Chapter 10
The veiled hat Shu Li wore to conceal his face was another item Yu Tai had dug out of her Demon Lord father’s mountain of possessions.
She had no idea what material it was made from. It was waterproof, fireproof, and difficult to stain-perfect for going out on a vaca… on a training expedition.
Within his wide sleeves, ten jade-smooth fingers looked even longer in the firelight.
The chain extending from his wrist toward Yu Tai swayed from time to time, as though its master were teasing a pet from afar.
Mo Xiaowei propped up her chin and stared at Shu Li’s face behind the veil. “Are you Yu Tai’s demon beast?”
At her question, Shu Li nodded.
Xiaowei pouted unhappily. “Why don’t you speak? I suppose you really were born an animal.”
“Junior Sister!” Passerby rebuked.
Her eyes immediately reddened. Several cultivators nearby felt sorry for her at once.
“First Senior Brother, why are you yelling at her? It’s only a demon beast. Junior Sister didn’t say anything wrong!”
Emboldened by their support, Mo Xiaowei became even more arrogant. “Exactly! I didn’t say anything wrong! It’s just a demon beast that took human form. What’s so special about that? When we get back, I’ll have Father get me one too.”
Despite this barrage of insults, Shu Li continued working methodically, as though nothing in the world could affect him.
Passerby felt awkward, but he could not bring himself to apologize.
Perhaps the demon beast could not understand them at all.
Some demon beasts possessed an adult appearance after taking human form, yet retained the mind of a young child.
This one might be the same.
He unconsciously ignored the fact that a young child would not know how to roast meat.
After the group had eaten their fill, grease coating their mouths, Shu Li returned without a sound.
Xia Mo lay belly-up on Yu Tai, lazily enjoying having its round stomach rubbed to aid digestion.
At the clink of the chain, Yu Tai glanced up at him. “I’ll stand watch again tonight.”
Ever since entering the Bishui Secret Realm, Yu Tai had personally kept watch each night.
To put it plainly, she did not trust Shu Li.
He had no objection.
Once Shu Li sat cross-legged with his back toward her, Yu Tai circulated the spiritual qi throughout her body. The moment she felt the faint obstruction, she understood.
[I took the male lead’s primordial yang essence as soon as I arrived, yet a problem appeared almost immediately. That one kiss before this has sustained me until now. Why?]
The System explained, [It was precisely because you successfully obtained the male lead’s primordial yang essence and received the crucial righteous qi within him that the demonic qi throughout your body was completely concealed. Any intimate contact afterward will gradually assist your cultivation. If you had merely kissed the male lead at the beginning, you would not have been able to obtain his righteous qi.]
Yu Tai understood.
She walked over to Shu Li. Using his body to hide her movements, she crouched and slowly crept around in front of him. Then she lifted the veil, revealing a face that made even the full moon in the night sky seem dim.
Shu Li raised his eyes and watched her in silence. He appeared ready to speak, but Yu Tai pressed a finger to his lips.
Her fingertip rubbed over the slightly dry skin until his pale lips turned red. Only then did she murmur, “They’re a little dry. I’ll give you some water.”
With that, she leaned slowly toward him.
Her full lips were almost touching his when one of Shu Li’s hands braced against her shoulder.
Cool rejection mingled in the gaze he fixed on Yu Tai, silently refusing her approach.
She frowned impatiently, wrenched his hand aside, and dragged him forward by the collar. Then she bit down hard on his lips.
Rule Two for Vicious Female Supporting Characters: when righteous qi is at stake, never yield an inch.
Yu Tai did not like closing her eyes when she kissed someone.
Watching her stir turmoil into Shu Li’s usually tranquil, moonlit gaze was genuinely fascinating.
That was why she noticed the stare from across the clearing at once.
She tilted her head slightly. Without breaking the kiss, she looked through the gap beside Shu Li.
At some point, Mo Xiaowei had turned toward them. She now stared at Yu Tai with shock and disgust.
Yu Tai blinked and parted from him. A strand of saliva trickled from the corner of her mouth, and she licked it away with the tip of her tongue. At this moment, not a trace remained of the cold, proud Junior Sister of the Qingshan Sword Sect.
Following Yu Tai’s gaze, Shu Li turned his head slightly, revealing part of his profile.
That was enough for sharp-eyed Xiaowei to see his lips, red from being sucked, and the desire flushing the corners of his eyes. Like a bewitching spirit, he was impossible to look away from.
“Shameless!” Mo Xiaowei pointed a trembling finger at Yu Tai and screamed.
Her shout successfully drew everyone’s attention.
Passerby jumped and hurried over. “What happened?”
The others rose as well.
Mo Xiaowei’s brows were knotted tight. Her eyes were full of disgust mixed with some other emotion, and her entire face had gone scarlet.
“She and her demon beast were doing that! It’s disgusting! Absolutely disgusting!”
Everyone stared in confusion.
Passerby asked, “Doing what? What are you talking about, Junior Sister?”
Mo Xiaowei looked as though she had swallowed something foul. She could not force out the two words. Furious and frantic, she stamped her foot.
“That… They were doing *that*! Ah! Senior Brother, how can you be so stupid? Why don’t you understand?”
While everyone remained bewildered, Yu Tai suddenly moved.
“There. Did it come out of your eye?”
“Next time, don’t just endure it. Blow the dirt away, and it’ll be gone immediately.”
The young woman frowned with apparent concern and caressed the man before her as though he were some precious treasure.
Outside everyone’s view, Yu Tai tightened her grip in warning. Shu Li’s eyes were half closed, several veins standing out along his neck as he endured the pain.
He nodded.
Only then did Yu Tai release him and stand. She turned toward Mo Xiaowei’s group.
“What is the matter, Fellow Cultivators?”
The others seemed to finally understand what Mo Xiaowei had made such a fuss about. They laughed awkwardly.
“Junior Sister, you misunderstood. She was only blowing some dust from his eye.”
Mo Xiaowei was stunned by Yu Tai’s shameless ability to behave as if nothing had happened.
“I didn’t misunderstand! She was doing that with the demon beast!”
Yu Tai’s lovely brows drew together, plainly offended. “Fellow Cultivator, please mind your words.”
The beautiful woman’s resolute figure, silhouetted against the firelight, struck directly at the hearts of several male cultivators.
“Junior Sister! Stop making trouble and apologize. How can you accuse someone like that because you saw things incorrectly?”
“That’s right, Junior Sister. You were mistaken.”
Mo Xiaowei stared in disbelief. Were these truly the Senior Brothers who usually doted on her?
Spoiled rotten by her entire sect, the lawless Mo Xiaowei met her match in Yu Tai-someone just as adored but infinitely more cunning. For the first time in her life, Xiaowei suffered the injustice of telling the truth while no one believed her.
“Waaah! You’re all bullying me! I wasn’t wrong! You’re bullying me! I’m telling Father when we get back! Waaah…”
Yu Tai’s horizons were broadened. For the first time, she saw an adult throw herself onto the ground and sob, kick, and punch like a five-year-old child.
Tsk. How useless.