The Heart-Devouring Gu was a Seventh Tier specimen, potent enough to kill even a Mystic Ancestor expert. Even with Yan Zhen’s Three Extreme Flames protecting him, refining it away wasn’t easy—especially since the male and female Gu were fused together in one body.
One could see the Gu worm burrowing into his body from the wound on his left palm. Black spots now covered his entire left arm, spreading toward his heart like a malignant growth clinging to the bone.
Meanwhile, Yan Zhen mobilized the Gold-Silver Fire, Great Crimson Heaven Flame, and Evil Spirit Dragon Breath Flame to form a defensive line, halting the spread of the black spots.
Yu Shizun estimated that in about half an hour, Yan Zhen would be out of immediate danger. Another half hour after that, and the Gu worm could be fully refined. A few medicinal pills to restore his body afterward would set him right.
She quietly breathed a sigh of relief, then headed out, taking Dean Yu Qing and Long Ying with her. The bath chamber was left with only Yan Zhen and Shui Bailan.
Having purged the poison from her system, Shui Bailan was merely exhausted and had fallen asleep from fatigue. She soon awoke, feeling a wave of warmth suffusing her body—though without any sweat. Opening her eyes, she realized she was still nestled in Yan Zhen’s arms, held tightly against him, with his strong forearm cradling her pair of snowy mounds.
Shui Bailan’s face flushed crimson with embarrassment. She recalled how he had groped and kneaded her moments ago, even teasing her sensitive peaks. Not only had she not resisted, but she had even passionately kissed him in return. Mortification washed over her.
How was she supposed to face Xuan’er now?
Lost in her daze, Shui Bailan heard a low groan near her ear. Turning her head, she saw Yan Zhen’s face deathly pale, his brows furrowed tightly, his expression faintly twisted as he endured immense pain.
Her heart clenched. She immediately remembered the agony she had suffered earlier, and the Yu Shizun’s words:
“…In a moment, your pain will be several times worse than Bailan’s.”
What was she to do?
Right! Earlier, he had eased her suffering through that method. She could do the same for him…
No sooner thought than done. Shui Bailan wriggled free from Yan Zhen’s arms and turned around in his embrace to face him.
Gazing at his left arm covered in black spots, she reached out with her small hand and gently squeezed the muscle there. Seeing no strong reaction from him, she slid her palm up to his chest.
Shui Bailan cultivated Ice Mystic Force, so her body temperature was lower than a normal person’s, and her skin even softer and paler. Just the caress of her jade hand eased the tension in Yan Zhen’s furrowed brow.
Delighted that her efforts were working, her beautiful eyes sparkled. Recalling the things he had done to her, she imitated them simply—pressing with her fingertips, circling them—then tucked a stray lock of her blue-white hair behind her ear. Pouting her moist red lips slightly, she pressed them to his skin.
Though Shui Bailan was innocent and inexperienced, never having been close to a man before, she had read a few romance novels laced with erotic tales. Her theoretical knowledge wasn’t entirely blank.
As the beauty’s red lips suckled and her tongue tip teased, the pained expression on Yan Zhen’s face indeed softened.
Emboldened, Shui Bailan redoubled her efforts, leaving one glossy mark after another on the young man’s firm chest muscles.
The scorching hot skin, the masculine scent, and the intimate actions gradually stirred unfamiliar sensations within her. Her gaze grew hazy.
Half an hour later.
Yan Zhen finally halted the spread of the black spots. With his Three Extreme Flames united, he switched from defense to offense, beginning to refine the Gu worms.
The Evil Spirit Dragon Breath Flame’s bewitching allure, the Great Crimson Heaven Flame’s scorching heat, and the Gold-Silver Fire’s unyielding toughness—all conspired to melt the Gu worms into pure energy as the Extreme Flames passed over them. This energy flowed into Yan Zhen’s dantian, stored away as reserve mystic power.
Once he refined the Wind-Thunder Crystal Fire, this mystic power would propel him to a higher star level in one go.
His consciousness returned, and he felt a ticklish itch on his chest. Puzzled, Yan Zhen opened his eyes—only to be stunned to find Mentor Aunt planting strawberries all over it.
Her arms were wrapped around his lower back, and like a kitten lapping milk, she flicked her pink tongue over his chest muscles, planting kiss after kiss. Behind her silver-framed glasses, her eyes brimmed with daze, her usually cool features flushed pink like a blooming flower—utterly unlike her typical calm and composed demeanor. She resembled some predatory older temptress preying on an innocent boy.
Yan Zhen stared, dumbfounded.
Mentor Aunt Shui Bailan was a Grand Mentor of the Outer Academy and the Discipline Director. Known for her stern countenance and unsparing punishment of rule-breakers, she was privately called the “Iceberg Witch.” While she wasn’t as harsh on him—often speaking up for him—she had always projected a mature, reliable image, worlds apart from a certain shrewish little aunt.
This scene utterly shattered the perfect picture he had of her in his mind.
Shui Bailan hadn’t noticed Yan Zhen waking yet. She was lost in the forbidden thrill of secretly kissing her niece’s husband, no longer content with just his chest. Her kisses trailed to his neck, ears, cheeks—lingering meticulously on each spot—until their eyes met.
She blinked, momentarily uncomprehending, then leaned to kiss the other side of his face. Realization dawned, freezing her in place as fine beads of cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
The fire of desire in her body swiftly receded, replaced by intense guilt and shame. Her mind buzzed.
Slowly lowering her head, Shui Bailan murmured weakly:
“…Yan Zhen, are you alright now?”
Yan Zhen hummed in affirmation and said softly:
“Thanks to Aunt.”
Shui Bailan’s face burned to the roots of her ears. She wished she could dig a hole right there and hide forever.
“You—you listen to me explain. I saw you were in such pain, so—so I tried to ease it for you, just like you did for me earlier. I wasn’t secretly taking advantage… mmph.”
The more she explained, the more incriminating it sounded. Shui Bailan simply fell silent.
Her intentions had been pure—to relieve his pain—but it was also true that she had grown addicted to the kissing.
—Would this child look down on me now? Think of me as some loose woman?
She bit her lip lightly, her thoughts in turmoil.
Yan Zhen chuckled and nodded understandingly:
“I know, Aunt. You were doing it for my sake.”
He recalled Mentor Yu Xuan doing something similar once. When he was in agony, she had stripped bare and embraced him from behind, using her soft, tender body to soothe his suffering.
Yan Zhen gazed at the bashful beauty elder in his arms.
Mentor Yu Xuan and Mentor Aunt actually shared a similar temperament—both were gentle at heart. Yu Xuan’s gentleness shone from within, while Shui Bailan’s was veiled by a layer of cool detachment.
Perhaps it stemmed from her losing her parents young and her brother later in life.
“Thank you, Aunt. No wonder it didn’t hurt as badly as the Yu Shizun said it would.”
Shui Bailan adjusted her glasses and lifted her head again, meeting his gaze bravely. Her jade hand touched his chest as she asked softly:
“Does it still hurt?”
For some reason, Yan Zhen felt those words carried deeper meaning. He answered honestly:
“A little, but it’s nothing. I can bear it. Is Aunt alright now?”
Shui Bailan shook her head, her blue-white strands swaying.
“As long as you’re fine. I need to stay a bit longer. If Aunt wants to leave, go ahead.”
Some reluctance tinged her voice. She knew that once they parted, she’d never have another chance to be this intimate with him:
“Do you… want me to go?”
