The news that Lou Yue did not accept male disciples had been spreading privately through the Alliance over the past two days.
It was said that the reason she refused was because the Grand Elder would not allow it.
Another rumor followed close behind: the Grand Elder was the Alliance Master Lou Yue’s favored companion, and the two shared an unusually intimate relationship.
At first, everyone had assumed it was merely a rumor born from the slap she had given him in front of everyone. But as more and more curious people went to investigate, all they received were evasive answers.
As a result, the rumor began to sound increasingly credible.
Yet although everyone knew about it in private, no one dared bring it into the open. After all, the two people involved were figures standing at the very pinnacle of the cultivation world. A mere stomp of their feet could send tremors throughout the entire realm.
Lou Yue knew nothing about the rumor. She had long since forgotten that she had once sent Xiao Rangchen to deal with the matter.
That day, Lou Yue sensed that Xuanba was showing signs of breaking through to the Divine Transformation Stage, so she went to find it at Lou Chengfeng’s residence.
Originally, having lost half its inner core, Xuanba should never have been able to enter the Divine Transformation Stage again. But Lou Yue had reached the Heavenly God Realm, and her contracted beast could draw a small amount of power from its contract mark. Thus, it had gained a chance to break through. Of course, the fact that Xuanba had devoted itself to cultivation all these years was also crucial.
Lou Yue poured her spiritual power into the remaining half of its inner core, giving it assistance for the lightning tribulation it would soon have to endure.
She had just stepped out of the council hall when a little girl suddenly rushed over and hugged her leg.
Lou Yue could easily have avoided her, but when she heard someone call out, “Fu Qiner,” her movement paused, and she allowed the girl to cling to her.
The girl looked to be fourteen or fifteen. Her round, tender face was adorable, and her almond-shaped eyes glimmered with moisture. Even now, one could already glimpse the beauty she would grow into.
Lou Yue lowered her eyes to look at her. The girl raised her head as well, staring at her with fervent, unwavering eyes.
Before Lou Yue could speak, a somewhat older woman hurried forward, her tone anxious. “Alliance Master, Qiner didn’t mean to offend you. She simply admires you too much. I’ll take her away right now!”
But no matter how much she tugged at the girl hugging Lou Yue’s leg, Fu Qiner refused to let go.
Lou Yue said calmly, “Your name is Fu Qiner?”
The girl quickly nodded.
“Do you need something from me?”
Fu Qiner nodded again, this time even more emphatically.
Lou Yue told her to stand up and speak, but after hesitating for a long while, Fu Qiner asked tentatively, “Can I… talk while I’m hugging you?”
Lou Yue gazed at those fluttering almond-shaped eyes and recalled how the book had described her: she never took the ordinary path, and her actions often took people by surprise. She was lively and spirited, innocent yet stubborn.
The male lead, Long Aotian, had fallen for her precisely because of that freshness and vitality.
Near the end of the story, Fu Qiner, infatuated with Long Aotian, had taken him as her master. Their relationship had later developed into romance, and Fu Qiner had become the fifth woman in his harem.
Lou Yue did not insist. She merely asked, “What did you want to say?”
“Will you accept me as your disciple? I’m very well-behaved and obedient, and I’ll be absolutely loyal to you! If you tell me to go east, I’ll never go west.” Fu Qiner bit her lip shyly, her eyes gazing softly at Lou Yue. “I… I can even warm your bed and help you change…”
If the first half of her statement had surprised Lou Yue, the latter half had struck her like a thunderbolt.
The entrance to the council hall was already surrounded by people several layers deep. Even Lou Chengfeng had heard the news and come down to watch the spectacle.
Xiao Rangchen’s figure had just materialized beside Lou Yue when he happened to hear every word.
He raised a finger slightly. An invisible force forcibly pried Fu Qiner’s hands away from Lou Yue’s leg, sending her stumbling back two steps.
The moment Fu Qiner saw Xiao Rangchen, her expression became excited. She lunged forward again, only to be stopped dead by an invisible wall of energy.
The next instant, she called out urgently to Lou Yue, “Alliance Master! The Grand Elder is too tall—he isn’t suitable for warming your bed. Choose me instead! From the day I saw you at the gates of Xuandi City, I decided that you were the role model of my life. My greatest wish is to stay by your side!”
The crowd of onlookers secretly drew in a breath.
Lou Yue: “…”
She had finally experienced firsthand what it meant to be unconventional and completely unpredictable.
Xiao Rangchen cast a cold glance at the person before him.
But Fu Qiner’s eyes had remained fixed solely on Lou Yue from beginning to end. She paid no attention whatsoever to Xiao Rangchen’s icy stare and continued brightly, “Alliance Master, everyone says the Grand Elder won’t let you accept male disciples, and that he drove away all the candidates the Hall Master-General chose for you. I’m a girl—a female disciple. He has no reason to stop you this time!”
She counted the advantages of having a female disciple on her fingers, doing her best to enumerate them. “I can warm your bed, help you bathe, scrub your back, and change your clothes. When you’re tired, I can even—”
Fu Qiner was horrified to discover that she could no longer open her mouth. Not a single word would come out.
And the Lou Yue standing before her was pulled away by the man at her side, vanishing from sight along with him.
Fu Qiner hopped furiously up and down on the spot.
Xiao Rangchen pulled Lou Yue straight back into the ruins.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, Lou Yue teased with a laugh, “You wouldn’t happen to be jealous, would you?”
Xiao Rangchen glanced at her without answering. He simply dragged her toward the room.
Lou Yue pulled him back. “You really are jealous? She’s a girl, not a man.”
Xiao Rangchen denied it coldly.
Looking at his stubbornly insincere expression, Lou Yue arched the corner of her eyes and pulled him down onto the reclining couch beneath the Spring Splendor Tree.
“Mm, do you remember the message I left for you in the communication butterfly? I told you that in the place I originally came from, this world exists as a story.”
Xiao Rangchen’s brows drew together slightly, as though he was not particularly pleased that she had brought it up.
Lou Yue pressed him down onto his back, then lay facing him as well.
“In that story, you married five women in total.”
Xiao Rangchen interrupted her at once, correcting her in a low voice. “Lou Yue, that wasn’t me.”
Lou Yue laughed. “All right, then. We’ll call him Long Aotian.”
She continued, “At the end of the story, Long Aotian had married five women. They were Liufeng Xin, Hong Chou, Xiao Aiai, Jiang Siyin, and the girl named Fu Qiner whom we just met.”
Lou Yue stared at Xiao Rangchen’s utterly unmoved expression. “Why aren’t you surprised at all?”
“I’m not interested in someone else’s story.”
Lou Yue hooked a finger beneath his chin, her smile teasing and flirtatious. “Are you really not envious?”
Xiao Rangchen caught that finger. With his other hand, he drew her closer, his deep black eyes taking on a dark, rippling hue.
“Lou Yue, it’s been three days.”
Lou Yue abruptly pulled her hand away. “Hey, I’m talking about something serious!”
“So am I.”
Lou Yue poked his forehead, pushing it away from her. “Your mind is full of filthy thoughts! I’m discussing life with you, and you’re talking about vulgar things. Xiao Rangchen, you need to strive for self-improvement. Stop indulging in this all day long.”
“Lou Yue, you said three days.”
Lou Yue carried on with the subject as if she had not heard him. “In the story, although Long Aotian married five women, he actually had countless other female confidantes. He was a complete scumbag.”
She stared at him. “Do you know what a scumbag is? It means someone who isn’t faithful—someone who falls in love with every woman he meets.”
After a moment of silence, Xiao Rangchen suddenly asked, “When you rejected me back then and said I wasn’t as devoted as I thought I was, was it because of this Long Aotian?”
For a moment, Lou Yue could not remember when she had said that.
Xiao Rangchen reminded her expressionlessly, “The Mist Tide. The tree hollow.”
Only then did Lou Yue remember. “Oh, right. That did happen.” She nodded frankly. “Yes. At the time, I thought you were no different from the man in the book, and I wished you would stay as far away from me as possible.”
Xiao Rangchen gazed deeply at her without saying a word.
Lou Yue smiled and pinched his cool, impassive cheek. “But I changed my mind about you later. Mm, you did wonderfully—you completely overturned my prejudice against you.”
Xiao Rangchen reached out and pulled her onto his lap. Cradling her face in both hands, he looked straight into her eyes. “Lou Yue, that wasn’t the real me. The true Xiao Rangchen could ever love only you. To possess you is enough for him.”
Lou Yue’s brows lifted. She brushed a fingertip over his lips as their warm breaths mingled. “That mouth of yours is getting better and better at sweet-talking.”
Xiao Rangchen placed a hand against the back of her head and murmured, “I can do more than that.”
Lou Yue immediately covered his mouth. When Xiao Rangchen tried to pull her hand away, she said hurriedly, “Xiao Rangchen, you still owe me three favors!”
His movements paused.
“You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
Xiao Rangchen drew her hand away and parted his thin lips. “I haven’t forgotten.”
Then his lashes lowered, and his voice dropped even further. “Lou Yue, I’ve held myself back for three days. You can’t go back on your word.”
Seeing his expression, Lou Yue said crossly, “Xiao Rangchen, you really will shamelessly play the victim to get what you want.”
He neither confirmed nor denied it. He merely looked at her through lowered eyes in silence.
Lou Yue scoffed. He had clearly counted on her weakness for this act. Gritting her teeth, she refused to make things easy for him. “Fine, but we do it by my rules.”
Lou Yue rose from his lap and tugged him by the sleeve into the room.
She glanced around and found what she was looking for.
Pointing her lips toward the bed, she said, “Take off your outer robe and lie down.”
Xiao Rangchen watched as she folded the red cloth in her hand into a long strip, and his gaze slowly darkened.
Seeing him inch forward so slowly that he could barely manage a step, Lou Yue gave him a push and sent him straight toward the bed. A mischievous smile flickered in her eyes. “Weren’t you the one hurrying me all this time? Why are you suddenly in no rush?”
Xiao Rangchen silently removed his outer robe, bent one long leg, and sat on the edge of the bed. He stared at her without blinking, looking as though he wanted to say something but could not.
Lou Yue raised a brow, tossed aside the red cloth, and pretended to stand. “I don’t mind spending the night under the covers doing nothing but talking.”
Xiao Rangchen suddenly seized her arm. With one sharp pull, he pressed her onto the bed, his lips following close behind.
Lou Yue covered her mouth and blinked. “I said we were doing things my way.”
Xiao Rangchen gave the back of her hand a forceful, resentful kiss, then turned over and lay down beside her.
Amusement gleamed in Lou Yue’s eyes. She sat up, bent over him, and under the shadowy depth of his gaze, covered his eyes with the red cloth and tied it securely.
“No using your spiritual sense. Understood?”
It took Xiao Rangchen a long while to answer. “Mm.”
Lou Yue then transformed the Yanshi Fang into four dark chains, fastening his wrists and ankles to the bedposts.
Xiao Rangchen pressed his lips together, his emotions impossible to read.
Lou Yue climbed onto the bed and leaned over to kiss the corner of his mouth. When he moved to kiss her, she deliberately turned away, letting her lips brush his jaw and neck instead.
Her kisses were light, almost fleeting.
Lou Yue loosened his collar. One hand braced against the bed while the fingers of the other traced, bit by bit, the strong, sharply defined lines of his body.
It did not take long for her to notice his reaction.
Lou Yue glanced up at his increasingly taut lips, the corners of her eyes lifting. She could not suppress the smile spreading across her face.
She ignored the other side of him completely, continuing to place one teasing, elusive kiss after another.
After casting aside her own clothes, she leaned close and lightly nipped his ear.
Xiao Rangchen visibly stiffened.
After a brief pause, Lou Yue began tormenting that ear again and again, playing with it until it flushed red before moving on to the other.
“…Lou Yue.”
Xiao Rangchen’s low, hoarse voice carried the restraint he was struggling to maintain.
Unable to see, his other senses had been heightened beyond measure. Every slight touch was clear and maddeningly enticing.
Lou Yue’s lips brushed lightly over the edge of his ear, and Xiao Rangchen’s body trembled again.
“Lou Yue.”
This time, his voice carried a muted warning.
But having found his weakness, Lou Yue pretended not to hear. Instead, she became even more daring.
Xiao Rangchen’s throat bobbed. He lifted a hand as if to pull her close, but the moment he raised it, the chain caught him and held him fast.
Hearing the sharp clink, Lou Yue lowered her head and placed a light kiss at the corner of his lips.
Xiao Rangchen caught her with uncanny precision. He chased after her kiss, captured her mouth, and kissed her fiercely.
Lou Yue’s entire body grew hot beneath the kiss. Only after a long moment, relying on the fact that he was chained and unable to move freely, did she manage to turn her head away.
“Lou Yue…”
His voice was filled with urgency and longing.
Her breathing faltered as he struggled against the restraints. She pressed her fingertips firmly against his shoulder, forcing his movements to stop.
Yet a man like him could seize every opening.
She had originally meant to tease him, to watch him struggle while she controlled the pace. In the end, however, he turned the tables, drawing her into confusion until even her self-control gradually slipped away.
Before long, neither the one who had taken control nor the one who had been controlled could hold out any longer.
The attraction between them destined this to be a catastrophe that could never end peacefully.
He was roiling magma—scalding and fierce, melting stone and metal wherever it passed, carrying the power to burn everything to ash.
She was the earth that could embrace that magma, unafraid of its heat, opening the deepest chambers of her heart to it.
The magma surged through the patterns in the earth, spreading along its layers, slowly seeping in and wrapping itself around her.
“Lou Yue, undo them…”
Xiao Rangchen’s voice trembled with hoarseness.
“Lou Yue.”
Lou Yue pressed her lips tightly together, struggling to hold herself steady. A brilliant flush spread from the corners of her eyes.
The veins in Xiao Rangchen’s neck stood taut, while the chains rubbed red marks into his wrists.
Beneath the earth, the magma surged in waves of scorching heat, grinding against the earth, yet the earth refused to yield even a fraction.
They remained locked in their struggle.
The magma seeped deeper into the earth’s layers, while the cracks across its surface grew denser and denser.
The magma gradually lost its restraint, and the earth reached the edge of collapse.
Neither admitted defeat. Neither retreated. Together, they gave themselves over completely, sinking into the depths.
The earth shattered, and the magma burst forth.
In their fiercest embrace, they finally merged, no longer distinguishable from one another.
Together they burned away. Together they perished. Together they became eternal.
