It was strange.
Earlier, in the cave of the Fox Clan’s secret realm, Su Qingyi could stand with her hands behind her back, her body swaying at the waist, displaying her good figure, without a single blush on her cheeks. But now, her cheeks, where Jiang Huai had pinched them, were blooming like peach blossoms, tinged with a light pink. Her long, delicate eyelashes trembled slightly, as if shyly dewy.
Her blushing face made Jiang Huai withdraw his fingertips, but she then leaned her white and tender little face forward slightly. Jiang Huai was taken aback. His palm rested on her flushed cheek, and he felt the scorching heat from her skin.
“Your face is very red,” Jiang Huai said, reminding her.
Su Qingyi slowly came back to her senses, then playfully winked at him. “Perhaps it’s because I saw your fox form earlier, and my body hasn’t adjusted yet. When you touch me, I feel so soft.”
“Oh,” Jiang Huai retracted his hand.
Even though her cheeks were soft and tender, a pinch was enough.
***
It was evening when Jiang Huai returned to the courtyard. Chu Xianning was nowhere to be seen, so he walked out of the courtyard and headed towards the summit of Guanxue Mountain. It was deep autumn, and in about half a month, snow would fall on the mountain top year-round.
When Jiang Huai was young, if Chu Xianning wasn’t in the courtyard, she would often be alone on the mountain top, watching the snow. Back then, he liked to be Chu Xianning’s shadow, sticking to her side all day. When he couldn’t find her in the courtyard, he would go to the mountain top and sit alone on the grass, watching Chu Xianning watch the snow from a distance.
Jiang Huai reached the mountain peak, and Chu Xianning was indeed there, wearing a plain, elegant dress. A white flower-like wooden branch hairpin adorned her hair. Jiang Huai approached her, hesitated for a moment, and then gently sat down beside her.
Chu Xianning said nothing, her eyes gazing at the distant mountains. The sunset had only a sliver of its last ember remaining. The pale golden light fell on Chu Xianning’s face, casting a hazy, oil painting-like light and shadow that made Jiang Huai’s breath catch.
He remained silent, quietly gazing at her profile until the evening clouds gradually darkened, the sun set, and the world slowly grew dim. A profound silence fell, and the serene moonlight began to spill down.
Only then did he softly speak, “It’s time to go back to sleep, Master.”
Chu Xianning turned her head to look at him, her eyes cold. “We’ll sleep later tonight.”
“Hmm?” Jiang Huai looked at her eyes, confused. After a moment, he cautiously guessed, “Master, are you troubled by something?”
“No.”
Chu Xianning’s reply was decisive, without any hint of hesitation. Yet, Jiang Huai knew that Chu Xianning could sometimes be like a tightly closed jar, habitually hiding many things in her heart.
So, Jiang Huai could only guess.
But could he really blame Chu Xianning? Whether Chu Xianning’s heart was troubled by the flower Luo Yueguan had given him, or by something else, Jiang Huai couldn’t know. However, after much thought, he felt it was his fault, and it seemed to become an unsolvable problem.
Since Chu Xianning wouldn’t speak, Jiang Huai couldn’t ask more. He could only sit there quietly, accompanying Chu Xianning until the full moon rose high, its serene moonlight bathing the entire mountain peak.
Chu Xianning’s faint fragrance melted into the moonlight in the air, as if the moonlight itself was tinged with a wisp of cold, fragrant mist.
She didn’t seem like she wanted to chat with Jiang Huai, so Jiang Huai obediently stayed silent. They sat there quietly until the sun that had set began to rise again. This was a great test of Jiang Huai’s patience.
Jiang Huai used to be a very patient person because he had grown up by Chu Xianning’s side since childhood. Chu Xianning was slow-paced, letting things drift along without rushing, and he had gradually been influenced by her.
However, in recent years, Jiang Huai had indeed become a bit more impatient. For the first half of the night sitting beside Chu Xianning, Jiang Huai’s mind was filled with random thoughts, wondering how to make Chu Xianning happy or guessing what she was thinking. It wasn’t until the latter half of the night that these scattered thoughts gradually subsided.
Sometimes, a person’s troubles are simply because they think too much.
The first ray of morning sunlight pierced through the clouds. The morning light cascaded down, and the distant clouds were half-lit, half-dark. Jiang Huai heard Chu Xianning softly say, “Go back to sleep.”
“Then what about Master?”
“You go to sleep.”
“No, if Master doesn’t sleep, I won’t sleep either,” Jiang Huai replied stubbornly, though with a hint of unreasonableness. Chu Xianning turned her head, her clear, cool eyes glancing at him. Finally, she stood up. Jiang Huai quickly got up and followed her, descending the mountain with her. They arrived at the courtyard halfway up the mountain. Jiang Huai closed the door and followed Chu Xianning into the room.
Chu Xianning was only wearing a plain white Daoist robe. She always changed into a comfortable nightgown when she slept, so she lightly tapped Jiang Huai’s forehead with her fingertip. “Close your eyes.”
Jiang Huai obediently closed his eyes.
He had already begun to imagine what Chu Xianning would look like when changing clothes, picturing the dress sliding off her body, her ice-like skin and jade-like bones fully exposed to the air. The imagined scene was very beautiful, devoid of any lust.
But he couldn’t help but ask, “Is Master facing away from me, or facing me?”
“Facing away.”
“Then I could quietly open my eyes and Master wouldn’t notice?”
“Yes.”
Jiang Huai stealthily opened a sliver of his eye. Chu Xianning was indeed with her back to him. Her plain, long dress had just been removed and discarded to the side. She was only wearing a moon-white slip. Her figure was already slender and well-proportioned, neither excessively full nor as thin as a bamboo pole. Every line of her body was so clear and beautiful. Her snow-white back was immaculate, her porcelain-smooth skin delicate.
Jiang Huai abruptly closed his eyes again.
“Did you open your eyes?” Chu Xianning’s cool voice rang out again.
“I just secretly opened a tiny sliver, I saw a little bit.”
“And now?”
“I closed them again.”
Chu Xianning turned around and looked at Jiang Huai, who was standing obediently in front of her with his eyes closed. She suddenly leaned closer, her body moving a little nearer, but her voice sounded as if it carried a hint of reprimand. “Did I allow you to open your eyes earlier?”
This was a question Jiang Huai couldn’t answer, so he stammered and stuttered for a long time without being able to speak. Chu Xianning looked at him indifferently for a while, then suddenly said, “Open your eyes.”
Jiang Huai let out a long sigh. When he opened his eyes, he suddenly froze.
He had thought Chu Xianning had already put on her clothes.
But at this moment, Chu Xianning was gazing at him quietly, standing right in front of him. However, her snow-white, voluptuous body, even the moon-white slip she had been wearing, had been completely removed.
The warm light filtering in from the window lattice fell on her snow-white, slender clavicle. Her porcelain-white skin was completely exposed to Jiang Huai. Her jet-black hair was now draped over her shoulders, as if a halo flowed around her white body. For a moment, Jiang Huai didn’t know where to look. He stared for one second, then two seconds, before his eyes darted shut in a panic.
“Why did you close your eyes?” Chu Xianning’s cool voice sounded in his ear.
“Not looking, not looking, not looking, not looking,” Jiang Huai stammered in reply.
Even condemned criminals were given a final meal before their execution. Jiang Huai felt that Chu Xianning’s actions were as if she were preparing to have him beheaded, so he closed his eyes in a panic.
But even with his eyes closed, the image he had just seen remained in his mind. Those lines were both straight and soft, as cold as a sculpture, yet as alluring as sweet fruit that tempts one to fall.
“Didn’t you want to see?” Chu Xianning didn’t retreat at all. She leaned closer to his ear. Jiang Huai was so frightened that he kept stepping back. “No, no… I won’t peek anymore, I was wrong… I’ll be good from now on…”
Jiang Huai retreated step by step with his eyes closed, but Chu Xianning leaned closer and closer, so close that Jiang Huai could barely breathe. She had cornered him against the wall. Chu Xianning looked at Jiang Huai’s flustered and uneasy state but still pressed on. “Open your eyes.”
“No, don’t…”
Chu Xianning’s hand gently cupped Jiang Huai’s chin. Her fingers were cold. Jiang Huai didn’t even need to open his eyes to know that her gaze was undoubtedly just as cold. He heard Chu Xianning ask coldly, “When Luo Yueguan was seducing you before, were you also this scared?”
“This…”
Jiang Huai stammered for a long time and still couldn’t answer. But in that instant, he confirmed his conjecture and understood why Chu Xianning was troubled.
He couldn’t tell if he should cry or laugh. Chu Xianning being unhappy because of this incident meant she cared about him. But the fact was that Chu Xianning was unhappy at this moment.
“I’m not blaming you, Jiang Huai.”
Chu Xianning’s voice suddenly became very, very soft. She no longer leaned so close, but said gently, “I’ve never controlled who you should love or who should love you. That’s your own business.”
“It’s just that I’m unhappy,” Chu Xianning’s voice carried a hint of self-mockery, and also a hint of exhaustion. She suddenly gently took Jiang Huai’s hand and led him forward, all the way to the bedside. Jiang Huai heard her say, “Go to bed and lie down obediently.”
As if coaxing a child, Jiang Huai cautiously fumbled his way onto the bed. A moment later, he felt a weight on his chest. He heard Chu Xianning say very softly, “Three times in total, right?”
Jiang Huai dared not open his eyes to see Xianning’s expression and only shook his head in resistance. But he heard Chu Xianning’s cold, unapproachable, and irrefutable tone, “Are you not listening to me anymore?”
“I’m listening.”
“Then… this is the first time.” Chu Xianning shifted her body forward slightly. Her hands felt a little out of place, so she gently grasped the bedsheet. Her white and tender little feet beneath her ankles curled their toes tightly.
Jiang Huai had fantasized countless times about plucking nectar from his ice mountain fairy Master, but he had never expected that this would be the opportunity for the first time. He had a vague sense of unease, as if Chu Xianning’s words implied that after three times, she would sever ties with Jiang Huai and never see him again.
All his previously lewd fantasies seemed to collapse in that instant, and the vague lust vanished without a trace. But Chu Xianning shifted closer again, not giving him any more time to hesitate, refuse, or delay.
With just a gentle touch, Chu Xianning tensed her waist, tilted her head back, and covered her mouth with one hand to avoid making a sound that would make her tremble all over with shame.
