If he could, Lu Zhiyao truly wanted to knock Li Ruoshui unconscious.
It wasn’t because she was clinging desperately to him in front of a crowd, nor was it because the gazes of everyone else in the teahouse were fixed on them.
What unsettled him was Li Ruoshui’s hands. Not only did they keep reaching for him, but she also tried to grab at anyone who passed by, all the while mumbling about feeling cool.
By the time the two reached the inn across the street, the last embers of Li Ruoshui’s fading rationality flared up.
She buried her face against Lu Zhiyao to hide her flushed appearance from the waiter, and with a shred of remaining sense, asked for two rooms.
She thought to herself: ‘Locking myself up probably means I won’t grope around everywhere, right? That way, I won’t be so mortified when I come to my senses that I’ll wish I were dead.’
“You… just lock me in one of the rooms when we get there. This kind of poison, I can endure it; it’ll pass.”
Wasn’t it just a bone-deep itch and a tear-inducing, unbearable heat? She could solve all that by soaking in cold water overnight.
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Nk Swspbwk pnayvnble bla yaxp yde cseu alqzlmkhlzu cwv oyp pvsrrle byzqoyu obld Nw Hbkuys plkgle bla oakpvp.
Rd bla eygl, pbl blyae bkp hsknl, ekpvydv yp kq qasx vbl bsakgsd ulv yzps nzspl yp kq aktbv clqsal bla, xyjkdt bla oydv vs zlyd nzspla vs blya nzlyazu.
“Qlv wp y assx okvb y cyvbkdt vwc. Psd’v qkzz kv okvb bsv oyvla; wpl nssz oyvla qasx vbl olzz.”
“Sktbv yoyu, pka. Vzlypl oykv y xsxldv.”
Nw Hbkuys nswzed’v pll yde bye vs xkde bla yv vbl pyxl vkxl, ps bl oyzjle ayvbla pzsozu wr vbl pvykap; Fzso ldswtb qsa Nk Swspbwk’p zypv hlpvktlp sq alypsd vs cwad yoyu.
Ju vbl vkxl vbl assx essa nzsple, pbl oyp yzalyeu ldvokdle yaswde bkx, kxrsppkczl vs rwzz sqq.
Tyhkdt dlhla plld Nk Swspbwk zkjl vbkp clqsal, Nw Hbkuys zlv swv y psqv zywtb. Tl alynble swv, rakle bla sqq, rkddle bla yaxp clbkde bla cynj, yde twkele bla vs pkv sd vbl cle.
Rq Nk Swspbwk olal pvkzz nsdpnkswp, pbl’e nlavykdzu nsxrzykd vbyv vbkp xshl oyp lmlnwvle yp lmrlavzu yp nyrvwakdt y nakxkdyz.
But she wasn’t conscious now. Her mind was filled only with the impulse to throw herself at Lu Zhiyao, rub against him, and maybe even do something to him.
Lu Zhiyao sat on the bed, listening to Li Ruoshui’s muffled groans of discomfort. He kept about half an arm’s length between them.
He couldn’t help but wonder, how did she suddenly get poisoned with something so potent?
Lu Zhiyao grabbed her wrist, leaned in close to the side of her neck, and took a sniff. Besides the mellow aroma of osmanthus wine, there was also a trace of a somewhat cloying sweetness, like a mix of fruit and honey.
“…I see.” He sighed with a hint of helplessness. “It was meant for me, yet you ended up being the one to fall for it.”
Lu Zhiyao raised a hand to touch her startlingly hot cheek, as if musing. “Still, you like this is indeed novel and interesting…”
“Shall we divert your attention?”
Li Ruoshui, of course, didn’t answer him. Right now, just rubbing against his hand felt incredibly soothing. She only wanted to get closer to him, to make this unbearable feeling lessen.
“Then I’ll take that as your agreement.”
A smile curved Lu Zhiyao’s eyes. His fingers slid from the side of her face to her lips, lightly brushing over them a few times. Then he slowly leaned in closer, bringing his face near her shoulder and neck.
There, a subtle fragrance lingered, carrying a hint of fresh sweetness. He was never one to indulge his appetites much, but for some reason, he inexplicably wanted to take a bite.
Without even thinking about it, he acted.
Through the layer of her gauzy collar, Lu Zhiyao slowly bit down.
He wanted to leave a mark, yet he didn’t want to hurt her. This clash of desire and restraint made him unconsciously grip her wrists tighter, even as he softened the pressure of his bite.
A strange joy filled his chest, swelling as if about to burst right out, threatening to shatter him.
His shoulder also bore a mark she’d left. Last time, though she hadn’t bitten hard, he’d found a way to keep that imprint preserved on his right shoulder.
It was his initiation into this kind of joy. He wanted to use this mark to perfectly preserve the delight he’d felt at that time.
Thinking of this, that bite mark on his right shoulder seemed to burn faintly too.
His breathing grew hurried. In this unseen room, a faint flush crept up to the tips of his ears.
A laugh escaped his throat. Unconsciously, he applied more force, as if he, too, wanted to etch an indelible mark onto her.
“Ah—”
This pain finally roused Li Ruoshui. She blinked, ignoring the ambiguous, feverish atmosphere, and shifted her shoulder and neck.
“Find something to tie me up with.”
Her voice was hoarse, like a traveler who had walked too long in the desert.
A brief return of rationality gave Li Ruoshui a moment of clarity. Since he was unwilling to take this further and didn’t want to hurt her, the only option was to restrain her.
“Tie you up? How?”
Lu Zhiyao lifted his head, his eyelashes trembling slightly. He didn’t know why, but hearing her voice like this made his own grow a bit hoarse too.
“…Whatever. Just hurry.”
If Zheng Mei were here, she’d be astonished by Li Ruoshui’s resilience.
The incense’s potency was formidable. Even a faint, lingering whiff was enough to make one feel unbearably hot all over. Combined with a bit of alcohol, an ordinary person would surrender immediately.
But Li Ruoshui had taken a deep, deliberate sniff, so deep it made her throat feel sweet, and the scent had saturated her clothes. Later, she’d downed the osmanthus wine like water—that was akin to pouring water into boiling oil, an explosion waiting to happen.
The fact that she hadn’t completely lost her mind by now was purely due to her formidable willpower.
“Tie you up?”
Lu Zhiyao repeated the words softly, then removed the string of white jade prayer beads from his wrist.
This strand of prayer beads was given to him by his mother. She was a Buddhist and had gone to a temple to procure them, saying they would protect their family and keep them together.
He didn’t believe in that, nor did he particularly care about the family staying together. But he liked these beads. They felt cool, smooth, and delicately translucent. Wrapped three or four times around his wrist, they felt comfortable.
“Then let’s use these.”
He murmured to himself, then leaned forward, encircling her and wrapping the prayer beads around her bound wrists behind her back, coil by coil.
The moment he wrapped his arms around her, Li Ruoshui could feel the coolness emanating from him. The impulse inside her to get closer was nearly impossible to suppress…
A little bit should be okay, right?
Li Ruoshui leaned against his shoulder and began to nuzzle. Nuzzling turned into her biting his collar with her teeth.
Just as she was about to try and pull it open further, Lu Zhiyao gently pushed her away. His palm touched her forehead, trying to cool her down.
“Last time it was cold, this time it’s heat.” He sighed softly, a slight curve on his lips. “Equally troublesome.”
He rubbed his thumb over the bite mark on her shoulder, not understanding why she was still so distressed.
He’d never been poisoned by something like this before, but he knew one way to resolve it was for two people to embrace. Now it seemed that wasn’t the correct method after all—she still needed cold water to lower her temperature.
“Perhaps it’s the wrong position?”
Lu Zhiyao moved the arm encircling her shoulder down to her waist. It still didn’t seem to help much.
“Sir, may I come in to deliver the water?”
A knock sounded at the door. The waiter’s voice called from outside.
“Come in.”
Lu Zhiyao responded, his attention still on the puzzle of how to hold her.
The waiter and several other attendants from the inn came in carrying water. Some kept their eyes strictly averted, but others couldn’t resist their curiosity and stole glances over.
The young lady was buried in the young master’s embrace, her face hidden. But her wrists, bound behind her back with prayer beads, were clearly visible.
The men filled the tub in silence and, on their way out, thoughtfully closed the door behind them.
Hearing the sound of their departure, Lu Zhiyao stood up, guiding Li Ruoshui behind the screen.
It was nearly May. The well water was cool but not yet freezing to the touch. Testing the temperature, he promptly picked Li Ruoshui up and placed her in the tub.
But the tub was too large. With her hands bound and her body limp, Li Ruoshui couldn’t even sit upright. The moment she went in, she slipped down, submerging half her head.
Fortunately, Lu Zhiyao was quick. He immediately pulled her back up.
“You can’t manage by yourself either?”
He sighed softly, but his legs stepped into the tub before his thoughts could catch up.
Lu Zhiyao held Li Ruoshui in his arms, leaning quietly against the side of the tub. Their long hair floated and intertwined beside them, swaying gently with the ripples in the water.
The cold water absorbed much of the heat from her body. Li Ruoshui leaned quietly against him, but the maddening itch all over her skin remained. She could only squirm from time to time.
Lu Zhiyao toyed with the ends of her hair, suddenly remembering what that woman had said.
His behavior was indeed unusual, but did that mean he harbored feelings for Li Ruoshui? Hadn’t he always viewed her as a plaything?
He reached up to touch his own chest, tapping it lightly. But there was no change there; it still beat steadily, one thump after another.
His heart raced when he killed someone. Li Ruoshui’s heart raced when she was frightened. How were those any different from being moved by affection?
“I can’t take it anymore…”
Li Ruoshui murmured. Her previously bound hands suddenly lifted from the water and pressed down on his shoulders.
Lu Zhiyao raised an eyebrow slightly. His hand found the strand of prayer beads under the water, and he couldn’t help but laugh softly.
“So you weren’t truly quiet just now—you were secretly slipping out of the prayer beads… You, even in a daze, you’re quite cunning.”
Pinned against the side of the tub, Lu Zhiyao curled his lips into a smile, not feeling the slightest bit of danger.
Her movements stirred up the dark hair that had settled in the water, strands of it tangling around his pristine white collar and neck.
At this moment, Lu Zhiyao resembled a night-blooming cereus blossoming in the darkness. Uniquely exquisite and captivating, adorned with shimmering dewdrops, tempting passersby to pluck him.
He didn’t resist. He, too, wanted to know what the difference was between all these heartbeats.
Li Ruoshui looked at him with slightly reddened eyes. In her perception, Lu Zhiyao wasn’t a person; he was a cooling drink that could lower her fever. One sip would relieve the heat.
So she gently leaned forward to quench her thirst and cool herself down.
Li Ruoshui had never tasted such sweet nectar before, so she drank with a mix of reverence and restraint.
It was like a spring breeze stirring ripples, like a drizzle caressing petals—everything was gentle.
The dark hair in the water met and intertwined beside them, then slowly settled once more.
Lu Zhiyao had never kissed anyone before. His hands involuntarily gripped the edges of his robe, his eyelashes trembling as he followed her lead, inexperienced.
This gentle sensation felt like being carefully treasured.
He reached up to touch his chest. It was pounding wildly, with a fervor that felt like it had returned to the scene of his first kill.
Excitement, delight, but mixed with a strange, aching fullness—as if someone had seized his heart, not to crush it harshly, but to knead it softly.
This peculiar, warm feeling spread to his eyes, transforming into tears that streamed down, finally merging into the rippling water.
This kind of thrill was vastly different from the pleasure of killing. But what kind of feeling was it for her?
Lu Zhiyao tilted his head back. His hand rose from the water, lightly touching her face, tracing from the corner of her eye downward, finally coming to rest on the side of her neck.
The heartbeat there wasn’t as frantic as his own, but it was livelier than her usual rhythm.
He felt it carefully. It didn’t seem much different from when she was frightened. But she wasn’t scared now. So was she also immersed in this?
Was this the happiness she spoke of, besides killing?
Then she truly hadn’t lied.
This kind of joy, perhaps with a dash of crimson added, might be even more delightful.
Lu Zhiyao tilted his head slightly and bit her lip. Red slowly bloomed.
The pain jolted Li Ruoshui awake. Her eyes flew open. The faint taste of blood on her tongue made her realize with a shock what she had done.
That metallic tang greatly stimulated Lu Zhiyao. The corners of his eyes reddening, he instinctively raised a hand to press against the back of her head, pushing her back as she tried to pull away slightly.
Just as Li Ruoshui froze in place, the System’s prompt suddenly sounded beside her ear.
[Host’s progress toward the strategy target has reached two-fourths. Task rewards will be issued based on the strategy results.]
[Evaluating…]
[Rewards issued: Memory Fragment (Any)2, Broken Silver (100 taels), Mystery Gift Box. Overall Rating: Good.]
[Just a little short of achieving ‘Excellent.’ Please keep up the effort, Host, and return home soon!]
These prompts would probably have to wait until later for her to ponder slowly.
Right now, she just wanted to bite him back.
TLN: O.O
TLN: And that’s it for this dump! If y’all notice any errors or grammar mistakes just leave a comment or ping me on discord @entropicequanimity
https://ko-fi.com/cakiee_24
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