Chapter 97: That Night

I idly stared at the dark-colored canopy above me, my body feeling as if truly sunk into velvet, while the thin sheet had long ago been kicked onto the floor.

Turning my neck gently, I strained my aching, almost numb body; the person on top of me had been motionless for nearly a moment. I frowned with a headache, hoping Qi Ran wasn't asleep! Though the weather now wouldn't feel cold, but…

My body suddenly stiffened, a slight tremor ran through my heart; although Qi Ran's body hadn't moved, it began to heat up slowly. Through a thin layer of clothing, even my skin grew sensitively hot.

"Bing Yi…" Qi Ran's voice was lazy and hoarse. He suddenly sat up and looked at me, his long black hair hanging like thick silk by my ears, a few strands lightly brushing my bare chest, making me shiver.

My face stiffened a bit; I reached out to push aside those strands, about to say something. Suddenly my wrist tightened, and I was restrained again on both sides of my body.

"Qi… Qi Ran…" I croaked his name, my face flushing from an inexplicable premonition, "Um, sleep… sleep…"

"You just said…" He released my left hand, but gave a faint glance. I, who had been about to withdraw, suddenly froze as if nailed by an invisible force, unable to move a inch. With one hand he grabbed the collar of his own sky‑blue silk‑threaded cloud‑embroidered robe, gave a sudden tug, and his thin garments seemed to split, slipping slowly from his body.

In the weak candlelight, his lithe yet naked body emitted a crystal‑like glimmer, flickering above my head. I swallowed with difficulty, and a word unexpectedly sprang to mind—seduction.

His blue eyes rippled like waves, desire flared again, deep as if to devour me. His voice was husky and sexy, warm moisture exhaled onto my skin: "Bing Yi, you just said, if I'm willing, we can continue?"

My whole body trembled lightly, my cheeks flushed, and my breathing gradually quickened.

A loose white blanket was draped over me as I weakly leaned against Qi Ran's naked chest, panting softly. Sweat‑damp, disheveled black hair—whether his or mine—tangled together, clinging to the half‑wet skin on his chest.

Qi Ran freed a hand, pushed the door open, and casually tugged the copper bells hanging from the wall edge three times. After a while, the water in the bath seemed to recede on its own, and fresh, slightly warm, clean water poured in through eight holes in the pool wall.

In less than the time it takes a incense stick to burn out, Qi Ran had already lifted me, and with my clothes… blanket, stepped into the mildly warm, slightly cool pool water.

After something like this happens, there's only one feeling—exhaustion.

I clutched the two corners of the blanket at my chest, my gaze unfocused on the cross on my chest. I let Qi Ran let the lifted water drizzle gently over my head, then apply a lightly scented soap‑fragrant lotion to my hair, gently massaging.

"Bing Yi, take off the blanket," Qi Ran's gentle voice sounded in my ear. I startled, only then realizing my hair had somehow been washed; looking up, I saw his face, handsome beyond mortal men, his naked, crystal‑clear chest, and an unexpected memory of just now flashed in my mind…

"No! No need! I'll do it myself," I said awkwardly, stepping back sharply out of his embrace, only to feel a pain in my lower back and waist. I muttered a low curse and fell back into his arms.

Qi Ran smiled in his eyes, tore the white, soaked‑through thin blanket apart, and said lightly, "This thing is too much of a hindrance; if you still won't let go, I'll just destroy it."

Startled, I jerked my left hand, which had been trying to pull the blanket back, while my right hand clenched the other corner, thinking it was better than nothing. Qi Ran's long, cool, water‑slick fingers, already coated with the cleansing lotion, brushed over my body.

I stood awkwardly in place, unsure where to put my hands. In fact, I couldn't stand at all; I was merely leaning against Qi Ran's chest. The cool‑warm water trickled along the texture of my skin, washing away the fine bubbles on my body.

"Qi Ran…" I whispered his name, then suddenly paused, my face flushing red.

He halted his movements, lifted his head and looked at me: "Hmm?"

"Um… um…" I twisted the sheets with both hands as if ravaging them, my face turning tomato‑red, yet for a long while I couldn't muster a single word.

When Qi Ran began to show impatience, I suddenly blurted out a question, then dropped my head so low my chin rested on my chest.

Qi Ran clearly froze—actually, he was stunned for a long while—then gave me a strange look, and after a moment said, "You're asking how many times I've made love… slept with a girl?"

Please! My face burned even more, and I couldn't help cursing silently in my mind: Do you really need to repeat that?

A smile suddenly lit Qi Ran's face; he reached out and pulled me into his arms, his voice filled with an indescribable delight: "Fool, of course it's the first time!"

"Impossible, right?" I snapped my head up, staring at him in astonishment, whispering, "Otherwise how could your technique be so superb!"

MY—GOD! Who told me what I just… said?!

Qi Ran was stunned on the spot, remaining dazed for a long time. A handsome man, especially a naked one, looks ridiculous when he blanks out—that's blood‑pumping level.

Then he wrapped his arms around my waist and laughed loudly. After laughing for a while, he suddenly seemed to recall something, his face reddening, his gaze flickering elsewhere.

"Hey, Qi Ran!" I walked around him despite the soreness, seeing his rarely‑seen awkward, fidgety expression, and couldn't help teasing, "The first time can't be this… ahem, smooth, can it? Are you lying to me?"

"Of course not!" Qi Ran blurted out, then his expression hardened, his perfectly arched eyebrows knitting together, a look of embarrassed distress on his face. I couldn't help a wry inner laugh, as if only now I realized Qi Ran was just a big kid not even twenty.

"Fine, if you don't want to talk… the first time is always the most precious in one's memory," I forced a strained smile, trying to suppress the upward curve of my mouth. Qi Ran, Qi Ran! Even you will have a day of being plotted against.

I let out a long sigh and pulled back from his embrace by a few steps.

Qi Ran's expression turned frantic; he seized me and hauled me back into his arms, whispering urgently in my ear, "I… I once saw those paintings in the Wind City."

"Paintings?" My mind froze for a few seconds, then a flash of insight made me shout, "You actually look at erotic pictures?!"

Heaven! Earth! How am I supposed to believe it? It's as if an angel who fell to the mortal world—Qi Ran—were secretly viewing erotic pictures in the palace. This… this bizarre scene, just imagining it already…

Qi Ran, annoyed, pressed my head against his chest, feeling my suppressed giggle, then sighed indulgently and said helplessly, "I've had a photographic memory since childhood; I could recite many of the books in the Wind City palace, and those places inevitably contain such works. At first it was just curiosity, but after reading them I couldn't forget them."

I laughed even harder, finding the bewildered yet helpless Qi Ran absolutely adorable. I wanted to ask him whether, after reading those books, he didn't feel any urge to try it, but his voice, clear as green bamboo leaves drifting in water, rang in my ears.

"Later, my father—Xiao Yifei—also had me witness couples who had taken the alluring drug and made love, and he even arranged various women for me. Yet, being immune to a hundred poisons and with a special spiritual sense, he still couldn't get the better of me. Later, I inadvertently learned the Pure‑Heart Mantra, which further dampened my desires regarding men and women…"

A memory suddenly surfaced of the first time I saw his clear blue eyes, like a pool of autumn water; back then Qi Ran, aside from his lethal steps, was unattached, desire‑free, so pure that one could not look at him directly.

At that time he seemed aloof, yet like warm, gentle sunshine, attracting and illuminating everyone—people like Bu Sha, Bai Shengyi, and… me. Yet he deliberately kept himself apart from that warmth.

I lifted my head, looked at him, and asked with a smile, "Qi Ran, do you regret meeting me?"

Qi Ran furrowed his brows, a pained expression on his face, eyes wary, "You're not thinking of another excuse to leave me, are you?" His hands suddenly clenched, his lips pressed hard against mine, then after a moment he pulled away and continued forcefully, "I'll tell you, don't even think about it; this life you will never get away from me. And that contract…"

He paused, a delighted smile appearing in his eyes, then leaned down softly and said, "Bing Yi, when we return to the Cangxue Nation, let's get married."

"No!" I blurted instinctively, "Didn't we say we'd talk about it after half a year?"

Heaven! In the modern world, neither of us even meets the legal age. Moreover, marriage this early—especially in an ancient society that places the husband above all—and with Qi Ran already having a nominal junior wife…

Seeing Qi Ran's expression darken, I hurriedly said, "Qi Ran, marriage isn't a child's game. We have many things to consider. For instance, do you prefer a Western or a Chinese ceremony, what style of wedding dress. Also, how many tables of banquet guests, who will be the officiant, who the best man and maid of honor will be. Moreover, after marriage, should I take your surname or you become a son‑in‑law to my family, how much of your property I can claim. And, when do you plan to have children after we marry…"

I glanced up, stealing a look at the increasingly bewildered Qi Ran, and laughed inwardly: "Great! The more confused you are, the easier it is for me to bluff my way through."

After rambling for a long while, I finally let out a sigh and said solemnly, "So, you see, Qi Ran, we really have many matters to sort out! Half a year is still short; in my opinion, it should be changed to a year and a half."

Qi Ran waited quietly until I finished, then twitched the corner of his mouth and narrowed his eyes dangerously: "You seem to still have plenty of energy, huh?"

Startled, I pulled the blanket I had just reclaimed and stepped back; his handsome face, whose danger level matched that of Wei Lingfeng, set off an alarm in my mind.

"It seems I was still being too lenient just now, needlessly wronging myself," Qi Ran smiled gently, a thick aura of scheming mingling with his immaculate smile.

I muttered a bad omen, turned to run, but suddenly slipped, falling toward the clear pool water.

The pool water surged into my mouth and nose before I could react; I tried to vomit but couldn't, thrashed a couple of times and came to, only to be pressed by Qi Ran straight to the bottom. I held my breath, thinking, Qi Ran can't be trying to drown me, can he?

As I thought that, I vaguely felt a tall, lithe body descend along the rippling water, a pair of long, strong hands grabbing the hand that was clutching the blanket corner, leaving no room for resistance.

The white blanket soaked up the heavy water and, swaying, slipped away from my body toward the pool bottom. A moment later, my back pressed against the pool floor covered by the soft blanket, and I saw the owner of those blue eyes lean down onto me.

I wanted to curse out loud, but being underwater made it impossible. The oxygen in my lungs dwindled as I felt Qi Ran's body growing hotter in the water. I couldn't help thinking in horror: "Heaven! He can't be planning to… do it here!"

As if to confirm my thought, Qi Ran flashed a vague wicked grin in the water, then suddenly seized the hands I was pushing away.

At this moment, I could no longer care what Qiran actually wanted to do, or whether my body could withstand it; I only felt the oxygen in my lungs growing thinner and thinner, bubbles constantly spitting from my mouth, and I seemed about to die from suffocation.

Suddenly, a familiar flow of air like sweet dew passed through our tightly pressed lips and teeth, reaching my heart and lungs that were about to burst. I couldn't help greedily sucking in what seemed like an endless stream of vital energy; just then, my body was hit by a sudden impact, I widened my eyes in shock—Qiran had, at that very moment, entered my body.

I weakly wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing my lips to his warm, moist mouth, pouring out gasp after gasp in exchange for that endless stream of life force. I simply let him surge and charge within my body, causing wave after wave of turbid ripples on the water's surface.

I could only cling limp and sore beneath him. Yet I couldn't help cursing inwardly: Damn! It really is internal respiration! How perverse!

Morning came, I woke up sore all over, feeling like I wanted to beat someone up. That bastard Qiran actually dared to say that his desire for men and women had become even lower—what outright lies spoken with eyes wide open!

I lifted my head and suddenly froze, meeting Qiran's blue eyes that seemed to have been focused on me for an entire century. He simply propped his head up, gazing down at me silently; the deep affection, indulgence, joy, and pity in his eyes sent a wave of soft emotion through my heart.

What kind of fortune could allow me to meet this person before me, and then be held and cherished in his palm?

I broke into a radiant smile, my voice still carrying last night's slight hoarseness: "Good morning, Qiran."

He startled, as if only just realizing I had awakened; the light in his eyes grew even gentler and more cherishing, yet he spoke in a light tone: "Bingyi! This morning, as I watched you, I kept thinking—could it be that I care too much about certain things, thus blinding myself?"

He paused, leaned in to look at me, his voice hoarse from slight nervousness: "Bingyi, is it that no matter what kind of person I am now, no matter how different I am from my past self, I am still… the only one you love?"

I shuddered, my chest suddenly feeling as if something had carved a hole in it, filled with a tumultuous surge of emotion I myself couldn't comprehend. I then laughed, reached up to wrap my arms around his neck, and lightly pressed a kiss to his lips, whispering softly: "Yes! Forever the only one!"

My body was suddenly pulled into his embrace, and I heard Qiran's voice, relieved to the point of almost hoarse sobbing: "Fortunately… fortunately I don't have to hate my elder brother."

I couldn't help letting out a long breath, my back sinking into the soft bedsheet as I wrapped my arms around him; my voice sounded like bubbles rising from a hot spring, soft and crisp: "Yeah, not hating is wonderful—hatred is a painful feeling. Qiran, you just need to learn to be happy."

Because he was considering my condition, Qiran stayed another three days at the Moon Yang Imperial Palace. On the fourth day, we placed Bu Sha—who had been kept in a forced coma by Qiran since our return—into a carriage and set off for the Azure Snow State.

These three days, I passed them sweetly and peacefully, yet the world underwent another earth-shaking change. According to Qiran, the Third Prince of the Yin State personally led troops to attack the Silver River State, but half a month ago he was shot dead by an arrow from the Profound Heaven Sect on the battlefield. Meanwhile, the Eldest Prince was slain that same day by an assassin of the Qi State in his own strategist's residence. The Yin State was left leaderless for a time, yet its officials and commoners harbored a deep hatred for the Qi army and Commander Wei Lingfeng.

Yin Ziheng was exactly in this moment of internal and external turmoil, being pushed onto the throne of the Yin State as if he were a savior. His prestige among the populace already surpassed that of his two imperial elder brothers, and after ascending the throne he ordered a halving of that year's taxes and granted a general amnesty. For a while, the entire Yin State resounded with praises for the new monarch.

Three days ago, Yin Ziheng actually allied with the seemingly out-of-nowhere Key Army and launched a night attack on the border hidden city of the Silver River State. Because the Qi State's main forces were mostly stationed in the southern Sea Benevolence City to resist the overt Yin troops, reinforcements arrived late, and the hidden city fell.

The following two days, Yin Ziheng and the leader of the Key Army, Black Horse Divine General Fu Junmo, personally led the great army in a victorious pursuit, marching straight to the Mist Capital of the Silver River State, where the two forces reached a stalemate.

The Profound Heaven Sect had assumed that if the Yin State committed all its forces, its domestic military strength would necessarily be empty. Thus they dispatched a vice general to lead three thousand cavalry and ten thousand infantry on a detour to sneak attack the Yin State's key stronghold. However, they were blocked by a mysterious force, and the entire army was annihilated.

By this point, the situation of the Qi State had become unprecedentedly dire, reaching the extreme of peril.

Qiran and I naturally understood that this so-called mysterious force must be Bing Ling's military power; even the Key Army's ability to appear silently on the Qi-Yin border is mostly something only Bing Ling could accomplish. Xiao Yifei had said that day in the secret cavern, to fulfill Leng Qingya's wish, so it stands to reason he has also begun to act.

Qiran hadn't expected this either, even while staying at the Moon Yang Imperial Palace—just a short three days and the Qi State had already fallen into such a crisis. Therefore he immediately rushed back to the capital of the Yi State, Azure Snow State, and at the same time ordered troops from all regions to be mobilized, ready to provide rescue at any moment.

Originally, aiding Commander Wei Lingfeng was the most urgent matter at this moment. Yet Qiran and I were delayed by something, unable to leave or act. We could only have Wen Ruobin take the tiger talisman to go mobilize troops, and Xin Hui also requested to accompany him.

We would be delayed without hesitation. Because this matter, to us, is more important and urgent than anything else.

After Qiran applied silver needles, Bu Sha, who had remained unconscious, suddenly began vomiting blood repeatedly; his qi and blood boiled internally, his meridians tore at each other, as if they might snap at any moment.

Qiran and I tended to him without rest for two days and a night, finally preserving his meridians that were on the verge of being completely severed. Yet his complexion remained pallid, without a trace of color, his breath feeble; it was clear he could stop breathing at any moment.

I saw Qiran's veins bulging on his hands as he clenched and unclenched his grip repeatedly. I knew that, at this moment, if Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng stood before him, he would unhesitatingly cut him down without regard for anything.

"I'm stepping out for a bit!" Qiran drew a deep breath, looked at me, his fierce expression softening slightly: "You look after Bu Sha first—I will definitely bring back Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng's blood!"

"If…" he frowned slightly, then continued, "If I still haven't returned by noon tomorrow, you need not wait for me. Let Bai Shengyi take Bu Sha to find my master, Xie Yanke. Although my master's meridians are sealed shut, perhaps there is still a way."

My heart gave a slight flutter, and I slowly nodded.

Then, as he was about to step out the door, I suddenly said softly: "Qiran, do you still remember what I said at the beginning? Don't try to trade your own life for someone else's—whether it's mine or Bu Sha's, it's not allowed. No matter when, don't forget to treat yourself a little better."

Qiran's body trembled slightly; without turning back, he nodded firmly and strode away.

(End of chapter)