“No, no, Master. Actually, I thought this symptom felt like catching a cold from the wind and chill, so I figured bundling up under the quilt might help. That’s why I didn’t come to you right away.”
Yan Zhen spun his tale without batting an eye.
“When I woke up the second time, I immediately wanted to find you for help. But there were other people in the room, so I couldn’t come in front of them without exposing your existence. Before I knew it, I drifted off again and slept straight through until evening.”
However, after he finished speaking, the Beautiful Female Master didn’t release that poor ear. Instead, she seized the other one as well.
Both of his ears were now trapped in the Beautiful Female Master’s hands, toyed with by her slender fingers like playthings.
—What’s going on? Did I still not answer right?
Yan Zhen’s heart raced with unease. He feared that in a fit of anger, she might rip his ears clean off, only to reattach them later using her skills as a Pill Refiner.
It was a long while before the Beautiful Female Master spoke again.
“So, Zhen’er, did you sleep alone, or did you share a bed with some woman?”
Yan Zhen sensed his ears were in even greater peril. He racked his brains, debating whether to tell the truth.
Sometimes honesty doesn’t bring leniency—it just means you’ll rot in jail. Life called for the occasional white lie.
Just as Yan Zhen opened his mouth to speak, a flash of danger stirred in his heart, jolting him to realization.
No, the Beautiful Female Master wouldn’t ask like this unless she already knew everything. A lie would only spell disaster for him.
Better to come clean.
“I-I think I slept together with Mentor Yu Xuan.”
Chen Xi narrowed her beautiful eyes. Her soft, delicate hands released Yan Zhen’s ears, sliding up to caress his chin and neck from both sides.
Her touch was gentle, sending delightful tingles and itches across his skin where they met. Yet Yan Zhen couldn’t shake the illusion that she might strangle him at any moment.
“Why on earth did you end up sleeping with the mentor?”
“Cough, cough. I’m not entirely sure. I was so drowsy that I just passed out. When I woke up, I discovered Mentor Yu Xuan lying right beside me. But nothing happened between us!”
“Oh? And what exactly did Zhen’er want to happen?”
Chen Xi bent at the waist. Her silver-white hair cascaded down like a waterfall, draping over the sides of his face. Her luminous eyes locked onto her own disciple.
Obscured by the Beautiful Female Master’s lofty bosom, Yan Zhen’s view was limited to half her face. He couldn’t read her emotions, but he knew they weren’t good.
“I didn’t want anything! I slept like the dead and had no idea what was going on!”
—But as your master, I know.
Chen Xi sighed to herself.
Her precious disciple hadn’t returned for a head massage, so she’d assumed he was busy with something. Curious, she had cast the Scrying Technique to peek outside—and caught sight of a voluptuous woman in blue-and-white mentor robes cradling Yan Zhen in her arms. He had even said:
“Mentor, don’t go! Just let me rest like this, okay? Your body is so fragrant and soft. My head doesn’t hurt as much now.”
In that instant, an emotion called jealousy had welled up in Chen Xi’s heart for the very first time.
Be it Yan Zhen’s two brides from his previous life or his cousin and fiancée in this one, Chen Xi felt no aversion toward them. Quite the opposite—she took pride in her disciple being adored by such exceptional prodigies.
But hearing him call out “mentor” and speak words of such fondness? That ignited jealousy in Chen Xi, as though she herself were being replaced.
She alone should be the master he cherished. No one else counted. No one was allowed to steal her irreplaceable place!
Her disciple belonged to her alone—his master.
The memory of that scene stirred again, and a twisted possessiveness quietly took root in Chen Xi’s heart. She even felt a faint urge to keep Yan Zhen forever in the Crystal Stone Space, sharing dual cultivation and companionship for life.
Fortunately, her Half-Step Mystic Saint cultivation allowed her to swiftly suppress those dark impulses and regain her composure.
“So your mentor went so far as to share a bed with you to look after you. She must think very highly of you, Zhen’er.”
“Mentor Yu Xuan has been good to me, that’s true. But!” Yan Zhen’s tone shifted sharply, growing fervent. “She’s still nowhere near you, Master! You’re the one who’s best to me! Her kindness doesn’t even come close to a ten-thousandth of yours!”
Chen Xi paused in surprise. Then warmth bloomed in her heart like the sun rising to banish every shadow. A faint smile finally graced her peerless features once more.
Her slender fingers resumed their work, massaging her disciple’s head with care and precision to banish his lingering pain.
“Such sweet words. Who knows what you’re really thinking, you little rascal? You might cast aside your old master the moment a new one comes along.”
“How could I ever? You’re forever my favorite master, Master—irreplaceable, closer to me than my own mother!”
Sensing the Beautiful Female Master’s attitude softening, Yan Zhen abandoned all restraint, piling on the flattery as thick as he could.
Chen Xi’s mood brightened further.
“Slick-tongued devil. Learning flattery instead of anything worthwhile—your master will have to punish you for that.”
As she spoke, she pinched his cheeks.
Yan Zhen pressed on emphatically.
“I mean every word, Master! And I only say things like this to you, because you’re my one and only master~”
That single word—“only”—struck Chen Xi with a 1000% pleasure blast. Her spirits soared to the heavens. With tender affection, she asked:
“Does it still hurt, Zhen’er?”
Yan Zhen experimentally shook his head. The pain was almost entirely gone, leaving just a touch of dizziness—like the grogginess right after waking. Hardly worth mentioning.
Having endured that splitting headache before, he now truly appreciated the bliss of a clear, unclouded mind.
“Not at all anymore! You’re incredible, Master!”
“And the dizziness?”
“Oh, just a little. Is that a problem, Master?”
“It means the aftereffects of the Divine Soul Pulsation haven’t fully cleared. You can’t resume studying the Ancestral Symbol Scripture yet. Let your master help you one more time… Close your eyes.”
Cultivation was at stake, so Yan Zhen complied obediently without hesitation.
Chen Xi cupped Yan Zhen’s face with loving care. She leaned down slowly and captured his lips with hers.
Yan Zhen froze. He opened his eyes but saw nothing. Then he felt a tender, fragrant tongue—sweet and inviting—slip forward, deftly parting his teeth.
A steady stream of cool, refreshing qi flowed from the Beautiful Female Master’s mouth, carried on her saliva down his throat. It surged through his limbs and body, sweeping away all fatigue like a burst of mint. He felt refreshed and clear-headed!
Chen Xi didn’t linger on the kiss. Once the qi transmission was complete, she pulled back, gazing down at him from above.
“Your symptoms are mild now, so dual cultivation isn’t needed—just this qi transmission.”
Qi transmission counts as part of dual cultivation?
Yan Zhen felt the effect without fully understanding, his face flushing as he nodded.
“Thank you, Master~”
Chen Xi instructed him to have dinner first, then return for further guidance. Yan Zhen agreed. Moments later, back in the bathroom, he rose from the bottom of the bath pool.
Hot water poured down his body in rivulets. Yan Zhen slicked back his soaked hair into a dramatic pompadour.
“Big Cousin!”
“Yan Zhen!”
“Little Brother Yan Zhen!”
Voices called from outside. Then the bathroom door burst open with a bang as Yan Meng’er, Yan Ruyu, and Mi Xue’er rushed in.
“!”
Yan Zhen stared at them in shock. They gaped back at him in stunned silence. For a long moment, their eyes locked in mutual astonishment.
