Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, leaving dappled golden spots on the ground.
Jiang Huai walked with them through the dense forest. When they arrived at the lakeside, they were met with a misty, ethereal haze. Jiang Huai taught Su Qingyi how to start a fire and then patiently showed her how to grill. Grilling was a relatively easy cooking skill; as long as the seasoning was good, the heat wouldn’t matter as much. Su Qingyi learned happily, patting her chest and promising to grill well for everyone, though she’d often sneak a skewer or two before they were done.
Wanwan and Fufu sat by the lake fishing, while Jiang Huai and Xu Qing ambled nearby in the forest, searching for mushrooms to stew with the two chickens Jiang Huai had brought.
Xu Qing hopped about, lively as a little rabbit in the woods.
For cultivators, life was already an endless, boundless journey. Besides cultivation, significant amounts of time were spent aimlessly. Thus, daily life – food, clothing, shelter, and transportation – also served as ways to pass the time. However, Xu Qing had never experienced such a lively gathering before. Back at the Guanxue Sect, she was the Senior Disciple Sister. Due to her status as the Sect Master’s only daughter, she was inevitably a little distant from those around her.
Clearly, she was in a great mood now. She was clutching a colorful mushroom and looked at Jiang Huai, “Can this be eaten?”
“That’s an Aphrodisiac Mushroom. After eating it, your body will feel hot and your head will become dizzy,” Jiang Huai said with a helpless smile. Xu Qing, startled, loosened her grip. However, before the mushroom could hit the ground, Jiang Huai caught it in his palm.
“But it tastes exceptionally delicious. Now that we are all at the Void Refinement cultivation level, the slight toxicity is negligible,” Jiang Huai explained. Xu Qing nodded, a little dazed. After walking a few steps, she spotted another beautiful mushroom and picked it up to ask Jiang Huai about it. Jiang Huai patiently explained, “This is a Cyan Mushroom. After eating it, your skin will turn green for several days.”
“Eh…” Xu Qing blinked at him, “Can we eat it then?”
“If your cultivation level is sufficient, the toxicity will naturally disappear. Most mushrooms in this forest probably have no effect,” Jiang Huai explained. So, Xu Qing happily put the mushroom into her basket. A while later, she picked up another one to ask Jiang Huai.
“Why do you know so much?”
“I studied medicine, I had to memorize old scrolls,” Jiang Huai replied with a wry smile.
He had inherited knowledge from two Senior experts who had dedicated their lives to medicine. Besides that, he had also read numerous medical books out of boredom, which is why he was so knowledgeable. Xu Qing seemed fascinated. She saw a fruit resembling a chicken heart growing on a tree branch, “That’s a Blood Circulation Fruit. It’s used for invigorating blood and qi. It’s sour and astringent, not tasty.”
Jiang Huai spent an hour wandering the dense forest with Xu Qing. When they returned, both had a bountiful harvest. Meanwhile, Wanwan had also caught several fish. Jiang Huai rolled up his sleeves, set up the stove, and began preparing the food. Xu Qing stood beside him obediently, helping him. Her father also liked to cook for her mother, so she had been helping him in the kitchen since she was a child.
It was rare to have such a lively atmosphere, and Jiang Huai felt slightly unaccustomed to it. He was used to the quiet presence of Chu Xianning. Now, the chatter of several girls was a cacophony that sometimes made him feel disoriented.
The five of them played in the dense forest all day. Wen Fufu even went hunting with Jiang Huai. They chased a swift spirit rabbit for a long, long time but couldn’t catch it. Jiang Huai intended to step in, but Fufu was stubborn and insisted on catching it herself. After a very long time, Su Qingyi, who was watching, couldn’t stand it anymore. She whirled around, and with a flash of white light, a snow-white nine-tailed silver fox appeared before them.
Su Qingyi coiled her tail around Wen Fufu, lifting her onto her back. In an instant, she brought Wen Fufu to the spirit rabbit. Now, however, she wasn’t in a hurry to catch it, toying with the prey as if to exhaust it. Wen Fufu happily dismounted from Su Qingyi and dangled the rabbit by its ears. Jiang Huai looked at Wen Fufu, curiously asking, “Extra meal tomorrow? Want spicy rabbit head or…”
“What extra meal!” Wen Fufu looked at him resentfully. “Fufu wants to keep it as a little pet.”
“Oh,” Jiang Huai lowered his head in disappointment. “Isn’t there a big pet in the courtyard?”
Su Qingyi, displeased, flicked his chest with her fox tail. In the next moment, she transformed back. Jiang Huai looked at her curiously, “How long can you maintain your true fox form?”
“About an hour.”
“Why didn’t I see you transform before?”
“Because when I transform, it feels like I’m not wearing any clothes. It always feels strange, so I don’t transform in front of others. The Monster Clan nowadays rarely fights using their true forms; most use human bodies and Daoist magic.”
“That makes sense,” Jiang Huai mused.
“Can you transform again for a bit so I can ride on you too?” Jiang Huai started winking at Su Qingyi. Su Qingyi shot him a sideways glance, “No way.”
“Stingy.”
Xu Qing, listening to their conversation, was startled when Jiang Huai turned back, as if remembering something. He flicked out a fox tail and ears, sweeping his tail across Xu Qing’s chest. Xu Qing froze for a moment, instinctively covering her chest. Then, looking at Jiang Huai before her, she couldn’t help but chuckle, “How can you transform like this too?”
“I refined the fox bloodline before.”
As soon as Jiang Huai finished speaking, Su Qingyi, who had been acting proud moments ago, trembled. Her pupils began to deepen into pink, her legs tightly pressed together, and she began to squirm restlessly. She sniffed the air, but she didn’t pounce. Instead, she was suppressing the lust originating from her bloodline, driven by instinct.
“You seem much better than last time?” Jiang Huai looked at her and said softly.
“Didn’t I… tell… you? After… getting used to it… I… won’t be… so… dis… discomposed…” Su Qingyi’s voice stammered. After a moment, her body went limp, and she sat on the ground. She kept her legs tightly together, her snow-white calf pressed by her buttocks, her toes curled tightly, her body trembling uncontrollably. Xu Qing quickly asked Jiang Huai what was wrong. Jiang Huai patiently explained the situation to Xu Qing. A moment later, Su Qingyi’s body gave a violent shudder, and then she slightly lowered her head, panting heavily.
Jiang Huai also transformed his tail back.
Damn, if he were a perverted creep, could he use this trick to toy with Su Qingyi?
Su Qingyi, knowing her current state was particularly shameful, transformed into a petite, palm-sized silver fox a moment later and leaped into the lake. After a while, she emerged from the water, shook the water droplets from her fur, and transformed back into human form with another flash of white light.
Then, she walked up to Jiang Huai, resentfully raised her slender leg, and stomped her white and tender little foot hard on Jiang Huai’s shoe.
“Next time you transform your tail, tell me in advance… I wasn’t prepared at all…”
“Oh.”
…
As night approached, Jiang Huai still stayed in Wen Wanwan’s courtyard that night.
However, this time, as the girls were bathing, Xu Qing shyly glanced at him and asked if he wanted to join. Jiang Huai didn’t hesitate for a moment, changed into his bathrobe, and went to the bathhouse. The bathhouse was filled with misty vapor, the steam sticking to the girls’ bathrobes. Jiang Huai watched them splash water and play, their snow-white legs swaying, making his head spin.
Tonight, he was still sleeping with Xu Qing. Back in the room, Xu Qing wrapped herself in the quilt again. Jiang Huai went to her side, lifted the quilt, and slipped into the bed. Xu Qing turned and nestled closer, her finger poking his chest as if she had something to say.
“What do you want to say?” Jiang Huai asked softly, his eyes smiling.
“Tonight… can we… also, not do very, very bad things…”
“Hmm? Of course, we can.”
“Am I… very disobedient…”
Jiang Huai couldn’t help but smile wryly. He reached out and pinched her cheek, “Why do you think that?”
“Because, because… I haven’t… prepared myself yet…” Xu Qing’s voice was small. “On the way to Tian Xuan Sect, I thought I was ready. I imagined so many things and even… even looked at some erotic paintings. I was afraid you’d laugh at me for being too stupid then, but… but now, I’m still a little scared, so, so I want to wait a little longer.”
“Alright,” Jiang Huai leaned closer, looking into her eyes, and gently kissed her forehead.
Jiang Huai understood very well.
Although he and Xu Qing had known each other for a long time, they hadn’t spent much actual time together. Xu Qing didn’t distrust him; she was simply still uneasy in her heart. Perhaps she wasn’t afraid that Jiang Huai would abandon her later, but subconsciously, she felt that if she gave herself so easily now, Jiang Huai would think she was frivolous. This was perfectly normal. He wasn’t in any hurry at all; it was okay to take things slowly.
“Then, then how do you want me to coax you tonight?” Receiving Jiang Huai’s promise and seeing no disappointment in his eyes, Xu Qing breathed a small sigh of relief. But then, she felt an inexplicable unease, eager to compensate Jiang Huai in some way, as if she had done something wrong.
“I’ll coax Qingqing tonight,” Jiang Huai leaned in. Xu Qing immediately hugged her chest in a panic, but after a moment, Jiang Huai took her hand. Jiang Huai looked into her eyes, and Xu Qing hastily lowered her head, her heart pounding, afraid to look at him. “I, I, I, I don’t need coaxing.”
“As a return of favor, you worked hard last night, tonight I’ll kiss Qingqing.”
“No trouble, no trouble.”
“Yes, trouble.”
Xu Qing looked up, her eyes a mix of resentment and amusement. Finally, she obediently nestled into his embrace and then whispered, “Then, then how are you going to coax me?”
Jiang Huai’s fingertips had already reached her lower abdomen. He lightly tapped her snow-white and tender lower abdomen with two fingers. His fingertips gradually moved down. Xu Qing’s heart began to race again, but she still didn’t struggle. Instead, as Jiang Huai whispered in her ear, she lifted her knees, her snow-white slender legs parting slightly.
…
Jiang Huai looked at Xu Qing, who was shedding small pearls in his arms, completely bewildered.
“What’s wrong, Qingqing?”
He hadn’t done anything bad.
Xu Qing’s body was still trembling slightly, her eyelashes wet with tears. She leaned closer, her voice becoming incredibly soft, “No, it’s just… it’s… too… too comfortable… I don’t know why… tears just started flowing…”
“Oh,” Jiang Huai blinked innocently at her. “But I haven’t even kissed Qingqing yet.”
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…” Xu Qing shook her head like a rattle drum. Jiang Huai didn’t press further but just watched her intently. After a few more seconds, Xu Qing reached out and covered her face. The snow-white legs beneath her skirt parted slightly, and her slender waist lifted a bit. Jiang Huai placed a small pillow beneath her waist.
Qingqing was like a clear spring. With just a gentle press at the source, clear streams began to flow uncontrollably.
…
“Bad person,” Xu Qing mumbled, snuggled in Jiang Huai’s arms, her voice full of grievance.
“You just praised me for being amazing, how did I become a bad person again?” Jiang Huai looked down at her innocently.
“Now… Qingqing… really wants… really wants… to do very, very bad things…”
“No, Qingqing’s mind is not clear now. We’ll do it when Qingqing’s mind is clear.”
“So you’re a bad person… sob sob…” Xu Qing buried her face in Jiang Huai’s chest, soft as a marshmallow.
…
“Qingqing can’t sleep,” Xu Qing said, looking up, her cheeks puffed out. Seeing Jiang Huai’s eyelids drooping, she retaliated by burrowing into the quilt. Her delicate pink lips parted slightly. Jiang Huai’s eyes snapped open. He gently poked Xu Qing’s forehead. Xu Qing looked up, gazing at him with indignant shame, “You’re not allowed to sleep tonight either, hmph.”
