Night gradually deepened, moonlight spilling over the two figures embracing each other.
Lin Yuan lowered his head to look at the docile Gu Yue Na in his arms, his purple eyes full of tenderness that could not be dissolved. "Sister Nana, I actually wanted to do this long ago—ever since I started missing you every day at the academy."
Gu Yue Na buried herself against Lin Yuan's chest, listening to his steady heartbeat as the corners of her lips quietly curled upward. "I seem to remember that other girls used to cling to you at the academy? I also heard you were quite popular at the human academy." There was a faint, barely perceptible jealousy in her tone as she lightly poked his waist.
Lin Yuan laughed and caught her mischievous hand, bringing it to his lips for a gentle kiss. "What girls? There was only a bunch of little followers clamoring for autographs. Besides, Sister Nana is the only one in my heart. How could anyone else catch my eye?" He deliberately paused, leaning close to her ear as his voice dropped. "And besides, who is as beautiful and gentle as Sister Nana?"
"You only know how to sweet-talk me. The Auspicious Beast, Biji, Zi Ji, and that little one sharing your dormitory—I don't believe Xiao Yuan couldn't tell she was a girl?" As Gu Yue Na spoke, her finger lightly traced circles against Lin Yuan's waist. Her tone was teasing, but understanding laughter hid in her eyes. "Those pink-blue eyes, the way her voice unconsciously softened at the end of her sentences, and the way her ears secretly turned red whenever you approached—what part of that looks like a boy? Only you, knowing perfectly well while pretending not to, could call her Little Dong'er so naturally every day."
Lin Yuan froze for a moment, then laughed and reached out to smooth Gu Yue Na's hair. "Nothing can be hidden from Sister Nana. I figured it out long ago, but she didn't want to say anything, so there was no need for me to expose her." He paused, recalling how Wang Dong would always rush to help him fend off girls expressing interest, and how she would quietly shift her pillow closer to his at night. The smile on his lips softened further. "Besides, having a sharp-tongued but soft-hearted little deskmate around made academy life less boring."
"Sharp-tongued but soft-hearted?" Gu Yue Na looked up at him, mischief gleaming in her eyes. "Then why did I hear that she specifically applied to share a dormitory with you, saved you a seat every day, and fought for braised pork at the cafeteria?" She reached out and pinched Lin Yuan's cheek, deliberately letting a hint of jealousy enter her voice. "It seems that when I wasn't around, Xiao Yuan certainly wasn't lacking company."
Lin Yuan caught her troublesome hand and gently rubbed it in his palm. Her reflection filled his purple eyes, and his expression was utterly serious. "No matter who keeps me company, they can't compare to Sister Nana." He leaned down until his forehead rested against hers, his warm breath brushing over her lips. "She is a friend, but you are Sister Nana—the one I want to keep by my side forever. That has never been the same."
Gu Yue Na's heartbeat suddenly skipped half a beat, and the blush at the tips of her ears quietly spread to her cheeks. She gently pulled free from Lin Yuan's hand, only to wrap her arms around his neck in the same motion. Her fingers hooked around the silver ribbon in his hair, and her voice softened. "You're the only one who can talk like that." Despite her words, she could not hide the smile in her eyes, and even the aura around her grew gentler.
The night breeze carried the moisture of the Lake of Life as it lightly brushed over their embracing figures. Seeing the reddened tips of Gu Yue Na's ears, Lin Yuan could not resist pecking the corner of her lips again. A trace of slyness entered his voice. "So, does Sister Nana believe me or not? If not, I wouldn't mind proving it again."
"Stop fooling around." Gu Yue Na lightly pushed him away and turned to open the wooden cabin's door. Her silver-white skirt swept across the ground with a soft rustle. "It's cold at night. Let's go inside. Otherwise, when Ice Empress wakes up tomorrow and sees us lingering at the door for so long, she'll probably complain that you're too clingy again."
Lin Yuan followed with a smile, casually closing the wooden door behind them and shutting out the night and its cool breeze. The glazed lamp on the low table by the window gave off a warm glow, making Gu Yue Na's profile seem even softer. He stepped forward and gently wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder as he spoke in a muffled voice. "I don't care if she complains. I only want to cling to Sister Nana."
Gu Yue Na's body stiffened slightly before relaxing. She raised a hand to cover his hands around her waist, her fingers gently interlacing with his. "I know." After a pause, she turned her head to look at him, her eyes full of tenderness. "But when we go back, you can't be this clingy. After all, you still have to bring along your little loli bodyguard and deal with that sharp-tongued but soft-hearted little deskmate."
"That's different." Lin Yuan tightened his arms and buried his face in the crook of her neck, greedily breathing in her scent. "In front of them, I'm the class monitor, someone who has to hold things together. But in front of Sister Nana, I just want to be Xiao Yuan again—the Xiao Yuan who can act spoiled."
The firelight flickered over their clasped hands, and even the air seemed infused with a sweet warmth. Gu Yue Na said nothing more. She merely patted the back of Lin Yuan's hand, letting him hold her as they enjoyed this rare, peaceful time that belonged only to the two of them beneath the warm yellow light.
At dawn, sunlight streamed through the cabin window and fell upon the two sleeping in each other's arms.
Lin Yuan woke first. The crisp fragrance from Gu Yue Na's hair lingered around his nose, while the soft warmth of her waist still remained in his palm. He carefully moved his arm away, afraid of waking the sleeping woman in his embrace. Gu Yue Na's silver hair lay scattered across the pillow, her long lashes casting faint shadows beneath her eyelids. Without her usual cool detachment, she seemed to possess a rare serenity.
Lin Yuan quietly got out of bed and walked to the window, pushing open the wooden shutters. The morning mist over the Lake of Life had yet to disperse, and moist air carrying the fragrance of grass and trees poured in. A few soft cries of soul beasts sounded in the distance, sending ripples through the morning stillness. He leaned silently against the window, his fingers unconsciously tracing its edge, his purple eyes filled with gentleness. The tenderness of last night, wrapped around the peace of this moment, made even his breathing lighter.
"Up so early?" Gu Yue Na's slightly hoarse voice came from behind him, carrying the laziness of someone who had just awakened. When Lin Yuan turned around, she was propping herself up in bed. Her silver-white nightgown had slipped from one shoulder, revealing a small patch of fair skin, while a faint mistiness still lingered in her eyes.
"Did I wake Sister Nana?" Lin Yuan returned to the bedside and reached out to tuck her scattered silver hair behind her ear. His fingertips accidentally brushed her earlobe, making her shiver faintly. "The morning view at the Lake of Life is beautiful."
Gu Yue Na chuckled, caught his wrist, and pulled him down to sit at the bedside. "No matter how beautiful it is, it's not as interesting as how clingy you are." Her fingertips traced the Dragon Mark Seal on the back of Lin Yuan's hand, her tone teasing. "Yesterday, you said you had to be a class monitor who held things together, but after falling asleep, you hugged me like a child afraid of being abandoned."
Lin Yuan did not argue. He simply leaned closer until his forehead rested against hers, his warm breath brushing over her lips. "Why pretend to be mature in front of Sister Nana?" He raised a hand around her waist and gently enclosed her in his embrace. "Besides, sleeping while holding you is far more comfortable than sleeping on those hard beds at the academy."
Gu Yue Na laughed at his blunt words and lightly pinched his waist, her voice carrying indulgent reproach. "You really know how to talk. No matter how uncomfortable the academy was, didn't you endure it for a year?" She leaned against Lin Yuan's shoulder, feeling the warmth radiating from the young man as gentle ripples filled her eyes. "But now that you're back, I'll let you properly relax for this month."
Lin Yuan looked at the docile Gu Yue Na in his arms and gently brushed through her silver-white hair, his voice full of contentment. "With those words from Sister Nana, I'd be willing to spend this entire month sitting before the cabin and looking at the lake." The moment he finished speaking, a faint sound suddenly came from outside, accompanied by the delicate clinking of ice crystals.
The two exchanged a glance, and a smile flashed through Gu Yue Na's eyes. "It seems your little loli bodyguard is awake."
Lin Yuan chuckled and released her, casually helping Gu Yue Na straighten the slightly rumpled collar of her nightgown. His tone was teasing. "Perfect. Let's see whether my bodyguard has been slacking off."
When the two walked out of the cabin side by side, they saw Ice Empress standing by the lake. Her emerald-green hair was still tied into twin ponytails, though the tips were dotted with morning dew. The chill around her was much gentler than yesterday's, and the drop of Dragon God Blood Essence in her palm had vanished, clearly having been completely refined.
When she saw Lin Yuan and Gu Yue Na emerge, Ice Empress's amber eyes brightened, but she deliberately turned her face away with a cold expression and kicked at the gravel by her feet. "You're awake? I thought you two would sleep until noon."
"My bodyguard is certainly diligent. You didn't secretly slack off while I was sleeping in." Lin Yuan walked over, gathering a wisp of wind element at his fingertips and gently brushing away the dew from Ice Empress's hair. "How did the refinement of the blood essence go? Nothing went wrong, right?"
Ice Empress's ears warmed slightly. She instinctively tilted her head aside but did not dodge the warm breeze. She clenched her hand, her voice stiff but unable to conceal her delight. "It... it was fine. My realm has stabilized, and even my cultivation has improved." Her words were brief, but the light in her eyes could not deceive anyone. The effect of the Dragon God Blood Essence had far exceeded her expectations. Not only had it cleansed impurities from her bloodline, it had also increased her cultivation by nearly fifty thousand years after her breakthrough.
Gu Yue Na stood to the side, watching their interaction with a faint smile at the corners of her lips. She stepped forward and lightly tapped the air with her fingertip. A band of luminous white light descended onto Ice Empress. "The refinement was very thorough. The dragon power has fused well with your origin, so there is no need to worry about backlash for the time being."
Ice Empress gave Gu Yue Na a slight nod, her tone far more respectful. "Thank you, My Lord." Before this true sovereign of the soul beasts, she always maintained reverence, unlike the awkward stubbornness she showed toward Lin Yuan.
"Sister Nana, can you help me open up a True Space within the Dragon God's Heart?" Lin Yuan turned to Gu Yue Na and asked.
At his words, understanding flashed through Gu Yue Na's eyes. With a slight lift of her fingers, divine power flowed around Lin Yuan's wrist like water and followed his meridians into his Sea of Consciousness. She could clearly sense the Dragon God's Heart floating at the core of his consciousness. It radiated a gentle yet vast nine-colored glow, like a microscopic embryonic universe containing endless spatial potential.
"Opening a True Space isn't difficult, but it requires your Dragon God Bloodline as the catalyst. Your spiritual power must be deeply linked with the Dragon God's Heart to make the space stable and under your sole control." A luminous white glow gathered in her palm as a rune containing the laws of space slowly took shape. "Relax your mind and follow my guidance. Pour Dragon God Power into this World Seal. It will become the space's central core."
Lin Yuan closed his eyes at her words. The Dragon God's Heart suddenly boiled, and golden dragon blood surged through his veins to his fingertips, intertwining with Gu Yue Na's divine power. The instant the World Seal came into contact with the Dragon God Bloodline, it erupted with dazzling radiance and transformed into a streak of light that shot into his Sea of Consciousness, embedding itself precisely in the center of the Dragon God's Heart.
The next second, Lin Yuan felt a faint tremor in his mind, as though a new heaven and earth were quietly unfolding.
He could see that, with the World Seal as its center, layers upon layers of spatial folds were emerging inside the Dragon God's Heart. Soil, vegetation, and streams condensed out of nothingness. Even the air carried the moist fragrance of grass and trees—the exact same scent as the Lake of Life.
"It's done." Gu Yue Na withdrew her divine power, a faint residual warmth still lingering at her fingertips. "This space is only a hundred zhang across for now, but it will expand as your cultivation grows. As long as Xiao Yuan wishes, you can even move spiritual herbs and lake water from the outside world into it and create a small world of your own."
Lin Yuan opened his eyes, fine spatial patterns reflected within his purple pupils. He made a grasping motion, and a small nine-colored key appeared in his palm out of thin air. It was the key that opened and closed the space. He tried sinking his consciousness into it, and in an instant, he was "standing" within that newly formed space. Soft grass stretched beneath his feet, and a small lake glowing faintly lay in the distance. Even the wind carried a familiar warmth.
"With this Dragon God's Minor Plane, it'll be much more convenient to take my little loli bodyguard along when I go out." He grinned and waved the key in his hand, turning toward Ice Empress with mischief in his eyes. "If you make me angry from now on, I'll lock you inside and make you reflect while staring at the lake."
Ice Empress widened her amber eyes, and cold air rose around her again. Yet unlike before, she did not argue. She merely muttered, "You only know how to bully me."
Her words were tough, but her ears quietly reddened. She had clearly sensed that a frozen plain filled with cold energy had been specially left within that space, obviously prepared just for her.
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