The next morning, when Lu Chen woke up, he was the only one left in the room.
Lu Chen touched the kiss mark on his neck. It still felt faintly warm.
He chuckled. "Even sleeping at night isn't peaceful..."
Lu Chen got dressed and left the room. Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing were already eating breakfast.
When Xiao Wu saw the faint red mark on Lu Chen's neck, her pretty face flushed. She lowered her head and continued eating the carrot bun in her hand.
Lu Chen sat down at the table and greeted her. "Zhuqing, morning."
"Morning."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded. Although she was still eating, the corner of her eye remained fixed on Lu Chen.
Just then, a soft knock sounded at the door.
Lu Chen stood and opened it. A purple figure threw herself into his arms.
Lu Chen instinctively caught Dugu Yan.
Looking at Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, he said slowly, "Yan Zi, you and Ling Ling came to see me. Is something wrong?"
Seeing how intimate Dugu Yan and Lu Chen looked together, Xiao Wu immediately grew jealous.
She dropped the bun in her hand and quickly walked over, taking Dugu Yan's arm and leading the two of them back into the living room.
After everyone sat down, Dugu Yan spoke first, probing cautiously. "Lu Chen, I'm sorry. I told Ling Ling about how you helped me resolve the flaw in my Martial Soul..."
When Dugu Yan saw that Lu Chen remained silent, her voice softened further. Her eyes reddened slightly, and she sounded almost on the verge of tears.
"Ling Ling helped me many times when my Snake Venom backfired. Every time, she did everything she could to suppress it..."
Seeing that she looked ready to cry from anxiety, Lu Chen reached out and rubbed her hair. In a gentle voice, he said, "It's fine. I know you have a sense of propriety."
Ye Lingling spoke up. "Captain... I heard that you helped Yan Zi treat the flaw in her Martial Soul. I wanted to..."
Ye Lingling hesitated, leaving her sentence unfinished.
Seeing this, Dugu Yan said, "Lu Chen, did you know that the Nine Heart Begonia also has a fatal flaw?"
"A fatal flaw?" Confusion filled Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing's eyes.
Lu Chen nodded and explained, "Only one inheritor of the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul can exist in each generation. At the same time, only two Nine Heart Begonia Soul Masters can be alive. Only when one dies can another possibly appear in the next generation. It can be said to be the Martial Soul with the fewest inheritors.
"But Heaven is fair. The Nine Heart Begonia also possesses the most supreme healing ability, and it is known as the 'Undying Begonia' in the Soul Master World."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing looked at Ye Lingling with a trace of sympathy.
Dugu Yan looked at Lu Chen. "Do you have a way to solve it?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the living room fell silent. Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Dugu Yan all turned their eyes toward Lu Chen. Even Ye Lingling raised her head, her eyes filled with anticipation and unease.
"Yes!"
Lu Chen said slowly, "I saw a stalk of Aromatic Silk Beauty in Senior Dugu's Medicine Garden. It has the ability to improve Martial Souls. If I use it as the foundation to refine a pill, it should be able to resolve Ling Ling's problem."
Ye Lingling's eyes lit up, but they soon dimmed again. After hesitating for a moment, she said softly, "Lu Chen, could I speak with you alone?"
Although Lu Chen was puzzled, he still nodded and led Ye Lingling to his room on the second floor.
Before entering, he casually left the door ajar. After all, men and women had to maintain a proper distance.
But just as he turned around, Ye Lingling reached out and gently closed the door behind him, locking it.
Before Lu Chen could react, Ye Lingling turned around and her body swayed lightly.
The next moment, her black outfit quietly slipped off. The fabric brushed softly against her skin before silently pooling at her feet, revealing her completely bare body.
A nearly perfect figure appeared before Lu Chen's eyes.
Although Ye Lingling was a Support System Soul Master, her training meant that there was not a trace of excess flesh on her body.
Her skin was smooth and fair like white jade. Her slender waist was full of elasticity, and her perfect curves extended downward, outlining breathtaking arcs.
Ye Lingling stood sideways as she looked at Lu Chen. Her pretty face was so red it seemed blood might drip from it, and her voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum.
"Lu Chen, Yan Zi said that Senior Dugu Bo has already given the Medicine Garden to you. I know how precious Immortal Herbs are. I don't have anything valuable to trade with you. I only have—"
Before Ye Lingling could finish, Lu Chen hurried over, grabbed the quilt from the bed, and wrapped it around her body.
At that moment, Lu Chen felt heat rising in his nose. His Adam's apple rolled uncontrollably from the dryness in his throat, and it seemed he was about to get a nosebleed.
He tapped Ye Lingling's smooth forehead with the index finger of his right hand and said,
"What kind of things are you thinking about? Yan Zi already agreed to it on your behalf. How could I refuse to help you? Once we return from the team's Soul Fighting match, I'll refine the pill for you."
Hearing this, Ye Lingling remembered what her grandmother had told her.
She suddenly knelt before Lu Chen and swore, "I, Ye Lingling, swear upon my Martial Soul that if Lu Chen can resolve the flaw in the Nine Heart Begonia, then my Nine Heart Begonia lineage will follow Lu Chen forever from this day onward and never betray him in this life!
"If I break this oath, may my body and soul be destroyed, never to be reborn!"
Looking at the determination in Ye Lingling's eyes, Lu Chen helped her up from the floor. "Put your clothes on first."
After saying that, Lu Chen turned his back to her.
Ye Lingling felt her cheeks burning fiercely as she hurriedly put her clothes back on.
"Done," Ye Lingling said softly.
Lu Chen turned around. His eyes instinctively swept over Ye Lingling, and the seductive scene from before resurfaced in his mind.
He felt his face growing hot and hurriedly opened the door, letting the cold air blow against his face before he could barely suppress the heat in his heart.
"I... I'll go downstairs and wait for you first."
Watching Lu Chen leave, a trace of a smile appeared on Ye Lingling's face.
Lu Chen returned to the living room. Xiao Wu looked at his unnatural expression.
She pressed herself against him and asked curiously, "Lu Chen, what did Ling Ling say to you?"
Lu Chen rubbed Xiao Wu's head and said, "Don't pry into adult matters."
"I'm not a child anymore..."
While Lu Chen and Xiao Wu were playing around, Ye Lingling came downstairs. Her steps were still slightly unnatural.
Dugu Yan sat beside Ye Lingling and asked with concern, "Ling Ling, Lu Chen agreed to help you, right?"
Ye Lingling slowly nodded. Recalling what had just happened, a faint blush spread to the tips of her ears, and even her lowered fingertips carried a trace of heat.
Dugu Yan hugged Ye Lingling and cheered, "That's wonderful!"
She and Ye Lingling had known each other since childhood. Perhaps because both of their Martial Souls had flaws, they had quickly become close friends.
Because of her Martial Soul, Ye Lingling's personality was extremely aloof. Even when she was with familiar teammates, she would choose to stand in the darkest corner of the entire room.
No emotions ever appeared in her eyes. She seemed to radiate only loneliness and desolation.
Now that the flaw in Ye Lingling's Martial Soul could also be resolved, Dugu Yan was sincerely happy for her.
Before you continue