Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

Chapter 137: Reunion(R18)

Shen Haoran’s residence was a sanctuary of ephemeral beauty, where the pink petals of ancient peach trees drifted like slow-motion snow onto the jade-paved ground.

At this moment, Shen Haoran lay reclined beneath the gnarled branches, his eyes half-closed, enjoying a rare moment of stillness that felt like a reward after a year of dimensional travel.

"Cousin!"

The peaceful silence was shattered by a high-pitched, jubilant cry.

Then, a flash of red and gold blurred across the garden as Feng Yanmei launched herself through the air, jumping toward Haoran with the reckless abandon of a child.

Behind her, walking with a more measured, yet equally intense pace, was Ning Xueli.

Her transformation over the last year was palpable; the soft edges of the girl Haoran had brought with him were gone, replaced by the honed, lethally efficient grace of a true cultivator.

Her eyes, sharp as a whetted blade, never once left Haoran’s face, tracing every line of his features as if to confirm he wasn’t a mirage.

Haoran sat up just in time to catch the little hurricane of energy as he laughed, a deep and effortless sound, and reached out to playfully pinch Yanmei’s cheeks.

The tiny, palm-sized phoenix chick perched atop her head fluffed its golden down feathers and chirped happily, its little beak clicking in rhythm with their laughter.

"Hey, you little gremlin," Haoran teased, his golden eyes sparkling. "Did you miss me that much?"

"So much! I miss you so much, cousin!" Yanmei exclaimed, her voice muffled by his grip on her face before she pulled back, her eyes shining with pride. "Did you know, when you were gone, I was the one who disciplined those arrogant Crowns! They were getting so loud, strutting around like they owned the Divine Domain. But I was there! Bombing them from the sky whenever they dared to talk bad about you! I even singed the eyebrows off that idiot rank number seven. Aren’t I amazing?!"

Haoran chuckled, leaning back against the trunk of the peach tree. "Yes, yes, very amazing. You’ve certainly kept the family name lively in my absence. Because of that, I have a special gift for you."

The little phoenix on her head let out a sharp, indignant chirp, looking at Haoran with a pouty tilt of its head.

Haoran turned toward the chick, a soft smile touching his lips. "Alright, alright, don’t look at me like that. I have one for you too, Xiao Feng."

He reached into the pocket of his robe and produced a sleek, silver storage ring before he handed it to Yanmei. "Here, check it out. It’s some ’toys’ I picked up from a very old, very forgotten empire."

Yanmei took the ring with trembling fingers, immediately probing the contents with her Qi.

As the blueprints and the ancient, rune-etched metallic spheres within the ring’s space revealed themselves to her mind, her eyes widened to the size of saucers and her jaw practically hit the grass.

"T-This! This is so cool! The combustion arrays are completely different!" She stood up, her face flushed with a manic, scientific glee. "I’m gonna go and try this out right now! I think I can level a training mountain with this! Let’s go, Xiao Feng!"

The little phoenix chick let out a shrill, excited chirp, and in a flash of golden light and rising heat, it transformed, expanding until it became a majestic, full-sized phoenix with tail feathers that trailed embers like a comet.

Yanmei didn’t hesitate as she scrambled onto its back, her hands already reaching back into the ring for her new treasures.

"See you later, cousin! Sister Xueli! Don’t wait up for me!"

With a beat of its massive wings, the phoenix soared into the sky, leaving behind a trail of shimmering heat and the fading sound of Yanmei’s wild laughter.

Once the chaos had vanished into the clouds, the courtyard returned to its quiet, heavy stillness.

Haoran didn’t stand; he remained seated on the grass, his gaze shifting slowly toward Ning Xueli.

She had stood by the entrance to the clearing the entire time, her presence like a drawn bowstring.

"It’s been a year, hasn’t it?" Haoran asked, his voice dropping into a low, intimate register. "How are you doing, Xueli?"

"It’s actually 1 year, 3 months, 4 days, and 12 minutes," Xueli replied instantly.

Her voice was steady, but there was a tremor of suppressed emotion beneath the surface.

She walked toward him, her footsteps silent on the fallen petals.

She didn’t wait for an invitation as she sat down directly on his lap, her movements fluid and practiced.

She leaned forward, burying her face in the crook of his neck and laying her head against his chest before she took a deep, shaky breath, inhaling the scent of him—the smell of mountain air, cold iron, and the faint, sun-warmed fragrance of the peach blossoms.

"Hmmm," she murmured, a content, almost purring sound. "Right... this is the real Haoran. Your bedsheets just couldn’t compare. They were always too cold."

Haoran blinked, a rare look of surprise crossing his face.

Xueli froze, her eyes widening as she realized her slip-up.

She had just admitted to spending her nights in his empty room, wrapped in his blankets just to feel close to him. "I-I mean, I... it’s, you know... the spiritual resonance of the room! It’s better for meditation!"

Haoran chuckled, the vibration of his chest rumbling against her cheek.

Hearing that sound, Xueli lowered her head in a rare display of genuine shame, her ears turning a bright, adorable shade of pink.

Haoran didn’t tease her further. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer until there was no space left between them.

"Don’t worry," he whispered, his chin resting atop her head. "I’m back now. You can smell me as much as you want."

"You idiot," she whispered back, the insult lacking any real bite as she hugged him tighter, her fingers digging into the fabric of his robes, inhaling the scent she had memorized over a year of lonely nights.

They stayed like that for several minutes, the only sound the rustling of the leaves above.

Eventually, Xueli pulled back just enough to look up at him, her eyes were soft, reflecting the golden light of his own.

They stared at each other in the quiet twilight of the garden, the air around them thick with an unspoken, electric tension.

Haoran reached up, his thumb tracing the line of her jaw.

Slowly, as if moving through water, they brought their faces together, and when their lips finally met, it wasn’t the tentative kiss of children, but the deep, desperate seal of two people who had not seen each other in a long time.

Haoran’s mouth claimed Xueli’s with a hunger that deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding past her parted lips to tangle with hers, tasting the faint sweetness of the tea she’d sipped earlier.

Petals from the peach blossom tree drifted down like pink snow, catching in her dark hair and brushing against their flushed cheeks.

His hands roamed bolder now, one palm cupping the firm curve of her ass through the thin silk of her robe, squeezing the resilient flesh that yielded just enough under his fingers.

The other hand pressed upward, molding over the heavy swell of her breast, thumb circling the hardening nipple that poked insistently against the fabric.

Xueli moaned into his mouth, the sound vibrating against his tongue—a low, needy hum that sent a jolt straight to his cock, already thickening against the confines of his trousers.

Her body arched instinctively, pressing her tits fuller into his grasp, the heat of her skin seeping through the robe’s layers.

’It seems after a year of separation made her body so responsive with my touch,’ Haoran thought, his pulse hammering in his ears as he kneaded her breast harder, feeling the pebbled nipple scrape his palm.

The scent of crushed peach blossoms mingled with her arousal, a musky undertone rising from between her thighs, making his mouth water.

Just then, she pulled back just enough to gasp, her breath hot and ragged against his lips.

"Haoran... we should go inside. This...this place is no good." Her voice was a breathless murmur, laced with that mix of propriety and want, her hands clutching at his shoulders as if to anchor herself.

He grinned against her mouth, nipping her lower lip before soothing it with his tongue. "This courtyard’s mine, Xueli. Don’t worry, no one will hear or see us here."

His fingers dug deeper into her ass, pulling her hips flush against his, letting her feel the rigid length of his cock grinding slow and deliberate over her mound.

The silk barrier did little to hide the damp heat radiating from her pussy, and he rocked forward again, savoring the way she whimpered, her thighs clenching around his leg that had slipped between them.

Xueli’s protest dissolved into another moan as his hand slid up from her breast, bunching the robe’s sash at her waist.

The fabric whispered open, cool air kissing her exposed skin, raising gooseflesh along her sides.

He broke the kiss to trail his mouth down her jaw, sucking at the pulse point on her neck where her heartbeat thrummed wild and fast.

"Feel that?" he growled low, his free hand dipping beneath the parted robe to cup her bare tit fully now, the weight spilling over his fingers, nipple caught between thumb and forefinger as he pinched and rolled it.

The skin was velvet-soft, warm from her rising flush, and she bucked against him with a sharp inhale, the scent of her wet pussy sharpening in the air.

Then, he eased her back against the tree’s rough trunk, thr bark scraped lightly against her shoulders through the loosened robe, grounding her as he shoved the silk higher, exposing the soft curve of her belly and the dark thatch above her slit.

His hand ventured lower, fingers tracing the slick folds of her pussy, and she was soaked already, juices coating his fingertips with a sticky warmth that made his balls tighten.

"Haoran," she gasped, her nails digging into his arms, but her legs parted wider, inviting him in. "What if—ah!"

Her words cut off as he sank two fingers knuckle-deep into her clenching heat, the wet squelch audible in the quiet courtyard, her inner walls fluttering around the intrusion.

He pumped them slow at first, curling to stroke that ridged spot inside her, thumb finding her swollen clit and rubbing firm circles.

The taste of her skin lingered on his lips, salty-sweet from her neck, as he watched her face contort, eyes half-lidded, lips swollen and parted.

"It seems like you enjoy it," he murmured, voice rough with lust, leaning in to capture her mouth again while his fingers fucked her steadily.

Her moans muffled against him now, hips rolling to chase the pressure, the tree’s blossoms shaking loose more petals that clung to her sweat-damp skin.

He added a third finger, stretching her, the obscene slide of her arousal coating his hand up to the wrist.

Xueli’s hands fumbled at his waistband, desperate now, tugging at the ties of his trousers. "Your cock... I need it. Please."

Haoran smirked.

"Well, no need to ask me twice."