“Yan Zhen, where are you taking me?”
“Just follow me.”
The Fire Refining Starry Sky was divided into two parts: the outer starry expanse and the central Array Disk Plaza.
The altar occupied only a tiny portion of the plaza.
The two of them flew out from the altar and headed to the edge of the plaza. Then, circling the Heavenly Pillar, they began to ascend.
“Are we going to the top?”
“Yeah. Sitting on top of the Heavenly Pillar and admiring the starry sky outside should be amazing.”
However, the Heavenly Pillar was far too tall. Halfway up, Yan Zhen found he could fly no farther. He spun around in anxious circles.
Yun Xiu couldn’t help but laugh. She turned the tables, pulling him into her embrace instead. Her mystic power transformed into a gentle breeze that lifted them both, carrying them smoothly up to the pinnacle of the Heavenly Pillar.
Yan Zhen was somewhat speechless. The atmosphere wasn’t quite what he’d envisioned—it was utterly devoid of romance.
Yun Xiu, however, felt no such disappointment. Standing atop the Heavenly Pillar, she gazed out at the dim starry sky before her. Though it wasn’t her first time seeing it, her heart still filled with an indescribable sense of awe.
She pulled Yan Zhen down to sit beside her and asked, “Do you have something to say to me?”
Yan Zhen scratched his cheek, carefully choosing his words. Just as he opened his mouth, Yun Xiu cut him off.
“No need to apologize. You haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Yun Xiu…”
“We were never meant to be together in the first place. It was I who couldn’t control myself, clinging to you shamelessly under the guise of being secret lovers.” Yun Xiu lowered her head, a touch of dejection in her voice. “I’m the one who’s wronged Wenqing the most.”
“Don’t say that.” Yan Zhen sounded displeased. “I was the one who confessed to you first. You only agreed to be my lover because of that. If there’s any fault, it lies with me.”
Yun Xiu stubbornly shook her head, her expression hesitant as if she wanted to say more. After a long moment, her cheeks flushed pink as she asked, “Yan Zhen… do you really like me?”
Without the slightest hesitation, Yan Zhen replied, “Of course I do. Why else would I have confessed to you?”
A sweet warmth bloomed in Yun Xiu’s heart, and a faint smile returned to her face. She pressed on. “What about Jiuyou?”
—Why is she asking so directly?
“Well…” Yan Zhen glanced at Yun Xiu. Seeing the calm in her eyes, he admitted weakly, “I like her a little.”
“Just a little?”
“Yes.”
“What about… She Ji?”
“She Ji… she’s about the same. But after all, there’s Yan’er to consider.”
Yun Xiu lightly bit her lower lip and said shyly, “So that means I’m the one you like the most?”
Yan Zhen nodded with a soft hum of agreement.
Yun Xiu let out a soft giggle, covering her reddened lips with her small hand. Her beautiful eyes gazed at him, shimmering with a mix of shyness and joy.
Yan Zhen rolled his eyes at her speechlessly. “What’s so funny? Aren’t you jealous?”
Yun Xiu kept smiling as she chided him playfully. “I’m happy, so I’m laughing. Who said I’d be jealous of you? So full of yourself!”
Yan Zhen couldn’t fathom her mindset. He’d expected her to throw a little tantrum, maybe deliver a cheater’s smackdown. Instead, she was acting like this?
“I suspect you don’t like me enough,” Yan Zhen said resentfully. “Otherwise, why wouldn’t you be jealous?”
“What are you talking about?” Yun Xiu sighed helplessly. “Isn’t it a good thing that I’m not jealous? It means I’m generous at heart.”
“I don’t buy it. You just don’t like me enough. Your feelings for me aren’t nearly as strong as mine for you.”
“That’s not true! I like you a lot—every bit as much.”
Yun Xiu grew more embarrassed the more she spoke, but Yan Zhen pressed his advantage.
“Then prove it to me.”
“How am I supposed to prove it?”
“I don’t care. If you don’t, it means you don’t like me enough.”
“You airhead… always finding ways to tease me…”
Yun Xiu shyly scolded him. After a long pause, as if she’d finally made up her mind, she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. With solemn grace, she lowered her exquisite, peerless face and pressed her lips to his.
She started by gently sucking on his upper lip, then shifted to the lower one, pecking lightly. Every motion brimmed with tenderness, as if she were pouring her love for him into the kiss.
Then, Yun Xiu parted her lips and tentatively extended her soft pink tongue, carefully slipping past his teeth.
Unlike Yan Zhen’s bold invasions, hers was slow and gentle, sweeping softly as it entwined with his. A thick wave of affection gradually welled up within her.
Both of them became utterly lost in the deep kiss, a tingling pleasure surging through their bodies and minds, gradually numbing their thoughts.
Only when breathing grew difficult did they reluctantly part.
Yun Xiu’s face was flushed like peach blossoms, her eyes brimming with springtime desire. Panting lightly, she murmured, “Is that proof enough?”
Yan Zhen’s breathing was ragged, his gaze burning hot as he stared at the snow-white sword immortal beauty in her pristine white robes. Greedily unsatisfied, he shook his head.
“More.”
There was a hint of petulance in his tone.
Yun Xiu’s heart melted instantly.
“N-No more.”
“Yun Xiu~”
“You greedy thing…”
Even as she said it, Yun Xiu brushed the hair from her other side behind her ear and leaned down to kiss him again.
This time, Yan Zhen didn’t remain passive. He extended his tongue, letting Yun Xiu’s soft lips envelop it. Then, slyly, he slipped his hand into the collar of her robes.
Her weakness seized, Yun Xiu let out a muffled whine. The dynamic shifted in an instant.
Yan Zhen turned aggressively predatory. In no time, he’d left her collar in disarray, even loosening her inner armor.
When their lips finally parted, Yun Xiu’s outer robe had slipped down to her elbows, baring her smooth fragrant shoulders and elegant collarbones. Her inner armor lay discarded, leaving her chest fully exposed—a perfect picture of a lamb awaiting slaughter.
Yan Zhen’s eyes fixed on the two vivid crimson peaks amid the snowy white landscape. Then he buried his face there.
Yun Xiu clutched his head tightly, as if to stop him, yet also seeming to draw him closer. “Yan Zhen, Master Chen Xi might be watching us. We can’t go any further—mmph! Yan Zhen~”
For all her words, she made no move to push him away. She merely bit her lip, enduring the intense pleasure radiating from her chest, stifling any cries.
Yan Zhen was already lost to desire. He paid no heed, refused to stop, greedily devouring his lover’s silky skin.
Soon, Yun Xiu succumbed to her beloved’s onslaught as well. Only when he began undoing her sash did she snap back to her senses, a flicker of panic in her eyes.
She wasn’t bold enough to make love with him in a place like this.
Moreover, once fully immersed, she knew she’d cry out—and Master Chen Xi would surely notice.
The mere thought made Yun Xiu dizzy.
“Wait, Yan Zhen. We can’t—not here… Ah!”
It was too late.
Yun Xiu closed her eyes in resignation, wrapping her arms around Yan Zhen’s neck and arching her waist to meet him.
But at that very moment, a voice rang out from below—the Little Princess’s.
“Father Emperor, Aunt Yun, where are you? I came to play with you~”
—Yan’er?
Yun Xiu, her mind hazy from pleasure, jolted to awareness. She hurriedly clamped a hand over her mouth, muffling a suppressed moan from her throat. Her beautiful legs instinctively clamped around Yan Zhen’s waist, squeezing ever tighter.
Lost in that vise, Yan Zhen released himself.
Both snapped from their delirious haze.
“Yan Zhen, let go—let go of me quick!”
“Don’t rush, Yun Xiu. You’re the one who needs to let go…”
Sensing Yan’er’s aura drawing nearer, and with Yun Xiu still clinging to him, Yan Zhen thought on his feet. He swiftly retrieved the cloak they’d used while crossing the desert from his storage ring and draped it over them both, concealing everything.
