Chapter 25: A Light Kiss Part 2

“Fine,” Jiang Wan suddenly stopped in her tracks. She turned back to look at Sang Xuan. “Starting tonight, you will be Miss Shen’s attendant. Answer her every call. Wherever she goes, you follow. The term is one hundred years.”

Sang Xuan’s mouth fell open, as if she were hearing some colossal, earth-shattering news. She didn’t react for a long moment.

Shen Sheng was also shocked. “One… one hundred years? That’s too long.”

For a mortal, even the longest-lived barely reached a hundred years. That was a human’s entire lifetime.

Jiang Wan smiled gently. “Have you thought it over?”

Sang Xuan pouted. “You’re so cruel. But no matter. It would be my joy and honor to follow Miss Shen. It’s settled, then.”

A beam of light shot from Jiang Wan’s hand, like a contract, and flew before Sang Xuan. The terms were written on it.

Sang Xuan gritted her teeth and signed the contract, sealing it with a drop of blood. Jiang Wan grasped Shen Sheng’s hand, pricked her finger, and similarly sealed it with Shen Sheng’s blood.

“Good. Go and rest now.” Jiang Wan withdrew her hand, satisfied. With a gentle wave, a light fell on Shen Sheng’s wound. In the blink of an eye, it was healed.

Shen Sheng was in a daze. It wasn’t until she was pulled into the main hall that she realized she’d just gained a personal bodyguard.

Jiang Wan led her towards the bed to undress and sleep.

Only when lying on the bed did Shen Sheng ask her, “You schemed against her?”

“Did I?” Jiang Wan neither admitted nor denied, just smiled gently.

Jiang Wan turned on her side to face Shen Sheng. “Sang Xuan is good. With her following you, you can go anywhere you want.”

Sharing a bed, under the same blanket, they were incredibly close. Each other’s breath brushed against their cheeks, making Shen Sheng tremble all over.

Shen Sheng lay still, her body warming up. Jiang Wan’s gaze wasn’t exactly scorching, nor was it cold. But resting on her, it still made her feel a little uncomfortable.

“Anu, it feels like you’ve known me for a very long time.”

“I don’t know you.”

“Then what about the Lovesickness Gu?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we Formed a Contract in a past life, and it carried over to this one.” Jiang Wan pursed her lips and smiled, her voice light.

Shen Sheng thought for a moment, then decided to turn over and face Jiang Wan. “I… I feel like you’re very familiar with me.”

“Not familiar at all,” Jiang Wan said, still smiling.

“Are you coaxing a child?” Shen Sheng was displeased with her attitude.

“You should remember that I’ve lived for ten thousand years, and you’ve only lived eighteen. In front of me, calling you a child is an understatement.” Jiang Wan teased, deliberately moving a few inches further inside. “Shen Sheng, I know why you came. Don’t say it. Let’s strive to fulfill it. If we can’t, then give me a memory I’ll never forget.”

The delicate words cut at Shen Sheng’s heart like a knife.

Shen Sheng pressed her lips together, thinking of the South River’s final outcome. “Let’s try hard to change it.”

Jiang Wan leaned in and kissed her slightly parted lips again.

This time, it wasn’t a quick peck, but a deep kiss. Lips and teeth met, the kiss passionate and lingering.

Shen Sheng was dazed. Even after they parted, her mind remained a blur. She gasped for air, and meeting Jiang Wan’s eyes, her heart completely surrendered in that moment.

Jiang Wan’s beauty, her temperament… she was perfect to build a home with.

Shen Sheng smiled, pressing her lips together. “Anu, you’re so wonderful.”

“What a foolish, yet sincere, thing to say.” Jiang Wan sighed softly. “It’s not that I’m wonderful, but your kindness is simply irresistible.”

Shen Sheng didn’t understand this sentence. But Jiang Wan moved closer, resting her hand on Shen Sheng’s lower abdomen.

A wave of heat spread from her abdomen to her limbs. She started feeling parched, her heart growing warm.

“An… Anu,” Shen Sheng opened her mouth, finally finding her voice. As soon as she spoke, she realized her voice was slightly hoarse.

She stopped talking and simply held that hand.

The sleeping chamber was silent, like a soundless world, or as if there were only the two of them left in the entire universe.

She turned her head to look at Jiang Wan. “Anu, you… you…”

“You what?” Jiang Wan laughed softly.

The laughter drifted into her ears like the wind, warming her heart along with it. Shen Sheng pursed her lips. “Your hand… it’s very hot.”

“Mhm,” Jiang Wan answered softly, her voice faint. Yet she was so close, her breath puffing against Shen Sheng’s jade-white earlobe.

Shen Sheng took a deep breath and moved Jiang Wan’s hand away, steadying her heart. For some reason, the scenes from that night flashed before her eyes.

She asked Anu, “Does the Lovesickness Gu… act up?”

“When emotions run deep, perhaps. I don’t know,” Jiang Wan murmured. “I’ve never experienced it. I can’t answer your question.”

Shen Sheng retreated towards the inner side of the bed, escaping the burning breath. Her body gradually cooled.

A night passed in silence.

Waking in the morning, the space beside her was empty. Shen Sheng got up and heard the sound of a sword. Instinctively, she pushed open the window.

The early riser, clad in white robes, danced with her sword through the air. Her white robes and the white clouds seemed to merge into one—graceful, unrestrained.

Shen Sheng’s eyes widened, filled with admiration.

Soon, Jiang Wan drifted lightly to the window. “You’re up early.”

“Not as early as you,” Shen Sheng said, her eyes reflecting Jiang Wan’s elegant, free-spirited form.

They were very close. Shen Sheng’s hair was disheveled from sleep, a tuft of hair sticking up. Jiang Wan reached out and gently pressed it down.

The unruly tuft obediently stayed down.

“Let’s have breakfast,” Jiang Wan put away her sword and turned to go inside.

The clothes in Prajna City were primarily soft and comfortable, clinging gently to the body.

Shen Sheng changed into a pale blue dress. It was soft, and with a slight movement, the skirt fluttered gracefully.

The two exited the hall and left Prajna City. Passing through the city gate, someone flew up, incredibly excited, and walked to the mirror.

Only one person was in the mirror. This person adjusted her dress in the reflection, utterly delighted.

Shen Sheng watched her and quietly asked Jiang Wan, “Why is she so happy?”

“This city has made too many people lose their minds. They’ll stop at nothing just to come up here and take a look. Entering this place puts you above others. Do you understand?” Jiang Wan said.

Shen Sheng nodded. Prajna City was like an imperial court—how many people racked their brains just to get in, to see it, to vie for power and influence?

After a brief pause, many more people flew up. Some ignored the mirror and directly entered the city with practiced ease.

Those who lingered by the mirror for a long time were mostly first-timers. Once you’d been here often, you stopped looking at the mirror.

In the blink of an eye, several waves of people arrived. But that girl from before never left.

After watching for a while, Jiang Wan took Shen Sheng’s hand, and they leaped down from Prajna City.

They landed steadily by the South River. The water was clear, and there were no fish beneath the surface.

Shen Sheng examined the South River Water, walked a few steps. Not just fish, there weren’t even any water plants. It was very strange.

As if sensing her confusion, Jiang Wan proactively explained, “The South River Water has no fish, no plants. Nothing can survive. Its power is too great. If a fish entered, it would explode and die.”

Shen Sheng’s heart jolted. She instinctively straightened up, laughing awkwardly. “Not even plants?”

Jiang Wan shook her head.

“Let me take you under the water to see,” Jiang Wan held Shen Sheng’s hand and pulled her along as she leaped down.

Entering the water, Shen Sheng felt as if she were on solid ground. Her clothes remained dry, and even her hair wasn’t wet.

When Jiang Wan released her, she didn’t sink. The underwater landscape stretched out endlessly, with no end in sight.

She swam downwards, further and further. It grew darker the deeper she went, like a black hole whose source was impossible to reach.

Even a martial artist like Shen Sheng felt tired after swimming for so long. She stopped and asked Jiang Wan, “What’s down there?”

“We can’t see the end,” Jiang Wan shook her head.

Shen Sheng floated underwater, moving freely, enjoying the sensation of water gliding over her skin. “Have you tried going down before?”

“We have. It was the same as now. No matter how we swim, we can’t reach the bottom.”

“It’s probably some kind of Formation.”

Shen Sheng stopped swimming and grabbed Jiang Wan’s hand. “Can’t you break the Formation?”

Jiang Wan shook her head and pulled her upwards.

They swam out of the water and onto the bank. Shen Sheng touched her shoulder and said, surprised, “I feel very comfortable.”

“Mhm, it’s the Origin Power. Of course, it feels comfortable,” Jiang Wan explained.

Shen Sheng laughed silently. The South River Water felt softer than any other water. Entering it didn’t feel cold.

Jiang Wan said, “I’ve tried going down. Later, I discovered that no matter how much I swam, I was always in the same place, unable to pass through. It’s like how ordinary people are invisibly blocked from entering Prajna City. Or like how people enter Prajna City and discover its secrets… To this day, no one has broken through the Formation to reach the riverbed.”

“Could it be a Seal?” Shen Sheng asked, puzzled. “The Evil Devil underwater is sealed.”

Jiang Wan fell silent.

They lingered by the riverbank for a long time. Someone flew over from the sky—Fu Kong had arrived.

“Clan Leader, Miss Shen.”

Shen Sheng looked at her. Like Anu, Fu Kong’s age was indiscernible, youthful and beautiful, a truly gorgeous woman.

Fu Kong said, “I just went down to the river and saw something. I’ll take you there.”

Jiang Wan nodded. Holding Shen Sheng’s hand, she told her, “Follow me. No need to be afraid.”

The three entered the water together. Fu Kong led the way, with Jiang Wan protecting Shen Sheng. Their passage was unimpeded.