Spirit City, Holy Son Hall.
The night was as dark as ink, yet the great hall was not brightly lit as usual.
Instead, hundreds of red candles filled the room.
They had been arranged in all sorts of strange shapes, their flickering flames casting ambiguous, eerie shadows on the walls.
A faint fragrance hung in the air. It wasn't the sort of sandalwood incense that cleared the mind, but an intoxicating perfume that made anyone who smelled it want to do something they shouldn't.
Su Yun stood at the entrance to the great hall, looking at the scene before him, which resembled a spider's lair. The corners of his mouth couldn't help curling higher and higher.
"Well, I'll be."
"The lights are out, the candles are in, and you've even lit this indecent incense."
"Dong'er, Dong'er, are you planning to interrogate me, or eat me?"
He didn't hurry inside. Instead, he straightened his clothes and even checked himself in the bronze mirror by the door, making sure he still looked every bit the dashing Holy Son of Spirit Hall, the kind who could make countless young women scream.
Then he took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
"Creak—"
The heavy doors slowly swung open, making a grating sound that set one's teeth on edge.
At the very center of the great hall, seated upon the throne that symbolized power, was a woman.
Bibi Dong.
Tonight, she wasn't wearing her solemn, elaborate papal robes. Instead, she had changed into a tight-fitting black dress.
The skirt had a very high slit, revealing a stretch of legs as fair as jade.
A black lace choker adorned her slender neck, making her skin look even more radiant than snow.
She crossed her legs and held a faintly glowing whip in her hand?
Crack!
Bibi Dong flicked her wrist, and the whip snapped through the air with a sharp report.
"Kneel."
Her voice was cool, carrying the irresistible air of a queen.
Su Yun raised an eyebrow.
Oh? Going this far?
Was she planning to take their daytime defiant-disciple drama and upgrade it to an evening queenly-discipline roleplay?
Exciting!
Not only did he refuse to kneel, he turned around and shut the great hall doors, then casually locked them.
"Click."
The sound of the lock rang out unusually clearly in the silent hall.
Bibi Dong's phoenix eyes narrowed as she pointed the whip at Su Yun:
"What are you doing?"
"Locking the door."
Su Yun spread his hands and walked toward her one step at a time, wearing that signature, mischievous grin that made people itch to smack him:
"Didn't you say you were going to make me 'reflect properly'?"
"Since I'm reflecting, of course I can't let outsiders see. Besides..."
His gaze roamed over Bibi Dong without restraint, from her delicate collarbone to her breathtaking curves, then down to her long legs, gleaming in the candlelight.
"Teacher, you're so beautiful tonight. If someone else saw you, your disciple would get jealous."
"Impudent!"
Bibi Dong scolded him in embarrassment and snapped the whip at him without the slightest hesitation.
She hadn't used any Soul Power in that lash, relying purely on her physical strength.
Even so, the whip's crack as it cut through the air was fierce.
Su Yun reacted swiftly, turning aside and catching the end of the whip.
"Teacher, there's no need to get physical."
He yanked hard.
Caught off guard, Bibi Dong pitched forward, her body leaning toward him against her will.
The distance between them vanished in an instant.
He was close enough to see her long eyelashes quivering, close enough to smell the faint, delicate fragrance rising from her in her nervousness and embarrassment.
"You..."
Bibi Dong panicked.
She had meant to put the boy in his place and show him who was in charge.
For that, she had specially arranged the scene, changed into this outfit, and even dug out from storage a punishment whip said to be capable of striking even divine spirits.
But she had never imagined that this boy would be so bold!
Not only was he unafraid, he even dared to fight back?
And he even dared to tease her?
"Let go!"
Bibi Dong gritted her teeth and tried to wrest the whip back.
But Su Yun's hand was like an iron clamp, unmoving.
"Not letting go."
Looking into those violet eyes so close to his, Su Yun spoke in a low, resonant voice:
"Teacher, you called me back in such a hurry. Didn't you miss me terribly?"
"Now that I'm back, why are you trying to hit me?"
"Isn't this the legendary saying, 'A beating is affection, a scolding is love'?"
"Shut up!"
Bibi Dong's face turned so red it looked ready to drip blood.
Who missed you!
Who loved you!
This bastard—how could he say whatever he wanted like that!
She was so mortified she could die. Soul Power instinctively surged inside her, ready to blast this lecher away.
But just then, Su Yun suddenly let go.
Bibi Dong had been pulling with all her strength, and with nothing to resist her, she lost her balance and fell backward.
"Ah!"
She cried out in alarm, just as she was about to take an undignified tumble.
The next moment,
a strong arm caught her around the waist.
The world spun.
By the time she came to her senses, Su Yun had caught her securely, and the two of them were locked in an extremely intimate pose.
It was just like the prelude to one of those classic dip-and-kiss scenes in a television drama.
"Careful, Teacher."
Su Yun leaned close to her ear, his warm breath brushing against her sensitive earlobe:
"If you get hurt, your disciple will be heartbroken."
Bibi Dong's whole body stiffened, and her mind went blank.
Her heart pounded as if it were about to leap straight out of her throat.
Was this still that meek, timid disciple of hers?
He was clearly a seasoned flirt!
"L-let go of me!"
Her voice trembled. The queenly air she'd had moments ago was gone, and she sounded more like a startled kitten.
Su Yun smiled but didn't actually kiss her.
If he did, he really would get beaten to death. Knowing where to draw the line was important.
He helped Bibi Dong stand upright, then courteously stepped back and gave a standard nobleman's bow:
"Teacher is right to reprimand me. Your disciple knows his mistake."
"Since you want me to reflect, I'll go kneel over there."
With that, he pointed to a prayer cushion in the corner, obediently walked over, and dropped to his knees with a thump.
His movements were smooth as flowing water, his attitude utterly sincere.
As if the person who had just teased the Pope hadn't been him at all.
Bibi Dong: "..."
She stood where she was, still holding the whip, completely thrown into disarray.
What was this?
Tease her and then run off?
He had turned her heart into a tangled mess, then gone to kneel on a washboard?
"Su! Yun!"
Bibi Dong gritted her teeth, wishing she could rush over and bite him.
That bastard had definitely done it on purpose!
She took several deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart, then sat back down on the throne.
The process had been a little complicated, but at least she'd achieved her goal.
The boy was kneeling there now, and he seemed quite well-behaved.
"Hmph."
Bibi Dong snorted, trying to make herself look more imposing:
"You know you were wrong?"
"I do."
Su Yun lowered his head, looking thoroughly repentant.
"Where were you wrong?"
"I was wrong to be so charming that Teacher thought about me day and night, distracting her from her official duties."
"..."
Bibi Dong raised the whip in her hand again, then lowered it with a hard snap.
"Smooth talker!"
"I'm asking you: what's the deal with that Rabbit?"
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