We're husband and wife, so bathing together shouldn't be a big deal, right?
That's what she told herself, but Su Zhai still felt a bit awkward. She turned back to look at Shi Yeshan and ordered, "You go in first."
The man didn't waste words. It seemed the word "shy" didn't exist in his dictionary. Under Su Zhai's deliberately heavy gaze, he calmly undressed piece by piece, casually tossing his clothes into the small tub.
Speaking of which, this tub could automatically wash clothes too…
Su Zhai's life wasn't all that different from modern times.
But she only got distracted for half a second—Shi Yeshan had already stripped down to just his pants. Without changing his expression, he unfastened his belt with clean, swift movements.
The belt slid out with the faintest whisper of air.
Su Zhai abruptly turned around, pretending to search for pajamas in the cabinet. Behind her, the rustling sounds paused for a moment. Only after confirming that Su Zhai really didn't want to look did Shi Yeshan calmly undo the last of his clothing and step into the tub.
The water was scalding hot, and white steam filled the air.
His lean, taut chest muscles were faintly visible through the mist, which somehow made it even more suggestive.
Su Zhai felt herself flushing from the steam. Still flustered as she searched for her pajamas, she heard Shi Yeshan urge her as usual, "Are you done yet? I'm not waiting for you once I'm clean."
Su Zhai lost her temper. She couldn't help but act spoiled, using her baby voice, "Just wait for me a little."
"Not waiting," the man said lazily. "You'll catch a chill."
"…So good at taking care of yourself."
There was no way around it. Shi Yeshan was usually good-tempered, but that was only because he couldn't be bothered to argue.
When his true nature showed, he could be so infuriating that you wanted to knock him on the head.
Su Zhai stole a glance at Shi Yeshan. Seeing that he had his eyes closed in the tub, she quickly and carefully took off her clothes. Too embarrassed to be fully naked, she sneakily put on a set of underwear.
When she turned back, he was watching her.
"What are you wearing?" Shi Yeshan tilted his head. "What is that?"
It was what she used to wear in her old world, wasn't it?
This set of underwear was something Su Zhai had sewn for herself, because she didn't want to layer undershirt, inner garment, and outer garment one after another.
Su Zhai ignored him, her expression still a bit awkward. She stepped up the wooden ladder one rung at a time into the tub and sat down facing Shi Yeshan.
The water rippled, splashing a little over the edge, making a commotion that couldn't be ignored.
She had just carefully settled herself, and the water surface had calmed, when it suddenly swayed violently. Su Zhai was pulled into Shi Yeshan's arms, his tone carrying a hint of displeasure. "Why are you sitting so far from me?"
Su Zhai had developed a bit of a temper lately, but she only used it on Shi Yeshan.
Most of the time, Shi Yeshan actually liked it, but he didn't want Su Zhai to distance herself from him just because she was sulking.
"Are you angry?" Shi Yeshan wrapped one arm around her, keeping her from squirming away, while his other hand idly scooped up water to pour over her hair. "Then hit me a couple times to let off steam."
Water splashed everywhere, and Su Zhai's heart suddenly began to race. She didn't hit Shi Yeshan, just patted his hand. "Move it, move it."
She didn't seem about to get angry, so Shi Yeshan let her go, allowing her to move a bit farther away. Their skin occasionally brushed against each other in the swaying hot water, at the rhythm of their breathing.
Su Zhai felt that the man's body was like a piece of warm jade—both hard and soft, hard to describe.
Shi Yeshan remained lazy as he lifted his hand to splash water onto her shoulder, then slowly placed his palm there, rubbing his fingertip against her skin.
But Su Zhai ignored him, twisting away to shake off his hand.
They had lived together for so long, but at times like this, she still got very shy.
There didn't seem to be anything about her that resembled a Succubus—she was just a soft-natured young woman.
Except that she was far too beautiful.
Shi Yeshan stared at the faint red mark his touch had just left on her shoulder, and for no particular reason, he wanted to taste it.
But she would be scared and run away again.
Su Zhai washed herself, arching her back slightly, careful not to lean against Shi Yeshan's body. Out of nowhere, she said, "It would be nice to have a showerhead."
Shi Yeshan snapped back to attention. "What? Like rain—water that falls on a person to wash with?"
"You're so smart." Su Zhai turned and quickly kissed his chin. "That's exactly it. It would make washing my hair more convenient."
There was no trace of anger left at all.
The corner of Shi Yeshan's lips curved slightly, and his lips finally landed gently on her porcelain-white shoulder. His whole body sank down with the motion, pulling Su Zhai back into his embrace.
She was quiet, but she shifted to adjust her position, making herself more comfortable.
In her mind, the scene of Shi Yeshan undressing earlier gradually surfaced. He was tall and broad, with a thin layer of powerful muscle clinging to his bones—lean and sharp, with a beauty that almost needed to be censored.
Pressed tightly together, she could feel the blood surging beneath his skin. They weren't two people—they were tens of thousands of rapidly flowing particles, colliding, attracting, and boiling together.
Shi Yeshan hooked Su Zhai's chin with one hand, tilting his head to the side as he gently kissed her amidst the restless stirring. The Volcanic Crystal beneath their feet was probably a bit slippery—Su Zhai lost control for a moment, then was steadily caught in his arms. She began to feel at ease, lightly biting the man's lip with her teeth.
Moonlight bathed the entire mountain peak, the wind swayed the branches and leaves, and occasionally a few distant dog barks could be heard.
They simply kissed in silence, tenderly and intimately rubbing against each other's lips and tongues, curiously and carefully tracing everything about the other.
On the water's surface, that pure white undergarment had drifted silently at some point. Su Zhai didn't notice it. This time, she didn't stop Shi Yeshan from drawing closer either, only awkwardly turning her head slightly to create a small separation between them, their breathing heavy and dull.
Her eyes were dazed as she kept touching Shi Yeshan's muscles, unconsciously climbing up his arm. Just as her fingertips pressed against the faintly raised veins there, he caught her wrist, folded it over, and pressed it against her own chest.
Her fingers sank into the soft flesh, covered completely by his large hand, a red berry caught between her fingers—he pinched it up and pressed it back down heavily, his nails scraping across the tip. Su Zhai's heart pounded like thunder, nearly making her cry out.
…
Su Zhai couldn't help but lose herself, until the man bit her lower lip. Only then did she twist her shoulders free. Flustered, she sank her head beneath the water, surfacing after a moment to face Shi Yeshan directly.
He looked a bit unfamiliar.
She couldn't quite describe the feeling—perhaps because he was naked now, fine droplets of water clinging to his face, about to fall but not quite. His eyes were no longer clear either, staring straight at her through the hazy mist of the water.
This was far too different from the ethereal immortal he appeared to be during the day—he almost seemed to carry a hint of the demonic.
"Zhai-niang."
Shi Yeshan murmured softly, reaching underwater to grip her waist with both hands and lift her up.
Half of Su Zhai's body emerged from the water, everything laid bare before him. She could only helplessly press against his shoulders, forced to face him.
"Wait."
Su Zhai jolted, all the blood in her body rushing to her face.
"…Don't bite yet."
Shi Yeshan made a displeased sound, but Su Zhai pushed him away with both hands, asking anxiously, "Has Chu Yi come back yet?"
The man only remained silent.
"We actually forgot about her." Su Zhai spoke urgently. "Go find her quickly. She's capable, but the labyrinthine array attacks the heart."
And Chu Yi was never that clever to begin with.
Shi Yeshan's tone was mocking. "So she actually has a heart after all?"
"…In any case, Chu Yi hasn't come back yet, so she definitely hasn't broken through that labyrinthine array."
Realizing this, Su Zhai feared she might die inside. She pushed Shi Yeshan to go out. "Let's go find her together."
Shi Yeshan let out a soft sigh.
"You stay home."
He stepped out of the bath barrel impatiently, dressed simply, and turned back to see Su Zhai also climbing out, dripping wet.
Her skin bore the marks Shi Yeshan had just made, covered in mottled patches of pink.
At some point she'd fished out that strange little garment and put it back on, hiding herself away, sneaking a furtive glance at him before turning her body around to dress.
Shi Yeshan watched her movements, repeating with displeasure, "You stay. You've had a tiring day—don't push yourself."
She cared about Chu Yi that much?
She was just an outsider.
But Su Zhai shook her head and finished dressing on her own. Seeing Shi Yeshan blocking the door with cold brows and cold eyes, she said quietly, "But I don't dare stay home alone."
Shi Yeshan remained unmoved. "I'll leave you a jade pendant. It can transmit sound."
"I'm not afraid of ghosts. I just don't feel at ease letting you go into the mountains alone to find her. Though I'm not much use either…" Su Zhai came over to take his hand, shaking it as if she'd suddenly had a revelation, and whispered, "But I just want to go with you."
They looked at each other quietly.
Su Zhai averted her eyes, her voice shy. "I'll let you have it when we get back."
Shi Yeshan lowered his gaze, turning his hand over to wrap around Su Zhai's small one. "Mm."
It was a night of bright moon and sparse stars, the road outside well-lit. After her bath, Su Zhai wasn't so afraid anymore, simply holding Shi Yeshan's hand and carefully following behind him.
Shi Yeshan suddenly said out of nowhere, "You were trapped in there for an entire day."
Yes.
Thinking about it now, it still gave her lingering fear.
Su Zhai instinctively wanted to say a few bad things about Chu Yi, but feared being overheard, so she let it go.
"What kind of thing created this labyrinthine array?" she asked quietly. "Is it a monster? A purple camphor tree? A tree spirit?"
"No. The purple camphor tree is only the medium. The labyrinthine array is actually a Magic Array. Whoever created it should be a Great Demon, or a cultivator, or a Devil."
But the labyrinthine array was strange—it pulled out the things people resisted most in their hearts and displayed them repeatedly. That didn't seem like the style of demons and monsters; it seemed more like some kind of cultivator.
"Devil!" Su Zhai let out a breath. "But a cultivator who could make something like this would count as an Evil Cultivator, right?"
"What Evil Cultivator?" Shi Yeshan was somewhat surprised. "A cultivator is a cultivator—someone who practices cultivation, nothing more. There's no distinction between good and bad. Surely you don't think that everyone who isn't an Evil Cultivator is automatically a good person?"
Realizing their knowledge didn't align, Su Zhai didn't continue the discussion with Shi Yeshan.
She didn't have a deep understanding of this worldview, because both she and Shi Yeshan were ordinary people, and what they usually heard more of were stories about disciples of the Immortal Gate bullying mortals. As for matters like demons and monsters causing trouble, those were even further from Su Zhai's world.
Pale moonlight filtered sparsely through the dense forest, and Su Zhai pressed closer and closer to Shi Yeshan. "How did you break this Magic Array back then?"
"I didn't break it." The man turned around, rubbing her earlobe, his tone fairly calm. "Su Zhai, it's because you were never bewitched by it. You're stronger than it is."
Su Zhai was taken aback. Though she felt a little proud, she couldn't help but worry. "Then how do we save Chu Yi?"
If she was still inside the labyrinthine array.
Shi Yeshan said succinctly, "Capture the master of the array. It's probably not far from here."
And then kill it.
Just as he was speaking, under the moonlight, a red figure flashed past. Su Zhai almost instinctively wanted to scream, but she noticed Shi Yeshan's palm tense for a split second before silently relaxing.
Chu Yi's furious roar followed immediately. "Stop right there!"
She was faster than the red figure, but catching sight of the couple from the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but pause, her tone excited. "Su Zhai, you're still alive! You didn't die after all!"
Shi Yeshan's gaze turned slightly cold. "My wife is kind-hearted. She was thinking of coming to collect your corpse first."
Seeing that Su Zhai hadn't died, Chu Yi was genuinely delighted, still laughing. "Thanks! You're really nice, haha."
"Seeing you so lively and kicking, we can rest easy." Shi Yeshan said calmly. "You showed off by insisting on bringing Su Zhai into the mountains, only to stumble into the Magic Array and nearly cost her life. I thought that even if you broke the array, you'd die of shame and rage."
Chu Yi: …
Only then did she realize she was being mocked.
Shi Yeshan was about to say more, but Su Zhai grabbed his arm and yanked him hard, deliberately changing the subject. "I just saw something run past. Chu Yi, are you chasing it?"