Yuan Shu narrowed her eyes at him. Ying’s face immediately flushed, and he awkwardly looked away, murmuring in protest.
“I didn’t. I’ve never touched another woman…”
“So you’ve never experienced the taste of a kiss either?”
Yuan Shu chuckled. Leaning close to his burning ear, she spoke in a low, husky voice.
“Tell me, did you like it just now, big sister’s kiss?”
Ying’s expression shifted slightly, and the blush on his face seemed to deepen. Recalling the sensation from moments ago, his Adam’s apple rolled uncontrollably.
Did he like it?
He did seem not to dislike it. In fact, for a brief moment, he had been almost completely immersed in it.
The fragrance of pear blossoms that clung to Yuan Shu seemed bewitched, drawing him in to devour and entangle himself with her.
As though he wanted to swallow every trace of her scent!
“I… I liked it.”
In the end, it was all for the sake of achieving his goal. Whether or not the words were sincere, he had to say them.
Ying lifted his eyes and stared unwaveringly at Yuan Shu with a pair of deep green eyes, shimmering with moisture and captivating enough to tug at the heartstrings.
The corners of Yuan Shu’s lips curved upward as she brought her face close again.
“Good. I’m glad you liked it.”
As she spoke, she brushed her lips lightly against Ying’s and said in a husky voice, “What we did just now was a tempest. This time, it’ll be gentle and lingering, like a stream flowing slowly.”
“Good boy. Open your mouth.”
Ying’s long lashes trembled. His gaze fell upon Yuan Shu’s charming, seductive face, and his Adam’s apple rolled once more.
A moment later, his slightly swollen lips parted, revealing the tip of his rosy tongue.
A glint flashed through Yuan Shu’s eyes, and she kissed him again without hesitation.
This time, she used little force.
Like the soft tip of a kitten’s tail gently brushing across his cheek, it skimmed over him inch by inch, leisurely and unhurried.
The kiss gradually deepened.
Ying’s breath grew hot again, spilling across the tip of her nose with an almost scorching warmth.
His eyes trembled. On one hand, he silently reminded himself that he shouldn’t be sinking into such desire.
On the other, he thought that since he ultimately needed to gain Yuan Shu’s trust, there was nothing wrong with doing this.
This was an important way of expressing his feelings to Yuan Shu!
His thoughts wrestled with each other, and so he half-resisted, half-submitted to Yuan Shu.
Letting her take control.
Letting her claim him.
…
Night fell. The luminous stones embedded in the cave walls cast a dim, yellow glow.
Yuan Shu had just finished dinner with Ying when, as usual, she extended her spiritual sense into her sea of consciousness. As her awareness swept across it, she froze slightly.
The Ling Chi’s original form, which had been as thick as a wrist, was now shrouded in a faint red radiance.
Beneath that light, thin red veins seemed to surge across the beast’s body, almost as though they were real and tangible!
“What happened to Ling Chi?” Yuan Shu turned to look at the Hehuan Divine Tree.
“I don’t know. That red light began appearing on Ling Chi after you and Ying started getting intimate.”
The Hehuan Divine Tree explained, “I saw that it didn’t seem harmful, so I didn’t tell you.”
“Shushu, don’t you think that red light looks somewhat like the reaction beasts have when reshaping their bodies?”
Yuan Shu was a little surprised.
Reshaping his body?
Didn’t Xiushe need the turbid energy of Heaven and Earth, baleful and fiendish energy, or the essence of ancient beast remnants for the second step of reshaping his body?
She had yet to find the Earth Demon Sha, so how could Ling Chi have already begun reshaping his body?
But the Hehuan Divine Tree had a point. The Xiushe before her was indeed reshaping his body!
Wait.
The Hehuan Divine Tree had just said that all of this had begun when she and Ying became intimate.
A possibility suddenly occurred to her. She raised her head and met the Hehuan Divine Tree’s gaze.
“Shushu, could it be that Ying is actually…”
“The Earth Demon Sha!” Yuan Shu finished with a light laugh.
Clearly, one person and one tree had arrived at the same conclusion.
It was just that neither of them had expected that the Earth Demon Sha’s source power Mo Yi had given her would fail to identify Ying’s true identity.
Instead, the Ling Chi in her sea of consciousness had recognized him.
When the Earth Demon Sha was born, he had been endowed with baleful and fiendish energy. Ying must have drawn that power into his body, which was why he hadn’t revealed the slightest trace of it.
And only when they were intimately entwined could she draw it out.
That was how Ling Chi had absorbed the baleful and fiendish energy!
“After searching high and low, I found it without even having to look!”
Yuan Shu chuckled. She had originally only intended to play along and see what Ying was really plotting.
But now, it seemed she had no choice but to become much more intimate with him!
If this could help Ling Chi complete the second step of reshaping his body, then everything would be perfect!
Yuan Shu withdrew her spiritual sense from her sea of consciousness, and her gaze fell deeply upon Ying across from her.
The handsome youth was tall and slender, dressed in the clean clothes Yuan Shu had prepared for him.
It was a finely made light-blue robe, with delicate silver wave embroidery along the collar and cuffs.
A jade pendant and a decorative brooch adorned his waist, bringing out every bit of the noble air about him.
Yuan Shu hadn’t thought much of it when he was wearing those mottled, ragged clothes. But now that he had changed into this clean, newly made outfit, she inexplicably felt that there was something familiar about his features.
As though she had seen him somewhere before!
Yet when she looked more closely, she couldn’t find anything unusual and could only let the matter go.
“Big sister, do I look good?”
Ying tugged at the hem of his robe and spun around once in front of Yuan Shu. He saw the admiration in her eyes.
He had seen his reflection in the water before and knew that he possessed a fine face. That was why he had dared to approach Yuan Shu so boldly.
He had been counting on the charm of this face!
Sure enough, Yuan Shu nodded. She stepped forward, took his hand, and slowly raised it, her eyes narrowing with a smile.
“You look wonderful. You make me want to do something.”
Ying’s expression stiffened slightly. Before he could react, Yuan Shu had already wrapped an arm around his waist.
Although he was more than half a head taller than Yuan Shu, she pulled him effortlessly into her arms. A shy expression appeared on his face, and he turned away awkwardly.
Yuan Shu reached out and forcefully turned his face back toward her.
“S-sister…”
Ying’s long lashes trembled. He looked at Yuan Shu with a pair of eyes rippling with nervousness and shyness, making her heart itch.
This fellow certainly knew how to take advantage of his strengths.
That face, that body—he was truly a feast for the eyes!
The corners of Yuan Shu’s lips lifted. She raised her arm, hooked it around his neck, and pulled him down with force.
“What are you so shy about? We’ve already kissed, haven’t we?”
Ying’s expression grew even more bashful, and a flush rose to the tips of his ears.
But Yuan Shu didn’t give him time to speak. She turned his evasive face back toward her, rose onto her toes, and kissed him.
Being intimate with him was the only way Ling Chi could absorb more of the baleful and fiendish energy, right?
Wonderful!
Yuan Shu’s eyes curved into a smile as she watched Ying’s nervous, trembling gaze. She tightened her arm and pulled him closer.
The faint scent of osmanthus spilled from his lips and mingled with the fragrance of pear blossoms.
Ying’s breathing quickly became ragged.
He reached out and clasped Yuan Shu around the waist, taking the initiative and pulling her into his embrace. Then he imitated the way Yuan Shu had treated him, becoming entwined with her.
He had thought it through.
Since they had already kissed, what difference did one time or two make?
If his obedience could make her lower her guard and withdraw the spiritual energy protecting her body, then he would be able to absorb the divine power within her!
Both of them harbored their own schemes, their true intentions hidden from each other.
Yet they shared one common goal: to lose themselves in this moment of intimacy.
“Shushu, the red light around Ling Chi is becoming even more pronounced. Your method really works!”
The Hehuan Divine Tree’s astonished exclamation echoed from within her sea of consciousness.
