A sweet and tangy flavor spread across her tongue as her pearly teeth bit down gently. The malt sugar wrapped around the hawthorn cracked with a crisp sound, and her rosy tongue rolled the little red fruit into her mouth, savoring it slowly.
The words Su Linghuang had wanted to say were stuck at the edge of her lips, unable to escape. Her feather-like lashes trembled lightly, and her peachy cheeks flushed with a rosy hue. That delicate shyness, tender affection, and subtle worry were hard to describe. In this moment, her beauty was beyond the reach of words.
Right after, Gu Shenzhi brought the sugar-coated hawthorn she’d bitten to his own lips, took a gentle bite, and in this indirect way, stole a kiss—taking advantage yet again.
After a long silence, Su Linghuang saw that he was still holding the sugar-coated hawthorn in his mouth. She parted her crimson lips and asked, “Is tanghulu really that delicious?”
“The taste is average,” Gu Shenzhi replied casually.
“If it’s just average, then why are you still eating it?”
“Though the tanghulu itself is average, the taste of the rouge left on your lips is truly unparalleled in this world—a supreme delicacy,” Gu Shenzhi said smugly to the stunning girl before him.
Hearing this, Su Linghuang’s expression suddenly turned odd, and she struggled not to laugh. After calming herself, she put her hands on her hips and demanded, “You’ve been gone for so long, what have you been doing?”
But Gu Shenzhi answered with something completely unrelated: “The taste of the rouge at the corner of your lips is really wonderful. Can I have a little more?”
Before the Red Lotus Saintess could react, he leaned down and kissed Su Linghuang’s cherry lips. The soft, cool sensation spread instantly through her whole body. On the other side, the girl being kissed didn’t resist; instead, she earnestly began to cooperate with his actions.
After being questioned over and over by Mo Xiaonian earlier, she had more or less realized that in this life, she was bound to fall for Gu Shenzhi. If, one day, she and Gu Shenzhi were truly separated forever, she would likely descend into madness.
Being kissed by a beauty and kissing a beauty himself were two completely different feelings for Gu Shenzhi. All the “torment” he suffered from Bai Qi, he could find compensation for in the Red Lotus Saintess.
After a long while, the two reluctantly parted, but their hands were still entwined.
“Have you taken enough advantage yet?”
Su Linghuang asked calmly. From the strange fragrance of a woman lingering on his clothes, it was clear what had happened between Bai Qi and Gu Shenzhi in the main hall. The answer needed no words.
Gu Shenzhi, however, shook his head and replied earnestly, “Not enough. I could never have enough in a lifetime.”
“Smooth talker. Just how many girls have you tricked into falling for you, you charming and dashing Young Master of Lingjian Sect?”
Su Linghuang said no more. She simply lifted her slender, jade-like foot and stomped down hard. To increase the force, she even channeled spiritual energy into the move.
Pain shot through Gu Shenzhi’s body like lightning from the tip of his toe, and he gritted his teeth, but on the surface, he remained composed and unruffled.
“First of all, every girl who’s fallen for me did so of her own will. I never gave them empty promises, nor did I confess with false affection. So how could I be called a liar?” Gu Shenzhi asked innocently.
“What about me? What about me?!” Su Linghuang demanded, half angry, half coquettish.
“How could you say that, Miss Su? You’re clever and wise, far above the likes of me. How could my little tricks ever deceive you?”
“I don’t care. Whether you meant to or not, now even the Red Lotus Saintess of Moonshadow Sect has been tricked by you. You deal with it.” Su Linghuang jabbed her finger at Gu Shenzhi’s chest, speaking righteously.
As soon as she finished, Gu Shenzhi pulled the graceful figure of the Red Lotus Saintess into his arms and whispered sincerely in her ear, “Though I admit I’m cunning and deceitful, to you, Huang’er, I am always sincere. I can even lay bare these eyes before you—there’s nothing I wouldn’t tell you.”
She thought it over and found some reason in his words, so she asked, “Then, husband, can you honestly tell me who you met and what you did in the Mo family’s main hall?”
“Of course. In the Mo family’s main hall, I met the Mo family head, Mo Xulin, the five elders, and… Bai Qi.”
At this, Gu Shenzhi paused, pondering how to artfully narrate what was to come.
Seeing his sudden silence, Su Linghuang gently kicked him twice to urge him on. Up to now, she was still fairly satisfied with the “sincerity” of the black-clad youth before her.
After that, the Mo family’s third elder, who colluded with the Demonic Sect, was killed miserably; Mo Xulin sought to purge dissent within the clan; Bai Qi’s ever-shifting attitude toward the Mo family and her deeper schemes… These important tidings, which would be momentous to others, Su Linghuang simply let pass like the wind.
Right now, all she cared about was what had happened between her husband and his outwardly cold yet inwardly seductive master.
“…After Mo Xulin left, Bai Qi tried to have some in-depth ‘exchange’ with me again, but fortunately, I resisted with all my might, refusing even at the risk of death. After several hours of verbal sparring, she finally felt guilty and let me go out of conscience.”
Though the actual events weren’t exactly like this—only a tiny bit “modified” at the end—in truth, Gu Shenzhi didn’t want the Red Lotus Saintess to be too involved. After all, with Bai Qi’s current temperament, there was little she wouldn’t dare do.
Compared to Gu Shenzhi’s lengthy explanation, Su Linghuang was much more direct. She only asked, “So, during those nearly two hours of ‘combat’, did you and she do it or not?”
“Absolutely not,” Gu Shenzhi declared firmly.
“Fine, I’ll trust you this once,” Su Linghuang replied quietly. She couldn’t prove that Gu Shenzhi hadn’t lied to her, but by the same token, she couldn’t prove his words were all false either.
So, in the end, what the Red Lotus Saintess chose to believe was the man himself.
Suddenly, several noisy sounds came from outside the door, as if someone else had entered the courtyard.
Then, a solemn voice rang out: “Gu Shenzhi, you fallen disciple of Lingjian Sect, do you have the guts to come out and face Senior Brother Mo Lin in another duel?”
Su Linghuang furrowed her ink-black brows in confusion and asked, “Is this Mo Lin the enemy you had back in Lingjian Sect?”
“Not exactly. He just holds a one-sided grudge. When I was Young Master of Lingjian Sect, I never paid him any mind,” Gu Shenzhi replied softly, then changed his tone, “But since he’s here, I might as well practice my sword.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Shenzhi reached for the Ling Sword [Falling Plum] lying across the table. But just as his fingers brushed the blade, the Red Lotus Saintess pressed it down firmly.
“The Mo Renxie who came to trouble you before was your opponent. This one named Mo Lin, let me handle him!”
The next moment, a cold gleam flashed as the unsheathed [Evil Phoenix] was firmly gripped in Su Linghuang’s hand.
“Wait, he’s the eldest son of the Mo family head, and Mo Xiaonian’s blood brother. When you fight, be careful… Try not to cripple or kill him!”
Gu Shenzhi spoke gently to his wife. With his dual-pupiled eyes, he had already gauged Mo Lin’s current strength. To be confident, he was a bit weaker than Mo Renxie.
To ordinary people, he would be a peerless genius, but in Huang’er’s eyes, he was just someone who could be defeated within ten moves.
PS: The recent chapters have been written quickly, so there may be some typos that I didn’t have time to fix. Dear readers, please feel free to correct them.