Chapter 80
Chapter 80
Having tasted passion for the first time, the young man discovered that something beneath the heavens could bring him even greater pleasure than killing.
He lost himself in it, knowing only to seek that hidden paradise and drown in its tenderness.
Again and again, he sank deeper.
When a red candle sputtered, the exhausted girl collapsed against him.
“Yingying… Yingying…” He stroked her face, pressed their lips together, and fed her another breath of vital essence. “Why did you never share this pleasure with me before?”
Qiao Ying should have lacked the strength to continue, but every breath of his essence revived her completely.
She sat up again without fatigue. “More.”
Shen Qingyu laughed in delight.
He possessed no restraint. No matter how many times Qiao Ying demanded more, he complied.
By dawn, matters had grown increasingly absurd.
Sustained by her young husband’s breaths of “immortal energy,” Qiao Ying remained entirely unharmed. Her waist did not ache, her back did not hurt, and she seemed to possess inexhaustible strength.
“More.”
“More.”
“I want more.”
The hands supporting her waist gradually weakened. Shen Qingyu collapsed upon the bed. Sweat dampened his long white hair, leaving one disobedient lock against his beautiful face. Marks covered his slender body as though he had endured merciless torment.
Yet the girl beside him continued staring with unblinking black eyes.
“Shen Qingyu, I want more.”
Shen Qingyu fell silent.
Qiao Ying had hesitated to marry him, so he had bewitched her and suppressed her emotions until she willingly became his bride.
Yet her desire for him seemed endless.
Only now did he realize something.
Qiao Ying brushed the white hair from his face, leaned close to kiss him, and insisted, “Shen Qingyu, I want more.”
She desired him too, but unlike those who coveted his “value,” her desire was for him alone.
She liked his voice.
She liked his face.
She liked his body.
The young man was not truly a beautiful ghost who lured prey with his looks and flesh. Yet even without being one, he could summon every desire within her.
A flame ignited unexpectedly in Shen Qingyu’s chest. Faint warmth became a blaze that raced through his blood into every limb.
His fingers tightened unconsciously. A fine itch rose through the scorching heat. His ears flushed, and his breathing lost its rhythm.
Her claim that she favored him above others had not been false.
Having lost too much vital essence in a short time, the young man barely supported his weakened body. He leaned toward her inch by inch. Snow-white hair spilled across the marks upon his chest and brushed the girl’s collarbone, making her itch.
How amusing. He was supposed to be the Evil Ghost who stole another’s soul, yet he had become the sacrifice offered to this girl.
He laughed in pleasure and lowered his head to kiss her.
“Yingying, I’ll give it to you.”
Just as he tried to force out more essence for her, she cupped his haggard, paper-pale face.
“Shen Qingyu, do you truly intend to die of exhaustion?”
Shen Qingyu had no answer.
At some point, light had returned to Qiao Ying’s eyes. She forcibly pressed him down and pulled the quilt over his battered body. Then she lay beside him and sighed deeply, with the air of someone exhaling smoke after the act.
“If you can’t continue, don’t force yourself.”
Shen Qingyu tightened his lips. The bitten corner hurt. “I can continue.”
Qiao Ying lay on her side, propped her head on one hand, and studied him before mercilessly observing, “You must be the greatest failure in history at the whole forced-love-and-confinement routine.”
Forget his waist. He probably could not even lift his legs.
Shen Qingyu did not understand her words, but he heard her disdain. He closed his mouth and said nothing.
Qiao Ying laughed, enjoying the satisfaction of watching him drop a stone on his own foot.
Perhaps he had poured too much vital essence into her, or perhaps his strength had simply failed. Whatever the reason, the restraint inside Qiao Ying’s mind had somehow dissolved.
She had been angry at first. But when she saw that she had nearly drained him dry and he still intended to satisfy her bottomless desire, her anger gradually disappeared.
He had never received a normal upbringing. To call his thinking unusual was far too mild; his entire sense of right and wrong had been twisted. He barely understood ordinary human relationships, much less love. He knew how to imitate behavior without understanding the reason behind it.
He suddenly asked, “Will you divorce me?”
Qiao Ying looked surprised. “You don’t even understand marriage, yet you’re already asking about divorce?”
“I understand marriage. We consummated it. Now we are husband and wife.”
“Oh,” Qiao Ying said.
He asked again, “Will you want to divorce me?”
“Would you let me?”
He smiled. “No.”
Whether she wished it or not, they would remain entangled through every lifetime.
He expected anger. Instead, a bare, warm body slipped into his arms. His hand naturally settled upon her soft stomach and stroked it.
The abdomen was the body’s softest, most vulnerable place. She had regained her senses, yet still exposed it to him without defense.
Resting against his chest, Qiao Ying played with a lock of white hair and muttered, “We bowed, consummated the marriage, and turned the raw rice into cooked rice. I even drained your vital essence. If I demanded to leave, you would capture me.
“I would cry and rage, demanding freedom. You would chain me up and threaten to break my legs if I ran again. Then I’d refuse to speak with you. Perhaps I’d become pregnant with your cub but not want the child.
“One night in pouring rain, you’d clutch my waist with reddened eyes and beg, ‘Call me Husband, and I’ll give you my life.’
“Finally, my heart would soften, and we’d reconcile.”
She sighed. “What would be interesting about such a plot?”
Shen Qingyu had no idea which storybook had inspired her rambling. After a long silence, he corrected, “My eyes are not red.”
“So we should skip all that and go directly to reconciliation.” Qiao Ying raised her face, pressed her forehead to his, and imitated his gentle nuzzling. “I didn’t hesitate to marry because I don’t like you.”
Her movement tickled him, and his smile returned. “Then why?”
“Marriage is different from courting. We must bear greater responsibility for each other. What if I find my family and they dislike you? What if you suffer because of them? What if we have a child who disobeys? What if everyday troubles accumulate until you no longer like me and I no longer like you?”
Shen Qingyu reminded her with a smile, “You did not consider any of those questions while demanding me again and again.”
Qiao Ying fell silent.
Then she collapsed against his chest and exhaled in surrender.
“So now we can only live our lives together. From now on, I’ll learn to be a good wife. Shen Qingyu, you must learn to be a good husband. All right?”
The young man took her hand, kissed her fingertips, and laughed softly. “All right.”