Unforgettable for a Lifetime!

Jiang Ye stood in the center of the private room, his remaining reason flickering like a candle in a gale.

He struggled to resist the absurd and highly provocative scene before him, as well as the primitive agitation rising uncontrollably within his own body.

He had lived for seventy years, weathered chaotic times, and seen enough life and death to believe his heart had long been tempered into a deep, stagnant pool, incapable of ripples.

Yet, this scene before him...

Those two figures, stumbling as if they might collapse at any second, were none other than Liu Yiyi and Su Yan.

The unnatural flush on their faces had spread to their necks, their eyes unfocused; they had long since lost their usual cold composure and gentle grace, leaving only the disarray triggered by the Beauty Drunk.

The two women's breathing was no longer steady; it had become hazy and blurred under the dim lights, as if they were intoxicated.

Even though Jiang Ye prided himself on having a heart as firm as iron, he could not help but feel his mouth go dry, his throat bobbing involuntarily as he forcibly suppressed the sudden surge of heat and inexplicable palpitations.

He had never seen Liu Yiyi—a woman he had watched grow up, who in his memory was always as cold as frost and snow—wear such a vastly different expression, one capable of making any normal man's blood boil.

And Su Yan's habitual gentle smile had now transformed into a soul-stirring allure, adding even more impact to the situation.

"Kill... kill me..."

Just as Jiang Ye's mind was reeling, Liu Yiyi seemed to exhaust the last shred of her remaining clarity, squeezing these four words from the depths of a consciousness nearly drowned in delirium.

The voice was faint and intermittent, yet carried a heart-wrenching decisiveness and coldness.

It was a desperate plea to preserve her final dignity and purity amidst extreme humiliation and agony.

This sentence was like a basin of ice water; while it failed to fully extinguish the scorching air, it suddenly cleared Jiang Ye's chaotic thoughts.

Kill Liu Yiyi? That was certainly out of the question.

He could not bring himself to do it.

Then, knock them unconscious? With his current control over his internal energy, he could easily achieve that.

But the next moment, he dismissed this thought as well.

Though he was not versed in medicine, he had heard of the tyrannical nature of potent drugs like Beauty Drunk.

If he forcibly suppressed them into unconsciousness without providing a release or guidance, the violent medicinal power would have nowhere to go and would backfire, scorching their meridians and incinerating the foundation of their internal organs.

At best, their martial arts would be damaged; at worst, their lives would be at stake.

Either result ran counter to his original intention of saving them and would leave him with a heavy heart for the rest of his days.

What to do!

Cold beads of sweat quietly seeped from Jiang Ye's forehead.

He realized he had been backed into an unprecedented, hair-raising dilemma.

The only remaining solution seemed cruelly clear: use the yang to supplement the yin, guide the medicinal power, and use his own body... to save them.

But he was a seventy-year-old man...

This hardly seemed appropriate.

Jiang Ye's old face flushed crimson, his ears turning bright red.

"How could this be proper... I..."

A battle raged within Jiang Ye; his reason told him this was the only way to preserve their lives and foundations.

He stood frozen, experiencing for the first time what it meant to be so embarrassed that his scalp tingled, trapped in a position where he could neither advance nor retreat...

However, reality gave him no more time to hesitate.

The power of the Beauty Drunk had reached its peak, completely drowning out the last of Liu Yiyi and Su Yan's sanity.

The final struggle of clarity in their eyes vanished.

"Mmm..."

An unconscious, honey-sweet sound spilled from Su Yan's throat.

The next instant.

Those two figures, no longer able to restrain themselves, carried a fragrant, intoxicating scent as they lunged toward the frozen Jiang Ye like moths to a flame or entangling vines.

Jiang Ye was caught off guard—or perhaps, the hesitation in his heart had prevented him from dodging in time.

Thud!

With a soft sound, his lean yet exceptionally upright frame was struck head-on. The three of them lost their balance, falling backward together onto the soft, thick carpet of the private room.

Jiang Ye lay on his back, his pupils slightly constricted, a sigh escaping his heart.

He rose slightly to check their conditions.

"Liu Yiyi didn't drink much of the tea; the medicinal power hasn't penetrated her internal organs. If I knock her out, ice water should be enough to partially neutralize the poison."

Jiang Ye made his decision in an instant.

As for Su Yan, the drug had already seeped into her marrow and blood.

Jiang Ye could not help but sigh again, his eyes filled with helplessness.

About an hour later.

This secluded private room returned to silence, with only the faint whimpering of the lake breeze occasionally brushing through the shattered hole in the wall.

Jiang Ye straightened his aged waist and stood up with some difficulty.

He shook his head.

A look of extreme complexity flickered within Jiang Ye's aged eyes.

Even he had not expected that he, a man who had lived a solitary life for seventy years, would still encounter such a stroke of fortune in this lifetime.

Who could have imagined that the most brilliant and dazzling pearl within the Martial Academy would actually be...

If even a whisper of this matter were to leak out, let alone Anxi County, I fear the entire Zhou Kingdom's romantic chronicles and jianghu anecdotes would have to open a new page just for this old gatekeeper.

Recalling the scenes that had just unfolded...

Beyond the satisfaction and exhilaration in Jiang Ye's eyes, there was also a trace of lingering fear.

It was fortunate that the Five Animal Fist he practiced was a regimen for nourishing life; otherwise, his old bones might have truly been laid to rest here today.

This "battle" was, in truth, somewhat perilous.

"They are both martial artists with vigorous qi and blood, their constitutions far superior to ordinary women; I fear they could wake at any moment."

Jiang Ye forced himself to calm down, quickly analyzing the current situation with furrowed brows. "Once they wake, facing this scene, facing me..."

He could not even begin to imagine what would happen when Liu Yiyi's cold, icy gaze regained its clarity, or when Su Yan's gentle smile turned into shock and shame.

How should he conduct himself? Explain? Apologize? Or perhaps silently endure the potential monstrous rage and murderous intent?

"I cannot stay here."

Almost instantly, he made his decision—to temporarily retreat.

But he would not simply walk away.

For the sake of their safety, he certainly would not go far; he would hide nearby.

If anyone dared to approach this place, he would strike immediately.

Jiang Ye leaned down and, as gently as possible, dressed the sleeping Liu Yiyi and Su Yan in their clothes once more.

Afterward, he carefully inspected the damaged door and the hole in the wall, listened intently to the movements around him, and confirmed repeatedly that no outsiders would approach this secluded Water Pavilion in the short term.

With everything arranged, he took one last look at the two stunning women curled up together in deep sleep on the carpet.

His gaze lingered for a moment, especially on Liu Yiyi's face, whose elegant contours remained unmistakable even in slumber, his expression complex and inscrutable.

An absurd thought inexplicably flashed through his mind.

Cold on the outside, warm on the inside.