Su Yu thought she was going to die. That heavy weight pressed against her. It had only inched forward by the slightest amount, yet she felt as though her entire body were about to be split in two. But in the next moment, it abruptly withdrew.
The pressure beneath her knees eased. Her curled legs fell back onto the bedding. Still trapped in the lingering aftershock of terror, she had not yet regained her senses when a thin robe was gently draped over her, covering the trembling curve of her waist and abdomen.
She belatedly realized what had happened and turned to look at Ji Xuanyue in disbelief. The pale moonlight traced a hazy outline around him. Seated on the couch beside her, he looked down at her through lowered eyes. His inner robe hung slightly open, and in the moonlight his features appeared especially cool and detached.
As though the scorching heat and dizzying entanglement of moments before had been nothing more than her imagination.
“Y-You’re not… going to continue?” she asked.
She asked without realizing her voice carried a note of delighted anticipation.
In the darkness, Ji Xuanyue fell silent for a moment. Then he lay down and gathered her into his arms.
“You were frightened just now.” His warm breath brushed against Su Yu’s dark hair. “Which is only natural. To you, I am still little more than a stranger. It is only reasonable that you should fear me. Besides, we have a long road ahead of us. There is no need to rush this one moment.”
Yet as Ji Xuanyue spoke, another thought lay beneath his words. For all these years, he had devoted himself to cultivation, keeping his desires restrained and his heart free of worldly distractions. Even his earlier initiative had come only from consideration of mortal customs. But the moment he had begun to lose himself in it, the fear covering her whole body instantly tainted that sweetness with bitterness. If she was this afraid, then there was no need to continue. Besides, he wanted nothing more than her saliva and sweat. He could get those with a kiss or a lick. There was really no need to take them in a way that frightened her.
Su Yu didn’t know the reason behind it all. Listening to Ji Xuanyue’s words, she could only stand there in a daze as he held her in his arms. So if a husband was considerate, this sort of thing could actually be postponed?
The wedding matron’s lessons on the eve of her marriage, about “the duties of a wife” and how she should “just endure it and it would soon be over,” now seemed swept aside by a few simple words from him. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but soon sensed something strange.
Against the side of her leg… pressed against her thigh…
Ji Xuanyue immediately sensed that something was wrong. He drew back slightly, putting a little distance between them, and quietly calmed the surge of heat that had rushed through him. Before long, everything settled again. “I frightened you, my wife.”
Silence spread through the darkness. Before Su Yu could decide how to answer, she heard him speak again.
“We don’t have to consummate the marriage. But may I keep kissing you?”
Su Yu froze.
He was being terribly direct tonight. But he had already restrained himself because he knew she was afraid. If she would not even let him kiss her, that somehow seemed a little unfair.
“Y-Yes… you may…” Su Yu closed her eyes.
Ji Xuanyue’s lips descended.
Su Yu felt that the kiss lasted far too long. Although he occasionally paused to let her catch her breath and no longer held her so tightly that it hurt, the entanglement of lips and tongue seemed endless.
He kissed her from different angles, tracing every part of her mouth, from the inner curve of her lips to the roof of her mouth, from the tip of her tongue to the line of her teeth, as though he intended to savor every inch of it with painstaking care.
Gradually, Su Yu grew light-headed in his arms. A fine sheen of sweat covered her body, her sleeping robe clinging damply to her back. An indescribable sensation spread from deep within her, leaving even her fingertips weak and limp.
“H-Husband… stop…”
Ji Xuanyue paused and slowly withdrew, lowering his gaze to her.
Beneath the moonlight, the mortal woman’s cheeks were lightly flushed. Her damp eyelashes clung together, and her lips, kissed by him for so long, were slightly swollen and glistened with moisture. She looked as though she had just been lifted from the water, her entire body covered in a thin, glistening sheen of sweat. The aura of a medicinal spirit mingled with her body heat and rose in waves, cool and pure yet touched with a faint sweetness, filling his senses with every breath.
Ji Xuanyue thought to himself that mortals truly were fragile. He had only kissed her for a short while, yet she was already panting, without even the strength to push him away. Fortunately, he had already obtained quite a bit of her saliva. The dull, churning pain in his dantian had eased considerably. Once she fell asleep, there would still be plenty of time for him to slowly lick away every bead of sweat covering her body.
“You’re tired. Go to sleep,” he said gently. “I won’t kiss you again tonight.”
Curled up in his embrace, Su Yu no longer had the strength even to reply properly. She merely murmured an indistinct “Mm,” then closed her eyes.
Ji Xuanyue stayed in place, holding her close and not moving a muscle, until her breathing grew deep and steady; only then did he slowly lower his head.
The tip of his slender tongue darted out, gently lapping the beads of sweat along her neck. Though sweat lacked the richness of saliva, he wasted none of it—in moments, every drop vanished between his lips and tongue.
Ji Xuanyue parted her garments, tracing the graceful curves of her body downward. Yet, just as he was becoming absorbed in the fine sheen of perspiration across her waist and abdomen, an entirely different scent caught him off guard, drifting suddenly into his nostrils. It was richer than sweat, deeper than saliva—a mellow warmth wrapped around a faintly sweet, musky scent, rising softly in the heat.
Ji Xuanyue’s movements stilled. He slowly pushed himself up, his gaze tracing the scent’s source downward.
A small patch of his wife’s clothing was unmistakably damp. That sweet, mellow fragrance wafted up from there, rich and unfamiliar, thousands of times more intoxicating than her saliva.
Ji Xuanyue frowned slightly and reached out to remove the piece of fabric. The thin cloth fell into his hand. Lowering his head, he gave it a light sniff. The warm, honeyed aroma surged into his lungs, and his amber eyes contracted at once into golden, slit-pupiled ones. He had always known that a medicinal spirit’s blood, sweat, tears, and saliva were all nourishing substances, yet he had never imagined that secretions from this place could seep forth as well. The scent was so rich and concentrated that it was even more potent than saliva.
Ji Xuanyue lowered his eyes, his gaze settling on Su Yu, who remained completely unaware. He let the fabric fall and reached out a hand.
Even in her sleep, Su Yu seemed to sense something. She gave a soft hum, her legs curling slightly.
Ji Xuanyue suddenly came to his senses. He withdrew his hand, and a clear, glistening moisture stained his fingertips. He stared at it for a moment, frowned, then brought his fingers to his mouth.
When Su Yu woke, it was already broad daylight. Ji Xuanyue had left at some point without her noticing. The last thing she remembered from the previous night was being gently gathered into his arms and drifting off into a deep sleep.
Propping herself up on the bed, she pulled back the covers and checked herself. Her sleeping robe was still neat and orderly, and there were no signs of discomfort anywhere on her body. It seemed he had truly meant what he said the night before and had kept his promise.
Su Yu let out a soft breath. This Young Master Ji really was an honorable gentleman. After getting dressed, she opened the door and discovered a young maid standing outside. The girl must have been waiting there for quite some time. The moment she saw Su Yu, she quickly curtsied.
“Good morning, Madam. This servant is called Jinglan. Young Master instructed me to attend to your needs.”
Instinctively, Su Yu stepped back half a pace. She wasn’t used to such deference and hurriedly waved her hand. “There’s no need to be so formal. Where is Young Master Ji?”
“The Young Master left before dawn.”
“Did he say when he would return?”
“This servant does not know…”
Su Yu nodded. On second thought, that was only natural. The Ji family possessed extensive wealth and holdings. He must be very busy.
Jinglan was efficient and capable. After helping her wash and freshen up, she brought breakfast. Su Yu ate a little, but once the meal was finished, she found herself at a loss. She had nothing to do.
Back in Lingyin Village, she had risen before sunrise every day to decoct medicines, gather herbs, and keep herself constantly occupied. Now that she suddenly had nothing to do, she felt oddly restless. With no better way to pass the time, she began strolling around the residence.
The Ji Manor was not particularly large. Though its courtyards were tidy, they lacked lavish decorations. Along the way, she saw very few maids or servants, and she couldn’t help but ask Jinglan why the household seemed so sparsely populated.
“Madam, we servants were only purchased a few days ago. According to the guards, the Young Master previously kept only a handful of bodyguards in the residence and had no maids at all. It was only because he was about to marry that he bought a few of us to serve Madam.”
Su Yu nodded thoughtfully. She recalled what she had overheard at Renxin Hall: people describing him as “upright and self-disciplined” and “uninterested in women.” Looking at the quiet, orderly estate now, those descriptions suddenly felt far more tangible.
Seeing Jinglan still following a step behind her wherever she went made Su Yu somewhat uncomfortable.
“You don’t have to be so restrained around me,” she said. “I’m not from some noble or privileged background. Back home, I did my own laundry and cooking.”
Jinglan shook her head quickly, looking even more nervous. “Please don’t say that, Madam. Young Master instructed us to serve you well. This servant would never dare be negligent.”
Seeing her react as if she were facing a great enemy, Su Yu found it hard to press the matter further. After wandering around for a while, she had toured every courtyard in the residence and gradually began to feel bored.
Perhaps noticing the look on her face, Jinglan carefully ventured, “If Madam finds it dull here, you could go out for a walk.”
Su Yu shook her head. She had neither family nor friends in Qingyang County, and strolling through the streets held little appeal. The only person she truly worried about was her grandmother.
As soon as she thought of her grandmother, concern welled up again. It was her first day away from home, and she could not help wondering how her grandmother was faring.
She spent the day wandering the courtyard, stopping and starting without purpose, then sitting in the corridor, lost in thought. Jinglan did not dare ask questions, only bringing her tea and snacks from time to time. Somehow, the hours passed until the setting sun slanted across the sky.
Ji Xuanyue’s absence had nothing to do with business affairs. He hadn’t returned all day because he had been cultivating in Spirit Snake Mountain.
Spirit Snake Mountain was a treasured cultivation site he had discovered more than ten years ago. Its spiritual energy was abundant, making it exceptionally suited for cultivation.
At the time, a roe-deer demon that had cultivated for nearly a thousand years occupied the mountain. Ji Xuanyue had spent considerable effort slaying it. Afterward, the lesser demons scattered and fled, leaving him the sole master of Spirit Snake Mountain. He came here every day to cultivate. On the day Su Yu tumbled down the hillside, he had been in his true form, regulating his breathing and circulating his qi while enduring the agonizing pain that radiated from the crack in his dantian during cultivation.
The moment Su Yu’s blood landed on his scales, he sensed something unusual. Because of the fissure in his demon core, cultivation brought pain every moment. For centuries, this had been his daily reality. Yet in that instant, although his spiritual power continued to circulate, the intense agony deep within his dantian ceased briefly. He had never felt such comfort before. In that moment, he realized he had encountered an exceedingly rare Medicine Spirit.
And this Medicine Spirit was a fragile mortal who could be crushed with a single squeeze.
At that moment, the mortal whose presence could nourish and repair the fissure in his demon core sat in the courtyard, staring blankly into space, her face full of loneliness. She was clearly unhappy. To ordinary mortals, this might seem like nothing more than the natural melancholy of a newly married wife adjusting to life away from home.
But to him, her sadness and discontent were far more serious. They could not only turn the sweet, precious fluids he coveted into something bitter and useless, but also damage her invaluable Medicine Spirit constitution.
All the mortal storybooks said the same thing: if you wanted to cheer up your wife, you had to give her what she liked.
Ji Xuanyue thought for a moment, then called out, “Wife.”