Can't Even Kiss When Dating?

Qian Renxue opened her eyes, her face flushed completely red, yet her gaze did not waver.

She stood up, braced her hands against the desk, leaned forward slightly, and spoke each word with deliberate emphasis.

"I will marry you."

The study was so quiet that one could hear the crackling of the candle flames.

Lin Jiang's mouth hung open; it took several turns of his brain to fully digest that sentence.

Qian Renxue stared at him, waiting for his answer.

After waiting a moment without receiving one, she added, "Or you can marry me, that works too."

Lin Jiang finally closed his mouth, leaned against the doorframe, and looked at her.

Qian Renxue felt uncomfortable under his gaze and turned her face away, the roots of her ears burning red.

Yet, she still stubbornly insisted, "What? You aren't willing?"

Lin Jiang couldn't help it; he laughed.

"I'm willing."

Qian Renxue froze for a second, then whipped her head back around.

"Really?"

"Really." Lin Jiang nodded, "However..."

Qian Renxue's heart tightened again: "However what?"

"Isn't it a bit too early to get married now?"

Qian Renxue stared at him for three seconds, lifted her chin slightly, her tone carrying a streak of unreasonable stubbornness.

"I want to get married right now~"

Lin Jiang was stunned once more.

Qian Renxue braced her hands on the table, leaning forward, her long golden hair sliding off her shoulders, her eyes burning as she stared at him like a little leopard eyeing its prey.

In that gaze, there was anticipation, nervousness, and a tiny hint of a threat: Just try saying no.

Lin Jiang found himself unable to handle her stare and scratched his head.

"How about this, you... be my girlfriend first?"

Qian Renxue blushed and turned her face away: "That works too..."

Internal thought: Does becoming a couple mean we can practice dual cultivation? As long as I don't tell Grandfather and the others, it should be fine...

She bit her lip, chased those chaotic images out of her mind, put on a stern face again, and picked up the teacup on the table.

"Then it's settled~"

She took a sip of tea, her tone light and breezy, as if the person who had been blushing to the roots of her hair just a moment ago wasn't her.

Lin Jiang leaned against the doorframe, watching her forced composure, unable to suppress the corners of his mouth.

"Fine, my dear Xue'er."

The hand Qian Renxue used to hold the teacup paused slightly.

My dear Xue'er.

The four words circled in her mind, and her heartbeat instantly shifted from a stroll to a hundred-meter sprint.

Her face was so hot it could fry an egg; she lowered her head, pretending to study the tea leaves in her cup.

Lin Jiang watched the thin layer of red blooming on her exquisite profile and couldn't resist teasing her.

"Do you want a kiss?"

Qian Renxue looked up abruptly, nearly dropping the teacup.

"You... hooligan!"

"Are we not allowed to kiss while dating?"

"I..." Qian Renxue opened her mouth, realizing she truly had no reason to refuse, and her face turned even redder.

Lin Jiang took a step toward her.

Qian Renxue subconsciously retreated, the legs of her chair scraping against the floor with a soft sound.

Lin Jiang took another step closer.

"Hmm? Still hiding from me?"

He lunged forward suddenly, and before she could react, his lips were already pressed against hers.

Soft. Warm. Carrying a faint fragrance.

Qian Renxue froze in place, her mind a complete blank.

The temperature on her face burned from her neck all the way to the top of her head; she felt as if her face were about to catch fire.

She instinctively reached out and gave him a push.

Lin Jiang stepped back half a pace, a smile playing on his lips.

"Xue'er's mouth is truly sweet."

Qian Renxue lowered her head, her fingers gripping the teacup until her knuckles turned white.

Her ears were as red as if they were dripping blood, and even her neck was stained with a layer of pink.

"Bad egg... hurry up and leave, go on..."

Her voice trembled, the tone of her dismissal as soft as a coquettish plea.

Lin Jiang stood his ground, unmoving. "You're just going to make me leave like this?"

Qian Renxue looked up and glared at him, her eyes filled with a mix of shyness and annoyance, watery and devoid of any real lethality.

"Who knows what else you're planning? Go get what you came for and get out."

Lin Jiang shook his head with a laugh.

"Fine, I'll come find you again next time."

He walked to the door and glanced back at her.

"Don't you dare dodge when I kiss you next time."

Qian Renxue grabbed a memorial from the table, ready to hurl it at him, but Lin Jiang had already slipped out the door, his laughter drifting in from outside.

The door clicked shut.

Qian Renxue held the memorial aloft, frozen in place.

After a long while, she slowly placed the memorial back on the table, cupped her burning face in her hands, and buried her head against the desk.

"Bad egg..."

She muttered, burying her face in the crook of her arm.

Yet, she couldn't suppress the corners of her mouth from curling upward.

Lin Jiang returned to Dugu Manor and pushed the door open; the courtyard was deathly quiet.

Dugu Yan had finally gone to school.

Finding a rare moment of peace, he walked into the guest room, closed the door behind him, and dumped the storage ring Qian Renxue had given him onto the table.

Clatter, clatter—

A pile of various metal ores covered half the table, while soul beast bones, crystal cores, and rare woods scattered across the floor.

Collector-grade Lightning-Struck Wood, Millennium Cold Iron from the Heaven Dou imperial treasury, several high-quality Soul Power Crystals, and a heap of items he couldn't even name.

Lin Jiang stared at the pile of materials, his mouth twitching.

Just how much stuff had she stuffed into that ring?

He rolled up his sleeves and pulled the Golden Dragon Carving Knife from his own storage ring.

The golden blade flashed an arc of light in the sunlight, the ruby at the dragon's eye glowing faintly, as if in excitement.

The methods for crafting Soul Tools surged automatically through his mind.

With his mastery of God-tier Soul Tools, it wasn't just about knowing how to make them; every technique, every procedure, and the properties of every material were etched into his brain.

Lin Jiang weighed the carving knife and sat down at the table.

"Let's get to work."

For half a day, he didn't even stop for a drink of water.

The Golden Dragon Carving Knife sliced through metal like tofu, carved patterns like drawing a picture, and inscribed soul power circuits in a single pass, saving him even the trouble of polishing.

Lin Jiang's hand speed grew faster and faster, and the finished products piled up on the table one after another.

By the time the materials were exhausted, the sun was hanging high outside the window; it had taken less than half a day.

Lin Jiang placed the final finished piece on the table, stretched his aching wrists, and looked at the table full of Soul Tools, letting out a long breath.

"With these things, I might be able to handle high-age soul beasts all on my own."

He began putting the finished items into his storage ring one by one.

As he collected them, his movements slowed.

"But now, how am I supposed to find a suitable soul beast?"

The forest was vast, and soul beasts over ten thousand years old were hidden deeper than one could imagine.

If he went in alone, he might run into one in a few days if he were lucky, but if his luck were poor, he could wander for half a month for nothing.

Lin Jiang sat back in his chair, his fingers tapping against the tabletop.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.

"How about... trying to bind a soul beast to the Simulator?"

His eyes lit up.

"I wonder if there would be any relevant rewards."

The more he thought about it, the more he felt this direction had potential.

The Simulator had already bound Xiao Wu, so binding a soul beast should be feasible as well.

There were plenty of soul beasts with high destiny values.

The Sky Azure Bull Python, the Titan Giant Ape, and those old fellows deep within the Star Dou Great Forest.

If he could let them simulate and have the rewards returned a hundredfold...

Lin Jiang rubbed his hands together, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward.

"System—"

[Present.]

"Can soul beasts be bound?"

[The Simulator's distribution of items is not limited to humans. Any individual possessing independent consciousness can be bound.]

Lin Jiang was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Alright. Then the next target will be chosen from the soul beasts."

He leaned back in his chair and began to calculate.

The Titan Giant Ape? The Sky Azure Bull Python?

Both of them eventually followed Tang San and became god officials.

Lin Jiang rolled over, making the chair creak and groan.

"I need to think this through carefully..."