Lu Li’s kiss was more urgent than ever before, seemingly carrying a hint of punishment as he kept nibbling and biting at Ye Ran’s lips.
Ye Ran, meanwhile, was both frightened and terrified.
She hadn’t expected Lu Li to kiss her right out in the open like this.
Tomorrow was the sect competition, and the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect was bustling with activity. Disciples could pass by at any moment.
If anyone saw her and Lu Li kissing as if oblivious to the world, the news would likely spread throughout the entire sect in less than an hour.
At this thought, Ye Ran’s heart raced uncontrollably. She clenched her teeth tightly to prevent Lu Li from intruding, while pressing against his chest, trying to push him away.
But this action only displeased Lu Li.
He pressed Ye Ran even tighter against the tree and kissed her more urgently. No longer content with eager sucking, he bit down on Ye Ran’s lip.
The pain on her lip made Ye Ran instinctively part her teeth, and Lu Li seized the opportunity to slip inside, hooking his tongue around hers and leaving her no escape.
After several days apart, Lu Li’s kissing skills had actually improved. Though still urgent, it was no longer as overwhelming as before.
Gradually, Ye Ran’s resistance weakened. She even felt the urge to respond.
But just as she was about to respond, the sound of footsteps came from the distance.
Ye Ran’s body tensed instantly.
The two of them were standing right next to a main path. Anyone passing by would spot them immediately.
Ye Ran’s budding response instantly turned back into resistance. This time, she actually managed to push Lu Li back a little, their lips finally separating slightly.
“Senior Brother Lu, someone’s coming… mm—”
Before she could finish her sentence, Lu Li kissed her again, seemingly unconcerned by the approaching footsteps.
Ye Ran was panicking, her heart racing faster and faster. In desperation, she bit down on Lu Li’s tongue.
The taste of iron immediately filled both their mouths, but instead of stopping, Lu Li only grew more excited, his entanglement growing fiercer.
The mingled sensations of tension and suffocation made Ye Ran’s body tremble.
But it was in that moment that Ye Ran seemed to understand Lu Li’s intention. She stopped resisting and began to respond to him actively, her hand sliding from his chest up to his shoulder.
The footsteps drew closer, accompanied by faint voices.
Realizing that more than one person was approaching, Ye Ran’s body grew even more rigid. Her hand on Lu Li’s shoulder instinctively tightened, gripping his robe.
Just as a figure appeared around the corner, Lu Li spun Ye Ran around and hid behind a tree.
But his kiss never stopped.
Soon, the voices reached their ears clearly, just a few steps away.
If they made any sound now, they would surely be discovered.
Ye Ran was so nervous she held her breath, her body frozen, afraid to move even an inch.
Lu Li seemed displeased by her stillness and bit her lip again.
Ye Ran was already on edge. Lu Li’s sudden action startled her so much she nearly cried out.
At that moment, the passing disciples were walking right past the tree. Ye Ran’s heart leapt to her throat. To keep Lu Li from causing more trouble, she had no choice but to take the initiative: she pressed her lips to his, licking and nibbling softly.
When the footsteps finally faded at the end of the path, Ye Ran immediately stopped, collapsing limply into Lu Li’s arms.
But before she could catch her breath, a cool hand lifted her chin, forcing her to meet Lu Li’s eyes.
“Has junior sister been avoiding me lately?”
Ye Ran’s just-relaxed body tensed up again, her expression visibly turning nervous.
“O-Of course not.”
“Is that so?”
Lu Li stared into Ye Ran’s eyes, his hand slowly stroking her waist, sending waves of tingling sensation through her and making her back stiffen.
But this movement only pulled her closer to Lu Li. She could even feel the slight rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.
Ye Ran’s heart pounded even faster, the guilt on her face growing more pronounced.
“That’s right. I’ve just been very busy lately. I haven’t been deliberately avoiding Senior Brother Lu.”
“I see.”
Lu Li looked as though he believed this explanation, but his arm around Ye Ran’s waist showed no sign of loosening. Instead, it tightened further, squeezing so hard that Ye Ran found it difficult to breathe.
Ye Ran couldn’t help but struggle a little, but it had no effect. However, in her struggle, she suddenly remembered an important question.
That kick she had delivered the other day had been quite hard. Was Lu Li… alright?
At that thought, Ye Ran instinctively looked down at Lu Li’s waist. When she looked back up, her expression was noticeably more guilty.
“S-Senior Brother Lu, I didn’t mean to kick you the other day. Are you… alright now?”
But no sooner had she asked than Lu Li’s face darkened.
Seeing Ye Ran’s guilty expression, a wave of frustration surged up in him, clogging his chest and making him feel particularly awful.
For an ordinary person, being kicked at a moment like that might have left them unable to function ever again.
Fortunately, with his level of cultivation, that kick couldn’t actually harm him.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t feel the pain.
After Ye Ran left that day, it had taken him a long time to recover. Yet, in the end, he had actually experienced an unprecedented sense of pleasure.
It made him desperately want to grab Ye Ran and settle accounts with her thoroughly.
But he had already put off many matters that entire night, so he had no choice but to suppress his urges and deal with his duties first.
Who would have thought that after that day, Ye Ran would start deliberately avoiding him?
And today in the main hall was no different. The moment Ye Ran entered the hall, his gaze had locked onto her.
But when she saw him, she reacted like a mouse spotting a cat—not only avoiding his eyes but also being the first to slip away the moment the meeting ended, as if she didn’t want to be tainted by even the slightest connection to him.
But that night, she was the one who had come to him. She was the one who had clung to him, demanding dual cultivation.
Even if there had been some misunderstanding, now that she had provoked him, she couldn’t just wash her hands of him.
He would cling to her—until death.
Gradually, a deep possessiveness colored Lu Li’s gaze.
His hand on Ye Ran’s waist slid slightly lower, then tightened, pulling her even closer.
Almost instantly, Ye Ran could feel the change in Lu Li.
Then Lu Li lowered his head, bringing his lips within a hair’s breadth of hers.
“I’m not feeling well, it seems. What does junior sister suggest I do?”
Ye Ran’s eyes widened in shock. She hadn’t expected Lu Li to…
He wasn’t unwell at all—if anything, he was clearly very well.
But meeting his burning gaze, her body couldn’t help but tremble. She pressed against Lu Li’s chest, pushing him back slightly.
“Senior Brother Lu, I really didn’t mean it that day. I’ve deeply reflected on my mistake. You’re magnanimous—can you forgive me?”
Ye Ran’s eyes were full of pleading.
Her pitiful look stirred in Lu Li a desire to bully her fiercely—to bully her until she cried.
Lu Li’s eyes darkened further. But just as he was about to make his move, the jade token at his waist lit up.
The sect leader was looking for him.
A flicker of gleeful relief appeared in Ye Ran’s eyes, but the small expression didn’t escape Lu Li’s notice.
He leaned close to her again. “If junior sister is truly repentant, how about coming to me in person tonight to apologize?”
“No problem. Don’t worry, Senior Brother Lu. I’ll definitely give you a proper apology.”
All Ye Ran wanted right now was to send Lu Li on his way, so she agreed to anything without a second thought—certainly without considering the hidden meaning behind his words.
Seeing how readily Ye Ran agreed, Lu Li’s expression finally cleared.
The moment he released Ye Ran, his figure vanished before her eyes.
Now that she had finally sent him off, Ye Ran collapsed against the tree, panting. It was a long time before she mustered the strength to return to her quarters.
This time, the moment Ye Ran pushed open her door, the system—usually found sleeping soundly—leaped directly into her arms.
“Host! It’s here! It’s here again!”
The system’s fluffy tail stood straight up, clearly very excited.
This behavior left Ye Ran thoroughly confused.
“What’s here?”
“Another love letter has arrived!”
With that, the system jumped out of Ye Ran’s arms, sprang onto the table, and pointed at the envelope lying there.
“Not long after you left, a crane flew in with a letter in its beak.”
“Another love letter, sure enough!”
Ye Ran walked to the table and saw that it was indeed the familiar envelope.
Thinking of how the person who had sent these letters, by pretending to be Lu Li, had caused her so much trouble, Ye Ran seethed with anger.
She immediately opened the letter, looking for clues, hoping to track down the culprit.
This time, Ye Ran read carefully, not missing a single word or line.
“Host, what does the love letter say?”
After Ye Ran finished reading, the system couldn’t help but lean in as well.
“He’s inviting me to meet him at the back mountain tonight.”
“Host, then let’s go. We have to expose this creep!” The system’s furry face was filled with righteous indignation.
Ye Ran nodded in agreement. “That’s right. I have to see who this person really is.”
If she didn’t expose him, he would likely continue harassing her under Lu Li’s name.
So she had to teach him a lesson.
Having made up her mind, Ye Ran got busy. Since she didn’t know the other party’s strength, she prepared many self-defense items to ensure she could get away without a hitch.
After doing all that, night had already fallen.
As the sky grew dark, Ye Ran made her way to the back mountain under the cover of moonlight.
When she reached the place mentioned in the letter, she spotted a figure in the distance. She slowed her pace, intending to sneak closer for a look at the person’s face.
But just as she approached, the person seemed to sense her presence and turned around.
The moment she recognized the face, Ye Ran was stunned.
“Senior Brother Meng! It’s you?”
“Junior sister, you came!”
Meng Xuan’s gaze was no longer restrained as it had been before. Instead, it burned with an unusual intensity, laced with a sticky clinginess that made Ye Ran deeply uncomfortable.
“What is the meaning of this, Senior Brother Meng? Why are you impersonating Senior Brother Lu and writing me letters?”
After her initial shock, Ye Ran immediately stepped back warily, her eyes full of caution.
She had never imagined the love letters were written by the male lead, nor had she expected him to set his sights on her so early.
Hearing her accusation, a hint of dejection appeared on Meng Xuan’s face.
“Senior Brother Lu is very popular among the female disciples in the sect. Yet I, also a disciple of the sect leader, seem completely worthless. That’s why I borrowed Senior Brother Lu’s identity. Otherwise, you probably wouldn’t even glance at the letters I send, junior sister, and you certainly wouldn’t have come tonight.”
“I already know the letters weren’t written by Senior Brother Lu. The reason I came tonight is to tell you, Senior Brother Meng, to stop sending me these things. I don’t like them.”
Thinking that all those letters had been written by Meng Xuan, Ye Ran suddenly felt a wave of revulsion. She wished she could go back right now and burn every last one of them.
Yet back when she had thought Lu Li was the writer, she hadn’t felt this way at all.
Before Ye Ran could sort out her thoughts, Meng Xuan stepped closer again, his gaze growing even more fervent.
“But junior sister, I truly like you. From the very first time I saw you, I was drawn to you.”
As he spoke, Meng Xuan actually pulled out a leather whip and held it out to Ye Ran.
“I’ve fantasized countless times about you using this whip on me, junior sister. I want to be controlled by you. I can even be your dog. Please, junior sister, reward me.”
Meng Xuan’s expression gradually grew obsessed.
But in Ye Ran’s eyes, it was merely perverse, and her revulsion only intensified.
She wanted to kick Meng Xuan, but she was afraid he would enjoy it.
Then a thought struck her. Taking advantage of Meng Xuan’s defenseless moment, she cast a spell, summoned a large boulder, and smashed him into the lake.
Standing at the shore, watching Meng Xuan pinned beneath the stone, Ye Ran’s disgust finally began to fade.
“Mind your words, Senior Brother Meng. I don’t like you, and I see you only as an ordinary fellow disciple. If you do something this rash again, I will hand all those letters over to the sect leader.”
The back mountain was sparsely populated. Fearing Meng Xuan might persist, Ye Ran left that warning and hurried back to her quarters.
Only when she was nearly back did she slow her pace, simultaneously venting to the system in her mind.
[System, to be honest, I’ve disliked this male lead for a long time. Seeing him in such a pathetic state just now was so satisfying.]
Ever since receiving the full plot, Ye Ran had loathed the male lead.
Back then, when the female lead was being fought over, he was the first to propose sharing her—utterly failing to treat her as a human being.
Now that she knew those disgusting love letters were written by him, her disgust only deepened.
[Exactly, Host! That male lead is worthless—not even as good as the villain. You did brilliantly just now!]
Ye Ran had barely finished speaking when the system immediately chimed in, sycophantically.
But its next words made Ye Ran stop in her tracks.
[System, I have a feeling I’ve forgotten something.]
[Probably not, Host? If there really is something you can’t remember, just get some sleep. Maybe it’ll come back to you after you wake up.]
[System, you’re absolutely right!]
Ye Ran nodded approvingly and quickly walked to her door, pushing it open.
But the moment she stepped inside, a flash of red appeared in her vision.
Ye Ran’s face changed instantly, her body freezing.
She finally remembered what she had forgotten.
She had forgotten about the villain!
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