Helan Zhao’s kiss was forceful and domineering, carrying the defiance and anger of a young man. In an instant, it completely overwhelmed Yuan Shu.
Everything Yuan Shu had wanted to say was sealed behind his lips, leaving her unable to utter a word.
In the darkness, the only thing she could sense was the faint fragrance of dragon’s saliva lingering around them.
He had long since become familiar with Yuan Shu’s lips, knowing exactly how to please her.
One large hand slipped around Yuan Shu’s waist and pulled her tightly into his arms, while the other supported the back of her neck.
Before long, ambiguous sounds echoed through the small corner of the cave.
Only after a long while did Helan Zhao finally release her lips and speak in a hoarse voice.
“My brother can do it, and so can I. In fact, I can feel it, Yuan Shu—you prefer me, don’t you?”
He pressed a light kiss to the corner of her lips, his voice taking on a hint of grievance. “I really do like you, Yuan Shu. Don’t push me away, all right?”
Yuan Shu breathed faintly, her emotions already stirred by her earlier interaction with Helan Ying.
Now, enveloped in the scent of dragon’s saliva radiating from Helan Zhao, her body had long since gone weak against her will.
She could only clutch his robe tightly and let him hold her by the waist, lest she truly collapse onto the ground.
“Helan Zhao, don’t provoke me. I’m not a good person. If you push me too far, then even knowing that you’ll die, I’ll still kill you!”
Yuan Shu tugged at his robe, drew a deep breath, and leaned toward his ear before speaking coldly in a low voice.
She truly was not a good person. No one should try to challenge her limits!
She had only meant to frighten Helan Zhao, but to him, those words sounded like encouragement and acknowledgment.
She liked him too. That was why she had thoughts about his body!
Realizing this, Helan Zhao’s eyes lit up, and his hold around Yuan Shu’s waist tightened.
“I knew it! Yuan Shu, you like me too! I knew you didn’t want to hurt me, so I have another way.”
He spoke with deep emotion. When he glanced sideways and met Yuan Shu’s puzzled expression, the corners of his lips curved upward. Then he lowered his head once more and kissed her.
Yuan Shu’s eyes widened slightly. The blood that had only just calmed began to surge again.
“Helan Zhao, d-don’t…”
Yuan Shu struggled to speak, but he sealed her words away without hesitation.
In the darkness, the ambiguous atmosphere grew increasingly heated.
Helan Zhao’s hand slid down Yuan Shu’s waist and found the sash, easily undoing the knot.
Her robes came loose, revealing a broad expanse of snow-white shoulder.
Her skin was as lustrous as jade, so striking that it remained dazzling even in the dim cave.
Helan Zhao’s gaze burned. After only one glance, his mouth went dry.
His lips moved from Yuan Shu’s cheek to her beautiful neck, then slowly downward to her collarbone…
Helan Zhao carried Yuan Shu over to a stone platform, where a thick wool blanket had already been spread.
The soft material pressed against her back as Helan Zhao knelt beside her and reached toward her clothing.
“Helan Zhao, don’t do anything reckless!”
In the darkness, Yuan Shu tried frantically to stop him, but two strands of golden spiritual energy wrapped around her hands and feet.
Once her robes had been completely loosened, she felt Helan Zhao draw close. Her body trembled faintly in the darkness.
“Mmm…”
Yuan Shu clenched her teeth, yet could not suppress the soft sounds escaping her lips.
She did not need to look to know what Helan Zhao was doing!
Was this man truly planning to give her his pure yang dragon energy here?
Was he genuinely unafraid of death, or…?
Yuan Shu’s thoughts were a tangled mess. She tried to struggle, but Helan Zhao seemed to have prepared for everything in advance.
The two strands of spiritual energy holding her wrists appeared weak, yet breaking free from them was nearly impossible.
They were likely a magical artifact or spiritual treasure he carried with him.
“Don’t be afraid, Shushu. I’m not that foolish. I won’t die. I still want to live properly and have a future with you.”
Helan Zhao lifted his head and whispered into her ear before lowering it again.
An unfamiliar sensation suddenly came from her waist.
Yuan Shu’s expression shifted. As if by reflex, she tried to pull away, but Helan Zhao caught her ankle.
“Shushu, he wouldn’t go this far for you, would he? But I can. Shushu, I really do like you…”
His voice was low and hoarse, with a faint, excited tremor running through it.
The instant he finished speaking, he lowered his head.
Yuan Shu’s eyes widened slightly. Her hands, pulled apart by the strands of spiritual energy, suddenly clenched.
A helpless whimper escaped her lips.
“Helan Zhao…”
Her trembling voice came out in broken fragments, and after that, she could no longer form a complete sentence.
…
Broken whimpers drifted on the wind. They sounded like the faint cries of a kitten—or perhaps a puppy—and reached Helan Ying’s ears.
At first, Helan Ying thought he had imagined it.
But when another uncontrolled cry reached him, he realized that it was Yuan Shu!
Helan Ying abruptly rose from the cave and looked toward the passage in the distance.
The sounds seemed to be coming from that direction.
What had happened to Yuan Shu?
Helan Ying frowned and hesitated briefly before walking toward the passage.
However, before he could enter the cave, a barrier of spiritual energy blocked his way.
He tried attacking it, only to be hurled backward by the powerful energy within.
Meanwhile, Yuan Shu’s whimpers grew clearer by the moment.
It sounded as though she were enduring immense pain, yet also experiencing overwhelming pleasure.
It was like crying and laughing at once, like joy and suffering intertwined.
Helan Ying did not understand what kind of sound it was, but for some reason, hearing it made his heartbeat quicken.
Even his throat grew inexplicably dry.
“Elder Sister?” he called out, but received no response.
Growing anxious, he raised his voice. “Elder Sister!”
Helan Ying’s feelings were complicated. He could tell that Yuan Shu had an ulterior motive toward him.
At first, he had been wary. But over the past few days, under the influence of Yuan Shu’s pear-blossom fragrance and Zhuohua’s guidance, he had somehow developed a secret, inexplicable excitement.
That excitement made him want to draw closer and closer to Yuan Shu, to receive more of her attention and submit to her control.
Now that he knew she was in trouble, his first reaction was not to flee, but to worry about her!
Yet Yuan Shu seemed completely immersed in that state, with no time to respond to him.
Just as he was about to call out again, a cold voice entered his mind through spiritual transmission, accompanied by faint, hurried breaths.
“Shut up!”
Helan Ying froze for a moment before realizing that the voice belonged to Helan Zhao, the man who claimed to be his younger brother.
“What did you do to her? Let her go!” Helan Ying frowned and stared coldly at the spiritual barrier before him.
Helan Zhao had never expected that he had merely wanted to show off before Helan Ying, to flaunt how much Yuan Shu favored him.
That was why he had deliberately refrained from using spiritual energy to block the sounds.
But Helan Ying had come knocking and refused to let the matter drop, pounding on the barrier so loudly that it shook.
Helan Zhao had no choice but to divert a strand of his consciousness to deal with him.
“Helan Ying, are you truly stupid, or are you pretending? Naturally, I’m cultivating with her. Can’t you tell?”
“If you know what’s good for you, go somewhere else!”
