When Xing'er saw Li Xun stumble into the room, covered in blood, her first reaction was to scream. But the moment the scream left her lips—smack!—a sharp slap sent it right back down her throat.
"Shut up!"
Maybe it was that proud fire still burning in his chest. Though his build might not compare to that of a grown strong man, the way he stood there, bloody and ragged as he was, still carried enough weight to scare a little maid stiff.
"Picking on a girl…how impressive of you."
Consort Qin hadn't actually gone to bed yet. Just a little over two hours ago, she had spent half the night having sex with him and had fallen asleep in exhaustion Why she was up again, who knows.
She stood there, hair slightly messy, wearing only a thin inner robe, and over her shoulders was the same snow-white mink cloak she'd worn the day they first met. Her voice was soft, as if nothing about his bloodstained, disheveled appearance had surprised her in the least.
That calm unnerved him a bit, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. He just said, "You. Come with me!"
Consort Qin looked at him, stepped forward, and gently reached out to support him.
Was she seriously thinking he was that weak?
Without thinking, Li Xun smacked her slender hand away, forced a breath into his lungs, and made his way steadily into the inner chamber.
She said nothing. Just quietly followed behind him, step for step, her obedience strangely unfamiliar. Li Xun wasn't used to seeing her like this.
Normally, she resisted his evil conduct, not that she could do much, but there was always some resentment and disgust in her eyes. She never gave him a kind look, let alone followed him like this. Her behavior now caught him completely off guard.
Had she suddenly changed her tune today? Or was she just scared by all the blood?
As the thoughts spun through his head, he took a deep breath and sat down heavily on the bench by the bed, putting the two dangerous items onto the nearby vanity. Consort Qin stood before him in silence, head bowed, still graceful and composed.
Xing'er nervously brought in a cup of tea. Consort Qin took it and offered it to Li Xun herself.
He glanced up at her, gave the smallest nod, and reached for the cup…only for his hand to betray him. Clack clack clack. The lid tapped against the rim several times as he struggled to control the tremor in his fingers, drawing the attention of both women.
Li Xun clenched his teeth and forcibly stopped the trembling in his hands. He lifted the cup to his mouth, and downed the tea in one go, not even caring how hot it was. The scalding liquid hit his chest and belly like a hammer, but the burn actually helped. It brought a bit of life back into him.
Crash!
The teacup shattered against the floor. Porcelain shards flew everywhere. Xing'er dropped to her knees in terror, not daring to lift her head. Even Consort Qin flinched, though she quickly calmed again.
Li Xun caught both their reactions, and came to a quiet conclusion. He hadn't been truly angry. That outburst… it had just been a test.
Consort Qin's reaction was rare, but not without fear. If she could've stayed calm, even with the sky falling in, then he'd really have to start wondering what her true nature was.
After throwing the cup, his head felt clearer, his mood steadier. He gave Consort Qin another once-over, then lifted his chin and nodded toward the bed.
"Get on. Undress."
The moment the words left his mouth, both women stared at him. They didn't say anything, but their meaning was clear. In that condition? You really think you can?
He didn't bother explaining. His gaze turned cold and sharp. Under that kind of pressure, Consort Qin had no room to argue. She bit her lip, and after a moment's hesitation, let Xing'er help her out of the cloak and inner robe. Pale, flawless skin was revealed as she lay down obediently on the bed.
Even though she'd steeled her heart long ago, and even though they'd already had sex, a woman's natural shyness still showed through. She curled slightly, turning away, trying to cover herself with what little fabric she still had left—completely unaware that the very act made her look even more alluring, every curve accentuated in the soft light.
Even with heavier thoughts on his mind, Li Xun couldn't help the wicked heat rising inside him.
Xing'er folded the clothes and nervously stepped up to help him undress, but he shoved her away. She finally got the message; she wasn't needed. Dropping into a quick bow, she gathered the broken pieces on the floor, and bolted from the room.
Li Xun stood at the edge of the bed, looking down at Consort Qin's delicate, vulnerable body. He had never admired beauty like this before; no physical contact, but total domination. No need to touch. Just knowing she was completely at his mercy… it lit something deep inside him.
And then, he suddenly felt ridiculous.
Just earlier, he'd been running for his life, barely escaping from the Heavenly Vigorous Sect like a dog with its tail between its legs. Now here he was, lord and master of one of the most stunning beauties in the mortal realm.
The absurdity of it all…
But even stronger than that was the creeping sense of weakness. And shame.
Because in the end, he wasn't strong. Not yet, at least.
Everything he did now, his authority, his presence, his so-called control, only worked here, in this Lanxue Courtyard, in front of a powerless woman like Consort Qin. Step outside these walls, or more precisely, beyond this pitiful cluster of mortals as insignificant as ants—he was nothing.
Sure, Yin Wanderer and Blood Wanderer could decide whether he lived or died. But so could that so-called "senior brother" from Heavenly Vigorous Sect, couldn't he do the same?
Was there anyone in the Tongxuan Realm who couldn't do what he was doing now, and do it better?
He didn't take off his clothes. He just leaned down and grabbed Consort Qin's shoulder, feeling the warmth and softness of her skin beneath his fingers. Her expression was shy, but there was a flicker of amusement in her eyes.
That made his heart skip.
"She's not dumb…"
The sudden realization hit him like a gust of wind, blowing away the last traces of fog in his mind.
Obedient? No, that's cleverness.
Consort Qin had already seen right through him.
She knew all about the vanity and insecurity churning inside him. Knew he must have taken a hard loss out there at the hands of someone stronger than him, and now needed to assert himself here, in this little corner of the world, just to save face.
That's why she was being so obedient. So docile.
Because she understood one thing very clearly: only by feeding his vanity, masking his hidden insecurities, rebuilding his fragile ego, propping up his battered pride, and repainting his face could she secure herself a peaceful life.
Quietly catering to a man's needs to safeguard her own survival. That was Consort Qin's wisdom.
And this kind of wisdom? It didn't come from nowhere. It was built on a deep, almost terrifying insight into human nature and the cruel truths of the world.
To put it another way, in Consort Qin's eyes, everything Li Xun was doing right now was nothing but a pathetic little farce.
A clown, putting on a half-baked show on stage, basking in his own self-delusion, while the audience clapped with polite smiles and laughed behind their hands.
Li Xun had never felt like this before.
It was like, all of a sudden, he could see through people.
Look at her!
That look on her face, half shy, half pleased; her body language, inviting yet resisting; that flawless, soft, alluring body bathed in the glow of spring. All of it, wasn't it the sharpest, most vicious mockery?
"Ah…"
Consort Qin let out a soft cry. She could feel her shoulder almost getting torn apart from his grip.
She opened her eyes wide, looking up at him in terror, in helpless fragility—
But the way Li Xun looked back at her… was something else entirely.
His eyes were completely blood-red.
Nothing but that crimson color flooding his gaze, like endless waves of blood surging in his sockets. And at the center, in his pupils, there was something darker still—an immovable stone in a sea of red, a jagged reef braving the current.
Being stared at by such eyes was like being shot in the eye by a poisoned barb.
Consort Qin gave a short, strangled scream, her body first tensing, then slowly going limp. Her head tilted, and she passed out.
Li Xun grinned. A cold, bone-deep chill leaked out through his parted lips. The deep red of his mouth and the snow-white of his teeth overlapped slightly, giving him an eerie, almost monstrous look.
He paused only for a breath. Then he moved forward and entered her body.
Even unconscious, a beauty like her still had enough allure to stir a man's deepest desires.
Li Xun was no exception.
His body and soul were already ablaze with lust, and the feel of her soft skin only deepened that hunger.
But somewhere in the deepest recesses of his mind, somewhere even his own consciousness couldn't fully reach, a sliver of ice began to spread. Like a shard of frost floating in molten lava, it defied all logic.
This icy presence might be called "rationality." It indifferently observed this familiar-yet-alien world. And once it found the purest spark of insight in this world, it exploded outward at impossible speed, flooding through every corner of Li Xun's being.
His heart surged violently, swelling like it was about to burst from his chest, then shrank just as abruptly to a single, infinitesimal point. In that expansion and collapse, his heart was.... forever changed.
Blood burst from his mouth, brighter than the setting sun's glow.
The drops splattered across Consort Qin's snowy skin, so vivid it made the eyes sting.
Li Xun's smile twisted further, splitting the corners of his lips into a strange, almost insane arc.
He bent down and pulled her into his arms.
Blood on her skin, unconscious in his grasp—he didn't care.
He held her tight, their bodies completely fused together. In that moment of absolute intimacy without the slightest gap, his true breath transformed into a formless, intangible mist, and silently seeped into her body.
Suddenly, Consort Qin's eyes snapped open. Agony twisted her face into something almost unrecognizable.
She let out a long, pained scream. Then began to spasm violently.