Ye Hongling believed it. The feeling beneath her hand made her decide to give it a try—perhaps this was a rare "prize."
She let go, stood up, and looked down at Shen Yifei, who was still kneeling on the ground.
"Little Menial, you were peeking outside just now. Weren't you already scheming about this?"
"N-no!" Shen Yifei shook his head hastily. "I was just delivering medicine. It's... it's because you didn't close the door, Senior Sister."
"The door wasn't closed, so you dared to look? Do you know that peeping on an Inner Sect Disciple's Dual Cultivation is punishable by death?"
"I..."
"Forget it," Ye Hongling waved her hand. "You looked, so you looked. You won't live past today anyway. Get up and take off your clothes."
Shen Yifei was stunned. "Now?"
Ye Hongling kicked his leg. "Hurry up. I still need to go deal with that one's funeral affairs."
Shen Yifei stood up, his legs still trembling.
He knew he was gambling—betting that this woman wouldn't drain him completely in one go. If he won the bet, he'd live. If he lost, he'd die anyway, so he might as well take the chance.
He undid his belt, took off his Outer Robe, removed his inner robe, and finally stood bare-chested before Ye Hongling.
Ye Hongling looked him up and down, her gaze sweeping over his body. She reached out and patted his chest, then pinched his arm.
"Your foundation isn't bad—better than those wastes who sit in meditation all day. What do you do in the Alchemy Room?"
"Chop wood and tend the fire."
"No wonder." Ye Hongling nodded. "Chopping wood and tending the fire every day does build up some strength. But strength alone is useless. Dual Cultivation is about the circulation of breath. Have you learned any Cultivation Technique?"
"N-no, I haven't."
"Then do you know how to deliver Primordial Yang?"
Shen Yifei shook his head again.
Ye Hongling laughed, her body swaying with mirth, the white beneath her gauze robe dazzling Shen Yifei until his eyes swam.
"You don't know anything, yet you dared to call yourself an expert at Dual Cultivation?"
"I... I..." Shen Yifei didn't know what to say. Expert at Dual Cultivation? He'd just been spouting nonsense. What did he know about Dual Cultivation?
"Enough, stop stammering," Ye Hongling stopped laughing. "Considering your assets, Sister will teach you what to do."
She picked up the three Bliss Pills from the ground, spread them in her palm, and held them out to him.
"Eat them."
Shen Yifei looked at the three bright red pills and swallowed.
Bliss Pills—the Alchemy Room's flagship product, made exclusively for Inner Sect Dual Cultivation disciples. One pill could make a person's blood surge. Three pills... would his body explode? He didn't know what would happen.
"Eat them," Ye Hongling urged. "How can we start if you don't?"
"Senior Sister, I can do it without taking them..."
"Heh, too much confidence will get you killed. Eat them now!"
Seeing that Ye Hongling was getting annoyed, Shen Yifei reluctantly took the pills, closed his eyes, and shoved them all into his mouth.
The moment the pills entered his mouth, they turned into a hot current that flowed down his throat and quickly surged through his entire body.
He felt as if a fire had been lit in his lower abdomen, burning him until his mouth was dry and his tongue parched. The scene before his eyes began to blur.
Ye Hongling grew whiter and more dazzling in his eyes. The gauze robe on her body seemed to vanish, leaving only her pale, bare body swaying before him.
"Senior Sister... I..."
"Don't rush. Wait until the medicine fully dissolves and all your qi and blood surge forth—that's when it feels best. Sit down for now. I'll teach you how to circulate your breath."
Ye Hongling pressed down on Shen Yifei's shoulder, making him sit on the ground, then sat cross-legged before him.
Facing each other, Shen Yifei could feel Ye Hongling's breath—warm, with a hint of sweet fragrance.
"Look into my eyes. Breathe deeply."
Shen Yifei could do that. He took a deep breath.
"Inhale—let the breath sink to your Dantian. Exhale—let the breath travel through your body."
"Senior Sister, I don't know how..."
"If you don't know, learn. Less nonsense."
The woman reached out and pressed her hand on his lower abdomen.
That hand was cool, pressed against his burning Dantian, so comfortable that Shen Yifei shuddered all over.
"Feel it? Where I'm pressing is your Dantian. When you inhale, think of the breath rising from here. When you exhale, think of the breath descending from here."
Shen Yifei tried desperately to comply, but how would he understand breath circulation? His mind was full of Ye Hongling's fragrance and the hand she had pressed on his lower abdomen.
"Focus!"
"Senior Sister, I... I can't control it..."
"Useless!"
The woman cursed, but she didn't pull her hand back. She stared at Shen Yifei's face and suddenly noticed the burning gaze in this Little Menial's eyes—as if he wanted to devour her whole.
"You... what are you thinking about?"
"Thinking about Senior Sister."
"Thinking what about me?"
"Thinking about how Senior Sister looked on the bed just now—the way your waist twisted was really beautiful."
Ye Hongling was taken aback, then burst out laughing.
"Little thing, you really aren't afraid of death—still daring to tease me."
Shen Yifei had already thrown caution to the wind. "Being afraid is useless. Senior Sister is going to kill me anyway. Might as well get some advantage from Senior Sister before I die—then I won't have died for nothing."
Hearing this, Ye Hongling laughed even louder.
"Interesting, really interesting. In ten years since I joined the Sect, I've harvested no fewer than eighty or a hundred Cauldrons, but this is the first time I've met someone as shameless as you."
When she'd laughed enough, she suddenly leaned close to Shen Yifei's ear. "Then tell me—how do you want to take advantage?"
Shen Yifei said nothing. He reached out and pulled her into his arms by the waist.
Ye Hongling's body stiffened. She hadn't expected this Little Menial to be so bold!
Shen Yifei flipped over and pinned her to the ground.
"Senior Sister," Shen Yifei panted, the medicine fully taking effect now, his eyes bloodshot like a beast in heat, "weren't you going to harvest me? Come on, harvest your fill."
Ye Hongling lay on the ground, watching him press down on her. At first she was a little surprised, then it turned into a smile.
"Little thing, you've got some nerve."
"I'm about to die anyway. What does it matter if I'm bold or not?"
"Fair point."
Ye Hongling reached out and hooked her arm around his neck.
"Then get started. The rougher the better—the rougher you are, the more I harvest. But don't blame me if I drain you dry—you brought this on yourself!"
Shen Yifei didn't hold back.
He didn't know any Cultivation Technique, didn't know how to circulate breath. He only knew those three pills were burning him up, about to make him explode.
Shen Yifei went mad.
At first Ye Hongling was still laughing, still guiding him on what to do, but before long her voice changed—laughter became panting, panting became moaning.
"You... slow down..."
Shen Yifei couldn't hear her at all.
"I said slow down... did you hear me..."
Ye Hongling tried to push him off, but found this Menial's strength terrifyingly great. She wanted to curse, but the moment she opened her mouth, only panting came out.
Who knows how long passed—Ye Hongling suddenly trembled all over and let out a long, melodious cry.
Shen Yifei felt as if his entire being had been emptied out. His vision went black, and he collapsed onto Ye Hongling, motionless.
Ye Hongling lay on the ground, gasping for breath.
After a long while, she finally recovered and reached out to push Shen Yifei off her.
"Get up, you're crushing me."
Shen Yifei didn't move.
Ye Hongling reached out to check his breathing—still alive.
Suddenly, Ye Hongling realized that the Spiritual Energy in her Dantian was flowing outward uncontrollably!
"No... don't..."
Ye Hongling was afraid.
She had harvested so many Cauldrons, but this was the first time she'd tasted this sensation.
This wasn't Dual Cultivation—this was reverse harvesting!