Tianshu University, Logistics Service Center, Luxury Bathhouse, Top Floor VIP Area.
Lin Qingyue lavishly spent four hundred Credits to book a private hot spring pool.
This place was secluded from the noisy outside world, offering excellent privacy, and it was so quiet that one could hear their own heartbeat.
The air was filled with mist, swirling with a refreshing medicinal fragrance.
The scent was like a forest after the rain mixed with the smell of earth. Inhaling it into one's lungs, the limbs and bones seemed to stretch out.
The pool water shimmered with a soft pale gold, dotted with fine crimson points of light, like stars twinkling in amber.
"Dragon Blood and Phoenix Marrow Decoction."
The name was domineering, but its effects were even more so.
It was said that it could penetrate deep into the marrow, revitalize blood and qi, and heal the hidden injuries Professionals accumulated during fierce battles.
At the same time, it improved the body's energy absorption efficiency and consolidated one's foundation.
For them, who had just been roughly "repatriated" by the World's Rules and whose souls and bodies had both been struck, this was undoubtedly the best reward.
The moment Lin Xiyue stepped into the pool, a wave of warm energy immediately wrapped around her body, spreading from her toes to the top of her head.
She sighed in contentment, her whole body going soft.
The excruciating pain of her soul being torn apart and then savagely stitched back together during the World's forced teleportation was now being rapidly smoothed and melted away by this warm current.
Her muscles, stretched tight to the point of soreness, completely relaxed.
Her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally fell back into its original place.
She felt as if she had returned to her mother's embrace, warm and safe.
"Ah..."
"So, is this the happiness of the rich?"
Lin Xiyue instantly regained her vitality.
Those eyes that always burned with fighting spirit now twinkled with the curiosity and delight of a small animal.
The spacious hot spring pool became her playground.
Like a joyful mermaid, she glided gracefully through the golden pool water, creating concentric ripples.
"The happiness of the rich,"
Lin Qingyue, her eyes closed as she leaned against the smooth jade edge of the pool, replied with a serious expression,
"is often just this plain, simple, and dull."
She immersed her entire body in the medicinal soup, leaving only her head outside, letting the warm pool water soak every tired spot.
The medicinal power flowed quietly within her body, repairing the tiny cracks in her soul and flesh caused by the spatial jump.
She watched her sister frolic in the water, a mischievous smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she teased.
"Xiyue, I think it's about time you and Su Wan put your plans into motion."
"Next time you go to the Su Family, don't go empty-handed. You should start preparing the engagement gifts. Our family doesn't do things halfway."
Her tone was playful, but her eyes were full of indulgence.
Su Wan, who was carefully stepping into the water, suddenly slipped when she heard this "bold statement."
Already sensitive to the changing water temperature, she was so startled by the words that her heart skipped a beat, and a rush of blood surged to her face, nearly sending her plunging headfirst into the pool.
Lin Xiyue reacted with lightning speed, gliding forward in a dive and sweeping Su Wan into her arms with a steady grasp.
Su Wan's face flushed crimson all the way to her ears, the steam from the hot spring unable to hide the vivid blush.
Burying her face in the hollow of Lin Xiyue's shoulder, she felt the warmth and heartbeat from the other's chest and protested softly:
"What nonsense are you saying... We... we aren't even of legal age yet!"
Though her words were scolding, her body snuggled in with utter honesty, as if that were the safest harbor in the world.
Lin Xiyue triumphantly held the beauty in her arms, tilting her chin up as if challenging Lin Qingyue, her eyebrows and the corners of her eyes brimming with uncontainable joy.
Immediately after, she shifted the topic, her gaze locking onto the figure in the corner of the pool who was desperately trying to lower her presence.
Xia Lian, wrapped in a bath towel, shrank against the pool wall, attempting to use the swirling mist to hide herself, pretending to be invisible.
"Don't just talk about us,"
Lin Xiyue's laughter rang out, tinged with a hint of mischief.
"Xia Lian, when we were with the Elven Race, that silver-haired female elf playing the lute... your eyes were almost glued to her! Don't think we didn't notice!"
"Ah?!"
Xia Lian shot half her body out of the water like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
A lovely shade of pink rapidly spread from her cheeks to her ears, even tinting her pale neck.
She stammered her defense, "I... I didn't! I just thought her playing was beautiful! Yes, it's artistic appreciation! I just thought... her skill was exquisite, her fingers were nimble, her understanding of music was profound..."
Her voice grew smaller and smaller.
Her flustered and guilty expression was practically a confession.
Lin Qingyue and Su Wan couldn't help but laugh out loud, their crisp laughter echoing in the mist-shrouded pool, completely dispelling the last traces of fatigue.
Seeing Xia Lian like this, Lin Xiyue became even more spirited.
She put Su Wan down and paddled over to Xia Lian.
"Little Xia Lian, think you can just bluff your way out of this?"
Lin Xiyue's voice was full of teasing.
"The way I saw it, your soul was almost snatched away! That look in your eyes was definitely not just 'artistic appreciation'!"
As she spoke, she had already swum to Xia Lian's side, making a move to tickle her.
Xia Lian let out a startled cry and hurriedly retreated. In the water, she couldn't even use half of her agility as a Ranger.
"I didn't, I really didn't..."
Su Wan had also recovered from her initial shyness. Seeing Xia Lian's adorable state, a smile surfaced in her eyes.
She smoothed her hair, which had been messed up by Lin Xiyue, and slowly paddled over.
"Xia Lian, you're usually the most attentive, never missing even the sound of the wind on a bowstring. Yet when that elf was playing, you didn't even hear us call you. That's not like you at all."
Su Wan's voice was cool, yet it carried a perfectly timed teasing tone.
Lin Qingyue watched the scene and laughed so hard she was doubled over.
She patted the water's surface. "Alright, alright, stop bullying Xia Lian. Any more and she'll be cooked through."
Changing the subject, she looked at the two who were acting so intimate.
"But speaking of which, Xiyue, Su Wan, you two are acting even more lovey-dovey now than you did in the Dungeon."
"Now that you don't have the Dungeon Rules to use as an excuse, does this mean... you've already grown used to it?"
Hearing this, Lin Xiyue's fighting spirit soared.
She shot a look to Su Wan, who immediately understood her meaning.
Revenge starts now!
Lin Xiyue dove headfirst into the water, and the next second, she burst out of the water in front of Lin Qingyue, sending a massive wave splashing into the air!
Already on guard, Lin Qingyue tilted her body slightly. The wave exploded beside her, not touching her at all.
Su Wan raised her hand and flicked it. The pool water seemed to come alive, transforming into several translucent water pillars that coiled toward Lin Qingyue.
Lin Qingyue laughed out loud and swiped her left hand quickly across the water, kicking up a mist that easily neutralized the water pillars' attack.
"Oh, so you're teaming up to bully me, the healer who's too weak to pluck a chicken?"
Though she claimed to be weak, her hands moved without a moment's delay.
With a gentle flick of both hands, the pool water in front of her formed a vortex, swallowing the rest of the "water attack" from the other two.
Lin Xiyue laughed. "Sis, you only remember you're a healer now?"
She lunged forward again, wrapping her arms around Lin Qingyue's waist and dragging her into the deep end, intent on giving her a proper "underwater hug."
Su Wan joined the fray, her fingertips tapping the water's surface, causing the pool to become even more "lively" under her control.
Water splashed everywhere as laughter filled the entire VIP bath.
Even the most shy Xia Lian was swept up in the lively atmosphere and couldn't resist joining the "battle."
She scooped up water with both hands and splashed it at Lin Xiyue, the force light and playful.
The "water war" within the team completely ignited the mood.
The four of them went back and forth, laughing and playing, and in the end, even Xia Lian was "disciplined" by the others, her face beaming with pure joy.
In the medicinal bath, they thoroughly washed away the fatigue and tension of their days of fighting.
After their bath, the four of them went to the most luxurious private room in the school cafeteria and stuffed themselves full.
Lin Xiyue even squeezed Xia Lian's arm, teasing her, "Xia Lian, eat more. You're the thinnest, you barely have any meat on you. Do you even have any C-cups?"
Xia Lian blushed, mumbling softly, "A Ranger needs to be flexible... they're already not small... if they were any bigger, the bowstring would snag on them, and it would hurt..."
Sitting next to Lin Xiyue, Su Wan heard this and proudly puffed out her chest with a hint of a smirk.
Lin Qingyue gently poked her waist.
"Stop puffing out your chest! I saw clearly just now, I know you're huge!"
Lin Xiyue immediately protected her own girlfriend. "Sis! Have you been secretly training your chest? Before, we were practically the same size, but now you're a whole size bigger than me!"
After the feast, the satisfied four returned to the Tingzhu Garden dormitory.
As the night deepened, fatigue finally washed over them.
Lin Qingyue lay on her bed, relaxing body and mind as she smelled the familiar scent.
She listened to Lin Xiyue's steady, deep breathing from the neighboring bed, confirming that her sister was already fast asleep.
The cold moonlight pierced through the gaps in the curtains, casting a silvery streak across the room.
In the darkness, Lin Qingyue's eyes shimmered with a hint of cunning and a faint, imperceptible longing.
Her physical fatigue and appetite had been satisfied.
But deeper desires within her heart needed to be fulfilled in another way.
With a thought, [ As I've Written ] silently appeared in her palm.
Her finger gently tapped the familiar mark on the book's page: "Chronocognitive Anchor No. 1".
[ System Prompt: Preparing to teleport to "Chronocognitive Anchor No. 1". Target anchor safety level: Extremely High. Confirm teleportation? ]
『Safety level extremely high? It seems the World Merger has completely finished.』
Lin Qingyue muttered to herself.
"Confirm teleportation."