Ye Jingtang lay flat on the pillow, looking at the heroine mere inches away with a decidedly strange expression.
Although Luo Ning had cushioned her chest with her arm, preventing direct contact with him, her lustrous hair slipped from her shoulder and spilled beside his face, tickling him until his heart itched.
A fair, jade-like hand separated them, but their current position was unmistakably that of a woman forcing a kiss on him.
Ye Jingtang thought this was a fine method. He suppressed his wandering thoughts, listened for movements outside, and diligently kissed her palm.
!!
The moist heat and tingling sensation in her palm gave Luo Ning goose bumps!
With their faces so close, she could feel Ye Jingtang's hot breath brushing her cheeks. Although they were not truly embracing and kissing, the impact on her was no less intense.
It was difficult to bear, but Luo Ning had the experience of being groped last time. In the end, she suppressed the trembling in her heart, exchanged smacking kisses with Ye Jingtang through her palm, and closed her eyes to concentrate on the sounds outside the window.
But...
This fellow seemed awfully practiced at taking liberties with girls!
Luo Ning had just suppressed her embarrassment when she realized Ye Jingtang was not merely kissing her. He had raised a hand to the back of her head, then slid it down her black hair to her back, gently stroking between her shoulder blades and over her shoulders.
The sensation was indescribable. Luo Ning only felt that this gentle caress was like a branding iron roaming across her back. Every stroke struck straight at her soul, making her tremble involuntarily and threatening to draw soft moans from her throat.
Luo Ning shifted her hand slightly and squeezed Ye Jingtang's arm, warning him not to let his hands wander.
Ye Jingtang felt rather innocent. After all, a man could hardly kiss someone while lying stiffly with both hands motionless. He was only touching her shoulders and upper back, not any sensitive places.
Sensing the heroine Luo's murderous intent, Ye Jingtang restrained himself. He spread his hands beside the pillow, assuming the look of a "disgraced young hero" being forcibly bullied by a heroine.
The faint sounds continued for nearly half a quarter-hour.
Luo Ning had clearly overestimated her tolerance. With one hand curled against her chest to support herself as she lay over Ye Jingtang, she had initially thought nothing of it. But as his body heat kept seeping into her, she gradually began to feel strange all over. Her face grew hot, her heart tangled like hemp, and her breathing involuntarily deepened...
Her thoughts in disarray, Luo Ning could only close her eyes and forcefully remind herself not to dwell on any of this, concentrating instead on listening to the situation outside the window.
Ye Jingtang lay obediently and did not cross the line again, but gradually, he noticed something was not quite right with the heroine Luo pressing down on him.
They were too close for him to see Luo Ning's face clearly. He could only tell that her eyes were closed, her breath was hot, and the front of her robes rose and fell.
Originally, Luo Ning's left hand had been curled against his chest to keep some distance between them. But as time passed, the strength supporting her gradually softened, until her upper body was resting against his chest.
?
Ye Jingtang's self-control might have been exceptional, but he was no saint. Seeing Luo Ning pressed right against him, he involuntarily raised his hand, quietly moved it onto her back, and stroked her gently.
Luo Ning kept her eyes closed, doing her utmost to sense what was happening outside. She seemed not to notice how his actions differed from before.
"..."
Ye Jingtang blinked, then slid his hand a little farther down.
"Mm?!"
This time, Luo Ning finally reacted. She snapped out of her daze, propped herself up again, and opened her eyes to glare at Ye Jingtang!
Ye Jingtang swiftly raised both hands and, with a solemn, earnest expression, mouthed a reminder:
"Don't lose focus!"
I lost focus?
Luo Ning had been "concentrating" on the sounds outside the window just now. She certainly did not think she had been distracted.
Besides, even if I did lose focus, does that mean you can grope me?
Seeing Ye Jingtang turn around and blame her, Luo Ning badly wanted to draw her sword and reason with him. But the person outside the inn was probably lying in wait, silent and seemingly still there.
After glaring fiercely at Ye Jingtang, Luo Ning wiped her hand on his clothes in disgust, rolled over to lie flat on the pillow, and rested a hand on the flexible sword at her waist. Suppressing her emotions, she said:
"We have things to do tomorrow. Go to sleep."
Seeing that Luo Ning was angry, Ye Jingtang gave a slight shrug, lay flat and proper, and listened carefully to the sounds outside.
The inn fell completely quiet. Neither spoke again, as though they had drifted contentedly into dreams after finishing their kisses.
But although the two of them were done, other people were still staying at the inn.
People from all walks of life gathered nearby, and those of the martial world paid little heed to propriety. Martial practitioners had energy to spare, so men and women making love at inns at night was a common occurrence.
Ye Jingtang had barely closed his eyes for a moment when he heard noises coming from one of the inn's rooms.
The voice sounded like weeping and pleading, far more accomplished than the heroine Luo's.
Ye Jingtang's expression turned strange. He quietly glanced at Luo Ning beside him and saw her already flushed face gradually become a cloud ablaze at sunset, then turn cold again. Her hands, folded over her lower abdomen, clenched tightly as she pretended she had heard nothing.
Ye Jingtang was listening for movements outside the window, but this noisy interference was genuinely distracting. After a moment's thought, he muttered:
"That woman's really wild, huh."
"Mm... shameless hussy..."
Tormented by the nearby sounds until her heart tangled like hemp, Luo Ning muttered a response, then turned over, leaving Ye Jingtang facing the back of her head.
Surprise flickered in Ye Jingtang's eyes when Luo Ning actually offered a comment. He had intended to chat casually for a bit, but judging by her appearance, she probably did not want to talk, so he let it drop.
In the stillness of the night, those sounds of clouds and rain over Mount Wu were a trial of willpower for the unattached man and woman lying together.
Fortunately, the man nearby was not particularly capable. After only about three minutes, the noises stopped, followed by a woman's irritated, quiet rebuke:
"Didn't you eat dinner...?"
Relieved of a great burden, Luo Ning secretly let out a breath.
The rainy night finally fell completely silent as well. At first, voices still sounded along the street, but as the night deepened, all that remained were the lanterns hanging outside the inn, gently swaying in the wind and rain.
The two lay there without a word for nearly two hours, yet no further movement came from outside.
Ye Jingtang was nowhere near sleepy. From time to time, he studied Luo Ning's profile to see whether she had fallen asleep.
Luo Ning gradually grew accustomed to lying beside Ye Jingtang. Her complexion returned to normal as she patiently waited for the fish to take the bait.
But the fish outside was more cautious than they had imagined. In the end, there was no unusual movement at all, until two faint sounds came from the window late in the night:
"Chirp, chirp..."
Luo Ning's eyelashes stirred. She opened her eyes, puzzled.
Ye Jingtang understood what Niao Niao meant-Open the window! Niao Niao is freezing to death!
After watching the window for a moment, he climbed over Luo Ning and crept silently toward it, saber in hand.
Creak-
The window lifted, and the cold wind and night rain immediately drifted inside.
The fluffy Niao Niao darted into the room with a "whoosh." Every feather was soaked. Landing straight on the bed, Niao Niao began shaking that little head like mad.
Swish, swish, swish-
Water droplets flew everywhere!
Luo Ning frowned, yet felt sorry for Niao Niao. She gathered the bird into her arms, wiped those feathers with the thin quilt, and asked softly:
"Did he leave?"
After enduring wind and rain all day, Niao Niao felt deeply aggrieved and first opened that beak.
Ye Jingtang observed through the window for a moment before coming over and taking out some dried meat to feed Niao Niao:
"Looks like he's gone."
After working at this for so long, Luo Ning had suffered no small torment. Naturally, those words angered her:
"Then what do we do? Was that whole performance for nothing?"
After finishing the bird food, Niao Niao finally felt a little better and pointed outside with a wing:
"Chirp, chirp..."
Ye Jingtang explained, "Niao Niao is very clever. If someone's secretly watching us, naturally Niao Niao becomes the oriole lurking behind them. I refuse to believe Wingless Owl is cautious enough to shake off a bird tailing him. We just need to follow Niao Niao and catch him."
Luo Ning still held a grudge over Ye Jingtang secretly groping her earlier, but with serious business at hand, she could hardly vent her anger. In the end, she climbed out the window with him...
Before you continue