The two returned to the Earth Dragon Sect and ate a quick dinner.
"See you tomorrow, Tianqing!"
Ling Luochen rose on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around Yu Tianqing's neck, and gave him a light kiss on the lips. Before he could react, she quickly slipped back into her room, waved, and closed the door.
These were the Earth Dragon Sect's guest quarters. Compared with the boundless wasteland of the Far North, Ling Luochen had instead grown reserved and cautious here.
Yu Tianqing had no thoughts of going any further, either.
He had something more important to do at the moment.
Soft light spilled through the gap in the half-open door of Nan Qiuqiu's bedroom.
Nan Shuishui sat by the bed, holding Nan Qiuqiu's hand and looking at her sleeping daughter, her face full of tenderness.
With a creak, Yu Tianqing pushed the door open. Nan Shuishui glanced back at him, then turned to watch Nan Qiuqiu again.
Yu Tianqing came up behind her, bent down close to her ear, and asked softly:
"How's Qiuqiu?"
His warm breath brushed Nan Shuishui's ear, making it tickle a little.
She had just entered a warm room from the icy Far North. Her blood vessels had contracted and then dilated, and the release of inflammatory mediators would have stimulated her nerve endings to begin with.
With Yu Tianqing's warm breath blowing on her as well, a jolt like an electric shock spread from her ear throughout her body. Nan Shuishui shifted without showing any outward reaction before answering calmly:
"Qiuqiu spent the whole day freezing outside, but she's a Soul Master, so it's nothing serious. She's just a little tired. She'll be fine after some sleep."
Yu Tianqing rested his chin on Nan Shuishui's shoulder:
"Our daughter's really healthy!"
Nan Shuishui was both annoyed and amused, but this was her daughter's bedroom, and she couldn't make too much noise. She merely rolled her eyes and said nothing, letting Yu Tianqing wrap his arms around her waist.
"How far have you and Luochen gotten?"
"Luochen said she's going to stay at our Earth Dragon Sect for a while."
Nan Shuishui froze for a moment before understanding, then nodded with satisfaction:
The pig she had raised had finally learned to root up cabbages.
It was just that the first cabbage he had rooted up...
Nan Shuishui sighed inwardly. Just then, Nan Qiuqiu shifted restlessly in her sleep, turning her face toward the two of them, and one little foot slipped out from under the blanket.
Yu Tianqing could clearly feel Nan Shuishui's body tense for a moment, then quickly relax.
She must have noticed that Nan Qiuqiu was still fast asleep. Her reaction struck him as rather funny, and his movements grew bolder.
With his hands against the silk fabric of her qipao, he stroked Nan Shuishui's waist back and forth.
Yu Tianqing still remembered that, in his previous life,
in the People's Education Press junior high physics textbook,
the charge on a glass rod rubbed with silk was called a positive charge.
Although he was using his hands, the places where Yu Tianqing stroked Nan Shuishui still gradually grew warm and pleasantly tingly.
The lamplight was dim and yellow, and the room was warm.
They were in Nan Qiuqiu's bedroom, too, and as she felt the man's hot breath behind her, a strange feeling welled up in her heart.
Nan Shuishui squirmed a few times, adjusted her sitting position, and pushed out her chest as though to resist Yu Tianqing, pretending nothing was happening.
Yu Tianqing was in no hurry. Instead, he became like an exceptionally patient hunter. His hands never stopped, but he went no further, simply stroking the soft flesh of Nan Shuishui's waist back and forth.
From Nan Shuishui's increasingly rapid breathing, he knew she was not as calm as she appeared.
The atmosphere in the room gradually grew intimate.
Finally, with a soft whimper, Nan Shuishui was the first to stand and slip out of Yu Tianqing's embrace. She took two steps to Nan Qiuqiu's bedside, straightened her body, and tucked her blanket in.
When she turned her head, she saw Yu Tianqing standing where he was, looking at her with the hint of a smile. How could she not know what the rascal meant?
She had lost this contest.
A little annoyed, Nan Shuishui pushed against Yu Tianqing's chest, making him step backward until they were both outside the room.
She closed the door, and, finally out of her daughter's room, her whole body relaxed. She shot Yu Tianqing an irritated glare:
"Go take a bath. You stink!"
How could Yu Tianqing fail to understand what she meant? He hurried back to his room in high spirits.
Nan Shuishui watched Yu Tianqing leave as if he'd been injected with chicken blood, a smile curving her lips. Then she opened Nan Qiuqiu's door again and locked it behind her.
Just then, Nan Qiuqiu woke in a daze. She looked at Nan Shuishui and asked:
"Mom, what's wrong?"
Nan Shuishui shook her head:
"Nothing. Qiuqiu, how about Mom sleeps with you tonight?"
"Okay~ Okay~"
"I'll borrow your bathroom for a bath first."
Nan Shuishui entered the bathroom, took off her clothes, and held her underwear up in front of her to inspect it.
At some point, a damp patch had appeared on it.
Knowing she had escaped this ordeal tonight, the only thing she could do now was drag things out.
She gazed at herself in the mirror. Her skin was delicate and smooth, and her brows and eyes held a particular charm. After a long while, she finally sighed:
"Tianqing, Aunt Nan is old, after all, and I have the Earth Dragon Sect to look after. I shouldn't become a burden to you."
"You should have a life of your own."
The next morning, after a night of cultivation, Ling Luochen felt refreshed and invigorated. When she arrived at the Earth Dragon Sect's dining hall, she found all three of them already there.
Yu Tianqing, however, had dark circles under his eyes and looked listless as he mechanically ate the food in front of him.
Seeing this, Ling Luochen wanted to ask about it, but remembering that Nan Shuishui, an elder, was present, she restrained herself and bowed to her:
"Aunt Nan, I'm sorry. Cultivation took a little longer than expected."
"It's all right. Sit down and eat before the food gets cold."
Nan Shuishui looked at Ling Luochen with curved brows and a warm smile, displaying all the tenderness and affection of an elder.
Halfway through the meal, Nan Shuishui asked Ling Luochen:
"By the way, Luochen, has your Martial Soul reached Ultimate Ice?"
"Yes, Aunt Nan. I just need the next few days to stabilize it."
"That's good. Our Earth Dragon Sect has a secret realm, so Tianqing can take you there to cultivate together over the next few days. It should be very helpful for stabilizing your cultivation."
"A secret realm?"
"Yes, and the treasures in the sect's secret realm also need a Soul Master with Ultimate Ice to pick them. As you know, an Ultimate Attribute only appears once every few thousand years on the continent, let alone Ultimate Ice."
"Our Earth Dragon Sect has merely been sitting on them without being able to put them to much use. However much you can take is yours."
"Aunt Nan, I absolutely can't accept that! You helped me hunt souls, and that was what allowed my Martial Soul to evolve into Ultimate Ice. How could I take your sect's treasures too? I can help you retrieve them for free."
Ling Luochen was a little agitated. She already felt somewhat guilty toward Nan Shuishui and the others, and she didn't want to take further advantage of them.
Nan Shuishui smiled and glanced at Yu Tianqing:
"You and Tianqing are already in that kind of relationship, so why draw a line between yours and ours? Sooner or later, we'll all be one family."
Ling Luochen glanced at Yu Tianqing too. She didn't try to hide it, though she was a little embarrassed, and murmured in reply:
"Aunt Nan, I understand."