Chapter 25

“…Mmm.”

Upon hearing these words, Sang Ying thought to herself, How could that be? Her hazy gaze involuntarily drifted to her own hand, where the beautiful, eerie dragon tail scales nestled between her slender fingers shimmered faintly.

She really had grabbed Xie Lingyu’s tail! Realizing this, she let go as if electrocuted.

“Who grabbed it? I just accidentally touched it,” she stubbornly refused to admit it, turning her head away and muttering, “Your tail is wrapped around my waist—it’s hard not to touch it, isn’t it?”

As she spoke, she clenched her fingers. Regardless of anything else, the dragon tail truly felt wonderful—warm and smooth like green jade, cool to the touch.

Come to think of it, his entire body was cool, like a piece of jade soaked in icy water. Sang Ying’s back pressed against him as he held her firmly in his embrace, and she felt her feverish body cooling down considerably.

Unable to resist, she leaned closer into his embrace, pressing herself against him.

The next second, her waist suddenly felt loose—the dragon tail had released her, and the cool jade she had been leaning against vanished as well.

Sang Ying was dazed for a moment. Her watery eyes searched behind her, only to see the young man sitting two meters away from her, having moved from the head of the bed to the foot.

“What are you doing?”

The young man in white leaned against the foot of the bed, raising his eyes to look at her. “If I don’t keep my distance, what if Junior Sister loses and blames it on me, claiming I affected her?”

Sang Ying choked, instantly feeling guilty. Because that was exactly what she had been thinking.

But how could she admit it? She snorted, “How could I possibly cheat? Stay there if you want. And don’t you touch me either. Let’s see who gives in first.”

The young man leaned against the bed, casually agreeing, “Alright.”

His dragon tail swayed leisurely behind him, its scales lush and bewitching, the tufts of white fur at the tip brushing against the bed.

Sang Ying glanced at it.

Hmph. He ate a whole pill—the effects should be much stronger on him than on me. He might look fine now, but he’s probably just pretending. In reality, he’s all bark and no bite, already at his limit. Isn’t he the best at pretending?

Confidently thinking this, Sang Ying kicked off her shoes, sat at the edge of the bed, and swung her legs, the golden chain around her slender, pale ankles swaying gently.

Not far away, the rhythmically swaying dragon tail suddenly stopped. Sang Ying noticed it from the corner of her eye and glanced over, only to see the young man’s gaze shift away, looking elsewhere, his breathing noticeably heavier.

She immediately laughed, thinking she had found a way to mock him. Tilting her little face up, she asked, “Has Senior Brother reached his limit?”

The young man replied with the same unhurried tone, “Junior Sister hasn’t even tried it, yet she already knows I’ve reached my limit?”

Sang Ying’s ears flushed red instantly. “You perverted dragon!”

He looked so pure and transcendent, yet he kept asking her to touch his tail.

She turned her head away, her eyes misty, biting her lip and fidgeting with her fingers.

The dual cultivation technique Cave Master Cai Xia had shown her implied using the tail to… Uncontrollably, her mind drifted back to the Joyful Union Sect secret manual she had seen that day. When she flipped to the page about kissing the back, she had accidentally glimpsed another page where, in the illustration, the tail had completely disappeared inside.

…How was that even possible?

Sang Ying didn’t understand, but she remembered the female cultivator in the illustration looking pained, frowning and biting her lip, her hands tightly gripping the other person’s arm.

Hmm, it seems dual cultivation must be a very painful thing.

Sang Ying didn’t find this strange. After all, back when she was cultivating with her senior brothers on Minghua Mountain, she had suffered every day—exhausted and miserable, always wanting to slack off.

If cultivating alone was already tiring, cultivating with another person would surely be even more exhausting.

Her thoughts drifted aimlessly, and Sang Ying couldn’t help but wonder—would Xie Lingyu look down on her for her low cultivation base and lack of skill? She had little talent; if he practiced Dual Cultivation with her, he would surely think her foolish.

…If only she had read that Secret Manual earlier.

Wait, why was she already assuming she would practice Dual Cultivation with him?

She hadn’t agreed to practice Dual Cultivation with him at all! Hmph, she still hadn’t settled the score with him for tying her up and kissing her! Who gave him permission to kiss her?

Lost in these chaotic thoughts, Sang Ying’s eyes grew increasingly misty, and her breathing grew hotter and more erratic. She turned her head to look at the young man at the foot of the bed. In her blurred vision, his face was indistinct, but she could feel his gaze fixed on her face.

It was a thick, heavy gaze, moving slowly from her brows and eyes to her lips, like a brush tracing deliberately over paper, inch by inch, sending tingles across her scalp and shivers down her spine.

Flustered and panicked, she raised her hands to cover her face. “Why are you looking at me?”

The young man chuckled softly.

Though he was far away, his voice was low and seemed to brush against her ear.

“Does my junior sister not even allow me to look?”

“No.”

“But junior sister was just looking at me too.”

“I was observing the enemy, waiting to see when you’d admit defeat.”

The young man seemed to laugh softly. Sang Ying didn’t hear him speak again, so she lowered her hands—only to suddenly see his face right before her eyes, his beautiful features blazing as he stared at her.

A rich scent of White Sandalwood washed over her, enveloping her almost instantly. Dizzy for a moment, she hastily retreated, her back bumping against the bedpost.

“Xie Lingyu, what are you doing?!”

“Observing the enemy.”

The young man lifted her chin with his knuckles. “Seeing when my junior sister will admit defeat.”

Sang Ying only felt that his fingers were cool and soothing. Her restless, feverish body uncontrollably craved that bit of coolness, and before she could react, her cheek had already pressed against his palm, nuzzling it.

Xie Lingyu watched her rub against him like a kitten and chuckled softly. “Is junior sister admitting defeat?”

“…”

Sang Ying’s mind was hazy for a few moments before she shook her head vigorously. “No!”

She pushed his hand away, rolled onto the bed, and wrapped herself tightly in the quilt, cocooning herself into a ball. “Don’t disturb me.”

Silence fell outside the quilt. After a while, feeling stifled and unbearably hot, Sang Ying secretly lifted a corner to breathe—only for her gaze to land directly on a dragon tail.

Right beside the quilt, it swayed leisurely, its tip adorned with a few tufts of white fluff. With a gentle flick, it nearly brushed against the tip of her nose.

…So cute.

She remembered that dragon tails were cool too.

Sang Ying’s misty eyes fixed on the dragon tail as it swayed back and forth. Finally, her muddled mind couldn’t resist any longer—she pounced on the dragon tail, dragging it into the quilt and hugging it tightly.

Mmm, so comfortable. Sang Ying pressed her cheek against the dragon tail, the cool scales soothing her feverish face.

Suddenly, everything turned white as the quilt was pulled away.

The young man looked down at the girl wriggling as she hugged his tail, raising an eyebrow. “What does this mean, junior sister?”

Sang Ying felt a pang of guilt for a moment but quickly regained her composure. “It crossed the boundary. I was just moving it farther away.”

Reluctantly, she pushed the dragon tail far away. Just as she was about to bury herself back in the quilt, the dragon tail returned, its tip hooking under her chin.

“If junior sister admits defeat, it’s yours. How about that?”

The offer was far too tempting. Sang Ying stared at the dragon tail before her, her mind filled with the memory of its cool touch. Her overheated brain, on the verge of delirium, held only one thought—she wanted it.

That wretched Xie Lingyu, actually resorting to temptation!

But Sang Ying was a merchant at heart, naturally unwilling to back down. In her daze, she grabbed his finger, pressing the pad of it against her own lips.

“If you admit defeat, I’ll let you kiss me once.”

The young man chuckled softly, cupping her small face and leaning in to plant a kiss, their lips meeting. “Junior Sister, your condition doesn’t seem very enticing? After all, even if you didn’t agree, I could still kiss you.”

Kissing her again without a word!

Sang Ying was furious. She grabbed his finger and bit down, her eyes brimming with tears. “I… I was the one who kissed you.”

The young man sighed leisurely, “But if I lose, I’ll have to kneel for two hours.”

Sang Ying gritted her teeth. “I’ll kiss you anywhere you want.”

“In that case, Junior Sister’s condition is indeed tempting.”

Hearing him say this, Sang Ying thought he was about to agree, but then he suddenly changed his tone, taking a sharp turn. “However, I don’t plan on admitting defeat.”

He gave a light laugh. “After all, from the looks of it, doesn’t it seem like Junior Sister is the one about to give in first?”

Sang Ying watched him speak but barely registered his words, her attention entirely focused on his mouth. His lips were pale and thin, usually giving off an air of cool detachment.

They had just kissed—they felt cool, soft, and fragrant.

She really wanted…

Before her consciousness could command her body, the sensation of those cool, soft lips had already taken over her mind.

Sang Ying pressed against his arm, leaning over him. Her damp, hazy eyes met his lips—fragrant and soft, like a little dessert. She instinctively extended her small tongue to give a lick.

The next moment, the world suddenly spun.

Sang Ying went from looking straight ahead to gazing upward, the back of her head sinking into the pillow. She was still a bit dazed, her breath already stolen, leaving only the scent of White Sandalwood between her lips and teeth.

He kissed her fiercely and deeply, easily parting her lips and tangling with her small tongue, kissing until the root of her tongue went numb.

“…Mmm.”

Sang Ying felt as though she had fallen into some soft, plush trap, her consciousness growing hazy, yet her senses and perception were unusually sharp.

She clearly felt his heavy breathing, the hand gripping her wrist, and that cool, smooth Dragon Tail.

It brushed against her ankle and coiled around her calf, its smooth scales gliding along the back of her knee.

Outside, it seemed to have started raining. Fine raindrops fell into the pond full of lotus flowers, a few drops of sweet Lotus Dew spilling out, slowly dripping down the stamens and rippling across the water’s surface.

At a certain moment, her consciousness suddenly cleared, and Sang Ying pushed him away.

Flustered and panicked, she scrambled backward, quickly untangling the Dragon Tail from her leg, her ears burning bright red.

The young man also calmed down slightly, lifting his dark, deep eyes to look at her. “Junior Sister kissed me first—does that mean you admit defeat?”

Hearing those two words, Sang Ying grew stubborn again. “You kissed me too, and for so long. I’m magnanimous and won’t hold it against you. Let’s call it even.”

Xie Lingyu stared at her intently. The girl’s face was flushed, her eyes brimming with damp tears, and the tip of her nose was red, like a little fox that had tumbled headfirst into the snow.

He lowered his gaze. “Since neither of us is willing to admit defeat, dragging this out will only lead to the same result. Why don’t we call it a draw? What do you think, Junior Sister?”

Sang Ying sniffled. She couldn’t take it anymore either. She was doing her utmost to hold back, afraid that the next second she might wrap the Dragon Tail in her arms again.

“Fine, then. No one wins.” She reached out her hand. “Give me the antidote.”

The young man chuckled, “Didn’t you hear when you obtained this medicine, Junior Sister? Love Thread Entanglement is the Huanhe Sect’s treasure—there is no antidote. The only cure is… Dual Cultivation.”

Sang Ying: ?

Her sister didn’t mention that when she gave it to her!

The Golden Chain around her ankle was tugged, and the young man’s slender fingers easily grasped her ankle bone, his fingertips rubbing gently a few times. Sang Ying felt ticklish and tried to pull back, but he held on even tighter.

Leaning in, the young man pressed closer, using his Dragon Tail to lift her chin. His dark, deep eyes stared at her like a predator.

“And who said neither of us won? A draw should mean that both you and I have won.”

He chuckled softly, “Since we both won, the conditions we set should be fulfilled by both. I will kneel for you for two hours, and you, Junior Sister, will…”

The Dragon Tail slipped beneath her skirt, coiling around the top of her thigh.

The white fur at the tip of the tail tickled her skin.

“…be at my mercy.”