Chapter 28,first part, concluding mission

Chapter 28: 28,first part, concluding mission

"Do what exactly?"

"Keep attending to customers without stopping. Can’t you see that it’s affecting you? I can see your tension rising."

Yun Che remained silent.

"Ever since you returned from the Refining House, you seem to be running from something."

"When you’re not working, you’re staring into empty space. Whenever someone finishes a session, your tension rises, and you’re quite tense after physical contact with a woman. You’re suppressing yourself so much, and your desires are being repressed as well."

Yun Che did not answer. Mei Liang sighed.

"I’m not going to ask about your secret."

He finally looked at her.

"Then what do you want?"

"I want you to stop acting as though you have to solve everything by yourself."

Yun Che’s expression changed slightly. Mei Liang continued:

"I don’t know what you’re facing. Perhaps I don’t even want to know."

"But I can see that you’re under enormous pressure."

"I’m fine."

"You’re not."

"Someone who is fine doesn’t look at every customer as though the next person might decide the fate of their entire life."

Yun Che remained silent.

Mei Liang softened her voice.

"I trust you, Yun Che. But trusting someone doesn’t mean pretending I can’t see when that person is approaching their limit."

He lowered his eyes.

"Thank you."

"Don’t thank me. Just remember that you don’t have to carry everything alone."

That night, the Massage House finally became silent. Yun Che remained seated in his small room when the blue light appeared before his eyes.

[Progress: 19/20.]

Yun Che stared at the message for several seconds. Outside, he could still hear disciples talking about the Ancient Flower Secret Realm.

Its opening was drawing closer and closer.

At the same time, the other workers were beginning to look at him as a threat. Yun Che closed his eyes.

"Only one remains. And considering my current state, it’s better that I don’t attend to any more customers. I could barely hold myself back during the last session. I almost attacked the customer on the massage bed."

He would have to seek her out again for Dual Cultivation. He could no longer contain himself. After touching the bodies of nineteen women, the price was beginning to show.

He would have to practice Dual Cultivation, or he might attack someone during his next massage session.

When night finally fell over the Profound Flower Sect, Yun Che walked alone along the stone path.

He wore a simple black cultivator’s robe, a dark sash securing the fabric around his waist, while his long black hair was tied back. His face remained calm.

He had spent the entire day working on the mission assigned by the system. He had seen and heard several women reach pleasure one after another during their treatments.

As a man in the prime of his life, his suppressed desires had begun consuming him. He had nearly lost control with his customers during the treatments. Although he appeared calm on the surface, inside, he was restraining his desires for them.

If it were not for the system’s requirement, he would have abandoned the mission and gone to the Refining House to learn how to refine pills. Alternatively, like the other disciples, he would have been preparing for the Secret Realm.

But here he was, searching for a woman in the middle of the night to deal with his mounting sexual tension, knowing that the following day he would enter a Secret Realm filled with monsters, traps, inheritances, and disciples who had tried to kill him.

When he arrived before the pavilion, he stopped.

The building was quiet and elegant. The dark wooden walls faintly reflected the lantern light placed beside the entrance. A small spiritual tree grew beside the pavilion, its leaves emitting a very soft green glow.

Yun Che looked at the door. He hesitated before knocking. When he was about to give up after waiting for some time, the door opened.

Su Lian appeared.

She wore a simple yet elegant white cultivation robe, with green embroidery along the sleeves and collar. A light-green sash was tied around her waist, while her long black hair cascaded down her back like a dark waterfall beneath the lantern light.

"You?"

"Can I come in?"

Su Lian looked to either side before returning her gaze to him.

"Now?"

"Yes."

She frowned slightly.

"Yun Che, it’s almost midnight. What are you doing here?"

"I know. I can tell the time too, you know."

"Then you know that it’s not normal to show up at my pavilion at this hour?"

"I know."

"And yet you still came. What brings you to me this time? Didn’t you have enough the last time you were here?"

"Yes."

Su Lian took a deep breath when their eyes met. There was something about his gaze that made her uncomfortable. He had that hungry look again.

Even so, she invited him inside.

"Come in."

Yun Che stepped through the door, and Su Lian closed it behind him. Neither of them spoke for several seconds.

The interior of the pavilion was warmed by the gentle heat of an incense burner. Its fragrance spread throughout the room. On a small table sat a still-warm teapot.

Su Lian walked toward the table.

"So, what business do you have with me at this hour?"

Yun Che did not answer immediately. She turned around to face him.

"Did you come all the way here just to stare at me?"

"Not exactly."

"Then tell me what you want."

Yun Che approached Su Lian with light steps. The girl’s heart quickened with anticipation, while her body froze. Only one word escaped her lips.

"Yun Che..."

He stopped in front of her. The two stood only a few steps apart. Su Lian raised her face.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

Yun Che did not answer. Before Su Lian could react, he leaned forward and kissed her.

Her body went rigid.

For a brief instant, surprise completely dominated her expression. Then Su Lian placed her hands against his chest and pushed him away.

"Yun Che, what are you doing!" Her voice echoed through the pavilion.

He did not try to approach her again. Su Lian was breathing faster, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Maybe."

"How dare you? Who gave you permission to act like this? Yun Che, don’t misunderstand things. What happened before was merely a transaction in which each of us got what we wanted. We are not Dao partners!"

Yun Che remained silent. Su Lian then pointed toward the door.

"You came to my pavilion in the middle of the night without an invitation and kissed me without even asking?"

"I’m sorry. My head isn’t right. It’s becoming difficult for me to control myself, and all I could think about was coming to find you."

His unexpectedly calm answer made Su Lian hesitate. She had expected a provocation, but instead, she received an apology.

She realized that the desire in his eyes had not disappeared. However, there was more than desire hidden within those dark eyes. There was a kind of conflict.

It was as though Yun Che was trying to control something he had been struggling with inside himself for some time. Su Lian slowly lowered her hand.

"Then tell me exactly what you want. Why did you come?"

Yun Che took a deep breath.

"I need you."

She pressed her lips together.

"For what?"

"To cultivate."

Su Lian let out a small, humorless laugh.

"Of course."

"Su Lian..."

"No."

She turned away.

"You don’t need to explain."

"I do."

She remained with her back toward him.

Yun Che continued:

"Ever since I started working at the Massage House, I’ve spent my days dealing with other people’s problems, keeping their energy stable. But tonight, I realized that I needed to relieve what has been consuming me."

Su Lian slowly turned her face toward him.

"That still doesn’t explain the kiss."

"No."

"Then?"

Yun Che looked directly at her.

"Dealing with so many women created an enormous desire for you."

Silence fell between them. Su Lian did not respond. Her expression slowly changed. She wanted to appear angry, but she wasn’t.

She wanted to maintain her dignity, but that sincere gaze made everything more difficult.

"You’re truly impossible. Are you sure your desires can’t be relieved some other way?"