Li Qingshan sensed her current emotions as well. All he did was embrace her firmly.
Silver moonlight poured down from the glass ceiling, enveloping them like fine silk.
“You’re not going to blame me for wrongly accusing you?”
Qiu Haitang touched his handsome face. She knew men all cared about that, except she had no other choice then. Whether prince Tsangyang was sincere or if he possessed ulterior motives, he had still helped her a lot in the past, so how could she repay his kindness with hatred and make him suffer because of her?
Li Qingshan grinned. “Actually, you haven’t wrongly accused me. I just found him annoying to look at. I wanted to teach him a lesson. I just never expected it to be so effective. Destroying the cultivation method of a love rival is a great joy of life!”
“You- I knew it!” Qiu Haitang found it both funny and angering. She shot him a flirting glance and said charmingly, “Petty.”
“So what? You’re my woman! How can I let others ogle you?”
“Hmph. I’m in love with you, but that doesn’t mean I belong to you- Ahh!” Her righteous declaration turned into a moan that could even melt bones.
“You do!” Li Qingshan would never bother to put up with her nonsense. Suddenly, his hand grabbed a peak and fondled away recklessly. Even with several layers of clothing between them, the full, soft, and elastic sensation was more than enough for him to enjoy.
“If you harass me like this… aren’t you afraid… I’ll fall out of love with you?” Qiu Haitang stuttered.
She felt like a ball of fire was burning in her chest. Her face was bright red, and her gaze was tender. She became even more charming.
“Then I wouldn’t be here right now.” Li Qingshan smiled.
“Yeah, mister Qingshan has plenty of women. Why would he care about an ugly lady like me?” Qiu Haitang grumbled intentionally.
“If you are ugly, then would there still be any beauties left in the world? Though, perhaps there are places I haven’t seen that are very, very ugly, so let me take a close look!”
Li Qingshan carried her towards the bed. Qiu Haitang gazed at him in a daze, sinking into the soft, cloud-like bedding. She had spent a lot of time preparing for this day already, but she still felt a little flustered now. She grabbed his hand as he tried to remove her waistband. She uttered his name, almost like a murmur.
“Qingshan.”
Her infatuation, her heart full of attachment, was completely contained in that.
Li Qingshan felt like even his heart was about to become drunk. It also filled him with a desire to protect and cherish her. He restrained his desires. He knew he had been too impatient. It had been many years since they had last seen each other. She had never done it before either, so doing it together right after seeing her was a little hurried.
As a result, he slowed down and held her soft hand. He asked, “Haitang, why did you come to the Lightning province?”
Qiu Haitang took off her hair pin. Her hair flowed down like clouds; she leaned in his arms as she explained patiently.
“Because of Xiao An. She carried out a massacre in the other provinces. She did not come to the Green province, but I felt that the Green province was not particularly safe. There was the Gate of Hungry Ghosts as well, so it had already lost all of its human activity. It no longer had a functioning human society, so it was unfit for cultivation. As a result, I wanted to go somewhere safer. I couldn’t go to the Harmony province or the Cloud province. The Dragon province obviously would not work either, so I thought I should just go somewhere that was a little more remote.”
“Originally, the Mist province was a good choice, except it was too close to the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. The Frost province is too barren, and the wolf king is renowned for his lustfulness. No one can contend against him. As a result, I could only come to the Lightning province in the end.”
“You can say that this place is less civilised, but the people are progressive, welcoming, and enthusiastic. The scenery is fantastic and esoteric buddhism prevails here. Basically all the great cultivators are Monk Kings and guardian kings. They followed strict precepts of buddhism, so it’s quite difficult to find someone that will covet me. A ‘love monk’ like prince Tsangyang is an exception, but he never did anything overboard…”
Li Qingshan listened with a smile. Her voice was soft and sweet, filled with affection. He would not grow sick of it even if he listened for three days and three nights, not to mention the fact that she was in his arms right now, completely for him to enjoy.
“Haitang already knows how to protect herself. I’m very glad.”
“Hmph, I obviously know how to protect myself. When I became the master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, you were still a country kid. Sigh, I do so much to protect myself, only to be harassed by you. Why do I bother at all?” Qiu Haitang glanced at the hand that wandered around on her body and endured the throbs of her heart. “I haven’t even asked you yet. Why did you come to the Lightning province?”
Li Qingshan held her chin and pressed his forehead against her. Their eyes met. “I could sense you were thinking about me. I also sensed you were in danger, so I came to find you.”
“Really?”
Li Qingshan smiled. “May I be struck by lightning if I am lying.”
“With you right now, why would you still be afraid of being struck by lightning? You’re basically all too anxious for the heavenly tribulations to descend so that you can ascend then and there!”
Qiu Haitang retorted, but her eyes were filled with affection. She took out a jade talisman from her clothes, which still bore her body warmth. Li Qingshan had given it to her, for her to crush and contact him whenever she was in danger.
Earlier, she happened to be hesitating about whether to do that when he emerged from the crowd. It was like he had leapt out of her thoughts. She was unable to describe how she felt. She could not help but recall every single encounter they had in the past and how he had saved her time and time again.
Li Qingshan thanked the spirit turtle’s omens again. If he had hurried to the Lightning province after she had crushed the jade talisman, then the situation would be very disadvantageous. He could not have dealt with everything so easily and casually.
“Which cultivator doesn’t want to ascend?”
Qiu Haitang suddenly remembered that if he ascended, she could probably never catch up to him with the difference in their cultivation. As a result, she felt a sting deep inside despite the happiness, unable to restrain her emotions. Clear tears ran down her cheeks like rain.
“What’s wrong?”
Li Qingshan was surprised. He wiped away her tears in a hurry, but the more he wiped, the more tears there were.
Qiu Haitang furrowed her brows and shook her head. “It’s nothing. I just thought of prince Tsangyang’s poem. All feelings of love are important, unable to last for eternity. Because of love, there is worry; because of love, there is fear. I originally thought I had already gotten over all of this, but I didn’t expect to be so reluctant to see you go, feeling the pain of parting right after we’ve reunited. Look at you, you’re just great at destroying the cultivation of others.”
Li Qingshan loved and pitied her dearly with her current appearance. “Don’t listen to his nonsense! People are always going to die. If you’re destined to die, so you’re riddled with pain every single day, then why do we pursue longevity at all? If you’re afraid to obtain because you’re afraid of loss, even acting like you don’t care and intentionally belittling these precious things, you’re just a hypocritical coward.”
Qiu Haitang blinked her eyes. “Am I a precious thing?”
“You are someone I cherish. Even though I am fickle, even though I like beautiful women, even though I rarely yearn for others, I- I…”
Li Qingshan continued until he ran out of words. He really was not that kind of man that placed love above all else! Even with Gu Yanying who he had once fallen in love with at first sight, she had not constantly occupied his mind. He only thought of Xiao An a little more, but that was because Xiao An was like a part of his body. It actually had nothing to do with love.
Qiu Haitang smiled through her tears. “It’s not like I want you to be like me, or wouldn’t we be crying together then? It’s exactly because you’re like that that you can constantly protect me. I’m not that greedy.” She stuck out her tongue, but she felt a little guilty inside. What she wanted to do was exactly that greedy.
The red thread of lovesickness would bind the person she loved firmly to her.
