The rain had stopped at some point.
Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy that blotted out the sky, casting dappled shadows across the fenced courtyard. Sounds once again came from the main house, which had been quiet for a long time:
Rustle, rustle~
The room was somewhat disheveled, with shoes and robes scattered on the floor.
Ye Jingtang, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion, lay on the bed. His bodily injuries had vanished without a trace, and his face had regained its usual color, but the severe damage to his spirit had yet to let him wake.
Xue Baijin silently sat up beside the bed. Her ink-black hair spilled down her back, and traces of tears still lingered at the corners of her eyes. Her expression, however, was somewhat dazed as she studied Ye Jingtang's face by the light from the window, a jumble of feelings in her eyes.
Ye Jingtang had indeed been rather restless last night, but Xue Baijin had remained clearheaded from beginning to end.
Not wanting him to suffer too much, she had already made the greatest concession she could. Little had she expected that kindness would invite bullying. After taking her most precious thing in a haze of passion, Ye Jingtang had not stopped while he was ahead, but had only gone further.
He had clearly been so tormented by pain that he could no longer think, yet he had still used those unheard-of moves to torment her. He even seemed to have used the Wind-Listening Palm, following her sensations specifically...
Aloof and cold by nature, Xue Baijin could hardly withstand such an onslaught. She had been swept along entirely, and before long, her whole mind had become muddled. She could not remember what she had said or done, much less when it had ended