Responsibility

"How? What do you mean by how?" Yang Lin asked in return, just as confused. He may have loathed her, but... A beauty in distress was a sight no one was able to bear with, much less one that is bleeding all over her matchless figure.

"Qi Circulation, you managed to do it, how?" She asked again, not caring about the slight wounding she provided herself with. Matter of fact, her regenerative attributes had already kicked in, her wounds cleansing at a rate visible to the mortal eye.

Thinking about her question, Yang Lin became aware of his current situation. Yet, joy was far from his clutches, subconsciously dodging her question he shot glances all around in a panic, attempting to grasp a general sense of direction under the blanket of dawn. Then it struck him…

What did she mean? Could she not see the fox from earlier? Even then, isn't she supposed to read his mind? Thinking about how it didn't matter how much he thought about the fox, she seemed oblivious to it, this surprised Yang Lin.

Out of curiosity, he said, "Did you not see-... Agh!" A mind-splitting headache struck Yang Lin, soaking his body in sweat and knocking him off his feet, once again seated in the pond. The pain was for a fraction of a second, yet it was too overbearing that Yang Lin was left gasping for his sanity.

This in turn, further confused the woman. Yang Lin's thoughts were not disconnected, but a static, white noise engulfed her divine soul the more she opted to pry into his psyche. This anomaly confused her, if he had a treasure to guard his psyche, how come it only kicked in now? This made no sense.

"Come here," She said, gesturing with her hand towards Yang Lin's throat, yanking him into a choke-hold. Just as Yang Lin was about to exclaim in shock, he felt a substance so firm, wet, and tender press against his fairly thin lips.

Eyes wide, stupefied, he froze in an unusual feel of bewilderment and ecstasy, and an additional sour-sweet taste surfaced as her blood accompanied her saliva into his gaping mouth.

His first kiss was wasted like that, and he knew not why. He was too captivated into the moment to realize how the woman was gradually extracting his newly acquired Qi.

Although a Qi Circulation apprentice could absorb and refine Spiritual Energy, they could not release it, nor could they store beyond a finite amount of Spiritual Energy. The purpose of the Transcendent Metamorphosis realm is to nurture one's body in preparation for future development, and the Qi they gather during that stage serves as a foundation and a catalyst.

The method this woman used is unorthodox and frowned upon because the Senior would discard a portion of their essence. For a weak cultivator, discarding the essence is negligible. However, for someone of her caliber, every droplet of essence is priceless. This was a price she was willing to pay to slap THAT individual in the face. Once Yang Lin died, she could have refined his remnant Qi.

Little did she expect this to happen. He did not just survive but also refined her essence in the process.

During their wet kiss, amidst Yang Lin's pants of exhilaration as her tongue invaded his cave, wrestling, and exploring… His eyelids gradually descended shut. On the opposite end, anger swelled within the woman, and a moment later she tossed him across the pond with a distorted expression, her face unremarkable.

"Ptu!" She spat Yang Lin's taste aside. Her attempt to regain her essence failed, miserably. There was something abnormal about Yang Lin's body… Something she could not grasp nor discern regardless of how many times she swept his body with her senses. On the other end, Yang Lin wore a dull expression, subconsciously reaching with his palm to trace his lips.

There was a faint outline of crimson red and a translucent, glossy substance. The woman's blood and saliva. Swallowing nervously with a beating heart, panic surfaced.

How could he feel good about kissing someone when he already determined his love for Ming'er?!

Quickly, he sat up, glaring at the woman with an angry expression regardless of the blush all over his countenance. He said, "Hey! Does this make you my woman? I'm not taking responsibility!"