"What are you thinking about?"
"Ah!"
Zhu Yan jumped in fright at Qin Ye's sudden appearance.
"Why are you here?"
Zhu Yan instinctively took two steps back, unwittingly cornered against the wall by Qin Ye.
"Did you forget?" Qin Ye reached out his right hand in front of Zhu Yan. "Four hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins. Hand over the money."
"Huh?"
Zhu Yan was stunned by Qin Ye's move.
She had originally thought Qin Ye was here to persuade her, but she never expected him to come collecting a debt!
"Huh, what? You don't have the money, do you?"
Qin Ye raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Don't think you can welch on your debts just because you're from the Zhu Family. I hate deadbeats the most. If you don't give me an explanation today, I'm not going to let you leave."
Qin Ye stepped forward in a flash, pressing his right hand against the wall and pinning Zhu Yan's delicate body into the corner.
Zhu Yan looked at Qin Ye's handsome yet cold face up close, her cheeks involuntarily turning red.
"I-I'm not a deadbeat." Zhu Yan lowered her head, blushing, not daring to meet Qin Ye's eyes directly.
"I'll scrape the money together and pay you back, it's just... just please give me some time. I only have twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins on me right now... and that's even private money I saved up with great difficulty."
Zhu Yan muttered her last sentence under her breath.
"In other words, you can't pay for the time being?"
There was a hint of teasing in Qin Ye's tone, and a wicked smile curved the corner of his mouth.
Qin Ye leaned in gently, the tip of his tongue slowly licking Zhu Yan's smooth collarbone. That slick sensation felt like an electric current flashing through Zhu Yan's mind, and her entire body instantly went limp.
"What-what are you doing to me?" Zhu Yan said feebly, her body gradually losing all its strength.
"What am I doing?" Qin Ye laughed arrogantly. "Naturally, collecting some interest. Since you can't cough up the money right now, you have to give me some interest, don't you?"
As he spoke, Qin Ye's palm had already found Zhu Yan's slender waist, pulling her tightly into his embrace.
"Don't, mm."
Qin Ye pressed a deep kiss onto the nape of Zhu Yan's neck, greedily plundering the maiden's fragrance. Unbeknownst to her, Qin Ye's Soul Power had already flowed along his palm and integrated into Zhu Yan's body, while her Martial Soul underwent a silent transformation.
"Let me go, get away."
Zhu Yan used every ounce of strength to push Qin Ye away. By now, her face was flushed, and her hands rested weakly against the wall, making her look like a beauty left wanting more.
"I'll give you the money, and I ask that you respect me too." Zhu Yan panted heavily while blushing as she pulled up her collar to cover the hickey planted by Qin Ye.
"I can cooperate with you, and I'm willing to accept your terms." Zhu Yan swallowed hard. "But I have my bottom line too. You cannot make me go against my will to do things I fundamentally refuse to do, or I would rather die than agree."
"Oh? Like what?" Qin Ye raised an eyebrow at Zhu Yan. "Including this business today?"
"I..."
The moment Zhu Yan opened her mouth, her pink, tender chin was pinched by Qin Ye.
"Mph, you."
"Shh, don't speak." Qin Ye made a silencing gesture. "I don't have much time to play around with you, little beauty. Now I'll give you only two choices."
"One, you accept my power and submit to me. I know your temper is fierce, so I won't assign you tasks that are too difficult; just make sure the Zhu Family helps me from behind the scenes."
"Two, we part ways right here and now. I imagine you probably won't see me in the future, so I'll just take those twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins back out of your body. Twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins for a single night-you're making out like a bandit, little beauty."
As Qin Ye spoke, his other hand had already mischievously crept up Zhu Yan's waist. Whenever Qin Ye wished, he could pin the injured Zhu Yan right here in this deserted corner and have his way with her.
"So, what is your choice?"
Qin Ye's demonic whisper echoed in Zhu Yan's ear.
An intense struggle raged within Zhu Yan's heart. After a moment of hesitation, her body went soft.
"I yield."
Zhu Yan closed her eyes, lowered her proud head, and expressed her submission to Qin Ye.
"Do whatever you want with me. I completely yield." Zhu Yan's body slumped against the wall behind her, exposing her delicate form to Qin Ye without reservation.
In this current situation, it didn't really matter what Zhu Yan chose; what mattered was Qin Ye's own attitude.
As long as Qin Ye wanted to, he could do anything he pleased to Zhu Yan, and she wouldn't even be able to resist. Zhu Yan's choice was merely whether to keep her dignity or let Qin Ye help her keep it.
Moreover, if Zhu Yan wanted to reclaim the respect she had lost in her family, she had to let go of her pride. Rather than losing herself to that trash Zhu She, Zhu Yan preferred to submit to the powerhouse who had defeated her.
Her psychological defenses were completely breached.
"I only have one request."
Zhu Yan leaned weakly against the wall, closing her eyes and tilting her head back as she spoke.
"Please be gentle with me. I... I'm scared of pain."
Zhu Yan opened her arms, unlocking her gates for Qin Ye.
"Hah, a wise choice, Miss." Qin Ye stepped forward, looming over Zhu Yan's soft body. "You're going to like this gift, Zhu Yan. I promise you, this will be the most correct choice you ever make in your life."
"Mm, ha, lighter. Don't, mm."
"Ding! Zhu Yan's Corruption Value +50."
"Zhu Yan's current Corruption Value: 50."
"Accumulated Corruption Value so far: 190 points."
Zhu Yan straightened her clothes and walked out of the corner, a wisp of faint evil aura now lingering about her body.
"Such formidable power. I can feel my Martial Soul's quality has doubled."
Zhu Yan clenched her fist, the Soul Power within her having undergone a qualitative transformation. And all of this came from the man standing before her.
"Heh, just doubled?" Qin Ye tossed his hair. "That's only because time was tight today; otherwise, I could have tripled the quality of your Martial Soul!"
"Tripled! That much?!"
Upon hearing this number, Zhu Yan grabbed Qin Ye's arm in sheer excitement. "Then can we keep going? I feel like I can still handle it."
To this, Qin Ye merely cast a cold glance back at Zhu Yan.
Zhu Yan was instantly frightened away by Qin Ye's imposing aura, obediently retracting her arm.
"S-sorry."
Qin Ye turned his head back, facing away from Zhu Yan.
"Some things I can give you, but you cannot proactively ask me for them. Understood?"
"Mm, I know."
"I have no mood for it right now. If you want to strengthen your Martial Soul, try to please me next time we meet."
With that, Qin Ye straightened his collar and strode out of the corner.
Before leaving, Qin Ye dropped his final words.
"Don't let me find out you failed to get the Bronze Soul Fighter badge in three days. I don't like dead weight. If you don't put in the effort, even I can't save you."
Qin Ye departed entirely, returning to his spectator seat.
Hiding in the corner, Zhu Yan put on her armor, touching her heavily thumping chest. Only after Qin Ye left did Zhu Yan, with her belly feeling full, let out a relaxed breath and sit down on the cool floor.
"Such a powerful man, and powerful in every aspect."
Zhu Yan stroked her burning cheeks; the mere thought of Qin Ye's solid muscles made her blush uncontrollably.
"Truly a man who drives a woman wild."
As she thought about it, Zhu Yan's fingers drifted to her lower abdomen, slowly sliding downward.
"I really want... to do it again."
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