiled. He calculated that he had already obtained his medicine and finished handling the Medicine Sect’s business dealings in the area. He would stay in Zhuque Prefecture for five more days at most.
“Go shopping with me. For five days.”
Song Yin was shocked. “What kind of street is so long that it takes five days to walk?”
“Just accompany me for a few days.”
“Fine.”
With the terms clearly stated, Song Yin felt relieved. She then caught the scent of the fragrance on He Lan Tan’s body.
It was a scent associated with prey, one that it seemed only she could smell—captivating and soul-stirring. It was the scent of a beautiful night-blooming cereus under the moon, a scent belonging only to the most delicious prey, an aroma etched deep within her soul that made a hunter restless.
The sweetness of the berries from earlier still lingered on the tip of her tongue, making her instinctively want to swallow.
Song Yin’s throat moved. She shifted a few inches on the bed, getting closer and closer to him until the tip of her nose touched his face. She knelt on the bedding, eyes closed as she approached him, about to kiss the corner of his lips.
But suddenly, He Lan Tan dodged, turning his face away.
Song Yin opened her eyes and stared at him in confusion. “You won’t kiss me?”
He wouldn’t. He Lan Tan knew her well. Once she got out of bed, she wouldn’t even acknowledge him. He began to doubt the “love” she spoke of. He didn’t quite trust her so-called affection anymore.
He Lan Tan looked at the ink-black night again.
“You should head back,” he urged.
Song Yin was slightly puzzled. Her lips flattened and her curled eyelashes fluttered as she looked at him questioningly. She had actually planned to stay the night.
He Lan Tan pinched her face. “You got the medicine for your junior sister. If you don’t go back soon, your sect will worry.”
Song Yin sat on the edge of the bed. Her hands straightened her shoes as she took back the pear blossom umbrella, but her eyes remained fixed on him.
He Lan Tan leaned over, helping her smooth out the wrinkles in her night clothes caused by rolling around on the bed. He pulled the hem straight and tightened her waistband.
Song Yin continued to stare at his face. Taking advantage of his distraction, she craned her neck and lunged toward him, intending to take a bite of his nose.
However, she missed again.
He Lan Tan’s reactions were quick. As if he had anticipated it, he leaned backward to dodge her sneak attack. Song Yin bit the air, her teeth snapping together with a loud click.
He then smiled, using his left hand to fix her collar while his right finger hooked playfully over the bridge of her nose.
“Hurry back.”
Song Yin looked at him blankly. “You’re really not going to give me a kiss?”
“I’ll kiss you tomorrow.”
For those who like the Yin/Tan pairing, come check out my preview for a story featuring the same characters. This was originally going to be an ABO extra for this book, but the world-building grew too large, so I decided to make it a standalone story.
《Can a Pretty Beta Be a Guide?》
【Pretty, charming Beta Guide x S-Rank Human Weapon Sentinel】
【Heartless, “White-to-Black” Sweet Girl x Self-Persuading Cold Beauty】
An accident occurred at the White Tower this year: a Beta Guide was recruited, and she had zero foundation and zero experience.
Song Yin was very satisfied holding her job report. Heehee, I don’t know how to do mental guidance or purification at all. I’m just here for the employment subsidy.
Song Yin didn’t understand the rules of this world at all. She had transmigrated into an ABO world, and as a Beta, she couldn’t smell pheromones at all.
Before she could even figure out the ABO stuff, the White Tower started assigning Guide and Sentinel roles, which she understood even less.
But it didn’t matter. As long as you interviewed for a Guide position, they gave you money. The internship even paid a million.
By a stroke of luck, she passed the interview. She planned to finish the internship, claim she couldn’t learn the skills, take the money, and run.
Song Yin had no idea that there was a line of small text at the bottom of her entry form: Personnel departments, please monitor closely. Suspected Super S-Rank.
At that time, He Lan Tan had just returned from a bloody battlefield. His S-rank “human weapon” silver wolf was howling in a frenzy, and he was told that an anonymous Guide had been assigned to be his partner.
He Lan Tan: “What is her spiritual body?”
Colleague: “…A Siren.”
He Lan Tan was scornful and incredulous: “The White Tower is crazy, and you’re crazy too?”
How could a legendary Super S-rank creature like a Siren appear on an anonymous intern?
He Lan Tan didn’t care. He was certain the White Tower had made a mistake and even more certain that Song Yin was there to scam them for the internship fee.
When he first looked at Song Yin, he was stunned for a moment, then nodded knowingly. She was too beautiful; no wonder she had bewitched the White Tower.
She really knew how to enchant people. But he wouldn’t be fooled so easily. He was determined to investigate her thoroughly.
The internship lasted for three months.
Song Yin took her internship manual and studied the techniques diligently.
A Guide needs to soothe a Sentinel. Her glamorous and heartless giant Siren awakened. Song Yin sang in the waves, pinching the silver wolf’s snout to soothe it.
He Lan Tan: Her singing is terrible. How could she be a Siren? It must be a trick.
Daily work life: Every day, a group of Alphas would scramble to show off like peacocks, releasing pheromones like crazy around Song Yin. Song Yin couldn’t smell a thing and could only smile and ask them to move out of the way.
He Lan Tan: Hmph. She’s still pretending to be a Beta. How could someone so beautiful be a Beta? She told others to move because she knew I was her partner. She has me in her heart.
A mission arrived. Song Yin accidentally wore He Lan Tan’s bulletproof vest, so she had to run through a hail of bullets to save him, thinking to herself, This million is really hard to earn.
He Lan Tan: She really loves me!
A colleague asked about the progress of the mission. He Lan Tan: You’ve all been fooled by her, while I’m only pretending to be fooled. I have my own rhythm.
The Siren is greedy and heartless. Following the Guide manual, Song Yin deepened her bond with He Lan Tan layer by layer—holding hands, kissing, communicating without gaps. They shared everything from body to soul. She ate the “little wolf” up.
The day after they slept together, the internship ended. Song Yin received her million and said goodbye happily, never once looking back at him.
He Lan Tan: She really is a liar. She really came to scam the internship fee. She doesn’t want a partner, she doesn’t want me. QAQ