Mo Ruxue had just clearly seen what it was. The book in her hand suddenly felt like a hot potato, and she reflexively threw it onto the floor.
Just looking at the characters on the cover made her blush so hard it looked as if she might start bleeding. Even in the darkness of the night, the crimson on her face was exceptionally clear.
Xu Sheng looked at the book on the floor, the smile still playing on his lips. However, when he spoke, he still used an imperative tone that brooked no resistance.
“Pick it up.”
With just those three short words, delivered without any particular emotional weight, Mo Ruxue’s body almost submissively obeyed out of habit.
Though she managed to suppress her body’s subconscious reflex, Mo Ruxue realized after a moment that she had no choice but to listen to Xu Sheng.
Holding the quilt over her chest with one hand, she leaned out of the bed and reached down with her other hand to retrieve the book she had just tossed aside.
From Xu Sheng’s vantage point, he could see her from behind. Her curves were even more prominent under the thin nightgown. A pair of jade-like feet, pressed beneath her due to her posture, were flushed red, and even the slight wrinkles on her skin seemed to draw the eye.
Mo Ruxue quickly picked up the book. She looked at Xu Sheng, feeling that the way he was looking at her was somewhat strange. However, now was not the time to dwell on such things.
“I don’t want this book,” Mo Ruxue said, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz. If one didn’t listen closely, they wouldn’t even be able to hear her.
With Xu Sheng’s cultivation, he naturally heard her clearly. Yet, he deliberately leaned closer to Mo Ruxue until his face was almost touching her lips.
“What did you say?”
Mo Ruxue bit her lip. She didn’t know whether to pull away or stay put. Finally, she managed to speak again.
“I don’t want this book. Take it back.”
Only then did Xu Sheng pull his head back. He nodded thoughtfully.
“I originally thought Fairy Mo was pure and as clear as ice, so she surely wouldn’t have any experience in this area. I didn’t expect this book to be redundant for you. It seems I was mistaken.”
As he spoke, Xu Sheng reached out to take the erotic manual from Mo Ruxue’s hand.
Mo Ruxue, who had intended to return it to him, suddenly froze.
“That’s not…”
Mo Ruxue did not have a weak personality. Her history of acting as a champion of justice meant she was far more resilient than most women. But for some reason, when facing Xu Sheng, she always seemed to find herself at a loss.
According to Xu Sheng’s logic, if she didn’t accept the book, it meant she already had so much experience that she knew more than the book could teach. But if she did accept it, it meant she intended to learn the things inside.
Mo Ruxue took a deep breath, trying her best to calm herself.
“Valley Lord Xu, our cooperation has not truly begun. If you really want to… do something, it must at least wait until after you have started treating Yuexi.”
After saying this, Mo Ruxue’s cheeks flushed an impossible shade of red again. After all, she was the one proactively bringing up their cooperation, and as for “doing something,” it could only refer to those kinds of things…
Although she spoke vaguely, it was already extremely embarrassing for someone like Mo Ruxue.
Seeing Mo Ruxue’s serious expression, Xu Sheng felt that teasing her was much more interesting than teasing Zhu Yuexi. It made the effort of taking a bath and re-entering the dream world worthwhile.
‘Could having this kind of thought also be considered a way of protecting my disciple?’
Xu Sheng and Mo Ruxue stared at each other for several seconds before he asked again, “So, do you actually have any experience or not?”
“…No!”
Mo Ruxue realized she had been completely trapped by his words. She took a deep breath and finally shoved the book into the nightstand.
“Fine. Are you satisfied now, Valley Lord Xu? You may leave.”
Just as Mo Ruxue had said, their cooperation hadn’t officially started yet. No matter what Xu Sheng wanted to do, Mo Ruxue still had her bottom line. At the very least, she would wait until Zhu Yuexi’s treatment began.
For people like Mo Ruxue, a bottom line was a difficult thing to break. His goal wasn’t to make her hate him, and pushing this far was enough for now.
Xu Sheng glanced at the nightstand, a characteristic, nonchalant smile on his face.
“Very well. Since Fairy Mo has agreed to look at and learn from the contents of that book, I won’t disturb you any longer.”
Without giving Mo Ruxue a chance to respond, Xu Sheng vanished right before her eyes once again.
Mo Ruxue opened her mouth and clenched her fists tightly.
‘When did I ever say I would learn the contents of that book?! Learning the things in an erotic manual… what does this Xu Sheng take me for?!’
Now that Xu Sheng’s aura had completely vanished from the room, Mo Ruxue sat cross-legged again. She began to silently recite the Heart-Calming Incantation while regulating her breath.
Fifteen minutes later.
Mo Ruxue opened her eyes and glanced toward the nightstand. Then she closed her eyes and resumed her breathing exercises.
Seven or eight minutes later, she opened her eyes again and looked at the nightstand. Then she closed them once more.
A second later, Mo Ruxue’s eyes snapped open again.
This time, she didn’t hesitate. She went straight to the nightstand and pulled out the erotic manual.
Then, Mo Ruxue activated the sect’s grand array, double-checking to ensure Xu Sheng was truly not on Mount Dengxian. At this moment, her cheeks were as red as a ripe tomato.
After hesitating for several seconds, she flipped to the first page.
***
In truth, for someone like Mo Ruxue who had practiced long-term abstinence, both her body and mind were in a state of suppression. Cultivation did not actually require the destruction of human desire; that was just a lie made up by some old fossils to trick people. When various human desires were suppressed for too long, they would eventually explode in another way.
Perhaps Mo Ruxue was still maintaining some restraint for now, but Xu Sheng knew this was only the beginning.
He didn’t even need to use the holographic projection to know that Mo Ruxue had likely opened that erotic manual after much hesitation. A woman like Mo Ruxue was actually the easiest for him to handle.
While she was looking at the book now, that was the most she would do. Even if he opened the projection, he probably wouldn’t see anything particularly scandalous.
Xu Sheng wasn’t interested in being a voyeur. Compared to leering from the shadows, he much preferred having the other party show him everything openly and willingly.
Based on current progress, that day wasn’t too far off. He would make Mo Ruxue do certain things in front of him of her own free will…
Xu Sheng had re-entered the dream world from the outside for more than just giving Mo Ruxue a book; he also intended to prepare a “meeting gift” for her.
He swiped at the screen, and a holographic projection appeared. It wasn’t a scene from Mount Dengxian, but rather an elderly woman in Taoist robes hiding her presence, preparing to leave the Linxian Sect.
‘Mo Ruxue, oh Mo Ruxue… You are pure and your Dao heart is clear, but can you ensure that your subordinates will never have ulterior motives?’
With that thought, Xu Sheng’s figure vanished from the mountaintop once again.