Tingyun, That Road Ahead Leads Straight to Hell

Lin Shuang thought about it. The current head of the Sky-Faring Commission was Yukong, wasn't she?

She was probably looking to ask about Abundant Doses.

After all, when she thought about it carefully, the fact that Abundant Doses had managed to place someone aboard Tingyun's starskiff was indeed quite serious.

The Sky-Faring Commission was probably feeling lingering fear over it as well.

With that in mind, Lin Shuang sent a message:

[I understand. I'll come find you in a while.]

The message had barely been sent when, before Lin Shuang could even put down her phone, the notification for Tingyun's reply sounded.

[It seems my benefactor rested well yesterday. May I ask what flavors of food you prefer? This humble woman shall make arrangements at once.]

Lin Shuang paused at the message and glanced at the time. It was already close to noon.

Could Tingyun have been waiting for her reply the whole time?

[Anything savory is fine.]

[All right~ Please wait a moment, my benefactor.]

Lin Shuang put down her phone and climbed out of bed, feeling completely refreshed.

She had been traveling for over half a month, and after giving herself a massage yesterday, she truly felt wonderful after waking up from a full night's sleep.

Of course.

After doing it herself, Lin Shuang had also experienced those blush-inducing reactions from her body.

She could not help but silently curse.

Just looking at the techniques in her mind, it had seemed like nothing more than exquisite care methods and massage techniques.

Who would have thought that once they were actually applied to the body, they would feel so good...

This skill really was adults-only.

Even an Emanator as powerful as Acheron had been massaged until her entire body convulsed. Lin Shuang herself could not hold back at all. What would happen to an ordinary person?

It was only because Acheron had such an easygoing personality. Otherwise, Lin Shuang would be worrying right now about whether Acheron might slash her into thirty-two pieces.

But if she was rewarding herself...

Then it was an exceptionally useful skill.

As she got dressed, Lin Shuang also entertained some naughty thoughts.

After all, self-satisfaction was something everyone had done before.

Although this system had not given her anything particularly proper, it was admittedly still useful in improper situations.

After getting dressed, she left the room.

Lin Shuang gently knocked on Acheron's door, but there was still no response.

Without even opening the door, she knew Acheron was most likely still asleep.

Under normal circumstances, forget knocking—just Lin Shuang opening her own door and walking closer would have been enough for Acheron to notice her hundreds of times.

Still, that left Lin Shuang somewhat confused.

Why was Acheron sleeping so deeply?

"...That's not right. I gave myself a full treatment yesterday too, but I didn't sleep this deeply. How is Acheron sleeping so soundly? Just how long has it been since she last slept?"

Lin Shuang scratched her head in confusion.

When it came to sleeping, Acheron had been unwilling to say much, so Lin Shuang had not pressed her either.

Could it be that she deliberately slept less because she tended to sleep too deeply?

Lin Shuang could not help coming up with that explanation.

Shaking her head outside Acheron's door, Lin Shuang turned and left, then quickly washed up.

Just as she finished tidying her hair and combing it smooth—

As though it had been timed with prophetic precision, the crisp and pleasant chime of the room's doorbell rang.

Lin Shuang tied her long hair into a ponytail with a hair tie as she walked over and opened the door.

Tingyun stood outside, impeccably dressed and wearing refined makeup, smiling as she held a paper bag.

Tingyun lifted the paper bag by its handles with both hands and gave it a little shake before Lin Shuang, letting the aroma of the food drift out.

"Good afternoon, my benefactor~ This humble woman brought some food for you and Miss Acheron. Would you like to try some?"

"It smells so good. Thank you. Come in, come in."

Lin Shuang inhaled the drifting fragrance. Its savory scent reminded her somewhat of the flavors in her memories.

She then stepped aside and made an inviting gesture, welcoming the smiling Tingyun into the room.

Watching Tingyun place the food on the coffee table, Lin Shuang followed behind her, eyeing Miss Tingyun's large tail as she asked:

"It's only lunch. The hotel could have delivered it. How could I trouble you to make the trip yourself, Tingyun?"

Tingyun's tail swayed in a little circle before she lightly flicked open her folding fan, concealing half her face.

She deliberately left Lin Shuang with only those expressive eyes to see.

"Oh my, you are so considerate, my benefactor. But this humble woman simply wished to see you sooner. If you do not like that, then I shall have someone else come next time."

"..."

She could not handle it. She truly could not handle it. Especially Tingyun's eyes—one look was enough to make them seem filled with endless charm.

Seeing Lin Shuang rendered speechless, Tingyun found her adorable. She quickly came over, took Lin Shuang's hand, and led her to the table, introducing the food she had brought.

"This is Melodious Lotus Root Cake. It even laughs when you bite into it, so do not be frightened, my benefactor~ And this is Spicy Beef Offal Stir-fry, savory, fragrant, numbing, and spicy. There are also buns in various flavors for the main course."

"Since I did not know whether you and Miss Acheron drink alcohol, I brought some Five Grains Jade Elixir, Scale Abyss Ice Spring, and several bottles of SoulGlad. If none of those suit your tastes, this humble woman also prepared some tea leaves and can brew you a cup of tea to cut through the richness."

As Tingyun spoke, she took the steaming dishes, clearly fresh from the stove, out of the meal boxes one by one.

Seeing these foods that seemed so familiar, Lin Shuang revealed a complicated smile.

"Tingyun, these are all foods from the Xianzhou, right?"

"Oh my, my benefactor recognized them so quickly? There are countless delicacies throughout the universe, but if you ask this humble woman what she likes most, it would still be the flavors of our Xianzhou. Today, I specially recommended some of my personal favorites. I hope you enjoy them."

Whether they were really Tingyun's favorite flavors was hard to say.

But they were clearly all suited to Lin Shuang's preferences.

After spending all of yesterday wandering around and eating, with every bill charged to the Minghuo Merchant Group, Tingyun had probably already figured out the tastes of both Lin Shuang and Acheron.

Lin Shuang picked up a bun dripping with oil and bit into it without ceremony.

The flavor of fresh meat blossomed across her taste buds, and that long-lost taste of home left Lin Shuang deeply satisfied.

There was no need for an answer. Just by looking at Lin Shuang's expression, Tingyun knew the food she had brought suited Lin Shuang's palate.

Acheron was nowhere to be seen in the room, and the hotel had not seen her leave either. She was probably still resting.

Tingyun did not disturb Lin Shuang while she ate. Instead, she quietly stepped aside and waited with a smile.

While looking around the room, Tingyun noticed some ingredients piled in a corner.

Naturally, she recognized all of those raw materials. Many of the ingredients in the fragrant balm she used to care for her own tail were among them.

The other items were also mostly things used for fur care and skincare.

Tingyun's heart stirred. Did her benefactor possess such a skill?

Yesterday, her benefactor's gaze at her tail had been rather obvious. She must really like fluffy things.

Should she use fur care as an excuse to let her benefactor touch her tail?

Tingyun, Is That Hell Ahead?

Lin Shuang sampled every dish Tingyun had brought.

With Lin Shuang's current body, if she truly wanted to, she could finish all of it by herself without any problem.

But since eating had essentially become a form of enjoyment, she thoughtfully saved half for Acheron and put it back into the boxes to keep warm.

As for Tingyun, after seeing those bottles and jars, she became curious whether Lin Shuang truly possessed skill in that area.

So Tingyun stood behind Lin Shuang and carefully examined her long hair.

Tingyun was naturally not skilled at fighting.

But when it came to reading people, that was Tingyun's specialty.

Compared to yesterday—

There were extremely obvious changes in Lin Shuang's hair and the exposed skin of her body.

There was also a very pleasant fragrance about her now.

The changes could not be called a complete transformation, but they were still enough to surprise Tingyun.

When she had first seen Lin Shuang yesterday, her hair had clearly been the sort that relied on natural gifts.

Yet it was equally clear that its owner had never cared for it properly.

But after only one night, there did not seem to be any striking changes at first glance. Still, whether it was the faint fragrance, the color, or the softness and smoothness—

The difference was obvious.

The key was!

After examining it closely, Tingyun found that Lin Shuang's white hair actually seemed even better than the fur on her own tail.

Had she neglected this because of her previous adventures?

Tingyun instinctively came up with an excuse for Lin Shuang.

Meanwhile—

After finishing up, Lin Shuang picked up a bottle of SoulGlad. As she drank, she turned around and asked:

"Tingyun, when are we leaving?"

"There is no need to hurry. Lady Yukong only wishes to personally thank you for lending your aid, my benefactor."

As she spoke, Tingyun's tail swished back and forth through the air behind her, and she said with a smile:

"Speaking of which, I noticed the ingredients my benefactor requested. Could it be that you also have knowledge of tail care?"

Lin Shuang froze for a moment. The things piled in the corner were mainly leftovers she could not use all at once.

"Yes, I know a little. I had nothing to do yesterday, so I requested some things and mixed a little ointment for myself. I tidied up my hair a bit."

She had originally planned to use the leftovers to make several more ointments and essential oils to carry with her, so she could treat herself every now and then.

She had not expected Tingyun to notice them.

The moment Tingyun heard Lin Shuang's answer, she became interested.

"I noticed that your hair has become much more beautiful today, my benefactor. No wonder you kept staring at this humble woman's tail yesterday. So that was why."

"Ah, yes... Tingyun's tail is cared for quite well too."

Now that she had professional knowledge, Lin Shuang could clearly see that the tail fur she had found so soft and fluffy yesterday still had room for improvement.

It could become even better—softer, smoother, and fluffier.

Her master-level skill made Lin Shuang's hands itch. She wanted nothing more than to immediately get to work on it and turn it into the ideal appearance in her eyes.

But reason still restrained Lin Shuang's hands from acting rashly. Although she had indeed wanted to touch Tingyun's tail before, Tingyun was not familiar with her after all.

And these hands of hers were rather outrageous. If she really touched it, who knew what it might turn into?

But who was Tingyun?

The moment she heard that tone, she knew that in Lin Shuang's eyes, her tail care was probably only "passable."

Saying it was "quite good" was usually a polite way of saying that one was unimpressed but did not want to embarrass the other person.

Thinking that way instead made Tingyun curious.