Chapter 108: A Touch of Vermilion (Part 3): I’ll Discipline You in a Few Days

The question was sincere, and the girl’s eyes fixed on her steadily, eagerly awaiting an answer.

Mu Qian Tan’s gaze lowered slightly, the stray hairs by her cheek fluttering in the wind, outlining her thin, cold face and making her look even more like a fragile piece of jade. She turned her head to gaze at the eerie sea under the moonlight, squinting a little from drowsiness, her emotions unreadable. “Do you think this place is good?”

She was right there in front of her, yet she seemed like she might turn into a streak of white light and vanish far away at any moment. Shang Shan furrowed her brows slightly and nodded quickly. “It’s great! There are friends, good food, and I can make money—though I haven’t made any yet—but I can also learn immortal techniques! All in all, there are so many benefits. Don’t you think so?”

“Not good.” Mu Qian Tan tucked the stray hair behind her ear, her eyelashes flickering with moonlight. “Not good enough.”

After a moment of silence, she added, “It’ll be good when you can go wherever you want.”

Shang Shan reached out and grabbed the corner of her skirt. “Isn’t it like that now? You can go wherever you want—no one can stop you.”

Mu Qian Tan hooked her foot to shake off her hand and smoothed her skirt, her voice cold. “Question after question, nonstop. Shut up.”

Seeing her about to leave, Shang Shan scrambled to her feet and reached out vaguely with both hands. “Don’t go! It’s so rare for me to get to talk to you more.”

Mu Qian Tan felt a bit irritated. “Why do I feel like I hear you chattering every single day?”

Shang Shan pouted, thinking back carefully—it really was like that. She was always the one talking nonstop, her mouth never stopping. But she just wanted to talk to her, and she wanted to hear that woman’s voice too. Any kind of voice would do, as long as it wasn’t deliberate ignoring or cold responses.

She ground a small pebble underfoot into the dirt, head lowered, tugging at her clothes around her waist. “I just miss you, so why can’t I say it?”

Mu Qian Tan was concise. “Annoying.”

What was there to miss when she was around every day? It wasn’t like she had been away on a long trip. So hard to understand. Was it a puberty thing? But everyone went through their teens—she had only wanted to sleep all day back then and hadn’t been this clingy.

Ah, maybe it was because she had no one to cling to back then.

Shang Shan huffed, and after a moment, raised her hand. “I still have a question!”

The woman’s thoughts drifted far, her gaze indifferent as she looked over quietly. Ripples stirred in Shang Shan’s heart, and she felt heat rising in her body. Thinking she was having another bout of blood heat sickness, she quickly suppressed her emotions and clutched her lower abdomen with both hands. “The question I want to ask is, how do you get pregnant with a baby here?”

Mu Qian Tan opened her mouth, then closed it, her lower lip turning bright red from her bite. She regretted taking on this mess more and more—what illness had possessed her to torture herself like this?

Shang Shan continued, “And I’m really curious—why are all the marriages between men and women? I’ve never seen men with men or women with women getting married…”

“Stop, don’t talk nonsense.” Mu Qian Tan couldn’t take it anymore. Her throat moved slightly as she tried to keep her voice steady, not letting her embarrassment show. “Didn’t I tell you to be wary of men getting close and careful with touches? Those rude actions are a kind of test, a prelude to another kind of behavior. After the touching… the man’s… touches the woman’s… anyway, one thing leads to another and then you’re pregnant.”

Fortunately, the night was dark, hiding the flush creeping up behind her ears. She stopped there, hoping this vague description would suffice and that the stupid dragon would drop it. But Shang Shan didn’t understand at all and grew even more curious.

“Just touching is enough? Then what? What does ‘movement’ mean? I touch other people sometimes too, but nothing happens… Ah, I think I get it!”

Shang Shan was quick on the uptake and deeply interested. After some thought, association, and her hints, she had a sudden realization and blurted out something straight out of smutty stories, blunt and vulgar.

Mu Qian Tan froze, her hand on the table edge nearly slipping.

The words were complete and logical—anyone hearing them would have to concede a point. But coming from her in that flat, matter-of-fact tone, with those clear, innocent big eyes and a face full of naivety, it was followed by another layer of realization, even more advanced. “When I was little, I saw cats being bred, but not people, so I thought it was different. But actually, people just do that too, right? So then, people aren’t any different from cats or dogs—nothing special about it.”

Mu Qian Tan’s mind spun, still reeling from the first sentence.

The most explicit text she’d ever seen in her life was a biology textbook, and the images were just garish ad pop-ups. Everything else was a blank. Hearing that kind of talk out of nowhere, she couldn’t even repeat it in her head—her whole body went numb.

Shang Shan kept rambling on with her insights, her eyes lighting up with excitement. She reached out and lightly poked the woman’s lower abdomen, her fingertip easily feeling the warmth through the thin fabric. Her mind automatically flashed to that scene she’d seen on the Pot City floor—now it was smooth, pale skin glowing with warm light under her palm.

There was a red mole, dotted just below the left side.

The girl swallowed, her cheeks heating up as her blood surged through her veins, crashing wildly. Her palm instinctively moved gently. “Does it go here? Or here?”

She felt her heartbeat about to burst from her chest, her voice turning hoarse. “I really get it now, but I’m still curious—why no women with wom…”

Snapping out of her shock, Mu Qian Tan slapped her hand away. “Wait a minute—how do you know that?”

“Huh?”

“What the man’s like—how do you know?”

The heat vanished in an instant. Shang Shan’s gaze lingered on the spot she’d just touched, her mind elsewhere, her tone casual. “I’ve seen one.”

Mu Qian Tan’s eyelashes trembled, her usually cold, stoic face finally showing surprise, along with a hint of disgust and buried anger. “Who?”

Shang Shan shook her head. “No idea. That day I was walking on the road, and a man suddenly jumped out and lifted his clothes, saying some weird stuff. I thought he wanted to play at first—that’s when I saw it.”

Exhibitionists existed back then too? Mu Qian Tan’s brows relaxed a bit. She asked, “And then?”

“I was in a hurry to catch a rat, and he was blocking my way. I couldn’t stop in time, so I accidentally sent him flying.” Shang Shan scratched her ear, a bit guilty. “Later, after I finished, I wanted to find him to apologize. Maybe I hurt him too bad, because he ran as soon as he saw me—no chance.”

That sounded like something she would do. Mu Qian Tan’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “Don’t send them flying next time.”

“Yeah, I was too rushed that time…”

“Next time, just kill them outright.”

Shang Shan blinked. “Oh.”

The two stood opposed in silence for a moment before Mu Qian Tan added, “It’s eliminating harm for the people—you’ll gain merit.”

“Oh oh oh!”

Like she’d been released from prison, Mu Qian Tan let out a long breath, more exhausted than after a workout. She waved her hand weakly. “Alright, this topic ends here.”

“But I still have…”

“Shut up.” Mu Qian Tan threatened. “Keep babbling on your own, touching without permission, lying to me, not listening—what do you think will happen?”

The woman resumed her stern expression, even with a hint of anger. Shang Shan rubbed her fingers, still lingering with softness and warmth. “What will happen?”

Mu Qian Tan revealed a bit of her malicious side. “Horns will grow on your head, a tail on your butt, your teeth will sharpen, and you’ll bite your own tongue when you talk.”

Shang Shan jumped in shock and clutched her head. “No wonder my head’s been itchy lately, and my butt too. Sorry, I was wrong.”

Reminded of her teeth, she tested the tips with her fingers and opened her mouth toward the woman. “Can you give me another one? That ice stick—I want to bite something.”

Mu Qian Tan lifted her chin, and her teeth clacked together. “No. Endure it. No ice during Kui Shui, no spicy stuff either—at least be careful the first day.”

So many rules and restrictions—Shang Shan, used to freedom, rubbed her chin and drooped her head dispiritedly. “Fine.”

With a sigh, Mu Qian Tan took two quick steps, then turned back. “One more thing I forgot to say: the womb can bear children, but its main job is keeping you healthy. Pregnancy is just one function—know the priorities. If someone tries to control you with what you have, demanding it in the name of so-called love, remember: the initiative and choice are always yours alone.”

Eager for her to say more, Shang Shan nodded vigorously. “Got it.”

With the physiology lesson over, Mu Qian Tan was somewhat satisfied and turned to leave with a flick of her sleeve. “Got it? Then go to sleep.”

“Wait!” Shang Shan called out. Her mind still held that image dotted with the red mole. She shook her head to clear it, then recalled the grief and despair when she’d entered Hell, contrasted with the woman just now, her eyes lowered as she tied the white cloth around her waist for her. Heat swelled in her chest. “Sorry, back in Pot City Hell, I cursed you in my heart as a cold-hearted bastard. I was wrong again.”

Mu Qian Tan halted. “There’s that too? Come here and take your beating.”

Shang Shan walked closer. “Thank you. If not for you, I wouldn’t know what to do with this whole physiological period thing.”

Standing before the woman, she tilted her head up, closed her eyes, and braced for the hit. But the wind stopped at her ear, and nothing happened for a long time.

She cracked her eyes open and saw only the woman’s back.

“I’ll discipline you in a few days.”