A Titled Douluo was fast, so Ye Yunxi decided to stop somewhere in Heaven Dou City and disappear into a crowd. Even a Titled Douluo wouldn't dare show up in public without caution.
She put on a veil, lowered her head, and began weaving through the crowd. She didn't stop until she collided with someone at a corner and knocked them down.
"Ow, ow, that hurts! How did I fall again?" Ye Yunxi clutched her sore backside. She'd been knocked over every time. Did she have some strange kind of constitution?
"Y-Young miss, are you all right?"
Ye Yunxi lifted her head and looked at the cool, aloof woman before her, whose long hair was the color of water.
When the woman saw Ye Yunxi's limpid, almond-shaped eyes, her heart immediately began to pound.
"I'm fine. I was just walking a little too fast." Ye Yunxi got to her feet and brushed the dust off her backside.
"Hmm? Are you blushing?" Ye Yunxi leaned closer.
Seeing Ye Yunxi's face so close to hers, the woman's cool features flushed red. She hurriedly tried to calm her pounding heart.
"I'm fine. And I'm very sorry for bumping into you just now."
Ye Yunxi smiled. "It's fine."
"My name is Shui Bing'er, and I study at Skywater Academy. May I ask your name?" Shui Bing'er asked politely.
"My name is Ye Yunxi!"
Apart from Qian Renxue, no one else in Heaven Dou City knew Ye Yunxi's name. Everyone only knew her as the Imperial Concubine.
"Miss Ye, why are you always wearing a veil?"
Shui Bing'er looked at the veil covering the other woman's face, curiosity stirring within her. Could the face beneath it make her heart race even more?
How could a girl be so beautiful?
"The veil is to hide my appearance."
"Could it be that you'd like to take a look, Miss Bing'er?" Ye Yunxi stepped closer, lifted Shui Bing'er's chin with a finger, and smiled faintly.
Shui Bing'er's chin was tilted up by Ye Yunxi's fingertip, cool against her skin.
Her cool cheeks instantly flushed scarlet, her earlobes turned crimson, and a faint blush crept down her neck. Her heart pounded like a war drum.
A hazy mist veiled her cool eyes. She nodded lightly without thinking, her voice barely audible. "I... I'd like to see."
Ye Yunxi's almond-shaped eyes shimmered, her gaze bewitching to the bone. She touched the edge of her veil with a fingertip, as if about to take it off.
The gauze stirred, revealing just a sliver of her delicate, ivory jawline. Her rosy lips were barely visible, and the soft, alluring curve of them made Shui Bing'er's breath catch. Her gaze went completely vacant, and the heat in her heart surged into a raging blaze.
Yet Ye Yunxi's fingertip only brushed lightly over the edge of the veil. She showed no sign of lifting it.
Her breath brushed Shui Bing'er's ear, soft and sweet, carrying the innate bewitchment of the Nine-Tailed Sky Fox.
"If you want to see so badly, Miss Bing'er, then beg me."
Shui Bing'er trembled from head to toe. Her lips pressed together, and she was too embarrassed to utter a word. Her fingers clenched the hem of her clothes.
Her cool pride crumbled beneath that bewitchment. The fire in her heart burned hotter and hotter, setting her whole body ablaze, yet she couldn't bring herself to look away.
Ye Yunxi's fingertip traced lightly across the corner of her lips. With a teasing, tender smile, she twirled a lock of Shui Bing'er's water-blue hair around her finger.
"Miss Bing'er's hair is so beautiful. Just like you, it's cool and captivating."
"Do you want to see my face that badly?"
Shui Bing'er's gaze was hazy as she nodded emphatically. Her eyes held nothing but infatuation and yearning.
Watching her flustered and thoroughly entranced, Ye Yunxi smiled. Then she swiftly withdrew her finger and pulled her veil snug again, leaving not a trace of her beauty exposed.
Shui Bing'er came back to her senses, and deep disappointment immediately welled in her eyes. Her heart felt hollow. The fire smoldered inside her, burning painfully, yet there was nothing she could do.
Just as she stood there, crestfallen, Ye Yunxi leaned in close. Her almond-shaped eyes curved into crescents, and her voice was clear and gentle.
"Good things come to those who wait."
"I'll let you see next time we meet."
With that, Ye Yunxi tapped her toes against the ground and swept away with Lingbo Microsteps. Her slender figure blurred into a shadow and vanished around the corner in an instant.
It took a long while for Shui Bing'er to react. Touching her burning cheeks, she grumbled, "That big sister's so mean. It wouldn't have hurt to let me take one look."
She'd almost gotten to see, but Ye Yunxi had left her longing for more.
Meanwhile, Ye Yunxi wanted to keep sneaking around, but Pufferfish and Snake Lance caught up with her.
"Let go of me, you two!" Ye Yunxi fumed.
"Imperial Concubine, please don't make things difficult for us. Just come back quietly."
Pufferfish and Snake Lance didn't care if they offended her. They knocked Ye Yunxi out and took her back to the Crown Prince's Mansion.
In truth, they were both quite troubled. Their master was a girl, but sometimes she really did seem to put herself in a man's shoes.
After an unknown amount of time, Ye Yunxi regained consciousness. Her limbs felt cold, and she couldn't move at all.
Looking down, she saw that her wrists and ankles were tightly bound to the four corners of an ornately carved bed. The ropes were incredibly tough.
They not only pinned her body down but completely suppressed her Soul Power as well. As she struggled, the ropes left faint red marks on her fair skin.
"You're awake?"
Qian Renxue leaned over her, her handsome face close at hand. Her fingertips playfully stroked Ye Yunxi's flushed cheek, the pads grazing her smooth skin with a cool touch.
"Did you have fun sneaking out to flirt with that pretty girl from Skywater Academy?"
Ye Yunxi trembled. Her almond-shaped eyes instantly filled with tears, and her cheeks turned scarlet.
The blush spread from her earlobes down her neck, reaching even her fingertips. She struggled to get away, but she was bound fast and couldn't move at all.
"Your Highness, I didn't..."
"You didn't?" Qian Renxue chuckled. She lifted Ye Yunxi's chin with a fingertip, forcing her to meet her gaze. Amusement practically spilled from her eyes. "I've already looked into everything. You still dare to deny it?"
Her fingertip slowly slid down, tracing Ye Yunxi's slender neck, passing over her shoulder, and lightly tickling the soft flesh at her waist.
Ye Yunxi's body instantly stiffened. She shuddered as if struck by lightning. The ticklish sensation at her waist shot up her spine to the crown of her head, leaving her limp and trembling. Tears spun uncontrollably in her eyes.
"Don't... don't touch there..." Her voice turned tearful, soft and plaintive.
"You were quite capable when you ran away. How come you can't even stand this little touch now?"
Ye Yunxi's tears finally spilled over, dropping onto the brocade pillow and leaving a damp stain. Her eyes were swollen and red, and her voice choked with sobs. "Your Highness, please don't! I'm begging you, stop! Yunxi can't take it... I really can't take it..."
Why was Qian Renxue able to find the places where she was sensitive? And had Qian Renxue inherited her mother's personality? Why did she like doing this so much?
"Call me husband, and I'll stop!"
"Pah! In your dreams."
Qian Renxue smiled. "Imperial Concubine, you really know how to change your tune. You can't even fight back, yet you're still refusing. Tell me, what if I used something to train your body..."
The more she said, the more nervous Ye Yunxi became. Her cheeks began to pale.
"You're crazy. That would break me."