The figures of the two vanished in an instant.
The wind howled past their ears, and blurred street scenes flashed by in their peripheral vision.
They had entered the highlands of the Upper City. The temple complex was towering and solemn, with the figures of holy knights moving about in the distance.
A moment later, she realized they were in mid-air.
The Archbishop held that hammer in one hand and continued to hold her with the other, his movements completely unaffected by the weight.
Flower-filled courtyards, towering domes and arches, silver cast candlesticks and lamps, and colorful murals all blurred into dizzying lines.
A gentle breeze blew the window curtains toward her face, swaying like beautiful water ripples before her eyes.
Su Cheng was set down.
The back of her head sank into a soft pillow.
They had entered an exquisitely decorated bedroom. It didn't look like it was lived in much, like a reserved guest room, but it was spotlessly clean.
Amidst the half-drawn curtains of the four-poster bed, the blond young man leaned over, supporting himself beside her face. Stripped of his outer coat, the lean and fluid lines of his shoulders and arms were fully revealed.
"...Thank you."
Su Cheng tilted her head back.
Her voice was as dry and hot as sun-baked straw, and the collar of her shirt was stained dark with sweat.
The high fever brought by the curse continued to rise, giving her skin a pearlescent glow, as if a gentle touch would cause mist to seep out.
Zane looked down at her. "Promise me one thing. You don't have to give me a guarantee, just try your best to do it."
Su Cheng blinked. "What is it?"
"...Control yourself, and do not use the power of the God of Jubilation on me during what comes next."
The blond young man sighed helplessly. "I might be able to offset some of the effects, but I can't completely isolate them. If you make me lose control of my emotions too much, I might hurt you."
Perhaps afraid she would misunderstand, he added an explanation, "The God of Jubilation occasionally appears at banquets held by His followers."
Most of those followers were not divinely favored ones, just a group of mortals who worshipped the deity.
"Some people, after being blessed by Him, will be forever immersed in ecstasy until their souls dissolve into fragments. So when you cultivate to a certain level, that power will make you feel threatened. If you accidentally use it on me, I might instinctively resist and injure you. Of course, I can heal all your injuries, but it's better if that doesn't happen, right?"
"...I understand, I will try my best to control it," Su Cheng nodded. "Although I actually don't even know how to use it."
Zane smiled and straightened up slightly.
He reached out his arm, picked up a silver cup from the bedside table, and handed it over.
It contained chilled peppermint liqueur. The ice cubes clinked together, and the outside of the cup was covered in fine beads of condensation.
Su Cheng tilted her head back and took a big gulp. "Thank you—"
The coolness pouring down her throat made her feel a little better.
Even if it only treated the symptoms and not the root cause, she at least felt much better.
Zane took the cup back and placed it on the tray. Looking at the flushed young girl, he hesitated for a moment before leaning down close.
His kiss was as cool as water droplets.
A kiss landed on her forehead, traced over her eyebrows and eyelids, lingered on her cheekbone for a moment, and finally landed on the corner of her lips.
The touch was very soft and warm, exuding a faint, tranquil scent of ancient pine mixed with mint, devoid of much worldly aura.
It made her realize the other party's identity once again.
Although she hadn't chosen him for this reason; she just felt it was a convenient excuse and the timing was right.
But thinking about it now—
In a way, it was quite thrilling.
Su Cheng started to feel excited, and an inexplicable urge surged up.
She turned her face slightly and gave a light lick, the tip of her tongue touching the edge of his cool lips.
The Archbishop's body stiffened. Those deep green eyes flickered, and then were covered by an aggressive light.
He immediately bit down, allowing her no room to retreat. His teeth snapped together, pressing down on that small tip of her tongue.
Because he controlled his strength very well, Su Cheng was not injured and it didn't really hurt.
But he didn't deepen the kiss; instead, he maintained this state, gently grinding against that scalding flesh.
She inhaled sharply as a tingling sensation instantly spread, exploding from her mouth to her jaw and then spreading through her body.
Su Cheng could clearly feel the outline of his teeth, as well as the texture and pressure of his lips.
She reached out and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, grabbing onto the crisp, thick uniform.
That fluffy, curly blond hair brushed against her jaw, tickling slightly, then rubbed against her throat, gradually moving downward.
The long fingers that had touched the cup still carried traces of water, leaving a trail of wet marks.
She couldn't help but move her leg, accidentally kicking the low cabinet next to her. The silver cup wobbled, sending water droplets flying to land on the landscape painting on the wall.
The water droplets, smelling of mint, flowed down, tracing the towering mountains in the picture frame, lingering and rolling on the pale snow peaks, and seeping a rouge color into the blooming red lotuses.
She looked up at the painting, watching the droplets continue downward, falling into the deep, vibrant forest in the mountains.
Outside the window, the sunlight slanted, and the shadows inside the room slid quietly.
The water trails on the canvas were illuminated, bursting with a golden luster.
Su Cheng couldn't help but grab his hair. "Your Grace, you really don't have to—"
The water droplets slid along the bottom edge of the frame, splashing onto the vanity table, and tracing a string of sparkling water marks on the mahogany surface.
She sighed softly. "...Alright."
The blond, green-eyed young man straightened up, casually wiping the corner of his mouth. "Sorry, I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable."
The two were still close at hand. As he spoke, he lowered his head slightly, and a wisp of golden curly hair fell lightly, brushing across the girl's cheekbone.
She couldn't help but puff her cheeks, wanting to blow it away.
The man above her chuckled softly, seemingly finding her action quite cute.
"No, it's fine," Su Cheng said in a small voice. "...I was just saying, I didn't mean anything else, but you know the next steps, right?"
She originally didn't care about this; anyway, he was so handsome, even if he didn't know how, she could guide him a bit.
The premise being there was no curse.
Right now, she really didn't have much energy, only hoping that the other party was experienced, otherwise it might be very troublesome.
If the curse completely flared up before they finished, she would be the one suffering and tortured.
It's just that—judging from his performance just now, she felt he seemed a bit inexperienced, although the experience was still quite good.
"I'm sorry," the blond youth sighed. "I swear to you, if you need it, you won't feel even the slightest pain in what follows."
Su Cheng: "?"
Is that what I meant!
Although she didn't want him to hurt her either, compared to the curse, none of this was very important.
Su Cheng: "You better not swear to me. I'll just pretend I didn't hear that last sentence."
Very slight pain is sometimes unavoidable, right?
But she wasn't afraid that this sentence would trigger anything; anyway, the divine punishment was controlled by her.
The degree might be hard to guarantee, and once started it couldn't be stopped.
But at least the switch was with her.
Su Cheng: "Wait a minute, you aren't talking about using Holy Magic, are you?"
Zane held her wrist, feeling the pulse beating beneath his palm, the frequency as fast as a startled bird.
He didn't think she was truly this nervous; it was clearly the influence of some external force.
"I don't think that should be necessary, although I really haven't been with anyone else..."
His thumb unconsciously rubbed against her scalding skin. "Perhaps I cannot bring you the most pleasant experience. If you need it, you can also make your requests, if you need me to cooperate—"
"Oh my god, I really didn't mean it like that!"
Su Cheng said in distress, "I'm just a little tired and need you to take the initiative, that's all. Don't think that just because I was chosen by the God of Joy, I have some high standards and strict requirements for this kind of thing. It's like how some people think the favored of the God of Contracts are all liars—"
Zane did not speak.
Su Cheng looked up at him and felt like he actually had this kind of thought.
Su Cheng: "..."
Alas, stereotypes.
"Forget it," Su Cheng gave up explaining. "Anyway, it's not like that. I'm already very happy right now, let's continue."
The Archbishop wanted to say more, but suddenly his shirt was torn open.
The young favored of the god, seemingly coveting the coolness of his body, was whimpering and burrowing into his embrace.
She hugged him eagerly and tightly, burying her face directly in his chest.
He could feel the soft flesh of the young girl's cheeks rubbing against his chest, the tip of her tall nose pressing against the cleavage of his pectoral muscles, and the hair on her forehead and thick eyelashes brushing past faintly.
Zane's breathing rhythm became slightly erratic as he supported the girl's lower back.
Su Cheng's thoughts were also not very clear. More skin contact relieved the burning sensation, but the spreading pleasure also made her less lucid.
She looked at those fair, full muscles and couldn't help but bite down on them.
Her remaining reason told her that he could lift that hammer with one hand, a kind of strength that a normal person couldn't possibly have, so he was highly likely a high-tier warrior.
Therefore, his body was absolutely very tough.
So she bit down completely without controlling her strength.
As expected, there was no sign of bleeding.
...Good.
Su Cheng still remembered who the other party was, and she also knew that this was not someone she could casually offend. Seeing this, she gnawed even more boldly and confidently, even tearing at him forcefully.
The red marks left on his snow-white skin vanished in a flash.
The girl still buried her head in his embrace. Her pitch-black braids had mostly come undone, and the wet strands of hair brushed past like seaweed pushed by the tide.
She pulled up his wrist, letting his fingertips press against her, and the muscles in her waist and abdomen suddenly tightened.
The man above her gasped softly, took the exquisite round silver box from the bedside, and twisted off the lid to reveal the fragrant essential oil.
It was a concoction of floral dew, honey syrup, and herbs.
Zane stroked her ink-black curls with one hand, his fingertips weaving through her hair, while his other hand reached into the narrow box of heated essential oil, the pads of his fingers touching the wet and scalding ointment.
His dipping motion was gentle, as if touching fragile glass.
Layers of sediment accumulated at the bottom of the essential oil.
His fingertips slowly delved deeper, the contours of his knuckles pushing apart the accumulated grease, like separating melted wax, and gently stirred it.
Su Cheng also reached out her hand and grabbed the man's blonde hair.
The strands of hair she touched were equally cool, like silk soaked in a stream on a summer night, twining around her trembling fingers.
The sweat accumulating at her neck flowed down her back muscles, gliding over her arched spine and the dimples of her lower back. The touching skin was like ice and fire wrestling.
The lean lines of the man's waist and abdomen were drawn taut like a fully drawn bow beneath her palm, yet the sensation was still like the glide of a clear mountain spring.
"Your hammer," Su Cheng said breathlessly, "exactly how heavy is it?"
Zane was silent for two seconds. "...I never asked."
Su Cheng couldn't help but fantasize, imagining the process of that weapon being forged.
A cold-quenched longsword would be submerged into the fire.
The sharp blade thrusts into the crevices of the piled charcoal stones, splashing countless fragments.
Blue smoke meandered into a river, the spine of the blade bearing fine beads of water, melting again in the high temperature, running down the long and expanding body of the sword, falling into the blazing ashes.
The bellows let out a long, drawn-out whimper as they pumped, and the charcoal fire burst with crackling golden light under the pressure.
She tilted her head back, the sweat dripping from her hair seeping dark marks into the bedsheets.
The scorching sea of fire and the icy metal intertwined. Ashes splattered rustlingly in the tremors, spilling all the way from the shadows to the corner of the bed, light and shadow stirred into a hazy mist.
"Oh my god—"
Su Cheng inhaled repeatedly, feeling sparks constantly exploding in her spine.
Zane cupped her face, watching the patterns at the edges of the girl's pupils dilate like melting gold leaf.
They looked at each other in the room filled with the mist of lust.
At the same time, Su Cheng seemed to see his irises fading—no, just the green dissipating, seemingly covered by a more brilliant color.
Was this a manifestation of a favored one's arousal?
Su Cheng tried to find a certain pattern in his eyes, a puzzle that could reveal the authority of the god behind him.
She reached out and pinched his chin, stroking his sharp jawline. "You are—"
However, that light quickly extinguished, turning into an emerald color like a quiet spring lake.
Tiny droplets of water condensed between the man's eyelashes, almost like tears of repentance.
"I."
Sunlight passed through the bridge of their touching noses, casting a merged silhouette across the bed.
The Archbishop leaned close to her, "It's just me."
He said gently and calmly, "There is no one else, at least not right now."
Su Cheng: "...?"
What is this guy talking about?
In a daze, she remembered what they had once discussed, how she jokingly asked if a certain deity was listening to their conversation through him.
—He couldn't possibly think she was still suspecting that at this very moment, could he?
The blonde young man leaned down and embraced her.
Su Cheng leaned back, and the bed shook from the impact.
The silver cups on the low cabinet toppled over one by one, tea pouring down and splashing onto the heavy warhammer resting below.
The massive, heavily patterned hammerhead was wet, water filling every crevice of its carvings, shining brightly against the scorching sun outside the window, gleaming with golden-red flowing light.
One of her hands sank into the bedsheets, her knuckles turning a bloodless white. Her other hand, having nowhere to grasp, simply grabbed the short handle of the warhammer.
Amidst the sticky sounds of water, her palm clasped the wet handle.
Every crease in her palm was stretched open; the icy, hard metal ground against soft flesh, countless sensitive nerves pierced through all at once.
She shivered and trembled continuously, stimulated by the coldness. The tea sprayed out from between her tightly squeezed fingers, spreading from the down bedsheets all the way to the pillows.
