In the quiet room, only the girl's slightly hurried breathing proved she was there.
Lin Yan silently held her a little tighter...
"You don't need to worry about Mubai. When the time is right, I'll explain things to him."
"You don't need to feel guilty about this."
Lin Yan did feel somewhat guilty toward Dai Mubai.
But things had come to this. He had no choice but to play the villain, and he wouldn't make excuses about how the two of them had never been on good terms just to deceive himself and Zhu Zhuqing.
What was done was done, and the outcome was already set. All he could do was look for a chance later to find some benefits for Dai Mubai.
Lin Yan continued comforting Zhu Zhuqing.
"Don't be sad. I know I was in the wrong."
"But I didn't want things to happen this way either. On the one hand, I would have died if I hadn't done it; on the other, I really had lost all reason at the time."
"What about now...?"
Zhu Zhuqing suddenly spoke...
Lin Yan was stunned. "What do you mean?"
"Didn't you say you lost control just now because of the Evil Fire? Then what are you doing now?"
At her words, Lin Yan suddenly stopped.
Only then did he realize that the connection between their Martial Souls was still in place.
"I..."
Lin Yan didn't know what to say. He couldn't read minds, after all. He could feel Zhu Zhuqing's heart, but he couldn't guess what she was thinking.
But since she'd put it that way, he'd better not give in to a fleeting impulse.
With an apologetic look, he quietly drew back a little. The two of them, lying side by side on the bed, were no longer pressed together, and the connection between their Martial Soul Fusion Skill had broken completely.
The sudden separation caught the girl unprepared, and she let out a muffled groan...
At the same time, though it might have been his imagination, when Zhu Zhuqing felt him move away, it seemed she was searching for something...
He could tell, if only faintly, from the way her body kept leaning toward him.
Lin Yan clearly sensed the girl's anxiousness, and little by little, he found his answer...
The next moment, his Martial Soul appeared again, and several strands of Blue Silver Grass quietly emerged.
Lin Yan said nothing. Instead, he guided life-attribute Soul Power through the blades of grass and into the girl's meridians.
Zhu Zhuqing immediately covered her mouth tightly, doing her utmost to endure without making a sound.
"Let's be together, Zhuqing."
At this crucial moment, Lin Yan made his most heartfelt confession.
"Mm..."
The girl didn't answer. She only gave a soft hum in the brief pause, and it was hard to tell whether it came from exhaustion and relief or was a response to Lin Yan.
But by then... none of that mattered.
A long while passed. Not until a faint, oxygen-starved dizziness made her begin to tremble uncontrollably did Lin Yan finally loosen his arms, which had been wrapped tightly around her.
By then, Zhu Zhuqing had gone completely limp in Lin Yan's arms, like a rag doll.
In the night, the girl's breathing came in trembling gasps and took a long time to settle.
[Zhu Zhuqing Affection: 100%!]
[The "Zhu Zhuqing Exclusive Reward Pack" has been issued. Please claim it when ready.]
While Zhu Zhuqing was distracted, Lin Yan stole a glance at the system panel. Only then did he realize that, at some point, her affection for him had reached 100%.
He didn't rush to open the reward pack. While she was too exhausted to resist, he wanted to bring them closer still.
"No, it's been too long. If I don't go back now, Rongrong and Xiao Wu might come looking for me."
"We can't go on."
The girl's words were a refusal, but her physical resistance was faint.
Whether she had no strength left or something else was hard to say...
Lin Yan realized what was going on and paused.
That was true. Zhu Zhuqing had been away all day. If Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu really got impatient and came here, that would be bad.
After all, they couldn't let their relationship out in the open yet. First, it would be hard to explain things to Dai Mubai; second, it would be hard to explain things to Dai Mubai...
"Then let me treat you a little more."
Lin Yan spoke gently, wrapping the blades of grass around her pale body. They tightened against her, leaving suggestive curves, and he couldn't help applying a little more pressure.
Afterward.
Zhu Zhuqing began searching the floor for her clothes, and Lin Yan helped her look.
Things had been so urgent earlier that he'd simply torn them open by force. Fortunately, her clothes had buttons and zippers, and though they were slightly misshapen, she could still wear them.
But...
"Do you have another pair of stockings?"
Lin Yan held a shred of fabric that was beyond repair, looking a little embarrassed.
Zhu Zhuqing glanced over. When she saw what he was holding, her cheeks flushed slightly.
"They're all in the dorm..."
"Right. You don't have a Storage Soul Tool yet."
"Don't wear these. It's so dark out; they probably won't notice."
"Mm." Zhu Zhuqing answered softly, then seemed to remember something. "By the way, the grass..."
"Hmm?" Lin Yan looked up in surprise, wondering if he'd heard her wrong.
Seeing his reaction, Zhu Zhuqing hurried to explain.
"No, I came to ask you for grass... blades."
"The kind you gave Ning Rongrong yesterday."
"Oh! You scared me."
Lin Yan let out a breath of relief. He'd thought she meant what he'd been thinking. Then he summoned his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and began making blades infused with life energy in his palm.
"Make a few more. Xiao Wu needs some too."
"Sure."
"Are these enough?"
Lin Yan held out a handful of Blue Silver Grass—about a dozen strands—to Zhu Zhuqing.
"That's enough." Zhu Zhuqing took the grass and headed for the door. "I'm going, then..."
"Wait." Lin Yan scratched his head awkwardly. "It's just... my Second Martial Soul..."
"We'll talk about it later."
With that, Zhu Zhuqing's pretty face reddened. She turned, opened the door, and disappeared into the night.
The room grew quiet again. Aside from the suggestive scent in the air and the bedsheets stripped of their former appearance, everything was as it had always been.
Lin Yan slumped onto the bed.
"Phew~"
"That feels better."
He hadn't expected that releasing the Evil Fire would leave his meridians feeling so refreshed. For six whole years, even though the Evil Fire had never erupted, he'd always felt as if there were a foreign force inside him.
Until today...
"No wonder Fatty loves visiting the pleasure quarters. Now I see—this is the kind of thing you either do zero times or countless times!"
Lin Yan chuckled, feeling lighter than he ever had.
After basking in his good mood for a while, he finally remembered to open the system panel.
A pale blue screen appeared. A line of small text at the bottom was flashing, as if to remind him.
[Reward Available: Zhu Zhuqing Exclusive Reward Pack]
Lin Yan didn't hesitate.
"System, open the pack."
"Let's see what good stuff is in here, and what kind of Talisman ability Zhu Zhuqing can get."
Before you continue