Chapter 48 I was kissed unconscious, why are you so skilled at it?
Hua Deng suspected that she had fainted in the end.
Whether she fainted due to a relapse of the wound caused by the Kuroshio invasion or from being kissed unconscious remains unknown.
Of course, she would absolutely, positively never admit to the second guess!
In short, when she woke up, all her injuries had healed, and even the sword wound on Shen Zhou's chest had fully recovered. As long as he stopped suppressing his cultivation, his injuries would heal exceptionally quickly.
Hua Deng touched his chest to check, making sure it was truly healed and not another trick to deceive her, before she breathed a sigh of relief.
Shen Zhou did not stop her. Just as she was about to leave, he silently grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms without any effort, naturally bowing his head.
Hua Deng curled her lips into a smile, as if she had expected it, and pressed a hand against his lips, saying with a grin, "Did I agree?"
Shen Zhou bit her knuckle: "When will you agree?"
Hua Deng subconsciously curled her fingers, but still didn't pull them back. Instead, she looked at him and said, "From now on, you're not allowed to lie."
Shen Zhou hummed in agreement and said, "And then?"
Hua Deng cleared his throat and asked in a serious tone, "Your name is Chen Zhou?"
"yes."
"Are you twenty-four this year?"
"yes."
Looking into his dark eyes, Hua Deng asked slowly and clearly, "Are you a reincarnated person?"
"yes."
The answer came faster than expected; he didn't hesitate and spoke directly.
More questions suddenly flooded Hua Deng's mind.
Suddenly, she remembered the incredibly cold look in his eyes when she mentioned his parents and relatives that day.
Perhaps he wasn't happy then.
So she simply asked, "Why were you reincarnated?"
Shen Zhou replied casually, "I don't remember."
After a moment's thought, Hua Deng noticed his gaze fixed on a certain spot. She quickly covered his mouth, which was about to kill her, her cheeks slightly flushed: "In your past life...did you marry and have children?"
As Shen Zhou spoke, she felt an itch in her palm: "Of course not."
The curve of her lips widened slightly, and feigning seriousness, she continued to ask, "Ex-girlfriend, white moonlight, cinnabar mole?"
What is that?
"It's someone you used to like."
This time he answered even faster: "No."
As if remembering something, he added, "There's a dog."
Hua Deng: "..."
What kind of barren emotions must one possess to remember even the love for a dog?
She didn't speak, so Shen Zhou thought it was over, but when he looked down, she still avoided him.
He raised an eyebrow: "Anything else you want to ask? I'm giving you one last chance."
Hua Deng suppressed a laugh, raising her chin: "Aren't you curious about me—"
Shen Zhou's expression turned cold, and he said indifferently, "Not curious."
Hua Deng was taken aback, then revealed a look of displeasure.
How could he not care!
Shen Zhou held her hand and said, "Anyway, there won't be any more in the future."
So that's why.
Hua Deng chuckled, "That's hard to say. There are plenty of people waiting to pursue me. Maybe one day I'll find someone else to be my Daoist partner. What will you do then?"
What to do? Shen Zhou calmly said, "Kill him."
Hua Deng: "Please wait a moment..."
Shen Zhou: "Gouge out his eyes, cut off his hands and feet, chop him up and feed him to the ants."
Hua Deng was somewhat impressed with herself, because her first reaction was: "Ants? Don't normal people say to feed them to the dog?"
“How can a dog eat such filthy things?” Shen Zhou said.
"What are you talking about... That's not the point!" Hua Deng laughed and cried at the same time, shaking his hand. "You really think so?"
Shen Zhou's tone was icy: "Otherwise what?"
Hua Deng suppressed a laugh and said, "I'm terrified if you tell me that like that."
She deliberately made a scared expression and shrank back her shoulders.
Shen Zhou looked at her: "You can be afraid, but that won't change anything."
The streetlights couldn't completely hide her smile. She poked his cheek and said, "Just kidding, I'm not afraid."
She then dodged Shen Zhou again, and under his increasingly intense gaze, she teased, "But are you so sure there's no one in the world you can't beat?"
She shook her head, speaking with conviction: "After all, you're only in the fusion stage now."
Shen Zhou lost his patience and replied expressionlessly, "Once I leave the East Sea, I will undergo my tribulation."
Hua Deng hesitated for a moment, as if he was struggling with something.
Shen Zhou pulled her onto his lap and brushed her hair aside: "Don't worry, I'll be back."
Hua Deng looked up: "Back alive?"
Shen Zhou seemed to find it amusing: "You're worried I'll die there?"
Hua Deng whispered, "Isn't it said that the heavenly lightning during the tribulation stage is very powerful? At least half of the cultivators attempting to transcend the tribulation perish because of it?"
Therefore, in the past two thousand years, only three people in the Nine Provinces have reached the tribulation stage: Qiu Ce, Yun Xing, and Feng Chi.
Shen Zhou said dismissively, "That's because they're useless."
Hua Deng: "Okay, got it." You've put on that annoying act again.
Shen Zhou looked at her and said, "You're insulting me."
Hua Deng remained unfazed: "No, I was just praising you for being so capable."
Shen Zhou turned her chin and actually used puppetry: "You're insulting me."
Hua Deng blurted out involuntarily, "Yes, I'm cursing you, so what?"
Shen Zhou pressed on with interest, "What did you say to me?"
Without the puppetry technique, Hua Deng tentatively asked, "Bastard?"
Chen Zhou: "Continue."
Hua Deng got really into it this time, uttering the words she'd wanted to say for a long time: "Bastard, shameless, rogue, villain, scum—"
He pestered me again.
While teasing her lips and tongue, he pecked at the corners of her lips and said breathlessly, "Continue."
Hua Deng clutched at the back of his shirt, saliva uncontrollably dripping from the corner of her mouth. Her voice trembled as she said, "You beast in human clothing, hypocrite, sanctimonious scoundrel—"
"continue."
What do you mean, "keep going"? You just want to be yelled at!
"Are you a dog? You bastard, don't bite...you madman..."
*
Fortunately, Hua Deng didn't faint this time.
Perhaps feeling that the time had come, Shen Zhou finally decided to let her go and leave the secluded wooden house.
Hua Deng angrily wiped her swollen lips and followed him out of the wooden door.
They passed through door after door, the memories playing out in a loop, until finally they arrived at the last locked door.
Shen Zhou ripped off the shackles and went inside.
She had seen this place before; it was the Wan Jian Tang she remembered.
In the large room, Xue Zifei knelt on the ground, surrounded by shadowy figures carrying swords. She deliberately lowered her head to avoid looking and simply followed Chen Zhou's steps.
Just as I reached the door, there was a loud bang behind me.
Xue Zifei has exposed himself.
Then came panicked shouts and angry roars from the sect leader and others.
The bright lights dared not turn back, following the fading daylight forward.
Suddenly, a sword flashed through the air, and after several dull thuds of heads hitting the ground, the screams abruptly ceased.
The door of Wanjian Hall was broken open, and a young man in white flew in. Hua Deng stepped out of the last moment of his memory and inadvertently met his empty and lifeless gaze, just like when he was five years old.
...
They easily left the East China Sea.
The legendary Qilin Prison, which supposedly imprisoned countless masters, was like an empty place to Shen Zhou. When Hua Deng arrived at the sea, he realized that only one day had passed.
Upon seeing them, Jinze, who had been squatting on the shore, immediately stood up, and the Left Protector also turned his gaze towards them.
Jinze rushed forward, about to ask what was going on, when he saw Shen Zhou holding Hua Deng's hand and saying, "What are you doing here?"
He stopped abruptly, as if he'd swallowed a fly: "No? What the hell? I'm afraid you'll die there and no one will help me with my official duties!"
Shen Zhou said, "Get lost. Do you think you can escape after being whipped thirty times?"
Jinze felt a little guilty and muttered, "Who's trying to run away? I'll take responsibility for my actions!"
Shen Zhou ignored them and left with Hua Deng. Hua Deng smiled and waved goodbye to them.
The two figures disappeared, but Jinze lingered there, unusually silent.
The Left Protector stepped forward: "Let's go, Young Master, your Thunder Whip..."
Jinze jumped up and down: "Can you please stop talking about this!"
The Left Protector calmly gave an "oh".
Jinze ran a hand through his hair and sighed irritably, "Did you see that woman?"
Left Protector: "I saw it."
Jinze smiled bitterly: "I made her pull out the Heart-Questioning Sword."
The Left Protector was taken aback: "Young Master, this is inappropriate." He frowned deeply.
The Heart-Questioning Sword differs from ordinary magic; it tests not emotions, but the heart. Anyone who can draw this sword must be deeply in love, unwavering until death, with no room for pretense.
Feelings may change, but a person's true heart is only one, and it will never be broken.
Facing the direction they had left, Jinze said as if with a sigh, "I know, but she pulled it out."
Left Protector: "..." His expression changed several times, but in the end he said nothing.
Jinze looked over: "Do you think I should tell him?"
In the past, the Left Protector would probably have shaken his head and said he didn't know, but this time he said, "I think it is."
Jinze looked down at the precipice at his feet, lost in thought and speechless.
Four years ago, he secretly followed Shen Zhou here.
That man often sat silently in this spot, holding Xue Zifei's soul lamp.
From sunrise to sunset, from late spring to early summer.
When he returned to the place after a heavy rain, he could no longer find Shen Zhou.
A gentle breeze stirred the sea, creating ripples that occasionally punctuated the surface of fish, which would then quickly disappear from sight.
Jinze slowly turned around, took out the Heart-Questioning Sword, and held it in his palm.
The Left Protector was unaware of Shen Zhou's past, but he knew how long this person had waited and could not hesitate for even a moment.
He tossed the sword into the water.
The wave subsided in an instant, and he finally made up his mind: "This matter must not be known to a third person."
The Left Protector looked at him silently for a long while before asking, "Then why did you tell me?"
Jinze said, "I'm afraid I can't keep the secret by myself."
Left Protector: "
*
Hua Deng had just boarded the carriage and hadn't even had a sip of hot tea when she turned around and found that her bed had been taken over by some shameless fellow.
She stood by the bed with her hands on her hips: "This is my bed."
With his eyes closed, Shen Zhou reached out and precisely grasped her wrist, saying, "Together."
Hua Deng didn't even have time to react before he was pulled down onto the bed. Fortunately, his hand caught him in time, and he didn't feel any pain.
He tossed the raccoon-shaped cushion between them aside, put his arm around her waist, and said, "That's enough."
Hua Deng struggled in his arms: "Who wants to be with you!"
After struggling for a long time to no avail, she kicked him in anger: "Didn't you want to cultivate?"
Shen Zhou: "Cultivating while lying down is more comfortable than sitting."
Hua Deng rolled over and grabbed his face: "You're satisfied now, but what about me? Why should I give you half of my perfectly good spot? And you even threw my pillow at me! How can you be so shameless?"
Shen Zhou opened his eyes, his gaze devoid of emotion, but Hua Deng seemed to have sensed a dangerous little animal and quickly retreated.
He said, "Stop fooling around, go to sleep."
Hua Deng: "You think I'm making a scene? Are you even being reasonable? You'll never get a salary again, you know that!"
“Okay,” Shen Zhou said. “Then give me something else as compensation.”
"Um……"
Another passionate, heart-pounding moment followed. Hua Deng, panting, turned her face away, nudging his chin and saying, "What are you doing? I'm angry..."
Shen Zhou gently rubbed his chin against her hand: "Don't be angry."
Hua Deng didn't know whether to be angry or amused: "Besides that, what else can you say? Haven't you read a lot of books?"
Shen Zhou pressed down on her hand and pulled her back into his arms.
"Those books are boring."
"What's interesting?"
"you."
After saying that, as if afraid she hadn't heard him, he looked into her eyes and repeated himself:
"--you."
He revealed a look in his eyes that the city lights had never seen before, a look that could even be described as gentle.
In that moment of distraction, he seized the opportunity and cupped her face in his hands.
In her dazed state, she vaguely thought of something—
If I forgive Consort Shen so easily, won't I be spoiling her too much?
But she didn't have time to think about that right away. Instead, with her eyes reddening, she tilted her head back and asked haltingly, "You really...you're not lying to me? You haven't done this to anyone else?"
"No." Shen Zhou gave her time to catch her breath and soothingly kissed her earlobe.
As he pressed down, he mumbled, "Nobody."
Hua Deng was completely distraught.
Soft sobs escaped from her throat, and she almost gritted her teeth.
"So, why are you so skilled at this?!"
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