Embrace

After parting ways with Gu Hao, Qin Chuan headed back to Supreme Mystery Peak. He did not travel quickly, as he needed to sort through the day's events in his head.

He knew his enemy was the Heavenly Dao. Without the Heavenly Dao, he would have hacked the female lead and her three senior brothers to death long ago, and he would have told Shen Qingyuan to kill everyone except the male lead long ago as well.

With the Heavenly Dao looming as a threat, he had a vague feeling that he could not tell anyone else about the script. That was why he had never dared to tell Shen Qingyuan, for fear that something might go wrong and harm her instead.

Along the way, he carefully recalled Gu Hao's storyline. After reaching the Golden Core realm, he could remember anything he had seen.

That simp Zhuge Bulu fell for Gu Hao's schemes time and again, and Gu Xiran got caught up in them a few times too. The protagonist's group couldn't beat Gu Hao at plotting and scheming, so the male lead wiped him out directly, taking him out of the story by force.

Women's webnovels really are interesting. Every male supporting character has an enemy. I'll help Gu Hao out and see if I can use him to get rid of that simp Zhuge Bulu.

He recalled that Zhuge Bulu would also be going to the Cloud Province auction in six months. While snatching treasures, he could take the opportunity to kill Zhuge Bulu and send him down a simp's final road: dying a horrible death.

If his guess was wrong, he would still do everything he could to save Gu Hao. That would not count as setting Gu Hao up; he would only be bringing certain events forward.

And if his guess was right, Gu Hao would come to no harm and could even get rid of an enemy. It would be a huge win, and he would take the gamble alongside Gu Hao.

By the time he had thought it through, Qin Chuan was already back on Supreme Mystery Peak. With things more or less sorted out, he straightened his clothes and headed for Shen Qingyuan's residence. Wife, here I come.

He arrived at Shen Qingyuan's cave abode. The formation at the entrance did not hinder him in the slightest, and as soon as he entered the inner chamber, he saw Shen Qingyuan sitting on a stone stool in a daze.

One slender jade hand propped up her head. The side of her face was fair and luminous, and below it he could see her smooth neck and collarbones. She wore a loose white robe.

He walked softly to Shen Qingyuan's side, unable to bring himself to disturb her.

Shen Qingyuan had known Qin Chuan was there the moment he entered the inner chamber. His unwavering gaze made her afraid to move.

The two stayed like that in silence. In the end, Shen Qingyuan was the first to turn around under Qin Chuan's burning gaze. "Chuan'er, why did you come in without saying anything?"

"I saw that you were thinking about something, Master, so I didn't disturb you. I wanted to wait until you were done. By the way, what were you thinking about?" Qin Chuan asked casually.

"Nothing. I should congratulate you on taking first place in the formation competition. You also took first place in the martial competition a few days ago. You're now one of the finest of the Pure Void Sect's younger generation. I'm proud of you."

Shen Qingyuan stood up, intending to pat Qin Chuan's head as she had when he was little, only to discover that he was now more than half a head taller than her. She could only look up at him.

Qin Chuan was delighted to hear her words. He had not told Shen Qingyuan that he had taken first place in the martial competition, and it had only been a few hours since he had taken first place in the formation competition. For Shen Qingyuan to know both things, she must have been keeping an eye on him all along. He had to be properly "filial" to his master.

"Master, you promised me that if I took first place, you would grant me one request. Now that I've taken first place in both the formation and martial competitions, shouldn't you keep your promise?"

He lowered his head and stared intently at Shen Qingyuan, deliberately pressing close to her. Less than a centimeter separated them, and they could hear each other's heartbeats.

"Then what do you want me to do?" Shen Qingyuan appeared calm, but inside, a voice was clamoring that Qin Chuan was hers. With great difficulty, she forced the wild thought down.

Qin Chuan wanted nothing more than to ask Shen Qingyuan to be his wife outright, but he still had his wits about him. He could not move too fast and risk frightening her.

Countless ideas flashed through his mind. In the end, he chose a condition Shen Qingyuan should be able to accept and said jokingly, "Then give me a hug, Master."

"If you don't want to, that's fine too, Master. I didn't mean anything else by it. You can choose something else..." Qin Chuan added hastily. He regretted it somewhat. A hug was too fast; he should have held her hand first.

Just then, Shen Qingyuan crossed that one centimeter and embraced Qin Chuan.

Qin Chuan froze at first. But with fragrant warmth and soft jade in his arms, a scorching sensation reached him, and he could feel Shen Qingyuan's body heat.

Only after pressing against him did Shen Qingyuan remember that she had just bathed and was wearing only a white outer robe. But pulling away now would be even more awkward, and she did not want to leave Qin Chuan's embrace either.

For the moment, the secret feelings in her heart overcame her reason. She rested her head against Qin Chuan's chest, wrapped both arms around his waist, and breathed in his scent, her face full of contentment.

Qin Chuan's hands also came to rest on Shen Qingyuan's waist without his realizing it. With fragrant warmth and soft jade in his arms, he could not remain calm at all. He was actually embracing the master who had occupied his every thought.

At the same time, he was still wrestling with one matter...

To hell with it. At worst, Shen Qingyuan will beat me up. To die beneath the peonies is to be a romantic even as a ghost.

But Shen Qingyuan did not give Qin Chuan the chance, because the change in him gradually brought her back to her senses.

"I can't do this..."

Shen Qingyuan murmured the words and pushed Qin Chuan away. Not daring to look at him again, she turned her back to him and said, "Chuan'er, bring up the other promise later. It must be related to your cultivation."

"Yes, I'll do as you say, Master." Qin Chuan was still full of regret. He should never have hesitated.

Still, today had not been without gains. This time it was a hug; next time he could go a step further. Sooner or later, his master, that little white rabbit, would fall into the gentle trap he had woven.

"You may leave. I'm going to cultivate." Where Qin Chuan could not see, Shen Qingyuan's face was flushed.

"Yes." Qin Chuan did not shamelessly linger. He knew when to quit while he was ahead.

Just as he reached the entrance to the cave abode, Shen Qingyuan spoke again. "Chuan'er, although you're already a Golden Core cultivator and your primal yang isn't quite so important, you should still concentrate on cultivation. Don't let other things distract you and affect your cultivation."

Qin Chuan knew she had noticed how strongly he had reacted today. He hurriedly replied, "Yes, I'll listen to you, Master. My heart is set solely on cultivation."

"Mm, then go back and cultivate diligently." After saying that, Shen Qingyuan fell silent.

Qin Chuan hurried away, fleeing in embarrassment.