Gu Ze rarely heard those words spoken by anyone other than the system.
But even though Lian Yue was smiling so brightly, Gu Ze couldn’t shake a vague sense of danger.
“Hurry over here, Gu Ze-didi.”
Hmph, just hearing her call him that, he knew nothing good was going to happen.
“I just remembered there’s something I need to take care of at Biluo Peak, so let’s save the reward for next time…” Gu Ze tried to slip away.
“What’s with the cowardice? Afraid I’ll eat you?” Lian Yue lifted her fair, delicate foot, kicking twice in Gu Ze’s direction.
In the end, Gu Ze still stood in front of her, though he was clearly reluctant.
This time, it was Lian Yue who looked nervous, secretly swallowing a gulp.
Her thin lips moved slightly, her voice almost a whisper: “Whatever happens here next, you can’t tell anyone. And on the way back, you have to forget it. Got it?”
“Okay.” Gu Ze’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
Lian Yue braced herself on the armrest, swinging her slender calves, her toes pressing onto the tops of Gu Ze’s feet.
With both feet stepping lightly atop his, she circulated her spiritual energy to lift herself up, then wrapped her arms around Gu Ze’s neck.
He instinctively leaned back, but Lian Yue frowned and yanked him back by his collar.
Gu Ze’s body bent forward again.
“Pressed up against me like this, are you trying to push me down? Little pervert.”
Wasn’t it you who stuck so close in the first place?! With her standing on tiptoe atop his feet, their breaths mingled.
Lian Yue’s chin pressed against the crook of Gu Ze’s shoulder. She took two deep breaths, trying to calm herself.
It was her first time making such a bold move, pressed so tightly into a man’s embrace. Lian Yue felt her mind go hot and hazy.
All she could smell was that faint, refreshing scent of grass and wood that clung to Gu Ze.
If not for the strong spiritual awareness of a Golden Core cultivator keeping her conscious, Lian Yue would’ve already fainted.
She hadn’t expected she could last this long—she’d only planned to tease Gu Ze, maybe hug him a bit, and be done with it.
But now, it seemed she could go even further.
Lian Yue bit her lips, gently tugging down Gu Ze’s collar with her teeth, exposing his neck.
In an instant, Gu Ze could feel Lian Yue’s breath falling warm and ticklish against his collarbone.
“I’m going to bite you now!” Lian Yue licked her lips, giving fair warning.
“Huh? I thought you said it was a reward.” Gu Ze raised his hands awkwardly, not knowing where to put them.
“This is the first time I, Immortal Venerable, have ever been this close to a man. Isn’t that a reward enough? Honestly, you’re excited too, aren’t you?”
Gu Ze always caught the key words in Lian Yue’s remarks: “…What do you mean ‘too’?”
Lian Yue froze, her previously composed face suddenly flushing red. Clearly flustered, she hurried to explain, “I-I’m not excited! You’re the one teasing me, serves you right to get bitten, ah—”
Her lips parted, and she pressed a kiss to Gu Ze’s neck.
It was a kiss—Gu Ze could feel very clearly that Lian Yue kissed him, not biting down hard enough to leave a mark.
This… did count as a reward.
Gu Ze’s awkward hands finally settled at Lian Yue’s waist, drawing her slender figure close.
Lian Yue shuddered instantly. Gu Ze suddenly felt a sharp pain above his collarbone—Lian Yue had actually bitten him this time, venting her displeasure.
She nearly broke the skin. When he let go, Lian Yue, losing support, collapsed back into her chair, panting hard.
“When you suddenly hugged me just now, I nearly fainted… My spiritual awareness was obviously under control.” Lian Yue closed her eyes, speaking with a hint of regret.
“I’m not a wooden stake…” Gu Ze rubbed the bite mark, feeling the clear imprint of her teeth.
He flipped his collar straight, tidied his robes, and glanced up at Lian Yue, who had accidentally gotten a strand of hair caught at her lips.
She looked just like she’d been bullied by him.
“With me, you’re supposed to be a stake. If I don’t let you hug me, you’re not allowed to hug me—only I can hug you!”
Lian Yue’s commanding tone and messy appearance were completely at odds, showing not a hint of Immortal Venerable dignity.
Then, with a hint of petulant complaint: “If you suddenly touch me like that again, I won’t let you be my secret confidant anymore.”
Was this some sort of child’s quarrel? Gu Ze felt like Lian Yue’s complaints were just her way of venting, not wanting to be thrown off by his sudden actions.
He agreed repeatedly, even considerately moving out of Lian Yue’s line of sight to sit aside and wait for her to recover.
Remembering the warm, moist touch on his neck just now, Gu Ze felt as if he were dreaming.
Did he just get kissed by a Golden Core Immortal Venerable?
The kiss had come so easily—it shouldn’t have come so easily.
Lian Yue had been a little too hasty.
Beneath her immortal shell, Lian Yue was, after all, a woman.
After keeping herself chaste for over a hundred years in Rouman Peak, surrounded by flocks of beautiful women, anyone would go mad with repression.
It wasn’t that Gu Ze was so irresistibly charming; he just happened to appear when Lian Yue was at her loneliest, and their mismatched statuses let Lian Yue treat him as her secret confidant and forbidden plaything, someone to meet in secret every month.
She needed him to practice interacting with men. But then what?
Would he just have to watch as Lian Yue used the experience she gained from him to go form a bunch of Dao Companions as the Peak Master of Rouman Peak?
No way!
Gu Ze absolutely didn’t want things to turn out like that.
This kiss was too light—clearly Lian Yue’s first attempt, it should have been deeper.
But it was also too heavy, striking Gu Ze’s heart hard, making him reluctant to let go of his feelings for Lian Yue.
Even if those feelings began with desire.
“Lian Yue.” Gu Ze was silent for a long time. With his mind made up, he slowly walked over to her.
He stood while she sat primly with legs together; both had calmed down.
Lian Yue didn’t look at him, her gaze fixed on the teatable behind him.
“What…” Lian Yue’s expression was calm, about to speak, but Gu Ze suddenly bent down and kissed her directly.
Now, there was no way for Lian Yue to avoid Gu Ze’s presence in her field of vision.
A sensation unlike any she’d ever felt spread from her lips, and Lian Yue even forgot to push Gu Ze away. In less than three seconds, her eyes rolled back and she fainted dead away.
Gu Ze supported her head, savoring the kiss to the end.
A jade hairpin slipped to the ground, her long hair spilling down, wild like a rose swaying in the rain—shattered and heartbreakingly beautiful.
So sweet—Lian Yue’s lips were so soft.
He carefully repositioned Lian Yue, letting her lean against the chair back, head drooping, as he sat in front of her, waiting quietly and intently.
His tall shadow enveloped her, like a cage confining a nightingale. Even if she could fly, there was no way to escape.
About two hours passed before Lian Yue’s brow twitched.
Before she could fully regain consciousness, Gu Ze pressed down on the back of her head and kissed her hard again.
“Mm—mm!” Lian Yue hadn’t recovered her wits before she fainted once more.
He waited patiently for over another hour. This time, Lian Yue’s fingers twitched slightly.
Gu Ze was just about to do it again, when a sudden pressure locked him in place—hands and feet bound, bent over, unable to move.
“Enough kissing! Gu Ze, you’ve crossed the line. From today, we’ll never meet again—our confidant relationship is over.”
She shouted at Gu Ze in shame and anger, her beautiful eyes trembling, not daring to meet his gaze.
She suppressed him and scolded him, but didn’t truly hurt, let alone kill, him.
So, what line had he crossed? It wasn’t anything as serious as dignity or chastity.
He’d just tried something Lian Yue meant to save for later, a little earlier than planned.
She hadn’t wanted Gu Ze to kiss her yet, but she’d definitely find an excuse to kiss him in the future, whether as a reward or a punishment.
“You vent your desires on me, so why can’t I do the same to you? I just want to kiss you.” Gu Ze stared at her intently.
Gu Ze spoke his desire bluntly. Since Lian Yue was so eager to forge a physical connection, Gu Ze would satisfy her.
“You… you…” Lian Yue’s face was bright red, whether from embarrassment or anger, she couldn’t say a word for a long while, pointing at Gu Ze.
“Honestly, you’re excited too, aren’t you?”
He threw her words back at her.
Excited? Lian Yue pressed her burning cheeks. This feeling was entirely new—the tingling sensation from her lips spread all the way to her fingertips.
She was always saying Gu Ze was ambiguous with Li Xunmiao, calling him a little pervert or teasing him for being lewd, but in truth, it was just to stick a “naughty” label on him, so her own “crossing the line” wouldn’t seem so wanton.
She’d heard Gu Ze try to explain several times, but never gave him a chance. She just didn’t want to admit that it was she, not Gu Ze, whose heart was full of desire.
Only if Gu Ze was “shameless” enough could she boldly try out all sorts of unspoken wishes. Yet he also had to be innocent enough for her to let him touch her.
It was contradictory, but Gu Ze truly fit her standards. That’s why she acted so wantonly.
They were the same—when it came to man and woman, both were excited.
“Fine, then let’s vent on each other. Anyway, we’ve already hugged, bitten, and kissed. If you have the guts to kiss me until I pass out and then sleep with me, let’s see if you can break through my Huti Lingqi!” Lian Yue braced herself.
Getting close to a man really did feel great. She was scolding him, but in her heart, she looked forward to more.
She wasn’t afraid of Gu Ze wanting her—she only feared he’d turn out to be a block of wood, slowly getting her used to contact, but then doing nothing like a stake in the end.
The more flustered and disoriented Gu Ze’s advances made her, the more intoxicated she became.
That wicked delight, mixed with the pain of biting her own lip, welled up from the bottom of her heart, pulling Lian Yue deeper.
High and mighty Peak Master of Rouman Peak—every man who wanted to get close to her pretended to be the perfect gentleman to attract her attention, but only won her disdain in the end.
Lian Yue needed a beast, someone to tear through her hundred years of pretense.
She wasn’t a pure white lotus, much less a Bixin Shinv—she had only repressed her desires.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to; she just couldn’t!
“What are you standing there for? Come kiss me.” Lian Yue crooked her finger. “Your lips taste pretty good. Let me have my fill and maybe I’ll consider continuing our secret confidant relationship.”
For the first time, Gu Ze saw something in Lian Yue’s eyes he’d never seen before.
She’d shown timidity, she’d shown authority, but now all was eclipsed by desire.
A spark was lit, but not yet enough to burn Lian Yue completely. If he went along with his urges and did everything tonight, then once they both cooled down, their secret relationship would end quickly.
A fleeting pleasure easily obtained was nothing compared to a feast for immortals, earned after long anticipation.
The wind of time was needed to quietly fuel that spark.
The wild attack Lian Yue was waiting for never came.
“It’s nearly dawn out there, Lian Yue, I have to go back.” Gu Ze suddenly ended things here, and for the first time Lian Yue’s eyes widened in shock.
“You’re serious? You’re really leaving now?!” This time, she was truly a bit angry.
Here she’d been, ready for him to take off his pants, and now he says his mom’s calling him home for dinner?
Maybe it hadn’t gone that far yet, but it was close.
“You’ve waited this long—what’s another month?” Gu Ze leaned over, pinched Lian Yue’s cheek. She didn’t resist.
It seemed to be working.
He stopped right here on purpose, because he wanted to seize the initiative.
Now, Lian Yue had already let go of all her prejudices about the gap between Golden Core and Qi Refining—she was just demanding as a woman.
***
Next time they met, Lian Yue would only beg even harder, because the veil between them had already been torn, yet she still couldn’t get Gu Ze.
Gu Ze stroked Lian Yue’s lips with his thumb. Her delicate tongue darted out, pecking lightly at his fingertip like a dragonfly on water.
“I’ll wait a month for you. Next time, you’d better satisfy me.” She waved him off, signaling he could leave.
Only after Gu Ze’s presence faded completely from her senses did Lian Yue rub her temples, letting out a long sigh.
“Lian Yue, you really are going mad with wanting a man… No, I’d better go change my underwear first.”