Night fell in the bathing room.
Outside, the moonlight was slightly cool; inside, the steam curled upwards.
Yuan Shu submerged most of her body in the medicinal liquid, leaning lazily against the back of the wooden tub.
"Creak..."
The door was pushed open, and a bare-chested Yun Sheng walked in carrying a tray with clean clothes.
He placed the tray on a small table nearby and quickly walked to the edge of the tub.
"You're here?"
Yuan Shu asked casually, skillfully turning her back to him and sitting up slightly.
Yun Sheng's cherry-pink eyes trembled. He reached out and slowly began to massage the acupoints along Yuan Shu's back.
Compared to his clumsiness a while ago, his technique was now quite skilled, able to accurately locate every acupoint on her body.
The appropriate pressure, combined with the medicinal power of the liquid seeping into her acupoints, brought a wave of soothing warmth.
Yuan Shu let out a soft sigh, her entire body relaxing.
It wasn't until he had kneaded her acupoints twice that tonight's massage came to an end.
However, his hands did not withdraw; instead, they slowly wandered along her smooth, beautiful back.
Reaching her waist, he exerted a little force and lifted Yuan Shu out of the tub.
He carefully helped dry the water droplets on her body. "Miss Yuan..."
His husky voice, carrying a hint of pleading, sounded in front of her, and those hands also moved up from her waist.
Landing on places they shouldn't touch.
Yuan Shu let out a soft moan and did not refuse.
Yun Sheng's eyes widened slightly. In the next second, he had already scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the nearby bed.
His long, powerful hands grasped Yuan Shu's calves.
...
Outside the window, night birds chirped, but they could hardly mask the unusual sounds coming from inside the room.
After kissing her, Yun Sheng held Yuan Shu, his kisses trailing up to her neck, and then her cheeks.
Then, carrying her unique scent, he captured her lips.
The familiar scent of pear blossoms was like an enchanting fragrance that stole one's soul, making him never want to let go once he had it.
Yun Sheng didn't dare to be too forceful, afraid of making Yuan Shu angry.
His kisses were deep and continuous. Only after tasting everything did he release her, panting softly.
Yuan Shu lay lazily. She opened her eyes, a smile curving her lips. "Yun Sheng, you've reached the second level of Qi Refining? That's quite fast!"
Yun Sheng's Adam's apple bobbed as he lowered his head slightly. "Yes, I will be at the third level soon."
He knelt respectfully on one knee at the edge of the bed.
...
An hour later, a languid Yuan Shu was carried back to the bed in her room by Yun Sheng.
She was already dressed in fresh, clean clothes.
Having finished all this, Yun Sheng was just about to turn and leave when Yuan Shu reached out and stopped him.
Meeting Yun Sheng's confused gaze, Yuan Shu handed him a cultivation manual.
"This is the Jade Bamboo Cultivation Mantra, a high-tier cultivation method."
"For me?" Yun Sheng was in disbelief.
A high-tier method?
A high-tier method just like the Cloud Satchel Acupoint Nourishing Technique from before?
And it's actually a core cultivation method?
Such a manual in the Luoxian Sect would require a massive amount of sect points to exchange!
"I handed it to you, so naturally, it's yours."
Yuan Shu smiled faintly and added, "This method suits your physique very well, but it does not belong to the Luoxian Sect."
"Therefore, if you cultivate it, you will never be able to join the Luoxian Sect in the future. Whether you accept it or not is up to you."
Her expression was casual, as if she were talking about the most ordinary thing in the world.
But the manual she handed over was glowing with a faint golden light.
It was truly a high-tier method!
"Miss Yuan, I..."
He looked agitated, taking the manual with both hands. His eyes seemed to shine as he looked at Yuan Shu.
Seeing his overwhelmed appearance, Yuan Shu's smile deepened.
She couldn't help but tease, "What, you're this happy over a single high-tier manual?"
"Yes, I am very happy! I will definitely not disappoint Miss Yuan's expectations!"
Yun Sheng never expected that half a month ago, he was just an ordinary handyman disciple who had barely entered the Qi Refining stage.
And now, he was about to step into the third level of Qi Refining, holding a high-tier manual that others could only dream of!
"Mhm."
Yuan Shu curled her lips into a soft smile and beckoned to him. Yun Sheng obediently leaned his face closer.
Yuan Shu reached out and gently pinched his fair, clean cheek. "Work hard, and there will be more rewards in the future!"
Yun Sheng grabbed Yuan Shu's hand, holding it like a precious treasure in his palms, and gently kissed her fingers one by one.
"Yes!"
...
Three days later.
Yuan Shu was sitting cross-legged on the bed, circulating her qi, when the door was knocked gently. Yun Sheng's voice drifted in from outside.
"Miss Yuan, a junior disciple from Qingyun Peak has come with a message. He says the Peak Master requests your presence at the Qingyun Hall immediately."
Inside the room, Yuan Shu withdrew the circulating spiritual energy within her body, opened her eyes, and replied, "Understood."
Calculating the time, the disciplinary results regarding the Demonic Beast Cliff incident should be out by now.
When Yuan Shu arrived at the Qingyun Hall, she realized that it wasn't just the Qingyun Peak Master and the peak's disciples present; even Lingyun Peak had sent disciples over.
It was even an acquaintance of Yuan Shu's.
When Qi An'an saw Yuan Shu approaching, she waved at her from afar, her eyes curving into crescents with a happy smile on her face.
Yuan Shu smiled back at her slightly. Her gaze swept past Shu Linyuan, Long Yunhui, and the others standing to the side, landing on Ji Yunzhao, who was kneeling in the center of the hall.
Ji Yunzhao looked up at her expressionlessly, then lowered his head again, clearly unresigned.
The corners of Yuan Shu's mouth curled up slightly. With dancing eyes, she gave a careless little smile.
Only then did she bow to the Qingyun Peak Master sitting at the head of the hall, who was also her master, Lu Guichen.
"Disciple Yuan Shu pays respects to Master."
"Rise." Lu Guichen appeared to be in his thirties or forties. His transcendent, sage-like face carried a hint of exhaustion.
Evidently, finding out the truth about the Demonic Beast Cliff incident had dealt him quite a blow.
After all, Ji Yunzhao was someone he had brought up the mountain because he had favored his character.
Yet now, he had committed such a despicable act!
"You should know why I called you here today, right?"
"Is it about the demonic beast rampage at the Demonic Beast Cliff?" Yuan Shu looked up and asked.
Lu Guichen nodded and said directly, "The cause of the demonic beast rampage at the Demonic Beast Cliff has been thoroughly investigated."
"The chief culprit, Ji Yunzhao, secretly released the demonic beasts with the intent to murder his fellow junior martial sister, causing the rampage at the Demonic Beast Cliff."
"After sect deliberation, considering his youth and that this is his first offense, in order to discipline his heart, he will be banished to the depths of the sect's forbidden grounds, the Death Demon Forest, to guard the fierce demonic beasts within."
"Every day, he must expend spiritual energy to reinforce the arrays. He is forbidden from cultivating and from having contact with others. He will serve a century of hard labor, and only after a hundred years of genuine repentance may he be released."
"The magical artifacts and spirit stones that Ji Yunzhao coerced and extorted from you previously will be fully accounted for by Shen Qi and returned to your courtyard."
"Any shortfall will be deducted from his own spirit stones to make up the difference."
"As for my peak's core disciple, Yuan Shu, during a moment of crisis, she showed both courage and strategy, guiding the beast tide back to the mountain. She is worthy of a reward."
"Therefore, I shall take one thousand high-grade spirit stones from my private treasury to reward her."
"Are you satisfied with this handling of the matter?"
As Lu Guichen finished speaking while looking at Yuan Shu, the gazes of everyone in the hall fell upon her.
