I'll Just Lick It Once

He let out a long sigh. "Come in."

Xiao Qinghe hurried inside with the Peach Blossom Pastries and Osmanthus Wine, all meek obedience as he tried to curry favor, terrified that the goodwill he had earned earlier would plunge into the negatives.

If that happened, he would really be done for when the plot reached the point where his master killed him in the name of righteousness.

"Master, your favorite aged Osmanthus Wine. Would you like a taste?" Xiao Qinghe was just about to ingratiate himself when a sudden wave of irritation surged through him.

His hand shook, spilling half a cup of Osmanthus Wine.

Bai Yuqing's immaculate white robes were instantly splashed with a large wine stain.

His expression, which had only just softened, darkened.

"Have you grown resentful of me because I neglected you for a month?"

"No!"

"Then you resent my ordering you to stay away from that member of the Demon Clan?"

"I wouldn't dare!"

Bai Yuqing closed his eyes, looking exhausted. "I'm tired. You may leave."

Xiao Qinghe could have cried.

He had wanted to earn some goodwill, but instead, he had made things worse, dealing another blow to the little he had left.

It was all Xie Jun's fault.

Of all the times to get irritated, why now?

The question was, what exactly was irritating her?

Had she run into some troublesome monster?

"System, are you there? What on earth happened to Xie Jun?"

He had barely finished speaking when a soft laugh came from the window. "So you care about me that much, Senior Brother. Who were you talking to?"

Like a ghost, Xie Jun slipped in through the window.

Xiao Qinghe suddenly remembered that tonight was another full moon.

Time to drink blood.

Had she come back specifically for this?

"No one." Naturally, Xiao Qinghe couldn't tell her about the system, so he hastily changed the subject. "Has your training journey been going well, Junior Brother? Did Junior Sister come looking for you?"

Xie Jun frowned. "You told her to find me? Do you have any idea how much trouble she's caused me, Senior Brother?"

As the female lead, Ouyang Susu was naturally surrounded by one mess after another. That was precisely what gave Xie Jun opportunities to shine.

She could step forward when thugs bullied Ouyang Susu, play the hero when monsters abducted her, and ease her loneliness in the still of the night when she felt lonely and cold. After that relentless assault, how could Ouyang Susu possibly not fall for her?

Only by advancing the female lead's romance could the plot progress. If nothing ever happened, what the hell were the system's readers supposed to read?

Xiao Qinghe had put so much thought into this, yet Xie Jun hadn't developed any affection for Ouyang Susu. Instead, his plan seemed to have backfired, leaving her utterly fed up with Ouyang Susu.

"Several times along the way, she knew perfectly well something was a trap, yet insisted on jumping right in. She drew a horde of monsters down on a village and nearly got everyone slaughtered."

Xiao Qinghe: "..."

That certainly sounded like the sort of idiocy a sweet, naive female lead would commit.

"We ran into bandits, and even though she was clearly no match for them, she insisted on meddling and dragged me into it. If I hadn't gotten her out, even nine lives wouldn't have been enough."

"..."

"Then she insisted on barging into my room because she was afraid of the dark and wanted company, only to turn around and call me a lecher who had ruined her reputation."

"..."

No wonder her irritation had been strong enough for him to sense it from a thousand miles away. Who wouldn't be annoyed?

He had wanted to bring her and Ouyang Susu together, but now it looked as though his plan had backfired.

This wasn't the time to dwell on that, though. The full moon had risen above the willow branches, and the Ghost King Spirit Pill was acting up again.

Xiao Qinghe's throat tightened as he stared straight at Xie Jun's neck.

Xie Jun chuckled, lay down on the bed, and pulled open her collar, baring her entire neck.

She looked ready to let him do whatever he pleased.

Xiao Qinghe's mouth twitched wildly. Still, after last time, he knew exactly what to do.

He opened his mouth and bit down.

[Ding! Ding! Ding!]

The cheerful chimes of reader tips rang out.

He had almost forgotten that he still had points to repay in installments, and tonight was the deadline for the first payment.

Amid the cheerful notifications, his points visibly climbed past five hundred.

Excellent.

Keep it up.

Soon, he would have enough for the first payment.

But his delight lasted only a few seconds before the readers suddenly went quiet.

The system began demanding payment.

[This installment is due today. Your payment for this month is 817 points. You have repaid 593 points, with 224 points outstanding. Please keep up the good work!

If this installment is not paid in full by midnight tonight, the system will impose a random punishment!]

Xiao Qinghe wanted to swear.

He wanted to pay, but his esteemed readers had stopped tipping!

At least tell him what he had to do to please them!

"Senior Brother?" Seeing his conflicted expression, Xie Jun leaned closer in concern. "Are you feeling unwell?"

[Ding! Ding!]

Two tip notifications chimed.

Xiao Qinghe hadn't paid attention to her question. Those two chimes had seized his attention, and suddenly, as though enlightenment had struck, he felt he had found the readers' sweet spot.

To test his theory, he leaned slightly toward Xie Jun.

[Ding! Ding!]

He edged closer still.

[Ding! Ding! Ding!]

Sure enough, the closer he got to Xie Jun, the more excited the readers became.

As though he had unlocked the secret to riches, Xiao Qinghe leaned his whole body against Xie Jun. Listening to the suddenly exuberant electronic chimes, he finally felt at ease.

Xie Jun, however, went rigid, so nervous she didn't know what to do with her hands or feet. "S-Senior Brother, you..."

She didn't dare move.

She didn't dare make a single movement.

Even her breathing grew shallow.

She was terrified of scaring him away.

Yet the person she cared about most was right before her, their bodies almost pressed together, their breaths mingling. A scene she had only dared imagine in dreams was actually happening, and her heart raced.

Why was Senior Brother suddenly getting so close? Did he really know what he was doing?

Xiao Qinghe had no idea what turmoil was raging inside her. Utterly absorbed in earning points, he stared at the bite marks he had left on Xie Jun's neck.

The marks were deep, a blood-red ring still welling with tiny beads of blood.

Vulnerable, intimate, and vivid.

Xiao Qinghe swallowed, and a bold idea suddenly occurred to him.

If drinking blood got the readers excited enough to tip like crazy, what would happen if he licked it?

He decided to give it a try and see if it suited their tastes.

The instant that thought surfaced, the system notifications exploded.

The comments went completely wild.

[What, are you chicken? Be a man and go for it!

Lick her! Lick her clean! Hurry, hurry, hurry!

You're filthy! I'm filthy! We're all filthy!

Holy shit! Girls, I'm getting horny already!]

More slang where he understood every individual word but couldn't make sense of them together.

But one thing was certain: he couldn't go wrong with a lick.

He could drink blood and earn points at the same time. Why not?

Xiao Qinghe inched closer, then finally lowered his head and pressed his lips against her neck.

Xie Jun froze completely, forgetting even to breathe.

The touch against her neck was warm and soft.

It felt like a dream, too incredible to believe.

Xie Jun's chest rose and fell, her heart almost leaping into her throat. Then, a moment later, that warm, soft touch changed.

This feeling was...

As though answering her, Xiao Qinghe licked her again.

Listening to the electronic chimes Xie Jun couldn't hear and watching the numbers she couldn't see, he saw his points soar from 593 to 712 in no time. The readers had never been so generous!

One lick had earned him over a hundred points. What a bargain!

Xiao Qinghe was getting carried away, completely oblivious to what he was doing or how profoundly it would shake Xie Jun.

He lowered his head and gave another gentle lick.

"Mm..." Xie Jun clenched her fists tightly, finally unable to stop a muffled sound from escaping her throat.

She abruptly gripped Xiao Qinghe's shoulders, the veins on the backs of her hands bulging as though she were desperately restraining something.

A deep, fierce fire burned in her eyes as she stared at Xiao Qinghe.