A Sleepless Night

Inside the Worship Hall.

Qian Daoliu rubbed the spot between his brows. It was hard to imagine the dignified Pope chasing his own disciple all over Spirit Hall.

Bibi Dong cautiously looked around. "So all the seniors are here... I... did I come at a bad time?"

Qian Daoliu looked at her helplessly. "Dong'er, tell me first. What exactly happened?"

"Well..." Bibi Dong hurriedly hid behind Qian Daoliu. "Teacher just told me to go to the secret chamber. Elder Ling Yuan can testify!"

Ling Yuan, who had just arrived, couldn't make sense of it either.

She couldn't figure out what on earth this "Secret Chamber Douluo" was, no matter how hard she racked her brains. Weren't this teacher and disciple usually quite serious? How had they ended up making such a fuss?

"Is that so?" Qian Daoliu fixed his tiger-like eyes on Qian Xunji. Soul Rings descended around him, and he looked ready to strike if he didn't get a satisfactory explanation.

Qian Xunji hurriedly waved his hands. "Father, hear me out. It's not what Dong'er thinks..."

He was about to explain in detail, but when he saw the other enshrined around them, he put on the airs of the Pope and said no more.

Qian Daoliu snorted and dismissed the other enshrined, leaving only Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong there. "Explain."

Qian Xunji looked at Bibi Dong. "First, you should ask how our Saintess came to live in Senior's bedchamber."

"She's already moved in. Isn't that a good thing?" Qian Daoliu looked at Bibi Dong. "Tell me the details."

"I... I just thought sleeping on a makeshift bed on the floor was uncomfortable. The floor was so hard, so I wanted to make a little bed in Senior's room. But when Teacher heard that, he wanted to drag me to the secret chamber..."

A makeshift bed on the floor?

Sleeping on the floor?

Making a little bed?

Qian Daoliu took a deep breath. "Gui Mei! Get in here!"

Gui Mei darted out of the shadows. "Great Enshrined, your subordinate is here."

"Has Dong'er been sleeping on the floor these past few days?"

"Great Enshrined... your subordinate would not dare casually investigate Senior's bedchamber, but from what the servants have said, it seems so."

Qian Daoliu looked back at Bibi Dong, unsure whether to laugh.

"You girl, do you really not understand anything?"

"Understand... understand what? Weren't you and Teacher the ones who told me to move into Senior's room to sleep...?" Bibi Dong muttered. "I was sleeping just fine in the side hall."

Qian Daoliu shook his head helplessly, then his face grew stern again as he looked at Qian Xunji. "And you? What were you trying to do?"

Qian Xunji's gaze wandered. Even as a Titled Douluo, he could only back down in the face of his own father's pressure. "Wasn't it just then that Elder Ling Yuan happened to arrive? I figured I'd have Ling Yuan teach Dong'er the basics of matters between men and women."

"It's been so long, and Senior's attitude toward Dong'er is still neither warm nor cold. At this rate, Senior has no reason to stay in Spirit Hall forever."

Qian Daoliu took a deep breath. "Then why did you force Dong'er to go to the secret chamber behind the inner hall?"

"What secret chambers are left in Spirit Hall now? Didn't this girl fill them all in...?" Qian Xunji glared at Bibi Dong. "I only wanted to scare her a little. I was just going to take her to the study."

"You never give me a moment's peace!" Qian Daoliu paid him no more attention and called outside the hall, "Ling Yuan, come in for a moment!"

Before long, Ling Yuan Douluo entered the Worship Hall. "Great Enshrined, what are your orders?"

Qian Daoliu took Bibi Dong by the arm and brought her before Ling Yuan Douluo. "Dong'er has spent all these years cultivating. The Pope and I neglected to instruct her in other matters. As the Saintess, she cannot be so ignorant. Take her to your place and teach her about matters between men and women."

After saying that, Qian Daoliu felt his face grow a little hot and added, "So she won't be taken in by some man's honeyed words in the future."

Ling Yuan looked up in astonishment. "I... me?"

Ling Yuan Douluo dared not disobey the Great Enshrined's orders, so she had no choice but to take Bibi Dong to her residence.

Then the two of them stared at each other.

Bibi Dong asked, "Elder Ling Yuan, how are we going to learn about matters between men and women?"

Yes, what were they supposed to learn?

Ling Yuan Douluo was at a loss. The Saintess has been cultivating all this time, but I'm much the same! Aside from cultivating, I've only been on missions. What do I know about matters between men and women?

But the Great Enshrined had given her an order... Ling Yuan Douluo looked at the curious Bibi Dong, gritted her teeth, and opened her locked box.

Neatly arranged inside were not gold, silver, or jewels, but booklet after booklet from the outside world.

She took a deep breath, took out a few books from the bottom of the box, and brought them to Bibi Dong. "Your Highness, come here and read these whenever you have time over the next few days. Once you've read them, you'll understand matters between men and women!"

"Is that so?" Bibi Dong opened a booklet curiously. Her face flushed red in an instant, and she dropped it in a panic. "Th-this... isn't this a forbidden book?!"

Ling Yuan Douluo hurriedly covered Bibi Dong's mouth. "Your Highness, keep your voice down!"

Only after Bibi Dong nodded did Ling Yuan let her go. "The Great Enshrined told me to teach you about matters between men and women, and these forbidden books are about just that. You mustn't tell anyone. Just read them here!"

"If word gets out... I might lose my position as an elder. I might even be banished by Spirit Hall to serve in some remote place."

Did Elder Ling Yuan take such a great risk to teach me?

Bibi Dong nodded earnestly. "Rest assured, Elder. Dong'er will study them carefully, over and over, and learn everything in them!"

The corner of Ling Yuan's mouth twitched. "You... don't have to learn everything."

At night.

After washing up, Lu Jin sat down on the edge of the bed, ready to rest. For the past few days, not only had Bibi Dong been sleeping on a makeshift bed in his room, but she also liked to talk in her sleep.

In the dead silence of the night, a sudden remark from Bibi Dong was always enough to wake Lu Jin right up.

Fortunately, with his status as an Ancient God, he didn't have much need for sleep.

Ah Yin came in carrying warm water and instinctively glanced at Bibi Dong's makeshift bed. "Did the Saintess not come?"

"I don't know. Maybe she finally decided sleeping on the floor was uncomfortable." Lu Jin shook his head. "Never mind her. Has your strength at the Soul Elder level stabilized?"

"Mm, it has." Ah Yin sat down naturally on the edge of Lu Jin's bed. "When are we going to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?"

Lu Jin asked in confusion, "Why the hurry?"

Ah Yin leaned against Lu Jin's shoulder. "I want to get stronger quickly. Only then can I help Brother Lu deal with his troubles."

"There's no hurry. We'll set out in a while, once Bo Saixi reaches Spirit City." Lu Jin looked down at her. "What? Are you planning to sleep here with me tonight?"

"Sure!" Ah Yin gave Lu Jin a teasing look. "I'm fine with it. You were the one who said I hadn't reached maturity and that losing my virginity would affect my cultivation, Brother Lu."

"Actually, there are ways without taking your virginity." Lu Jin stared at her bright red lips.

Ah Yin was bewildered at first, then her pretty face turned bright red. She chided him, "Pah! You scoundrel!"

After an unknown amount of time.

While a Spirit Hall maid was cleaning the washroom, she found someone brushing her teeth inside. "Miss Ah Yin? Didn't you brush your teeth tonight already, if I remember correctly?"

Ah Yin blushed. "N-no... I... I was just thirsty. I'm going to bed!"

"Thirsty?" The maid looked puzzled. "Isn't there warm water for that? Why come here to drink?"

Lu Jin lay on his bed.

Soul Beasts taste wonderful... Lu Jin understood Tang San and his father a little better now.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the place where Bibi Dong's makeshift bed lay. It's a good thing that girl didn't come. If she'd caught us, Ah Yin would probably be too embarrassed to see me for days.

Meanwhile, Bibi Dong was studying frantically.

"What?! You can use your mouth too? Th-this book is too wicked!" Bibi Dong threw the book away, only to pick it up again after a while. "I'm doing this so I won't let Elder Ling Yuan's efforts go to waste. It's definitely not because I want to read it!"

She lay on Elder Ling Yuan's bed, her long legs squirming, feeling hotter all over than ever before.

Normally, she would have been sleepy and already fallen asleep by now, but tonight, the more she read, the more awake she became.

Likewise, four other people couldn't sleep all night.

Far away in the Haagen-Dazs Kingdom, Bo Saixi couldn't sleep either. She lay on a soft bed, gazing at the ceiling, infatuation flashing in her eyes. "Lord Ancient God... Lord Ancient God... why hasn't Lord Ancient God answered me tonight...?"

She turned over and buried herself in her pillow. "I want to see Lord Ancient God soon."

In the Worship Hall, Qian Daoliu was also somewhat bewildered.

He didn't know why, but whenever he closed his eyes, Lu Jin's figure came to mind.

"Strange. Why do I feel like submitting to Senior?" Qian Daoliu couldn't make sense of it, no matter how hard he thought.

Having been beguiled by Whisper, he wasn't as fanatical as Bo Saixi, but the thought of submitting to Lu Jin had already taken root in him without his realizing it.

As for Ah Yin, who lived in the room next to Lu Jin's, that went without saying.

Even though she had brushed her teeth several times, her mouth still felt strange. Lu Jin's face appeared in her mind, and she muttered, "He really is a scoundrel!"

But the one who found sleep hardest of all was Tang Yuehua of the Clear Sky Sect.

She lay on her bed, her eyes vacant, her father's scolding from that day echoing in her mind.

"As a member of the Tang family, since you didn't awaken the Clear Sky Hammer, you should contribute to the Clear Sky Sect. A marriage alliance is a duty you cannot defy!"

Tang Yuehua pulled the quilt tight around herself and curled up. "I didn't want my Martial Soul to undergo a reverse mutation either. If only you'd even tried to solve the problem with my Martial Soul!"

"You did nothing at all, so why must I marry someone I don't like for the sake of the Clear Sky Sect?"

"Just because my Martial Soul isn't the Clear Sky Hammer?"

In a daze, Tang Yuehua once again recalled the Whisper she had heard that day.