“You…”
Li Youci opened her mouth to scold him, but her voice betrayed her, trembling like a leaf in the wind.
She stared at Zhou Kai, her heart a chaotic mess of panic and anticipation.
Zhou Kai’s hand cupped her softness, his palm radiating a scorching heat that threatened to ignite her very soul. She didn’t push him away. In fact… she didn’t dislike the sensation at all.
Time seemed to freeze in that singular moment.
Zhou Kai watched with amusement as the hues on her cheeks shifted—from a shy red to a deep, flushed crimson. He savored this stillness, the calm before the conquest, deliberately delaying his next move.
“Why did you stop?”
Li Youci bit her lower lip with her pearly white teeth. The inexplicable anticipation in her heart curdled into frustration, finally bursting out as a sharp provocation.
“Man… are you not up to the task?”
As soon as the words left her lips, she regretted them. Such bold, explicit language… it was completely unlike her.
Zhou Kai’s eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint flashing within them.
How could he endure such a taunt? Especially coming from Li Youci. He had already figured out her temperament, and that single sentence was the spark that detonated the powder keg of fire in his loins.
“Whether I’m up to it or not… Junior Sister is about to find out!”
Zhou Kai chuckled—a low, predatory sound. With surprising agility, he flipped over, scooping the dazed Li Youci into his arms in a princess carry.
“Ah! What are you doing? Put me down!” Li Youci cried out, offering a symbolic struggle, but Zhou Kai only tightened his grip.
He strode forward like a meteor, kicking open the door to a relatively intact side room nearby. He marched in, tossed her onto the bamboo bed with a dull thud, and pressed his body over hers before she could scramble away.
A hint of mockery danced in his eyes.
With a flick of his wrist, a black chain materialized in his grip—the Soul-Binding Chain!
“You… what are you doing?”
Zhou Kai grinned wickedly, offering no answer. His movements were lightning-fast. In a blur of motion, he bound her snow-white wrists and secured them high above her head, locking them to the bamboo bed frame.
“You… bastard!”
Moments later, the entire bamboo structure began to sway and creak.
Faint, rhythmic slapping sounds echoed from the side room, intermittent and urgent, sounding for all the world like someone impatiently swatting away annoying mosquitoes on a summer night.
Who knows how much time passed before the commotion finally subsided.
Li Youci lay on the bamboo bed, her hair a disheveled mess and her clothes in total disarray. A lingering, rosy flush stained her cheeks.
She turned her head slightly, eyeing Zhou Kai, whose breathing was still somewhat ragged. Despite her state, the corner of her mouth curled into a smug, provocative arc, like a villain declaring victory after a successful scheme.
“Senior Brother,” she panted, “it seems… you really aren’t up to it.”
Zhou Kai nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Him? Not up to it? What a joke!
He had simply… held back because of her true identity! He was afraid of playing too rough and causing an incident, so he had exercised restraint.
But then, he looked at the interface hovering before him.
[Li Youci] [Cultivation One: Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer (/)] [Cultivation Two: Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer (/)] [Divine Sense One:
Holy shit!
Zhou Kai’s pupils dilated, a tsunami of shock crashing through his mind.
What kind of God-tier panel is this?!
Two genuine Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer cultivation bases? Two massive Divine Senses comparable to the mid-Golden Core stage? This confirmed it beyond a shadow of a doubt: this was her True Body and her Ghost Body combined!
And because of that, the points she provided were doubled—a staggering 24 points!
Even more surprising was her versatility. She had high attainments in Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and Talisman Making. Her Array Refining was weak, but she had at least stepped through the door.
She was truly worthy of being a Heaven’s Favorite of Calamity Abyss Valley, the Young Lady of the Li family. Her foundation was something ordinary cultivators couldn’t catch up to even if they whipped their horses to death!
The only pity was that Li Youci didn’t possess a special constitution. If she did, the points would have been multiplied at least fivefold.
But even so, Zhou Kai was satisfied.
She provided Cultivation Points! With this, excluding the Array Dao and Talisman Dao, he now had a source for every type of point he needed!
“Not up to it?”
Zhou Kai suppressed his internal shock and snapped back to reality. He looked down at “Xia Min,” whose wrists were still bound by the Soul-Binding Chain, yet who still dared to court death with her sharp tongue.
The wicked fire in his eyes roared back to life, burning hotter than before.
He suddenly flipped her over.
SMACK!
His hand landed squarely on her perky, rounded buttocks. The tactile sensation was incredible.
“Ow!”
Li Youci, caught off guard, let out a sharp cry. Her body instinctively tensed, but then, strangely, it softened. A barely audible moan escaped her throat.
“This Young Master will teach you today exactly what ‘up to it’ means!” Zhou Kai roared, casting all reservations aside. “Come, Junior Sister! Let’s continue! Let’s see who begs for mercy first!”
Before his voice had even faded, the creak-creak-creak of the bamboo bed started up again, faster and more violent than before.
Time lost its meaning.
With every instance of Deep Interaction, the System in Zhou Kai’s mind spammed notifications.
[Ding! Deep Interaction with Red Beauty Li Youci. Cultivation Interaction Points +24!]
[Ding! Deep Interaction with Red Beauty Li Youci. Cultivation Interaction Points +24!]
…
Only after the fifth notification chime did the rhythmic creaking of the bamboo bed finally cease. A strange, musky fragrance filled the small room.
Li Youci lay quietly in Zhou Kai’s arms, her expression peaceful. She looked up at him and asked softly, “I thought you had your eyes on my Young Lady? Why… why are you interested in a little maid like me?”
Zhou Kai knew this moment well. It was the mandatory “pillow talk” phase following the first intimate contact.
Her question sounded like an accusation, but in reality, it was likely jealousy.
Should I expose her identity now?
Zhou Kai pondered for a moment but decided against it. Some window paper was better left intact; piercing it would only ruin the mood and the roleplay.
He gently stroked Li Youci’s silky, long hair, his voice dropping to a register of unprecedented seriousness.
“Junior Sister, I do indeed like the Young Lady. That is beyond doubt.”
He felt the delicate body in his arms stiffen slightly. He continued smoothly.
“The real reward I’ve received so far is merely the Star Iron Essence. When it comes down to it, my only contribution was providing a clue. The cultivation techniques the Li family gave me were purely because they value my potential talent.”
“For a Fated Chance like the Netherworld Secret Realm, as long as the clue exists, the result for the Li family would likely be the same whether Zhou Kai was involved or not.”
He paused, letting his words hang in the air.
“What I want is real merit. Merit so massive that the Li family cannot ignore it. Merit so undeniable that I become qualified to… seek the Young Lady’s hand in marriage!”
Zhou Kai’s declaration was resounding, spoken with the force of absolute conviction.
[Ding! Red Beauty Li Youci Affection +10!]
The System prompt chimed, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of Zhou Kai’s mouth.
He knew perfectly well that the Li family wouldn’t support him for a long time. Everything depended on him fighting and clawing for it himself.
Li Youci fell into a rare silence.
She leaned against Zhou Kai’s chest, listening to his heartbeat, her emotions a chaotic swirl.
Zhou Kai’s words were like a key, unlocking a dusty, forgotten corner of her heart.
Seek my hand in marriage?
The thought flashed through her mind, causing her heart to skip a beat.
After a long silence, she spoke, her voice distant and soft. “If you want to establish real merit… you can work for the Young Master.”
Zhou Kai pulled her tighter. “I’ll remember that. Tonight, I’ll go see the Young Lady and the Young Master.”
“Mm.” Li Youci responded meekly.
The two lingered in the afterglow for a while longer before Zhou Kai reluctantly let go and untied the Soul-Binding Chain.
By the time he left the half-collapsed bamboo building, dusk was already settling over the horizon.
Zhou Kai returned to the Spirit Beast Garden, finding the efficiency of the Chen family disciples to be nothing short of astonishing.
In just half a day, a brand-new, large compound had risen from the ruins. Pavilions, terraces, and towers stood arranged in an orderly yet varied aesthetic.
The construction speed of cultivators was incomparable to mortal craftsmen. It would likely be fully finished before night fell.
Shen Hanyi and Fish Baibai had returned and were waiting at the compound’s entrance.
Standing beside them were two of Zhou Kai’s old acquaintances.
One was the Sixth Elder, Chen Heming.
The other was Chen Muhui.
👑 The story continues!
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