“Master?”
Lu Yao’s voice drew nearer, carrying a hint of pitiful tentativeness through the barrier surrounding the cave abode.
“May Yao’er come in?”
Yan Qingxiao’s eyes flew open.
The flush left behind by last night’s wild passion had not yet completely faded from that icy face, and now the sudden sound of a woman’s voice brought out another thin sheen of sweat.
Shen Weilan’s mind raced.
The Cold Jade Bed was a muddy mess, and the air was thick with the kind of lascivious atmosphere that made one’s face flush and heart race.
If Lu Yao, the original story’s fated female protagonist, came upon this scene, she would have a hundred ways to incite the Law Enforcement Hall. The little life Shen Weilan had only just managed to reclaim would be forfeited here today.
There was no time to run.
Shen Weilan made a snap decision. She yanked over most of the brocade quilt stained with traces of the two of them’s debauchery, pulled it over her head, then rolled and crawled into the dead corner against the wall at the innermost side of the bed. She bundled herself up tightly into a mound.
Not even a single strand of hair showed.
Looking at the lump of quilt huddled in the corner, Yan Qingxiao, who had lived for several centuries, experienced for the first time in his life the panic of a guilty thief.
The restriction outside the entrance to the cave abode was disturbed.
Yan Qingxiao had no other choice. He formed a Concealment Art and cast it on Shen Weilan.
Then he turned his back to the stone door and sat upright on the edge of the Cold Jade Bed.
His broad sleeves and layers of robes spread across the jade surface, conveniently blocking the disorderly scene inside the bed and the bulging quilt.
Immediately afterward, a powerful surge of spiritual energy swept across the floor.
The torn scraps of cloth and the snapped black-iron chains all turned to powder and scattered on the wind. The spirit-gathering array in the corner flared brilliantly, and the frigid scent of pine and snow poured out in a frenzy, forcibly suppressing the turbid atmosphere inside the cave abode.
“Enter.”
Yan Qingxiao uttered a single word. His voice was steady, giving away nothing.
The heavy stone door rumbled open.
Lu Yao crossed the threshold carrying a redwood food box. Her water-green gauze skirt outlined a waist slender enough to encircle with one hand, while her brows and eyes held precisely the right amount of worry and concern.
Half an hour earlier.
The “destiny-plundering system” in her mind had suddenly issued a piercing alarm, warning that the Heartless Dao heart of her target, Yan Qingxiao, had undergone violent fluctuations.
He was the male protagonist she had painstakingly fawned over for three years. There was no way she could allow something to go wrong at this crucial moment.
“Master doesn’t look well today.” Lu Yao placed the food box on the stone table not far away, then gazed at the man meditating cross-legged on the bed with eyes as limpid as autumn water, her expression full of concern.
“Yao’er woke up feeling inexplicably restless this morning, so I specially prepared some lotus-seed soup to calm the mind and replenish the qi.”
As she spoke, she lifted her skirt and tried to approach the Cold Jade Bed.
The space beneath the quilt was narrow and cramped, forcing Shen Weilan to curl up beside Yan Qingxiao’s legs.
The man’s body heat streamed toward her through the thin fabric of his clothing.
She had been worrying about how to escape, but when she heard Lu Yao putting on her sugary, manipulative act outside, a wicked amusement suddenly began to churn inside her.
Taking advantage of Yan Qingxiao’s distraction as he dealt with Lu Yao, Shen Weilan extended one hand.
Her fingertips were soft and warm as they silently climbed up the man’s long leg hidden beneath his robes. Crossing his knee, they slid upward along the firm, smooth lines of his muscles.
Yan Qingxiao’s breathing abruptly caught.
“Stop.”
Lu Yao halted and looked up in surprise.
Yan Qingxiao forcefully suppressed the heat rampaging through his meridians and did his best to make his tone sound as gentle and tolerant as usual.
“Your Master attempted to break through a bottleneck last night, causing his meridians to reverse and the spiritual energy throughout his body to run wild. It has yet to settle. Stand where you are for now. Do not let the residual energy released by the Cold Jade Bed damage your foundation.”
The words sounded concerned, but Lu Yao instinctively felt that something was wrong.
She sniffed lightly, her delicate brows drawing together. “Master, why is there… a faint, unusual fragrance here? It seems somewhat similar to the incense Senior Sister Shen usually uses. Could Senior Sister have come to pester you again and upset you?”
Beneath the quilt, Shen Weilan rolled her eyes speechlessly.
She was quite skilled at stepping on one person while praising another.
She pressed her fingers together, growing bolder. Her hand slipped directly past the edge of the man’s undergarments, and her warm palm met the most sensitive skin on the inside of his thigh without obstruction. Her fingertips probed forward maliciously, brushing seemingly absentmindedly across that astonishingly dormant hardness.
“Mm…”
Caught off guard, Yan Qingxiao’s Adam’s apple bobbed violently. He forcibly swallowed the unbearable groan that rose in his throat.
Beneath his broad sleeves, his long-fingered hand clenched tightly around the bedsheet beneath him.
He instinctively wanted to reach into the quilt and drag out that mischievous paw, but Lu Yao was staring at him wide-eyed from outside.
He could not move.
One movement, and he would be riddled with flaws.
He could only keep his body rigid and let Shen Weilan do as she pleased beneath the heavy cover.
That deadly tingling sensation shot straight from his coccyx to his brain, churning the reason with which he was feigning composure into shreds.
“The mountain wind was strong yesterday and carried in the scent of some weeds, that is all.”
Yan Qingxiao forced the words out through clenched back teeth, trying to steady his breathing. “Your Master is tired and needs to meditate in seclusion. You should leave.”
But just as Shen Weilan was enjoying herself, a crisp electronic sound exploded in her mind without warning.
【Ding!】
【High-purity heavenly-grade primordial yang energy residue detected, accompanied by continuous physical contact. Successful interception determined!】
【Heavens-Spanning Dual-Cultivation Comeback System binding in progress… 10%… 100%!】
【Binding complete! The novice gift package has been issued. Host, please be sure to check your items.】
A deep-blue, semi-transparent panel visible only to Shen Weilan lit up inside the cramped space beneath the quilt.
【Reward One: Supreme Marrow-Cleansing Pill. Upon consumption, it will reshape the finest-grade ice spiritual root and grant innate seductive bones.】
【Reward Two: System Shop unlocked.】
【Reward Three: Target Character Attribute Inspection function.】
Shen Weilan’s eyes lit up.
Wasn’t her cheat finally here? With the finest-grade ice spiritual root and innate seductive bones, did she still need to fear that green-tea heroine outside?
Outside, Lu Yao held her empty hands, her expression becoming somewhat awkward.
Although Yan Qingxiao’s tone remained gentle, there was no way to conceal the distant air that kept people a thousand miles away.
【Warning! Energy fluctuations from a similar system detected.】
【Target: Lu Yao. System type: Destiny-Plundering System. Host, please remain vigilant!】
The system’s notification sounded again. Shen Weilan withdrew the hand lingering between the man’s legs and became secretly wary. As expected, the heroine of this book was a cheater with a system.
“Since Master wishes to meditate in seclusion, then Yao’er will not disturb you.” Lu Yao was unwilling, but she did not dare defy Yan Qingxiao’s wishes. She could only bow. “Master, remember to drink the lotus-seed soup.”
The stone door finally shut with a deep, muffled rumble.
The barrier sealed itself once more.
A deathly silence descended over the cave abode, leaving only the sound of the two people’s mingled breathing.
The light above her suddenly brightened.
Yan Qingxiao lifted the heavy brocade quilt.
Shen Weilan raised her head.
The thunderous rage she expected did not appear. Instead, when Yan Qingxiao looked at her, the corners of his eyes were tinged with a vivid flush.
The hands accustomed to gripping his life-bound sword were now braced on either side of her body, trembling faintly.
His broad collar had slipped halfway down during the earlier movement, revealing a large expanse of cool, pale, solid chest still marked with the ambiguous traces of the previous night’s frenzy.
His cool, clear eyes fixed on her.
“Have you had enough touching?”