At the thought, Dugu Yan's pretty face instantly turned so red it could滴 blood, even the tips of her ears flushed pink.
Seeing this, Ye Lingling beside her reached out with a soft hand and gently patted the back of hers.
"Yan Yan, don't be angry."
Her voice was gentle, like her healing Soul Skill, carrying a power that soothed the heart.
"I don't think he did it on purpose."
Who knew that those comforting words would be like adding fuel to the fire?
Dugu Yan whipped her head around, her beautiful eyes wide as saucers, making her look rather adorable.
"He didn't do it on purpose?"
"What, so he wanted to do it on purpose?!"
"I'm going to teach him a lesson! I'll show him that Dugu Yan isn't someone to mess with!"
Ye Lingling looked at her friend's puffed-up expression and smiled helplessly, continuing to talk her down.
Without thinking, she reached up and touched her own chest.
That day, although Lan's attack hadn't hit her directly, the fierce gust of wind that had swept past her had still left her shaken.
"Yan Yan, why don't we let it go?"
Ye Lingling said softly.
"I think he's a pretty good person."
The moment she finished speaking, the anger on Dugu Yan's face froze.
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously and examined her best friend from head to toe.
"Lingling, you're acting strange!"
There was scrutiny in Dugu Yan's tone.
"That guy was the one who knocked you off the stage, and you're actually sticking up for him?"
She leaned closer and asked, word by word,
"You... don't tell me you've fallen for him?"
Ye Lingling's heart gave a sudden thump, as if something had struck it hard.
The hand she'd been resting on her chest snapped back as if she'd been shocked. She hurriedly waved her hands, her eyes darting away.
"H-How could that be?"
A trace of panic crept into Ye Lingling's voice, and a faint blush rose on her cheeks.
"How could I fall for that guy?"
Only after seeing her best friend deny it so desperately did Dugu Yan's scrutinizing expression gradually fade. She nodded in satisfaction.
"Good."
She turned around and fixed her gaze on the koi lazily swimming in the lotus pond, her tone carrying a hint of warning.
"Otherwise, if that guy keeps coming around to bother you every day, I don't know how you'd put up with it."
Dugu Yan huffed, as if she could already picture the scene.
She sprang to her feet, her skirt swishing and stirring up a fragrant breeze.
"Lingling, come with me!"
"That bastard's in Heaven Dou City. He hasn't gone anywhere!"
Dugu Yan clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white, a blazing fire of revenge burning in her beautiful eyes.
"Come help me teach him a lesson!"
With that, she could no longer hold herself back. She stormed away, leaving only a resolute figure behind.
Ye Lingling didn't follow right away.
She remained sitting quietly on the bluestone, watching her friend's brisk figure disappear around the bend in the path.
A lush green leaf twirled as it drifted slowly down from the sky.
Without thinking, she reached out and caught it in her soft palm.
The leaf still carried the warmth of the sun.
She brought it to her lips and whispered so softly that only she could hear,
"If it's him..."
"I can put up with it."
Her gaze fell on the surface of the lotus pond. It reflected the sky—and her lonely face.
"Besides, I haven't had a single relative for a long time."
"We're both lonely people. Maybe... only he can truly understand me."
She slowly lowered her head, her eyes settling on her chest.
Her fingertips unconsciously traced the place the fierce gust had grazed during the match.
"And besides..."
"At the moment he hit me, I actually felt... a pleasure I can't describe."
"It was like a strange current of electricity surged from there and spread through my whole body..."
Just then, Dugu Yan's impatient call came from afar, interrupting her thoughts.
"Lingling! What are you dawdling for?"
"Hurry up and keep up with me!"
Ye Lingling abruptly came back to herself and quietly tucked the leaf into her sleeve, as if hiding a tremendous secret.
She stood and called back toward the voice.
"Coming, Yan Yan."
The two of them walked one after the other along the bluestone path in the Crown Prince's Mansion, heading toward the lakeside outside the city.
Dugu Yan's pent-up fury seemed to have found an outlet. She strode ahead so quickly that the wind she stirred made the flowers and grass beside the path sway.
Ye Lingling followed behind her, her steps a little hesitant.
The leaf in her sleeve still carried her body heat—and held the feelings she didn't dare speak aloud.
The closer they got to the lake, the thicker the dampness in the air became.
Soon, a wide expanse of water came into view.
Under the afternoon sun, the lake shimmered like scattered gold.
Dugu Yan's gaze swept over the water like a hawk's, quickly locking onto a spot.
She stopped dead.
Following her gaze, Ye Lingling's heart skipped a beat too.
In the water not far away stood a figure with his upper body bare, his skin gleaming with a healthy sheen beneath the sunlight and the smooth lines of his muscles brimming with strength.
Who else could it be but Lan?
Even more startling, standing beside Lan was a curvaceous woman.
She had long purple hair, and a scorpion tail could be glimpsed behind her. Her skin was fair as snow, and her features were strikingly beautiful. At that moment, she was smiling sweetly as she said something to Lan.
"How shameless!!!"
Dugu Yan gritted her teeth.
She whipped around, grabbed Ye Lingling by the arm, and pointed toward the lake. Her voice brimmed with disdain and the glee of catching someone in the act.
"Lingling, look!"
"I told you that guy was no decent person!"
"Bathing in the lake with a woman in broad daylight—and she's a beautiful Scorpion Girl, too!"
The more Dugu Yan spoke, the angrier she became, her chest heaving.
"Lechery in broad daylight! What a lecher!"
The expression on the Scorpion Girl's face only infuriated her more. She added, without even stopping to think,
"Look at that woman. For all we know, he forced her!"
Dugu Yan looked utterly disgusted, as if she'd already passed sentence on Lan.
Ye Lingling stared blankly at the scene in the lake, her mind buzzing as it went completely blank.
The figure she'd just imagined as someone who could understand her loneliness was now playing in the water with another woman.
"Could he really be that kind of person?"
In the lake, Lan's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
The Purple Scorpion Girl noticed something was wrong and asked softly,
"Master, what's wrong?"
Lan looked toward the trees screening the shore, his tone calm.
"We have guests."
Before he could say more, Dugu Yan on the bank could no longer hold back.
"Shameless lecher!!!"
With an angry shout, she burst out of the trees like a streak of green lightning.
"Jade Phosphorous Serpent!"
Her Martial Soul Possession summoned a dark-green serpent behind her. Two yellow Soul Rings and one purple Soul Ring pulsed around her as a long, emerald-green sword with a serpent's head appeared in her hand.
Dugu Yan's pretty face was flushed crimson, with anger and a trace of embarrassment at being caught in the act.
She pointed her sword at Lan in the lake and shouted,
"So you really did it on purpose at the tournament!"
"And now you're doing this here, in broad daylight!"
"I'll uphold justice!!!"
A flicker of impatience crossed Lan's eyes.
"Are you crazy?"
This woman was truly unbelievable.
Before you continue