"E-Eldest Senior Brother?"
Jian Wuhen, who was in the middle of massaging, stiffened. He slowly turned his head, only to see Ye Shu and Lin Qingxue standing under the shade of the trees.
Both of them had their eyes wide open, filled with disbelief.
The former was shocked that his Eldest Senior Brother would actually do such a thing; logically speaking, it would make more sense if he were the one doing it. The latter was left speechless by the impact of this eye-burning scene.
Lin Qingxue's eyes were wide with amazement.
So... so it could be played like this?
She secretly glanced at Ye Shu, then at her own feet. Her pretty face flushed slightly, heaven knows what she was thinking.
"D-Don't look..."
Jian Wuhen turned his face away in shame, his tone pleading. For a moment, he didn't know whether he should let go of the jade-like foot in his hands or use his hands to cover his blushing face.
"Eldest Senior Brother, is this the... method you mentioned?"
Ye Shu's throat was dry as he struggled to spit out these words.
Even if beaten to death, he would never have imagined that his Eldest Senior Brother would use this kind of method to help him—acting like a dog for another woman.
How was this any different from selling oneself?
Everyone present had their own thoughts, each different from the other.
But as the instigator, Li Shixuan appeared very poised. Her reaction was calm; she retracted her leg, leisurely put on her shoes and socks, slowly stood up, and smoothed out her skirt. Then, she helped up Jian Wuhen, who was kneeling on the ground at a loss, pulled him to his feet, and wrapped her arms around one of his. Like an ordinary wife, she nestled against his chest and gave the two of them a polite smile.
"Just some playful intimacy between Dao Companions, excuse our display."
Dao Companions?!
As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked.
Lin Qingxue and Ye Shu's eyes widened even more than before.
But the one even more dumbfounded than them was Jian Wuhen. He abruptly lowered his head, looking at the clinging Li Shixuan, his pupils trembling violently.
He and Li Shixuan were Dao Companions?
Did he even know about this?
"Li Shixuan, what nonsense are you spouting? Since when were we Dao Companions!" Jian Wuhen whispered through voice transmission.
Li Shixuan's eyes were full of slyness. "Just now. You wouldn't want your junior brother to know that for the sake of his quota, you didn't hesitate to act like my dog, right?"
"When did I act like your dog?"
"You were just massaging my shoulders and rubbing my feet. Is there any difference between that and being my dog?"
"Did you think my feet were that easy to rub?"
Jian Wuhen choked on his words at once.
Looking at the strange gazes of Ye Shu and the others, compared to selling his soul, being misunderstood was still a bit better.
"Senior Brother, are you two Dao Companions?" Ye Shu asked.
Jian Wuhen didn't speak, remaining silent. He neither admitted it nor denied it, acting like a piece of dead wood.
Seeing his ruthless, detached appearance, Li Shixuan wasn't annoyed. In any case, her goal had already been achieved.
Once their status was confirmed in the eyes of others.
It would be difficult to wash it clean later.
Speaking of which, she really had to thank these two uninvited guests who had barged in.
"Alright, don't just stand there, sit down."
Li Shixuan let go, poured a cup of tea for each of them on the stone table, and then forcefully pulled Jian Wuhen down to sit. She deliberately pressed very close to him, relying on the fact that with Ye Shu and Lin Qingxue present, Jian Wuhen wouldn't dare push her away in public.
"Um... Sister-in-law?"
Ye Shu took the teacup, feeling that there was something weird about these two.
But he couldn't put his finger on it.
It couldn't be that his Eldest Senior Brother was coerced by this woman, forced to work like a horse and toil like an ox, right? His Eldest Senior Brother had profound cultivation; who could possibly threaten him? Unless he enjoyed it.
Being called sister-in-law put Li Shixuan in a great mood.
She looked at Ye Shu, becoming increasingly satisfied. "Junior Brother Ye, you must have important matters to discuss for coming here, right? Speak up, your older sister will definitely do her best to help."
Seeing this, Ye Shu didn't beat around the bush and straightforwardly explained his purpose. "I presume Eldest Senior Brother has already told you, Sister-in-law. I came here to ask you to think of a way so that I can participate in the All-Peak Grand Competition."
"So that's it. It's easy to arrange."
Li Shixuan chuckled lightly. "When the time comes, Junior Brother Ye just needs to be affiliated under the name of my Qingxuan Peak and participate in the Grand Competition on our behalf. It's a trivial matter."
Hearing this, Ye Shu was stunned.
The matter was resolved that easily?
"Then I thank you, Sister-in-law." He cupped his hands in a salute, then stood up and pulled the thoughtful Lin Qingxue away. "Then we won't disturb the elegant mood of Sister-in-law and Eldest Senior Brother any longer."
"Take care, I won't see you out."
The two sitting on the stone stools watched the retreating backs of Ye Shu and Lin Qingxue. Until their figures completely disappeared, Jian Wuhen instinctively wanted to push Li Shixuan away, but she beat him to it, grabbing his collar and pressing him down onto the stone chair.
"What are you doing?" Jian Wuhen's pupils shrank.
"What am I doing?" Li Shixuan half-pressed her body against his, her jade-like leg lightly straddling his waist, her breath smelling like orchids. "Of course, I'm doing what Dao Companions should do."
"I never agreed to that," Jian Wuhen said stubbornly.
"Agreed?"
Li Shixuan chuckled softly. "Those two saw us today, and you never denied it. Our actions and behavior have already surpassed the ordinary. In the eyes of the world, what difference does it make whether you admit it or not?"
"What? Is the grand Eldest Senior Brother of the Xuantian Sword Lineage a spineless coward who dares to do things but doesn't dare to take responsibility?"
"I can give this Grand Competition quota, and I can also take it back."
She leaned close to Jian Wuhen's ear, deliberately breathing out a puff of air, and threatened in a low voice, "Eldest Senior Brother, you wouldn't want your junior brother to be unable to participate in the All-Peak Grand Competition, right?"
Hearing this, Jian Wuhen suddenly froze.
His entire body stiffened, and thousands of thoughts raced through his mind. Ultimately, he just sighed, letting Li Shixuan do as she pleased.
Master said that the women at the bottom of the mountain are like tigers.
He was indeed right.
................
On the other side, on the way back.
Ye Shu noticed that Lin Qingxue kept her head down, stealing glances at him from time to time, her face as red as the evening glow on the horizon. He couldn't help but ask, "Why is your face so red? Do you have a fever?"
"N-No!" Lin Qingxue hurriedly shook her head.
Her mind was filled with the image of Jian Wuhen massaging Senior Sister Li's feet. Senior Sister Li's euphoric expression made it look... like it felt really comfortable.
If it was that comfortable just using hands, what if he used...
She imagined the scene of this heartless man squatting on the ground. Just thinking about it made her heart flutter uncontrollably, and she almost fell off the flying sword.
Frightened, Ye Shu quickly grabbed her waist to steady her.
"What's wrong with you? You're so absent-minded."
"Um..." Lin Qingxue's face was flushed as she whispered, "Do you want to eat my...?"
Ye Shu was stunned.
What on earth was this girl talking about?
"I definitely would eat, no, I definitely don't want to eat that kind of thing! Who would want to eat your soft, fragrant, slightly sweaty feet? Who would love to eat that kind of thing, what a joke," Ye Shu denied with a straight face.
"Oh..."
Hearing this, Lin Qingxue lowered her head in disappointment.
She had finally mustered up the courage, only for it to end like this?
Suddenly, as if she remembered something, she raised her head.
"Heartless man," she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned close to Ye Shu's ear, her breath as sweet as orchids. "This lady happens to have lots and lots of spirit stones. You wouldn't want... your Profound Heaven Sword Lineage to be in debt forever, would you?"
Wait, who did this girl learn this from?
Ye Shu looked in shock at Lin Qingxue, whose face was flushed red in his arms. It took a long while before he managed to squeeze a reply out of his throat.
"Fine, I'll eat."
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
