Chapter 147: A Carrot for Every Stick!

After pouring out everything in her heart, Liu Yun knelt properly upon the couch once more. She hung her head in dejection, waiting for the Nether Lord to pass judgment.

Feng Liuli, having finally gained some clarity, felt immensely satisfied. Looking at this “little traditionalist” now, she found the girl more endearing by the second.

Seeing how the girl was terrified out of her wits, Feng Liuli knew it was time to soften her approach. After all, a carrot should always follow the stick. Her attitude became noticeably gentler.

“Is that all?”

With rimmed-red eyes, Liu Yun nodded obediently. “That is all.”

Feng Liuli gave a slight nod, her voice as calm as a breeze. “Then let us continue…”

Continue? Liu Yun froze. She instinctively pointed at the Nether Lord, then back at herself, asking a silent question: Were they to continue the business at hand, or continue her repentance?

Feng Liuli was nearly moved to laughter by the girl’s dazed expression. “Continue with whatever you like most,” she said, her tone teasingly sharp.

What I like? Only a fool would like repenting. What she liked was the Nether Lord!

Having received the Nether Lord’s decree, Liu Yun pounced forward like a hungry tiger, her eyes still shimmering with unshed tears.

Then…

The cunning Feng Liuli applied a slight amount of force, pulling the girl directly into her embrace. Just like that, Liu Yun was transformed into a wronged little bride.

But being wronged didn’t help her case. From the moment Liu Yun had stubbornly refused to speak, Feng Liuli had already decided she was going to teach the girl a proper lesson. Now that the meat had been delivered to her doorstep, was it even possible for her to let it go?

Unlike the innocent Liu Yun, Feng Liuli hadn’t lived all those years for nothing. She was quite wicked when it came to such matters.

Feng Liuli has no practical experience—she’s just naturally wicked! Xiaobai’s voice echoed in the void.

Red silk cords, bells, pearls, beads—everything was brought into play…

No matter how much Liu Yun cried or pleaded, Feng Liuli’s smiling lips would only utter two words: “Accept it!”

The sounds of strained endurance and soft sobs alternated in the air.

Seeing the usually prim and proper little traditionalist with a face flushed crimson, her eyes gradually becoming glazed and lost, her body turning into a puddle of soft clay to be manipulated at will…

The sensation was nothing short of wonderful.

It was like a sheet of pure white paper, allowing Feng Liuli to paint upon it as she pleased, leaving behind the marks of her “mischief.”

This collision between the cunning and the innocent was truly intoxicating.

Feng Liuli, who had claimed her Nether Energy was unstable, found herself unable to stop from the very beginning. It wasn’t until Liu Yun reminded her through tears that Feng Liuli finally, reluctantly, carried her into the steaming bath.

The supreme Nether Lord actually found herself in the mood to personally serve the poor little thing she had been bullying for so long.

As the warm spring water slid down her shoulders, the numbness in Liu Yun’s body hadn’t quite faded before she met the Nether Lord’s piercing gaze. Liu Yun averted her eyes, the crimson flush at the corners of her lids bleeding all the way down to the base of her neck.

Glimpsing Liu Yun’s shy appearance, the smile on Feng Liuli’s lips deepened. Her movements, originally meant to help the girl wash, gradually began to take on a different flavor.

………………Xiaobai is very pure………………

It wasn’t until the person in her arms regained her senses that Feng Liuli finally leaned back against the edge of the pool, closing her eyes to enjoy the misty vapor.

Her Nether Energy was indeed unstable, and after all that exertion, she was feeling quite fatigued. However, thinking of the little traditionalist’s “to cry or not to cry” expression and her bashful, timid manner, Feng Liuli felt that being a little tired was no problem at all.

As for why the girl had been crying so bitterly before—ever since Liu Yun “confessed” her hidden thoughts, Feng Liuli had a faint suspicion. But as for the specifics, she would likely have to interrogate her thoroughly in a moment.

Feng Liuli didn’t find it troublesome; if anything, she quite enjoyed the prospect. It didn’t matter. She had plenty of strength and methods to get the answers she wanted.

While the scheming Feng Liuli was still pondering how to make more mischief, Liu Yun, having come to her senses, was currently feeling quite conflicted.

Sensing the calculating, probing gaze falling upon her, Feng Liuli’s eyelids remained half-closed as she spoke lazily. “Ask whatever you wish to ask…”

Recalling what had just happened, Liu Yun’s eyes held shyness and joy, but also a trace of indiscernible bitterness.

She had only the Nether Lord in her heart; that hadn’t changed for thousands of years. But the Nether Lord… she had many interests and liked countless people. What exactly did she count for in the Nether Lord’s eyes?

Feng Liuli opened her eyes slightly and swept a glance over Liu Yun’s conflicted face, immediately understanding what she was worried about. Like a serpentine seductress, Feng Liuli swam to Liu Yun’s side and coiled around her, pulling her prey into her arms. Her voice was both a temptation and a jest.

“Are you looking for a Status?”

Liu Yun’s eyes brightened, but they quickly dimmed again. She felt that she wasn’t worthy of the Nether Lord. So, even if she was going crazy with jealousy inside, she still had to work hard to act as if nothing was wrong.

It was difficult, but she would work hard to adapt, to get used to it…

Sensing the little traditionalist was being awkward again, Feng Liuli tightened her hold on her prey. Burying her head against the girl’s chest, she took a deep breath and suddenly said, “This Hall of the Nether Lord is a bit empty. It wouldn’t be bad to have a Nether Empress.”

Liu Yun’s face turned pale. What did the Nether Lord mean by this? Was she being told to recognize her place? Was this a warning not to have improper thoughts?

Recalling the scenes she had witnessed upon entering the hall, all her previous joy and shyness turned into pure bitterness.

Seeing her like this, Feng Liuli knew she was overthinking again. She tapped the girl’s forehead and offered a kind reminder. “Liu Yun, who do you think is suited for the position?”

“This subordinate… this subordinate does not know,” Liu Yun choked out, a single tear sliding down silently to vanish into the ambiguous mist.

Feng Liuli: A carrot for every stick.

Xiaobai: Who ate the carrot? You’re absolutely shameless!

Feng Liuli shook her head helplessly. She rose from the warm embrace and left the pool.

Watching the Nether Lord’s retreating back, Liu Yun turned slightly and leaned against the edge of the bath, sobbing softly and whimpering under her breath.

She told herself in her heart that she would allow herself to be indulgent just this once. Once the Nether Lord had a Nether Empress, sob…

The more she thought about it, the more miserable she felt.

Just as Liu Yun was crying in earnest, she suddenly felt a chill against her neck. She looked down instinctively. What entered her sight was an ancient-looking Nether Butterfly Jade Pendant.

Is this the seal of the Nether Empress?

Startled, Liu Yun looked up in a panic, only to meet Feng Liuli’s smiling eyes.

“Well? Can your heart be at peace now?” Feng Liuli arched an eyebrow, her voice rare in its tenderness.

Liu Yun looked down at the jade pendant—the symbol of the Nether Empress’s identity—then back at the Nether Lord. Her face was a mask of disbelief. “This… this is for me?”

“If you don’t want it, return it to me,” Feng Liuli huffed, making a move as if to take the pendant back.

“I want it!” Abandoning her previous sorrow, Liu Yun immediately protected the jade pendant like a precious treasure.

This was the Nether Empress’s jade pendant! The Nether Lord had given it to her!

Feng Liuli glanced at the woman who had been successfully bribed by a “piece of broken jade” and spoke unhurriedly. “Now, can you tell me why you were crying like a baby three months ago?”

Liu Yun froze. Crying like a baby? Her?

The moment she realized why she had received this “punishment,” her brief annoyance was replaced by a face that turned completely red.

They had actually… been acting so absurdly for three months?

Thinking of the endless “tormenting” methods the Nether Lord had used over these three months, Liu Yun’s body went soft. She instinctively wanted to distance herself from the woman.

But in the next moment, she fell into a warm embrace.

Watching the little lady try to flee, Feng Liuli gave a dangerous smile. “Think carefully about how you should explain. If you say the wrong thing, you will be punished.”

Liu Yun went dazed. Another punishment?