Sleeping Together

Inside the room!

Qin Jishi stretched hard and plunged headfirst onto the soft couch.

Comfortable!

Zhang Shiqing furrowed her brows and gave him a pat. "Move over."

Qin Jishi drew in his legs. "What? Spending a lovely night with me?"

"Cut the nonsense." Zhang Shiqing questioned, "Tell me, what exactly is your relationship with Liang Simeng?"

"No relationship!" Qin Jishi answered calmly.

"No relationship?" Zhang Shiqing's delicate brows shifted. "You think I'd believe that?"

If they truly had no relationship, would Liang Simeng have taken the initiative to speak with Qin Jishi? Why? Because he was handsome? Or because he was the Zhang Family's live-in son-in-law?

Besides, if they truly had no relationship, would Liang Simeng have said something so meaningful?

Clearly, those words had been meant to make her cut off contact with Qin Jishi. How could Zhang Shiqing fail to understand?

"There really is no relationship!" Qin Jishi said seriously. "I've only met her once. We can hardly be called acquainted, much less familiar."

"Really?"

"Really!" Qin Jishi nodded heavily.

Even though Qin Jishi spoke with such sincerity, Zhang Shiqing still did not believe him.

She found herself increasingly unable to see through the young man before her. He clearly looked harmless to man and beast, yet he gave off an unfathomable chill that made her heart tremble.

After pondering briefly, Zhang Shiqing continued, "How do you know the Young Prefecture Lord of Black Eagle Prefecture?"

"I'm very familiar with his father." These words immediately brought black lines to Zhang Shiqing's forehead.

"Can't you answer properly?"

"Really!" Qin Jishi still looked utterly serious. "I really am very familiar with his father."

"Hmph." Zhang Shiqing snorted coldly. "If you don't want to say it, I don't want to hear it."

"Sigh." Qin Jishi let out a breath. "Nowadays, no one believes the truth."

"Fine, I'll go sleep over there."

As he spoke, Qin Jishi made to rise and head for the familiar chair.

Zhang Shiqing glanced at the chair. Her hands kneaded the corner of her clothes, and a strange pang of heartache welled up within her. She shook her head and shifted toward the edge of the bed. "Sleep on the bed."

I sleep on the bed?

Qin Jishi blinked. "Forget it, I should go out. As a man, how could I sleep in the bed myself and make you go out..."

Before he finished speaking, Qin Jishi had already propped himself up, ready to get up.

A complicated expression immediately surfaced on Zhang Shiqing's face. She bit her pearly teeth, and after a brief struggle, finally made up her mind. She reached out and pulled over the crimson quilt, covering both herself and Qin Jishi.

"Listen, if you dare cross the line by even half a step, I'll turn you into Liu Kai."

Zhang Shiqing lay on the outer side of the bed, her back facing Qin Jishi so he could not see her expression at that moment.

Qin Jishi: "..."

Was that a hint?

"Um..." Qin Jishi picked a suitable position. "Should we do something?"

"Get lost!" A pillow flew at him. Qin Jishi caught it in one hand and shook his head. "Being this fierce isn't good."

"Sleep!"

Qin Jishi turned over, adjusted his sleeping position, and soon drifted off.

The room instantly fell silent. They could hear only each other's breathing.

After a while, Zhang Shiqing quietly turned around. Looking at Qin Jishi's face so close at hand, a complicated glint flashed through her eyes. She had never imagined that she would share a bed with a man...

When Zhang Shiqing had cultivated the Ice Phoenix Sealing Heaven Art, she had never considered having a cultivation partner. When Zhang Jinhua had forced her to marry Qin Jishi, she had secretly sworn that even if she married him, they would only be husband and wife in name...

She had never imagined that one day she would sleep in the same bed as a man. She had always believed that she would never allow such a thing to happen. Before marrying Qin Jishi, she had not even allowed him to touch a single strand of her hair...

But now?

She was sleeping in the same bed as him, and in her heart... she actually did not find it too hard to accept...

What was wrong with me? Was it simply because I was curious?

Perhaps it was...

Zhang Shiqing could only use that reason to convince herself.

"Are you asleep?" Zhang Shiqing ultimately could not hold back and asked softly.

"No!" As if he had guessed Zhang Shiqing's thoughts, Qin Jishi spoke softly with his eyes closed. "Are you asking about the Liu Family?"

"Are you the tapeworm in my stomach?" Zhang Shiqing was slightly surprised, then could not help worrying. "With the Black Eagle Prefecture Lord's wife as their towering tree, will the Liu Family really let this go?"

Zhang Shiqing knew exactly how the Liu Family handled matters. This time, they had suffered a setback because of the Young Prefecture Lord of Black Eagle Prefecture's background. Would they really let it go?

More importantly, Liu Qiang's younger sister was the Second Madam of Black Eagle Prefecture. Sun Baitan had returned with his feathers clipped. When she learned of this, even if the Liu Family could swallow this grievance, would she be able to?

If she made even the slightest move in the shadows, then...

Qin Jishi said slowly, "You're worried that Black Eagle Prefecture will make a move in secret?"

"That's right. Black Eagle Prefecture's power cannot be underestimated." Zhang Shiqing's worries were not unfounded.

If Black Eagle Prefecture truly sent assassins in secret, who among them could stand against them?

By then, even if the Black and White Academy learned of it, they would likely pretend nothing had happened. Would they blame Black Eagle Prefecture for the sake of small family forces like theirs? Clearly not...

"Don't worry!" Qin Jishi's tone was calm. "They won't dare."

If Black Eagle Prefecture offended him, would Pan Xu not report it to the Black Eagle Prefecture Lord?

"Where does your confidence come from?" Zhang Shiqing rested her chin on her hand. "Why do you make me feel that no matter what raging wind or torrential rain comes, you stroll through it as though in a tranquil courtyard?"

"Because I do not fear it. Since I do not fear it, what is there to be afraid of?"

Zhang Shiqing: "..."

"Right!" After a brief silence, Zhang Shiqing reminded him, "The Liu Family hates evil as though it were a mortal enemy. You must be exceedingly careful in the future."

"You're worried they'll retaliate against me?"

"It's never wrong to be cautious..." It would be a lie to say she was not worried.

"Don't worry. They won't get another chance."

"What do you mean?" Zhang Shiqing's expression shifted again.

"Some people are given a chance, but they do not know how to cherish it. Then they must pay the price."

"Sleep."

Once Qin Jishi finished speaking, he fell silent.

Uh!

Zhang Shiqing: "..."

Could he be planning to make a move against the Liu Family?

Impossible!

At such a critical juncture, whoever moved against the Liu Family would be no different from becoming an enemy of the Black and White Academy...

Who in the entire Azure Wave Continent would dare become their enemy?

Zhang Shiqing merely took Qin Jishi's words as angry talk. Shaking her head, her thoughts in turmoil, she gradually sank into sleep. With a man lying beside her, she could still fall asleep so quickly; this also meant that deep in her subconscious, she held almost no guard or rejection toward Qin Jishi.

Deep night!

Qin Jishi, who had seemingly been asleep, suddenly opened his eyes. He turned his head and glanced at the sleeping Zhang Shiqing. After admiring her for a moment, the corners of his lips curled into a faint smile.

Not bad. She really did have something to her, though she was too cold, always looking as if she kept everyone a thousand miles away.

Qin Jishi smiled again and quietly rose. "The Liu Family has no need to exist."

The door opened, and a figure vanished into the darkness like a ghost.