At night, Han Feng leaned against the headboard, listening to the sound of water coming from the bathroom and the faint laughter of the girls, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.
"Goodnight, you pervert!" Su Wanwan poked her head in one last time, making a face. "Don't you dare sneak in at night!"
Liu Mengran gently closed the door, but left it ajar—this was their unspoken agreement, so that if she had a nightmare or was scared, she could come over anytime.
After the lights were turned off, moonlight filtered through the gauze curtains, spreading a silvery frost across the carpet. Han Feng was just drifting off to sleep when he suddenly heard the very soft turning of the door hinges. A slender figure tiptoed in, like a kitten stealing cream.
"Wantang?" Han Feng asked softly, suppressing a laugh.
The figure visibly froze, then Dongfang Wantang's voice, barely audible, came through: "Ah, you're still awake...?"
Han Feng reached out and easily pulled her into his arms. The girl's fresh scent after her bath wafted over him, and her hair was still damp.
"So obedient?" He chuckled, his fingertips tracing the straps of her nightgown. "I was just kidding."
Dongfang Wantang's ears were burning red, but she forced herself to remain calm: "I've remembered everything you said..."
Before he could finish speaking, the bedroom door was pushed open with a "bang," and the overhead light blazed on.
"Look at Sister Mengran! I knew Wan Tang was sneaking around to see this big pervert!" Su Wanwan stood at the door with her hands on her hips, the rabbit ears on her pajamas twitching with her movements.
Liu Mengran sighed, rubbing her forehead, but her eyes were full of amusement: "Wantang, you can't take these kinds of jokes seriously."
Dongfang Wantang buried her face in Han Feng's chest with a soft "woof," too ashamed to face anyone. Han Feng, however, laughed loudly, suddenly rolled off the bed, and amidst the girls' gasps, pulled the two girls by the door into the room, one in each hand.
"Since you're all here—" He locked the door behind him, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "then none of you are leaving."
"Hey! What are you doing!" Su Wanwan flailed around like a cat that had been caught. "I came to catch someone cheating, not to walk into a trap!"
Liu Mengran leaned on his shoulder and smiled playfully: "Looks like someone's been planning this for a long time?"
Dongfang Wantang peeked through her fingers and, seeing everyone laughing, slowly lowered her hand, whispering in her defense, "Han Feng said it himself..."
"Call me husband now." Han Feng pulled her over, and the four of them tumbled onto the spacious bed. "Now that you're already in my room, you have no choice."
Su Wanwan took the opportunity to tickle him: "Serves you right for bullying Wan Tang!"
Liu Mengran picked up a pillow and joined the fray: "You're bullying me too!"
At first, Dongfang Wantang remained reserved, but after being accidentally hurt a few times, she puffed out her cheeks and retaliated. Feathers flew out from the torn pillow, falling like snowflakes in the moonlight.
Exhausted from playing around, the four of them collapsed onto the bed, panting. Han Feng was on the bottom, with Su Wanwan on his chest, Liu Mengran supporting his left arm, and Dongfang Wantang holding him tightly with his right.
"It's so heavy..." he complained deliberately, but hugged the girls even tighter.
Su Wanwan poked his chest: "Come on, just say you're secretly pleased."
Liu Mengran looked up and kissed his chin: "Goodnight, you greedy devil."
Dongfang Wantang hesitated for a moment, then quickly pecked him on the cheek: "Goodnight..."
The moonlight flowed silently, gilding the intertwined figures with silver edges. Han Feng listened to the gradually steady breathing around him and felt the Star Mirror in his dantian warming slightly, a warm power circulating among the four of them.
---This is the dividing line---
As morning light filtered through the curtains, Han Feng gently pulled away from the girls' embrace. The three were still fast asleep; Su Wanwan mumbled in her sleep, clutching his clothes, only letting go after he kissed her forehead.
The medical area of the Longyuan base was filled with the smell of disinfectant. When Han Feng arrived, Liu Xiaoran and Chen Feng were already waiting outside the special care ward.
"You've arrived." The two exchanged a brief greeting. Liu Xiaoran added, "Her vital signs started to improve ten minutes ago; she should be waking up soon."
Han Feng nodded and looked into the ward through the observation window. Ikegami Aya lay in the medical pod, surrounded by a faint moonlight, the crescent moon mark on her forehead faintly visible.
At exactly noon, the medical pod emitted a soft beeping sound. The moment the pod door slid open, Aya Ikegami opened her eyes—her pupils were no longer the round pupils of a human, but vertical pupils like those of a feline, gleaming with a silvery moonlight.
Han Feng pushed open the door and entered. Chi Shangling immediately tried to rise to greet him, but he stopped her with a raised hand: "How are you feeling?"
"Better than ever before." Her voice carried a strange resonance, as if two voices were speaking simultaneously. "The power of the Moon Queen has been completely integrated, and the mark of the Nether Crystal Clan..." A wisp of moonlight condensed at her fingertips, "has been thoroughly purified."
Han Feng sensed the surging energy fluctuations within her body. Her early-stage Great Dao Realm was as stable as a mountain, even carrying a hint of ancient pressure: "Can you control it?"
With her palm facing upwards, Aya Ikegami's moonlight condensed into a lifelike jade rabbit, which in the blink of an eye transformed into a ferocious Moon-Eating Wolf: "As easy as using an arm." She paused, a hint of awe flashing in her vertical pupils, "This is all thanks to your grace."
"Since that's the case," Han Feng said, standing with his hands behind his back, "I'll give you half a month to integrate all the ancient martial arts families in R country."
The ward fell silent. Liu Xiaoran and Chen Feng exchanged a glance—the order sounded almost insane.
Aya Ikegami merely bowed slightly: "To what extent is it necessary?"
"Those who obey prosper, those who defy perish." Han Feng said calmly, "If necessary, we can eliminate a few exemplary cases. I want the cultivation world of R country to have only one voice in half a month—"
"Your voice," Aya Ikegami replied, a blood-red glint in her vertical pupils. "The Ikegami family will become your sharpest blade."
Han Feng raised his hand and touched her brow, a wisp of starlight entering her: "When you encounter trouble you can't solve, activate this mark." He turned to leave but stopped, adding, "Pay special attention to the Matsui family."
Upon hearing the name "Matsui," Aya Ikegami's vertical pupils contracted sharply: "You suspect them...?"
"Just a suspicion." Han Feng pushed open the hospital room door. "Don't disappoint me."
After the door closed, Aya Ikegami slowly knelt on the ground, the crescent moon mark on her forehead shining brightly. The remnants of the Moon Demon Queen's memories surged through her mind—about the Lord of Star Souls, about the ancient covenant, about those sealed terrors...
"Less than half a month..." She looked eastward, her vertical pupils piercing through the walls, as if she could see her homeland across the sea. "A week will be enough."
Outside the medical room, Chen Feng couldn't help but ask, "Han Feng, is it... appropriate to let her go back alone?"
"Worried about her betraying you?" Han Feng chuckled. "Liu Xiaoran will secretly return to R Country with her." He pressed the elevator button. "Besides... I've left my mental imprint in her mind."
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