"Tianqing, you were amazing! Mwah-"
Ling Luochеn trotted up to Yu Tianqing, rose onto her tiptoes, and planted a kiss on him.
With the beauty throwing herself into his arms, Yu Tianqing immediately noticed more than a dozen hostile gazes directed his way. He had no time to pay them any mind, though, and gave Ling Luochеn a light kiss on the forehead.
Good grief, the number of hostile gazes instantly tripled.
Ling Luochеn paid them no heed. She leaned against Yu Tianqing's chest, clinging to him without any wish to leave.
She had her own reasons. Strong male Soul Masters had been few and far between in the inner courtyard these past few years, and every one of her senior sisters had eyes on the top of her head.
They simply looked down on anyone too weak.
She had taken the initiative partly because she was happy, but more importantly, to stake her claim.
This was the man she, Ling Luochеn, had chosen.
She proudly puffed out her chest and led Yu Tianqing over to Ma Xiaotao.
Ma Xiaotao was being helped up from the ground. Her eyes were a little dazed, as though she were wondering how she had lost when they had barely even fought.
"Martial niece Xiaotao, are you all right?"
"Ling Luochеn, you!"
"Hmm-?"
Ling Luochеn drew out the sound, making her meaning clear.
"Hmph, martial aunt."
"Yes~ What a well-behaved niece!"
Ling Luochеn's eyes curved into crescents. She straightened up and composed herself, looking every bit a dignified elder:
"Since I'm your martial aunt, I should dote on my niece. Leave that Evil Fire of yours to me from now on. Just wait a while longer. A few more days won't make a difference anyway."
"I know~"
Ma Xiaotao answered weakly.
But her Evil Fire was hardly something she could simply put off. She only ever came looking for someone to suppress the fire when her cultivation brought her close to the limits of what she could endure.
Yet when she looked inside herself again, even she was startled.
The Evil Fire that had nearly overflowed had diminished by five percent.
Ma Xiaotao looked down at her front. There were two footprints there, their edges scorched black by lightning.
She raised her head in disbelief and watched Yu Tianqing's retreating back. Rubbing her lower abdomen, she murmured to herself:
"Was it... him?"
Night had fallen. Yu Tianqing and Ling Luochеn stood before a small wooden cabin, and Ling Luochеn pointed to the house next door.
"Tianqing, this is your room. Mine's next door."
"Mm."
Yu Tianqing answered, his mouth a little dry.
"It's getting late. How about I tidy my room tomorrow instead?"
This was a corner of Sea God Island, with only two houses standing side by side. Ling Luochеn had helped him choose his.
What she had in mind went without saying.
Ling Luochеn lowered her head, looking a little shy now.
"If... if you don't mind, you can stay in my room tonight..."
Her voice grew softer and softer, until it was no louder than a mosquito's hum.
"All right."
The two turned toward her room. Ling Luochеn took out her key, but it took her several tries to fit it into the lock.
The door creaked open.
Yu Tianqing followed Ling Luochеn inside. The room was dark, with no lights on.
He had just closed the door when the young woman's delicate body flew into his arms, pressing his back firmly against the door.
Her quick breaths brushed his face. Her soft, moist lips searched in the darkness, following the contours of his cheek until they finally found his mouth.
The two had already become familiar with each other's bodies in the Earth Dragon Sect's secret realm, and Ling Luochеn was merely rediscovering the feeling.
Before long, she found her rhythm.
Their hands roamed over each other's bodies, and their clothes lay scattered all over the floor.
Ling Luochеn was breathless, without a shred of strength left in her body. Leaning in Yu Tianqing's arms, she said:
"Carry me into the bedroom."
"Mm."
Yu Tianqing answered, scooped her up in a princess carry, and strode toward the bedroom.
There was a window in the bedroom, with Sea God Lake just outside.
In the distance, a full moon hung in the sky, and another lay in the water. Its cool light illuminated the room, bathing it in a hazy silver glow.
But neither of them had time to think about that. They only felt that the other looked especially beautiful.
Yu Tianqing kissed Ling Luochеn gently on the forehead and gazed at her affectionately.
Her hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and Yu Tianqing's figure was reflected in her clear blue eyes. Her arms had been wrapped around his neck since they entered the room, and she had yet to let go.
Smiling, Yu Tianqing reached out and pinched the corner of her lips.
"Why are you so clingy?"
"I... I don't know."
Ling Luochеn shyly turned her head aside, as though it were an extremely difficult question to answer.
She could not figure out when she had fallen for Yu Tianqing either.
Was it the warmth Yu Tianqing had brought her when she encountered the Ice Empress?
Was it the guilt that had tormented her heart when Yu Tianqing drew the danger away and left her the chance to survive?
Ling Luochеn could not tell. But the excitement she had felt upon seeing Yu Tianqing again outside Dragon City had certainly been real.
After that, their feelings for each other had quickly grown.
After waiting three months, her only thought upon seeing him again was that she wanted to cling to him forever.
A young woman's heart was as pure as an ice crystal. If she liked someone, she liked him. Why did there have to be so many reasons?
She turned back and gazed steadily at Yu Tianqing, her eyes hazy, as though filled with mist.
"Tianqing, love me~"
Tianqing, my beloved, ask no more: a heart of ice in a jade vessel.
A thin mist, like smoke and gauze, veiled the morning sunlight. Several birds called outside the window, their cries lingering in the quiet of Sea God Island.
The days were peaceful, everything exceptionally tranquil.
Perhaps because the window had not been shut tightly, damp mist drifted into the room, and Yu Tianqing woke at that moment.
Unlike the dryness of his room in Dragon City, this took him a moment to get used to.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Ling Luochеn's small, palm-sized face nestled against his chest. The corners of her lips were slightly raised, and she was sleeping especially soundly.
He recalled how Ling Luochеn had gradually grown bolder last night, going from shyly bashful to wanting to turn over and become a dragon rider, only to end up a little white rabbit at his mercy.
Yu Tianqing smacked his lips, feeling an unusual sense of accomplishment.
Cold on the outside and cloyingly sweet within really was something different!
Just then, Yu Tianqing suddenly sensed that something was different. Nothing bad had happened; rather, his Soul Power was circulating a little faster.
He focused his mind and looked within himself.
The origins of yin and yang had actually begun to reach a state of balance.
Yu Tianqing remembered: he had dual cultivated with Ling Luochеn last night, which had also greatly benefited his cultivation.
Harvesting the primal yin of Ultimate Ice would undoubtedly strengthen his yin-attribute origin.
If he had already been a Soul Emperor, his Soul Power would very likely have risen by one or two levels on the spot.
With yin and yang in harmony, Yu Tianqing felt exceptionally good. A cool sensation came from his chest, from the Living Gold Carving Knife he wore there, though it was wrapped in a leather sheath.
Life essence Qi surged rapidly into his body, and a sound also came from Yu Tianqing's Sea of Consciousness.
Oh, today really is a good day!