Shocking the World

High up in the canopy, Qian Renxue sat cross-legged, attempting to enter a state of meditation.

By the lakeside, the two people had eaten and drunk their fill; one had gone into the tent to sleep, while the other kept watch outside, and it seemed there would be no movement for some time.

She did not want to waste time and intended to take the opportunity to cultivate for a while.

Yet for some reason, she felt restless today and could not calm her mind no matter what.

In her head, the images she had seen earlier kept playing on a loop.

Hu Liena's daring attire, her ingratiating smile, the kiss she had initiated...

And that man named Qin Chuan; he appeared ordinary, yet everything about him reeked of strangeness.

Qian Renxue opened her eyes in annoyance, abandoning her cultivation, and looked toward the lakeshore.

The campfire was still burning, but the area beside it was now empty.

Where was Hu Liena?

A sudden, ominous premonition took hold of Qian Renxue's heart.

Her gaze slowly shifted toward the blue tent.

The tent's zipper was pulled tight, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.

But Qian Renxue's eyesight was astonishing; as she focused, she could vaguely see two overlapping shadows cast upon the tent fabric.

One lay still, motionless.

The other... was slowly performing some strange movements.

Qian Renxue's breathing stalled instantly.

She saw the moving shadow seemingly in the process of removing clothing.

One piece... then another...

First, a black item, resembling leather armor, was tossed out of the tent and landed on the nearby grass, followed by a pair of men's trousers.

Qian Renxue felt as if her brain had been struck hard by a heavy hammer, leaving it buzzing.

What... what was she seeing?

Hu Liena... she was actually...

The tent began to sway slightly, in a rhythmic fashion.

Accompanying the swaying, suppressed, fragmented sounds drifted over intermittently.

There was the heavy breathing of a man, and the faint, ethereal cries of a woman.

"Mm..."

Those sounds were like red-hot needles piercing Qian Renxue's eardrums, making her body flush with heat and leaving her unable to sit still.

Sunlight filtered through the tent fabric, clearly projecting the two entangled figures inside.

One tall, one slender.

One passive, one active.

One a mortal, one a genius.

All sorts of unimaginable movements played out in turn on that small screen of light and shadow.

It was simply... simply indecent! Unbearable to look at!

Qian Renxue's face was so red it looked as if it might drip blood. She wanted to look away, but her emerald-green eyes were like they were held by a magnet, locked onto the swaying tent, unable to move even for an instant.

Her body was trembling uncontrollably.

A strange, unprecedented sensation rose from her lower abdomen and rapidly spread throughout her entire body.

It was a complex emotion, a mixture of shame, anger, curiosity, and a trace of... longing.

For the first time in her twenty years of life, she learned that men and women could do such things.

For the first time, she learned that a woman's body could be so soft, so... wanton.

Watching Hu Liena's impossibly supple body in the light and shadow, contorting into various poses, she felt the worldview she had built over the past two decades crumbling and shattering inch by inch.

A monstrous wave surged in Qian Renxue's heart.

Just as her mind was reeling and her values were being pulverized, the swaying of the tent suddenly became violent.

"Ah!"

A short, sharp cry of surprise escaped from the tent.

Immediately following, the entire tent seemed to be jerked upward by an invisible force!

Qian Renxue was startled by this sudden turn of events, and her body instinctively leaned backward.

She had forgotten that she was sitting on a branch that was not particularly thick.

"Snap!" The branch let out a crisp sound of breaking.

"Oh no!" Qian Renxue's heart skipped a beat; she tried to steady herself, but it was already too late.

She was like a kite with a snapped string, plummeting straight down from the canopy over ten meters above.

"Thud!"

The dull sound of a heavy object hitting the ground rang out with startling clarity in the quiet lakeside.

The shaking and noises inside the tent came to an abrupt halt.

"Hm? What was that sound?"

A male voice, thick with sleep and confusion, drifted out from the tent.

"I... it must be a spirit beast... It's fine! Don't be afraid, let's... let's continue..." A female voice followed immediately, though it carried a trace of uncharacteristic panic and guilt.

Qian Renxue felt as if every bone in her body were about to fall apart.

Falling from a tree only a few meters high wasn't enough to cause serious injury, but the massive impact still left her dizzy and her blood roiling.

What made her feel even more ashamed and terrified were those two sentences from the tent.

"What was that sound?"

"It must be a spirit beast, it's fine! Don't be afraid, let's continue."

Continue?! They were going to continue?!

Qian Renxue lay in the grass, burning with shame and rage, wishing she could find a crack in the earth to crawl into.

She, the dignified Student Council President of the Spirit Academy and the future successor to the Angel God, had been lurking in a tree like a peeping thief, spying on others' illicit affairs, only to fall out of the tree because she was too "invested" in the show!

If this ever got out, how could she ever face anyone again?

Qian Renxue struggled to her feet, not even bothering to brush the dirt and grass from her clothes. She scrambled on all fours behind a thicker tree, clamping a hand over her mouth and not daring to even draw a full breath.

Fortunately, the sound of "continuing" did not come from the tent again.

After a while, the tent zipper slid open, and a man with sleep-heavy eyes crawled out.

Qin Chuan rubbed his eyes and let out a massive yawn.

He felt as though he had just had a very, very long dream.

In the dream, he seemed to have turned into a fish, caught in a massive, soft, and fragrant fishing net.

The net tightened around him, making him feel both suffocated and strangely comfortable. He also dreamed he was exploring a warm, damp cave—a cave with winding, secluded paths and a hot spring inside...

In short, it was a very strange, yet... endlessly lingering dream.

"How long did I sleep?" Qin Chuan stretched, feeling his body brimming with strength, though a slight soreness lingered in his lower back.

"Not... not long." Hu Liena crawled out of the tent as well.

Her pretty face was flushed, and her eyes darted around, not daring to meet Qin Chuan's gaze. Her black leather armor was crooked, and a few rose-gold strands of hair clung messily to her sweat-dampened cheeks.

Qin Chuan looked at her, puzzled. "Nana, what's wrong? Your face is so red. Do you have a fever?"

As he spoke, he naturally reached out to check the temperature of her forehead.

"No... I'm fine!" Hu Liena recoiled like a startled rabbit, dodging his hand.

Her reaction only made Qin Chuan more confused.

But at that very moment, that intoxicating notification sound rang out in Hu Liena's mind once more.

[Congratulations to player Hu Liena for unlocking a new scene and receiving the shopkeeper's ultimate favor. Member EXP +100!]

[Congratulations to player Hu Liena for leveling up! Promoted from "Silver Member" to "Gold Member"! Current EXP: 30/1000.]

[Gold Member privileges unlocked:]

[1. Game Coin exchange amount +3 per transaction.]

[2. Daily capture attempts +3. Current limit is now 6!]

[3. Capture success rate in the "High-Tier Zone" slightly increased!]

A barrage of system notifications exploded in Hu Liena's mind like a string of firecrackers.

She... she had gone from Silver to Gold! Her EXP had jumped by a full 100 points!

Her original 30/100 EXP had been filled, and the remaining 70 points had overflowed by 30, pushing her straight into Gold status!

It was so worth it! This was a massive profit!

She looked at the man before her, who still wore a look of utter confusion, and her eyes turned incredibly fervent.

This wasn't just some mortal; he was a walking, inexhaustible treasure trove!

However, Qin Chuan remained completely oblivious to Hu Liena's transformation.

"Brother Chuan!" Hu Liena could no longer control her emotions; she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Qin Chuan's waist. "You really are my lucky star!"

Qin Chuan nearly lost his footing.

He could feel the woman in his arms trembling, not from fear, but from... extreme excitement.

"Nana, what on earth is wrong with you?" Qin Chuan was completely bewildered.

"I'm fine! I'm just so happy!" Hu Liena buried her face in his chest and muffled her reply.

Hiding behind a tree, Qian Renxue watched this nauseating scene, her stomach churning violently.

She only wanted to leave this place of trouble immediately; she didn't want to see this pair of "wretched lovers" for even another second.

It was now nearly 3:00 PM.

Qian Renxue had been crouching in the forest for several hours. She gripped the tree trunk and stood up unsteadily, preparing to slip away quietly.

But the moment she moved, a sharp pain shot through her ankle.

"Hiss..." Qian Renxue looked down and realized her left ankle had been scraped.

After tending to her injury, Qian Renxue left without looking back.