Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 36: Drinking Wine with Shang Miaoyan Under the Moon

A gentle stream of water trickled down the mountain rocks, striking the smooth stone slab below and shattering into countless crystalline motes.

A cool breeze swept through the dense bamboo forest, and the disturbed stalks rustled softly.

In a stone pavilion beside the flowing water and bamboo grove, Shang Miaoyan, clad in a slim black gossamer dress, sipped Spirit Wine by herself.

Across from her sat a small porcelain cup, also filled to the brim, as if it had long been awaiting a tardy companion.

WHOOSH—

The faint ring of a sword echoed through the bamboo grove.

Pei Yuhang leaped off his Spirit Sword and cautiously approached the stone pavilion. He stopped short of the steps, hesitating to go up and sit across from Shang Miaoyan.

"Xiaohan, if I wanted to harm you, I'd only need to crook my finger, and your body would be mine to command."

Shang Miaoyan raised her cup, smiling as she swirled it twice in Pei Yuhang's direction. Moonlight filtered through the pavilion, catching a glistening droplet of wine on the corner of her lip and making it sparkle.

Pei Yuhang understood her implication.

It was pointless to be on guard if she truly intended him harm; he might as well face her directly.

The White-clothed Sword Immortal's brow furrowed. He hated this feeling of powerlessness, even with a sword in his hand.

He strode into the stone pavilion and sat before the bewitching Witch, fixing her with a resolute gaze that seemed to say:

'Do your worst, you woman of the Demon Dao! I'm not afraid of you!'

Pfft—

A small smile played on Shang Miaoyan's lips. She didn't suppress her amusement, bursting into full-throated laughter right in front of Pei Yuhang.

"Hahaha~ Xiaohan, I just love how serious you are. It's absolutely adorable."

She laughed freely, her graceful figure rocking back and forth. The black gossamer of her dress drifted with her movements, like a flutter of black butterflies dancing around her.

Pei Yuhang waited for her to finish laughing before speaking coolly.

"I have plans with Liyuan tonight and need to get back early. If you have something to say, say it now."

Hearing this, the woman's foxy eyes narrowed, glistening with unshed desire as she stared intently at Pei Yuhang.

She took a small sip of wine, her tongue darting out to lick a lingering drop from the corner of her mouth.

"Oh? So Xiaohan has to go back so early? I wonder... if it were your Senior Sister Lu asking you to drink with her, would you still have these plans with Fairy Ye?"

"Even if I were with Senior Sister Lu, I would still be leaving early."

"Is that so? And where will you go after leaving Guoxin Island? To Senior Sister Lu's abode, perhaps? To talk all night long and... *thoroughly explore the mysteries of the Great Dao*?"

Hearing Shang Miaoyan's sardonic tone, Pei Yuhang retorted coldly, "Don't assume everyone is as depraved as you!"

Though stung by the blunt coldness in his voice, Shang Miaoyan's expression didn't change.

She shifted slightly, settling into a more comfortable, sideways posture. Propping an arm on the table, she rested her chin languidly in her hand. The curve of her waist became even more pronounced, accentuated by the Moonlight.

"Xiaohan, you're a smart man. You can't possibly have failed to notice that your Senior Sister Lu's feelings for you aren't exactly... pure, can you?"

"And yet, you continue to play dumb and spend time with her. Why is that, I wonder? Surely you're not just stringing your Senior Sister Lu along so she'll refine Elixirs for you for free?"

"That's so naughty of you~ But... I don't dislike this side of you either, Xiaohan."

Pei Yuhang heard her words but didn't fly into a rage. He knew this Witch was deliberately trying to provoke him; losing his composure would be playing right into her hands.

He replied calmly, "That's utter nonsense. Senior Sister Lu has simply gotten a bit confused about the nature of our relationship as sect siblings. It's a misunderstanding that can be cleared up... Unlike you. You're completely beyond saving!"

"Heh. You're only deluding yourself."

Shang Miaoyan said, downing another cup of wine. A charming blush, born from how many cups he couldn't say, bloomed across her cheeks.

This alluring flush on her face seemed to make the atmosphere between them grow hotter.

"Xiaohan, have a drink~ Don't worry, I haven't put anything in the wine. After all, if I wanted to do something to you, I wouldn't need to resort to such crude methods."

"..."

Pei Yuhang hesitated for a moment before finally picking up the cup.

As the liquor slid down his throat, a potent, spicy heat spread through his mouth, as if he'd swallowed a hot coal. A fiery trail burned from his mouth all the way down to his stomach.

Faintly, Pei Yuhang felt a ticklish sensation on his legs, as if a kitten's tail were gently brushing against them.

Pei Yuhang glanced down from the corner of his eye. He saw that a layer of black gauze now covered the hem of his white robes. From beneath the gauze, a white snake slithered out, coiling around his ankle.

He set his cup down, wanting to kick away Shang Miaoyan's restless foot.

Just then, Shang Miaoyan took out a mirror. Its surface rippled like water, and her reflection began to distort and blur. In its place, a new image slowly materialized.

When Pei Yuhang saw the figures in the mirror, his pupils constricted.

One of the women was Fan Ya. Behind her stood a young Cultivator in a noble and imposing Black Gold Daoist Robe—it was Pei Yuhang's old rival for the position of Saint Son.

Chen Tiansheng.

*Xiaohan, this mirror is a Magical Treasure that only lets us see them. They can't see us, but they can hear our voices... So, you'd better not make any strange sounds, okay~?*

*Otherwise, you'll be so embarrassed in front of your Dao Sect peers~!*

As Shang Miaoyan's Divine Sense message ended, the 'white snake' under the table, which had been relatively restrained until now, suddenly tightened and began to slither upward.

...

"Holy Daughter."

Fan Ya was puzzled. She didn't understand why the Saintess wanted her to open the communication mirror right now.

'Could it be... the Holy Daughter is playing some kind of new game with Sword Immortal Pei?'

Fan Ya imagined a few daring scenarios and clicked her tongue in silent awe.

'Truly worthy of being the Holy Daughter. She so easily does things that we disciples of the Yin Yang Dao could never even attempt.'

"Fan Ya, you may begin your report."

Shang Miaoyan's voice emerged from the mirror. Fan Ya replied with a respectful "Yes," and began to report on the progress of the various agreements being signed between the two Sects.

Seeing that Fan Ya was discussing private matters with a superior from her Sect, Chen Tiansheng tactfully excused himself.

But for some reason, he cast one last glance at the blurry surface of the mirror.

'Something felt... off.'

'Oh well. It's none of my business.'

...

While listening to Fan Ya's report, Shang Miaoyan poured more wine for Pei Yuhang, personally bringing the cup to his lips and making him drink.

Pei Yuhang knew how terrifyingly sharp Chen Tiansheng's intuition was, so he didn't dare make a sound, allowing Shang Miaoyan to pour the wine into his mouth.

Cup after cup of fiery Spirit Wine went down his throat, and Pei Yuhang's body quickly grew hot.

He suddenly realized the Spirit Wine had the effect of strengthening his Yang essence. For someone like him, who already struggled to suppress the immense Yang Fire within, his body grew hot with alarming speed.

Under the table, Pei Yuhang had not given up his resistance. He struggled cautiously, trying to keep the 'white snake' beneath the black gauze from growing too bold.

He stubbornly pressed his legs together, forming an impenetrable wall to block Shang Miaoyan's unruly foot, which kept trying to kick him.

Unable to speak, Pei Yuhang could only shoot Shang Miaoyan a warning glare, cautioning her not to make any rash moves.

But the White-clothed Sword Immortal had no idea that, in Shang Miaoyan's eyes, his stubborn expression was utterly adorable.

Shang Miaoyan felt her mouth go dry. She raised her cup and drank more Spirit Wine.

Under the table, her slender, jade-like foot stretched languidly.

Her lovely eyes sized up Pei Yuhang across the table as a composed, confident smile touched her lips.

This White-clothed Sword Immortal thought he could resist her, little knowing that Shang Miaoyan was intimately aware of every single one of his weaknesses.

She knew which spots were sensitive, which areas would send a tingling jolt through him at the slightest touch.

Shang Miaoyan knew his body better than he did himself.

She straightened her leg slightly. Her toes, like a falcon circling the sky, descended and suddenly clamped down on a tender spot.

Pei Yuhang's expression froze, and his body suddenly went limp.

Shang Miaoyan seized the opportunity. With a light kick, as deft as a dragonfly skimming water, she broke through his defenses.

Then, she revealed a triumphant smile.

'Tch. Men. They're all talk~!'