Jiang Huai only vaguely opened his eyes late at night. Bai Li, in his arms, held him tightly, curled up. From a certain perspective, this showed a severe lack of security.
Although they had known each other for over two years, Jiang Huai didn’t know much about Bai Li’s past. He only knew she was a demon from the Western Region. As for why she came to the Eastern Region, he vaguely remembered her mentioning she was escaping an arranged marriage.
Her clan leader wanted to marry her to a dragon, to have children with dragon blood, and gain the dragon clan’s favor. Bai Li found it too stifling, so she set a big fire in the snake clan and fled in the chaos, ending up in the relatively safe Eastern Region.
Bai Li’s cultivation talent was not low. She was only a year older than Jiang Huai but was already at the peak of the mid-Nascent Soul stage. The demon race didn’t have the quality classifications like Nascent Soul or Foundation Establishment. They mostly judged by bloodline. She seemed to have a trace of the Snake Ancestor’s bloodline returning to its primal state, which is why she was chosen to marry into the dragon clan. After all, ordinary snakes couldn’t even withstand the explosive power of dragon blood to bear offspring.
She also used a sword, and the two often sparred. Her talent in the Sword Dao was slightly inferior to Jiang Huai’s. In the realm of swordsmanship, Jiang Huai had not yet encountered a more terrifying prodigy.
Bai Li was usually carefree and uninhibited, often teasing him. Since they were homeless in the secret realm, Jiang Huai liked to find a cave, bring a large blanket, and they would often sleep together. Previously, Bai Li loved to turn back into her true form while he was asleep. When Jiang Huai woke up to find a large white snake in his arms, he would be so scared that he would be flustered all morning.
It wasn’t until Jiang Huai, in a fit of rage, grabbed Bai Li and spanked her hard until she tearfully admitted she wouldn’t dare do it again. However, Jiang Huai always felt her words were not to be trusted.
Fortunately, Bai Li didn’t tease him this time.
The girl’s eyelashes trembled gently with her breathing. Jiang Huai looked at the girl in his arms. If one disregarded the fact that she was from the snake clan, the maiden form she transformed into was indeed charming and cute. The demon race of the Western Region was founded by the Demon Ancestor ten thousand years ago. The Demon Ancestor discovered that it was almost impossible for demons to achieve the tenth realm under the Heavenly Way. Therefore, with the power of peak ninth realm cultivation, he promulgated rules and laws, allowing all demons to transform into human form after cultivation. Cultivating as a half-demon was much smoother than the path of a pure demon.
All demons transformed differently. From Jiang Huai’s aesthetic perspective, Bai Li in his arms was of the delicate and cute type. Her small face had the naive look of a loli, delicate and fair. She even had white hair, but she possessed a mature heart in a loli body, always carefree and not at all like a soft, gentle maiden.
Moreover, she was no fool; she could be quite ruthless when it came to tricking people.
Her complexion was still a little pale. Although Jiang Huai’s healing pill had healed her injuries, the trauma had affected her blood and qi. She had lost too much blood and qi, so she still needed a good period of rest. The Dragon Burial Valley secret realm would open in two days, and the rain outside had stopped. They were to depart tonight.
Jiang Huai reached out and gently patted Bai Li’s small buttock, which was tightly wrapped in black silk stockings. Bai Li slowly opened her eyes and heard him ask, “Can you get up?”
“Who do you think I am?” Bai Li immediately scrambled out of his arms, rubbed her eyes, and jumped off the bed. She then looked back at Jiang Huai, “My shoes are lost too.”
Jiang Huai felt like crying and laughing. He rummaged through his System Mall and conjured a pair of black short boots for Bai Li. Bai Li sat on the bedside and put on her boots. She stood up, leaned against Jiang Huai, and fell silent.
After all, her tongue’s characteristic bifurcated feature was too obvious and would reveal her as a demon from the Western Region. If she encountered someone with malicious intentions, it would cause trouble.
Jiang Huai got up and went to the front desk of the Ziyun Inn. He rented a spirit horse. The horse he rented was called “Riding the Wind” and could travel two thousand li at night. Dragon Burial Valley was about three thousand li away. Jiang Huai paid one hundred spirit stones and rented only one horse. Then, Bai Li jumped onto the steed, tied the reins, and Jiang Huai also leaped onto the horse, holding Bai Li tightly in front of him.
This was because he didn’t know how to ride a horse.
In the night, mist diffused. Bai Li commanded the Riding the Wind beneath them. The wind howled in their ears, stinging Jiang Huai’s cheeks. The girl in his arms had a very soft waist. Bai Li’s body was exceptionally soft, as if she had no bones, and could assume any posture. Jiang Huai rested his chin on her shoulder, “You’ve worked hard.”
“When we get there, I want grilled fish.”
“As much as you want.”
Bai Li laughed.
Riding the Wind traveled a thousand li through the night. By the time dawn appeared on the horizon, they had arrived at the border of Moon Wave Continent. There was also a Ziyun Inn here. Jiang Huai led the horse and returned it to the Ziyun Inn. He then requested a room. Both of them were extremely tired. Upon entering the room, Bai Li took off her boots and got into bed. They slept embraced, perhaps accustomed to being each other’s pillows.
When Jiang Huai woke up, he felt a heavy pressure on his chest. He groggily opened his eyes to find Bai Li straddling him, pinching his face. “Wake up, we need to travel.”
“To kill me,” Jiang Huai couldn’t help but mutter, then Bai Li got off him. He got up and rented another horse with Bai Li at the Ziyun Inn. Bai Li still rode the horse, with Jiang Huai tightly embracing her slender waist from behind. They left the Moon Wave Continent and entered Sunflare Continent in the Eastern Region.
Dragon Burial Valley was at the border of Sunflare Continent and required about another day of riding to reach. This time, they didn’t rest and traveled relentlessly. During the journey, Jiang Huai saw that Bai Li was extremely tired and tried to learn how to ride from her. Bai Li held him tightly from behind, and he soon fell asleep.
By evening, they finally arrived outside Dragon Burial Valley.
Dragon Burial Valley was a folded spatial secret realm that opened periodically. Legend had it that it was the burial ground of a dragon and also the tomb of one of the Ninth Realm Immortal Venerables.
Many Ninth Realm Immortal Venerables left behind some gifts in secret realms before their deaths, entrusting them to future young cultivators. This had almost become an unspoken rule. Jiang Huai, when bored, would contemplate how he would design his legacy secret realm to torment young cultivators if he died at the ninth realm.
A Ziyun Inn had also been temporarily set up outside Dragon Burial Valley. The Ziyun Inn itself was a refined Spirit Treasure and could be easily moved. The Ziyun Pavilion was the same. Outside Dragon Burial Valley, there was now a small Ziyun Pavilion selling essential items for cultivators venturing into secret realms. Jiang Huai was so tired that he just wanted to rest. After opening another room, he returned to bed and fell asleep.
“Aren’t you sleeping?” Jiang Huai glanced at Bai Li beside him.
“I can’t sleep very well. I’ll cuddle with you before sleeping.”
“Not on the bed, the bedsheet will get wet later.” Jiang Huai pulled the quilt over his face.
“I know, I know. I’ll go to the chair.”
A moment later, he seemed to hear Bai Li’s faint gasps.
Perhaps due to her snake clan bloodline, she occasionally needed to release her desires. She had been more restrained before, doing it quietly while Jiang Huai slept. But as she tested the waters, she realized Jiang Huai didn’t really mind, so she became less restrained. She truly didn’t treat him as an outsider.
Jiang Huai soon heard the sound of water filling the bathtub. Bai Li likely took another bath. A while later, her body slipped under the covers. Just as Jiang Huai reached out to hold her, his palm met a soft, smooth, and slippery touch. He touched again, but it seemed the same no matter where he touched.
“Go put on your clothes.”
“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t get aroused by me? Want me to show you my tongue again?”
Jiang Huai looked at Bai Li under the covers. Bai Li’s lips parted slightly, and her bifurcated little pink snake flickered again. But Jiang Huai suddenly had a strange thought that it was actually quite cute. The next second, he pinched himself hard on the thigh. “Why don’t you just go and put on your clothes obediently?”
“Then do I not need to wear them if I turn back into my true form?”
“No, I’ll be too scared to sleep.”
“Why are you still so timid, hahahahahaha!” Bai Li laughed so hard in the covers that she couldn’t straighten her waist, her shoulders shaking. Jiang Huai couldn’t resist reaching out and patting her snow-white buttocks. The maiden’s soft, snow-white buttocks were tender and smooth. Jiang Huai suddenly wanted to pat her again.
Fortunately, that pat had an effect. Bai Li sat up, casually put on a qipao, and then burrowed back under the covers, burying her head in his chest. “I’m sleeping, I’m sleeping. So much fuss.”
“…” Jiang Huai was speechless. He hugged her slender waist and closed his eyes.
***
When he woke up again, it was early morning.
They had both slept soundly. When Jiang Huai woke up, Bai Li was sitting by the bed putting on her clothes. Jiang Huai glanced at it casually and then looked away. What the heck was this feeling of an old married couple?
He suppressed the strange thoughts in his mind and sat up. On the table, the Ziyun Pavilion had left behind a book about Dragon Burial Valley, containing a rough map from previous explorers, as well as potential Spirit Medicines and Spirit Treasures that might appear inside. It also detailed the Daoist magic and Spirit Treasures that the Ninth Realm Immortal Venerable buried in Dragon Burial Valley possessed during his lifetime, all of which could potentially appear in the valley.
Jiang Huai was usually responsible for reading this kind of information; he was their strategist when exploring secret realms. Bai Li was responsible for wielding her sword by his side, doing exactly as he commanded. Afterward, they divided the spoils according to their needs. Spirit Medicines were usually split fifty-fifty, with Jiang Huai refining them and giving her half.
“Speaking of which, where did you hide my sword?” Jiang Huai turned to look at Bai Li, who had just finished putting on her stockings behind him. She was sitting by the bed, swinging her black silk-clad little feet. Her tender white feet were hidden in the thin, transparent black silk, her small, cute toes slightly splayed, making the tips of the stockings even more transparent.
“I turned back into my true form to escape at the time, and I didn’t have any place to hide a ring on me, so…” As Bai Li spoke, she opened her mouth, and her fingertip went into her throat. Jiang Huai watched her throat wriggle, and then she retrieved a Storage Ring. Bai Li took the ring, washed it in the sink, and then Jiang Huai’s Yening Sword was back in his hand.
The moment Yening Sword emerged, the room was filled with sword energy. Jiang Huai gripped the sword, and the sword energy was instantly retracted.
Yening Sword was a Spirit Sword Jiang Huai had subdued in a secret realm a few years ago. Its Sword Spirit was extremely lazy and usually preferred to sleep. Jiang Huai tried to call it, but there was no response; it was likely asleep again. Jiang Huai put the sword into his System Backpack.
Bai Li carefully put the Storage Ring back on. This Storage Ring was a gift from Jiang Huai. In the Western Region, they used Qiankun Bags for storage, which were not as convenient as rings.
“Did you hide it in your stomach?”
“No, it’s just below my throat.”
“Doesn’t it bother you?”
“It feels okay. There are differences between my transformed human form and yours; I can easily fit a ring in my throat.”
“Oh, I see.” Jiang Huai nodded thoughtfully.
