Yan Lingji felt her heart flutter under his gaze. Forcing herself to stay calm, she asked in a soft voice:
"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
"My dear."
Zhao Linchuan stood up, walked around the corner of the table, and came over to her. He took her hand.
"Have you forgotten what you said earlier, inside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well?"
"What did I say?" Yan Lingji demurred, lightly tracing invisible circles on Zhao Linchuan's chest with her fingertips.
She tilted her head back slightly, her eyes shimmering. "Could I trouble my dear husband to remind me?"
"You little vixen..."
Zhao Linchuan bent down, wrapped one arm around her waist, and slipped the other beneath her knees, lifting her into his arms.
Yan Lingji didn't resist. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against him.
She looked up at her husband, her tone teasing.
"All the rooms in this mansion are empty. Should we go to the room next door to Dong'er's?"
Zhao Linchuan paused and looked down at her, surprise in his eyes. "You're okay with that?"
Yan Lingji's cheeks flushed faintly. In a voice only the two of them could hear, she said:
"She's the Pope's student, and the future Pope."
"If you can win her over, then all this effort will have been worth it."
"My dear," Zhao Linchuan said, holding her a little tighter. He rested his chin against her forehead and murmured, "I really want to devour you whole."
"Now, that won't do." Yan Lingji chuckled and traced a circle on his chest with her fingertip. "If you devoured me, I'd be gone. Could you bear that~?"
The next morning.
Sunlight streamed obliquely through the window lattice, bathing the living room's tiled floor in gold.
The air was filled with the aroma of food.
Yan Lingji had gotten up early and cooked a tableful of dishes. Now she was busy arranging them on the table.
Bibi Dong sat in a chair, glaring furiously at Zhao Linchuan, who was sitting there in a daze. Her gaze looked ready to gouge two holes in his face.
She hadn't slept well all night!
The racket from next door had continued on and off for the entire night!
She had covered her ears, hidden beneath the blankets, and tossed and turned. She'd tried everything, but nothing could stop those sounds from drilling into her head.
She'd barely slept at all that night. When she got up in the morning, she'd thought she'd had some improper dream, only to realize it hadn't been a dream.
The unbearable itching had driven her to change out of her damp undergarments, then rinse herself with cold water before she finally felt better.
"This mansion is so big, and you two really chose that spot!"
She gritted her teeth, forcing the words out through them.
Zhao Linchuan sat opposite her, staring blankly ahead as if he hadn't heard a word.
"Hey!" When Zhao Linchuan ignored her, she raised her voice and waved her hand in front of him. "What are you doing?!"
Zhao Linchuan still didn't react. His gaze was unfocused, as though his soul had left his body.
Bibi Dong frowned in puzzlement, stood up, and walked over to him. Bending down, she pressed her palm to his forehead to check his temperature.
"Nothing wrong there," she muttered. She waved her hand in front of his eyes again. "What are you thinking about?"
Zhao Linchuan took a deep breath and finally came back to himself.
He slowly turned his head and looked at Bibi Dong. There was an indescribable melancholy in his eyes, as though he'd just returned from somewhere very, very far away.
"I'm contemplating the end of time, the boundaries of the cosmos, where the living come from, and where the dead go."
Bibi Dong stared at him for a moment, then looked at him like he was an idiot. "Should I call a healing Soul Master for you?"
"Leave him alone." Yan Lingji walked over with a tray and set the last dish on the table, saying irritably, "He'll snap out of it on his own in a little while."
"Oh." Bibi Dong answered uncertainly and sat back down, picking up her chopsticks.
A moment later, seeing Zhao Linchuan sitting there in a daze with his chopsticks suspended in midair, forgetting to pick up any food, Bibi Dong couldn't help reminding Yan Lingji:
"Sister Ling Ji, is he really okay?"
"He's fine. Don't mind him." Yan Lingji put a serving of food in Bibi Dong's bowl. "Let's eat. Once we're done, we'll leave him here to daydream."
"Alright..."
Bibi Dong lowered her head and took a bite of rice, but couldn't help glancing at Zhao Linchuan again.
He was still in the same position, chopsticks suspended in midair, his gaze vacant, as though someone had sealed his pressure points.
She shook her head, gave up on him, and focused on her meal.
About two hours later, with the sun already at its zenith, Yan Lingji forcibly dragged Bibi Dong away.
Zhao Linchuan sat in the seat of honor, with two women standing before him.
One woman wore purple, her hair pinned up in a high bun. Her brows and eyes held the composed sharpness of someone who had seen the ways of the world.
The other was gentler. She wore a plain-colored long dress, her dark hair draped over her shoulders, and her features were soft, like a lady who had stepped out of a fine ink painting.
"...In short, there's no need for you to rush."
"For now, you should focus on taking care of yourselves."
"I've left you ample resources and several Immortal Herbs. I've also explained how to use them."
"Remember, neither of you should obtain Soul Rings just yet."
"Wait until I bring you a few high-quality Soul Bones and you've fused with them. Then you can obtain your Soul Rings."
"Understood?"
The two peerless beauties exchanged a glance and answered in unison, "Zi Nu and Nong Yu understand."
"Good." Zhao Linchuan nodded slightly, stood up, and brushed off his robes. "Then I'll be off. Make sure the thousand Jinyiwei are properly managed."
A flash of golden light, and the Supreme Ease Golden Edge appeared in his hand.
The long sword grew in the wind, expanding to the size of a door panel before hovering above the steps in front of the hall.
Zhao Linchuan stepped onto it. Swordlight flared, carrying him into the sky. In the blink of an eye, he became a golden point of light and vanished on the horizon.
Silence settled over the hall once more.
Nong Yu stood where she was, watching that point of light disappear into the distance. She remained silent for a moment.
Then she turned to Zi Nu and said softly:
"Sister Zi Nu... why do I feel like we've become his kept women?"
Zi Nu was silent for a while. Her gaze rested on the direction where the golden light had disappeared, never shifting.
The wind lifted the hem of her purple robe, fluttering it like a butterfly in the sunlight.
After a long while, she slowly spoke:
"This is an unfamiliar world. We need someone to rely on."
"If he really can do what he said and bring all of Douluo Continent under his control..."
"Then what does it matter if we become his wives or concubines?"
She turned to Nong Yu, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
"It would be our honor."
"We would be the ones marrying above our station."
Nong Yu lowered her head and thought it over. After a moment, the hesitation in her eyes gradually faded. She nodded gently and said in a soft voice:
"I understand, Sister Zi Nu."
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