Qiu Haitang gasped and shut her eyes. She had already played out this scene in her mind countless times. Taken away by the moment, the Rouge Heart in her body began to surge, pushing her charms to a whole new level.
She even left Li Qingshan, who had seen much of the beauty that the world had to offer, bedazzled. They had clearly known each other for many years now, yet it still filled him with the amazement of witnessing the world bloom during spring, like when he first saw peach blossoms. This was no longer an effect that could be achieved on the opposite sex through great beauty and a graceful figure. Instead, it was the so-called outer appearance that could blind people mentioned by buddhism, rūpa.
Before Li Qingshan could do anything, Qiu Haitang brought her arms around his neck proactively and stuck her tongue down his throat in a passionate yet clumsy manner. Her peach blossom eyes were dazed and intoxicated, almost wrapping herself around him.
“Haitang?”
Li Qingshan was rather surprised. He was confident in his startling charms, but he should not have reached the level where he was basically a walking aphrodisiac. On top of that, given her cultivation, she would maintain a sense of clarity no matter how deeply she submerged herself in her desires.
Little did he know that throughout the recent years, she had devoted all of her efforts to the Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red when she practised the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge.
In order to condense this red thread of lovesickness, it took much more than her chaste. It also required feelings of lovesickness, slowly winding it around her Rouge Heart like a silkworm spinning in spring. Only then could it be called Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red.
She could fool others about whether she was in love or not, but she could not fool herself. Without genuine feelings, where would this lovesickness come from?
She had to offer up her heart first regardless of whether it succeeded or not, enduring the endless pain of lovesickness, basically making sacrifices without guaranteeing anything.
That was the exact reason why among all the years the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge had been passed down, countless women had practised the cultivation method before, but rarely was anyone willing to practise this technique.
Compared to all that time and effort required, they were better off practising other techniques in the cultivation method, and they could have men dancing in their palms. Was it really that fun to turn themselves into hopeless romantics?
All people liked to take things, yet they were reluctant to give. That applied to wealth, and even more so to love. Only then would they be untouchable. In the words of Li Qingshan’s past life, they lost as soon as they became serious.
Yet, she offered up everything without any regard, like a moth to a flame.
Silkworms never stopped spinning until their deaths. Even when Li Qingshan had been launched into outer space, this lovesickness had not halted for even a moment. Instead, it became even more pure, enduring all of the pain, without any regrets or complaints.
This was a peculiarity too. In the past, all the women who managed to succeed with the Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red would definitely refuse to suffer this pain of lovesickness again. It was impossible for the man to resist the mesmerising technique they had specially prepared for them either. It would always result in perfect harmony with the red string tying them together.
Qiu Haitang was originally no exception either. Many years ago, from the moment she had succeeded with the Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red, she had begun searching for Li Qingshan eagerly.
But perhaps because the Aspect of Peach Blossom Beauty was truly cursed with misfortune, they travelled through the entire world, yet they were never united again.
As a result, all Qiu Haitang could do was continue to practise the Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red, forcefully turning the red thread of lovesickness into a red web of lovesickness. At this moment, she was unable to endure it anymore, basically suffering a backlash from the technique. Probably even the creator of the cultivation method never imagined this effect.
Li Qingshan did not know he had already fallen into a web of lovesickness, but his tender feelings and concern for her instead drowned out his lust. He felt like she had suffered from cultivation deviation like this, so he circulated the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression to comfort her mind.
Qiu Haitang recovered slightly, which left her absolutely embarrassed. She turned her head away. “What are you looking at?”
Even the tone of her voice changed, like she was choking back sobs. Li Qingshan felt like a cat was scratching at his heart. It was enamouring. If it were not for his concern for her, his desires would have taken over already.
Qiu Haitang also sensed her Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red had reached a level where it had to be activated, which left her both frantic and embarrassed, conflicted with pain. If she had to beg him, just how could she bring herself to do something like that? As a result, she gritted her teeth. “Useless!”
“What?” Li Qingshan was taken aback. He had never received a comment like that in his life. He was dumbstruck.
“How useless.”
“Fucking hell!”
Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. He no longer hesitated anymore, sweeping down her chest with his finger. Her clothes, chest band, and her flowery waistband split into two together. A pair of jade bunnies leapt out, even prouder than he imagined them to be, yet her waist was thin and slender, forming an enchanting curve.
His heart skipped a beat. His finger slid down to her belly before continuing downwards, ripping through the red dress and the panties woven from lotus fibre. The tip of his finger felt slightly moist as a charming moan rang out by his ear.
Her graceful figure was completely bare, laying in her ripped clothes and the scattered love poems like a lamb with a crimson shade. She was heart-stoppingly charming.
At this moment, Li Qingshan forgot about everything around him. He grabbed her firm, round thighs and spread her firmly-closed legs, leaning over and parted the petals, reaching deep inside.
Qiu Haitang opened her mouth, but she let no sound out. Her firmly-shut eyes suddenly opened again. A hint of pain flashed through them as a clear droplet of tears slid down from the corner of her eye, like the dew on the peach blossoms.
With droplets of red, her lovesickness dyed the thread red.
Instantly, Li Qingshan was swallowed by the tide-like feelings of lovesickness. An invisible thread seemed to wind around his heart, pulling tighter with each ebb. He soon lost control over his mind too.
There was a flash of light in his eyes. The spirit turtle suppressed it instinctively, refusing to let him lose control like that.
No matter how wondrous the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge was, it was only a cultivation method of the second heavenly tribulation. No matter how deep her lovesickness was, it stood no chance against the deathly silence of the deep ocean. It could even suppress all the waves on the ocean, let alone these ripples of emotions.
This was the path of cultivation. There was no such thing as true love was invincible. There was only a confrontation of mind to mind, a clash of power to power, where the vanquished bowed down to the victor.
Qiu Haitang sensed it. Her gaze was a little flustered. She could not help but tremble, which made her seem so delicate and feeble. If this were a battle, she had lost everything already.
But why treat it as a battle?
Li Qingshan opened his mind with a smile, leaning over and merging with her completely, kissing her deeply on her red lips. He allowed the red thread to stir up turbulent waves in his heart, embracing her warm body and accepting all of her lovesickness, allowing her to turn him into whatever she wanted him to be.
This was not some curse, but the bliss of secular life and society.
Perhaps appearances were all just nothing at the end of the day, but they were not fake.
Li Qingshan felt the small world in his body respond too. The ape demon scratched its head in joy. The Ape Demon Transformation that had only recently broken through began to circulate again.
Suddenly, he gained an understanding. The ape demon had always wallowed in illusions, foolishly chasing after the moon in the water. It definitely did not possess the intelligence and patience of the spirit turtle, completely disregarding the great truths of how form was emptiness and emptiness was form as it allowed itself to sink into joys after joys that were destined to fall through.
There was no need to feel disappointment. There was no need to fear loss. We never had anything in the first place.
If life was a dream, then what was wrong with being a little more serious and a little more committed?
When scooping the moon fell through, a new moon would always be born in the water.
