Chapter 40: Greed

The moonlight was bright and clear, shining through the window lattice.

Sang Ying sat on the edge of the bed, guiltily covering the young man leaning against the headboard with a blanket, her gaze darting away, not daring to look him in the eye.

"Well... I just did it on a whim."

Ultimately, it's still his fault. He was so badly injured, yet he still clung to her. It's understandable that she was confused when she first opened her eyes and thought he was a womanizer.

The young man looked at her with dark eyes, his tone ambiguous: "It's been a long time. Junior Sister's skills have improved a lot."

"Of course, do you think I've been practicing for nothing all these years?"

Sang Ying gets excited as soon as she starts talking, her eyes sparkling as she demonstrates the moves and chatters away.

"Let me tell you, I've learned several palm techniques. They were taught by an old master who lived in seclusion in town. When I first started practicing, he was almost furious, yelling and saying that my attacks were like tickling. But then he gradually found a palm technique that suited me..."

The girl in front of me had bright, smiling eyes and a lively expression as she vividly recounted her experiences.

Those beautiful, clear eyes were like the moon by the window, slowly filling every dark corner with light.

"You know what, I actually encountered a flower thief who coveted my beauty and tried to climb into my yard in the middle of the night. I happened to be testing my newly learned palm technique and taught him a good lesson. In the end, I tied him to a tree in town and hung him there for a month."

"But that was a long time ago. Now his grave is overgrown with weeds, and the kids in town still spit on it when they pass by..."

Sang Ying had been talking for a while when she noticed the unusual silence. She looked at Xie Lingyu, who had remained silent the whole time, and saw his dark eyes staring at her quietly.

She gently poked his chest with her finger. "Xie Lingyu, did I use too much force just now? Did the wound reopen?"

"It hurts a bit, junior sister, could you take a look?"

The responsibility lay with her, so Sang Ying naturally had no objection. She sat closer and leaned over to study how to unwrap the bandage.

Suddenly, her wrist tightened, and the young man grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. In an instant, Sang Ying was enveloped in the rich scent of sandalwood.

Before she could react, the young man pressed his chin against the crook of her neck and hugged her even tighter.

Sang Ying blinked, a little confused: "Xie Lingyu?"

The young man's voice was soft, slowly falling into my ear.

"Junior sister, you've worked hard."

Sang Ying's ears burned slightly. She looked away and said awkwardly, "It's alright, but it's just a little boring while waiting. What about you?"

"I?"

Sang Ying didn't push him away, but just leaned against him gently.

"Yes, how are you?"

Sang Ying could tell from his injuries that his past century must have been difficult and arduous, but she still wanted to hear his story. She wanted to hear more of his experiences, to hear about his life, and to make his presence felt even stronger.

...Considering that he was injured while saving her, she would comfort him this time.

But I didn't expect him to say that.

"I miss you so much, junior sister."

"..."

Sang Ying was stunned for a while. After she came to her senses, her ears turned red and her heart suddenly started beating fast.

She blinked twice, trying to calm herself down. "Don't think that just because you say that I'll let you get away with what you've been hiding from me. You came to the Jade Pool Secret Realm, wasn't it for me?"

Xie Lingyu paused slightly. "You knew everything?"

It makes sense. She had already left the Yaochi Secret Realm, but then she returned and was able to reach the Yaochi's closed forbidden area. Obviously, someone had informed her about this and helped her enter the forbidden area.

There is only one such person—Shen Ying.

Xie Lingyu gently rubbed her wrist with the pads of his fingers. "Was it her who made you form a fire-type spiritual root?"

Seeing that he had guessed it all, Sang Ying didn't hide anything and told him what Shen Ying had done, as well as how she had used the ancient secret method of Yaochi to help her form a fire spirit root.

She was still a little short of forming a spiritual root, but without Xie Lingyu, she cultivated in Yaoshui Town for a very long time before she could make up for the lack of fire elemental spiritual power.

Xie Lingyu frowned. She had never heard of cultivating spiritual roots after birth, nor had she ever heard of Yaochi having such a secret technique.

Moreover, if Yaochi truly possessed such a secret technique, there would be no other forces vying for power, and Yaochi would be the sole dominant force in the cultivation world.

However, upon closer inspection, the girl's spiritual roots showed no abnormalities whatsoever; they were full of spiritual energy and there was no problem.

Sang Ying grabbed his hand and wriggled out of his arms, huffing, "Xie Lingyu, don't try to change the subject! Tell me the truth."

Xie Lingyu lowered her eyes.

He originally only made a deal with Shen Ying to get the key to the restricted area, but she did these things.

This person's behavior was strange, but Xie Lingyu suppressed it for the time being. The important thing right now was the angry girl in front of her.

The girl glared at him with her clear amber eyes, growing angrier with each word: "You kept it so well hidden, you didn't even ask me. How could you think I'd be happy if you swapped meridians with me? I never wanted any talent for cultivation, especially since it required your sacrifice, Xie Lingyu, you..."

"I don't want my junior sister to leave me."

The young man's slightly cool knuckles grasped her fingertips, and he paused for a moment. "Junior sister, do you want to see me widowed so soon after getting married?"

Sang Ying was taken aback, her ears turning slightly red. Then she blinked a couple of times, her eyes a little dry. "But you can't do this. If Shen Ying hadn't told me, would you have just changed it without even telling me?"

The young man raised his beautiful, dark, glassy eyes to look at her, pursed his lips slightly, and said in a soft voice, "In your heart, Junior Sister, am I such a tyrannical and autocratic person?"

Sang Ying inexplicably sensed a hint of grievance in his calm eyes.

In addition, the young man was seriously injured and his face was pale and listless, like a big cat that had made a mistake and was being scolded by its owner. Because it could not speak, it was misunderstood by its owner and could only sullenly look away.

Her heart skipped a beat, and her tone stiffened: "I didn't think so..."

"real?"

Looking back on their time as fellow disciples and the three years after their marriage, Sang Ying realized that Xie Lingyu always indulged and spoiled her, never objecting to anything she wanted to do.

Even when she bullied him and made him carry her on his back every day, he never protested.

Thinking this, Sang Ying suddenly felt guilty. Indeed, those words were all her own conjecture, and perhaps Xie Lingyu didn't think that way at all.

The young man in front of him moved his arm, as if to grab something, but aggravated his wound and let out a muffled groan.

Remembering that he had broken several ribs, Sang Ying hurriedly stopped him, asking anxiously, "What's wrong? Do you want some water?"

Xie Lingyu pointed, and Sang Ying took out something from her storage ring. It was grayish and felt like a twig.

"This is the core of the Ten-Thousand-Year Bond Tree, essential for the secret technique. I'll leave it to you, Junior Sister. You can trust me now, right?"

Sang Ying wasn't feeling guilty now, she felt ashamed.

He had clearly given her everything she needed for the secret technique, making it obvious that she could choose whatever she wanted, yet she still doubted him so much.

Sang Ying looked away awkwardly: "Alright, I'll let this go then. But don't even think about having such ideas again."

"good."

Xie Lingyu responded softly and lowered her eyes.

These things were unimportant to him; the only thing he cared about was her.

His nature is selfish, dark, and wicked. He wants her, he wants her to be with him forever, and he will find a way to get her, no matter what method he uses.

Xie Lingyu grasped her fingertips, "Can I continue hugging my junior sister now?"

Sang Ying's ears turned red: "Your ribs are broken and you still want to hug me, you pervert!"

"Xie Lingyu, don't be so happy yet. I still have some scores to settle with you."

Sang Ying adopted the air of a head of the household, producing the bag of spirit stones given to her as evidence, "So you've been secretly hiding your own money, haven't you?"

Before the young man could speak, the Luo Qing Sword hanging beside him suddenly moved, and the little fat dragon sword spirit popped out and blurted out, "Sang Ying, there's a reason why the boss is hiding money!"

Sang Ying squinted at it: "So you've been eavesdropping all along?"

Luo Qing's face turned serious: "How could I, a dignified sword spirit, possibly commit such a shameless act as eavesdropping?"

It raised its face: "This is listening openly and honestly."

Sang Ying: "..."

Sang Ying grabbed its little dragon horn and shook it, "Tell me the truth, what's the reason? Otherwise, I'll make you and your boss kneel on the washboard together."

Xie Lingyu glanced at her lightly.

No wonder she suddenly bought a washboard; that's what she was planning.

Sang Ying noticed his gaze, turned around, and snorted heavily, "What, you have a problem with that?"

The handsome, pale young man leaned against the headboard, looking sickly. His long hair was loose, and his dark eyes seemed veiled in mist under the moonlight, appearing both cold and fragile.

He chuckled lightly, "How could that be? Of course, at home, I have to listen to my wife."

Sang Yingxin's heart skipped a beat, and then her ears turned bright red. She quickly turned her head away, somewhat at a loss.

...What is he yelling about!

Fortunately, Little Fatty Dragon just happened to take something out and started talking loudly, breaking the atmosphere.

"The boss has spent all his secret stash of money on medicine and gifts for you. Here are the bills, take a look!"

Sang Ying patted her slightly hot face, took the thick bill, each bill containing expensive pills and various other expenses.

She saw one and suddenly paused.

She is skilled at writing talismans and enjoys calligraphy. She practices writing whenever she has free time.

Last winter, a piece of calligraphy by a master calligrapher she had admired since childhood appeared at an auction, but she was sick and unconscious at the time and was unaware of the news.

After she recovered from her illness, just as she was regretting missing out, she discovered that the calligraphy was hanging in her study.

She even asked Jingxi about it, and Jingxi said that the calligraphy had great collection value, so she took the liberty of buying it. Jingxi even praised her for her good taste.

It turns out it was actually Xie Lingyu...

There were also many clothes, hairpins, food... Sang Ying flipped through them, and they were all gifts for her, but each time someone else delivered them to her; he had never done it himself.

Sang Ying turned to look at him, puzzled: "Since they were all gifts for me, why didn't you give them to me in person?"

The young man leaned against the headboard, his voice soft: "Junior sister, don't you feel disgusted?"

Sang Ying was taken aback. The things he gave her were all things she liked, but she had never told anyone about these preferences.

So... he could only have learned all this by secretly watching her, observing her from the shadows, and studying everything about her.

Now that you mention it, it does sound a bit perverted.

Sang Ying's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

My ears suddenly felt hot.

But it turns out... he cares about her so much.

She thought he was just a lustful dragon who was attracted to her looks and body, but she never expected him to go to such lengths to please her.

Seeing that she had her head down and was clenching her knuckles without saying a word for a long time, Xie Lingyu thought that he had hit the nail on the head and pursed his lips.

Ultimately, he was still greedy. He not only coveted his junior sister, but also wanted to possess her from the first time they met, hiding her in his lair so that she would belong to him alone.

He still greedily wanted... her love.

That's why he kept pretending to be his true nature. She liked chivalrous heroes like his senior brother, so he became one. She liked upright gentlemen, so he pretended to be one, hoping to win her love in this way.

If she falls in love with him like this, he can continue to pretend for the rest of his life.

However, due to the unexpected divorce, he lost control and revealed his true nature, taking advantage of her.

He thought she would hate him for being like this, but to his surprise, she was soft-hearted and didn't hold it against him. She even agreed to be with him because of his innocence.

To him, his junior sister was like a bright and flawless moon.

He is currently in a very contradictory state. He wants to pretend to be a virtuous gentleman and just stay with her like this, letting the bright moon shine on them.

He couldn't resist the greedy urge to soil her further, to drag her into his dark and damp lair, to entangle her, and to possess her.

He thought that since she was so soft-hearted, she might forgive him again.

"Junior sister..."

"next time……"

The two spoke at the same time, then stopped at the same time.

Sang Ying glanced at him, lightly scratched her earlobe with her fingertip, looked away and muttered softly, "Next time you want to give me a gift, just give it to me in person, no need to sneak around."

"But if you want to buy anything in the future, go to Jingxi to get money from home, or you can ask me. Just don't hide any money from your family!" She hadn't forgotten that men would go bad if they had hidden money.

Xie Lingyu lowered her eyelashes, concealing the emotions in her eyes, and chuckled softly, "Okay."

Sang Ying glanced at him furtively: "What were you trying to say just now?"

"I want to say that during the years I was searching for my junior sister, I had many hallucinations. I would see her in front of me, but when I touched her, I realized it was fake."

Hearing this, Sang Ying's heart softened. That's why he kept wanting to hold her, to make sure she was real and not an illusion.

Sang Ying snorted softly, "Then I'll just hug you for a little while."

She slowly moved over, opened her arms, and gently hugged him.

The young man reached out and embraced her, resting his chin on her shoulder, his breath falling on her neck, forming a warm mist.

Actually, Sang Ying really wanted to hug him and stay close to him, but since he was injured, she was worried that she would touch his wound.

Compared to before, he had become even thinner, but the sandalwood scent emanating from him remained unchanged—cool and familiar. Sang Ying's heart softened even more, and she carefully pressed her face against his shoulder, gently nuzzling him.

"Junior sister, isn't there still a score you haven't settled?"

After a while, a clear, deep voice suddenly rang in my ears.

The heat made her earlobes itch, but Sang Ying tried to ignore the strange sensations and thought carefully for a moment, "Anything else? I think that's all?"

Her face turned serious: "Are you secretly hiding something from me?"

A soft laugh reached my ears.

A force gripped her waist, and the dragon's tail coiled around her. The tip of the tail nimbly slipped into her clothes, and the downy hairs brushed against her skin, causing Sang Ying to shudder.

Just as she was about to reach out and grab his unruly dragon tail, her earlobe was suddenly lightly bitten, and the young man softly uttered two words.

"Senior sister."

...!!

Sang Ying suddenly froze.

Help! How could she forget about her lover!

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Menstrual cramps, burned four thousand _(:з」∠)_

Thanks to "Who Are You Looking At?" and "Sofa" for the landmine [cat paw emoji]