Chapter 101
Chapter 101
In no more than a few moments, simply because the young man wanted to make his wife smile, he had effortlessly dealt with every last poisonous puppet.
The first time Ding Yanyu met Shen Qingyu, he had realized that the young man was no ordinary person. On their second meeting, Shen Qingyu had come within an instant of taking his life. His instincts had not been wrong. If anything, Shen Qingyu was even more terrifying than he had imagined.
Yan Yanchi seized his chance. He hurled the Demon-Subduing Sword, and its blade struck the Glazed Lamp from Ding Yanyu’s hand and shattered it.
Ding Yanyu cried out in alarm, “No!”
In another blink, the Demon-Subduing Sword flew back, hurtling straight toward the space between his brows.
A figure suddenly appeared in front of Ding Yanyu. The Demon-Subduing Sword hummed. Following the gleaming blade to its hilt revealed a hand that was deathly pale and gripping it with tremendous force.
Yan Yanchi stood tall, his brow tightly furrowed.
Ding Ling spread her arms and shielded Ding Yanyu behind her, tears shimmering in her eyes. “Please. Don’t kill him.”
When Yan Yanchi had been surrounded and hunted down, this same frail ghost had resolutely placed herself in front of him.
Now that hunter and prey had traded places, she once again stood before the one at a disadvantage.
The shattering of the Glazed Lamp meant the destruction of the dream Ding Yanyu had plotted toward for ten long years. He looked wretched, as if he had aged decades. Yet when he saw the girl’s delicate back before him, light flared once more in his dark eyes.
“Lingling…”
Even after he had done something she despised, she was still willing to stand on his side. See? In the end, she could never let him go.
Emotion surged through Ding Yanyu. Blood poured even faster from the wound in his chest. At last, he closed his eyes, collapsed, and lost consciousness.
After a night of heavy rain, the skies cleared.
Qiao Ying sat on a stone stool in the courtyard, curiously examining the red stone in her hand. She held it up to the light. The stone turned an even deeper crimson, like blood condensed into crystal or a flame frozen solid.
“Why do I feel like… this stone ought to be scorching hot?” Yet it only felt warm in her palm, nothing like the blistering heat its color suggested.
The young man chuckled softly.
Qiao Ying looked up at him, annoyed. “What are you laughing at now?”
“I’m laughing because Yingying is so silly.” Shen Qingyu rested one arm on the stone table and propped his chin in his hand. His smiling expression made his already exquisite features seem even brighter.
One look at his face, and Qiao Ying could no longer bring herself to be angry. She leaned closer and stared openly at him, her voice turning lighter. “Do you know something? Hurry and tell me.”
Shen Qingyu said, “I don’t want to.”
Qiao Ying’s eyes darted. “You must not know. You’re only pretending to be mysterious. And here I used to think you were the most amazing person in the whole world. It seems I was wrong.”
His verdict was blunt. “A clumsy attempt at provocation.”
Without the slightest hint of shame, Qiao Ying hooked one finger around a lock of his white hair and drawled, “Just tell me whether it worked.”
Shen Qingyu considered it for a moment. “It worked a little.”
Qiao Ying smiled. “Then hurry up and tell me what this is. Let me broaden my horizons.”
Shen Qingyu said, “I’m thirsty.”
Qiao Ying immediately poured a cup of tea and placed it in his hand.
Shen Qingyu took a sip, then said at his leisure, “This is a Crimson Flame Stone. It contains an intense solar flame energy. If an ordinary person touched one, they might be scorched into human jerky.”
Qiao Ying flung the stone away in fright. “It’s that terrifying?”
He laughed again, apparently delighted by her alarm. In a fine mood, he explained, “I’ve already dissolved most of the solar flame energy in these stones.”
That was why he had given her a whole pile of red stones and she could handle them without harm.
He thought Qiao Ying would be angry at him again for toying with her. Instead, her first reaction was to seize his hand and painstakingly examine every one of his fingers.
Shen Qingyu was puzzled.
She fussed over him with genuine concern. “These things are so dangerous, and you took out so many at once. Did they burn you?”
The corners of Shen Qingyu’s lips lifted, and his air softened unconsciously. He curled his fingers and naturally captured her hand in his palm, his voice exceptionally gentle.
“I’m the most amazing person in the whole world. Little things like these can’t hurt me.”
“You still shouldn’t be careless. If you’re proud and overconfident, sooner or later something will go wrong.”
Shen Qingyu asked softly, “Is that also a principle of being human?”
Qiao Ying nodded solemnly. “Yes. That’s also a principle of being human.”
At that, Shen Qingyu nodded. “I understand. I won’t be proud or overconfident.”
Qiao Ying had the strange illusion that she was painting upon a blank sheet of paper. No matter what she said, he agreed with sweet, obedient docility.
“Those green things Ding Yanyu controlled last night, were they people or ghosts? And were they powered by these stones?”
Shen Qingyu said, “They were neither people nor ghosts, only corpses that had been altered. Crimson Flame Stones can turn stiff, cold bodies into puppets capable of movement. I suppose that counts as what you call returning from the dead.”
Qiao Ying disagreed. “They have no thoughts or feelings. Only their corpses can move. How does that count as returning from the dead?”
Shen Qingyu smiled and echoed her, “Exactly. How could that count as returning from the dead?”
As he held her hand, all he did was agree with her every word. He was so sweetly obedient that she could not help adoring him.
Unable to resist, Qiao Ying pushed herself up, intending to steal a kiss. Then she remembered it was broad daylight, and someone else might see them. Her courage failed her.
Just as she began to retreat, the young man followed her scent, lowered his head, and kissed the corner of her lips.
First came a featherlight touch, followed by a firmer caress. Then, in the instant she parted her lips to stop him, he slipped into that warm depth. Tongue entwined with tongue, breath mingled with breath. Nothing could have been more intoxicating.
Not long ago, this young man had not even known what a wedding night was. Now a single kiss from him was enough to steal away her soul.
While Qiao Ying was still floating in a daze, she clung to her last scrap of reason and hurriedly pushed him away. His beguiling laughter followed her, and so did he. He gently caught her lower lip between his teeth, still intent on going deeper.
“Enough, Shen Qingyu! No debauchery in broad daylight!”
She steeled herself and shoved hard enough to push him back a little.
He pressed his damp lips together as if savoring the taste. Then his entire air shifted. He made no effort to conceal his desire, and his smile blazed bright and beautiful enough to bewitch the soul.
With his forehead resting against hers, his white hair spilling around them and his white silk blindfold stirring lightly, he asked in a soft, clinging voice,
“Why, Yingying?”
“Don’t you want me too?”
“Why aren’t you taking off my clothes like you did last time?”
Qiao Ying’s face burned red. She hurriedly covered his mouth. “Be quiet. We should go check on Daoist Master Yan!”