Didn't Expect an Unexpected Gain

The moonlight was cold and pale.

Filtering through the sparse branches, it cast mottled shadows on the bluestone beneath.

Su Jiu sat atop the stone, watching Su Ji crouched before her, an odd feeling stirring in her chest.

She had never imagined that one day, a man would hold her ankle in such a manner.

Su Ji’s palm was broad and firm.

Su Jiu’s foot was small and delicate.

Her skin was fair, resembling fine warm jade under the moon’s glow.

Five petite, adorable toes curled restlessly from tension.

Su Ji’s grip was neither too tight nor too loose—yet she couldn’t break free.

“Does it hurt?”

Su Ji’s voice shattered the momentary silence.

“Not much.”

Su Jiu stubbornly replied, though her voice was barely louder than a mosquito’s hum.

The moment she spoke, she felt a finger press lightly against the wound on her toe.

“Hiss—”

Su Jiu sucked in a sharp breath as a searing pain exploded from the injury, spreading like wildfire through her limbs.

Her delicate brows furrowed instantly, and she bit down hard on her lower lip to stifle a cry.

Su Ji’s tone carried a hint of mockery. “Still pretending it’s nothing?”

This bastard!

He did it on purpose!

Su Jiu raised her other foot, ready to kick that infuriating smirk off his face—

But then she noticed Su Ji’s frown.

“The Blood Fiend Sect’s methods are as insidious as ever.”

Su Jiu’s heart clenched.

She had only felt a numb, prickling pain at the wound, with her spiritual energy flowing slightly sluggishly. She hadn’t realized the poison was this potent.

How had it spread so quickly?

Why was her entire body now devoid of strength?

“You can cure it?”

Su Jiu couldn’t hide her disbelief.

Su Ji was famously clueless about most things.

And this poison had been refined by a Golden Core late-stage cultivator.

Any technique concealed on one’s person was guaranteed to be a decisive trump card against even Golden Core experts.

Even if she had only suffered a minor scratch, the toxin wasn’t something an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator could handle.

Su Ji didn’t answer directly.

The spiritual energy cultivated through the [Desolate Fall Dragon Annihilation Art] had one unique trait—it was impervious to all poisons.

Su Ji wasn’t sure if this property could extend to Su Jiu.

He could only try.

So, he tightened his grip on her ankle and pressed his other palm against her wound.

“This might hurt a little. Bear with it.”

The moment he spoke, Su Jiu felt an energy unlike any healing spiritual force she had ever encountered surge into her body from Su Ji’s fingers.

That energy was domineering, razor-sharp.

It carried the destructive aura of something that could incinerate all creation.

Like a primordial beast rampaging through a docile flock of sheep, it tore recklessly through her fragile meridians.

“You—!”

Su Jiu’s face paled instantly. She tried to pull away, only to find her body locked in place by an invisible force.

“Don’t move.”

Su Ji’s voice remained calm, betraying no emotion.

“Guide my spiritual energy to purge the poisoned blood.”

Su Jiu clenched her teeth.

She could clearly sense that despite the violent storm of Su Ji’s energy ravaging her body, it maintained a hair’s breadth from her meridians, never truly harming her core.

How could this bastard’s control over spiritual energy be so terrifyingly precise?

Without a second thought, Su Jiu immediately steadied her mind, gritting her teeth against the excruciating pain of her meridians being torn apart. Following Su Ji’s instructions, she carefully guided the invasive, domineering spiritual energy toward the sinister, poisonous miasma.

Two opposing forces collided violently.

The icy, malevolent miasma clung like a festering disease, stubbornly entrenched.

Meanwhile, the wisp of spiritual energy Su Ji had transferred burned like an all-consuming wildfire, overwhelmingly fierce, scorching even the miasma with a sizzling hiss wherever it passed.

Agony.

Unspeakable agony, as if her meridians were being shredded inch by inch.

Yet amidst this torment, an oddly tingling sensation crept in—starting from her ankle, crawling upward like countless ants skittering along her bones, sending shivers rippling across her skin.

Su Jiu clenched her teeth, beads of sweat forming at her temples, her entire body taut as a fully drawn bow.

She wanted to endure it.

But her body betrayed her, reacting beyond her control.

“Mmm~”

A sound so faint it was almost inaudible escaped her lips.

Soft, laced with suppressed pain and an unconscious tremor she didn’t even realize was there.

Yet in the silence of the night, it rang unmistakably clear.

Su Ji’s fingers abruptly stilled.

The air seemed to freeze in that instant.

Su Jiu’s eyes flew open, her fox-like pupils wide with panic and shame.

She hastily clapped a hand over her mouth, but the blush rapidly spreading across her cheeks was impossible to hide.

This was it.

She had utterly humiliated herself.

She had… actually made that kind of noise at a time like this.

Su Jiu, Su Jiu, what’s wrong with you?!

Frustrated, she instinctively lifted her gaze—only to meet Su Ji’s eyes directly.

Their stares locked.

Su Jiu stiffened completely.

She saw Su Ji’s Adam’s apple bob slightly, accompanied by a quiet, involuntary swallow.

Gulp.

The sound was like a pebble dropped into still water, sending ripples cascading through the depths of her heart.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly in that moment.

Su Jiu could only stare at him dazedly, her lips slightly parted as a breath of orchid-like fragrance escaped unbidden.

Her large, beautiful eyes had grown misty, though whether from pain or embarrassment was impossible to tell.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly, betraying the turmoil inside.

This is it.

What… what was he going to do?

Her mind went blank.

She watched as Su Ji’s face drew closer, his usually playful gaze now uncharacteristically intense.

She wanted to pull away, but her body felt paralyzed, as if under a binding spell.

Perhaps…

Perhaps some part of her didn’t want to escape.

The thought alone made her burn with shame.

In the end, amidst the chaos of her thoughts, Su Jiu’s long lashes fluttered faintly before she slowly closed her eyes.

A silent surrender.

This, however, caught Su Ji off guard.

He had only meant to tease her.

But now…

With the mood set like this, wouldn’t it be unmanly not to do something?

Besides, Su Jiu had already closed her eyes.

The hint couldn’t be any clearer.

He had expected nothing more than a small victory…

Yet here was an unexpected reward?

Su Ji gently cradled the back of her neck.

With his other hand, he tenderly brushed her cheek, which trembled slightly from nervousness.

The distance between them closed inch by inch.

Su Ji could feel the warmth of her breath, light and sweet like a maiden’s, softly grazing his face.

He hesitated no longer.

Leaning down, he pressed his lips to hers.

The touch was soft, warm.