Chapter 17:Heart Tribulation

The pale skin and streaks of blood…

A rush of tangled emotions surged to Qing Wan’s head.

As if compelled by some unseen force, she raised her other hand—not to channel energy, but to gently, tremblingly brush her fingertips across the bloodstain at the corner of Shu Yue’s lips.

Her warm fingertips, soft with the tenderness of youth, grazed Shu Yue’s cool lips.

That touch was like a spark igniting dry tinder.

Both of them shuddered violently!

Shu Yue’s eyes widened in disbelief, staring at Qing Wan’s face, so close, filled with worry yet tinged with adoration.

Qing Wan, stunned by her own boldness, froze, her fingertips still lingering on those soft, cool lips, as if time had stopped.

Time stilled once more.

Even the chaotic sword qi within the hall seemed to pause for a moment.

Their gazes locked, breaths intertwining.

The air was thick with the scent of blood, the chill, and an almost unbearable, electric tension.

Shu Yue’s mind went blank, the warm, soft touch on her lips magnified infinitely.

‘!!!! Again! Again! This time it’s her fingers! Next time, will it be…’

At the peak of this surreal atmosphere,

Qing Wan gazed into the Elder’s eyes, slightly widened with shock, as if filled with moonlight. She stared at those pale lips so close…

Impulse drowned out all reason.

Her hands, resting on Shu Yue’s shoulders, tightened slightly. Leaning forward, she closed her eyes and tentatively pressed her lips against that pale softness once more.

This time, it wasn’t an accidental graze of the corner.

It was deliberate, a gentle, direct kiss on Shu Yue’s lips.

Soft.

Cool.

Tinged with a faint trace of blood and the trembling resolve of a young girl.

Shu Yue’s entire body jolted, her pupils contracting sharply!

‘!!!! This time it’s direct! On the lips! A kiss—aaaaah!’

All rational thought fled.

She didn’t even push her away.

Perhaps… she didn’t have time to push her away.

Perhaps… the shock of that moment was too overwhelming, robbing her of reaction.

Or perhaps… the softness and trembling of those lips carried a strange, heart-stirring magic that made her… falter for a fleeting instant.

Though only for an instant.

A dragonfly’s touch on water.

Qing Wan recoiled as if struck by lightning, stumbling back several steps, her face flushed, heart pounding, eyes brimming with unspoken love.

She looked at the seemingly petrified Shu Yue, her lips trembling, unable to form a single word. Finally, she turned and fled Jinghong Hall like a startled rabbit, scrambling into the night in a frantic blur.

The hall fell back into dead silence.

Only the lingering chaotic sword qi and chill remained, along with… the Luyue Fairy, sitting frozen as if struck by a heavenly bolt.

Shu Yue’s fingers slowly, almost hesitantly, brushed her lips.

There, the brief but vivid sensation of warm, soft contact lingered, along with a trembling that sent shivers through her heart.

For a long, long time.

A broken, trembling wail escaped her pale lips:

“…It’s over.”

This time, it was truly, utterly over.

Her defenses had collapsed entirely.

The distance… was gone.

Not only had she been kissed.

She had been… directly… forcibly kissed?!

Even if just for a moment.

Shu Yue clutched her head, collapsing onto the cold hall floor, curling up like a boiled shrimp, her ears and neck flushed crimson.

Her mind devolved into a chaotic mess of meaningless noise.

Outside, Qing Wan, having fled back to her quarters, felt her heart pounding like a drum. Soaked as if pulled from water, her fingertips still tingled from the audacious contact.

She… she had actually…

This time, it wasn’t an accident.

She had kissed the Elder.

Clearly, deliberately, she had kissed her.

Fear and shame surged again, but this time, they were strangely overshadowed by a fiercer resolve.

She raised a hand, pressing it to her still-racing heart, where a fire seemed to burn.

Si

nce there was no turning back…

She wouldn’t turn back.