"I..."
Just as Yun Zhi was about to speak, the soup spoon was placed directly on her lips. The fragrant fish soup was right there, and the hunger in her stomach made her instinctively sip the broth. After the first taste, she couldn't stop.
"Slow down, don't rush. There's also this venison!"
Yan Qingshan acted extremely gently at this moment. After lightly wiping the broth from Yun Zhi's lips with a handkerchief, he used a wooden skewer to bring a small, chopped piece of venison to her lips. Yun Zhi silently bit down and chewed the venison, her eyes welling up with tears.
...
On the first night, Yan Qingshan took excellent care of Yun Zhi, and the relationship between the two began to become complicated.
For the next three days, Yan Qingshan went hunting daily, while Yun Zhi silently broke through her seal in the cave. The two still interacted, but the playful banter from the first night became an exception. It was as if both of them were restraining themselves.
The peaceful cohabitation in the cave lasted for two days. However, on the third day, a sudden wolf howl broke the silence.
"You went out!"
Yan Qingshan frowned, looking at Yun Zhi across from him. His tone was firm and certain that she had not followed his instructions and had left the cave without permission.
A blush of apology crept onto Yun Zhi's pretty face. She twisted her hands and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, I... went out to take a bath today."
"Troublesome!"
Yan Qingshan called out "troublesome" and then turned away. With an apologetic look on her face, Yun Zhi stood up and was about to speak when he suddenly turned back and roared, "Listen to me! Stay here and don't move. Going out will only attract more magical beasts and cause more trouble."
Yun Zhi stared blankly at Yan Qingshan, her mind unable to process the sudden roar. He, this little rascal, dared to yell at her like that.
After speaking, Yan Qingshan walked out of the cave, not giving her another chance to talk. Staring at his retreating figure as he disappeared from the cave entrance, Yun Zhi's hands flailed a bit in front of her, as if she didn't know what expression to show.
After a while, the jade-like beauty finally stamped her foot and, with a flushed face, scolded, "This little rascal actually dared to be fierce with me. At such a young age..."
After waiting for a long time with no sound, Yun Zhi finally lost her patience. She gritted her teeth, gripped her hand, and an exotic longsword shot out. She said in a cold voice, "Amethyst Winged Lion King, you bastard, if anything happens to this rascal, I'll turn this entire mountain range upside down."
Just as she was about to rush out of the cave, a smell of blood wafted in, and a figure rushed in from outside, colliding with her.
"Yan Qingshan, are you okay!"
Yun Zhi was overjoyed when she saw the figure, but the person in her arms rolled his eyes and seemed to have fainted. This startled her. "Yan Qingshan, Yan Qingshan, you little rascal, little rascal, wake up... Don't scare me, sob sob..."
"Why are you weeping at a funeral? I'm not dead yet!"
A somewhat tired and impatient voice sounded from within her arms. The voice seemed a bit muffled, and a burst of heat hit her chest. This sudden turn of events made Yun Zhi freeze.
She had been too worried just now. While crying out, she had tightly hugged Yan Qingshan, and her... assets were pressed right against his face.
"You, you're fine. You scared me to death."
After a moment, Yun Zhi lowered her head and saw that Yan Qingshan really seemed to be okay. She was slightly relieved but also even angrier.
Yan Qingshan closed his eyes and said, "I was fine, but you'll make me not fine if you keep shaking me. Of course, if you want me to be okay, you can help me out. First, lower your head and come closer."
Yun Zhi didn't know if she was genuinely too concerned or just didn't react quickly enough, but she actually lowered her head and leaned closer. Yan Qingshan suddenly opened his eyes, tilted his head, and stole a kiss from her lips. Then, he flipped over and left her embrace.
Yun Zhi froze for a moment, then her entire face turned scarlet. She glared at him, wanting to hit him. "You, little rascal, what was that..."
"This is punishment for not listening and also a reward for me. I originally decided to give you a choice between being spanked or... but I thought it would be too much to hold you down, so you shouldn't have any objections, right? Hehe..."
Yan Qingshan said smugly. When he mentioned spanking, he stared at her well-endowed rear end. The meaning was quite obvious, making her small face even redder.
"I..."
Yun Zhi was so annoyed and exasperated by this repeated teasing. If it weren't for her sealed Dou Qi, she would have really wanted to take her sword and chop this little bastard into eighteen pieces, just for always singing that absurd "Eighteen Strokes" song.
...
"I'm back, you're in luck today. I brought some wild chickens..."
Yan Qingshan returned with his prey again, holding up two wild chickens, ready to make some nourishing soup. Suddenly, he felt that something was wrong. Yun Zhi, who should have been lying on the stone bed, had disappeared. He then felt a chill on his neck, as if something had been placed there.
"This... this isn't a good way to joke around, is it?"
Yan Qingshan tilted his head down. An unusual longsword, with a cold glint on its edge, was pressed tightly against his throat. One wrong move and something bad could happen. He recalled that he was the one who had brought this sword back from outside. He wondered if this was what it meant to be hoisted by one's own petard.
A black-robed Yun Zhi stood behind Yan Qingshan, her face cold as ice, holding the longsword. She said coldly, "Do you think I'm joking? You've bullied me many times over the past two days while my Dou Qi was sealed. Do you think I'm joking with you now?"
"Yun... You're definitely not Yun Zhi. Yun Zhi wouldn't do this to me."
Yan Qingshan turned around, ready to hug her, but the sword's sharp edge jabbed towards him without mercy, forcing him to stop in his tracks and say resentfully.
A hint of redness flashed across Yun Zhi's jade-like face, then her expression grew colder. She snorted, "Don't you think I'm the type to be bullied? I was just defenseless for the past few days and could only tolerate it for a while. I'm warning you, what happened the past two days, you'd better..."
Clang...
Yun Zhi's words were not even finished when a gust of wind suddenly shot from Yan Qingshan's fingertips. Her wrist went numb, the sword fell to the ground, and she herself fell into his embrace. This sudden change left her momentarily stunned.
Yan Qingshan strode to the stone bed and sat down, holding Yun Zhi and placing her on his lap. He smiled faintly and said, "You're so disobedient, and this time you even pointed a sword at me. What should I do to punish you?"
"You, don't do anything rash!"
Yun Zhi was held across Yan Qingshan's lap in an extremely embarrassing position. She could also feel his hand, which seemed about to fall. The thought of being spanked on that part of her body by a teenager, as a fully-grown adult, filled her with a sense of humiliation that made her want to hide.
This time, Yan Qingshan seemed to be serious and had no intention of stopping. "Disobedient people must be punished. Just accept your punishment obediently."
Yun Zhi was filled with anger and shame, hating this little rascal in her heart. Just as she closed her eyes, preparing for the moment of humiliation, she was suddenly picked up. What happened next was a repeat of that night's scene, but this time, she didn't seem to be resisting.
Yun Zhi's consciousness was slightly hazy. Her slight resistance was more like a form of flirting. With her jade arms wrapped around Yan Qingshan's waist, tears suddenly fell from her beautiful eyes. Her muffled voice whispered, "If you take advantage of me right now, I'll kill you first, and then myself."
Yan Qingshan looked down at the stunning beauty who was almost captivated and confused by his teasing. He couldn't help but hesitate about whether to continue. He wasn't a lustful person, and his various schemes against her were part of his own plan.
But to take possession of a woman's body just to fulfill his plan, was that too... He wasn't a gentleman, he just didn't want her to be unable to face herself in the future. He wasn't a heartless person; he had his own sense of responsibility.
"Get some good sleep."
Yan Qingshan whispered in her ear. Then, he gently pressed a hand on the back of her jade-like neck and released some power. Yun Zhi's eyes rolled back, and she fainted. Yan Qingshan, on the other hand, looked at the bonfire, the light in his eyes flickering erratically.
...
When the sleeping Yun Zhi opened her eyes again, a familiar face came into view. Yan Qingshan was sleeping across from her. The two of them were on the stone bed, as if they were sleeping side by side.
She didn't check anything immediately, because she had enough trust in him. With her jade-like hand caressing the black robe covering her body, ripples inexplicably stirred in her heart.
"Alas..."
A light sigh echoed in the cave. Staring at his sleeping profile, Yun Zhi's mind was in turmoil. At this point, she could no longer face her own feelings.
...
The warm morning sun brought a hint of warmth to their bodies. Yan Qingshan yawned and opened his blurry, sleepy eyes. He instinctively turned his head and became a little more sober.
Yun Zhi, who was across from the stone bed, sat cross-legged. The longsword was placed flat on her thighs. Today, she had changed into a plain white dress, and the phoenix hairpin was once again gathered on top of her head. Her beautiful face was glowing, and the subtle fragility had completely disappeared.
Yun Zhi seemed to have noticed him looking at her. She also opened her eyes slightly, her beautiful eyes sweeping over him. Her gaze was flat, and her tone was even more so. "You're awake!"
The cadence of her clear voice was the same as before, but it now carried a hint of coldness. The flat tone was like a conversation between strangers.
Yan Qingshan leaned against the stone bed and just looked at Yun Zhi. Then he spoke in a calm tone, "Your seal is broken."
"Mhm."
Yun Zhi nodded indifferently. Her beautiful eyes shifted down, staring at his face, as if wanting to engrave this face in her mind forever. "Thank you for taking care of me during this time, even though there were some unpleasant moments."
She pulled her lips into what seemed like a smile. Her figure moved, and she elegantly took a step down, preparing to turn around with her beautiful and alluring body.
Yan Qingshan suddenly spoke, "I still prefer the Yun Zhi from a few days ago, the Yun Zhi who I bullied... not the person you are now. What should I call you now? Still Yun Zhi, or should I say, one of the ten great experts of the Jia Ma Empire, the Sect Master of the Misty Cloud Sect, Yun Yun."
The beautiful figure stiffened slightly, frozen in place for a moment. When Yun Zhi, or rather, Yun Yun, turned her head, her gaze had become incredibly sharp.