Moon Goddess: No Matter How Impressive You Are, Yan Fei, You Still Have to Drink My Foot Bathwater

"Look at the map! You're going the wrong way! A little above the Tropic of Cancer..."

"Why is the Soul Power barrier around this ancient ruin so thick...!"

Two hours slipped by in the blink of an eye.

When the bathroom door opened again, Moon Goddess emerged carrying Zhao Linchuan, who was wrapped snugly in a roomy bathrobe and seemed too lazy to even wiggle a finger.

Her own long hair hung damp and loose, a blush still lingering on her cheeks. Her eyes were dewy and hazy, and a deeply satisfied smile curled her lips, as though she'd stolen a taste of honey.

Her legs seemed a little weak, but she was in remarkably high spirits.

She carefully laid Zhao Linchuan back on the bed, let him rest his head on her lap, then picked up a soft, dry towel and gently rubbed his still-damp hair.

Her movements were impossibly tender.

"Little man~ You were wonderful~" She lowered her head and planted a light kiss on his sweat-damp forehead, her voice so sweet it could drip with honey.

Zhao Linchuan was too exhausted to even lift his eyelids. He only murmured a vague "Mm" in reply.

A good while later, as though he'd just remembered something, he asked in a voice thick with fatigue,

"Moon Goddess... Didn't you say earlier that you wanted to ask me for... something? What... did you want?"

Moon Goddess's hands paused briefly as she dried his hair. Then an even more captivating smile bloomed at the corner of her lips.

She leaned down, bringing her soft, warm lips close to his ear, and whispered, "Husband~"

Drawing out the word with boundless satisfaction and tenderness, she said, "I've already... got what I wanted~"

"Hm?" Zhao Linchuan mumbled drowsily, not quite hearing her.

"Get some good rest~" Moon Goddess didn't explain. She only gently patted his back, as if soothing a child. "I'll wake you... later~"

"Then I'll... rest..." Zhao Linchuan mumbled vaguely before his consciousness sank into darkness.

Yet his mind didn't immediately fall asleep. Instead, it sank into the system space that only he could reach.

As soon as he entered, a clear system notification appeared before his "eyes."

['Moon Goddess's' affection and dependence on the host have exceeded the system-binding threshold. Her Loyalty value has undergone a qualitative change.]

[Current Loyalty: 100 (locked; will never decrease).]

[Would you like to remove the system's initial Loyalty control module for 'Moon Goddess'? Warning: After removal, her actions will be based entirely on her own will.]

Looking at the notification, Zhao Linchuan's consciousness fell silent for a moment.

A full Loyalty score of 100 meant that Moon Goddess's feelings for him had surpassed every external factor—self-interest, fear, dependence, and all the rest—becoming an unconditional sense of acceptance and belonging that came from the depths of her soul.

Those feelings might have been a tangled mix of love, adoration, habit, and the complicated emotions of seeing each other as their only source of support. But there was no doubt they had become so firmly rooted that they no longer needed any outside force to restrain them.

Remove it. Zhao Linchuan made his decision in silence.

A true bond shouldn't be built on the system's coercion.

[Command confirmed. The Loyalty control module for 'Moon Goddess' has been removed. All her future actions and emotions will be guided entirely by her own will.]

In the outside world, on the bed in the luxurious suite,

Moon Goddess was gently stroking Zhao Linchuan's back when her delicate body suddenly trembled.

A subtle sensation rose from the deepest part of her soul, as though ice were melting and shackles were breaking.

That feeling of constraint—the invisible thread that had seemed to exist ever since she'd arrived in this world, faintly restraining some of her more extreme thoughts—had vanished.

She froze for an instant. Then her dewy eyes suddenly blazed with a mixture of joy, emotion, and a glimmer of something too complicated to name.

She realized... she really could now "lay a hand on him."

Not in the sense of hurting him, but in the sense that... her will was now completely free.

She could love him, hate him, leave him, or even... defy his "wishes" in certain extreme circumstances.

Of course, she knew she would never do that.

This sudden "freedom" only made her see her own heart more clearly. It had long since been filled to the brim with him, with not a single space left for any other possibility.

She lowered her head and looked at the sleeping man in her arms, his profile completely unguarded: his long eyelashes, straight nose, and slightly pursed lips... A tenderness so soft it made her ache welled up in her heart, along with a possessiveness she had never felt before.

She reached out and lightly licked her slightly dry lips. Then she leaned down, pressed her warm lips to his ear, and murmured,

"Little man~ I can't... live without you anymore."

"But..." Her tone shifted, turning a little petulant and taking on the air of someone settling accounts after the fact. "I haven't forgotten how you took Yan Fei's side and neglected me before."

"You'll have to treat me even better from now on~ Or else... Hmph~"

She didn't care whether Zhao Linchuan was truly asleep or only pretending. She simply spoke her mind, her hand stroking his back ever more gently.

And in the deepest part of her heart, a voice filled with smug delight rang out cheerfully.

Yan Fei, oh, Yan Fei~

Moon Goddess imagined the woman who was always so gentle and dignified, who seemed to win the young master's favor more than she did at every turn. Her heart swelled with the joy of a victor.

In the end, you still have to drink Moon Goddess's foot bathwater...

From today on, I'm the one on top in this household! Just you wait—you'll obediently take the lower place!

She thought about it with glee, resting her cheek lightly against the top of Zhao Linchuan's head. Feeling his steady breathing and warm body, she slowly closed her eyes, the smile lingering at the corners of her lips.

The next morning, faint light filtered through the gap in the curtains, casting slender patches of brightness across the carpet in the luxurious suite.

Water pattered in the bathroom as Zhao Linchuan washed up.

In front of the vanity mirror in the outer room, Moon Goddess sat on a stool, dressed in a simple, elegant moon-white nightgown.

She held a smooth white jade comb between her lips and reached both hands behind her head, deftly gathering her waterfall of purple hair into a loose, graceful bun.

In the mirror, her fair skin held a captivating flush. The lingering passion and satisfaction of the previous night still showed between her brows. Her eyes shone as they moved, and compared to her usual cool demeanor, she had gained a breathtaking, enchanting charm.

Xiao Wu stood beside her, looking a little dazed, her big eyes full of confusion.

Just moments ago, Xiao Wu had been in her own room, focused on cultivating Soul Power, when a streak of deep-blue moonlight flashed out of nowhere.

Her vision blurred, and she found herself brought to this unfamiliar hotel room, standing before Moon Goddess.