"Xiao Jietian."
Medusa's voice was low, alluring—tinged with a shyness she would never admit to.
"I need you to help me cultivate."
Xiao Jietian blinked.
Cultivate?
He had heard her say something similar before. To Little Fairy Doctor. To Qing Lin. During one of her… hobbies.
"Hm?" He tilted his head, genuinely confused. "Didn't you say you would never submit to anyone?"
Medusa moved.
Her hand shot out, seized him, and the next moment—
He was airborne.
He landed on the bed.
His Dou Qi—sealed.
His body—immobilized.
She straddled him, her long legs framing his waist. Her fingers traced slow, deliberate patterns across his chest.
Xiao Jietian looked up at her.
She was a predator who had finally cornered her prey. Hunger blazed in her eyes—primal, absolute. The emotions she had confronted at the edge of death had stripped away all pretense, all restraint.
She leaned closer. Her cheek pressed against his. One finger rose to her crimson lips, her expression a mixture of arrogance and barely suppressed excitement.
"Of course this king will not submit to anyone."
Her voice was silk wrapped around steel.
"So you will obediently remain beneath me."
A pause.
"Do not resist. The more you resist… the more excited I become."
She smiled.
"You, who have the heart but not the courage—let this king properly punish you."
Xiao Jietian tested his restraints.
Sealed. Immobilized. Completely at her mercy.
He turned his face slightly away.
"I… simply hadn't found the right moment yet."
His tone lacked conviction.
Medusa's smile widened.
Her finger hooked under his chin, tilting his face back toward her. She studied him like a collector admiring a newly acquired treasure—appreciative, possessive, utterly delighted.
"How could the supreme queen of the Snake-People tribe humble herself before a man?"
Her words were proud. Absolute.
Her body's actions contradicted them entirely.
Her hands resumed their exploration—but now, they were wreathed in fire-attributed Dou Qi.
Xiao Jietian's robes turned to ash.
He panicked.
His struggles renewed—frantic, genuine, utterly ineffective.
Seeing his reaction, Medusa's excitement surged.
She tossed her own garments aside. They fluttered to the floor beside the bed, forgotten.
Her jade-like hands glided across his chest—slow, deliberate, agonizing.
Xiao Jietian, still immobile, felt as though countless ants were crawling across his skin.
She leaned closer.
He closed his eyes.
I refuse to witness this.
Medusa found his reaction… adorable.
She remembered their first encounter. This same man, so arrogant, threatening her with his subordinates.
And now?
Now he lies beneath me, eyes squeezed shut, pretending none of this is happening.
The emotions she had suppressed for so long—desire, longing, affection—reached their peak.
And shattered.
The last barrier fell away.
Her hand seized the future.
She began.
"Your body's reaction," she murmured, "is quite different from your words."
She moved with confidence, with triumph.
She had achieved her goal. Her mind was clear. Her head was held high—proud, victorious, like a peacock displaying its plumage.
What she could not see—
Was the expression on Xiao Jietian's face.
No panic remained. No humiliation.
Only satisfaction. Only pleasure.
Only the quiet, patient certainty of a hunter who had allowed himself to be caught.
On the rooftop, Little Fairy Doctor's face flushed crimson.
She fled.
That sly fox, she thought. Fei Yan thinks she's the predator… but she's walked right into his trap.
She descended to where the other women waited.
"Sister Xian'er!" They surrounded her immediately. "How is Fei Yan? Is she safe?"
Their faces were anxious, earnest. They had not dared to pry, fearing they might disturb whatever was happening within.
Little Fairy Doctor composed herself.
"She is safe."
A collective sigh of relief.
"Then why haven't Young Master and Sister Fei Yan come out yet?" Qing Lin asked.
Little Fairy Doctor's face heated again.
"Uh… well…"
Her hesitation was enough.
Curious, the women extended their senses toward the palace.
They saw Medusa.
Swaying. Graceful. Triumphant.
They withdrew their senses immediately.
Their faces flushed.
But their smiles—their smiles were warm, genuine, and thoroughly amused.
"They've finally taken that step," Ya Fei murmured. "I thought it would take much longer."
The others nodded.
Everyone had seen it—the tension between those two. The obvious feelings. His patient waiting. Her proud, tsundere refusal to yield.
Neither willing to make the first move.
Until today.
"But…" Yun Yun tilted her head, genuinely puzzled. "Fei Yan's expression is so captivating. Even I, a woman, am completely charmed."
A pause.
"But why does Xiao Jietian's reaction seem… different?"
Little Fairy Doctor laughed.
"That was all an act."
She recounted the scene she had witnessed: Xiao Jietian's feigned panic, his theatrical struggles, his deliberate helplessness.
"He tricked her," she said. "Completely."
The women exchanged glances.
Then, in unison, their expressions shifted to that universal, knowing smile.
Auntie smiles.
Those involved are blind; onlookers see all.
"I wonder," Ya Fei said dreamily, "how Sister Fei Yan will react when she discovers the truth."
They linked arms and walked away from the palace together.
To care for Ya Fei and Yun Yun, they had mostly taken to living communally now. And they had discovered something unexpected: when they cultivated together, their unique physiques resonated—accelerating everyone's progress.
Time passed.
The commotion within the palace gradually subsided.
Medusa leaned against the headboard, breathing slowly, deeply.
Xiao Jietian lay motionless beside her.
She glanced at him. Then at the vivid red stain on the sheets.
A happy smile curved her lips.
Finally.
Sleep crept over her. She lay down, her body relaxing into the mattress.
Soon, her breathing steadied.
Xiao Jietian's eyes opened.
Slowly, silently, he sat up.
He looked at the sleeping queen beside him.
His expression was… inscrutable.
This level?
This level is far from meeting my requirements.
A roguish smile spread across his face.
He reached out his hand toward her.
Strands of energy emanated from his palm.