Helan Zhao suddenly burst into a wild, almost unhinged laugh. His handsome, dark eyes crinkled until tears seemed ready to spill.
Back then, he had boldly offered himself to Yuan Shu and confessed his feelings, only to be rejected without the slightest hesitation.
The reason for her refusal had been the Tianlong royal family’s unique constitution—and the pure yang dragon qi they possessed.
And now she had taken an interest in another man who possessed pure yang dragon qi. Worse, he was his own brother.
Ying was actually Helan Zhao’s biological brother?
Yuan Shu truly hadn’t known.
Ying had only told her that his name was Ying. She knew merely that his consciousness belonged to an Earth Demon Sha who had been born only a few days ago.
As for the identity of the body he occupied, she had no idea. It had never even crossed her mind that things could be so coincidental.
This man just happened to be Helan Zhao’s biological brother, a prince of the Tianlong Dynasty.
She had recognized Helan Zhao earlier because of the dragon-shaped jade pendant he always carried. Ying had no such item on him.
Besides, who would have thought that someone trapped in an underground cave and looking so wretched could actually be a prince?
“Yuan Shu, if I hadn’t come to stop you just now, and you had gone through with it with him, the pure yang dragon qi in his body would have been unable to transform, and he would have died!”
Helan Zhao spoke without the slightest restraint. Yuan Shu’s brows immediately drew together.
So that was true!
The cave fell silent. No one spoke again.
After a long while, Ying finally pieced together the meaning of their conversation. He looked at Helan Zhao, then pointed at himself.
“You’re saying I’m a prince of the Tianlong Dynasty?”
“Don’t believe me?”
Helan Zhao glanced at him and snorted. He pushed the Bloodline Compass in front of Ying.
“Drop your blood onto the compass. Royal blood will make it shine with golden light!”
He would never joke about something like this.
Helan Ying had disappeared five years ago, but his portrait still hung in the Tianlong Imperial Palace. Helan Zhao could not possibly have mistaken him.
Ying turned to glance at Yuan Shu. After a brief moment of thought, he raised his hand, sliced open his fingertip, and squeezed out a drop of blood onto the Bloodline Compass.
In an instant, the compass burst into a dazzling golden radiance.
The expressions of all three people present changed.
The golden light from the compass had proven Helan Ying’s identity.
Ying really was a prince of the Tianlong Dynasty!
At the same time, far away in the imperial palace of the Tianlong Dynasty, the emperor sensed a familiar bloodline fluctuation. His eyes flew open.
“Finally… Have we found him?”
…
Helan Ying stared blankly at the compass.
He had thought that after his failed ambush of Yuan Shu, he would probably die here. He had never expected the situation to reverse so quickly.
This body of his was the body of a prince of the Tianlong Dynasty—and his own brother had come looking for him.
In that case, Yuan Shu could no longer kill him, could she?
After all, he was now Helan Ying, genuine and beyond doubt!
In truth, Yuan Shu had never intended to kill him from the very beginning.
He was an Earth Demon Sha, and she had an agreement with Mo Yi. Finding him would bring her benefits.
The intimacy earlier had merely been her way of collecting a little interest from him and helping Xiushe rebuild its physical body.
Mo Yi had also promised her a generous reward once their cooperation succeeded.
She was counting on handing over the Earth Demon Sha and becoming rich in one stroke!
Still, it was fortunate that Helan Zhao had arrived.
Otherwise, if Helan Ying had truly taken her virginity and died right in front of her, he would have become worthless!
The three people around the fire fell silent.
Yuan Shu and Helan Ying were each occupied with their own thoughts. Helan Zhao, on the other hand, wore every thought plainly on his face.
Since Helan Ying possessed pure yang dragon qi, Yuan Shu definitely would not treat him as she had before.
Better to arrive at the right time than early. Helan Zhao was immensely grateful that he had come.
“I’m going to change clothes.”
Helan Zhao glanced at his filthy outfit, rose to his feet, dusted the dirt from his hem, and headed toward the nearby cave.
He knew that Yuan Shu was a neat freak. Since he had finally managed to see her again, he absolutely had to leave a good impression.
The clothes had already been torn at the hem when he fell into the grass earlier, and they were covered in bits of leaves and weeds. He should have changed them long ago.
But he had to be quick. He absolutely could not let Yuan Shu be alone with Helan Ying!
Helan Zhao hurried away. Yuan Shu watched his retreating back for a moment before turning around and meeting Helan Ying’s gaze.
The instant their eyes met, Helan Ying’s mind began racing.
Yuan Shu knew Helan Zhao, and judging from Helan Zhao’s attitude, he was clearly very fond of her. He certainly would not help him deal with Yuan Shu.
Thinking of how Yuan Shu had imprisoned him after his earlier attempt to ambush her, Helan Ying gritted his teeth and decisively abandoned the idea of extracting divine power from her.
The best option now was to use their blood relationship to make Helan Zhao protect him. If he could trick Yuan Shu into giving him an antidote and restoring his strength, that would be even better.
At the thought of the drug Yuan Shu had given him, Helan Ying’s long lashes trembled. He seemed to recall how, earlier on the bed, Yuan Shu had held him and teased him.
A strange sensation stirred at his waist, instantly heating his body.
Yuan Shu keenly sensed that Helan Ying’s breathing had grown heavier. When she turned her head, she saw his face faintly flushed.
“What are you thinking about?”
Yuan Shu suddenly leaned closer, the fragrance of pear blossoms sweeping over him.
Helan Ying looked up instinctively and met her deep, dark eyes.
He felt as though he had been caught having an erotic dream. His face turned awkward and embarrassed.
“N-Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Yuan Shu repeated with a soft laugh. “But I can clearly feel a burning heat.”
“Helan Ying, are you thinking about what we didn’t finish earlier?”
Helan Ying abruptly raised his head and stared at Yuan Shu in alarm, his expression seeming to ask, How did you know?
Yuan Shu curved her lips into a smile. She leaned toward his ear, blew gently against it, then lowered her gaze and nodded toward his lower body.
“Take a look down there.”
Helan Ying followed her gaze. When his eyes fell to his waist, his face flushed bright red. He hurriedly looked away.
No matter how much of the Earth Demon Sha’s inheritance he possessed or how mature his mind was, he had only been born a short while ago. Where could he possibly have any experience with this?
Yuan Shu suddenly gripped his chin. He heard her say, “The royal family of the Tianlong Dynasty all possess pure yang dragon qi, and it must be given to their newlywed wives.”
“I won’t take yours. But before we leave this place, I need something else from you.”
Helan Ying looked up. Yuan Shu watched his face as she finished speaking, then slowly moved closer under his astonished gaze.
The instant their lips touched, Helan Ying’s hand tightened abruptly around the weeds.
“Once we leave, I’ll give you the antidote.”
She spoke in a hushed voice. Then, without the slightest hesitation, she pried open his lips…
Yuan Shu was not some lust-crazed woman. It was simply that the Hehuan Divine Tree had just told her that Xiushe currently needed some fierce, baleful energy to shape its body.
Taking out her whip and beating someone again was obviously impractical. Helan Zhao would never agree to it either.
So she could only… kiss him more.
Fortunately, although this method was slow, it could still provide the baleful energy Xiushe needed. She would just have to work a little harder.
After being thoroughly “trained” by Yuan Shu, Helan Ying was already completely accustomed to her kisses.
Almost the instant Yuan Shu kissed him, Helan Ying instinctively opened his mouth.
…
In one corner of the cave, the flowers and grass rustled.
Helan Zhao had just changed into a clean, elegant outfit when he looked up and saw the scene before him.
