Shi Yeshan's expression was grim, devoid of emotion, merely cold—yet his gaze was extraordinarily heavy, like a cage enveloping Su Zhai entirely.
Su Zhai realized belatedly… that scene just now had very much resembled catching someone in the act of infidelity.
Before she could even open her mouth, the man had already turned and walked back with his hands behind his back. Su Zhai followed closely behind him, mentally planning how to explain herself clearly in a moment.
His shoulders were broad, his frame tall and upright—when she walked behind him, his shadow completely covered her.
Su Zhai caught a faint scent of blood.
"You're injured again?" Su Zhai strode up to his side. "Where did you just go?"
Shi Yeshan wasn't injured, but he had just killed some people. Because he was worried about Su Zhai being home alone, he hadn't bothered with proper form during the fight—only thinking about finishing quickly and returning home.
Then he'd seen that shameless demon sprawled across her bed.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you angry?"
Su Zhai was still asking him, her tone carrying surprise and amusement, but little guilt. "That fish spirit—Chu Yi caught it today and put it in our water vat to keep. I didn't know it could turn into a human and crawl into my bed in the middle of the night."
Shi Yeshan paused mid-step, then gave a brief "mm" in acknowledgment.
Su Zhai was walking a bit hurriedly, breathing heavily beside him. "He said he's a spirit creature? Because he has no magical power—I don't understand what that means."
Tonight really felt like a story straight out of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.
They returned to the room, and Shi Yeshan asked her abruptly: "You're very interested in it?"
"…I'm just curious about what spirit creatures are."
Her tone turned cautious. "And you—what about you?"
Shi Yeshan frowned. "What?"
"Are you injured again?" Su Zhai came to take his hand, pressed him down into a chair, and bent to sniff at the side of his neck. "There's the smell of blood."
Her tone was off, and Shi Yeshan instinctively thought of Charm Magic—but at that moment, Su Zhai reached up and touched his head.
"Still don't want to tell me? Don't be angry anymore." She spoke softly. "I won't mention the fish anymore. I just want to know if you're hurt, if you've run into danger."
Ah—this tone was the same deliberately crafted voice she'd used with that injured Nine-Jointed Wolf.
She knew he was angry and was trying to coax him.
Shi Yeshan leaned back against the chair, looking up at her face full of concern. He felt the Blood Spikes that had been bristling within him suddenly smooth down.
He became languid, still unwilling to speak, simply watching her quietly.
Su Zhai suddenly reached out to undo his collar, but her hand was caught and pressed against his chest. He raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"
"If you won't tell me, I'll see for myself." Su Zhai pulled with both hands, making as if to tear open his clothes—but he no longer resisted. Instead, he leaned back, striking a pose of complete surrender.
His gaze was more bewitching than that little fish's, moonlight flowing within it. "Are you sure? You really want to strip my clothes off?"
Su Zhai: …
She stopped what she was doing.
Because she knew well that Shi Yeshan was incapable of intimacy, Su Zhai was always careful in daily life, trying not to bring up related topics.
Every kiss was initiated by Shi Yeshan himself pressing close. She feared he might overthink things, so at most she'd take the initiative to hold his hand.
Seeing her about to leave, Shi Yeshan instead caught her wrist and pulled her back.
Su Zhai shook it, but couldn't break free.
He studied her slightly pouting lips. "Why are you unhappy?"
Su Zhai answered without thinking, "You never tell me anything."
Her voice was indeed unhappy, something lodged in her throat making her words sound like they might crack. She sniffled and mumbled, "I care about you, and you turn around and tease me instead. I already told you I was just as confused about tonight—what do you want me to do?"
Shi Yeshan pressed his lips together.
"Why do you care so much about whether I'm injured?" His fingers toyed with Su Zhai's wrist bone, but in his mind, he was replaying her seductive image under the moonlight.
The world was in turmoil, all because this Succubus had been reborn. There were countless matters to handle, but Immortal Lord Ziying always found a way to resolve them.
Because he was powerful—powerful enough to be omnipotent. This was a deeply ingrained belief in everyone's mind.
No one had ever asked him with such affectionate reproach whether he was injured, as if such a thing could never happen.
"Why are you asking such nonsense?" Su Zhai was clearly even more displeased. "Would I be happy if you got hurt?"
He said calmly, "Then simply pretend not to know. I won't die, after all."
Nor would he give her the Yang Essence she needed.
Su Zhai fell silent, her eyes losing focus.
She suddenly remembered—Shi Yeshan had lost both parents as a child, wandering everywhere until an immortal sect took him in, giving him food and clothing.
But his aptitude wasn't high, and his days within the sect probably hadn't been easy. He'd always walked alone.
He couldn't understand what caring meant, because no one had ever cared for him like this.
Shi Yeshan saw her strange expression, her eyes suddenly growing moist, with a look of someone about to cry.
He straightened up awkwardly, thinking that what he had just said might have been somewhat inappropriate.
Although Shi Yeshan didn't know exactly what was inappropriate about it.
"Alright." He let out a sigh. "Some things are sect secrets, and I can't tell you for now."
The moment he finished speaking, Shi Yeshan found himself wrapped in a warm, gentle embrace.
Su Zhai muttered, "You idiot. When you're hurt, I feel heartache. When you hold it in and don't tell me, I worry. Either way, it's all your fault."
Chu Yi's fish was gone.
Su Zhai said the fish had run away on its own, but that was a lie.
She suspected the couple had stolen and eaten it, because the atmosphere between the two of them had become somewhat strange—even an inadvertent glance at each other would make them freeze and look away, and then Su Zhai's cheeks would flush. This was clearly a sign of a guilty conscience.
But Chu Yi had no concrete evidence, so for now she didn't make a fuss. She was just very angry and decided she would teach them a lesson.
Two mortals, bold as could be, stealing and eating her fish.
She had originally planned to generously share it with them.
Having lost someone's fish, Su Zhai also felt apologetic. That day, she and Liu Erniang went to town and bought a big carp, asked the shopkeeper to clean it thoroughly, and planned to stew it for Chu Yi to eat.
She busied herself in the kitchen for quite a while. Coincidentally, Shi Yeshan came home early that day. She went to the study to ask him a question, and when she returned to the kitchen, the entire fish was gone, leaving only some broth in the pot.
Su Zhai was dumbfounded: "…We've been robbed."
Shi Yeshan came to the kitchen to observe the scene of the crime, not even lifting his eyes. "The one in the back stole it."
"Without evidence, it's not good to suspect others."
Su Zhai actually thought the same in her heart, but she had already decided to accept the misfortune. "Forget it, maybe some cat nearby carried it off."
Shi Yeshan's tone was slightly mocking. "Perhaps it was that wild boar we saw last time, that became a spirit."
There was a subtle sound from the rooftop. Su Zhai glanced at Shi Yeshan but said nothing.
Shi Yeshan took her hand. "Let's go eat in town."
He hired a carriage and went straight into the city.
The two first went to Tianxiang Tower for lunch. Su Zhai didn't order much, but since they were out anyway, she didn't want to spoil the mood, so she also had them bring a pot of warm yellow wine, and each of them had a cup.
In the center of Tianxiang Tower was a stage, where performers were clacking bamboo clappers and singing. They were telling the story of Immortal Lord Ziying's great battle against Ghost King Yanluo two hundred years ago. The battle was described with such exaggeration that even Su Zhai listened for a bit. She didn't believe it. "Really? That exaggerated?"
Shi Yeshan's voice was languid. "Fake."
There was no such great battle. Back then, he had killed that blustering Ghost King with a single sword strike. After cutting him down, he'd actually felt a bit regretful—had he known the fellow was so useless, he should have thrown him to Lin Wei for some practice.
Two small dishes were finished, but Su Zhai still didn't want to leave.
Because the clapper performance had just reached the part after the great battle, telling the story of Immortal Lord Ziying and a fairy from the Eastern Sea. It was told quite vividly and romantically. To win a smile from the beauty, the Immortal Lord Ziying had actually used an Ancient Magical Artifact to summon nine hundred and ninety-nine golden phoenixes, and also arranged for colorful auspicious clouds in the sky to take the form of that Eastern Sea fairy. The phoenixes circled around the fairy's form continuously, representing the Immortal Lord Ziying's passionate confession.
Su Zhai imagined the scene and laughed heartily. "How old is Immortal Lord Ziying? That's so tacky."
Shi Yeshan's expression was grim. This time he said nothing, clearly not interested in such romance stories.