The round fruit was baked hot by the sun.
Liu Qiao’e clutched it dazedly in her palm.
Time seemed to rewind to that summer day in her childhood.
She had tiptoed to hide at the entrance of the private school, eavesdropping on the tutor reciting lessons inside.
From a young age, she had big ambitions and was fiercely competitive. She always heard villagers talk about studying, gaining literacy, and becoming great officials.
She declared that she too wanted to study and become a great official. She did not want to stay in this small mountain village!
The others burst into laughter, saying only men could study and become officials, and candidates had to be body-searched at the exam hall.
They scared her, saying they would discover she was a girl, drag her out, and chop off her head!
Her face turned pale with fright.
But the idea that studying could help her rise above her station buried itself deep in her heart.
As a child, her mother took her to the town, where she saw the wives of wealthy families dressed in gold and silver, surrounded by attendants.
She wore a pair of grass shoes with holes, her toenails caked in dirt.
The sedan of the wealthy wife swayed, and the woman’s fair, plump body swayed with it. She stared entranced and forgot to avert her gaze, only to be lashed on the back. It burned fiercely, truly painful.
She bit her lips in hatred and secretly vowed in her heart that one day she too would become a person above others, making those dogs who bullied the poor relying on their wealth kneel and kowtow to her!
Every day, she sneaked to the village school to listen. The tutor was a kind man who turned a blind eye and did not chase her away.
But the parents of the other students could not tolerate it. They had paid tuition fees—why should she listen for free?
Those parents found her parents and beat around the bush in “polite” terms, saying she was growing up, that budding feelings of spring were normal, but running to the school every day to peep at the boys was improper. Many in the village were gossiping.
Her parents flushed red with embarrassment. They turned around, flew into a rage, dragged her home, and beat her severely.
They used willow branches from the pondside.
From then on, she was forced to give up studying.
Until later, a few exiled immortals arrived in the once peaceful little village.
The leader was elegantly ethereal. She had never seen such a handsome youth.
His nose was sharp, lips thin and red, pitch-black pupils like the clearest spring water. He seemed carved from ice and snow.
The youth wore the most beautiful sword. When the sword emerged, spring winds turned green, and peach groves bloomed red.
They spoke words she could not understand, with manners a hundred times more refined than the village scholar.
She envied them. From the bottom of her heart, she wanted to become like them, to be as elegant as they were, to stand squarely before that youth like the dignified young ladies on stage.
That day, her strong desire to study reignited.
Unfortunately, before she could realize it, everything turned to ashes.
Her family had two older brothers, one older sister, and a younger brother.
Her parents did not treat her badly, though far inferior to her brothers, but they truly cared for her.
Sadly, they all died—her parents, sister, brothers. They all died.
Liu Qiao’e silently tightened her grip on the fruit in her hand.
Now, she no longer thought about studying.
When she first took power, someone mocked her for being illiterate and ignorant of literature.
So what? She no longer needed to study. She killed that person without hesitation.
The fruit was warm, like a beating heart.
Liu Qiao’e looked at Mu Daoying, so close at hand. His face overlapped with the youth in her memory.
The youth had grown up, his brows more prominent, his bearing more refined and gentle—a speck of ice in a heart of white jade, faintly cool.
That lofty youth from her memories, once like a dream from her youth, was now within reach, hers to pluck.
“Sir,” Liu Qiao’e said somewhat dazedly, “kiss me.”
Mu Daoying froze.
Liu Qiao’e bit her lip. “Didn’t sir say he would reward me?”
Mu Daoying paused, then corrected her. “Now that I teach you to read, I am your tutor. There is no such propriety between tutor and student.”
Liu Qiao’e snapped out of her daze. Seeing his refusal, anger flared in her heart. She glared coldly and snapped, “Mu Daoying, I order you to kiss me.”
But Mu Daoying’s attitude remained firm.
To revere the teacher and respect the way—how could a tutor act so intimately while teaching a student?
Mu Daoying’s attitude suddenly turned cold. “If Old Mother continues this jest, then the matter of teaching Old Mother to read ends here.”
Liu Qiao’e raged, “Mu Daoying, you—”
But Mu Daoying truly pursed his lips, gathered the books and copybooks from the table, and ignored her.
Liu Qiao’e felt a twinge of regret but refused to yield.
The two stalemated for a moment. Liu Qiao’e coldly rose and stormed off with a flick of her sleeve.
–
She had not expected Mu Daoying to be so rigid. This Guardian Tutor full of righteousness and morality!
Once out of the room, Liu Qiao’e lost face. She walked hurriedly, wind at her feet, skirts and sleeves billowing, like a frantic flapping moth staggering left and right in fury.
They were not truly teacher and student. He was even her male pet! Why insist on teacher-student propriety? Make her revere him as master? In her next life!
Liu Qiao’e parted unpleasantly with Mu Daoying and was fuming when trouble arose again with the Joyous Union Sect disciples.
The four sects’ disciples gathered in Fogveil City but did not move together.
They often rotated shifts: one group scouted the Soul-Returning Lamp’s trail while the other guarded the inn for contingencies.
That day, many Joyous Union Sect and Jade Clarity Temple disciples remained at the inn.
The Joyous Union Sect disciples were unorthodox in their ways. After Liu Qiao’e scolded them back to their rooms that day, they dared not defy their sect master’s order, but each harbored resentment.
They thought they must give the Jade Clarity Temple disciples a lesson.
Thus, in the time Liu Qiao’e turned away, the Joyous Union Sect disciples stirred up more mischief.
Who struck first between the two sides was impossible to determine. In any case, when Liu Qiao’e arrived, they were already brawling.
She flew into a great rage. Her first instinct was naturally to protect her own.
This was why the Joyous Union Sect disciples feared her yet dared to cause trouble—as long as within Old Mother’s tolerance, she was generally reasonable.
But cross Old Mother’s bottom line, and they could choose to die in two pieces or eight.
The moment Liu Qiao’e arrived, her face darkened, white robes fluttering, black hair whipping high.
Blood Rakshasa pressed against the neck of the Jade Clarity disciple fighting most fiercely.
“I recognize you.” Liu Qiao’e’s voice was ghostly cold.
That Jade Clarity disciple shuddered but then raised his head defiantly. “Your Joyous Union Sect bullied us too much! Kill or scrape as you will!”
Liu Qiao’e recognized him as the one who mocked Joyous Union Sect yesterday.
Expressionless, she lifted him like a chick. Blood Rakshasa sank an inch deeper. “You don’t want your life? I will grant it.”
The disciple was merely youthful bravado, a moment of sharp tongue. He was certain Liu Qiao’e would not dare antagonize the Immortal Alliance by killing him.
He never imagined she truly dared to kill!
Blood Rakshasa pierced his flesh. The pressure from a cave nether realm powerhouse, even a mere sliver, made the disciple tremble all over, pupils dilating. “You… how dare you in front of the Immortal Alliance…”
“Not just killing you before the Immortal Alliance—even if I killed Song Miaoling or Lai Yongle—” Liu Qiao’e said softly, “do you think Cloud Mountain Song Clan or Wandering Sword Pavilion would dare utter a word?”
The disciple screamed in terror, “Save me!!”
The other Jade Clarity disciples burned with anxiety but were repelled three zhang by Liu Qiao’e’s pressure, unable to advance.
With life at stake, they wailed apologies and pleas for mercy.
“Mercy, Old Mother!” “We were wrong! He is young and hot-headed—what does he know!”
“Old Mother is magnanimous!”
The disciple’s vision blurred, body going limp.
Was this the end for him?
Just then, a familiar clear, cold voice rang out.
“Mercy, Old Mother.”
The disciple opened his eyes and saw Mu Daoying’s pale, handsome face. He could not help but wail and cry.
“Senior Brother!”
Mu Daoying ignored him. He strode forward, forcing his way through Liu Qiao’e’s pressure.
Cave nether realm cultivators nearly formed a realm domain. The pressure aggravated his old wounds, making him cough incessantly.
Yet Mu Daoying stood firm, unmoving before the disciple, gently grasping Liu Qiao’e’s wrist.
Liu Qiao’e saw this culprit who soured her mood, her expression worsening.
“On what basis do you block me?”
Life hung by a thread.
Seeing Blood Rakshasa nearly severing the disciple’s throat, Mu Daoying’s heart chilled. Without thinking, he blurted, “I promise you.”
“Promise me?” Liu Qiao’e was stunned.
Mu Daoying closed his eyes, extremely embarrassed. “Your request… I promise.”
Liu Qiao’e paused. Blood Rakshasa unconsciously loosened, and the disciple fell to the ground, spared from death.
The other Jade Clarity Temple disciples rushed to help him up.
Liu Qiao’e saw him purse his lips, eyes flickering, and realized what he meant.
He promised to kiss her.
Liu Qiao’e had not expected her first proper kiss with Mu Daoying to occur in such a proper setting.
For her, kisses fell into two kinds: one from genuine emotion, moving the heart.
The other from desire, active service.
She never imagined such an awkward third kind—
Afraid she would renege once agreed, Mu Daoying did not release her hand. Under everyone’s gaze, he pulled her through the long corridor and around a bend.
That Jade Clarity disciple cried even harder. He did not know what his senior brother promised that debauched female demon—what, no!
Only after pulling Liu Qiao’e out of the disciples’ sight did Mu Daoying stop. He belatedly pursed his lips, cheeks heating.
It was truly embarrassing.
Demand to return to the room?
The room had a bed.
Mu Daoying feared Liu Qiao’e would force him to serve in bed like driving a donkey to the millstone.
He looked around and finally spotted a tall white magnolia potted plant in the corner.
The white magnolia had grown into a small tree, branches dense, flowers like jade bowls holding snow. Mu Daoying assessed it could barely block the view.
Thus, he looked up at Liu Qiao’e.
Liu Qiao’e was also looking at him.
Mu Daoying stiffened for half a second.
A kiss from emotion was natural, no awkwardness.
But with this long preparation before the kiss?
Confirming the spot, eyes meeting, brewing mood.
The embarrassment and reluctance stretched endlessly.
Even Liu Qiao’e felt a shiver crawling from her fingertips.
Finally, Mu Daoying let out a long, long sigh.
“Close your eyes.”
The man’s clear, cool voice blew into her ear like a breath.
Liu Qiao’e trembled all over, goosebumps rising, half her body numbing.
Mu Daoying’s long arm wrapped around her. One hand covered her eyes, the other cradled her nape, pulling her into his embrace.
Liu Qiao’e’s vision went black. Instinctively uneasy, she wanted to struggle.
But then, a faint white sandalwood scent enveloped her overwhelmingly.
Though faint, the white sandalwood permeated every strand of hair, every inch of skin—gentle as water, tenderly domineering, even overpowering the magnolia fragrance.
His lips were thin and soft, like chilled white jade cake, pressing down. They lightly touched her lips—faint, quick, like a dragonfly skimming water.
Yet Liu Qiao’e still felt uncontrollable panic. Her head spun, legs weakened, arms softened.
Mu Daoying’s palm slid down to her back.
He felt her spine trembling as he touched her back.
He had intended a touch-and-part, but she clutched his collar tightly, shaking fiercely.
She was only as tall as his chest, skinny and small. This slenderness contrasted sharply with her usual domineering tyranny. A surge of pity welled in Mu Daoying’s heart.
This tender compassion led him to do something unexpected.
His lips parted a line’s distance, then pressed down again.
This kiss lost control.
Mu Daoying stroked her back, kissing her lips now deeply, now shallowly.
His heartbeat was not necessarily a half-beat slower than Liu Qiao’e’s. He held himself very properly and had not been in contact with women for many years. But to know lust was to admire young beauties; it was truly human nature. Suddenly, with a boom, his mind wandered off to the heavens.
Her lips were as soft as a single flower petal, seeming to shatter the moment they were held in his mouth.
He felt dizzy and dazzled, somewhat lost in a haze of passion.
Liu Qiao’e sensed the white sandalwood scent growing ever more intense, overwhelming the orchid fragrance—and her as well.
She trembled, shrinking smaller and smaller beneath him. Tiny, she was crushed under the sky-spanning white sandalwood aroma, melting away into his broad embrace.