Washing His Tail

When You Su's consciousness emerged from the chaos, the first thing she felt was a warm touch.

The milky white liquid enveloped his limbs and bones, as if he were soaking in melting Moon Essence.

His eyelashes fluttered slightly, and the crisp scent of pine and snow lingered around his nose—a scent he was all too familiar with. It had been there all along when he was speeding through the snowy roads; it was the natural fragrance of the kitten nestled in his arms.

"You Su!"

The cheers that erupted in his ears were accompanied by the crisp sound of splashing water. Before he could even open his eyes, he felt a void under his arm, and the warm little bundle that had been curled up there suddenly broke free.

Bai Ze stood up barefoot on the icy steps at the bottom of the pool, water droplets rolling down her porcelain-white spine and gathering into a small stream at her waist.

Having just woken up, You Su was clearly unable to withstand such a violent visual shock. His pupils contracted sharply, and his palms gripped her slender ankles before he could even think.

"Thump--"

He pulled the girl back into the pool, the splashing water hitting You Su's brow and blurring the beautiful scene before her eyes.

Bai Ze's wet twin ponytails clung to his chest, the ends curling and hooking around his collarbone, like two Xiao Yu yearning for warmth.

Completely oblivious to the fact that she had just stood up naked, she glared angrily at You Su and gently kicked You Su shin with her toe.

Why are you pulling me?!

"Didn't I teach you that animals have fur to cover their bodies, and humans should have clothes to cover their bodies?"

"Yeah." Bai Ze blinked innocently, "But didn't you also say that you can't wear clothes while taking a bath?"

"I..." You Su almost fell silent, "I did say that, but what I meant was that you should dress appropriately in front of others, how can you be completely naked?"

"But isn't this a contradiction? If we're going to soak in this Xuan Liquid Pool, none of us can wear clothes. But you insist that I dress properly, so I can't come in to soak." Bai Ze muttered to himself, then his eyes lit up as if he had figured something out, and he pointed his index finger at You Su, "I understand! You stingy little devil! I went through so much trouble to create this Xuan Liquid Pool, and you want to enjoy it all by yourself!"

Upon hearing this, You Su sighed, feeling rather helpless. He reached out and pressed the girl's impolite finger back down. "I didn't mean that. In short, just don't stand up."

"Oh." Bai Ze, being a cheerful person, agreed quickly and then quietly shifted his body closer to You Su.

You Su shrank further against the pool wall, the coolness emanating from the ice pressing against his burning back; he dared not let the girl touch him.

He glanced around briefly. A ring of ice-like railings held the emulsion flowing continuously from the crack of the enormous pearl behind him, forming this pool of mysterious liquid.

The milk in the pool was thick and honey-like, just enough to cover his chest. This milk, formed from pure Mystic Qi, would evaporate uncontrollably upon exposure to air, turning into rising mist. So, although the milk felt cool to the touch under the influence of ice, it also gave him the illusion of a hot spring. The warmth he felt upon waking was clearly... the girl who had been nestled against him while he slept.

"You did all of this?" You Su was already forced to believe in Bai Ze's ability to save his life, but he never expected the girl to perform so much better than he had anticipated.

Of course!

Bai Ze proudly raised the corners of his lips, then suddenly leaned in and grabbed You Su's arm, wrapping it behind his neck.

You Su realized what was happening and quickly pulled her arm back as if she'd been electrocuted. "What are you doing?"

Bai Ze looked bewildered by You Su's resistant reaction and said aggrievedly, "I wanted to demonstrate for you. This is how I supported you, climbing step by step from such a far place. I've never been this tired before; I felt like I was going to die. But as long as I thought about saving you, I..."

The girl gestured vividly, and the water droplets from her fingertips splashed onto You Su's eyelids.

You Su stared blankly at her moving lips, inexplicably recalling the feeling of being given air by her before he lost consciousness underwater. A strange sense of panic arose in his heart, and he hurriedly looked away as if he were a thief, only gazing at the girl's pretty face, which was flushed with excitement.

Bai Ze continued to recount her glorious deeds of saving You Su from danger, speaking with great enthusiasm and excitement. Although the arduous journey she described, which seemed to involve countless trials and tribulations, was completely inconsistent with the actual situation and it was easy to detect the fabrication, You Su did not care.

In his view, this was merely a girl's attempt to exaggerate her achievements. Even he himself often used such tricks to curry favor with the three women in his sect. To insist on getting to the bottom of things now would only make him seem overly rigid, and he wasn't that kind of person.

It didn't matter how Bai Ze brought him here, how he built this pool with ice, or how he carved out the Mystic Qi Spirit Milk. He only knew that it was indeed this silly little cat who saved him, and that was enough.

Because of his blindness, he developed this habit from a young age: he unconditionally trusts those he truly trusts. However, gaining the trust of a blind person is not an easy task.

"... and that's how I made this beautiful bathtub!"

Bai Ze scooped up a handful of the mysterious liquid, the clear liquid shimmering with a mother-of-pearl-like luster as it dripped through his fingers. The girl proudly shook her head, then leaned close to You Su, looking expectantly at him for praise.

Am I amazing?

Looking into her star-filled eyes, You Su couldn't bring himself to give a negative answer, "She's truly amazing."

After saying that, he flicked her brow with his finger, "But if it's this difficult, next time you might as well just leave me behind and make things easier."

"That won't do!" Bai Ze placed You Su's finger-flicking hand on his head again, waiting for a reward of a head pat. "I'm a very loyal cat."

You Su chuckled and affectionately ruffled her little head, just as a kitten would want. "When I was asleep, didn't any other evil spirits visit this place?"

Bai Ze shook his head, "I haven't seen it before, I've just been soaking here with you. This Xuan Liquid is amazing, it even completely healed my wounds here!"

As she spoke, the girl stood up as if to testify, wanting to show You Su the scar on her shoulder that had already healed completely.

You Su quickly pressed down on the girl's shoulders, "Transforming Mystic Qi into water and placing it on a person is a skill of the Condensing Water Realm. I am at the Condensing Water Realm, but if the Xuan liquid in my spiritual platform were poured into this pool, it would probably only be enough for you to soak your feet."

The elixir within this precious pearl not only filled your entire pool but also showed no signs of depletion, suggesting that the amount of Mystic Qi stored within is immeasurable. Even more astonishingly, it can be absorbed very easily, indicating that this Mystic Qi is the original energy of heaven and earth, unprocessed by external substances.

This precious pearl is probably the accumulation of the Mystic Qi absorbed by this Tridacna over hundreds of years. We've gotten an incredible bargain."

"So precious! We're rich!" Bai Ze excitedly scooped up a handful of the mysterious liquid and tossed it into the air, where it transformed into sparkling droplets. After the cheers subsided, the girl snorted, "Serves it right for trying to eat us!"

"Yes, karma."

You Su echoed with a laugh and sigh, still finding it hard to believe that this gift from nature was so profound.

If this precious pearl were placed in the mortal realm, it would undoubtedly be considered an unparalleled treasure, surpassing even the flesh of the Tai Sui. Within the Five Continents, there are indeed places containing spiritual springs and mystical milk; such blessed lands are often the foundations of immortal sects and families.

But what makes this jewel superior is its mobility.

It's like two enemies facing off, both low on health. You need to go back to town to heal, but the enemy has brought their healing fountain with them and keeps chasing you.

However, moving such a large pearl filled with mysterious liquid is by no means an easy task, let alone bringing it back to the shore from the seabed.

You Su didn't harbor such extravagant hopes, but adhering to the principle of not wasting resources, she naturally wanted to use as much as possible.

He then turned his gaze inward to his spiritual platform and discovered that the liquid Mystic Qi within it was already overflowing. Nourished by this primordial energy, his entire body was filled with Qi and Blood, and he felt no pain or fatigue whatsoever.

His Divine Sense was exceptionally Qingming Festival, and the long dream of being with his Mistress truly relieved all his mental fatigue. Even now, recalling the real and dreamlike moments of their time together in the dream makes him unconsciously smile.

He still didn't know the reason why his Mistress fabricated the dream, but he did know the means by which Mistress achieved her goal: to stay with him. That's why Mistress was inseparable from him in the dream and could almost do whatever she wanted with him.

Of course, this was limited to ambiguous physical contact. However, He Shutong didn't seem to realize that hugging and holding hands was somewhat inappropriate between an adult disciple and his master's Mistress; or perhaps she did realize it, but still couldn't bear to refuse her disciple's closeness.

Anyway... the title of Mistress is merely nominal, and this ambiguous status naturally blurs the lines between words and actions.

Bai Ze frowned as she looked at You Su, who had his eyes closed and a fawning smile on his face. She wondered what bad thing he was thinking about. Her womanly intuition told her that he was definitely thinking about another woman, and it was probably related to his 'Mistress'.

Bai Ze pouted her red lips, how could she allow You Su to bathe with her in the same pool while thinking of other women?

Taking advantage of You Su's internal meditation, she suddenly threw herself into his arms, her wet hair wrapping around his neck:

"Brother, help me take a bath!"

You Su was startled by the warmth covering him and hurriedly tried to push Bai Ze away, but Bai Ze clung tightly to his waist like an octopus coiling around its prey. Because Bai Ze was naked, You Su dared not push or touch him, afraid of hurting him, and could only resort to verbal persuasion:

"You have hands and feet, can't you wash yourself?"

Neither the brother nor sister realized how extravagant it was to bathe in this priceless elixir.

"No," Bai Ze replied, "Of course."

You Su was rendered speechless by the rubbing, and could only coax softly, "Be good, wash it yourself."

"Didn't you always help me take a bath before? Why not this time?" Bai Ze raised his head, looking up at You Su with a pitiful expression.

You Su recalled that when Bai Ze was a cat, it used to lick its fur as a form of bathing, but this was dry shampooing. Putting it in water was tantamount to drinking bathwater, which he couldn't stand, so he would personally wash Bai Ze from head to toe every time.

But that was for the cat, not for this ridiculously beautiful girl right now.

"I don't want to say any more; men and women are different."

"Aren't humans and cats any different?"

You Su's lips twitched. "Anyway, you can turn into a cat, but you absolutely cannot be a human. If you don't let go, I'm going to have some family discipline."

When the topic of family discipline came up, Bai Ze finally seemed a little scared. Recalling the feeling of You Su's broad, heavy hand falling heavily, he had no choice but to reluctantly withdraw.

Even though it was a cold pool, her cheeks flushed red from soaking in it, as if someone had crushed unopened peach petals in spring.

"So a cat will do." Bai Ze still didn't give up, but he was clearly a little unhappy.

You Su actually wanted to say that even a cat wouldn't do it now, since he knew she could turn into a human and he couldn't bring himself to harm her. But seeing the girl's dejected look, he couldn't bear to refuse Bai Ze, who had just performed such a great service.

"That's right."

Before she could finish speaking, the girl turned around, and a fluffy white thing covered in milky white liquid broke through the water's surface and appeared in front of You Su.

"Then help me wash my tail... I can't reach it..."

The downy feathers, submerged in the water, brushed against You Su's waist and abdomen, which were immersed in the water, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Behind You Su's back, unseen by her, a sly glint flashed in the girl's eyes.

You Su was somewhat amused and exasperated. "Then why don't you just change back to your original state?"

"Right now, I can only transform into a tail..."

"Huh?!" You Su's first reaction was disbelief. "Why can it only conjure a tail?"

Bai Ze stammered, "I thought I was fully recovered and could transform, so I couldn't wait to do it. But I wasn't completely healed, and only a tail appeared. Now I can't retract it, and I can't fully transform..."

"Give me your hand." You Su somewhat seriously.

Bai Ze obediently offered her small hand, You Su grabbed her wrist without saying a word, and Mystic Qi seeped into her meridians to examine Bai Ze's physical condition.

You Su's brows furrowed slightly. Bai Ze's beast core was radiating a blue light, much more substantial than when he had last investigated, yet it was still gradually growing stronger, and hadn't filled up even after soaking in the Xuan Liquid Pool for so long. This suggested that Bai Ze's words were probably true, but the size of this beast core far exceeded You Su's expectations, at least equivalent to the strength of a human Feather Transformation Realm. However, Bai Ze had only been born for a few decades, making You Su extremely curious about Bai Ze's strength at its peak.

"Was your beast core always this big?"

"Yeah, it seems like it was this big when it was born. I might have eaten it." Bai Ze, like a child who had found something to brag about, turned around and asked proudly, "Don't I have a lot of talent for cultivation?"

Was it this big when it was born?

You Su was shocked, but then she thought that this kind of innate spirit might be similar to that of her senior sister, and could not be measured by ordinary standards.

You Su released his grip, his tone stern, "Since you've always been such a big eater, how could you not know whether you're fully recovered or not? I've warned you many times not to force your transformation, lest you damage your foundation and cause irreversible harm. Why are you in such a hurry to transform?"

Bai Ze was still carrying You Su on his back, but his little head drooped down, like a wilted Little Flower.

"I feel like you prefer me when I'm not human, so I want to change back as soon as possible..."

The fluffy tail swayed gently with the ripples, unconsciously brushing against You Su's chest, as if sweeping the ripples into his heart as well.

You Su pursed her lips, her voice finally softening. "I've never felt that way before. I mustn't be reckless and do foolish things again."

"Oh..." Bai Ze lay with his back to him on the edge of the pool, water droplets floating on his smooth, flawless back. "Then... could you help me wash?"

You Su's gaze faltered slightly, then she shook her head helplessly and compromised, saying, "Just wash the tail."

When the snow tail emerged from the mysterious liquid, it brought with it a shimmering silver light. Every hair was covered in milky white nectar, like a silken ribbon formed from Moon Essence spread across the water. As soon as You Su's fingertips touched the tip of the tail, the cluster of shimmering white hairs trembled, and Bai Ze unconsciously shrank his shoulders.

She seemed doubtful and turned around, "How can you wash with your eyes closed, brother?"

"If you ask again, I won't wash you," You Su coldly.

"Then I won't ask anymore..." Bai Ze said ingratiatingly, but he could hardly suppress the smile on his lips, and hurriedly turned his head back.

This liquid is milky white and opaque, making it impossible to see the underwater scenery.

However, this snow tail extends from the coccyx, at the end of the spine and the beginning of the hip line, which is quite subtle.

Just in case the impetuous girl suddenly stood up, You Su closed her eyes as a precaution.

You Su groped and grasped the fluffy tail root, and was surprised to find that the texture was even smoother than Yun Jin, as if she had returned to the time when she washed the hair of her junior and senior sisters.

He was already quite familiar with washing such furry things, treating it as if he were washing Bai Ze's hair. His ten fingers naturally seeped into the depths of the fur, as if caressing a piece of silk soaked in moonlight.

Bai Ze's small hands gripped the edge of the ice tightly, her wet eyes misty, and the way she bit her lip resembled a kitten soaked by the rain.

A tingling sensation rose from my tailbone, growing wildly like ivy, climbing up my spine to the back of my neck.

She felt a pang of regret, realizing she had underestimated the power of the tail, but she was reluctant to call a halt.

You Su was completely unaware of Bai Ze's embarrassed state, and simply ran her fingers through the snow tail, gently rubbing it.

He had only ever washed his junior sister's fake tail before, but this was the first time he had ever washed someone's real tail. He couldn't even tell whether it was normal behavior or an intimate act.

But we've already done more intimate things, so this isn't really anything special, is it...?

You Su, who no longer doubts those she deeply trusts, seems unaware that a similar scenario is playing out both in her dreams and in reality.

However, in reality, he played the role of his dream's Mistress.

When repeated attempts are approved, it gradually becomes a habit.

When identity becomes ambiguous, the distinction between them ceases to be a cold and serious shackle, instead transforming into handcuffs that are fiercely fought over by couples in the Qianhua Pavilion.

It can certainly restrain people, but it's unlikely to truly restrain them.