Li Qingshan had visited Ru Xin’s dwelling plenty of times. Its layout was relatively simple and plain. There was basically no useless decoration, and the walls still had marks from being chipped away, while the chairs and tables were directly carved from rock. They only existed for one purpose, which was for the convenience of cultivation.
Despite being a woman as well, Qiu Haitang’s dwelling had a completely different style to it. Although it was also carved out of a mountain, the stone walls were polished to the point where they were reflective. There were complicated and magnificent patterns everywhere, and the faint fragrance of flowers drifted through the air.
There was a thick carpet on the ground with large, delicate wooden furniture scattered throughout the different rooms in the dwelling.
Li Qingshan ignored Qiu Haitang’s gaze. As if he was at home, he strolled around and opened a few cabinets, only to discover that they were mostly closets. They were divided into different types, with some specially for cloaks, some specially for dresses, and so on. If he had not witnessed it with his own eyes, he basically would have never believed there were so many different types of clothing to a woman, and she had over a hundred different pieces for each type.
Li Qingshan arrived in front of another closet. Right when he was about to open it, Qiu Haitang hurried over and leaned against it. “I’ve already made tea for you. Won’t you just sit down and stay put for a while?”
“What’s so great about tea? If you want to give me something to drink, I want alcohol!”
Li Qingshan raised his eyebrow as he spoke. Because of E Feng and E Dan, the banquet had been interrupted twice, even forced to end prematurely. He had yet to drink to his heart’s content, or rather, he was in an even better mood to drink now. If there was anything more delightful than watching an arrogant enemy lose his composure out of anger, then it would definitely be personally killing the enemy.
Tonight, he had experienced both.
“Alright, I’ll fetch some liquor for you.”
Qiu Haitang was helpless before this powerful daemon. She could only lower her head and rummage through her hundred treasures pouch, finding a jar of spiritual alcohol and passing it to him. Li Qingshan removed the mud seal and took a few gulps.
“Are you happy now? Just go and sit down. I’m still tidying up! Ah!” Qiu Haitang felt her waist tighten as she entered his embrace involuntarily. Her proud, soft chest pressed firmly up against his chest. Although a few layers of clothes separated them, it struggled to block the wonderful sensation of softness and elasticity.
Li Qingshan waved his finger and the closet opened. He could not help but laugh aloud, as underwear filled the closet. It was no wonder why Qiu Haitang had been so nervous.
“Release me!”
Qiu Haitang became completely flushed as she struggled hard, but how could she break free? Li Qingshan only enjoyed the sensation even more as her breasts pushed against him. He casually removed a light pink undergarment from the closet. The tiny piece of clothing had been woven extremely delicately, and it was as light as silk.
He could not help but imagine how Qiu Haitang would look if she wore it. And which piece was she wearing right now? Li Qingshan lowered his head and gazed down, peering into the deep, snow-white cleavage.
“Stop touching my things!”
Qiu Haitang became even redder, and her struggle became even more intense. Her gaze was bashful and flustered, bearing no resemblance to the composure of sect master Qiu in the past, but she was more enchanting and charming than ever. Li Qingshan felt his crotch heat up and lowered his head. “If you keep moving, even I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“You- you-”
Qiu Haitang also discovered the response of a certain body part of his and immediately stopped squirming around. She felt like she had just escaped a den of wolves, only to end up in the mouth of a tiger. The vicious tiger could easily rip apart the wolves, but her situation of being a lamb to the slaughter had not changed at all. The only difference was she had voluntarily thrown herself into the mouth of the tiger.
Li Qingshan wrinkled his nose and caught a perfumy fragrance, but it also seemed slightly different from a floral fragrance. Actually, he had already caught the fragrance on her back then during the banquet when she drank with him. Originally, he thought it was from her cosmetics, but at a closer glance, she had not applied anything at all.
And, with his sharp sense of smell, the fragrance was not perfume either. Instead, it originated from her body. He buried his head into her neck, and the fragrance filled his nose. He could not help but suck in a deep breath, filling his lungs with fragrance. The tip of his nose and his lips made contact with her neck, which was as soft and smooth as jade.
He was like a vicious tiger gently sniffing a flowering crabapple. As a matter of fact, he was even afraid to use too much strength, just in case he destroyed the gentle petals. Suddenly, her body trembled slightly.
Li Qingshan raised his head, only to see her eyes firmly shut and her long eyelashes trembling like tiny fans. He could not help but smile. “It’s not like I’m going to eat you. What’re you afraid for?”
Qiu Haitang opened her eyes. “I’m not afraid!”
Li Qingshan brought the jar of alcohol to her lips with a smile. Qiu Haitang turned her head away stubbornly. Her large eyes became misty. Originally, she thought he would continue with trying to get his way with her, but she never expected him to release her. Li Qingshan smiled.
“You’re already a full-grown adult, so why’re you still crying like a little girl?”
“I originally thought you were a good daemon, but I didn’t think… I didn’t think you’d be so despicable. You’re basically no different from that E Dan!”
Qiu Haitang covered up her neck and became bright red. She thought of when they first met. Back then, she had also been in dire straits, and he descended from the sky and saved her, even going as far as to console her emotions, nothing like what he did right now!
“Surely I’m a little better than E Dan? Go tidy up your things!”
Li Qingshan smiled and casually shoved the undergarment into his clothes. Lifting up the jar of alcohol, he continued to idle around. The dwelling was extremely large. He climbed up the steps, passed through a circular doorway, and arrived before the door to the highest room.
Opening the door, silver moonlight flooded the entire place. He could see the moon and stars in the night sky when he raised his head. The ceiling was made from a piece of transparent crystal that had been specially forged. As such, the sky was visible, but it was impossible to peer inside.
There was a soft bed in the centre of the room. This place must have been used for resting and cultivation.
Li Qingshan rested his head on his arms and crossed his legs, laying back on the bed. He sipped his alcohol as he gazed at the sky, his mind drifting very far away.
A while later, Qiu Haitang returned. “I’ve gathered everything. We can go now!” She pouted slightly as she seemed rather displeased. She thought, Apart from him, no one else can protect me. I have no choice but to follow him. However, she refused to admit she felt a little eager inside. Even she had no idea what she was eager about.
“What’re you in such a hurry for?” The starry sky left Li Qingshan entranced.
“If we stay here, E Dan might catch up to us. He’s probably already learnt about E Feng and his disciples’ deaths.” Qiu Haitang arrived before him.
“Then that would be for the best. Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, no one will be able to hurt you.” Li Qingshan suddenly tossed aside the jar of alcohol. He pulled her into his arms, rolling over and pressing down on her delicate body, whispering into her ear as he laid on top of her. His desires blazed brightly in his body.
“You might have saved me, and I have no other choice but to follow you right now, but if you want to humiliate me forcefully, I’d rather die!” Qiu Haitang shut her eyes as if she was ready to lay her life down for a just cause.
Li Qingshan found this to be extremely interesting. He held her chin. “Do you think you can die just because you want to? I said no one can hurt you, which includes you yourself!”
“Are you going to stand by your word?” Qiu Haitang suddenly opened her eyes, glistening from the moonlight.
“Of course!”
“Then what about you?”
“What about me?”
“What if you hurt me?”
Li Qingshan smiled. “How could I bring myself to?”
“But you’re hurting my heart right now.”
“How witty of you!”
Li Qingshan laughed involuntarily, pinching her nose and restraining his desires. He rolled over to the side and placed his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his arms. “Am I still hurting your heart like this?”
Seeing how it was effective, Qiu Haitang felt slightly complacent inside, but she also understood if he truly wanted to unleash his powers in bed, a few words would never be enough to stop him. She could only lean against his shoulder obediently and think to herself, I’m just making do like this so that I don’t irritate him.
The room was silent. Li Qingshan gazed at the stars and began thinking about beyond the Nine Heavens again. He had no idea what kind of place that was. He thought of brother ox and Xiao An and wondered if they were well right now. In the end, the sky full of stars turned into Han Qiongzhi’s furious face, and he thought to himself, Qiongzhi, oh Qiongzhi. You gave me permission to visit the Parlour of Clouds and Rain anyway, though all I did was find the sect master to accompany me.
In the end, his thoughts returned to the present. E Dan and Si Qing were both great enemies of his. He had to increase his cultivation as quickly as possible. He would spend half a day at most with the matters of the academy before going to find Ru Xin and study the meaning of water with her.
Qiu Haitang opened her eyes, gazing at his face that was in thought. Gradually, she no longer objected to this posture, instead finding some peace.
“Why did you come to the Parlour of Clouds and Rain?” Qiu Haitang broke the silence and asked the question that weighed the heaviest on her mind.
“It was a coincidence.” Li Qingshan smiled.
“How was it so coincidental?” Qiu Haitang was unconvinced.
“I knew the new Marquis of Ruyi had arrived, so I’ve always been investigating him. I learnt you were harassed in the marquis’ estate and specially came to comfort you.”
Li Qingshan came up with some lies without much thought, but never did he think Qiu Haitang would be extremely convinced. She was touched. She pressed a little closer to him, “I didn’t think you’d still remember me. I thought you forgot about me long ago.”
Li Qingshan smiled inside as he said tenderly, “But it seems like you’ve already replaced me with someone new, so all I can do is watch on and protect you in secret.”
“Someone new? Since when?” Qiu Haitang widened her eyes as if she had been wrongly accused. When she heard how he had been secretly watching on and protecting her, she felt slightly touched.
“Didn’t you attend to the man beside you very eagerly?” Li Qingshan put on a jealous act.
“You’re talking about Li Qingshan? You don’t have to think too much about it. He’s my saviour. He risked his life for me and offended E Dan. I only felt sorry for him, so I held a banquet to thank him. I don’t feel anything else towards him. When I first met him, I wanted to kill him very much, you know?”
Then she mentioned how she became acquainted with Li Qingshan. She did not even hide the matter of him killing Wei Zhongyuan for her. Even Qiu Haitang herself had no idea why she explained everything so seriously, but when she saw how discontent he was, she could not help but smile. She no longer felt angry over how he took advantage of her earlier.
“In other words, I need to properly thank him too!”
Li Qingshan was originally joking, but he felt rather strange inside after everything she had told him so far. He could tell that Qiu Haitang truly had no interest in Li Qingshan at all. Instead, she held special feelings towards Northmoon, someone she had not seen many times at all.
Logically speaking, it had been a piece of cake for Northmoon to save her, but Li Qingshan had truly risked his life.
