The Yang Source fire poison was not only harmless to Yan Zhen but also supplemented his mystic power. In no time at all, it had completely purged the toxin from Huangfu Wenqing’s body.
Huangfu Wenqing let out a sigh of relief.
In the Yang Pole Secret Realm, she had tried using her wind Mystic power to disperse the heat from inside and out, but it had done nothing for the fire poison building up within her. The moment she circulated her energy, the poison spread to every corner of her body, making her symptoms even worse. She had almost thought her five viscera and six bowels were going to burn up.
Thank goodness she had her big, powerful fiancé who could control the Extreme Flame… With that thought, Huangfu Wenqing raised both arms from the water, gazing up at Yan Zhen with a coquettish plea.
Yan Zhen scratched his cheek, then leaned down and lifted Huangfu Wenqing out of the bathtub.
Cold water streamed down her delicate body and hair, splashing onto the floor and soaking Yan Zhen’s clothes.
Yan Zhen circulated his fire mystic power, enveloping them both and swiftly evaporating the moisture from their skin.
Huangfu Wenqing felt a wave of cozy warmth spread through her, utterly comfortable. Her emerald-green eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of drowsiness creeping in.
Because of the fire poison, she hadn’t slept a wink the night before. Now that it was gone, exhaustion crashed over her like a tidal wave.
Yan Zhen placed his fiancée on the bed, pulled the covers over her to hide that alluring spring vista, then turned to pour her a cup of water and handed it over.
“Drink some water.”
Huangfu Wenqing blinked, her voice soft and wheedling. “You feed me.”
Yan Zhen sat on the edge of the bed, propping her up against his chest with one hand while holding the cup with the other to feed her.
“Here, drink up.”
Huangfu Wenqing slowly sipped the tea from the cup, and Yan Zhen gently wiped away the droplets that spilled from the corner of her mouth with his sleeve.
“More.”
Yan Zhen nodded, got up to pour another cup, then returned to feed her again.
“Enough?”
Huangfu Wenqing hummed in affirmation, and only then did Yan Zhen lay her back down on the bed.
“Get some good rest then. You’ll be fine once you wake up.”
With that, Yan Zhen started to leave, but Huangfu Wenqing grabbed the hem of his clothes.
“Don’t go, okay, Yan Zhen?”
Yan Zhen sat back down on the bedside, caressing her cheek as he said warmly, “If you’re tired, you should rest properly.”
Huangfu Wenqing clutched his wrist, rubbing her cheek against his palm as she murmured, “Did you go out on a date with Zi Xunyi last night?”
Yan Zhen’s expression stiffened, and he replied awkwardly, “We just went for a walk.”
“A walk, and when you came back, your whole demeanor had changed. Hmph.”
—Ah, this… Busted?
Huangfu Wenqing was just a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl, but how was her intuition in this regard as sharp as his beautiful female master’s? Was this that famous woman’s intuition?
Yan Zhen felt a pang of guilt. He’d thought she wouldn’t notice, but she’d seen right through him, like she’d caught him red-handed.
—So embarrassing. Absolutely can’t admit it!
“Ahem, y-you’re overthinking it, Wenqing. Nothing like that. Zi Ji comes from a great clan; she naturally has that noble, elegant air of a god maiden.”
Huangfu Wenqing huffed lightly and turned her face away, pouting. “I’m going to tell Grandpa Yan Lie you bullied me.”
He’d almost forgotten his fiancée had this “tattling” trick up her sleeve.
Yan Zhen broke into a light sweat and hurriedly coaxed her. “It’s my fault for not clearing the fire poison from you sooner. I’m guilty—don’t be mad, Wenqing.”
Hearing his gentle tone, Huangfu Wenqing turned her face back, acting all petulant. “Give me a kiss, and I’ll forgive you.”
Yan Zhen felt an inexplicable flush of shyness. After a brief hesitation, he leaned down, gazing at his fiancée’s lovely face, and pressed his lips to her slightly pale pink ones.
Huangfu Wenqing responded immediately, parting her little mouth proactively like a greedy kitten seeking her fiancé’s saliva, her arms wrapping skillfully around his neck.
Only when they were both short of breath did Yan Zhen manage to withdraw his slightly numb tongue from her sucking. Huangfu Wenqing licked her lips savoringly and said slyly, “Forgiven halfway. One more kiss.”
—Hey, that’s not what you said earlier!
Helpless against his sickly, spoiled fiancée, Yan Zhen leaned down again for a tender kiss.
Once it ended, Huangfu Wenqing planted a kiss near his chin and grinned mischievously. “Forgiven for half of the remaining half. One more kiss.”
—What kind of calculus is this kissing!
Yan Zhen was speechless. He gave her lips one final peck, then took hold of her fair wrist, making her let go, and straightened up.
“Alright, rest now. We can talk about anything else after you wake up.”
Huangfu Wenqing pouted, a bit unhappy, her lips downturned.
“Be good.” Yan Zhen tucked her restless arms under the covers. “I’m heading to the Firmament Nine-Story Tower to cultivate. I’ll bring you something tasty when I get back.”
Huangfu Wenqing nodded and watched Yan Zhen leave the room before closing her eyes and quickly falling into a deep sleep.
Yan Zhen went downstairs to Zi Xunyi’s room.
The snacks were all gone. Long Ying was bored, sprawled over the table, while Zi Xunyi elegantly sipped her fragrant tea.
Yan Zhen kept them company until noon. After confirming Zi Xunyi was fully recovered, he handed her the Tier 6 Courtyard Card from the Great Elder, saying he was off to cultivate at the Firmament Nine-Story Tower and asking her to handle Long Ying’s meals.
But Long Ying insisted on going with him to cultivate. Yan Zhen had no choice but to take her along.
At the Firmament Nine-Story Tower, many students gave Yan Zhen strange looks—they’d clearly heard about him entering the Yang Pole Secret Realm with the purple-clad goddess.
If not for their fear of how he’d defeated Bai Ao, proving his superior strength, plenty of students—male and female—who admired Zi Xunyi would probably have challenged him to a duel by now.
Yan Zhen continued cultivating on the fourth floor, while Long Ying sat cross-legged beside him in imitation, only to soon turn into her pillow, snoring away on his lap.
Dragon Slumber Breathing Method.
As time passed, Yan Zhen’s breathing rhythm gradually synchronized with Long Ying’s, and the pace visibly quickened.
After a full day of cultivation, Yan Zhen successfully stabilized his Six-Star Mystic Master realm and kept going.
Another day later, Yan Zhen took Long Ying and left the Firmament Nine-Story Tower, returning to the small building they shared.
Great Elder Yu Yan had notified him that Mentor Yu Xuan would emerge from seclusion tomorrow, and he should prepare to head to the Yu Family.
This was a plot point not in the script, so Yan Zhen felt a bit nervous.
The next day, at the Cliffside Small Building, Yan Zhen set down Long Ying from his arms and pushed her toward the two women. “I’m off to the Yu Family for a couple of days—two or three at most. Take care of Long Ying in the meantime. Just keep her from running off everywhere.”
“I wouldn’t run around!” Long Ying planted her hands on her hips, looking all tsundere. “Yan Zhen Zhen is the one who runs around!”
“I’ve got important business!”
Yan Zhen lightly knocked on Long Ying’s forehead, then waved goodbye to them. With a flash of starlight, he flew back to the Elders’ Small Building, where Great Elder Yu Yan was already waiting.
Besides Great Elder Yu Yan, Cousin Sister Yu Die was there too.
The two women—niece and aunt—watched Yan Zhen fly back from the Cliffside Small Building, their gazes a little odd.
Normally, Yan Zhen should only be that close to Zi Xunyi (of the Heavenly God Clan) because of Long Ying (from the Dragon God Clan), but they vaguely sensed it wasn’t the case.
Yan Zhen felt awkward. After all, the two before him were family to Mentor Yu Xuan.
“Ahem, when do we set off?”
Great Elder Yu Yan narrowed her eyes again and took a flying boat model from her storage ring. Activating the runes on it turned the model into a small flying boat big enough for ten people.
“Let’s go. We’ll pick up Xiao Qing and Little Bailan at the Outer Academy first.”
Yan Zhen’s heart sank at the news. The elegant and intellectual Mentor Aunt was one thing, but that menopausal, hot-tempered Dean Little Aunt was coming too?
