Night Meeting at Myriad Medicine Hall

The night was as dark as ink, shrouding Qingshan Town.

The rear courtyard of Myriad Medicine Hall was tranquil, with only the chirping of summer insects and the faint, distant clack of the night watchman's wooden rattle.

A black shadow, nimble as a civet cat, silently vaulted over the courtyard wall and landed on the soft grass.

The shadow was none other than Mo Lin. A relaxed, expectant smile rested on his face as his gaze precisely fixed on an elegant room in the rear courtyard where the lamp was still lit.

That was Xiao Yi Xian's residence.

I wonder how this girl has been these past few days? Mo Lin chuckled inwardly. Recalling her embarrassed yet reluctant expression when they had parted, his steps grew lighter.

He circled around to the back of the room, where a small lake lay nearby. Moonlight spilled across the water, making it shimmer.

Mo Lin carefully stepped along the edge of the damp earth to avoid making a sound, then slowly moved toward the open window, which had been left ajar for ventilation.

His palm felt along the smooth windowsill. As though weightless, he nimbly bent down and slipped inside, moving with the practiced ease of someone who had done this countless times.

His feet landed soundlessly on the carpeted floor as Mo Lin looked around the young woman's room, which had been arranged with quiet elegance.

A faint herbal fragrance filled the air, mixed with the unique sweetness of a young girl's room, soothing and refreshing. The furnishings were simple, yet every detail revealed the owner's care and taste.

His gaze swept across the room before finally settling behind the hanging pink gauze curtains.

Through the hazy curtains, he could vaguely see a slender figure seated within.

A mischievous smile curled across Mo Lin's lips. Lightening his steps, he moved forward a few paces and gently lifted the gauze curtain.

Looking inside, he saw Xiao Yi Xian in a plain white dress, her head slightly lowered as she focused on preparing medicinal powder before a small white jade table.

She held a slender crystal pestle and gently ground ingredients in a jade mortar. Every so often, she would dip her little finger into a bit of powder, bring it beneath the tip of her delicate nose, and lightly sniff it. Her dark brows furrowed slightly as if she were carefully distinguishing the medicine's properties.

The dim lamplight fell across her profile, outlining soft, focused features. Her long eyelashes hung low, making her appear exceptionally serene and lovely.

Mo Lin said nothing. He simply folded his arms and leaned against the doorframe, smiling as he admired the beautiful scene of her preparing medicine.

Perhaps because she was too engrossed, Xiao Yi Xian did not immediately notice that someone had entered.

She mixed several more powders together, lifted a small amount with a crystal rod, and was about to sniff it again when she suddenly froze. As if sensing something, she abruptly looked up!

When her eyes landed on the young man leaning by the doorway with that familiar wicked smile, the vigilance and chill that had flashed through her eyes swiftly vanished, replaced by irrepressible delight and a trace of coy annoyance.

Her gaze quickly swept over the tightly shut door. Then she lightly beckoned to Mo Lin and lowered her voice. "You! Why do you always appear and disappear like a ghost? Get in here, quickly. Don't let anyone see you!"

Mo Lin walked over with a grin and unceremoniously sat on the cushion opposite Xiao Yi Xian. Leaning closer, he whispered, "I missed you, so I came to see whether my Xiao Yi Xian had been bullied."

His eyes burned as he stared at her with undisguised admiration.

Xiao Yi Xian's pretty face reddened beneath his gaze. She rolled her eyes at him irritably, set down the crystal pestle, and scolded, "Stop sweet-talking me! Who said I'm yours? Who in Qingshan Town would dare bully me? You're the one who vanished without a word for so many days. Where did you run off to fool around?"

Her tone carried concern, along with a faint grievance she could not quite conceal.

"I went to take care of some business." Mo Lin answered vaguely, then shifted his gaze to the medicine powder she had been grinding. "What kind of new formula is this? It smells rather unusual."

Seeing that Mo Lin did not wish to elaborate, Xiao Yi Xian did not press him further. She merely gave a soft snort and explained, "It's a formula to calm the mind and aid sleep. Some of the elderly people in town haven't been sleeping well lately."

She paused. Her beautiful eyes shifted as she looked at Mo Lin with a hint of slyness. "But you... why do you seem to have an unfamiliar scent on you?"

As a physician who dealt with medicinal herbs year-round and possessed a keen sense of smell, she seemed to have noticed something.

Mo Lin's heart tightened slightly, but his expression remained unchanged. Smiling, he said, "Do I? Maybe I spent too much time in the mountains and picked up the scent of plants and grass."

"No." Xiao Yi Xian leaned closer. Her tiny nose twitched twice, her brows drawing together as her eyes filled with scrutiny and suspicion. "It's not the scent of plants... It's a very faint, but very special fragrance. Like some high-grade floral scent, yet with a touch of coolness... Hmm, and an extremely faint trace of... Cloud Pattern Incense?"

The more she spoke, the brighter her eyes became, and the more closely she scrutinized Mo Lin. "Tell me honestly. Did you get involved with some young lady from a noble family?"

Mo Lin had not expected Xiao Yi Xian's nose to be so sharp that she could smell the extremely subtle, elegant scent on Yun Yun, mixed with the Misty Cloud Sect's distinctive incense.

An exceedingly brief flash of awkwardness crossed his face. But then he touched his nose and, rather than denying it, admitted it righteously. "Ah, you found out? As expected of my Xiao Yi Xian. Your nose really is sharp!"

With a grin, he deliberately lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "That's right. When I went into the mountains this time, I did meet a... well, an extraordinarily beautiful woman of remarkable status. I helped her with a little trouble and spent a few days with her."

Xiao Yi Xian froze at first. Then the smile on her pretty face instantly stiffened, her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, and an almost imperceptible "killing intent" began to spread. Yet her voice remained gentle. "Oh? An extraordinarily beautiful woman? And you spent several days together? What kind of help did you give her? Do tell."

As if he had not noticed the hint of danger, Mo Lin continued courting death with his description. "Yes, her bearing, her beauty, her figure... Tsk, tsk. Especially her cultivation—it was simply unfathomable! I helped her deal with a very powerful magical beast, and... well, you could say we went through hardship together."

He deliberately omitted most of the details, but the lingering satisfaction in his tone was impossible to hide.

"Hmph! Unfathomable? Went through hardship together?" Xiao Yi Xian's pretty face turned utterly cold. She abruptly stood up and reached for Mo Lin's ear, snapping furiously, "You little rascal, Mo Lin! I only stopped watching you for a few days, and you already dared flirt around outside! Went through hardship together? More like spent the night together!"

Mo Lin burst out laughing and nimbly tilted his head aside to evade Xiao Yi Xian's claw. Then he seized her slender wrist and gave it a light pull.

Caught off guard, Xiao Yi Xian cried out. Her footing slipped, and her whole body was dragged to the side with him!

"Ah!"

The two immediately tumbled into a heap, landing right on the nearby bed covered in a soft brocade quilt.

Mo Lin was on top, while Xiao Yi Xian lay beneath him, leaving them in an extremely suggestive position.

"Y-you... let me go!" Xiao Yi Xian was both embarrassed and flustered. Her pretty face flushed crimson as she struggled to push him away.

But Mo Lin only pressed his advantage. Bracing his arms on either side of her body, he trapped her in the narrow space between them. Looking down at her delicate body, which trembled slightly in shame and anger, he wore a teasing smile. "What? Are you jealous?"

"W-who's jealous of you? Shameless!" Xiao Yi Xian turned her face away, though her heart pounded like a drum.

Their bodies were pressed tightly together. She could clearly feel the warmth radiating from him, as well as that... that faint, lingering cool fragrance belonging to another woman! It only made her feel more stifled.

Then Xiao Yi Xian suddenly stopped struggling. She forcefully sniffed, her brows knitting tightly as she stared sharply into Mo Lin's face from close range. Her tone was filled with certainty and aggrieved anger. "No! This scent... it isn't merely something that rubbed off on you! This fragrance could only remain after prolonged close contact, perhaps even... even something more intimate! Mo Lin! You... what exactly did you do with her?!"

Mo Lin was stunned by Xiao Yi Xian's sudden question. He had not expected her sense of smell to be this acute, to the point that she could even distinguish the extent to which their scents had mingled. There was no hiding it now.

The wicked smile on his face stiffened for a moment. Then, amid the Ice Empress's mocking laughter in his Sea of Consciousness—"Hahaha, serves you right! That's what you get for showing off!"—and Snow Empress's helpless sigh, Mo Lin gritted his teeth and decided to come completely clean.

Not only did he fail to look guilty, he instead put on an expression of complete justification. Looking Xiao Yi Xian in the eyes, he said frankly:

"Fine, since you found out, I won't hide it anymore. Yes, that Miss Yun... Miss Yun and I did have some... well, fairly intimate contact.

The circumstances were unusual and it was unavoidable, but it was also... mutually willing, I suppose." He paused. Seeing Xiao Yi Xian's eyes widen instantly in disbelief, he continued shamelessly, "But don't worry. Your place in my heart is absolutely unique! I'm someone who values love and loyalty most of all. I would never favor one over the other!"

"Y-you... you... shameless! Pervert! Bastard!" Xiao Yi Xian trembled all over from anger at his brazenly forthright words, her eyes even reddening as she raised her delicate fists and pounded his chest. "Who wants you and someone else to be mutually willing? Who wants you not to favor one over the other? What do you take me for?!"

Mo Lin let her strike him, merely smiling as he watched her.

After tussling for a while, Xiao Yi Xian seemed to grow tired. She stopped, breathing heavily, buried her face in the quilt, and muttered, "I knew it... I knew someone like you could never behave yourself... I should have realized it when you said those things back then..."

Mo Lin sighed softly and stroked her hair. "Xiao Yi Xian, I remember telling you about the path I intend to walk. That path... perhaps it was destined not to have only one person on it. But my feelings for you are real. You are the first woman I ever chose. That will never change."

Xiao Yi Xian's body trembled faintly, but she did not raise her head. A brief silence fell over the room.

After a long while, she slowly lifted her head. Her beautiful eyes held complicated emotions—anger, grievance, but even more than that, a resigned helplessness and a trace of relief, as if she had long expected this.

She looked into Mo Lin's clear, sincere eyes and recalled his shocking declaration about becoming a Dou Emperor and building a harem. Then she thought of his mysterious strength and methods... Suddenly, she realized that she did not seem to find it as unacceptable as she had imagined.

Perhaps from the moment she chose to follow him, she had subconsciously prepared herself for something like this? This guy simply could not be judged by ordinary standards.

She glared fiercely at Mo Lin, reached out, and pinched his arm hard. "You big villain! Lecher! I really boarded a pirate ship with you!"

Though her tone remained angry, the sense of finality had faded, replaced by something almost coquettish.

Mo Lin rejoiced inwardly, knowing that he had gotten through this ordeal. He gave a quiet chuckle, lowered his head, and gently kissed her smooth forehead. "Once you board my ship, don't even think about getting off."

Xiao Yi Xian's pretty face flushed scarlet. She gave him a token push, but did not struggle again.

She rested her face against his chest, inhaling the complicated scent of medicinal herbs, masculine warmth, and... that faint, irritating unfamiliar fragrance. Her heart was filled with mixed feelings, but in the end, they became a soft sigh.

"Hmph, I'll let it go this time... But if you dare come back carrying another woman's scent again, I... I'll use the most poisonous medicine to make you sleep for three days and three nights!"

"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you." Mo Lin agreed with a smile, tightening his arms and pulling the soft, warm body in his embrace closer.

Outside the window, the moonlight was perfect. Within the room, tenderness and a small fit of jealousy intertwined, eventually melting into the young man's teasing whispers and the young woman's coy complaints.

In the Sea of Consciousness, the Ice Empress's timely jab rang out. "Tsk, that little girl accepted it so quickly? Pathetic! If it were me, I'd freeze that philandering radish into an ice sculpture!"

Snow Empress's cool voice carried a trace of contemplation. "This woman is gentle on the outside yet strong within, and her mind is clear. To see through emotional obstacles so quickly and accept such an extraordinary matter speaks to an uncommon temperament."

Hearing that, the smile at Mo Lin's lips deepened. It seemed that the beginning of his harem path had gone rather smoothly?