Chapter 16 016 So this is what it feels like to bully someone under false pretenses...
Almost as soon as she placed her foot on Duan Lansheng, a familiar warmth surged into her body, and her life force began to rise. At the same time, the door was unceremoniously pushed open.
Seeing the feet pressing down on his knees, the boy's expression was incredibly complex, a mixture of disbelief and anger. But in this situation, crawling out from under the table in front of the newcomers would only seem strange, as if confirming that they were doing something shady. The veins on the back of his hand bulged slightly, and he could only endure it and remain still.
A flippant voice came from across the wooden table: "Duan Lansheng, you—"
Upon seeing the scene inside, the sound abruptly stopped.
The two people who arrived were Ye Xiao and Zixiu, who had come down the mountain with Duan Lansheng that day. They had come with great enthusiasm to catch their lover in the act, but when they entered, the medicine hut was brightly lit, the leaves outside the window were lush and green, and several cabinets stood quietly in the sunlight. There was no ambiguous scene to be seen, and there was only one person there, the same mortal woman.
She sat at the only low table, on which lay a few books and a herbal compendium. Seemingly surprised by the intrusion, she abruptly looked up, her face showing a mixture of astonishment and innocence: "Who are you?"
The surprise in her tone was perfectly controlled. Duan Lansheng, sitting under the table, pursed his lips, glanced at her, and recalled how she had dismissed the patrolling imperial guards in the same way when he broke into her room that day.
Ye Xiao glared, looked around, and blurted out, unable to contain himself, "Why are you the only one here?"
Mortals instinctively feel awe and fear when they see cultivators. This mortal woman, however, remained calm. She put down the book in her hand, looked puzzled, and frowned: "What are you two talking about? I've been the only one here from beginning to end."
"Nonsense! Duan Lansheng clearly..."
Zixiu tugged at Ye Xiao's sleeve, signaling him to be quiet, while looking Lu Yuanyuan up and down with suspicion, "This is our Sword Sect's medicine hut. How come a mere mortal like you is here?"
Lu Yuanyuan held up the jade token she had prepared beforehand: "I am here on the orders of Lord Yin Yuanjun to handle some matters."
The attempt to intimidate her by borrowing her power worked; Zixiu and Ye Xiao's expressions changed upon seeing Yin Xiaozhu's jade token, and they promptly stopped questioning her about her presence. However, these two, true to their villainous NPC personas, weren't about to leave so easily after their attack. They snorted coldly, "In that case, you wouldn't mind if we used the medicine hut too, would you?"
Lu Yuanyuan feigned composure: "Oh, please go ahead."
However, she felt somewhat nervous as they approached.
The two men snorted and actually started rummaging through the medicine shed right in front of her.
Lu Yuanyuan subtly shifted her body, leaning forward and placing her elbows flat on the table, using her sleeves to cover any areas that might expose Duan Lansheng, her attention entirely focused on the two of them.
The area under the table was already dim, and with the light blocking the path, only a sliver of sunlight shone in, landing precisely on the instep of her foot. Duan Lansheng could see this as soon as he looked down. Her feet were beautiful, with well-proportioned bones and flesh. At this age, most people would have a thin layer of calluses on the soles of their feet. But she must have lived a pampered life in the past, because there wasn't a single callus on her foot. Her skin was so white it was almost cloying, and on the instep, the fine, pale blue veins were very noticeable, but not raised, like patterns drawn with a paintbrush.
Suddenly, Duan Lansheng's mind flashed back to that stormy night, to the image of her bare feet pressed against the boy's back.
...No, why would he suddenly think of that scene for no reason?
Duan Lansheng pursed her red lips, frowned slightly, and shook off the images that shouldn't be in her mind, turning her head away.
Lu Yuanyuan naturally felt Duan Lansheng moving beneath her. His knees pulled back, seemingly trying to subtly avoid touching her. Lu Yuanyuan paused, a sudden surge of inexplicable malice rising in her heart. Her foot suddenly moved, pretending to lose her balance, sliding forward along his knee, stepping on his thigh, pressing down harder and more firmly than before. Her toes even grazed his belt, maliciously grinding it.
Duan Lansheng's breath hitched, and his hand under his sleeve clenched into a fist, clearly showing his anger and resistance, yet he was powerless to resist.
A strange sense of exhilaration welled up in Lu Yuanyuan's heart, enveloping the little venomous fang in her heart.
Duan Lansheng disliked physical contact and valued cleanliness. Being stepped on like that and having his clothes deliberately messed up must have felt humiliating and disgusting, but he couldn't resist.
She was determined to go against him.
So this is what it feels like to take advantage of someone. And the fact that the target of the bullying is Duan Lansheng makes it even more novel.
Meanwhile, Ye Xiao and Zi Xiu searched the medicine shop thoroughly. Fortunately, they had already stuffed Duan Lansheng's outer garment under the table. After searching for a while without finding anything amiss, they figured Duan Lansheng had probably already left, and reluctantly departed.
After they closed the door and walked away, Lu Yuanyuan sat back down and looked under the table.
Duan Lansheng looked up, his gaze fixed on her. His eyes, swirling with emotion, appeared dark, making it impossible to discern his feelings. But he was certainly unhappy.
Lu Yuanyuan knew when to stop, and she could distinguish when she could be domineering and when she should keep a low profile and get down to business. She patted her chest, looking like she was still shaken: "I didn't expect them to stay for so long. My legs are numb. Luckily, they didn't find you. Come out quickly."
She didn't mention anything about what had just happened, as if she hadn't intentionally stepped on anyone and it was all just his imagination.
As she spoke, Lu Yuanyuan bent down to retrieve her shoes. Unexpectedly, as she bent over, two heavy, round things suddenly rolled out from her chest and landed between Duan Lansheng's legs.
Duan Lansheng: "..."
Lu Yuanyuan was shocked.
Oh no, those are the two peaches she didn't finish eating!
Without a second thought, she reached out and grabbed them, one in each hand, holding them close to her chest.
The peach was quite sweet. Luckily, someone cushioned my fall, preventing me from getting bruised.
Her fingers barely brushed against his leg, but Duan Lansheng reacted strongly, as if he could no longer bear it, slamming his hand on the table. He stood up with his back to her, quickly put on his clothes, and said in a cold, somewhat harsh voice, "What exactly did you come here for today?"
"Didn't I tell you? I was worried about you, so I came to visit you." To make her words more convincing, Lu Yuanyuan held up two peaches: "These two peaches are what I brought for you to help you recover."
Duan Lansheng: "...I don't need it!"
Lu Yuanyuan feigned regret: "You don't want it? Okay then."
She was thinking: "Wow, these peaches are so sweet! Fine, I'll keep them for myself."
The one-hour countdown was about to end, and Lu Yuanyuan took the opportunity to retreat: "Then I won't bother you anymore, I'll be going now!"
To her surprise, as soon as she stepped out of the door, she heard the system's voice: "Host, did you miss a crucial step?"
Lu Yuanyuan paused, "What crucial step?"
System: "[Taking a blissful sniff of the lingering fragrance in the room]".
...
Inside the medicine hut, Duan Lansheng heard her leave, his brow still furrowed.
Yesterday, he lost control on the execution platform and revealed his true colors. Although his memory of that time was somewhat hazy, he remembered that Lu Yuanyuan came to hold an umbrella for him and fed him medicine... and that he bit her.
She's just a mortal. Seeing him like this, wouldn't she be afraid and disgusted? Yet she came to see him again today, even bringing him food. Her behavior is strange, but it seems she genuinely cares about him, and there's even a hint of ingratiation.
Why?
He wasn't stupid. He had seen some mortals who were rescued by cultivators before, and in order to stay in Shu Mountain, they would try their best to please the people who brought them back.
Lu Yuanyuan is probably the same.
Because she wanted to stay in Shushan, but didn't know anyone there and didn't understand anything, the only person she had some connection with was him, so she came to curry favor with him.
Once she realized that trying to please him would bring her no benefit and might even lead to her being ostracized by others, she stopped contacting him.
Duan Lansheng thought indifferently, his mood turning detached again, and picked up the medicine bottle. But then, he suddenly heard the door behind him being pushed open again, his shoulders tensed slightly, and he turned around.
Lu Yuanyuan came again. She gripped the door with both hands and poked her head in. Without saying a word, she tilted her head back and took a deep breath in his direction, looking completely entranced.
Duan Lansheng: "...?"
Immediately afterwards, as if she had finally accomplished some important task, she took a step back with a sense of relief, slammed the door shut, and ran away in a flash.
He came back inexplicably, and left inexplicably, without saying a word to him the whole time.
Duan Lansheng: "…………"
.
Having completed the storyline without incident, Lu Yuanyuan's health was restored to 50/100, and her character completion rate increased to 20%. She was in a good mood.
Not wanting Yin Xiaozhu to be unable to find her, she hurriedly ran back to Danqing Peak before noon, but she was still too late. When she arrived at Yin Xiaozhu's residence, she saw a tall figure already inside.
Yin Xiaozhu, dressed in a light blue dress, stood with his back to her in front of an incense burner, putting incense into it. Hearing footsteps, he glanced at her.
Lu Yuanyuan stood by the door, explaining nervously, "I'm sorry, Yuanjun, I waited for a while, then got a little restless and went out for a stroll."
Yin Xiaozhu casually hummed in response, put the incense burner lid back on, sat down on a low couch by the window, and beckoned to her: "Come here, show me your shoulders."
Lu Yuanyuan breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that the other party did not seem to want to ask where she had gone, knowing that Yin Xiaozhu was preparing to treat her illness.
She had rushed back and was sweating, especially between her breasts, which felt sticky and uncomfortable. Since they were all women, Lu Yuanyuan didn't think too much about it and started unbuttoning her clothes right in front of Yin Xiaozhu.
Yin Xiaozhu brushed her hair aside, turned around, and saw her outer and inner garments fall softly to the ground at the same time, leaving her only wearing a light undergarment, standing in front of her: "Yuanjun, you're all dressed up."
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