Chapter 34: Catching Demons (3)

◎The little villain has become the arch-villainess◎

“Undress…”

Yun Jinxue straightened slightly, removed her outer robe, and moved her hands to her sash. She lowered her gaze, fingers undoing the buttons at her waist. The clothes suddenly loosened, and she could almost feel the rough friction of fabric against skin.

No matter how slow her movements, the clothes gradually slipped to the crooks of her arms. Her shoulders and neck were exquisite, her collarbones straight and lovely. Though clothed in silver-white, the exposed skin seemed to merge with the fabric itself, like piled silver and heaped snow.

The smile on Jiang Yanyu’s face deepened.

It wasn’t her first time seeing this body, but it was her first time watching it undress itself. The feeling seemed very different.

Having such a bewitching, wicked beauty watch her undress — though she knew this was her junior sister, an inescapable shyness and awkwardness lingered.

At last, all garments were shed. Yun Jinxue knelt by the pool, folded her clothes neatly and stacked them together, then turned, deliberately ignoring that woman’s gaze, and slowly entered the pool.

The temperature was indeed perfect. Sinking into the water, every joint instantly relaxed.

Yun Jinxue exhaled softly and leaned back to sit against the pool’s edge.

In a few breaths, the rose petals floating on the surface slowly steadied. But not long after, they began gently swaying again, pushed by ripples.

Yun Jinxue looked up. The arch-villainess had also entered the water and sat leaning against the pool’s edge just as she did.

Bathing together, silence certainly couldn’t be maintained the entire time.

But looking at her, Yun Jinxue suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity. Her mind went blank, unable to think of what to say right now.

She stared blankly like that for a long while before the arch-villainess spoke: “What is Senior Sister thinking about?”

Yun Jinxue instinctively answered softly: “I was thinking about you…”

Jiang Yanyu raised one eyebrow: “Oh? What about me?”

Yun Jinxue said: “You’ve grown up.”

Jiang Yanyu said nothing, resting her elbow on the pool’s edge and lightly tapping her temple with her fingertip. She tilted her head and watched her for a long moment, then looked down toward her own body.

Noticing the trajectory of her gaze, Yun Jinxue snapped awake.

Those words could be spoken at any time — but saying them during a bath carried a distinct teasing connotation.

Though this kind of joke between women seemed perfectly normal, her junior sister was from ancient times. Would she find her too… bold?

“I… I just meant, you’ve grown much more compared to when you were little. Mm… in age.”

Jiang Yanyu’s eyes were thick with profound meaning, completely ignoring the explanation: “Oh, it’s fine. Senior Sister is praising me. I’m very happy.”

Yun Jinxue felt her brain must have been addled by the stifling air here. She couldn’t believe she’d blurted that out earlier. She could only endure the embarrassment, wanting to apologize.

Before the words left her mouth, she heard the woman across from her say: “Incidentally, Senior Sister is also very…”

She didn’t finish the sentence, but Yun Jinxue already grasped her meaning. Her ears instantly burned red: “Mm… mm, thank you.”

And she’d thought she was teasing her — this one didn’t blush or skip a beat. Much more relaxed than herself!

Unwilling to let the awkwardness continue, Yun Jinxue stiffly changed the subject: “Isn’t Windy curious about how we’ll catch the Qi Qiao Tree Demon?”

Jiang Yanyu withdrew her gaze, pressed a few rose petals beneath the water with one hand, then scooped some up to scatter over her shoulder, saying casually: “Such a lovely atmosphere, and Senior Sister brings up those demons.”

Yun Jinxue thought to herself: It’s precisely because I don’t know what to say that I’m bringing up demons.

But was this atmosphere lovely? She felt so awkward she could barely lift her head.

The mist swirled upward in curling wisps. The room was quiet for a moment before Jiang Yanyu suddenly said: “Senior Sister, let me help you wash?”

Th-th-this… this didn’t seem necessary.

Yun Jinxue had just wanted to refuse when, in that moment of hesitation, the arch-villainess had already taken a cloth, parted the rose petals, and walked over.

She stood before her, blocking part of the light, yet the lazy expression in her eyes remained clear: “Senior Sister, get up and turn around. Let me wash your back.”

“…Alright.”

Though the tone was gentle, she inexplicably felt a sense of pressure. Yun Jinxue slowly stood up, turned around, rested both elbows on the pool’s edge, and leaned forward.

Her gaze traced the slightly protruding ridge of her spine downward, then to the snowy skin spreading to either side, dotted with a few vivid reds. A slender waist submerged in the water.

Jiang Yanyu reached out, plucked a few petals from her back. Her fingertips scraped lightly over the skin’s surface — she could feel the woman beneath her trembling slightly, probably ticklish.

She lowered her eyes and smiled. Her palm pressed flat, and she said softly: “Senior Sister is so fair.”

The image of swaying jade-white within red robes flickered through Yun Jinxue’s mind. She said: “You’re also very fair.”

Jiang Yanyu said: “Senior Sister feels very good to touch.”

Yun Jinxue said: “You also feel very…”

She’d nearly blurted it out by reflex, following her lead. She hurriedly stopped herself.

Jiang Yanyu chuckled softly, took two steps closer, and grasped one of the woman’s hands propped on the pool’s edge. She pulled it toward herself and pressed it against her own stomach, smiling: “How is it, Senior Sister? How does it feel?”

Smooth, yet faintly carrying a sense of underlying strength. As she spoke, there were subtle rises and falls. Such a tactile sensation — if the person wasn’t right before her eyes, she’d think she was touching a piece of warm jade.

This position inevitably made her half-turn, slightly tilting her head up to look at the woman.

The person so close at hand — narrow, elongated eyes with upward-sweeping corners, a drunken-red tint to her gaze. Skin white as snow yet flushed pale pink from the water’s warmth. Plump, moist lips more delicate than rose petals.

The untamed wildness in those deep-set eyes surged toward her, making Yun Jinxue dazed. Instinctively, she rubbed twice: “Good…”

Jiang Yanyu laughed lightly.

This scene was somewhat strange. Yun Jinxue came to her senses and immediately pulled her hand back. A bellyful of words wanted to spill out, but after holding them in for ages, not a single word emerged. She could only turn around and lie back down.

“Hurry and wash. It’s too hot in here.”

Jiang Yanyu picked up the cloth: “Alright.”

Her subsequent movements were indeed proper and well-behaved. But the room was too hot — sweat was already beading on Yun Jinxue’s forehead. In this situation, her body, already sensitive to touch, became even more so.

She unconsciously wanted to flee those hands, but her waist was gently held in place. That hand didn’t use much strength, yet she couldn’t escape.

This one really knows how to use precise force.

Closing her eyes and enduring the ticklish sensation on her back, Yun Jinxue counted sheep in her mind to distract herself.

This trick was quite effective. Soon, she no longer felt the sensation of the cloth rubbing back and forth on her back.

As if realizing what she was doing, the pressure on her back suddenly increased, scattering Yun Jinxue’s mental flock of sheep. She hissed, gripping the pool’s edge tightly: “Windy, gentler.”

“Oh, alright,” came the reply from behind.

Yun Jinxue sighed softly, staring dazedly at the patterns on the thin gauze screen. Looking, looking, she spaced out again.

In her daze, her body was suddenly flipped over. The fine floral pattern before her eyes abruptly became a flash of white.

So close she nearly bumped straight into her. Yun Jinxue held her breath and steadied herself: “What is it?”

Jiang Yanyu set down the cloth: “I’m done washing Senior Sister.”

She hadn’t realized at all…

Yun Jinxue said: “Alright, thank you. We’re about done, right? We can get out now…”

Jiang Yanyu said: “Won’t Senior Sister come help me?”

Yun Jinxue froze: “Hm?”

Jiang Yanyu stepped back two paces and turned around, revealing a flawless, pure-white back. She swept her long hair to one side, tilting her head slightly: “I haven’t finished washing yet.”

Yun Jinxue: “…Oh, alright.”

She took a fresh cloth and pushed through the petals, walking through the warm water. Jiang Yanyu’s face held a faint smile the entire time, watching her every move, fingers tapping lightly at her own neck.

Finally reaching her back, Yun Jinxue said: “Lean down.”

“Mm,” Jiang Yanyu responded, imitating her earlier posture and leaning against the pool’s edge.

Before her eyes was skin of ice and bones of jade — smooth and lustrous. Yun Jinxue held the cloth and carefully, cautiously pressed it there, not daring to use much strength. She genuinely felt such a body didn’t need cleaning at all.

After washing as if tickling for quite a while, Jiang Yanyu tilted her head, looking at her from the corner of her eye: “Senior Sister is far too unconscientious. Just now, I helped wash everything on Senior Sister — and quite thoroughly too.”

Earlier, Yun Jinxue had been in such torment, constantly trying to distract herself, that she truly hadn’t noticed what all had been washed. But since she’d said so, she certainly had to put in more effort.

Yet the moment she increased the pressure, she saw patches of pink bloom across that skin.

Yun Jinxue silently watched for a moment, put the cloth away, and said: “You’re very clean. I don’t think you need washing.”

Jiang Yanyu slowly straightened up and smiled: “Alright, then I’ll listen to Senior Sister.”

Yun Jinxue figured they’d washed enough and should dry off and get dressed. She stepped onto the pool’s edge, but her foot slipped, nearly sending her tumbling.

Someone caught her from behind, arms around her waist. Before Yun Jinxue’s eyes were the floor and the edges of her prepared change of clothes. She could hear water droplets from the woman’s body pattering onto the floor. Her heart, which had been racing from the near-fall, still thumped wildly after the danger passed, unable to calm.

She wanted to speak, but her throat was strangely parched in the billowing steam, preventing her from producing a sound.

Suddenly the world spun — her body was flipped over again. Yun Jinxue stared blankly at the ceiling, her legs below the knee still immersed in the pool, faint wisps of hot mist rising from her body. The woman’s fingertips lingered at her waist.

“That old injury seems fully healed. Oh, no — still a little bit left.”

Jiang Yanyu gazed down at her waist. Once there had been a long knife wound here. After so many years, even the scar was nearly invisible.

But looking closely, one could still pick out an extremely faint red line amid the tender white — like a not-very-visible red string tied around her waist.

Yun Jinxue also looked down, trembling slightly, and said softly: “It’s basically invisible now.”

The mention of this wound brought back that soul-shaking night in Spring Crossing Town. Yun Jinxue was dazed for a moment and unconsciously rubbed her shoulder.

Jiang Yanyu made a sound of acknowledgment. Seeing her movement, she took a dry towel and wiped the water droplets from her waist: “Senior Sister, get dressed. Don’t get sick.”

Though she hadn’t been restrained in any particular way, Yun Jinxue felt a sense of release. She quickly got up, dried her body, dressed, and walked out past the screens.

She was about to open the door when she remembered the arch-villainess hadn’t finished tidying up. If someone happened to pass by and see, that would be bad. So she stood at the door, waiting.

Only when that flash of red came beside her did she open the door and walk out.

A servant girl stood in the corridor. Seeing them emerge, she said respectfully: “Two Immortal Lords, please follow me. Madam Sheng has prepared a room for you.”

Yun Jinxue said: “Thank you.”

The moon was bright, stars sparse. Stepping into the cool night breeze, her head — nearly steamed unconscious by the heat — slowly cleared.

Recalling everything that had happened in the pool just now, it all seemed covered by a hazy filter. She couldn’t remember specific details, only the damp heat, the sweat, the vivid red roses. It was as if they were branded into her body, clinging to the lingering ends of sensation, still clearly wreaking havoc now.

Too chaotic…

Yun Jinxue rubbed her brow and sighed inwardly: This was undoubtedly the longest bath I’ve ever taken in my entire life.

Seeing her movement, Jiang Yanyu asked: “Did we bathe too long? Does Senior Sister have a headache?”

Yun Jinxue said helplessly: “Your Senior Sister is not that fragile.”

Jiang Yanyu was noncommittal, only laughing softly.

Fresh from the bath, their clothes weren’t worn so neatly. The sash was loose and slack, the sleeves not tightened — now they billowed with the clear breeze. Their hair was still damp, scattered over their shoulders, looking extremely casual.

Yun Jinxue glanced at her, then withdrew her gaze, sighing inwardly: Truly a disaster-bringing beauty.

They followed the road all the way to the room. Opening the door, the interior was bright with lamplight, clean and tidy. Not many things, but everything needed was there. Several landscape paintings and calligraphy scrolls hung on the walls, rich with artistic charm.

The servant girl stood at the door, bowing: “If you need anything, Immortal Lords, please call for me again.”