Ye Lingling: I took off my pants, and you're giving me an Immortal Herb?

That night.

Ye Lingling came looking for Lin Ye, acting all mysterious.

The whole way there, she worried someone else from the academy might spot her.

Because if anyone saw them...

Rumors about her and Lin Ye would be flying all over Heaven Dou Royal Academy by morning.

Oh... no!

After tonight, they would not be rumors anymore.

Knock, knock, knock—

"Lin Ye."

"Are you there?"

"I'm coming in."

Ye Lingling had taken a hot bath especially for tonight's date. She had changed into a clean dress and put on the new white knee-high socks she had just bought.

A girl wanted to look beautiful for the one she liked, after all.

She wanted Lin Ye to see her at her prettiest.

When no one answered from inside, Ye Lingling pushed the door open and walked in.

Then...

She saw Lin Ye sitting on the bed in Meditation.

She did not disturb him. Instead, she sat quietly to one side.

"Lingling... you're here."

Lin Ye slowly opened his eyes and drew the Soul Power surrounding him back into his body.

In an instant.

"Mm..."

Ye Lingling suddenly grew nervous.

She kept pressing her lips together. Her mouth had even gone a little dry.

"I prepared something good for you."

Before he finished speaking,

he took an Immortal-Grade Herb from his Storage Soul Tool.

"It's called the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid."

"It strengthens your foundation, cleanses your marrow and meridians, and stabilizes your cultivation."

This was how he would repay Ye Lingling.

"For me?"

Ye Lingling was both startled and delighted.

It was the first gift Lin Ye had ever given her.

At the same time,

a small part of her felt disappointed.

So Lin Ye had invited her over to give her an Immortal Herb. She had thought he wanted...

"Of course it's for you."

"Absorb it here tonight."

"And one more thing..."

"Don't tell anyone about the Immortal-Grade Herb."

Over the years, this wealthy young lady had helped him hunt down plenty of Ice-Type Herbs at auctions.

So...

Ye Lingling deserved an Immortal-Grade Herb.

"Mm!"

Ye Lingling nodded firmly.

She would never tell anyone.

In fact...

many people at the academy already knew Lin Ye and Dugu Yan had absorbed Immortal-Grade Herbs. They simply did not know he still had more.

Even Ye Lingling had not expected that.

Still less had she expected him to offer one to her of his own accord.

Ye Lingling said nothing more by way of thanks.

She sat cross-legged

and began absorbing the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid.

She placed the orchid in her mouth and chewed it gently.

The petals melted on her tongue...

They instantly became a cool, soothing warmth that slid down her throat into her belly, then flowed through her meridians.

Strands of impurities were being washed from Ye Lingling's Soul Power, while the herb's medicinal power cleared her meridians and made them more resilient.

The process lasted two hours.

When Ye Lingling opened her eyes again, she could not hide her excitement.

She had advanced!

The Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid had raised her Soul Power by five levels. She had now reached level forty.

All she needed was a Soul Ring to become a true Soul Ancestor.

Ye Lingling had a thousand things she wanted to say in thanks, but in the end, she put them all into one action.

She suddenly kissed Lin Ye on the cheek.

In an instant!

Her cheeks turned burning red.

"Lin Ye... thank you."

With that, Ye Lingling bolted out the door.

"Was that really necessary?"

Lin Ye looked utterly baffled.

It was only a kiss.

It was not such a big deal.

The next day.

Shui Bing'er brought news.

She had obtained a map from her family.

Her great-great-grandfather had drawn it, marking where he had found the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow.

There was no need for further discussion.

Lin Ye immediately decided to head for the Frozen Forest.

Refining one piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow had raised him two levels. If he could find a few more...

This was a shortcut!

It was far faster than cultivating through Meditation.

"Just the two of us?"

From Lin Ye's preparations, Shui Bing'er suspected that was his plan.

"Mm."

He did not want to bring anyone else.

Especially not the Shui Family's clansmen.

As the saying went, you could know a person's face without knowing their heart. He did not even know their faces well.

The last time a Soul Bone had appeared in the Frozen Forest, those people had shown their greedy faces.

If Shui Bing'er had not stepped forward in time, who knew what might have happened?

"All right."

Shui Bing'er understood.

People's hearts did not stand up well to a test!

It was only natural that Lin Ye did not trust the Shui Family's clansmen.

Once they had made up their minds, the two set off for the Frozen Forest.

They traveled north...

By dusk the next day, they reached the last small town at the northernmost edge of the Heaven Dou Empire.

They took a room at the town's hotel.

"Lin Ye."

"Mm?"

"Was what you said about Whale Rubber true? Can it really temper the body and strengthen muscles and bones?"

"You haven't tried it?"

A hint of embarrassment crossed Shui Bing'er's face.

How could she dare? After eating Whale Rubber, she would be so worked up she would be bouncing off the walls. She would die of shame if anyone saw her.

"It's true!"

Whale Rubber was what had allowed him to absorb a Soul Ring above his level.

Shui Bing'er went on, "Tell me exactly how to take it."

"You need to heat Whale Rubber until it softens or melts into a liquid, then swallow it..."

Before he could finish,

Shui Bing'er quietly took a piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber from her Storage Soul Tool.

She had asked someone from her family to buy it in Vast Sea City.

Ever since absorbing the Aromatic Silk Beauty, she had believed Lin Ye's claim that Whale Rubber could strengthen muscles and bones.

Her question just now had really been a way to lead up to bringing it out.

"So you were setting me up?"

"Shui Bing'er."

"You've started playing tricks on me now?!"

Shui Bing'er only smiled awkwardly. Lin Ye continued, "The safest way to use Whale Rubber is to add it to a medicinal bath and let it seep through your skin. That keeps its medicinal power from hitting your meridians too hard."

"No time to waste."

"Let's start now!"

Shui Bing'er stared at him. "Huh? Together?"

"Shui Bing'er."

"That's a heartless thing to say."

"I brought you to the Frozen Forest to look for Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, and I promised we'd split it fifty-fifty."

"Now you won't even share one piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber."

"Aren't you being a little stingy?!"

Shui Bing'er's scalp prickled.

Was stinginess really the issue?

She seriously suspected Lin Ye just wanted to share a bath with her.

Shui Bing'er looked at him for a moment, then steeled herself and said, "All... all right..."

They had already done it.

Bathing together was not such a big deal.

Whale Rubber proved to be powerful stuff!

When a man took it, the woman could not take the heat. When a woman took it, the man could not take the heat.

When they took it together...

The bed could not take it!

The two stood awkwardly in the room, staring at the broken bed frame, lost in deep thought.

"Let's run."

For the first time, Shui Bing'er wanted to flee after doing something wrong.

If people found out she had collapsed a bed like this, and word got back to Heaven Dou City, she would never be able to show her face again.

"Mm..."

Lin Ye also thought it best not to linger.

He left behind a Gold Soul Coin and took Shui Bing'er into the Frozen Forest that very night.