Chapter 11: Kiss for a While First

A Moment in the Spring

Pei Ningxue’s waist was slender.

Her shoulders, smooth as silk.

Caught in Gu Chi’s arms, she seemed uneasy.

But seeing his puzzled gaze, her lips curved playfully.

“What’re you staring at?”

Her lazy, teasing demeanor eased his confusion.

Perhaps he’d misread her?

Mist swirled in the Spirit Essence Spring pool.

Held by the waist, she froze like a deer in a trap, unable to move.

After a moment, she raised her long legs in the water.

Snow-white, slender limbs swayed gently, rippling the surface.

Gu Chi’s eyes followed.

Beyond her face, her legs were her most alluring feature.

Delicate ankles, tender feet arched slightly.

Water droplets slid down her smooth skin, crystal-clear.

“Hm?”

She looked up from his arms.

“Want to lick my feet? It’s fine.”

Gu Chi pinched her neck, annoyed.

She flinched like a startled cat, shoulders rising.

Slipping from his grasp, she swam to the pool’s far side like a mermaid.

Lifting a leg, she splashed water at him.

A water fight broke out.

Tired, Pei Ningxue stood, hands on hips.

Her slim waist accentuated her curves dramatically.

“You’re so childish.”

“You splashed me first…”

Her laughter sparked at his helpless expression.

She swam back, sharing snacks from the floating tray.

Pinching a grape, she fed it to his lips, insisting he eat from her hand.

Snacks gone, wine finished, they floated on the water.

Gu Chi gazed at her profile.

Only drunk did her cheeks flush faintly pink.

“What’d I be without you?”

She asked suddenly.

Her whimsical questions never bothered him.

He answered readily.

“Without you… I’d probably be a true demonic cultivator.”

“Why does being with me stop that?”

“Loving you means loving myself first.”

“Becoming demonic is like self-destruction.”

Pei Ningxue froze on the water.

Eyelashes trembled, eyes shut tight.

Her voice quivered.

“You love me, Gu Chi?”

“Weren’t you fishing for that?”

She’d teased him endlessly to say he loved her.

He always brushed it off or dodged.

Now, saying it, she seemed unsettled.

Standing in the water, her gaze met his—playful, mocking, a radiant smile.

“You fell for it, Gu Chi. I win.”

He looked into her eyes, unsure how to respond.

Why were her lashes wet with droplets?

Tangled in Bed

“How am I supposed to sleep like this?”

Gu Chi eyed Pei Ningxue, sprawled over him like a frog, grumbling.

Her face buried in his chest, her weight pressed down.

Not heavy, but awkward.

She refused to budge, rubbing her cheek against him.

“Sleep like this.”

“You’re squishing my…”

“Squish away.”

Not only unmoving, she wriggled more.

Wearing only a black gauze sleep dress, her silk undergarments brushed his palm as he swatted her hip lightly.

The touch was smooth, icy.

She yelped softly but didn’t yield.

Lifting her eyes, she whispered.

“Again.”

“Hm?”

“I like it…”

Her voice was delicate.

Gu Chi’s expression turned odd, delivering another swat.

She hummed, biting her lip.

“More.”

Her eyes gleamed, hips rising slightly, adjusting for comfort.

Each strike tensed her body, legs tightening around him.

At her urging, he gave a few more firm swats.

He felt toyed with again.

Her eyes grew hazy, satisfied.

She leaned up, kissed his lips lightly, then slid off.

Curling into his arms, she slept obediently.

A Morning Alone

Gu Chi woke to an empty room.

A jolt of panic hit.

He threw off the blankets, rising.

The room was silent, only Pei Ningxue’s faint scent lingered.

Unease stirred in his chest.

Sitting on the bed, he found her note.

“Gone gambling, back at noon. You’re bad luck—don’t jinx me.”

He chuckled, tension easing.

Dressing, he left the room.

He headed to Lingyun Pavilion’s intelligence desk, seeking new secret realms for them to explore.

Noon Reunion

At noon, Pei Ningxue returned, holding two strings of candied hawthorns.

“Won money?”

Gu Chi smiled.

Still in her cyan daoist robe, hair pinned, neck fair and slender.

She handed him a string.

“Small win—forty stones.”

Her eyes sparkled with pride.

He laughed softly, passing her intelligence reports.

“Pick a realm you like.”

She took them, activated her flying sword.

They stepped on, her eating hawthorn, flipping through reports.

The soonest realm opened in seven days; the latest, a month.

She couldn’t make it.

“Want to rest a bit.”

“Then rest.”

Gu Chi swallowed the sweet-tart hawthorn.

They headed home—Fahua Mountain’s temple, their haven.

On the sword, she read a play script.

He rested on her lap.

Snow began to fall, gray-white flakes filling his vision.

Gu Chi disliked snow.

Thirteen years ago, a snowy day stained his sect’s grounds red.

A Feast by the Fire

Gu Chi added gathered firewood to the kitchen stove.

Lighting it, he prepared dinner.

Pei Ningxue wanted fried pork chops and pickled vegetable pork stew.

She’d grabbed their young piglet as she spoke.

Gu Chi butchered it, crafting a full pork feast to last days.

He knew a hundred and eight pork recipes.

From Lingyun Pavilion, he’d restocked wine.

Yielding to her coaxing, he opened a fine jar for tonight.

Snow fell outside the pavilion.

They sat by the fire, eating, drinking.

Gu Chi fried pork cracklings—crisp, fragrant, dusted with pepper salt and chili.

“Delicious.”

Pei Ningxue tossed a crackling in her mouth, eyes gleaming.

“Pork fat rice tomorrow.”

He spoke softly.

“Where’d you learn all this cooking?”

“Practice makes perfect.”

Good food must not be wasted.

Sated, Pei Ningxue returned to her room.

She emerged in an ornate dance dress.

A lilac bandeau with silver chains, waist bare in the snowy wind.

High-slit skirt revealed fair, shapely legs.

Her figure was supple, swaying like a tender willow.

Their entertainment was simple.

Her dancing to his guqin was a rare delight.

At first, her moves dazed him, causing wrong notes.

She’d pause, eyes twinkling at him.

Now, he played flawlessly.

Snow filled the courtyard, ankle-deep.

Pei Ningxue drew close, gazing into his eyes.

“Raise your hand.”

Puzzled, he extended a palm.

She leaped lightly, toes touching his hand.

Her weight rested there, steady and graceful.

Her crystalline toes tensed slightly.

Gu Chi was speechless, stunned.

Her sleeve brushed his face.

Looking up, he saw pride and glee in her eyes, pleased by his awe.

The dance ended; she landed lightly.

She straddled his lap, lips brushing his.

“Go warm sister’s bed.”

“I’ll bathe, then reward you.”

“Oh… okay.”

“Kiss for a while first.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck.

A Meeting in the Snow

Gu Chi returned to the room.

Pei Ningxue headed to the back mountain’s lake.

Its waters clear, often their bathing spot, private with no others around.

In the lake’s center, a black-robed woman stood in the snow.

Her robe hid her face, unclear in the storm.

Pei Ningxue approached.

The woman spoke.

“Latest, dawn the day after tomorrow—you leave.”

“I know.”

Pei Ningxue nodded lightly.

She looked at the woman, words on her lips but unspoken.

The woman seemed to guess her thoughts, speaking calmly.

“Your Pei royal blood protects you.”

“They wouldn’t dare truly harm you.”

“With me, you’re safe.”

“But he’s an outsider—they’d have no qualms.”

“You can’t take him.”

“I’ve watched you both this half-month.”

“Saw what I should and shouldn’t.”

“Your status shouldn’t entangle so deeply with him.”

“It’s a stain—future foes could exploit it against your ascension.”

“I’ve thought of killing him several times.”

“If he dies, I die.”

Pei Ningxue’s eyes turned icy.

“Why bother?”

“Just as you return for my father’s old debt, risking the mortal world to aid me—how could you not understand?”

“My bond with your father wasn’t love—he owed me a favor.”

The woman sighed.

“Settle this soon, and come with me.”

“I understand.”

Pei Ningxue nodded.

The woman vanished into the snow.