Ye Ran wanted to refuse, but seeing how disheveled Lu Li looked, she couldn’t bring herself to say no.
Under his pitiful gaze, she finally relented.
“Alright.”
Under normal circumstances, she definitely wouldn’t have agreed. But Lu Li had just fought and escaped, so he must be exhausted. She wasn’t worried he would try anything.
“But there’s no place to bathe here. Let me go prepare some water for you, senior brother.”
With that, she turned to leave the cave. But Lu Li caught her wrist and leaned his weight against her again.
“No need for all that trouble. I know a place.”
The next moment, Lu Li wrapped an arm around her waist, and in the blink of an eye, they were behind a hidden rock face.
A hot spring steamed before them, surrounded by smooth pebbles—clearly man-made.
Ye Ran had assumed Lu Li’s centuries of seclusion must have been arduous. Seeing this hot spring, she had to admit he knew how to live.
“Senior brother, undress first. I’ll scrub your back in a moment.”
Looking away, Ye Ran pushed at him.
Lu Li finally let go, but he didn’t move. He just stood there, staring at her.
His bloodstained clothes and pitiful expression softened Ye Ran’s heart.
“Shall I help you undress, senior brother?”
Her tone was resigned. But Lu Li, having gotten his way, pretended to be surprised.
“Would that be appropriate? I wouldn’t want to trouble junior sister.”
“If senior brother thinks it’s improper, do it yourself.”
Ye Ran turned to leave. That finally made him relent. He blocked her and spread his arms.
“Then I’ll trouble junior sister.”
Seeing his smug look, Ye Ran, while helping him undress, took advantage of his distraction and pinched his waist hard.
A muffled grunt escaped him, and his face showed pained surprise. Satisfied, Ye Ran put on an innocent expression.
“Sorry, senior brother. I don’t know my own strength. Are you alright?”
She watched him, waiting for him to squirm. But instead, Lu Li smirked, took her hand, and kissed it.
“I’m fine. I liked it. Thank you for the reward, junior sister.”
His obsessed expression and the tingling sensation on her fingertips made Ye Ran shiver. Regret flooded through her.
She had forgotten—Lu Li was a complete pervert.
That pinch had been a reward to him.
“Stop fooling around, senior brother. Let me finish undressing you.”
Accepting defeat, Ye Ran pulled her hand free and continued.
She had seen his body countless times; the shame was long gone.
After urging him into the hot spring, she took out a cloth and prepared to scrub his back.
But the moment she touched him, he grabbed her wrist.
“What are you doing, senior brother?”
Wariness crept into her voice. But Lu Li let go and turned around.
“It’s not very convenient with you on the bank, junior sister. Why not come in?”
His tone was matter-of-fact, with no hint of ulterior motive.
Her guard lowered. Looking at the inviting steam rising from the spring, she felt a surge of temptation.
She had been fleeing with Lu Li all day. Though she hadn’t done much, the prolonged tension had worn on her. A soak in the hot spring would indeed be rejuvenating.
“Alright.”
After only a moment’s hesitation, Ye Ran agreed.
And Lu Li, acting like a gentleman, turned his back as she undressed.
This eased her guard further. She became even more convinced that he was simply too tired for anything amorous.
The hot spring was just as she had imagined—perfectly warm. The moment she stepped in, every pore in her body seemed to open.
She stretched out her arms and paddled in the water, completely forgetting about scrubbing Lu Li’s back.
Only when he came over and began wiping her back with a cloth did she snap back to reality.
“Senior brother, give that to me.”
She reached for the cloth, but Lu Li pulled it away.
“Junior sister is tired today too. Why don’t I take care of you?”
Ye Ran didn’t know why he had suddenly changed his mind, but she was indeed weary.
Oddly, she hadn’t felt this way on the shore. But the moment she entered the spring, exhaustion had washed over her, making her reluctant to move.
After a brief pause, she lowered her hand.
“Alright.”
It wasn’t as if Lu Li had never bathed her before.
After their dual cultivation sessions, she had always been too exhausted to lift a finger. Every time, Lu Li had carried her to a tub and cleaned her.
And this was just an innocent back scrub. Why not?
Ye Ran closed her eyes and relaxed. Lu Li resumed wiping her back.
His pressure was just right. She grew even more relaxed and began to feel drowsy. Unconsciously, she leaned back until she was resting against him.
Then Lu Li’s actions turned less innocent.
By the time Ye Ran realized what was happening, he had her trapped in his arms and was kissing the nape of her neck.
“Senior brother, you—”
Before she could finish, he bit down on her pulsing vein.
The feeling of having her lifeline seized frightened her at first. But the slight pain soon gave way to a thrilling, trembling excitement.
She almost wanted him to bite harder.
The moment the thought crossed her mind, Lu Li began to nibble gently.
A tingling sensation spread from her neck, and Ye Ran went limp in his arms, losing all ability to resist.
The hands around her waist began to wander upward.
When his actions grew too bold, Ye Ran grabbed his hands and struggled to pull away.
But no sooner had she stood than Lu Li pulled her back, holding her even tighter.
“Was my service not good enough, junior sister? Why are you leaving?”
“You said you were just going to scrub my back. How can you go back on your word?”
Ye Ran knew he was playing dumb. She turned to him with a displeased look, but his expression was completely unapologetic.
“I said I would take care of you, junior sister. When did I say it would be only a back scrub?”
His words left her momentarily speechless.
She thought back—he had indeed said “take care of.” She hadn’t questioned it at the time. She hadn’t expected him to be playing word games.
“To me, taking care just means scrubbing a back. So you can’t go back on your word.”
Realizing logic wasn’t on her side, Ye Ran began to argue stubbornly.
But Lu Li had no intention of letting his prey escape. He tightened his arms, pressing her flush against him, and leaned close to her ear.
“To me, taking care means more than just a back scrub. If junior sister doesn’t know, that’s fine—I’ll teach you slowly.”
With that, he took her earlobe between his teeth and nibbled gently.
The subtle electric sensation spread from her ear through her entire body, making her fingertips tingle.
Caught off guard, she collapsed into his arms.
When she finally gathered herself to struggle, Lu Li tightened his grip on her waist, leaving her no room to move.
His actions didn’t stop. He trailed from her earlobe down to her neck, nibbling and kissing.
“Senior brother, let me go.”
Though they were in a place where Lu Li had hidden for centuries, Ye Ran had just endured a full day of pursuit. She hadn’t fully relaxed and had no desire for this.
She pushed at him.
To her surprise, he actually stopped. But when he looked up, she was met with a pair of pitiful eyes.
A sense of dread washed over her.
Sure enough, his voice followed.
“Why are you refusing me, junior sister? You used to enjoy it. Is it because you know I’m a murderous demon lord, so you don’t want to be close to me anymore?”
His voice carried a note of pathetic pleading.
At some point, Lu Li had learned to play pitiful in front of Ye Ran—and he had grown very good at it.
Even knowing it was an act, seeing that look made her soften. The strength in her hands ebbed.
Seizing the opening, Lu Li tightened his arms and kissed her.
This time, he didn’t try to part her lips. He simply kissed her lips, one after another, moving from top to bottom, all while murmuring “junior sister.”
Whether it was his teasing or the steam from the spring, Ye Ran’s mind soon grew foggy, unable to think.
She could only respond to his kiss on instinct.
Only when he succeeded did she snap back to awareness—too late.
Lu Li gave her no chance to resist. He deepened the kiss, curling his tongue around hers, leaving her nowhere to hide.
The mist over the spring grew thicker. Their entwined figures gradually faded into the fog, the only evidence the constant lapping of water against the pebbles.
As the sky darkened, the ripples continued.
Only when dawn broke again did the water finally settle. The figures in the spring had vanished.
Ye Ran slept deeply. When she woke, it was near evening.
But she felt refreshed and comfortable—even her cultivation had improved.
Yesterday, when she had tried to refuse, Lu Li had offered himself for her to harvest.
The temptation had been too great. She gave in and harvested thoroughly.
And now, the results were clear. Her dantian held even more spiritual energy than before.
After checking herself, she rose from the stone bed and looked around the cave. Lu Li was nowhere to be seen—only the system, curled up in a small nest, fast asleep.
Ye Ran went over and poked it awake.
“System, where’s Lu Li?”
“He went out. He said to wait for him here.”
The system, good-natured as always, answered obediently even after being woken.
Ye Ran finally freed it from her prodding and went to the cave entrance.
The sun had set, and the sky was painted with crimson clouds.
She stared outside for a while, then decided to test her cultivation.
She extended her spiritual sense, searching the mountains for Lu Li.
Familiar with his presence, she soon found him halfway down the mountain.
But with her spiritual sense, she saw him cut his own wrist, letting azure-tinted blood drip into a strange formation.
As the blood flowed, his face grew pale.
Panic rising, she accidentally let her spiritual sense brush against him.
Lu Li paused for a moment, then severed the connection.
His guilty reaction made her even more anxious. Ignoring his order to wait, she left the cave and went to find him.
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