Lu Li bit and tore at Ye Ran’s lips. The moment she winced in pain, he slipped his tongue into her mouth, quickly entwining it with hers and plundering her saliva.
Ye Ran still had a shred of sanity left. She struggled, trying to push Lu Li away, but the next moment he locked his arms around her waist and pinned her against the edge of the pool.
Seeming displeased by her resistance, Lu Li bit her lip again—harder this time than before.
A metallic taste of blood spread between their mouths, yet Lu Li found it strangely sweet—more intoxicating than even the fragrance lingering around his nose. He sucked on Ye Ran’s lips, desperate to claim that sweetness for himself.
Ye Ran’s lips grew numb from his sucking. The last shred of her reason vanished completely as the heat surged back.
She slowly began to respond to Lu Li. The hand she had pressed against his chest gradually slipped out of her control, following its instincts to slide into his robe. She unconsciously gave a pinch.
The slight sting made Lu Li let out a low moan, and a flicker of clarity returned to his eyes.
He stopped moving and looked down at Ye Ran.
But Ye Ran was completely unaware. She continued pressing her lips to his, constantly coaxing his tongue to respond.
The fragrance between their lips and teeth grew even stronger, continuously stimulating Lu Li’s nerves, urging him to respond to Ye Ran quickly.
Yet he remained unmoved, and a hint of coldness crept into his pitch-black eyes.
He hadn’t expected Ye Ran to have such a strong effect on him—that just a single kiss could make him lose control.
In the midst of his daze earlier, he had unconsciously let his guard down completely. If Ye Ran had attacked him at that moment, she would have surely succeeded.
The aura around Lu Li turned cold.
Ye Ran still didn’t sense the danger. Instead, she pressed herself even closer to Lu Li and bit his lip in dissatisfaction.
This time, Lu Li finally responded. He drew Ye Ran’s lips back between his, but his eyes remained completely clear, devoid of any confusion.
For Ye Ran, Lu Li’s response was like rain after a drought. Her kisses grew more urgent, desperate to vent the burning heat inside her.
Just as she was about to lose all reason, the system let out a sharp shriek in her mind.
The piercing sound finally helped Ye Ran regain some sanity, but her body was still out of control, her tongue tangled with Lu Li’s, unwilling to part.
At her wit’s end, Ye Ran used the last of her rationality to raise her hand and pull a hairpin from her head.
This motion made Lu Li’s eyes grow even colder.
She was finally about to make a move, wasn’t she?
The hand on the back of Ye Ran’s head slowly slid down to her slender neck, his fingertips gently brushing against her pulsing vein.
It looked like an intimate caress, but in reality, it was incredibly dangerous.
At the same time, the hairpin in Ye Ran’s hand fell without hesitation—stabbing into her own shoulder.
A flicker of surprise appeared in Lu Li’s eyes. His hand, which had been stroking her pulse, froze.
While he was stunned, the delicate tongue entwined with his withdrew from his mouth, and the soft body in his arms disappeared as well.
When he looked up again, Ye Ran had already put distance between them. But she still clutched the hairpin tightly, pressing it deeper into her shoulder.
Blood slowly seeped from the wound, staining her goose-yellow robe.
Lu Li vaguely caught that sweet, cloying fragrance again. His gaze toward Ye Ran darkened.
Sensing his gaze, Ye Ran looked up at Lu Li. But the moment their eyes met, the heat she had just suppressed began to stir once more.
Because Lu Li was now utterly disheveled—his robe hung open, revealing a large expanse of his chest, still marked with Ye Ran’s handiwork. He looked exactly like someone who had just been ravished.
Ye Ran quickly looked away. She pressed the hairpin deeper into her shoulder, and the sharp pain spread from her shoulder throughout her body, finally allowing her to suppress the restlessness.
“I’m sorry, Senior Brother. I didn’t know you were here.”
Seeing that Lu Li kept staring at her without saying a word, Ye Ran had no choice but to speak up first to explain herself.
But even after she finished speaking, Lu Li still didn’t react. His eyes remained fixed intently on her, making her feel the heat beginning to stir inside her body again.
“I’m feeling unwell and wanted to soak in this pool for a while. Why don’t you let me have this spot for now, Eldest Senior Brother?”
Ye Ran wasn’t sure whether Shen Zuihuan was still outside. She didn’t dare leave the water, but she also couldn’t bear to stay near Lu Li any longer, so the only option was to send him away.
But as she spoke, she inevitably looked at Lu Li again. The intense visual impact sent another wave of heat rushing through her, and her rationality began to fade once more.
Ye Ran had no choice but to grip the hairpin tighter and continue stabbing it into her shoulder. But before she could apply more force, a cold hand seized her wrist, stopping her.
The next moment, she was led to the edge of the pool. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Lu Li snatched the hairpin from her hand.
“Focus your mind. Calm your heart.”
Lu Li’s fingers moved swiftly, pressing two points near Ye Ran’s wound. The stabbing pain vanished instantly, and the continuous trickle of blood was stopped as well.
Ye Ran looked at Lu Li in bewilderment. But before she could speak, a cool sensation spread from her wrist, followed by Lu Li’s voice again:
“Joyous Union Powder cannot be forcibly suppressed. It needs to be expelled.”
Only then did Ye Ran understand what Lu Li meant.
So he was going to neutralize the Joyous Union Powder for her!
Ye Ran’s eyes lit up. Feeling the cool spiritual energy flowing from her wrist, she quickly calmed her mind and began circulating her own spiritual energy.
As the energy continued to circulate, the burning heat inside Ye Ran gradually subsided, and her flushed cheeks slowly returned to normal.
It wasn’t until a full quarter of an hour later that Lu Li released Ye Ran’s wrist.
A gentle breeze swept over her, and Ye Ran finally felt a hint of coolness. Delighted, she quickly used her spiritual energy to dry her clothes.
Once she was completely dry, she looked back at Lu Li.
She truly hadn’t expected Lu Li to help neutralize the Joyous Union Powder for her.
In the pool earlier, he had kissed her so urgently, nearly suffocating her—his desperate manner made it seem as though he was the one who had been drugged.
Though she couldn’t fathom what Lu Li was thinking, Ye Ran still quickly clasped her fists and expressed her gratitude.
“Thank you, Eldest Senior Brother.”
But the moment she raised her hand, a sharp pain suddenly shot through her wound again.
Earlier, Ye Ran had shown no mercy—the hairpin had pierced through flesh and nearly struck the bone. Now that she was fully conscious, the pain felt even more intense.
Sweat instantly beaded on Ye Ran’s forehead. Ignoring the fact that Lu Li was present, she took out a medicine bottle and bandages, then opened her robe and poured the medicinal powder directly onto the wound.
The burning sensation made Ye Ran bite her lip hard, her face turning pale. But her hands continued to move swiftly without a single pause.
Lu Li stood quietly to the side, watching Ye Ran. His dark, inscrutable gaze gave no hint of what he was thinking.
It wasn’t until Ye Ran had finished treating her wound and stumbled, unable to steady herself, that he stepped forward to catch her.
“Careful, Junior Sister.”
Lu Li’s voice carried a hint of hoarseness. When it reached Ye Ran’s ears, it made them tingle slightly, and her mind couldn’t help but conjure the image of Lu Li with his robes in disarray.
“Thank you, Eldest Senior Brother.”
Ye Ran quickly cleared the jumbled thoughts from her mind. After thanking Lu Li, she stepped back several paces to put distance between them.
But after all this commotion, her energy was completely depleted. Even the simple act of stepping back made her vision go dark, and her body began to fall backward uncontrollably.
Just as her consciousness was about to fade, she felt herself land in an icy-cold embrace.
Lu Li lifted Ye Ran horizontally into his arms and slowly began walking out of the bamboo forest.
But after walking only a short distance, he stopped again.
At the same time, a figure slowly emerged from the bamboo forest.
“Have I disturbed you, junior?”
Shen Zuihuan leaned against a bamboo stalk, holding a folding fan. His phoenix-like eyes darted back and forth between Lu Li and Ye Ran, a meaningful smile curling at the corners of his lips.
“Was it you, Senior Uncle, who administered the Joyous Union Powder to my junior sister?”
Lu Li met Shen Zuihuan’s teasing gaze directly.
The calm in his eyes carried a sense of oppression that startled even Shen Zuihuan, a sect master in his own right.
Catching himself, Shen Zuihuan quickly composed his expression and spoke with feigned surprise:
“So this junior niece of yours has been dosed with Joyous Union Powder. Perhaps one of my disciples served the wrong tea. Why don’t you hand her over to me? I’ll help neutralize the effects for her.”
With that, Shen Zuihuan closed his fan and stepped forward, preparing to take Ye Ran from Lu Li’s arms.
But before he could even get close, the falling bamboo leaves around them instantly transformed into blades, shooting toward him.
Shen Zuihuan hadn’t expected Lu Li to strike directly. He could only dodge clumsily.
But there were too many bamboo leaves. He couldn’t block them all, and in the end, one leaf sliced his arm.
Shen Zuihuan stared at his bloodstained sleeve, his eyes filled with shock—clearly unable to believe that Lu Li had actually managed to wound him.
“As a junior, isn’t it rather inappropriate for you to attack your elder without warning?”
As he spoke, Shen Zuihuan secretly released his oppressive aura toward Lu Li.
Yet under the pressure of a Transcending Tribulation Realm cultivator, Lu Li’s expression remained unchanged.
Shen Zuihuan was baffled. He silently intensified the pressure—only to be met with an even stronger wave of oppressive force that forced him back several steps, a metallic sweetness rising in his throat.
“Since you, Senior Uncle, have invited our Ten Thousand Immortals Sect to help eliminate the demon, you should understand the proper way to treat guests.”
Leaving only those words behind, Lu Li turned and walked away with Ye Ran still in his arms.
Shen Zuihuan clutched his wounded arm, staring at Lu Li’s retreating figure with a mixture of fear and unwillingness.
Lu Li took Ye Ran straight to his room.
After laying her on the bed, he stood by the edge, looking down at her. The scrutiny in his eyes grew more pronounced.
After a long while, he slowly bent down, bringing his face close to hers.
The rich fragrance wrapped around him again, seeping into his lungs with every breath.
He could sense that the scent on Ye Ran had become even more alluring.
It seemed that the closer he was to her, the more powerfully this fragrance drew him in.
A hint of daze colored Lu Li’s eyes. He closed them and leaned into the curve of Ye Ran’s neck, inhaling deeply.
But when he opened his eyes again, the daze had vanished completely, replaced by a chilling coldness.
Although Ye Ran hadn’t intentionally seduced him in the pool earlier, there were too many coincidences surrounding her, and her effect on him had exceeded his expectations.
So he would still kill her.
But before that, he needed to know where she came from and who had sent her.
He had been gone for a thousand years. Who had truly discovered his identity and sent this person to his side?
Lu Li curled his lips into a cold smile, inhaled the fragrance lingering around him once more, and then his figure vanished from the room.
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