Chapter 42: Intimacy

“First Miss, where are you? I told you to wait a bit for me. Just where did you run off to?”

As Ling Ying whispered to herself, her clothes rustled as she put them on. She glanced back and forth and then muttered, “That’s weird. She was clearly just around here. How did she suddenly vanish?”

As she spoke, a light blue veil covered the top of her petite body. Her little head constantly shook as she scanned around for any trace of Ling Yushi.

In order to avoid being seen by Ling Ying, Qin Lie and Ling Yushi were standing behind a large tree, but it was only big enough to hide them if they huddled together. Unwittingly, the two plastered their bodies against each other…

Ling Yushi squirmed. At the moment, she was covered only by some thin silk undergarments, and her long hair was still dripping wet. Her undergarment was completely soaked through, causing the thin fabric to closely stick to her graceful body. Compared to being completely naked, this kind of vagueness was far more enticing and stimulating.

Qin Lie didn’t dare move, his body becoming very stiff as his breathing gradually heavied.

Ling Yushi’s extremely alluring naked body was seamlessly plastered to him, allowing him to smell the delicate fragrance of orchids and feel the creaminess of her skin. He could sense her supple breasts and the acceleration of her heartbeat…

“Bathump! Bathump!”

As Ling Ying muttered to herself, the heartbeats of the two quickly sped up. They could both feel each other’s temperatures rise and hear each other’s breaths slowly begin to grow heavier.

Stuck within their alluring and thrilling moment, the two became unable to think, their minds completely blank as they pressed closer and closer together. They almost even forgot about the existence of Ling Ying.

After who knows how long had passed and after Ling Ying’s mutterings had stopped, the two were still stuck in the same position, their breaths still becoming ever so heavier.

Qin Lie felt as if a ball of raging fire had been ignited within him, one which burned through him and clouded his judgement. He only wanted to tightly embrace that graceful body; perhaps this way he could slow down the raging fire within him.

Subconsciously, he tightly embraced the graceful body as he pleased…

His sturdy arms suddenly exerted force, abruptly hugging Ling Yushi tight and only continued to exert more and more force!

Feeling the supple breasts press against him, not only did the fire within him not slow down, it began to rage even more violently, burning him to the point that he wished to press Ling Yushi into his own body!

He, who was only fifteen years old, only knew how to cultivate. He had only cared about the accumulation of spirit energy and rising in power; never before had he fought such a battle. He was unfamiliar with everything else and thus had no idea how to put out the fire within him.

His actions were but the instinctive reactions of his body…

“Uu… you’re hurting me.”

Ling Yushi’s breaths sounded more and more haggard as Qin Lie hugged her tighter and tighter. She felt as if she would suffocate at any moment and quickly cried out as she forcefully pushed Qin Lie away.

The two were finally separated.

“I… I have constantly been cultivating here. I don’t know when you guys came here, but it wasn’t on purpose… I swear! I swear it wasn’t on purpose…”

As soon as they separated, Qin Lie immediately sobered up. Within the depths of his heart, he felt anxious and confused as he stutteringly spoke, his demeanor showing hints of nervousness.

Ling Yushi’s face had flushed red, and an enchanting yearning shined and rippled through her eyes. She lightly bit her lower lip, snorted softly, and then said, “You didn’t peep on purpose, eh? You suddenly hugged someone so tightly… what else do you have to say for yourself?”

Qin Lie was silent. He just stood there, speechless.

Ling Yushi suddenly raised her head and charmingly rolled her eyes, quietly laughing, “You’re acting like a fool…”

Her words stopped; not waiting for Qin Lie to clearly explain himself, she moved her long, beautiful legs and began walking towards their rest area. From her graceful and nimble steps, she seemed… to not truly be that angry.

Qin Lie watched her walk gradually but gracefully into the distance, his mind still recalling the wonderful events that he had just experienced. After a moment, he suddenly felt that the prospect of continuing to cultivate had become awfully dreary.

He just sat down, raising his head to look at the timelessly bright and clear moon with his heart still a mess. No matter what he did, he couldn’t calm down.

The following two days, every time Qin Lie and Ling Yushi saw each other, they didn’t dare look each other in the eye. It was as if they had done something unspeakable and were afraid of being exposed.

In the eyes of the Ling Family members, Ling Yushi was still the compassionate First Miss. Whenever they rested on the way home, she would chat with them about what spoils they had gained from the trip and exchange cultivation tips.

Qin Lie was also the same as before, generally not active in engaging conversation with the Ling Family members. Even when they rested, he would often sit expressionlessly with his eyes vacant as if his soul had left through his acupoints…

Through Ling Yushi’s explanations, everyone now knew that Qin Lie’s blankness was caused by his cultivation method and gradually became accustomed to it. In fact, every time they saw Qin Lie’s eyes go blank, they would reveal looks of deep respect.

Everyone completely approved of Qin Lie’s painstaking cultivation. Furthermore, as soon as they saw Qin Lie’s eyes become blank, they began to gradually talk less and less. Immediately stopping their conversations and finding suitable places for them to gather spirit energy as well in order to temper their own bodies.

——Qin Lie bitterly cultivating had caused them to feel the pressure and had indirectly encouraged and inspired them.

“We will arrive home in just two more days!” That evening, as everyone sat together while eating dried meat and drinking good liquor, Ling Xiao became exuberant as he laughingly said, “This time, Shattered Ice Manor has suffered great losses. We can be considered to have made great contributions and also gained a lot of spoils from the battle. It is truly a perfect scenario!”

“I wonder if Feng Yi died. If that brat didn’t die, sooner or later he will become a disaster. If he is still among the living, I will personally kill him myself!” coldly exclaimed Ling Xin.

Out of the Ling Family members who had left on the trip, only Ling Yang wasn’t returning. He had died at the hands of the Feng Family. Ling Yang was Ling Xin’s younger cousin, and this caused his hatred for the Feng Family to embed itself deep within his bones.

“The Feng Family is located rather close to Nebula Pavilion while the Ling and Gao Families are both rather far. Furthermore, since we are going through Frost Mist Mountain, our trip was extended even further… If Feng Yi didn’t die and went straight towards home from Celestial Wolf Mountain, he will have been much faster than us. If he wanted to play tricks, he could have already gone to Nebula Pavilion and discredited us,” reasoned Ling Feng with a solemn expression.

“Discredit us?” blankly asked Ling Xiao. “We have Liu Yan with us, how could he discredit us? Moreover, the Gao Family can also testify, how could the Feng Family change the entire story?”

“If he wants to discredit us, it is probable that he will include Liu Yan and the Gao Family as well. Although this can’t be covered up for too long, I believe it is likely…” said Ling Feng.

“What will he say?” curiously asked Ling Xin.

“The Feng Family wants time. Previously the Feng Family had already dispatched someone, so that person should have already notified the Feng Family Patriarch which means that they will have thoroughly prepared. After they’ve thrown suspicion onto the Ling and Gao Families, distracting Nebula Pavilion, they will immediately shift their allegiance to Shattered Ice Manor and leave Nebula Pavilion,” inserted Ling Yushi as she crinkled her eyebrows.

“What First Miss said is correct,” said Ling Feng, nodding his head. “After the Feng Family have passed the message on to Shattered Ice Manor, they will have already started their preparations. They will definitely all move to Shattered Ice Manor’s territory. There is no possibility that they will wait for Nebula Pavilion to slaughter them all. Before Liu Yan is able to return to give his own report on the events that concluded, the Feng Family would have already made thorough preparations…”

“What are you afraid of? When water subsides, rocks will always emerge. Future matters will just be headaches for Nebula Pavilion,” responded Ling Xin.

“Within Nebula Pavilion, there is an anxious person who has constantly been trying to take control of the Ling Family. After this matter, they might take this opportunity to make trouble before the truth comes to light,” said Ling Feng, sighing as he looked at Ling Yushi with a worried expression.

As he said that, Ling Yushi’s pretty face also sank. Upon thinking about Du Haitian, Du Jiaolan, and her children, she began to gush with hatred as she knew that Ling Feng’s fears could quite possibly happen. Du Haitian had long since wanted to deal with the Ling Family. If he was given such an opportunity, how could he not take it?

“From tomorrow onward, let us all increase our speed. We must quickly return to Ling Town!” suddenly shouted Ling Yushi after thinking for a moment.

Once everyone remembered the existence of Du Haitian, their hearts all sank. All of them silently nodding in understanding.

“Qin Lie is cultivating again, what a weirdo!” quietly shouted Ling Xiao.

Everyone looked towards Qin Lie and discovered that he once again seemed to be soulless. Feeling the pressure, they hurriedly ended their conversations and found their own places to cultivate.

Only Ling Yushi was still where she originally was. She seemingly sat in a trance as if she hadn’t realized that everyone else had dispersed. It was like she had thought of some depressing matter as a touch of sadness emerged upon her elegant face…

“What’s wrong?”

Qin Lie awakened from his state of Thoughtless Tranquility. Seeing that there was no one nearby except for Ling Yushi, he watched as her eyes reddened and became moist. Suddenly feeling a little pain in his heart, he couldn’t help but softly ask.

“It’s nothing,” sadly whispered Ling Yushi, wiping the tears from her eyes as she smiled at him. “I only thought of my mother…”

A sentimental light appeared within Qin Lie’s eyes.

“My mother was driven to death by Du Haitian,” depressingly whispered Ling Yushi as she hung her head. “That year, I was ten years old. At the time, Nebula Pavilion and Shattered Ice Manor had gotten into major conflicts that were much worse than it is right now. At that time, Nebula Pavilion passed down an order to the Ling Family, commanding us to destroy one of Shattered Ice Manor’s spirit herb garden. They had said that there weren’t any Shattered Ice Manor experts guarding it…”

Once her speech reached this point, she once again seemed on the verge of crying. “So my mother and father, along with some of the family members, went out. Upon reaching the spirit herb garden, they discovered that there was a middle stage Natal Opening martial practitioner stationed within. At that time, my father was still only at the early stage Natal Opening Realm. Thus, more than half of the family members that went died, and as for my mother… she also wasn’t able to come back.”

She raised her head, her bright eyes filled with a deep-seated hatred. Grinding her teeth, she said, “Only afterwards did we learn that the order was sent down by Du Haitian and that he had purposely sent us there even though he knew about the true situation within the herb garden!”

Qin Lie stayed silent for a moment, then whispered, “You must live well then, so that in the future, you can take revenge for your mother. You can definitely do it!

After saying these words to console Ling Yushi, for a reason he didn’t understand, a dull pain suddenly arose in his heart. His face became extremely pale as he clutched at it as a painful expression appeared within his eyes.

“Qin Lie, what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?” nervously asked Ling Yushi, with traces of tears still left on her face. Upon seeing Qin Lie’s condition, she became shocked and hurried to his side.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Qin Lie’s face became extremely red. Panting, he shook his head as he slowly took a few deep breaths. Only after a while did he stabilize himself. Finally, after breathing in another breath, he said, “I don’t understand why, but when I hear you talk about what happened to your mother, I felt extremely upset. I felt as if my heart was about to be torn from the pain.”

“Qin Lie, thank you, truly thank you!” Upon hearing Qin Lie’s words, she felt moved to tears, unexpectedly flying into his arms and tightly hugging him. She excitedly said, “Thank you so much for comforting me, I feel much better.”

Qin Lie’s body was slightly stiff, letting her hug him tightly without any resistance. Yet this time, his thoughts did not become adventurous and his expression was unnaturally calm.

His response just now wasn’t said to comfort Ling Yushi, but was the truest, deepest, most intimate feeling within his heart. Even at this moment, his heart was still aching.

“Mother, father, I have already forgotten you both. I don’t know what happened in the past, but because I thought of you two… my heart aches,” quietly whispered Qin Lie as he hugged Ling Yushi. Before he knew it, his eyes had also become slightly moist.

……