The Player had no response.
Li Yin fell into shock as her mind rapidly replayed everything that had happened so far.
He had taken her as a disciple without the slightest doubt about her rapid advancement, and all those words he had said to her… Then there was that tickling itch that had hooked at her just moments ago—it turned out it wasn’t her imagination after all?
Even so, out of long-honed vigilance, Li Yin subconsciously denied it. Stunned, she called out again: “Master—”
Yao Guanheng gazed at her intently. The force of his grip silently intensified as he pressed her hand against his chest. His brows and eyes remained as gentle as ever, refusing to let her play dumb and slip away.
He transmitted: 【By the Jade Ecstasy Palace Lord’s orders, I am both a cauldron and responsible for secretly aiding you.】
【If the Young Lord remains uneasy, you may inspect my body as you wish. The Jade Ecstasy Palace’s Supplementation Seal… should awaken the Slave Mark’s brand.】 The man’s smile lingered at the corner of his mouth unchanged. When he spoke of the Slave Mark, he showed no sign of repulsion whatsoever.
Li Yin’s expression shifted slightly.
The little disciple tilted her head and looked at her master.
Her usual air of innocence abruptly vanished. Her pupils flickered as she appraised him with an entirely different gaze.
【Then should I call you Master, or cauldron, Master?】 She emphasized the title deliberately.
He was meant to be the master she respected. Yet now, his identity had flipped in an instant—he had become a cauldron for her to harvest and use at will.
The beautiful master lowered his gaze, his demeanor gentle and docile. He allowed her eyes to roam over him freely before continuing: 【The Jade Ecstasy Palace Lord told me that if, amid a crowd, I laid eyes on someone and willingly became their cauldron on sight, that person would be the Young Lord.】
Li Yin listened as the beautiful master let out a soft chuckle: 【What the Palace Lord said was spot on.】
【Master… was prepared for you as a cauldron from the start.】
His warm, velvety voice softened even further, like delicate silk wrapped around her fingers, drawing her in.
Li Yin’s expression changed once more.
As a Player, she had seen all sorts of scenarios. But nothing quite like this. Unfortunately, her save files had always been plagued by bad luck—favorability would max out just before a Bad End struck. Capture targets rarely took the initiative like this.
Her gamer instincts ignited. She blinked and scrutinized him even more intently.
In truth, back on the immortal boat in Northern Delusion City—before he had even laid eyes on her—Yao Guanheng had spoken with Ji Little Dao Lord. He had claimed willingness to nourish the Young Lord with his own cultivation.
Those had been empty words against his true feelings at the time. But not anymore.
Past memories flickered through Yao Guanheng’s mind. Upon first encountering this little Young Lord of the Jade Ecstasy Palace, he had no desire to accept the Slave Mark.
Dao and demon could not coexist. As an elder of the Dao Sect with Dao Venerable cultivation, how could he willingly debase himself as a demonic cultivator’s cauldron? To let his hard-earned cultivation be squandered, feeding it to demonic cultivators body and soul—what was that if not raising a tiger to invite calamity?
Even during the Dao-Demon War centuries ago, their so-called “mercy” of sparing his life had merely turned him into a spy and inside agent. The Slave Mark branded him, and there was no grace in it—only utility. They had kept him alive and directed him for a hundred years because he still had value.
Yao Guanheng knew his place all too well. The only wrinkle was the little Young Lord’s character. It wasn’t malicious.
Those candid, playful little gifts had indeed stirred something in him. They left him hesitating, even subtly steering her toward that merfolk. Yet he pitied the young creature—still underage, with a tragic past. He couldn’t bring himself to hint at demonic cultivators preying on such unfortunates. So he spoke ambiguously, unable to decide.
Who could have known his indecision would backfire? She had bonded with the merfolk and taken him in, making Yao Guanheng look like a string of blunders.
The master kept his brows and eyes lowered, letting her gaze trace his features. Li Yin parted her lips once, then again, unsure where to begin.
“Master.” Her tone reverted to that of the innocent little disciple, though it concealed a stirring of eager impulses.
She kept it hidden from her face, merely shifting closer to him.
“Master.” She called again. He lifted his eyes to meet hers, awaiting her next move.
The girl made no move, merely blinking as she transmitted: 【The Palace Lord told me she prepared two cauldrons for me. Besides you, who is the other one?】
The man’s eyelashes quivered. He fell silent for a few breaths.
Li Yin found it odd and leaned in even closer, nearly pressing her face to his. Her dark pupils fixed unblinkingly on him: “Master?”
Under her stare, Yao Guanheng’s lips pressed together lightly before he transmitted his reply: 【Do you… still remember back in Northern Delusion City, when a demonic cultivator fell to Elder Shen’s lethal strike?】
Li Yin paused. She hadn’t expected her hunch from then to be correct—that dead one had truly been another agent?
She double-checked: 【So… you’re the only one left, Master?】
The beautiful master nodded gently.
His gentlemanly bearing was as warm and refined as jade, his hair bound by a jade crown, his features upright and gentle. The faint tea fragrance wafting from him felt serene and pure. He didn’t look the type to deceive her.
Li Yin furrowed her brows faintly, recalling the demonic cultivator Elder Shen had slain.
After reaching Golden Core, her memory had sharpened considerably. She could vividly picture the man’s face.
His pleas had been utterly ordinary, his looks equally unremarkable, his cultivation likely low—otherwise, he wouldn’t have slipped up and met his end at Elder Shen’s hand.
Would the Jade Ecstasy Palace Lord, with her discerning eye, assign her disciple such a mediocre cauldron?
Or had that demonic cultivator used the Disguise Art as well?
Before Li Yin could puzzle it out, the master before her acted first.
They were already so close that their breaths mingled between master and disciple.
Yao Guanheng stopped transmitting. Instead, he took her hand and asked, “You’ve been traveling outside these days—have you kept up with your cultivation properly?”
Soft wisps of breath escaped his lips. He was every bit the considerate master: “From what I see, it looks like you’ve been slacking…”
Li Yin met his gaze. Then the beautiful master suddenly faltered.
She caught it clearly—his dense lashes trembled faintly before he lowered his eyes, dodging her stare, and finished his words: “How about cultivating together with Master? Would that be good?”
Li Yin’s eyes flicked over him, catching a hint of blush blooming from the tips of his ears.
Her eyes brightened at once: “Master is inviting me to dual cultivate?”
With her master turned cauldron, the Player accepted seamlessly.
In the game, it was always the Player inviting the capture target to dual cultivate. She hadn’t expected the roles to reverse this time.
Li Yin felt zero guilt, nodding to herself. This was her due—after surviving nine Bad Ends, couldn’t she indulge a little?
Yao Guanheng’s averted gaze returned to her: “Yes.”
He tamped down the rising heat within himself and pressed on with seducing his disciple.
By bone age and lifespan, he was several centuries old—far older than his little disciple. Such conduct bordered on shameless. Yao Guanheng reflected inwardly but had no choice except to lay bare his intentions.
“Master… wants to dual cultivate with you.”
He added by transmission: 【This is also the Jade Ecstasy Palace Lord’s will. As your cauldron, I must nourish you with my cultivation… Take it as you please.】
The words had barely fallen when—already seated on the ground—the disciple shoved her master down with ease.
Yao Guanheng offered no resistance. On the contrary, he reached out to steady her.
His wide sleeves and robes splayed across the floor, his long hair spilling loose. There was no grounds to fault the disciple for overstepping—who had made him her cauldron, after all?
How should she supplement from her master?
Li Yin hadn’t decided on her approach when the master took her hand.
“Come.” He guided her first, leading her hand to unfasten his hair crown.
His hair tumbled fully free. The dignified image cracked open.
That fissure, widened by the disciple’s hand, swiftly shed all propriety.
With the crown removed, the master instructed her on the next step of supplementation.
The disciple was young in bone age and short in years, her movements impulsive and unsteady. With her master now a cauldron, any lingering respect had faded. She treated him like a gift to unwrap.
The master’s poised eyes quivered in waves, fresh heat rising to his face. He adopted a thoroughly docile bearing, letting his disciple have her way with him.
“Master.” The disciple tugged at layers of his clothing, calling out once more.
Yet the master remained endlessly patient, smiling faintly: “What is it?”
The disciple blinked: 【Master makes such a pretty cauldron.】
She did it on purpose. Yao Guanheng froze, helplessness crossing his face. He couldn’t help it—even the corners of his eyes flushed with color.
“Master, could you close your eyes?” the disciple requested. “With you watching me like this, I hardly dare offend you.”
She was already doing so.
Her plea lacked sincerity, her shallow smile and curved eyes carrying a subtly teasing lilt.
The beautiful master’s breath hitched for an instant. Staring at his disciple’s smile, he relented after a moment and gently shut his eyes.
His chest lay fully bared.
She groped haphazardly at first, deeming it improper. Li Yin abruptly composed herself, recalling the Jade Ecstasy Palace’s techniques at last.
【I need to pick the most beautiful spot and place a lovely mark there. Don’t you think, Master?】
The Young Lord of the Jade Ecstasy Palace spoke with utter conviction. Remarkably, the master murmured soft assent, granting permission for her transgressions.
With his eyes closed, Yao Guanheng lost his sight. Every sensation sharpened.
The disciple’s hand ventured boldly, searching: 【Master, where is your Slave Mark? You said I should check it.】
At her question, Yao Guanheng reached out. Eyes shut, he still grasped her hand precisely and guided it to the right place.
【The Slave Mark is at my dantian.】
A prime location. The Player examined it gravely, touching and peering: “Master, I can’t see anything. There’s nothing here.”
A beat passed. Then she halted abruptly.
Upon contact with a Jade Ecstasy Palace disciple, the Slave Mark would heat, verifying identity.
Ah, so that was it. Li Yin surmised the master had confirmed her by touch.