Groping Her Breasts

Yang Guo stopped abruptly. His breath caught in his chest, and his face filled with defiance.

He was stubborn by nature. He'd grown up under people's scorn, and deep down, he refused to yield to anyone.

He raised an eyebrow and stiffened his neck. "My aunt taught me this palm technique herself. It's powerful! One strike can leave a mark in stone. How can it be wrong?"

Though he admired Lin Xuan's martial arts immensely, there was no way a boy his age would admit defeat out loud.

Lin Xuan saw him bristle and didn't get angry. He only smiled. There was no point arguing with a kid; showing him was far more effective.

He ambled over, bent down, and picked up a pebble about the size of a fingernail. Pinching it between two fingers, he said to Yang Guo:

"Watch closely."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he flicked his fingers.

"Whoosh!" A faint sound rang out.

The pebble flew slowly, almost lazily, yet to Yang Guo, its flight looked bizarrely frightening.

It traced an arc through the air, as though guided by an invisible hand. With a spiraling force behind it, it curved around and struck the exact spot on the stone wall that Yang Guo had hit earlier.

"Crack!" A sharp sound rang out.

The wall, hard enough to withstand Yang Guo's full-strength palm, had been pierced by the tiny pebble, which left a round hole about a knuckle deep!

The opening was perfectly circular, with not a single crack around its edge, as if it had been drilled with a power tool.

Yang Guo's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

He rubbed his eyes, then went over and poked a finger into the hole. The cool, smooth feel of the stone made his heart skip a beat, sending a tidal wave of shock through him.

He'd put all his strength into that palm, and all he'd managed was a faint, blurry mark on the wall. He'd made it by brute force.

But Lin Xuan had flicked his fingers so casually, and turned his strength into a needle!

The piercing power, the destructive force—it was on another level entirely.

One was a clumsy iron hammer; the other, a sharp steel needle. There was no comparison.

"See?" Lin Xuan's warm voice sounded behind him. "When you practice martial arts, it's not about how strong you are. It's about whether you're using that strength in the right place, and whether it's concentrated enough."

He came to Yang Guo's side and patted him on the shoulder.

"That palm of yours looked fierce, but seven tenths of your strength dispersed halfway through. If you could twist all ten tenths into a single cord and focus it on one point, how many times stronger do you think it would be?"

Those few words struck Yang Guo like a bolt of lightning, tearing away the fog in his mind.

He spun around, all his earlier arrogance gone. "Brother Lin, then... how do I twist my strength into a single cord?"

Seeing how eager he was to learn, Lin Xuan smiled with satisfaction, but didn't teach him outright. Instead, he left him hanging.

"There's no rushing this. You're still young and haven't seen much of the world. Your understanding of martial arts is still limited to fighting and killing. Come, let me tell you about the world outside this Ancient Tomb..."

He led Yang Guo to sit on a stone bench and began telling him about the world beyond.

He told him about Qiao Feng, leader of the Northern Beggar's Sect, whose Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms could drive even ghosts and gods away. He was bold and honorable, and everyone in the martial world respected him as "Chief Qiao"!

He told him about True Master Zhang Sanfeng of Mount Wudang, who was over a hundred years old and peerless in martial arts. Though he'd stayed away from the world for years, the martial world regarded him as a living immortal.

Lin Xuan was a gifted storyteller, bringing the jianghu vividly to life.

Yang Guo, a boy who had never seen the world, listened with his blood racing and his heart itching for more.

He wanted nothing more than to rush out of this wretched tomb and see the world Lin Xuan had described with his own eyes!

In just a few days, the two had become like sworn brothers, closer than family.

As for Little Dragon Girl, Lin Xuan had his own way of handling her.

He knew that flowery words would only profane a girl who seemed untouched by worldly concerns and make her resent him.

He never disturbed her while she practiced, and he never showed off in front of her.

He simply learned when she practiced the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra each day, then found a clean rock not far from the Cold Jade Bed where she trained, sat down, closed his eyes, and quietly regulated his breathing.

At first, Little Dragon Girl treated him like air. Her world held only her master's teachings and her training.

But as time passed, she gradually noticed something strange.

Whenever this man sat nearby, the bitter cold that had made her shiver even in her sleep for years seemed to lessen.

A faint warmth she had never felt before would rise within her normally icy body, like the gentle winter sun. It was so comfortable that even her internal energy flowed more smoothly.

Of course, Lin Xuan was doing it on purpose.

The Pure Yang True Qi cultivated through his Yin Yang Deficit Supplementation Technique was like a flame in the dark to Little Dragon Girl, who had spent years sleeping on the Cold Jade Bed. It drew her in by instinct.

"Miss Long."

That day, just as Little Dragon Girl rose from the Cold Jade Bed, Lin Xuan suddenly opened his eyes and called out to her.

Little Dragon Girl turned at the sound.

She wore a plain white dress, unstained by even a speck of dust. It set off her skin, fair as snow and smooth as porcelain.

Her figure was slender and graceful, her curves delicate. A simple white sash cinched her narrow waist, making it look as though one hand could encircle it; below it, her silhouette flowed in soft, beautiful curves.

Yet her cool, otherworldly air seemed to wrap that feminine beauty up completely. She was like a finely carved ice sculpture, meant only to be admired from afar—pure and untouchable.

Her cool, unruffled eyes, like two black opals submerged in a frozen pool, finally settled on him for the first time, carrying a hint of curiosity.

Meeting her gaze, Lin Xuan spoke slowly. "The Ancient Tomb Sect's martial arts are exquisite, especially its sword techniques, which rank among the best in the world. But to me, it seems... something is missing."

"What is missing?"

Little Dragon Girl's voice was like a jade bead falling onto an ice tray, clear and lovely, but cold. She was deeply proud of her sect's martial arts and would not tolerate a single word against them.

Lin Xuan paid no mind to her coolness and continued, "The Ancient Tomb Sect's techniques were all designed to counter the Quanzhen Sect. That's why every move carries a grudge. That resentment is the root of the art, but it has also become its greatest cage."

He watched the subtle change in Little Dragon Girl's expression, and his voice grew more solemn.

"Martial arts begin with techniques, but their true achievement lies in the state of mind they cultivate. If a style is rooted in spite, its potential will always be limited, and its practitioners will never reach the highest level. Miss Long, what do you think?"

His words struck Little Dragon Girl's heart like a hammer.

She had practiced since childhood, learning each move her master taught her, but she had never thought there could be so much behind the techniques. Lin Xuan's words fell like a boulder into the still lake of her mind.

She studied him carefully. He was not only highly skilled in martial arts; his understanding of them was profound, too.

From that day on, Lin Xuan occasionally spoke with Little Dragon Girl about martial arts. He never offered instruction outright. He simply raised questions, as a friend might.

"If you use the Heavenly Net stance against a brute ten times stronger than you, what would you do?"

These questions opened a new door for Little Dragon Girl. She began to reconsider the martial arts she had practiced for over a decade.

Her cool eyes still showed little emotion, but deep beneath that frozen lake, a trace of trust and curiosity had quietly appeared—though even she hadn't noticed it.

This man seemed... different from the "men outside" her master had warned her about.

Lin Xuan dealt with Li Mochou much more directly.

Every day or two, he summoned Li Mochou alone to a private stone chamber.

"Turn around. Bend over."

His voice was commanding and utterly devoid of emotion.

Li Mochou's body stiffened against her will. An expression of intense humiliation and resistance flashed across her cold, beautiful face.

She was a notorious female demon. When had she ever been treated this way?

Yet beneath the humiliation was a trace of sick anticipation that frightened even her.

She slowly turned around, bit her full lower lip, and obediently bent over the cold stone bed.

The pose left her curvaceous figure on display, its plump, prominent contours impossible to hide beneath her apricot-yellow robe.

The robe clung tightly to her, outlining her full, shapely backside and long, firm thighs, their beauty breathtaking in a way unique to a mature woman.

Without warning, the sharp crack of a slap broke the silence of the stone chamber, once, then again.

"Smack! Smack! Smack!"

These were no ordinary slaps. With each one, a strange, overbearing inner force—the True Qi of the Yin Yang Deficit Supplementation Technique—wormed its way into her body, burrowing into her bones.

It was not pure pain, but a storm of extreme humiliation and bizarre pleasure.

The inner force surged through her body, sometimes like needles pricking her, sometimes like jolts of electricity. She trembled all over, her senses reeling.

A tingling current shot from her tailbone to the crown of her head. Her limbs went limp, and her reason crumbled bit by bit.

It was a feeling that made her wish she were dead, then wish she were alive again.

She could only bite down hard on her lip, swallowing the moan and sob threatening to escape her throat as she struggled to preserve the last shred of dignity she had as the Crimson Training Fairy.

But her body betrayed her. Her skin flushed an alluring pink, and her breathing grew hot and ragged.

Just as she felt herself about to be swallowed by the surging waves and sink completely, the violent slaps stopped.

In their place, a warm hand settled gently against her skin through the fabric of her clothes. She was flushed and still trembling.

A pure, warm inner force flowed into her, gently soothing the meridians and body that had just been battered. It eased all her pain, leaving only a peace and comfort she had never known before.

The immense contrast between hell and heaven was driving her mad.

Just as her mind was at its most chaotic, Lin Xuan's calm voice sounded behind her, like that of a demon who controlled everything.

"Your martial arts are too scattered. They look flashy, but your foundations are unstable, and you're too bloodthirsty. You'll never amount to anything."

Li Mochou's heart quivered. She knew he was telling the truth.

"Don't you want the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra?"

The Jade Maiden Heart Sutra!

Those four words struck Li Mochou like a bolt of lightning! Ever since she had left her sect, it was the one thing she had dreamed of obtaining.

"Y-you... what do you mean?"

She abruptly sat up and turned around, heedless of her disheveled clothes. Her damp hair clung to her flushed cheeks, and her beautiful eyes fixed on Lin Xuan. Her voice trembled with excitement.

Lin Xuan looked at her radiant, alluring appearance, the corner of his mouth lifting in a smile that suggested he controlled everything.

"It's simple," he said coolly. "As long as you obey me and do your job, you'll get the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra."

Seeing the wild joy flare in Li Mochou's eyes, he added:

"Of course, that depends on how well you perform."

He had offered her an irresistible temptation, while keeping the key to fulfilling it clenched firmly in his own hand.

Li Mochou's heart was in complete turmoil.

As she looked at this unfathomable man, her hatred, murderous intent, and pride seemed as fragile as paper before the physical sensations he had brought her and the lure of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra.

She knew she had no choice.

Even while living in the Ancient Tomb, Lin Xuan hadn't forgotten Shuang'er, who was staying at the foot of the mountain.

He wrote her a letter.

He said he had run into an old acquaintance on Zhongnan Mountain and needed to take care of a few things, so he would be delayed for a while. He told Shuang'er to stay comfortably in the town below and not to worry about him.

After finishing the letter, he found a woman who was gathering firewood, gave her some silver, and asked her to deliver it to town.

Chest-Cupping

Life in the Ancient Tomb was very dull.

For Yang Guo, the place was hard to endure.

There were no seasons here, only eternal chill; no noise, only the echo of his own footsteps in the corridors.

Lin Xuan's arrival rekindled the flame of freedom in him, making it leap up with a whoosh.

These past few days, whenever Yang Guo had a spare moment, he pestered Lin Xuan to tell him about the world outside.

Lin Xuan had so many stories, it seemed they would never run out.

He told him how Guo Jing stood on Xiangyang City's walls against a rain of Mongol arrows, leading from the front and fighting until the Tartars quaked in fear. The tale of his towering, heroic spirit made Yang Guo's blood race.