บท 17: Wuying's Troubles

When Xuefeng disappeared from the Spirit Awakening Hall, he found himself in a pitch-black space. Though he couldn't see or hear anything, he felt Wuying's quickened heartbeat as she held his head against her chest.

Despite the gentleman inside Xuefeng screaming to pull away, he wasn't foolish enough to let go. This had to be some kind of Spirit Art allowing the Shadow Guards to turn invisible and move unnoticed. It wouldn't surprise him if they could even walk through walls, so pulling away was akin to suicide.

'So Wuying is one of these Shadow Guards?' Xuefeng wondered, tightening his hug and confirming it was indeed her who had taken him. 'No wonder she knows so much about cultivation. She's already this skilled.'

As he admired her, the world around him regained shape, and he landed on solid ground, supporting Wuying's weight. He shuddered as he held her to prevent her from falling, but he was too weak to carry her and had to sit on the floor.

"Is everything okay?" Xuefeng asked, glancing around. They appeared to be in a dimly lit closet used to store bedsheets. He couldn't be sure if it was his courtyard or not.

Wuying sat on his lap without letting go, burying her face in his hair as if wanting to breathe in his scent. "Can you feel it? My heartbeat."

"Of course... Your heart is beating like crazy," Xuefeng answered without thinking.

"It's beating like this because I'm embracing someone dear to me," Wuying replied softly. She sighed and slowly released his head, leaning back to look at him. "I'm sorry. I thought I would be fine, but I lose focus when you hug me. I had to stop halfway to regain composure."

"There's no need to apologize since I'm the one who started feeling you up," Xuefeng said, flustered. "You have a unique physique, so I wanted to confirm it was you..."

His excuse for touching her was lame, but at least she didn't think he was a pervert.

"Is that so...? You must have looked at me a lot to remember the details so clearly," Wuying pointed out with a smile. "Don't worry, if it's my Xuefeng, I don't mind how much you touch me..."

Xuefeng's throat went dry as Wuying buried her face in his neck, clearly embarrassed by her own words. It was the first time another woman had offered herself to him like this, making his mind go blank. His feelings for her weren't as strong as his love for Tianshi, but he couldn't deny his attraction anymore.

'Calm down, you virgin...' He scolded himself, trying to resist the temptation, but Wuying's warm breath on his neck made it impossible. 'Even though I know I will never meet Tianshi again, falling for someone else this soon makes it look like my feelings for her were nothing but a mere infatuation...'

Unfortunately, Wuying didn't give him time to compose himself.

"I know you hesitated in the past because of your broken dantian," Wuying revealed cautiously. "But now that you are healed, I hope you won't hold back anymore. We no longer need to pretend we don't love each other."

Xuefeng was momentarily stunned by her straightforwardness, but he couldn't blame her. They must have danced around their feelings for years, making it impossible to ignore them any longer.

"Wuying..." Xuefeng spoke in a low voice, brushing his fingers through her long hair. "To think you saw right through me this whole time... You're right. Now that I can finally cultivate, I don't need to hold back anymore."

Wuying pulled away to look at him, her eyes shining.

"I can finally become strong enough to protect those dear to me, including you," Xuefeng stated softly, cupping her face. "I know you want an answer to your feelings, but how can I be so selfish? How can I accept someone as talented and beautiful as you when I can't guarantee your safety? Wouldn't my love be just an empty vow if I can't protect you?"

He leaned over to kiss her forehead. "I can assure you that my feelings for you haven't changed since I first laid eyes on you, and they won't change moving forward. All I ask is for your patience. I need time to become deserving of your love."

His speech was meant to buy him time to sort out his feelings, but it melted the last barrier around Wuying's heart. She was now certain Xuefeng was the man she wanted to spend her life with.

"I'm so happy to hear that..." Wuying replied, sniffing as she tried to hold back her tears. "This whole time I worried you would hate me when you found out the truth. It's such a relief..."

"Huh? Why would I ever hate you?" Xuefeng asked, confused.

"Because I hid the fact I'm one of the Shadow Guards," Wuying pointed out, glancing at her fully geared leather uniform. "You once said you liked cute and elegant ladies, so I worried you would hate me."

"Did I ever say that? Don't worry, I'm not that shallow," Xuefeng reassured her. "I found it cool and motivating. It pushed me to work harder. I can't accept being weaker than the person I want to protect the most."

Wuying smiled softly and returned to his embrace. He couldn't help but hug her back, sighing inwardly. He knew his love life was going to be complicated. Despite deciding to protect Wuying, his heart wasn't fully prepared to accept a new partner after losing Tianshi.

'I just know she won't give up easily...' Xuefeng thought, swallowing hard. 'My body isn't listening to me either...'

Wuying's warm breath and their close proximity distracted him, but the sound of footsteps outside saved him from his dilemma. Wuying reacted quickly, and they returned to the void space, avoiding detection. A few seconds later, they were back in his bedroom.

"The owner of the house must have heard us since I stopped in a random courtyard," Wuying explained, looking down at Xuefeng, who lay beneath her on the bed. Reluctantly, she hopped off his waist, freeing him.

"You should rest now. Let your body recover with sleep, then continue cultivating to stabilize your stage. Your dantian must be chaotic after advancing two stages in a row," Wuying advised, walking toward the door but stopping at the threshold. "I respect your resolution, but that doesn't mean I'll stop trying. I don't care if you're strong or not; I'll keep pursuing you."

With a determined expression, she closed the door behind her, leaving Xuefeng alone and dumbfounded. Although he predicted her response, her boldness kept catching him off guard.

'If it's just Wuying, I should be able to handle her daily teasing...' Xuefeng convinced himself. 'Let's hope the other ladies have left so I don't have to deal with them...'

The recovery pill he had taken earlier seemed to work wonders, but he followed Wuying's advice and decided to sleep early. He planned to wake up in the middle of the night to resume cultivating, but the sun was already up when he opened his eyes.

Wuying seemed to sense his wake-up and entered the room, sitting at the edge of the bed with a smile. "Good morning, sunshine. Did you sleep well?" she greeted, casually caressing his face.

"Good morning..." Xuefeng replied groggily, not even fighting her display of affection. "I think I need to bathe first. I forgot to wash yesterday after the ceremony."

"I've already prepared a bath for you," Wuying informed him, her eyes lingering on his naked chest. "Do you want me to help wash your back?"

Just a few days ago, she would blush at seeing him shirtless, but now she looked at him boldly. Tempted to give in to his desires, Xuefeng reminded himself of his goal to raise his chances of survival in this world.

"I think I can handle it myself," Xuefeng replied, stretching as he walked out of his bedroom.

Although it was technically her job, he was amazed to see his clothes and breakfast ready before he woke up. Pausing at the bathroom door, he turned to praise her. "I know you don't need to be my maid on top of being a Shadow Guard, so thank you for working hard. My life would be difficult without you."

Wuying blushed at his words, stepping up to hold his hand. "I don't need to, but I want to. Taking care of you makes me happy."

She hugged his arm, letting him feel her quickened heartbeat before releasing him with a smile. "Hurry up and bathe. The Clan Leader is waiting."

"Okay," Xuefeng nodded, casually joking as he stepped inside. "Don't peek."

Wuying chuckled as the door closed and her eyes instinctively lit up, activating her Spirit Vision to see through the walls. She watched Xuefeng walk to the bath with a smirk, turning off her vision just before he undressed. Although she could peek all she wanted, she didn't want to spoil the first intimate moment she dreamed of.

'He's the only man who makes me feel like this... I won't give up, even if you start to hate me...'

As soon as Xuefeng entered the bathtub, he closed his eyes, splitting his consciousness into his dantian. It didn't take long to find his Spirit in the sea of Black Qi, and he was sucked inside his Fate Spirit's space.

"Welcome back, Xuefeng," a sweet teenage voice greeted him. "I was just about to wake you."

"Good morning, Fate—" he began, then realized he hadn't asked the basics. "How should I address you? It's weird to call you a Fate Spirit."

"You can call me Ling. That's the name I remember well."

"Okay, Ling. Tell me about the situation I'm in," he asked, getting straight to the point.