As the old adage goes, in wine there is truth.
Although people's behavior after drinking is often bizarre, many of their actions are projections of their deepest subconscious desires. Stripped of the restraints of reason, it is the truest projection, a complete release of all raw instincts.
Therefore, faced with this version of Pei Du, Xie Jingci couldn't help but feel a little dumbfounded.
He was normally so proper and rule-abiding, blushing at the mere touch. Deep down... had he secretly been yearning to do something like this?
And those romance novels Meng Xiaoting gave him—just what on earth had they taught him!
Pei Du's long eyelashes drooped slightly as he looked at her quietly.
His phoenix eyes were strikingly beautiful, narrow and elongated. His dark irises were usually clear and aloof, but the outer corners hooked inward and swept upward, adding a soul-stirring charm. Right now, his eyes were veiled in a hazy mist. As their gazes met, an inexplicable sense of longing and desire emanated from him.
It was a gaze that very few people could ever refuse.
And Xie Jingci was not among that tiny minority.
The scholar kissed the fairy in the flower bushes.
A faint scent of wine wafted from Pei Du. Being so close, a fresh, woody fragrance lingered at her nose, mixed with the sweet scent of peach blossoms, tugging irresistibly at her heartstrings.
When her lips landed on the young man's round dimple, she could feel Pei Du's smile deepen as the corners of his mouth curved high.
The less he concealed his delight, the hotter Xie Jingci's ears burned. The texture of his cheek was different from his lips; although it was also soft, it didn't feel like cotton, but rather like firm jelly.
Whether it was the scent at the tip of her nose or the taste on her lips, the breath she felt was, indeed, sweet.
After being kissed on the dimple, Pei Du completely lost consciousness, swiftly defeated by the fierce potency of the Spring Fills the Garden wine.
The late-night air of early spring wasn't terribly cold, but spending the night in the woods would hardly be comfortable. Xie Jingci poked his dimple one more time, channeled her spiritual power, and transported him back to his room.
A dreamless night passed.
For Pei Du, however, waking up the next day was the beginning of a true nightmare.
The midday sun streamed through the window, falling perfectly onto the young man's fair and handsome face.
Pei Du's long eyelashes fluttered, and he opened his eyes.
The memories of the previous night surfaced bit by bit.
His entire body stiffened into a block of wood. He lay completely motionless, flat on his back beneath the blankets.
Ordinary wine could never make a cultivator drunk. But Spring Fills the Garden was infused with spiritual power, allowing the intoxication to seep deep into every meridian. Many people would collapse after just a few cups, unable to hold out for long.
Yet, no matter how dead drunk they got, a cultivator's body was always protected by spiritual energy, which effectively prevented memory confusion. It was extremely rare for them to black out or suffer from amnesia.
The scattered fragments of his memory slowly pieced themselves together.
Last night, Miss Xie had stayed behind specifically to keep him company.
A wave of heat radiated beneath the covers as Pei Du rolled onto his side and buried his face in the pillow.
Not only had he taken liberties with Miss Xie, but he had also cast an illusion spell right in front of Mo Xiaoyang, ignoring her resistance... and forcing her to say those kinds of things.
He had even shamelessly begged for a kiss, saying something like "my dimple is sweet."
Although Pei Du had inadvertently fantasized about these actions before, they were truly far too shameful. Even just thinking about them usually made him blush uncontrollably, terrified of offending Miss Xie. How could he have actually—
Miss Xie had kindly stayed to keep him company; how could he have done something so ungrateful? He was so frivolous, so scheming. He was no better than the snake that the farmer had kindly brought home, only for it to turn around and bite him.
Pei Du still remembered how fiercely Miss Xie had blushed, and how flustered and panicked she had been upon hearing Mo Xiaoyang's voice.
He had gone way... way too far.
Burning up all over, he subconsciously curled his knees to his chest. His raven-black hair cascaded down, brushing against his jade-white nose.
Lost in his thoughts, a sudden knock on the door snapped him out of his daze.
Having an inkling of who the visitor was, Pei Du answered softly, "Come in."
The door opened, and sure enough, it was Xie Jingci.
"I thought you'd sleep a little longer."
Xie Jingci walked in holding a jade bowl and set it on the table. She took a few steps toward him. "Are you feeling unwell anywhere? This bowl has a specially brewed medicinal soup. If you have a headache or feel weak, you can drink some."
She spoke with a smile, acting as if nothing had happened the night before. Staring at him for a moment, she asked curiously, "What's wrong? Why is your face so red?"
"Miss Xie, about last night—"
Pei Du sat up, his voice hoarse. "I apologize for what happened last night."
He really did remember.
In stark contrast to his bold demeanor from the night before, Pei Du now sat with his long hair draped loosely, messily brushing against his sharp jawline. His face bore the pale frailty of a hangover, heavily contrasted by an unmistakably deep blush.
Her chance for revenge had arrived!
Yesterday, Xie Jingci had been pinned against a tree, rendered completely helpless; today, Xie Jingci could finally strike back with full force!
Xie Jingci suppressed a smile. "Which part of last night are you referring to?"
Pei Du darted a quick glance at her, his expression growing even more nervous. After a moment of hesitation, he finally said slowly, "I disregarded your wishes, and under the cover of the illusion spell... I forced myself upon you."
The moment the word "forced" left his lips, his voice cracked with hoarseness.
Pei Du's mind was a tangled mess. He wanted nothing more than to curl up in a corner where no one could see him, but rather than wallowing in his own embarrassment, apologizing to Miss Xie was the most important thing.
He just hoped she wasn't too angry.
"Oh, that? It's fine. You had been drinking, after all; it's inevitable that your mind wasn't entirely clear."
Xie Jingci pursed her lips into a smile, feigning a look of sudden realization. "Compared to that, bringing you back to your room was actually far more troublesome—do you remember?"
Bringing him back to his room.
The last few scattered fragments of memory snapped into place. Sitting at the head of the bed, Pei Du vaguely recalled what had happened.
He had drunk way too much, and his alcohol tolerance was terrible to begin with. He had lost his senses shortly after, falling asleep in a daze against the tree. By the time he opened his eyes again, he was already back in his own room.
Pei Du remembered Miss Xie's silhouette.
She had helped him into bed and was just about to leave when he suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Pei Du's heart clenched, his ears burning even hotter.
He had grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. As she tumbled onto the bed, he wrapped his arms around her neck and whispered something in her ear.
He had said, "Don't leave me."
His hands clenched into tight fists beneath the covers. As the rest of the memory surfaced, a look of absolute disbelief gradually filled his eyes.
Shameless and utterly brazen, he had actually spoken right into her ear, enunciating every single word, "I want to sleep with Miss Xie."
"I want to sleep with Miss Xie." He had actually said those words out loud. He was a slave to her beauty, his inner thoughts completely despicable.
Pei Du: ...
If there were no upper limit to human body temperature, he would have exploded on the spot, bursting into a fiery firework in the sky for everyone to behold his wicked heart.
Standing to the side, Xie Jingci was desperately trying to hold back her laughter. She covered her mouth with her hand, letting out a light cough that only made it more obvious.
When she heard Pei Du say those words last night, her face had flushed beet red on the spot. He had been drowsy, his eyes misty, and with his long hair undone, he had gazed at her with a smile that carried a hint of pitiful pleading. It was terrifyingly lethal to her heart.
A fierce battle had raged in her mind, tearing her thoughts in two, but before she could even make a decision, Pei Du had already fallen fast asleep.
What goes around, comes around.
All his brazen boldness from last night had now turned into blades stabbing right back at him.
Seeing him blushing and completely at a loss for what to do was just too cute, far too cute.
"If you're not feeling unwell, you should get up soon."
Xie Jingci suppressed her fluttering heartbeat and leaned a little closer to him. She reached out and smoothed down a stubborn cowlick sticking up from the top of Pei Du's head. "Mo Xiaoyang, Meng Xiaoting, and I are planning to discuss the matter regarding the East Sea. I heard it's not very peaceful there, so we must make preparations in advance."
Her sudden touch caught Pei Du off guard, making his heart skip a beat.
What followed was a fierce pounding, like the beating of a drum.
"By the way, the dimple is quite sweet."
Miss Xie's voice was very low, brushing against his ear with a soft chuckle. "As for other things, we have plenty of time ahead of us."
The little person in his heart froze on the spot, curled up into a soft little ball, and began rolling around in a silly daze.
Pei Du pressed his lips together silently, concealing the sudden upward curve of his mouth.
*
"The opening time of the Langya Mystic Realm is uncertain. If we want to stake it out, our only option is Lingshui Village."
Meng Xiaoting held a map in her hands, studying it carefully. "But the problem lies precisely with this Lingshui Village. It's located in a remote corner, far away from the cultivation world, and is known as a 'lawless land.' Recently, a lot of bizarre things have been happening there."
Mo Xiaoyang asked curiously, "What kind of things?"
"For example, the mysterious disappearance of young and strong men, monsters running rampant in the East Sea, and I heard someone went up the mountain at night and saw several mummified corpses walking side by side."
She curled her lips slightly and lowered her voice. "There are many rumors about Lingshui Village, but the most credible one is that someone is raising Gu bugs to cause chaos, using the villagers as sacrifices to increase their cultivation. The village is so remote that there are hardly any cultivators guarding it. Even if the true culprit is found, no one there would be a match for a Gu Master."
Xie Jingci raised an eyebrow. "A Gu Master?"
There are many paths of cultivation in the cultivation world. Some enter the Dao through emotions, while others enter through food. Raising Gu is also one of them, though extremely rare, and it is hardly considered an orthodox method.
Gu poisons are ever-changing, and many can make a person wish for death. If a Gu Master is truly stirring up trouble, it would be an absolute disaster for the common folk.
Since they have to stay in Lingshui Village for a while during this trip, if they happen to run into that person, a fierce battle will be inevitable.
"Furthermore, the spiritual energy in Lingshui Village is extremely thin. When cultivators go there, their cultivation base will drop by at least forty percent. We'll also have to be constantly mindful not to exhaust our spiritual energy."
Meng Xiaoting frowned with a serious expression. "Under those circumstances, a Gu Master would have a massive advantage. We should still try to be careful and avoid a direct conflict with that person. But if we really do run into them, we'll still have to fight, right? A scum who treats human lives like grass deserves to be taught a lesson."
"The shores of the East Sea are indeed sinister."
Xie Shu, who had been listening from the side for a long time, rubbed his chin. "It's best if you don't even use sword flight. Once you use up your spiritual energy, you'll be at a huge disadvantage when entering the Langya Mystic Realm."
At this point, he turned his gaze to Pei Du. "Before you woke up today, Lin Que had already arrived. He comes and goes like a shadow all day, who knows what he's busy with. Because he was in a hurry to get back on the road, he took advantage of your sleep to examine your meridians and didn't find any lingering demonic aura."
As an elder of the Medicine King Valley, Lin Que's cultivation was not low, and his medical skills were unparalleled in the cultivation world.
That unknown mass of black mist was supposedly demonic aura parasitizing his sea of consciousness, yet even Lin Que couldn't detect it. Its strength was likely far beyond imagination.
In today's cultivation world, did a demonic cultivator who surpassed both Xie Shu and Lin Que... truly exist?
"Are you still pondering my identity?"
A familiar giggling sound echoed by his ear. "With just those few, how could they possibly discover my existence?"
A wave of sharp pain shot through his mind.
Pei Du didn't respond to it. He listened as Xie Shu continued, "Your cultivation has advanced too quickly, and you were injured again at the Guiyuan Immortal Estate last time. A few of your meridians were blocked by bruised blood, but he has already cleared them for you. If you still feel any discomfort, you must let me know."
Pei Du nodded. "Thank you, Senior."
"Why aren't you answering me!"
The voice by his ear grew exasperated, rampaging wildly within his sea of consciousness. "Ignoring me, ignoring me! I hate it the most when you act like this. Do you really think you're so noble, so amazing? In the end, your sanity will still be devoured by me, and you'll become a demon that everyone wants dead."
It laughed out loud as it spoke, its sinister cackle piercing and grating, as if it had recalled something extremely amusing. But a moment later, it put on a furious display again. "You know nothing... You thief! Let me in, let me in!"
It wanted to enter the depths of his sea of consciousness.
Waves of intense pain hit him one after another. Pei Du furrowed his brows and pressed his lips together, trying his best to suppress his trembling so the people around him wouldn't notice anything amiss.
With so many cultivators in the cultivation world, he wasn't the only one born with sword bones.
Yet, this demonic aura had manifested beside him, determined to control his body. Even the aura surrounding it carried a subtle, strangely familiar scent.
Could it be... he had some past connection with this demonic aura? What did it mean by "a demon that everyone wants dead" and "thief"? Judging from its tone, did they know each other before?
"Let's bring more spiritual medicines and magical artifacts, just in case we need them,"
Xie Jingci said. "With the East Sea being so dangerous, and yet I'm still asking everyone to come with me... thank you."
The black mist, which had been screaming and shouting, froze for a split second upon hearing her voice.
"I've been wanting to catch the culprit for a long time!"
Meng Xiaoting was full of fighting spirit. Halfway through, she revealed a somewhat curious expression. "But I am quite curious. That thing didn't steal magical artifacts, nor did it touch golden cores. It only took away a small piece of divine sense... What exactly was in that divine sense?"
Mo Xiaoyang was equally excited. "I've never seen a Gu Master before. I've only heard some rumors about Love Gu, Heart-Severing Gu, Heart-Devouring Gu. I've always wanted to experience them."
"The Gu poisons you mentioned are all tricks used on people who already have someone in their hearts."
Meng Xiaoting chuckled, exposing him mercilessly. "For people like us, we'd only get the Ten Thousand Ants Devouring Heart Gu, Heavenly Thunder Gu, and Puppet Gu."
Mo Xiaoyang: ...
"Then let's rest for two days."
Xie Jingci nodded with a smile. "In two days, we'll head to Lingshui Village by the East Sea."
*
Meanwhile, at the Pei Manor.
The night breeze fluttered the layers of curtains. The candlelight reflected against the light gauze, outlining the slender silhouette of a woman in the spacious room.
Someone knocked and entered, walking briskly to the woman's side. The person's footsteps were light and nimble, not making a single sound.
Bai Wan put down the book in her hands and listened to the newcomer whisper in her ear for a long while. Finally, a trace of dark malice flashed across her eyes.
Her tone was deep, and she raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. "The East Sea?"
"Exactly."
The newcomer said, "The East Sea has not been peaceful recently, and the Langya Mystic Realm is also treacherous and unpredictable. Their journey will definitely not be smooth sailing."
Bai Wan sneered.
She had heard about the incident that happened in the Langya Mystic Realm back then. Xie Jingci was ambushed, her life hung by a thread, and she fell into a coma for a whole year.
Why did she only stay in a coma for a year?
If Xie Jingci had died right then and there, everything would have been completely different. Pei Du would have been left all alone at the bottom of the cliff in the Ghost Tomb, with no one to rely on. How could he possibly be riding roughshod over them so brazenly like he was now?
He had even implicated her Xiao Yu.
Ever since the incident with Pei Yu spread throughout the cultivation world, the Pei Manor's vitality had been greatly damaged.
Pei Fengnan valued his pride above all else. For the past few days, he had been running around, racking his brains to minimize the fallout, and had not returned home once. Bai Wan's last memory of him was his furious face as he pointed a finger at her nose and cursed, "Look at the fine son you have raised! Tell me, did you two tamper with the Ghost Tomb?!"
She did not answer, and Pei Fengnan did not press the matter.
Deep down, he was undoubtedly terrified of the truth. If Bai Wan was truly the culprit behind that day's events, then his treatment of Pei Du meant he had indiscriminately and unjustly wronged an innocent person.
Pei Fengnan was doing everything in his power to avoid the truth, desperately trying to shield himself from the condemnation of his own conscience.
Regardless, thanks to that group of people, she had lost her son, her Dao companion, and her reputation. The Pei family had now become a laughingstock. Many even gossiped about the incident at the Ghost Tomb, claiming that she and Xiao Yu were simply reaping what they had sown.
Bai Wan's eyes darkened, a layer of icy frost gathering in their depths.
If they insisted she was a villain, then she would play the part to the bitter end.
Since Xie Jingci could encounter a mishap in the Langya Mystic Realm once, it stood to reason that she could stumble into a second, inescapably fatal trap.
The Langya Mystic Realm was desolate and uninhabited, devoid of any scrying spirits for surveillance. No matter what happened inside, outsiders would absolutely never know.
Xie Jingci, Pei Du, and those arrogant juniors who knew no bounds and dared to slander Xiao Yu...
This time, she would ensure they died without a grave.
