Only Lin Que and Jiang Moqing were left in the cave dwelling. Just a man and a woman alone together.
Lin Que stared blankly at Qin Wanyuan’s departing figure, lost in thought.
What is Wanyuan trying to do by this…?
“That’s obvious, isn’t it? This woman must have some kind of special fetish!”
The little demon’s voice suddenly rang out, and at some point, she had perched herself on Lin Que’s right shoulder, wearing a mischievous grin. “Maybe she deliberately left you and your ex alone here, just so the two of you could ignite some flames of passion. Then when she comes back, she can fantasize about what happened and enjoy it even more!”
Upon hearing this, Lin Que’s expression instantly turned cold. The shift was so abrupt that it startled not only the little demon, but even Jiang Moqing, who was standing to the side, also showed a hint of fear.
“If you’re uncomfortable being alone, I can leave… I’ll come back another time when Junior Sister is home,” she said softly, her tone incredibly humble.
“This has nothing to do with you, Senior Sister. Excuse me for now.”
Lin Que spoke calmly, then turned and walked away quickly, leaving only his back for Jiang Moqing to see.
In the master bedroom, Lin Que locked the door behind him, then turned around and fixed a cold stare at the little demon sitting on his shoulder.
“Wh-What’s wrong? Why the serious face all of a sudden?”
The little demon blinked and averted her gaze, unwilling to meet Lin Que’s eyes, like a guilty child caught doing something bad.
After a moment of silence, Lin Que finally spoke in a low voice:
“Let me warn you. You can say whatever you want about me. But I won’t allow you to slander Wanyuan. This is the first and the last time.”
As he spoke, the little demon could feel a sword aura locking onto her.
Clearly, Lin Que wasn’t joking. And this time, she wouldn’t be able to get off the hook like she had before.
The little demon swallowed hard, a few drops of cold sweat beading on her forehead. For once, the usually confident and carefree trickster was clearly flustered.
“Alright, alright! I get it, okay~ Why make the atmosphere so serious…?”
She let out a couple of dry laughs. “You really do love her, huh? Getting this mad over a single joke.”
“Some jokes shouldn’t be made. If you’ve ever truly loved someone, you’d understand that,” Lin Que replied….not harshly, but firmly.
That made the little demon raise an eyebrow.
“Oh? Are you trying to mock me for never truly loving anyone?”
“I just think a demon who toys with people’s hearts wouldn’t understand real emotions,” Lin Que said blandly.
But this time, the little demon got a little agitated.
“Hmph, I don’t understand emotions?! I’ve lived for over ten thousand years! I know way more than you!”
She stomped her foot on Lin Que’s shoulder, her high heel wrapped in black silk pressing down. It didn’t hurt, but it tickled a bit.
“So you’ve lived that long, huh?”
This was the first time Lin Que had learned the little demon’s approximate age.
“Of course!” she said proudly.
She wasn’t the least bit upset about being called old. In fact, she was kind of pleased.
“Well, since you’ve lived so long and love playing with people’s hearts, I bet you’ve had tons of relationship experience?”
“None of your damn business!”
For once, the little demon was actually flustered by Lin Que’s words. “Let me tell you, I’ve seen plenty of that kind of thing!”
“Seen a lot? So that means you’ve never actually been in a relationship yourself, huh?”
Lin Que couldn’t help but laugh. “So the infamous great demon lady has never even been in a relationship, yet loves to judge other people’s feelings?”
Seeing the little demon’s flushed, embarrassed face, Lin Que chuckled again. He had never really thought about it before, but now realizing that this demon who loved to toy with emotions and watch others’ romantic entanglements unfold had never experienced love herself…
It was just like those “pure succubus” characters he’d read about in novels from his past life. It was absolutely hilarious.
“None of your damn business! None of your damn business! None of your damn business!” the little demon yelled, her face bright red. She couldn’t find any other words and, with a swish, vanished on the spot.
Lin Que shook his head. For the first time, he realized that the little demon was a high-offense, low-defense type. Just a few words and she completely lost it.
Why didn’t I notice this before?
If he had, maybe he wouldn’t have always come out second-best in their verbal sparring matches.
Having won the argument, Lin Que stepped out of the room and saw that Jiang Moqing was still standing in the same spot, lightly clutching the hem of her skirt, looking rather uneasy.
Yes….unlike her usual sharp and clean-cut training attire, Jiang Moqing had come today wearing a long dress. The skirt was a soft white, its hem flowing like a fairy’s robe. Her long, jet-black hair was pinned up with a simple pearl and jade hairpin, the rest falling in a neat braid over her right shoulder, making her appear even more composed and graceful.
“Junior Brother… are you alright? You’re upset because of me, aren’t you…”
Jiang Moqing asked nervously, her expression full of unease.
Seeing the once cold and aloof Senior Sister looking so timid and self-effacing, Lin Que couldn’t quite describe what he was feeling.
The fact that she had taken the initiative to suggest leaving and even stated the reason made it harder for Lin Que to actually send her away.
He didn’t know whether this counted as a kind of reverse psychology… but in the end, he didn’t bother analyzing it too deeply.
At the same time, something else piqued his curiosity.
“Senior Sister, how is your cultivation of the Heartless Valley Technique coming along?”
Logically speaking, the Heartless Valley Technique severs emotions and attachments; practitioners should display a marked indifference to the seven emotions and six desires. But Jiang Moqing’s current state was clearly abnormal.
“I…”
Jiang Moqing was momentarily stunned, then quickly realized she had been showing too much emotion.
It had to be the inner demon affecting her.
She silently repeated a chant in her mind, pushing all the blame onto the inner demon.
Yet, unlike usual, the inner demon didn’t come out to mock her or whisper its usual insidious words. It simply remained silent.
Sometimes, silence itself is a form of expression.
“There’s nothing wrong with my cultivation technique. I’ve just encountered a bottleneck recently, which caused this situation. Please forgive me.”
Jiang Moqing tried her best to keep her tone calm and even.
“Is that so… Alright.”
Since she didn’t want to explain, Lin Que didn’t press the matter further. He simply walked ahead to lead the way. “This way, Senior Sister. The cultivation room is over there.”
The interior of the cultivation room was plain and simple, deliberately avoiding any elements that might stir distracting thoughts. Aside from a formation made of spirit stones to gather spiritual energy, the room held nothing of note.
Lin Que took a meditation cushion from his storage ring and placed it in front of Jiang Moqing.
“Please sit, Senior Sister.”
“Mhmm.”
Jiang Moqing sat down across from Lin Que, and he too took out a cushion and sat cross-legged.
Since the technique to heal her hand injury required avoiding drafts, Lin Que slowly closed the door to the cultivation room.
The faint light from the glow-lamp on the wall cast a soft glow as the two sat facing each other.
Looking at Lin Que’s handsome face across from her, Jiang Moqing couldn’t help but feel her breathing grow a little heavier.
Perhaps it was because they had been apart for so long, but she felt as though Lin Que had become even more striking than before. Especially in this dim, narrow room, with just the two of them…
Strange images flickered through her mind, making her imagination run wild.
Ah~ After all these years, Junior Brother is still just as heart-throbbing as ever. And his scent… every part of him is simply perfect~
The inner demon’s voice finally made its appearance, its shadow circling around Lin Que. Though its form was hazy, Jiang Moqing could clearly sense its intoxicated expression.
So it really was you causing trouble.’
Jiang Moqing frowned slightly. Her earlier suspicions were correct. It was the inner demon stirring up trouble. That’s why she had acted so disgracefully in front of Lin Que and why those strange, inappropriate thoughts had just popped into her head.
Yes, it was all the inner demon’s fault.
Don’t go blaming me for your own spring fever. Still, I wouldn’t mind another passionate round with Junior Brother~
The shadow of the inner demon wrapped itself around Lin Que, placing a hand on his shoulder, stroking his face, and even settling into his lap, tilting its head up as if asking for a kiss.
As the inner demon’s actions grew bolder, its form also became increasingly distinct. It was the figure of a tall woman with a slender and curvaceous body…. It was Jiang Moqing’s own figure.
Lin Que, unaware of the inner demon’s antics, simply looked at Jiang Moqing and said something that snapped her back to reality.
“Senior Sister, shall we begin?”
“Mm… yes.”
Jiang Moqing blinked, and the inner demon’s figure vanished. In front of her was only Lin Que, sitting quietly, as if everything just now had been an illusion.
Was it just a hallucination?
Jiang Moqing wondered.
It’s your true desire, you know~
The inner demon’s voice chimed in again.
Jiang Moqing fell silent, and her delicate hand gripped her sleeve tightly. Her expression flickered between light and dark, and her brows furrowed.
She felt like she was starting to lose her grasp on what was real.
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