Su Ming was caught off guard when he felt a soft, warm sensation on his cheek—without a doubt, Ye Lingling had just kissed him!
He turned to face her, and for a moment, they simply looked at each other in silence. Ye Lingling was blushing furiously, steam practically rising off her cheeks, as if she could barely believe her own daring move.
Su Ming gazed at her, finding her even more beautiful in her shyness. Since she had taken the initiative, he felt he ought to return the gesture. He reached out, pulling her in close and, with a boldness she hadn't expected, kissed her deeply. A simple peck wouldn't do for him.
Ye Lingling's eyes widened in shock at his sudden move, her hands instinctively pressing lightly against his chest in a half-hearted attempt to push him away. But as she experienced the sweetness of the kiss, she gradually surrendered, caught up in the unexpected rush of emotions.
After all, she was nearly twenty and had never been in a relationship due to her dedication to cultivation. Girls her age, many of whom had even started families, often spoke of the sweetness of love. Now, she finally understood what they meant.
When Su Ming finally let go, she gasped for air, almost breathless from the intensity. Though the kiss had been thrilling, he had taken control so completely that she could hardly keep up.
Once she'd caught her breath, she looked at him with a playful glint in her eyes and a bit of exasperation. "You… how could you kiss me like that without my permission? You always said you'd never force anything on me and that you'd let things happen naturally."
Su Ming simply nodded, unfazed. "That's true; I did say that."
Ye Lingling gave a small huff, "Then why did you—"
Before she could finish, Su Ming teased, "But didn't you kiss me first? I'm not the type to let something like that slide, so I had to return the favor—tenfold!"
Ye Lingling was left speechless. She realized she'd fallen for his little trick; he'd taken advantage and still managed to make it sound justified. She glared at him, feeling an urge to bite him in retaliation.
Trying to recover, she explained, "I kissed you as a thank-you for the rare herb you gave me. It helped resolve the flaw in my martial soul, so it was just to show my gratitude. But you turned around and kissed me like that—isn't that a bit too much?"
Su Ming waved her words away. "How can it be too much? You kissed me first, so I figured we were already close enough for that. Unless… you don't actually want to be my girlfriend and just kissed me out of gratitude?"
Su Ming looked at her with open sincerity, hoping for a clear answer. While his approach was straightforward, he believed honesty was the ultimate charm.
"Girlfriend?" Ye Lingling stammered, shyly avoiding his gaze.
Seeing her reaction, Su Ming sensed her hesitation wasn't about him, so he took a deep breath and asked earnestly, "Lingling, will you be my girlfriend?"
After a pause, she asked hesitantly, "But, Su Ming, don't you already have Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong? Are you sure you can add one more?"
He shook his head, "Don't worry. I've spent almost every morning with you these past four months. They've noticed, though no one's said anything outright."
Ye Lingling pondered this, then nodded slightly, finally reaching a decision. Su Ming grinned, realizing she'd agreed, and couldn't help but lift her in his arms, spinning her around in excitement. "Haha, this is amazing!"
Ye Lingling smiled softly, a warm feeling spreading through her. Though she'd tried to take things slowly, Su Ming had completely won her over.
"Then tomorrow, let's head to the nearby Sunset Forest to find a spirit beast for your fourth ring," Su Ming offered. "There are plenty of suitable ones there, no need to go all the way to Star Dou Forest."
Ye Lingling nodded, happy to leave the details to him.
Hand in hand, they headed to the dining hall, meeting up with Xiao Wu and the others for lunch. As soon as the trio saw Su Ming and Ye Lingling's closeness, they quickly picked up on the change. It seemed even the reserved Ye Lingling had finally fallen for Su Ming's charm!
The three girls exchanged glances, unsure whether to feel happy for their taste in partners or slightly troubled.
Feeling embarrassed by their knowing looks, Ye Lingling slipped her hand free from Su Ming's grasp.
Su Ming broke the silence. "Alright, alright, you can stop staring. Yes, it's what you think—we've just made it official."
He started confidently but grew a bit sheepish towards the end.
"Ahem… Aren't you going to say something? It's a little unnerving to just sit here in silence, you know."
Xiao Wu spoke up first, "Su Ming, we already knew this day was coming. You've been spending every morning with her; it was obvious you had feelings for her. We've seen it all."
Ning Rongrong nodded, adding, "Honestly, we thought Lingling would hold out a bit longer, but I guess not! I mean, Lingling, you're usually so composed and reserved. How did you fall for him so quickly?"
Ye Lingling felt a wave of embarrassment; she wasn't aloof—it was just that she was quieter by nature! And as for falling for Su Ming, he'd simply managed to charm her in those subtle, surprising ways, and he'd even solved the flaw in her martial soul.
Given how much he'd done for her, she couldn't help but feel grateful, maybe even indebted in a way. Thinking this, she realized how much she felt like the heroines in those romantic tales she'd heard about.
Ye Lingling couldn't help but remember that Ning Rongrong had also accepted a rare herb from Su Ming to evolve her Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda into the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. That was what had led to her relationship with him too! Rongrong had no right to tease her when she had been just as "easy to sway."
Muttering under her breath, Lingling said, "Rongrong, you were just the same! It didn't take you any longer than it did for me—just a few months after meeting him, you fell for him too because of that herb!"
Ning Rongrong froze, momentarily at a loss for words, which prompted Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing to burst out laughing.
The girls also noticed something important: Su Ming had just given Lingling a herb to help her. Curious, they all turned to Su Ming, who explained, "Yes, it's as you think. Lingling's Nine Hearts Begonia has a limitation: it only allows her to heal, which makes its support abilities too narrow for her liking."
"So I gave her a rare herb called the Yin-Yang Twin Lotus, which evolved her martial soul. She can show you the results after lunch."
After lunch, Ye Lingling displayed her new martial soul while Su Ming explained its effects. They quickly realized how impressive the upgrade was; Lingling now seemed more like an assassin than a healer, similar to Zhu Zhuqing's Ghost Shadow Cat.
The next morning, Su Ming set out with Ye Lingling to the Sunset Forest to find her a suitable soul beast.
Yesterday, Su Ming's diary had mentioned Ye Lingling the most, which granted her a special reward—a boost to her cultivation speed, equivalent to someone with innate full spirit power. Thrilled, she realized this would help her quickly catch up to the others.
The Sunset Forest didn't have many ten-thousand-year soul beasts, but finding a thousand-year one was fairly easy. Su Ming soon located a six-thousand-year-old soul beast, a good match for Lingling's needs. However, as a support-type spirit master, she had a relatively low endurance, making the absorption process more challenging.
Su Ming assisted her at first, using his abilities to support her life force, allowing her to absorb the spirit ring more easily. After a few hours, Lingling successfully absorbed the spirit ring, her cultivation level rising to forty-four—now on par with Ning Rongrong.
Once she finished, Lingling immediately gave Su Ming a heartfelt hug, grateful for his efforts to help her reach this stage. She knew how hard he'd worked that day, spending hours locating the soul beast and then staying to protect her.
Seeing that no one was around, she dared to hold onto him a bit longer, taking advantage of their privacy.
Su Ming, with a gentle smile, patted her head, "Alright, take a moment to get used to your new strength. I'll take you somewhere we can rest for the night; it'll be safer than staying out here."
Ye Lingling's heart raced—did he mean they would be staying somewhere alone overnight? What if Su Ming couldn't resist her? Should she resist or just give in right away?
Blushing deeply, she quickly shook off the thought. Su Ming seemed not to notice, thinking her reaction was due to their earlier hug.
He then led her by the hand, "I'll take you somewhere secure. It's protected by a poison array my master set up. Unless a beast has reached a ten-thousand-year level, it won't get through."
As they neared the poison array, its dense green fog made Ye Lingling feel a bit nervous. Her evolved Yin-Yang Twin Lotus granted her a better sense of poison levels, and she could feel the intense toxicity in front of her.
Su Ming reassured her, "Don't worry; the antidote we took will keep you safe. Inside, the scenery is beautiful."
After some effort, the two finally arrived at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. A vibrant landscape of rare herbs greeted them, stretching out in a breathtaking sea of flowers. Lingling felt as if she'd walked into a fairy tale.
Looking over the lush growth, Su Ming felt satisfied, silently thanking the system for its catalyst, which had accelerated the herbs' regrowth within just six months.
Seeing the stars in Ye Lingling's eyes, he smiled. "Yes, these herbs are where I found the ones I gave you."
Lingling looked at him with admiration. "It's amazing! This place is beautiful!"
Su Ming nodded, but he cautioned, "They're beautiful to look at, but be careful—some of them are highly poisonous. Just admire them from a distance."
Notes-Read advanced chapters in patreon.com/Shadow_D_X, i have finished uploading the whole series in patreon, thanks for supporting me and special thanks to all the patrons for joining
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