“You really want to know?” Han Lie raised an eyebrow, letting the suspense hang in the air like smoke.

“Mhm! I want to know!” Xiao Qingge blinked her large, shimmering eyes, radiating an almost aggressive level of cuteness.

“Ahem.” Han Lie cleared his throat, adopting his most sagely tone. “Far away in the horizon… yet right before your eyes.”

Xiao Qingge froze. Her brow furrowed in genuine confusion. “Far away… yet right before my eyes? What does that mean, Brother?”

For a moment, Han Lie wondered if her innocence was genuine or just another layer of her act. But then, a tremor ran through her slender frame. Her eyes widened, and a deep, spreading blush consumed her face, turning her cheeks the color of a ripe peach.

“Brother…” she squeaked, burying her face in her hands. “You’re so bad! We’ve only just met!”

Han Lie clasped his hands behind his back, looking off into the distance with feigned nobility.

“Brother, I… I like you too,” she whispered, peeking through her fingers. “But I have no experience with these things. I don’t know what to do.” She suddenly brightened. “Don’t worry! When we get back to the sect, I’ll ask my Junior Sister. She’s dated over a dozen men; I’ll study her techniques!”

“That won’t be necessary,” Han Lie said quickly, cutting off that terrifying train of thought. He looked her in the eye, his expression serious. “Meet me in the Cloud Sea Forest in seven days. I will teach you everything you need to know.”

The Cloud Sea Forest. It was a secluded, misty woodland where he had first ensnared Bai Ling—and a notorious rendezvous point for the sect’s illicit lovers.

“Okay!” Xiao Qingge agreed instantly, her voice bubbling with excitement.

Upon returning to the Heavenly Void Sect, they headed straight for the Law Enforcement Hall to settle their accounts.

The rewards were substantial. Between the base pay and the bounties for the kills, Han Lie walked away with 350,000 Spirit Stones. The head of Zhao Mei alone, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, fetched a handsome 80,000. Combined with the slaughter of over a hundred Foundation Establishment disciples, it was a fortune that would make most rogue cultivators weep with envy.

Even Xiao Qingge, with her share of 150,000 Spirit Stones, had earned a king’s ransom for a single mission. Most Golden Core tasks paid a fraction of that.

“Brother~” Xiao Qingge chirped as they exited the hall, clutching her bag of stones. “I’ll go prepare myself. See you in seven days!”

“Seven days,” Han Lie confirmed, watching her skip away.

Once she was out of sight, his smile faded. He returned to the main desk to deliver Deacon He Tao’s report, then made his way to a familiar sub-peak of the Law Enforcement Hall.

He reached the door of Qin Lan’s private residence and raised a hand to knock. The door swung open before his knuckles could make contact.

Qin Lan stood in the doorway, framed by the soft glow of the interior lamps. She wore a loose, translucent white robe that did nothing to hide the generous curves of her body. The fabric clung to her damp skin, outlining a silhouette that instantly ignited a fire in Han Lie’s blood.

“Finally,” she purred, her eyes dark with hunger. “I’ve been waiting.”

She grabbed him by the collar and yanked him inside.

The room was prepared. Candles flickered on the tables, casting long, dancing shadows. On the bed lay a collection of small, specialized tools—whips, silk ropes—that promised a long night.

It wasn’t just a night. It was a four-day war.

When the dust finally settled, the room was thick with the scent of musk and spiritual energy. Qin Lan lay draped across Han Lie’s chest, her skin glowing with a vitality that bordered on the divine. Under the nourishment of Han Lie’s Pure Yang Sacred Body, her cultivation had surged, pushing her dangerously close to the mid-Nascent Soul stage.

“Your Yang energy is intoxicating,” she murmured, tracing a finger down his chest. She laughed, a low, satisfied sound. “Risking my life against Old Ghost Black Sha to save you… it was the best investment I ever made.”

For a cultivator like her, breaking through to the mid-stage would normally take decades of grueling meditation. With Han Lie, she had shaved off nearly a century of effort in a handful of nights. It was a drug no female cultivator could resist.

Han Lie rested his hand on her waist, which still bore the faint, red marks of his grip. “Senior Qin Lan is welcome anytime. Provided I have the stamina.”

For him, the session had yielded zero cultivation progress. His Golden Core was already overflowing, a cup unable to hold another drop. But he didn’t mind. It was a chance to indulge his desires and solidify his alliance with one of the sect’s most powerful enforcers.

Qin Lan shifted, looking up at him. Her lips were swollen and pink, inviting.

Han Lie leaned down and captured them in a deep, lingering kiss. It was soft, sweet, and tasted faintly of honey.

When they finally broke apart, Qin Lan was breathless, her eyes hazy. “You… seem to really like kissing.”

“Does Senior Qin Lan dislike it?” Han Lie teased, running a thumb over her lower lip.

“I love it,” she whispered.

She pulled him down again, pushing him back into the tangled sheets.

Another few hours passed before Han Lie finally extracted himself from Qin Lan’s residence. He made a quick stop at the Jade Clear Pool to wash away the evidence of his four-day marathon before returning to his small wooden house at the Violet Heaven Palace.

It was nightfall when he arrived.

“Meow! Meow! MEOW!”

A streak of white fur launched itself at him the moment he opened the door. Xiao Zi, the Sect Leader’s spirit cat, circled his legs, screeching her displeasure.

Han Lie quickly produced two Thousand Flower Pills—refined by his father, Han Feng—and tossed them to the beast. The cat caught them mid-air, crunching happily, her protests silenced.

“You human! You disappear for so long!” Xiao Zi complained between bites, telepathically projecting her annoyance.

“It was less than twenty days,” Han Lie defended himself, crouching down to scratch her ears. “This Senior was on a mission.”

“Hmph! Next time, take me! I’m tired of starving!”

“Fine, fine. Next time.”

Two days later, the time for his appointment with Xiao Qingge arrived.

Han Lie adjusted his robes, preparing to leave for the Cloud Sea Forest. As he stepped toward the door, teeth clamped onto his pant leg.

“Meow! Where are you going? I’m coming too!”

“You are going nowhere!” Han Lie hissed, trying to shake the cat off. “Go pound sand! I’m just taking a stroll.”

He managed to pry the cat loose, tossing a few more pills as a distraction before slipping out the door.

The walk to the Cloud Sea Forest was quiet, the moon casting silver light through the canopy. Han Lie’s mind drifted to the “lesson” he was about to give. Xiao Qingge was a different beast entirely from Qin Lan—a mix of feigned innocence and hidden claws.

When he arrived at the clearing, she was already there. Bathed in moonlight, she looked like a spirit of the forest, her eyes sparkling with a mix of nervousness and anticipation.

“Brother!” she called out, running to meet him, her cheeks flushed.

“I’m here,” Han Lie said, a slow smile spreading across his face.

“So,” she whispered, looking up at him. “What is the first lesson?”