(T/N: This chapter may contain explicit scenes; reader discretion advised)
Ning Xian finally relented.
She took that white hair ribbon and gently gathered Fang Xuan’s loose black hair.
Her movements were very slow and meticulous.
As the strands of hair passed through her fingers, carrying his scent, it always made her heart ache with tenderness.
After tying the final knot, she was reluctant to let go, her hands lingering around the back of his head.
"Stop looking for me... alright?" she said in a soft voice.
"So, Senior Sister doesn't want me anymore."
"No... I don't." Ning Xian immediately looked up to refute him, her eyes turning even redder. "I just... I just..."
Fang Xuan pretended to lower his gaze, looking extremely dejected.
"Just what? Senior Sister can just leave alone, leaving me by myself. I don't know anything, my cultivation always goes wrong, and I can't control my sword intent well, causing backlashes that make my whole body ache... maybe in the future, I'll only be able to scavenge for food on the streets."
"There is also a woman from who-knows-where in the family, always wandering outside my courtyard, saying her room is very fragrant and wanting me to come over to 'appreciate' it... If Senior Sister doesn't want to see me, I'll leave and go back to deal with her..."
"Which woman?" Ning Xian’s voice suddenly rose, and she anxiously grabbed Fang Xuan’s wrist.
"What’s her name? Which courtyard does she live in? I’ll cut her down!"
Fang Xuan still looked pitiful, allowing himself to be pulled back by her, even swaying "weakly" for a moment.
"Didn't Senior Sister say she didn't want me anymore... why do you still care about these things?"
"I... I..." Ning Xian was at a loss for words. Looking at his "lonely" profile, the jealousy in her heart turned back into heartache.
But... just the thought of another woman coveting him made her feel uncomfortable all over, as if ants were crawling on her.
"Also," Fang Xuan struck while the iron was hot, putting on a troubled expression.
"The Spirit-Gathering Body that Senior Sister added earlier is accumulating too much yang qi, and it’s constantly affecting my state of mind."
Ning Xian bit her lower lip, an internal battle raging within her.
Cool Little Ning Xian was screaming "This is improper!", while Pleasure-seeking Little Ning Xian was cheering "Go for it!"
Dark Little Ning Xian was coldly calculating a way to help her Junior Brother and then knock him out to hide him away...
Ultimately, her concern for her Junior Brother... overrode her reason.
She gritted her teeth and spoke: "I... I'll help you."
Anyway... she had been just as shameless before, every day... coaxing her Junior Brother into dual cultivation with her.
She forced herself to lift her blushing face, trying hard to maintain a serious expression of "this is only to help Junior Brother regulate his spiritual energy and stabilize his foundation."
She would leave right after finishing; she absolutely wouldn't linger... she wouldn't bring any more danger to him...
...
Fang Xuan smiled inwardly; his Senior Sister was too easy to bait.
Now, he should think about how to properly punish this Senior Sister who was always trying to run away.
...
And Ning Xian, who had just been thinking she absolutely wouldn't linger.
Only a few hours later...
"Don't go... alright..." She panted, holding onto Fang Xuan as he prepared to get up after they finished.
"Didn't Senior Sister want to leave in a hurry before?" Fang Xuan laughed, whispering in Ning Xian’s ear.
Then he exerted a bit of force again.
The tingling sensation made Ning Xian’s whole body tremble.
She bit her lip and buried her face deeper.
"Don't go..."
Her mind was already hazy, and she couldn't think clearly.
But right now, she had only one thought... she didn't want to leave her Junior Brother.
Whether it was cultivation or anything else.
She didn't want... she didn't want to hide in a cave alone anymore, only thinking about how she could get just one more glimpse of him.
Her Junior Brother was so good; why should she only get to look once?
She wanted to do it again...
No, ten more times...
...
Later... when she was about to faint, Fang Xuan finally stopped.
What was lust compared to love?
Ning Xian’s reason gradually returned, but it was followed by an even deeper sense of hollow bitterness.
It was over...
She should leave now.
She had helped him regulate his yang qi and gained a moment of comfort herself; she should be satisfied.
She lay quietly on her side, waiting for the embrace that might loosen at any moment, or for him to tell her to leave.
She even secretly and deeply inhaled his scent, wanting to remember it just a little bit longer...
"What is Senior Sister thinking about?" Fang Xuan’s voice sounded above her.
"...I don't know," Ning Xian replied in a muffled voice.
Her mind was full of him; how could she say it out loud?
"I know," Fang Xuan chuckled softly.
"Senior Sister is thinking about me."
Ning Xian didn't deny it; she couldn't deny it.
"Then does Senior Sister know what I'm thinking about?" Fang Xuan asked again.
"...I don't know." Ning Xian’s voice became even quieter.
What would her Junior Brother be thinking about... stabilizing his cultivation? Family matters? The next step of his plan? Or... the intimacy just now.
"I'm thinking about Senior Sister," Fang Xuan tightened his arms, fully encircling her. "Every single moment."
Ning Xian’s nose felt sore, and the tears she had finally managed to stop threatened to overflow again.
"Senior Sister still doesn't understand me."
"I'm... I'm sorry..." Ning Xian panicked and began to apologize.
She didn't know much about matters of the heart, nor did she know what her Junior Brother was thinking.
She was a very incompetent Senior Sister, or rather, a dao companion...
Fang Xuan met her eyes and smiled gently: "Senior Sister, I have always loved you..."
Not liked, but loved.
Not just in this moment, but always.
Ning Xian’s heart skipped a beat...
But she gritted her teeth and still broke free from his hands.
Then, she frantically tore open a spatial rift and dove inside without looking back, vanishing before Fang Xuan.
Only a single, burning tear seemed to remain in the air...
...
Fang Xuan looked at the rapidly closing spatial rift and didn't chase after her. He only let out a slow breath and rubbed his aching temples.
Seduction failed after all...
He knew he couldn't rush it; his Senior Sister had too much weighing on her heart.
However, today could be considered a major step forward.
At least he had made his feelings clear to her.
Later, he just needed to wait until he cleared away those obstacles.
The matter of the Martial Alliance and those three lingering immortals from last time—he would solve them one by one...
...
As for now, the system had finally successfully upgraded during the... struggle.
He had to go see what kind of good things had dropped.
Ideally, there would be something specifically for dealing with spatial methods. The next time Senior Sister ran away, he would pin her down and punish her until she couldn't dream of escaping again.
He would keep her by his side until she understood she could never leave him.
Rate on N.U.
