Little Rabbit, You Should Feel Honored That This Seat Is Combing Your Hair!

In the hotel room.

The candlelight flickered, bathing the room in warmth.

"Bro... Brother Wen, can I call you that?"

Xiao Wu rested her hands lightly on her knees. A faint blush touched her ears, and beneath her reserve lay a trace of unease.

"Of course. You're my fiancée!"

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

[Call This Seat 'brother'?]

[Hmph! Dream on.]

[In my previous life, even the Great Emperors wouldn't have dared call This Seat their brother!]

Ning Wen: "..."

Well, that had backfired the moment he said it. The familiar feeling was back.

Xiao Wu stared at Ning Wen, utterly baffled.

What was going on with her fiancé?

Could he be any more different on the inside than he was on the outside?

She consoled herself.

Forget it. You came all this way to find me and even risked your life to save me. Sister Xiao Wu will let this one slide.

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

At the mention of him, her body tensed slightly. Fear rose in her before she could stop it.

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

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

[If Tang Hao dares come back, This Seat will make him regret ever being born.]

[This Seat watches all creation with a cold eye. Tang Hao is nothing—I could destroy him with a flick of my hand. He isn't worth mentioning.]

Xiao Wu felt considerably more at ease.

"Brother Wen, could you comb my hair?"

After a long while, Xiao Wu took a wooden comb from inside her clothes and held it out to Ning Wen.

The comb looked simple, but it was made from exquisite wood. Fine grain ran through its deep purple surface; it felt firm yet smooth in the hand, and a faint, delicate fragrance drifted from it.

"Sure."

Ning Wen took the comb, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

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

Even in the original story, Xiao Wu hadn't let Tang San comb her hair with this comb until much later, after he returned from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

At that moment, Ning Wen gained a deeper understanding of what it meant to be a hopeless romantic.

Xiao Wu untied the knotted pink ribbon at the end of her braid, and her long, silky black hair spilled over her shoulders like a waterfall.

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

Ning Wen moved carefully. He eased the wooden comb into her hair and gently worked through the slightly tangled ends.

Xiao Wu had her back to Ning Wen, but tears were already slipping down her cheeks.

She thought of her mother.

Memories came rushing back.

"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 it to you."

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

"A woman should let only one man brush her hair in her lifetime. I hope you find someone you can entrust yours to."

"Mom, you helped me find him."

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

Ning Wen said nothing.

To tell the truth, he felt a little guilty deep down for deceiving Xiao Wu.

But he'd had no other choice.

Otherwise, he could never have earned her trust.

Her long hair shifted beneath the comb, soft light playing across it.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still.

Then the Voice Pack spoke up at the worst possible moment.

[Little Rabbit, you should feel honored that This Seat is combing your hair!]

[Even goddesses and empresses have never enjoyed this privilege!]

[If you weren't somewhat pleasing to the eye, This Seat would scoff at such a mundane chore!]

Ning Wen: "..."

Seriously, would it kill you to stop showing off?

And couldn't you tell you were ruining the mood?

Xiao Wu's pretty face stiffened. Her sorrow vanished in an instant.

She wasn't sure she could take much more of this!

If she hadn't known she couldn't beat him, she would have charged over and hit him with an Eight-Stage Throw.

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

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

"We can squeeze in together!" Xiao Wu said, waving a hand casually.

"Men and women shouldn't be so intimate. Wouldn't that be inappropriate?" Ning Wen stopped and asked hesitantly.

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

Xiao Wu puffed out her cheeks and gave a displeased little snort, mischief glinting in her eyes. "Besides, I don't mind, so what are you afraid of? You think I'm going to take advantage of you?"

"Ahem."

Ning Wen coughed, caught off guard by her shameless words.

She really was a rogue rabbit. She would say anything.

Wasn't she afraid he might actually make a move?

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

All right. She really wasn't afraid.

[Well, you might not mind, but This Seat does!]

[This Seat is pure and unsullied by the mortal world!]

[How dare you, a rogue rabbit, defile This Seat's innocence!]

[This is outrageous!]

The complaints came one after another, brimming with indignation, as though he had suffered a terrible injustice.

Ning Wen's temples throbbed.

Who would choose a hard sofa when a soft, sweet-smelling girl was willing to share a bed?

You had no idea how good you had it!

Besides, sharing a bed with Xiao Wu would obviously be to his advantage!

Xiao Wu's expression darkened.

Pure, are you?

Unsullied by the mortal world, are you?

I'm defiling your innocence, am I?

Well, I'm sleeping beside you tonight, no matter what!

Fire blazed in Xiao Wu's beautiful eyes.

She stepped forward, seized Ning Wen by the 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 didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he didn't refuse.

It wasn't as if he had anything to lose.

[What has the world come to? People have no decency anymore!]

[This is an insult! An outright insult!!!!!!]

[This Seat said no, no, no!!!!!]

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

[There goes This Seat's innocence, and my first time is with a Little Rabbit!]

[I'd be laughed out of the room if anyone heard about this!]

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

[The humiliation!!!!! The humiliation!!!!!]

[Little Rabbit, this is how you repay my kindness?]

Listening to the helpless ranting in her head, 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 rogue rabbit!

I'm going to sleep right beside you anyway—and I'll snuggle up close.

Take that! Take that! Take that!!!

Sister Xiao Wu has never put up with this kind of nonsense in her life.