The mountain was shrouded in clouds and mist, with a hazy drizzle falling in the early morning.
When Jiang Huai woke up, Ning Yuzhu was still sleeping soundly in the quilt. He quietly crawled out of the quilt, intending to make lotus leaf glutinous rice cakes with the rice he had soaked overnight. The slight rustling sound disturbed Ning Yuzhu, but after Jiang Huai planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, she obediently closed her eyes and continued to sleep, hugging the quilt.
Jiang Huai went to the courtyard and had just picked a few handfuls of fresh lotus leaves when he casually looked back and noticed Fang Moye returning from outside the mountain gate. Jiang Huai was a little surprised and asked, “Where did Senior Ancestral Master go?”
She was wearing a dark purple long dress, looking cold and elegant. She glanced at him and replied coldly, “I had insomnia last night, so I went to watch the flowers in the mountains all night.”
“Senior Ancestral Master truly has refined taste.” Jiang Huai looked at the flower petals in the courtyard, slightly dampened by the rain. The dew made the petals appear a little tipsy and hazy. He began to grind the rice, preparing to steam the pastries. Fang Moye brought a bamboo chair and sat quietly outside the kitchen, watching him busy himself.
Only when Jiang Huai had placed all the pastries into the steamer did he remember something. He approached Fang Moye respectfully and offered her five Divine Emperor Pearl Shards. Fang Moye accepted them and then asked coldly, “What did you do last night?”
“This…” Jiang Huai hesitated, unsure if he should answer. But Fang Moye slightly raised her chin, her eyes exuding an undeniable authority, much like Chu Xianning. Jiang Huai was momentarily dazed and instinctively began to speak slowly, “A good kiss for the reward Sister gave me.”
“Just a kiss… and such a large reward?”
“It wasn’t kissing the lips.”
“Then where was it kissing?”
Jiang Huai was speechless for a moment, but Fang Moye, having just asked the question, answered it herself. Almost instinctively, her body tensed, and her snow-white legs beneath her skirt pressed together.
She could hardly imagine what it would be like to kiss that tender, delicate bud, but just thinking about it made her uneasy. A slight blush crept onto her cheeks, and she chided Jiang Huai, muttering softly, “Shameless.”
“Mhm, yes, yes, yes.” Unfortunately, Jiang Huai just nodded, not taking her words to heart at all. He knew Fang Moye was merely shy and annoyed. Yet, his mind instinctively recalled Ning Yuzhu’s posture when she was kissed last night.
Ning Yuzhu was always very restrained. She tried her best to keep her body from trembling, but her waist instinctively arched like a jade bridge. She only stopped when Jiang Huai placed a pillow beneath her. Her voice was always so calm and gentle, especially soft and pleasant when she was breathless. As he was thinking, a “ding” suddenly sounded in Jiang Huai’s ear. He almost instantly averted his gaze from Fang Moye, but it was precisely this movement that made Fang Moye’s heart skip a beat.
She was about to speak but stopped abruptly.
She probably guessed that Jiang Huai’s system had triggered some mission again. But if she asked about it and coerced Jiang Huai into completing it with her, Jiang Huai might agree, but…
Fortunately, he hadn’t made a choice yet. Instead, Jiang Huai took off running towards his room, his voice as natural as ever, “I’m going to see if Senior Disciple Sister Yuzhu is awake. We’re having glutinous rice cakes this morning.”
He tried to use a change of subject to deter Fang Moye, but before he could take two steps, Fang Moye called out coldly from behind him, “Stop.”
Jiang Huai stiffly turned his head.
“What did you trigger?” Fang Moye gazed at his face, asking word by word.
“Nothing was triggered.” Jiang Huai spread his small hands, looking innocent.
“Liar.” Fang Moye still gazed at him. At this moment, when she was serious, her dark pupils were so pure that Jiang Huai felt breathless. Indeed, the pressure from Chu Xianning’s lineage was inherited. Just as Jiang Huai was about to speak again, Fang Moye interrupted coldly, “Still trying to quibble?”
“No, I was just thinking, since it’s almost enough, there’s no need to trouble Senior Ancestral Master further…” Jiang Huai tried to explain, but Fang Moye insisted, “Yuzhu is Yuzhu, and I am me. By rights, this should have been my matter.”
“So, Senior Ancestral Master… also wants to be kissed by me like that?”
“Is the mission like this?” Fang Moye’s body finally flinched instinctively, and her legs under her skirt pressed together even more tightly.
“Not entirely like this…”
“Then what is it?”
“Senior Ancestral Master also has to part them obediently with her fingertips…”
Fang Moye’s face instantly flushed, her eyelashes trembled, and she lowered her head, too shy to speak. After a while, she slowly replied, “I… will consider it…”
But when she looked up, Jiang Huai was already gone, as if he had no intention of letting her consider.
***
Jiang Huai and Ning Yuzhu practiced swordplay in the courtyard for the entire day again.
He practiced swordplay very seriously, and Ning Yuzhu wasn’t overly strict, always speaking softly. While it was called sword practice, it inevitably had a playful, flirtatious air. Fang Moye sat beside them, silently watching the two, blushing intermittently, yet speechless.
It wasn’t until evening. After dinner, Jiang Huai invited Ning Yuzhu to go watch the flowers in the mountains. The fresh flowers, adorned with dew in the rain, were particularly beautiful. They held hands and walked among the flowers for a long time. Neither of them used spiritual energy to shield themselves from the elements, allowing the cool raindrops to fall on them. By the time they returned to the courtyard, their clothes were slightly damp. Just as Ning Yuzhu was about to go bathe, Fang Moye suddenly called out to Jiang Huai.
Jiang Huai turned to look at her. Fang Moye hesitated, then after looking at each other through the rain for about two or three seconds, she said slowly, “Come to my room for a moment.”
“Go ahead,” Ning Yuzhu said gently, then released Jiang Huai’s hand and walked towards the bathhouse alone.
***
Jiang Huai walked into Fang Moye’s room with a look of reluctance.
Fang Moye led him in. She closed the door herself instantly, making Jiang Huai feel like prey trapped in a cage, about to perform. Fang Moye was still wearing the same purple dress from earlier. The skirt was very long. She turned to look at Jiang Huai and, after a moment of hesitation, slowly said, “Help me.”
Jiang Huai had prepared a great many things to say. He had even prepared a whole set of speeches to coax Fang Moye and change her mind, to make her give up this idea. But at that moment, the words at the tip of his tongue suddenly stopped.
It wasn’t because of anticipation, but rather because he found it troublesome.
He understood Fang Moye’s pride and her awkwardness. He could also vaguely guess her current feelings. He could talk endlessly to try and change her mind, but that would inevitably lead to arguments and be very troublesome.
In fact, he had always been a person who disliked trouble.
“Then, Senior Ancestral Master… please?”
Jiang Huai stopped struggling and instead gestured towards the desk in Fang Moye’s room. Fang Moye had spent all day preparing. At this moment, she didn’t seem to need much preparation. She carefully rolled up her skirt to her waist and sat on the desk. Beneath her skirt was light purple, slightly transparent underwear, tightly covering her wet, tender bud.
Jiang Huai brought a chair and, with a hint of revenge, reached out to poke her first before violently tearing off her underwear, causing Fang Moye to panic.
***
Even though she tried her best to maintain a cold and dignified demeanor, the tears of shame in her eyes were real. Jiang Huai picked up a mirror from the side and placed it in front of Fang Moye.
Fang Moye bit her lip slightly and looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes filled with tears. Overwhelmed with shame, her voice choked with tears, “You can leave now.”
“Oh…” Jiang Huai put down the mirror but didn’t rush to leave. He leaned closer to her and gently lifted her down from the desk. Her skirt fell, and she was no longer so disheveled. Then, Jiang Huai picked up a handkerchief and carefully wiped the tears from her cheeks.
Fang Moye stood there somewhat stiffly, unmoved. After a long while, she asked with a hint of a cry, “You pity me?”
“Huh? Pity you for what?” Jiang Huai reached out and poked her cheek. “I’m proud that I could make Senior Ancestral Master cry.”
In an instant, all of Fang Moye’s shame and humiliation turned into indignation towards Jiang Huai. She angrily pushed Jiang Huai aside, but then she was suddenly at a loss. Fearing further loss of control, she threw herself onto the bed and cried into the quilt.
Just as Jiang Huai was about to turn and leave, he heard a “ding” sound in his ear again. He hesitated, “Senior Ancestral Master, it’s another mission for ten spanks on the buttocks, do you want to do it?”
“Do it,” Fang Moye grunted with a tearful voice.
So, Jiang Huai unhurriedly sat down by the bed and raised his hand.
***
“That’s four Divine Emperor Pearl Shards in total. Senior Ancestral Master, please count them.”
Fang Moye just cried and ignored him. Jiang Huai scratched his head and put them aside, preparing to leave the area. However, after a few steps, he couldn’t bear it and circled back, sitting by the bed and quietly listening to her cry.
Actually, watching a woman cry could be quite interesting. Jiang Huai was intermittently absent-minded. He mainly didn’t know how to comfort Fang Moye. Since it was Fang Moye’s own choice, he didn’t seem to have any other options.
Fortunately, Fang Moye only cried for about half an incense stick’s worth of time before she finally slowly got up, her eyes still red. She stared at his face and said word by word, “When you kissed me just now, didn’t you trigger any other missions?”
“Hiss… there were.”
“Speak.”
Jiang Huai didn’t know how to say it. After thinking for a moment, he extended his finger and gently touched her delicate lips, poking her there lightly. Fang Moye quickly understood what he meant. She looked up and stared intently at Jiang Huai before her. After a few more seconds, she slowly said, “You… sit on that desk.”
“I don’t want to,” Jiang Huai shook his head. “The reward is only one shard. It’s not as practical as kissing Senior Disciple Sister Yuzhu’s ear again. Senior Ancestral Master doesn’t need to…”
But as soon as he finished speaking, a surge of spiritual energy pulled him onto the desk. Fang Moye simply touched his chest with her fingertip, rendering his body immobile. Jiang Huai didn’t even have time to open his mouth to call for Senior Disciple Sister Yuzhu’s help.
Fang Moye sat properly on the wooden chair in front of the desk, tucking the strands of hair from her cheeks behind her ears.
