Eating Fish

Mo Lin leaned against the stone wall, his gaze seemingly fixed on the dancing flames, while the corner of his eye constantly followed Yun Yun's movements.

He chuckled inwardly, knowing the crucial "plot point" was about to arrive.

Sure enough, when the grilled fish was nearly done, Yun Yun's gaze swept over the little jade bottles on the stone platform.

Her delicate brows furrowed slightly as her jade-like hand hesitated over the assortment of bottles and jars. At last, as if guided by an invisible hand, she picked up the little jade bottle in the farthest corner, the one containing the special "white powder."

"Seasoning... this should be it, right?" she muttered softly. She examined the bottle, saw that the powder was fine and white, much like what Mo Lin had used from her memory, and carefully sprinkled it evenly over the two grilled fish.

Mo Lin laughed wildly inside, but his face remained impassive. He even cooperatively closed his eyes and gave off the steady aura of cultivation, as though he were regulating his breathing to recover.

"Hey, get up and eat." Before long, Yun Yun's clear voice rang out, carrying a hint of anticipation.

Mo Lin slowly opened his eyes, only to see the two grilled fish Yun Yun held before him... blackened nearly as badly as charcoal and giving off a strange smell.

The corner of his mouth twitched violently. Looking up at Yun Yun, whose beautiful eyes were fixed on him without blinking as though awaiting praise, he gave a dry laugh. "Miss Yun Zhi... this... this is the masterpiece you poured your heart into?"

Yun Yun's pretty face reddened. Somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, she raised the equally charred fish in her hand, her tone carrying an unquestionable "threat." "This is this... this lady's first time cooking! Even if it tastes bad, you have to finish it! Otherwise, once I recover my strength..."

She did not finish her sentence, but the meaning was obvious.

Mo Lin immediately let out an exaggerated wail. "Big sis! I'm seriously injured! Forget about giving me some restorative soup—you're actually trying to murder your dear... dear comrade-in-arms with these charcoal-roasted toxins?"

He had nearly let something slip.

Yun Yun rolled her eyes at him and decided to ignore his protest. She took a small bite from the grilled fish in her hand.

Then her delicate brows furrowed as well. Clearly, she had gained a sober understanding of her own cooking skills.

Mo Lin shook his head "helplessly," wearing the expression of a man cutting off his own arm, then opened his mouth and took a bite.

The burnt taste mixed with an indescribable, slightly spicy and strange flavor spread through his mouth.

He fought the urge to spit it out and forced himself to chew and swallow.

However, after eating more than half the fish, a strange current of heat suddenly rose from his lower abdomen and rapidly spread through all four limbs and every bone in his body.

This heat was not painful. Instead, it brought a tingling, itching sensation that was impossible to endure. His blood began to flow faster, and some primal impulse started awakening beyond his control.

His breathing involuntarily grew heavy, and his body began to shift restlessly.

Almost at the same time, Yun Yun, standing before him, also began to show something unusual.

Her originally fair, lovely face rapidly flushed with a seductive redness visible to the naked eye, spreading all the way to her ears and neck like a ripe peach.

Those clear, autumn-water eyes of hers became watery, her gaze dazed and unfocused, stripped of its usual coolness and nobility.

She unconsciously bit her red lips lightly. Her breathing quickened, and the fullness of her chest rose and fell violently with each breath, outlining breathtaking curves.

"Um... Mo Lin... do you... do you feel like something is... not right?" Yun Yun's voice had become soft and sweet, carrying a seductive charm she herself had not noticed. She looked at Mo Lin in panic, her jade-like hand unconsciously clutching the corner of her clothes.

Mo Lin looked up and saw Yun Yun's alluring appearance, as though she were waiting to be picked, and his heart pounded. A wicked flame nearly shattered his reason.

Forcing himself to remain calm, he gave a bitter smile. "It really is... very wrong..."

His gaze swept over the half-eaten grilled fish in their hands. Pretending to ponder, he suddenly seemed to "remember" something and asked in a hoarse voice, "You... which bottle did you sprinkle that seasoning from? Let me see it!"

Yun Yun drowsily pointed at the jade bottle in the corner. Mo Lin "struggled" to his feet and took it, then opened it. His expression "changed drastically" as he cried out, "Oh no! This isn't salt! This is... Blazing Love Powder! It's a... very powerful... aphrodisiac!"

He perfectly displayed "panic" and "helplessness."

"An aphrodisiac?" Yun Yun was struck dumb. A trace of clarity flashed through her dazed eyes before being swallowed by immense shame and terror.

She finally understood where that unfamiliar heat and emptiness inside her body had come from.

She had actually... actually drugged herself and this boy with an aphrodisiac!

And at that moment, Mo Lin also seemed unable to "suppress" the drug's effects any longer. His breathing grew hotter, his gaze filled with aggression as he stepped closer to Yun Yun.

Yun Yun instinctively retreated, but her body was weak and limp. Her steps faltered, and she fell directly onto the bed of dry grass.

Mo Lin followed her down, bracing his arms on either side of her body and trapping her within the narrow space between them.

Their hot breaths intertwined, and the air filled with an ambiguous, dangerous tension.

"Mo Lin... you... don't come closer..." Yun Yun's voice carried a sob. She tried hard to stay lucid, but her body's reactions honestly betrayed her as an inexplicable longing began to grow.

Mo Lin looked at the delicate body beneath him, trembling slightly with desire—her flushed face, dazed watery eyes, parted red lips, and the proud rise and fall of her chest with every hurried breath. Every detail pushed his restraint to its limit.

The last traces of his "plan" were nearly replaced by the most primal desire.

He lowered his head, and his burning lips first pressed "involuntarily" against her smooth forehead, feeling her body shudder violently.

Then they slowly moved down along the bridge of her elegant nose, until at last they covered those two soft, moist cherry lips with irresistible force!

"Mm...!" Yun Yun let out a muffled whimper. At first, she resisted somewhat, but under the effects of the drug and Mo Lin's passion, she quickly lost herself and awkwardly responded.

The kiss was fierce and long, lasting until both of them were gasping for breath.

Mo Lin's kisses did not stop. They followed the graceful line of her jaw downward, leaving dense traces of kisses upon her long, fair neck...

"Ah..." Yun Yun let out an uncontrollable moan. Her body completely softened like a pool of spring water, her consciousness nearly drowned by the tide of desire.

However, just as Mo Lin's hand began to improperly try to slip beneath her clothes, he sharply noticed that two streams of tears had silently slipped from the corners of Yun Yun's eyes beneath him.

Those tears were icy cold, carrying endless shame, grievance, and a helplessness at being toyed with by fate.

In that instant, it was as though a basin of ice water had been poured over Mo Lin's boiling blood.

He saw the flash of despair in her eyes and... a trace of disappointment in him.

If he took advantage of her now, even with the aphrodisiac as an excuse, how would he be any different from the despicable scum she looked down upon?

What awaited him afterward would likely be Yun Yun's relentless pursuit once she recovered her strength, along with a rift that could never be repaired.

This was absolutely not what he wanted!

Damn it! Mo Lin cursed inwardly, cursing both this damned plot and himself for nearly letting desire cloud his mind.

The next moment, he bit down hard on his tongue. The sharp pain instantly cleared his mind somewhat.

He forcibly circulated the secret art within the Yin Yang Feather Transformation Art that suppressed inner demons and guarded one's origin, while fully activating the extreme icy battle qi in his body that came from the Snow Empress!

"Suppress!"

An incomparably frigid chill suddenly erupted with him at its center!

This chill was not an attack. Instead, it precisely acted upon both his and Yun Yun's bodies. Like ancient mystical ice, it instantly froze and suppressed the raging flames of desire!

"Urgh..."

Yun Yun let out a pained groan. She only felt an icy torrent rush through her limbs and bones, forcibly driving away the shameful heat and emptiness within her, but also bringing piercing cold and an indescribable hollowness.

The daze in her eyes swiftly faded, but her body trembled violently from the intense clash between extreme cold and desire, her face turning pale.

Mo Lin's situation was even worse. He was using extreme power to forcibly reverse his own physical reaction while resisting the backlash of the potent drug.

The massive conflict of energies and the strain on his mind caused his vision to go dark. Sweetness rose in his throat as he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood, only to force it back down.

He looked deeply at Yun Yun, his gaze complicated, containing desire, restraint, and apology.

Then he could no longer hold himself up. His body went limp, and he fell straight backward with a bang, crashing onto the ground and completely losing consciousness—this time, truly unconscious.

Yun Yun sat blankly on the bed of dry grass, feeling the lingering cold inside her and the rapidly fading tide of desire. Then she looked at Mo Lin lying unconscious on the ground, a trace of blood still at the corner of his mouth, and was completely dumbfounded.

A moment ago, the scene had been endlessly intoxicating and nearly spiraled out of control. The next moment, it had become this?

She touched her still-burning cheeks and the kiss marks on her neck, then looked again at Mo Lin's pale face, her heart filled with countless conflicting emotions.

Was it humiliation? Lingering fear? Relief? Or... a trace of disappointment she herself refused to admit, along with gratitude for the restraint he had forced upon himself at the very end?

Those complicated, indescribable emotions surged through her heart like a tide, leaving her at a loss for what to do.

Inside the cave, only the crackling of the campfire remained, along with one person's hurried breathing that had yet to fully calm.