When Bai Xiaoxiao woke, before her rationality returned, she felt a warm, soft object in her arms. Half-asleep, she found it very comfortable and even hugged it, nuzzling against it. Only when she sensed something off and opened her eyes, finding a stunningly beautiful woman in her arms, did her mind go completely blank.
Memories rushed in like a tide, and in an instant, Bai Xiaoxiao remembered everything.
Being poisoned by Gu Poison was very different from being drunk. So she certainly hadn’t blacked out from last night’s events. Not only that—she remembered even the finest details with perfect clarity.
Never before had Bai Xiaoxiao felt her memory was this good—so good that she remembered exactly how Shen Zhiyue had guided her hand last night, and how each gasp had differed from the last.
Bai Xiaoxiao suddenly swallowed. With a stiff expression, she slowly looked at the exposed skin of the woman in her arms.
The cave was now fully bright, and she could clearly see the vivid red plum blossoms scattered across that cool white skin. The contrast was too stark—they were the most damning evidence of her crimes last night.
Her fingers trembling, she reached out toward one on the flawless shoulder, but snatched her hand back just before touching.
Bai Xiaoxiao’s hollow pupils shook violently. Finally, she slowly closed her eyes. She truly had no face left to face the evidence of what she had done to Shen Zhiyue.
“System…”
“I’m here, Host.”
“Is there a pill that can make someone forget?”
“Is the Host planning to use it on Shen Zhiyue? Allow me to remind you—even if such a pill existed, the odds of it working on Shen Zhiyue wouldn’t be high.”
Bai Xiaoxiao’s voice was weak. “I mean, use it on me.”
If she lost her memory, then none of last night’s events would have happened…
Thoughts of escape filled her mind, but before the System could answer, Bai Xiaoxiao sighed first.
“But doing that seems rather self-deceiving. What I should do most right now… is take responsibility, I suppose.”
Even as she thought this, Bai Xiaoxiao was still troubled, because even if she wanted to take responsibility, it would depend on whether Shen Zhiyue would give her that chance.
Their statuses were vastly different, and their strength was separated by an unbridgeable gap. If she eagerly rushed to take responsibility, it would probably only be a burden to Shen Zhiyue.
Besides… after doing that to someone, wouldn’t she be pierced by a sword the moment the other woke up?
Bai Xiaoxiao hesitated for a while, her thoughts still too tangled to sort out.
She barely pulled herself together, and moving as lightly as she could, released the woman in her arms. Even though her fingers accidentally brushed the other’s delicate skin as she withdrew, reminding her of last night’s wonderful texture.
But no matter how reluctant she was, she didn’t dare harbor any more wicked thoughts. After getting up, she even carefully covered Shen Zhiyue with the clothes scattered nearby.
Only when that beautiful figure was fully concealed did Bai Xiaoxiao relax her taut nerves.
After hesitating in place for a long time, Bai Xiaoxiao sighed inwardly, knowing that no amount of avoidance could solve the problem.
She decided to wait for Shen Zhiyue to wake and ask her opinion. If she was given a sword strike, so be it—at least she wouldn’t have to live in constant fear.
She just didn’t know what time it was now, or if anything else had happened outside.
Yesterday, because of the Gu Poison flare-up, she had only gotten a vague idea of things; she wasn’t sure whether the crisis had been resolved.
Bai Xiaoxiao glanced at Shen Zhiyue. After confirming the woman was still asleep, she hesitated and took a step toward the cave entrance.
Then she suddenly realized she wasn’t wearing any clothes—still completely naked. Embarrassment made her halt abruptly.
“System, how do I turn back into my little snake form?”
“That question is a bit abstract, Host. I’m just a string of electronic data. Perhaps you can wait for Shen Zhiyue to wake up and ask her?”
Bai Xiaoxiao sighed again, her tone deep. “I knew you couldn’t be counted on.”
The System said nothing, as if sulking.
Bai Xiaoxiao stopped paying attention to it. After thinking for a few seconds, she cautiously hugged herself and shuffled toward the cave entrance. But she had barely taken one step when a familiar, cold voice came from behind.
“Trying to flee? Do you know that in Void Ruins Valley, a low-cultivation little snake like you would die a violent death within fifteen minutes?”
Bai Xiaoxiao stopped, then turned in shock. Sure enough, there was the familiar figure—but she had been sleeping peacefully just a moment ago. Now she was fully dressed, staring coldly at her.
Bai Xiaoxiao was stunned.
When had the other woken up?
There was no trace of sleepiness in Shen Zhiyue’s eyes. She didn’t look like someone who had just woken at all.
That meant… she had deliberately pretended to sleep, to test her?
Bai Xiaoxiao paused and, almost instinctively, explained: “No, it’s not that. I wasn’t trying to flee. I just saw that it was light outside and wanted to check the situation…”
The more she spoke, the softer her voice became, because the other’s gaze was cold beyond measure. Bai Xiaoxiao felt as if she were freezing over.
Her teeth chattered slightly. She hugged herself tighter, trying to fend off the overwhelming chill.
After a long while, Shen Zhiyue’s icy expression seemed to soften slightly. “You truly didn’t mean to flee?”
Bai Xiaoxiao hurriedly nodded, without the slightest hesitation.
Thus, the frost in her eyes gradually melted, and the bone-piercing cold vanished in an instant.
Only then did Bai Xiaoxiao realize that the cold just now hadn’t been her imagination—it had truly radiated from Shen Zhiyue.
A trace of surprise passed through her eyes. She quietly asked the System, “Has her cultivation recovered?”
“Yes. According to my detection, Shen Zhiyue’s cultivation has recovered to eighty percent.”
“Is it normal for her to recover this quickly in this kind of situation?”
She remembered that in any setting, backlash injuries were never easy to heal. But Shen Zhiyue’s recovery speed was abnormally fast.
The System paused briefly. “The specific reason cannot be detected. Perhaps Shen Zhiyue is unusually gifted.”
Bai Xiaoxiao hesitated only briefly before accepting the answer. After all, it was Shen Zhiyue.
By comparison, her current situation was far more embarrassing.
Shen Zhiyue was neatly dressed, but she herself was still naked. Hugging her arms had given her a bit of security, but under Shen Zhiyue’s sweeping gaze, she actually lowered her hands and stood stiffly, not daring to move.
Even though the two had done far more intimate things, for Bai Xiaoxiao, they had only known each other for a day. Being so exposed made her extremely flustered.
After letting Shen Zhiyue look for a moment, Bai Xiaoxiao couldn’t help speaking: “I… Your Eminence… do you have clothes… to give—no, lend me to wear…”
The sentence came out haltingly, as if she were learning to speak for the first time.
Bai Xiaoxiao still wasn’t used to this place. The moment she opened her mouth, she remembered that this was the Cultivation World, not modern society.
So she hastily dug out the respectful title others used for Shen Zhiyue from her memories of reading the novel, and stammered it out.
If anyone truly wanted to nitpick, Bai Xiaoxiao would probably have exposed herself countless times by now.
But Shen Zhiyue showed no intention of nitpicking. She even actually took out a set of clothes from her Storage Ring and gave them to her.
Only when the soft texture of fabric reached her palm did Bai Xiaoxiao snap out of it—Shen Zhiyue had actually given her clothes.
The gesture was truly unexpected. Bai Xiaoxiao stared at the clothes in a daze.
Clearly, the style was similar to what the other was wearing. These were probably Shen Zhiyue’s everyday clothes.
“Wear them. No need to return them. They’re just a set of clothes.”
Shen Zhiyue’s light words reached her ears. Bai Xiaoxiao, embarrassed for no reason, felt heat rush to her face—so hot she wanted to jump into water to cool down.
What mortified her even more was that, because it was her first time wearing Cultivation World clothing, the whole process was a flailing mess. When she finally managed to get it on, she found she looked completely disheveled.
Steam nearly rising from her head, Bai Xiaoxiao explained in a small voice: “Your Eminence, please forgive me. I… I… don’t know how to wear it…”
Shen Zhiyue said nothing, but stepped forward and, with unhurried patience, straightened out the clothes Bai Xiaoxiao had put on in a complete mess.
Unexpected that the other would do such a thing, Bai Xiaoxiao was surprised, and a strange, hard-to-name feeling stirred in her heart.
Bai Xiaoxiao fell silent, letting the woman help adjust her clothes bit by bit.
The temperature around them seemed to rise. Looking at the person so close, Bai Xiaoxiao momentarily doubted whether this was real.
Could it be an illusion?
But the scent she smelled was the same as last night—so real, nothing like an illusion.
Only when the clothes were finally arranged did Shen Zhiyue step back two paces and say flatly, “Alright. Let’s go.”
Bai Xiaoxiao snapped awake, and without even hearing what the other had said, nodded hastily.
Following dizzily behind Shen Zhiyue, Bai Xiaoxiao kept catching that faint fragrance lingering around her nose.
She breathed in softly, then suddenly raised her hand and sniffed her sleeve. Instantly, a familiar scent filled her nose.
These clothes… had Shen Zhiyue worn them?
The scent had thoroughly soaked into the fabric. It really was… very fragrant.
A dazed expression on her face, Bai Xiaoxiao couldn’t help sniffing again. But she didn’t realize how strange she looked, nor did she notice that the owner of the clothes was secretly observing her with Divine Sense.
Seeing this, Shen Zhiyue’s hand, hidden in her sleeve, suddenly clenched before slowly relaxing after a long moment.
Never mind.
This snake’s origins were mysterious, and dual cultivation with it had actually healed the backlash injuries she had suffered. It was certainly no ordinary creature.
Just… a bit perverted.
Unaware that she had been classified as perverted, Bai Xiaoxiao, having confirmed her suspicion by catching that familiar scent, obediently settled down and was carried by Shen Zhiyue to the central barrier.
Although Shen Zhiyue was confident in her attacks, when it came to matters like this, an extra degree of caution was never a bad thing.
So she planned to inspect the barrier.
Fortunately, the barrier remained stable. But just in case, she poured spiritual power into it to reinforce it.
With that, the trip to Void Ruins Valley came to a close. Shen Zhiyue’s expression shifted slightly, and she glanced imperceptibly at the sole variable of this trip.
Unfortunately, the variable in question was busy being afraid of heights.
Bai Xiaoxiao hadn’t known she was afraid of heights. Perhaps it was because Shen Zhiyue was flying too high—they were currently traveling above the clouds.
Logically, at this speed, the ground below couldn’t be seen clearly, but she still felt dizzy, her face turning pale.
Though she had prepared herself mentally, clearly her preparation was insufficient.
What was strange was that when she was a snake, she didn’t seem this scared. But as a human, she developed a fear of heights.
So Bai Xiaoxiao didn’t dare look down, keeping her eyes tightly shut the entire way.
Only after they landed safely on Moon-Gazing Peak did Bai Xiaoxiao, without Shen Zhiyue’s spiritual power steadying her, feel her knees buckle—she nearly fell into the snow.
“You… what are you doing?”
Shen Zhiyue’s voice was flat, puzzled by the snake’s sudden action.
Bai Xiaoxiao straightened up awkwardly and answered honestly: “N-nothing… my legs are just… a bit weak…”
