Night fell, and the wind scattered fallen blossoms.
As Jiang Huai stepped towards Ning Yuzhu’s room, a sudden hesitation seized him. Yes, he was always indecisive about such matters. He knew that Ning Yuzhu was willing to dual cultivate with him, and they had reasons to do so – to save the world and liberate Jiang Ning from the Void Dark Night. This was their shared wish, so what was he hesitating about now?
Jiang Huai scratched his head, not rushing to knock. He thought to himself, perhaps it was because Ning Yuzhu had always been too good to him, giving him a sense of hazy illusion. It was as if she always sat there quietly, her eyes always calm and gentle, never getting angry no matter how outrageously he behaved. But why would she love him?
Jiang Huai knew that Ning Yuzhu was sharp and intelligent, able to understand things he couldn’t. Yet, precisely because of this, he felt a vague sense of unease. He suspected he was being toyed with by Senior Sister, and now, in front of Ning Yuzhu, he felt a trace of inferiority.
Jiang Huai knew Ning Yuzhu was waiting for him inside. All he had to do was to walk in and spend a pleasant night with his second senior sister, who was always calm, gentle, charming, and occasionally showed a hint of disdain. He could imagine her waiting for him in a maid dress. Beneath the skirt, her white silk-stockinged legs would be slender and soft, her small white silk-clad feet delicate and cute. She would surely be alluring when she trembled under his bullying.
But the thought lingered, and he still couldn’t bring himself to knock. Then, the door gently opened.
Ning Yuzhu sat by the bedside, the hem of her dress fanning out in a graceful arc. Her jet-black hair cascaded behind her, and her calm, gentle eyes gazed at him. With a slight tilt of her chin, she looked down at him disdainfully. “You hesitated outside the door for half an incense stick’s time. What were you hesitating about?”
Jiang Huai’s voice was hesitant and awkward as he scratched his head. “Just thinking about some things…”
“Then why didn’t you come in to think?”
“This…”
“Does it have to do with me?” Ning Yuzhu tilted her head, crossing her legs beneath her dress. She spoke softly, “Then why not come in and talk to me? It’s so cold outside.”
“So, you think I don’t love you that much?”
Ning Yuzhu’s fingertip gently tapped Jiang Huai’s forehead. The corners of her delicate pink lips curved, and her eyes playfully watched him. Jiang Huai often felt like he was being teased again. He turned his face away, unable to articulate his feelings. “It’s not that, it’s just that I always feel…”
“Long cultivation is very lonely,” Ning Yuzhu suddenly said.
Jiang Huai was slightly taken aback and looked up at her.
“So, it’s rare to have someone by your side.” Ning Yuzhu reached out and pinched his face, speaking softly. “Just as birds don’t fall in love with fish, and rabbits don’t fall in love with turtles. Even if our Master hadn’t told me to marry you back then, I wouldn’t have found a Dao Companion in all these thousands of years.”
“Because I am Ning Yuzhu, and no one is worthy of me. So, the only person who would eventually be allowed to stay by my side is you.”
“But this is all her arrangement…”
“You and First Senior Sister both seem to dislike Master’s arrangements,” Ning Yuzhu looked at Jiang Huai, who sat beside her, and tilted her head. “Why?”
“Who wants their entire life to be planned out?”
“But Master just gives us choices, not a pre-arranged life. It’s like last night when I asked you what you wanted to eat this morning. You could choose anything you wanted. Master also gave me a choice; she told me I could choose not to love you, or to love you. I chose the latter because I found Junior Brother interesting.”
“Interesting?”
“In these thousand years, being alone on White Dew Mountain was too lonely. I’ve never met anyone as interesting as you, Junior Brother.” Ning Yuzhu gently took Jiang Huai’s hand. Her hand was warm and soft, and she wore white silk gloves, the silky touch soft and delicate.
“I could have chosen to continue being solitary on White Dew Mountain for another thousand years, or I could have chosen to stay by your side and live a completely different life. I chose the latter because I thought it would be more interesting. The moments spent with you are far more interesting than all the past thousand years combined.”
Ning Yuzhu lightly swayed her white silk-clad feet beneath her dress. She wore silver high heels, sparkling and elegant.
“But if you ask me if I love you…” Ning Yuzhu thought seriously for a moment before replying, “I don’t understand what love for you means. If it means being willing to die for the other person, then I suppose I love you.”
Jiang Huai was slightly taken aback.
“Because people like me and Senior Sister have lived for a very, very long time, and we’re somewhat weary of living itself. Right now, your weight in my heart is greater than the weight of continuing to live. Do you understand it this way?”
Her eyes were gentle and serious, her voice ethereal and soft.
“How can Senior Sister say such beautiful words of love so seriously?”
“Is this considered sweet talk?” Ning Yuzhu tilted her head. “This is a fact.”
“I understand!”
“Understand what?”
“Senior Sister loves me.”
Ning Yuzhu tilted her head again, her delicate pink lips moving. “But not enough.”
“Huh?!”
“Because we haven’t been together for a long time.” Ning Yuzhu winked at him. “But perhaps I’ll love you more in the future? As for how much I’ll love you… that depends on how you perform from now on?”
Her eyes held a playful amusement that made his teeth itch. Jiang Huai leaned in, wanting to kiss her lips, but Ning Yuzhu gently raised a finger to her lips, stopping him.
“I’ve overcome my shyness and prepared myself for our dual cultivation tonight, but you’re hesitating outside the door. This… makes me angry.”
“How does Senior Sister wish to punish me?”
Ning Yuzhu shifted her body and lay down by the bed, patting the empty space beside her. Jiang Huai obediently lay down. He watched as she took out shimmering flower dew meant for bathing and poured it into her palm. She rubbed her hands together, gloved in white silk, until her palms glowed.
“Hmph, you must be obediently punished for your mistakes.”
Ning Yuzhu moved closer and sat beside Jiang Huai, her jet-black eyes gazing at him with a gentle, playful look, giving him no room to struggle.
“Ee…”
Ning Yuzhu’s fingertip lightly tapped his chest. “Don’t move. Senior Sister will guide the cultivation. You just need to lie there obediently.”
“As expected, Senior Sister is not one to be controlled…” Jiang Huai had anticipated this.
Ning Yuzhu tilted her head back, then lifted her skirt, revealing her specially tailored white lace underwear. She only needed to pull it aside. It was quite seductive, and even the white silk stockings on her legs were cut. But she wasn’t in a hurry to begin dual cultivation. Instead, she leaned closer, her breathing becoming soft, her body slightly forward. “Kiss.”
It was their first time, yet she only blushed faintly. It seemed she had done a lot of mental preparation beforehand. Jiang Huai gently embraced her. As he kissed her lips, Jiang Huai felt as if everything around him became quiet, leaving only the sound of their heartbeats. Ning Yuzhu then sat up slightly, her knees pressing against the bed. She lifted her slender waist, hesitated for a moment, and then softly said, “Look at me properly. Don’t close your eyes secretly again and leave everything for me to bear alone.”
With that, she lifted her skirt hem and bit down on it.
Even if she hadn’t said it, Jiang Huai would never close his eyes. Despite her efforts to conceal it, the blush on her cheeks was undeniable.
Her soft gasps could be heard in the room. The skirt hem she was biting was already soaked with her saliva. However, despite her efforts, after a dozen breaths, her body stiffened, unwilling to move.
“Wait… I need… a break…”
“But Ancestral Master could do it all on their first try…”
“You!” Ning Yuzhu slightly raised her chin, seemingly displeased. Her jet-black eyes seemed to glisten, and her voice became soft and petulant. “Don’t mention Senior Sister at a time like this. Tonight… you are mine…”
Her expression seemed to turn arrogant and cold again, just like when Jiang Huai first met her. She was like an immortal goddess, yet she was actively doing something naughty now.
The next day, early morning.
“Sigh, beast, sigh.”
Jiang Zhi, eating noodles cooked by Fang Moye, couldn’t help but shake her head and mutter.
Fang Moye had already finished her breakfast. She looked up at Jiang Zhi with confusion, not understanding her words.
“I was wondering why Jiang Huai dual cultivates with Senior Sister only once every three days. So he had already made room for Senior Sister Yuzhu. Hmph, men. And he said it was because he pitied you and was afraid of making you ashamed with too frequent dual cultivation. Heh, Senior Sister, you don’t actually believe him, do you?”
Fang Moye was startled, and then a hint of resentment flickered in her dark eyes.
Jiang Zhi finished the fried egg in her bowl contentedly, then wiped her lips with a handkerchief. With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she asked, “Senior Sister, guess how many times they dual cultivated last night?”
Fang Moye hesitated. “More than ten times?”
Of course, she was guessing based on her own past experience. She couldn’t remember exactly how many times she had dual cultivated with Jiang Huai that night. It was too many to count, and it wasn’t just her being bullied. She vaguely remembered dreaming about being bullied by him, and she wasn’t sure if she had been taken advantage of while unconscious.
“Then I guess it’s within five times.” Jiang Zhi blinked her eyes, which were still full of cunning.
“Why?” Fang Moye asked, confused.
“Because… he’s completely suppressed by Senior Sister Ning. So, as soon as Senior Sister Ning acts spoiled and begs for mercy, he obediently stops.”
“Then why are they not up yet?”
“Perhaps they’re having a tender chat in bed?” Jiang Zhi said with a playful smile, looking at Ning Yuzhu’s closed door.
Fang Moye’s gaze followed hers. Her eyes were slightly dazed. She suddenly couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
