Little Bunny, You Should Feel Honored That I'm Combing Your Hair!

In the hotel room.

Candlelight flickered, bathing the room in warmth.

"W-Wen, can I call you that?"

Xiao Wu rested her hands lightly on her knees. A faint blush touched her ears, and she looked a little reserved, with a trace of unease she could not quite hide.

"Of course. You're my fiancée!"

Ning Wen chuckled. "If there's anything you want to know, you can ask me now."

[Call me Wen?]

[Hmph! She wishes.]

[In my past life, even those Great Emperors wouldn't have dared call me their brother!]

Ning Wen: "..."

Well, that had blown up in his face the moment he said it. The familiar feeling was back.

Xiao Wu looked at Ning Wen, utterly bewildered.

What was going on with her fiancé?

There was a limit to how different someone could be on the inside!

She tried to reassure herself.

Forget it. You came all this way to find me and even risked your life to save me. I'll let it slide.

"Wen, will that man come back?" Xiao Wu asked, taking a deep breath.

As she spoke, her body tensed slightly. Fear rose in her before she could stop it.

"He will. You've spent enough time in human society to know how precious a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and a hundred-thousand-year soul bone are to a Soul Master."

Seeing the anxiety Xiao Wu could not hide, Ning Wen nodded and reassured her. "But you don't need to worry. Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone are here, and Tang Hao has a weakness in Tang San. He probably won't show up for a long time."

[If Tang Hao dares come back, I'll make him regret ever being born.]

[I look upon all creation with indifference. I could crush a mere Tang Hao with a turn of my hand. He's hardly worth mentioning.]

Xiao Wu felt much more at ease when she heard that.

"Wen, could you comb my hair?"

After a long while, Xiao Wu suddenly took a wooden comb from her clothes and handed it to Ning Wen.

The comb looked plain, but it was made from exquisite wood. Fine, flowing grain ran through its deep purple surface. It felt firm yet smooth in his hand, and a delicate woody fragrance drifted from it.

"Sure."

Ning Wen took the comb, a strange look flickering in his eyes.

Xiao Wu's gesture showed that she had opened her heart to him.

Even in the original story, Xiao Wu had not let Tang San use this comb on her hair until he returned from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well midway through the story.

At that moment, Ning Wen gained a deeper understanding of what it meant to be hopelessly in love.

Xiao Wu untied the pink ribbon at the bottom of her hair, and her long, glossy black locks spilled over her shoulders like a waterfall.

Moonlight fell softly across her hair, giving it a faint sheen.

Ning Wen moved gently, easing the wooden comb into her hair and slowly working through the slightly tangled ends.

Xiao Wu had her back to Ning Wen, but tears were already slipping silently from her eyes.

She thought of her mother.

Memories came rushing back like a tide.

"Mom, this comb is so pretty! How can wood be purple?"

"Silly girl. I made it from rosewood. Since you've made your choice, I'll give this comb to you."

"One day, if you find a man you truly love, let him use this comb to brush your hair."

"Only one man should brush a woman's hair in her lifetime. I hope that one day, you find the man you can entrust it to."

"Mom, you helped me find him."

A faint smile appeared on Xiao Wu's tear-streaked face.

Ning Wen said nothing.

Truthfully, he felt guilty deep down for deceiving Xiao Wu.

But he had seen no other way.

Otherwise, he could never have won her trust.

Her long hair stirred beneath the comb, catching the soft light.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still.

Then the voice pack sounded at the worst possible moment.

[Little bunny, you should feel honored that I'm combing your hair!]

[Not even goddesses or empresses have enjoyed such treatment!]

[If I didn't find you somewhat agreeable, I wouldn't deign to bother with such a mundane task!]

Ning Wen: "..."

Seriously, would it kill you not to show off?

And don't you realize you're ruining the mood?

Xiao Wu's pretty face stiffened. Her sadness vanished at once.

She was starting to think she could not take any more.

If she had thought she could beat him, she would have charged over and hit him with an Eight-Stage Throw.

"All right, it's getting late. We should get some rest."

Ning Wen stood up, intending to make do with the sofa for the night.

"We can share!" Xiao Wu said, waving a hand without a care.

"Men and women should keep their distance. Wouldn't that be inappropriate?" Ning Wen stopped, sounding hesitant.

"I'm your fiancée. What's inappropriate about it?"

Xiao Wu puffed out her cheeks and gave a displeased little huff, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Besides, I don't mind. What are you afraid of? Do you think I'll bully you?"

"Ahem."

Ning Wen nearly choked on her brazen words and coughed twice.

She really is a shameless rabbit. She'll say anything.

Isn't she afraid I might actually make a move?

Then Ning Wen glanced down at his own body and silently took that last thought back.

All right. She really isn't afraid.

[You might not mind, but I do!]

[I am pure and unsullied, untouched by the mortal world!]

[How dare you, shameless rabbit, so casually sully my virtue!]

[This is outrageous!]

The words came in a furious barrage, as though the speaker had suffered some terrible injustice.

Ning Wen's temples throbbed as he listened.

Who would choose a hard sofa over sharing a bed with a sweet, soft girl?

You really don't know a good thing when you see it!

Besides, if I share a bed with Xiao Wu, I'm the one getting the better deal!

Xiao Wu's expression darkened.

Pure and unsullied, are you?

Untouched by the mortal world, are you?

Sully your virtue, is it?

Then I'm definitely sleeping beside you tonight!

A fire blazed in Xiao Wu's beautiful eyes.

She stepped forward, grabbed Ning Wen's arm, and tugged him toward the bed with a little force.

"What are you standing there for? Come on!" Xiao Wu lifted her chin.

Ning Wen did not know whether to laugh or cry, but he did not refuse.

Either way, he was not the one losing out.

[What has the world come to? Where has decency gone?]

[This is an insult! A blatant insult!!!!!!]

[I said no, no, no!!!!!]

[Are you deaf??? Or can't you understand a word I'm saying???]

[So this is how I lose my virtue, and to a little rabbit on my first time!]

[I'd be laughed out of the room if anyone found out!]

[How am I supposed to show my face in public again?!]

[What a disgrace!!!!! An utter disgrace!!!!!]

[Little rabbit, this is how you repay me for saving you?!]

Listening to the helpless rage in her mind, Xiao Wu's lips curved upward.

That felt good.

So good.

That's what you get for looking down on me!

That's what you get for calling me a shameless rabbit!

I'm sleeping right beside you, and I'm going to snuggle up close.

Take that! Take that! Take that!!!

I've never had to put up with this kind of nonsense in my life.