Irresistible (5)

Lin Qianshuang tilted her head upward, studying the arrangement above the pill furnace as she sought a viable path. Hesitant over how to carry Xiao Lanle up with her, she froze when she heard the words “dual cultivation.” She choked violently, nearly suffocating on the sudden constriction.

Though she usually maintained a calm demeanor, her composure faltered now—the placid mask on her face shattered.

She shot a sidelong glance at Xiao Lanle, whose serene expression betrayed no urgency. Pointing at the slowly rising black water below, Lin Qianshuang said sternly, “Xiao, stop joking. Look at the time! The corrosive liquid is almost here. I do owe you… that… but in this situation, dying together through dual cultivation is just absurd.”

Xiao Lanle’s brows knit together. Her left hand pressed against her dantian as crimson light seeped between her fingers. Her gaze remained calm as she replied, “The Glazed Temple Gem has barely sustained this body’s life, but it is incompatible with mortal flesh. The dense true energy it emits clashes with my constitution. I need assistance. If you wish me dead, then stand aside. Leave now.”

Lin Qianshuang’s lip twitched before she could respond. Xiao Lanle’s expression soured, her face practically etching the words I disdain you in invisible ink. Her eyes held contempt, yet here she stood—begging for aid, yet acting as though Lin Qianshuang were the one pleading.

She released a wisp of breath that lingered over Xiao Lanle’s lower abdomen. The Glazed Temple Gem’s spiritual energy was overwhelmingly dominant, repelling her breath before it could even draw near.

As Xiao Lanle had said, the Gem’s aura relentlessly battered her meridians, mending her shattered body while simultaneously tearing at her divine soul. She could not move an inch. This magic treasure seemed to have entrenched itself within Xiao Lanle’s body for ages, fused with her bloodline. Dual cultivation was indeed one of the viable options now.

The pill furnace’s mouth above glowed fiercely. Lin Qianshuang abandoned the idea of healing Xiao Lanle externally. Besides her injuries, Liang Jingxuan might awaken at any moment. If Master Qingyun and Chen Shangqing stumbled upon their current situation, even jumping into the Yellow River wouldn’t cleanse her name. Her engagement to the Chen family could dissolve over this “scandal.”

Black water seeped upward silently from the furnace’s base. Lin Qianshuang bit her lip, closed her eyes, and averted her gaze. She unbuckled her belt, shrugged off her outer robe, and cast it aside. Seeing Xiao Lanle motionless, she steeled herself to help her shed her clothes too, urging sharply, “If we’re doing dual cultivation, let’s hurry. We need to get this over with quickly.”

As Lin Qianshuang reached for the sash at Xiao Lanle’s waist, her wrist was seized abruptly.

Xiao Lanle’s voice was muffled with a hint of panic as she asked, “What are you doing?”

Lin Qianshuang untied her hairband, letting her black tresses cascade over her shoulders. With a bewildered frown, she replied, “Dual cultivation.”

She recalled how her master had forced her into such rituals—clothing shed, lips pressed—wasn’t that the standard?

“How ignorant. As a demon infant, you don’t even grasp this? Dual cultivation isn’t only about… that. Put on your clothes.”

Xiao Lanle halted Lin Qianshuang’s movements. Her gaze drifted to the bare expanse of Lin’s shoulders and the revealing curve of her chest. Her face flushed as if steamed in a brazier, neck and ears crimson with embarrassment. A cool, metallic tang prickled at her nostrils.

She brushed her fingertips to her nose—crimson smudges marred her skin. She’d actually nosedbled, of all undignified things.

In all her centuries, no one had ever stirred such emotional turmoil in her. This strange sensation of restlessness and rising heat was entirely new.

Xiao Lanle blinked, her dark eyes narrowing as she studied Lin Qianshuang with an unusual intensity.

Lin Qianshuang stared, dumbfounded, at the blood trickling from Xiao Lanle’s nose. “When did Xiao Lanle become so inexperienced?” she thought, exasperated. “We’ve shared a bed and practiced dual cultivation several times—hadn’t they already seen everything there was to see?”

Xiao Lanle turned away, her discomfort evident as she averted her gaze. Her voice dropped to a murmur, “Tap my shoulder when you’re ready, and I’ll explain the next steps.”

Sitting rigidly upright, her face a mask of cold indifference, something about the figure before her felt… off, no matter how Lin Qianshuang tried to dismiss it.

Lin Qianshuang watched Xiao Lanle’s back stiffen, her brows drawing together in thought. Her fingers brushed the Spirit Conversion Stone at her chest. Given Xiao’s Golden Core cultivation, she shouldn’t be able to sense her demon heritage. “Could this truly be my junior sister standing before me?”

Lin Qianshuang thought further. Her junior sister’s actions didn’t align with the nature of an inner demon. If the inner demon wouldn’t speak to her so calmly, then who was this impostor? And why had they possessed Xiao Lanle’s body?

The entity occupying Xiao Lanle seemed rigid and prim—unbothered by their nakedness, yet overly formal. Could it be a man, or someone who preferred women?

She finished dressing, patted Xiao Lanle’s shoulder, and said evenly, “I’m ready. Let’s begin.”

“I can’t control my body. Come closer.”

Xiao Lanle turned to face Lin Qianshuang, rising from the ground. She gestured for Lin to sit nearer.

As Lin Qianshuang moved closer, she suddenly seized Xiao Lanle’s wrist, studying her familiar yet unnervingly composed face. Her gaze pierced the junior sister’s eyes, searching for the seven souls and six spirits within. Her voice tightened with suspicion. “You’re not Xiao Lanle. Who are you? What have you done with Junior Sister Xiao? Tell me the truth—or I’ll force your true form out!”

“Xiao Lanle” leaned weakly against Lin Qianshuang’s legs, her lashes veiling weary eyes. “Lanle will be fine. She is the Taoist companion destined by the Shark Pearl for this City Lord—I won’t let her perish. Jieyu¹, don’t you recognize your Tianshu City Lord?”

“I am aware of your usurpation of Lin Qianshuang’s identity.”

“City Lord?”

Lin Qianshuang recoiled, releasing her hand. “Then where is Junior Sister Xiao?”

Mu Weiyin, cloaked in Xiao Lanle’s form, pressed a hand to her abdomen where the Glazed Temple Gem pulsed faintly. Her composure wavered as a flicker of pain tugged her lips. “She plummeted into the pill furnace, her soul near obliteration. I ensnared her essence within the Glazed Temple Gem, sustaining her body with a wisp of my consciousness. I can delay her death, but not heal her enough to escape.”

Lin Qianshuang hesitated, then glanced at the glowing favorability interface—Mu Weiyin’s avatar blazed, unmistakably online.

Mu Weiyin saw that Lin Qianshuang seemed to believe her. Dragging Xiao Lanle’s heavy, numb body, she gazed at the rising black water with calm eyes and said, “Now do as I say. She can’t hold on much longer. The pill furnace has been moved far away, and we have little time left. Come here—I’ll hold you.”

The moment she finished speaking, her body lightened as she fell into Lin Qianshuang’s embrace. Mu Weiyin stiffened; she hadn’t expected Lin Qianshuang to hug her first. Her hand twitched, brushing against the other’s softness before she recoiled in panic. A trickle of blood seeped from her nostrils.

“City Lord, your nose… it’s bleeding again.”

Lin Qianshuang gestured to her own nose, addressing Mu Weiyin. “Xiao Lanle” covered her face, staring at them in bewilderment. Lin handed her a handkerchief, her conscience pricking at the thought of bullying a child.

Mu Weiyin cultivated the Tianshu Divine Technique. At the fourth layer of the Emotionless Path, she had abandoned all emotion. After completing the sixteenth layer and perfecting her divine arts, her body withered to that of a child, and her cultivation path stagnated at the Divine Separation bottleneck, leaving her unable to advance to the Nascent Soul stage.

As the fate of destiny foretold, if the Shark Pearl’s chosen one were to become her dual cultivation partner, they could ascend to the Upper Realm together. The fate of destiny was the lifeblood of the Celestial Dao—it could not err.

Mu Weiyin knew nothing of romantic entanglements and could only follow others’ advice, attempting to cultivate a relationship with her future Taoist partner.

During Xiao Lanle’s travels, Mu Weiyin would meet her daily at an inn in Tianshu City. Their relationship bore no resemblance to that of a Taoist couple, instead mirroring the dynamic of a disciple earnestly pursuing the Dao and a patient mentor.

Xiao Lanle remained distant toward her, yet she absorbed Mu Weiyin’s teachings swiftly. They occasionally arranged lake outings, though Xiao Lanle drifted through them distracted, offering only occasional smiles. Their rare moments of warmth always circled back to Xiao’s senior sister, Lin Qianshuang.

Mu fixed her gaze on Lin Qianshuang, her obsidian eyes piercing as if seeking the truth beneath her composure.

Tianshu City thrived as an intelligence hub, and Jieyu’s affiliation with Yixiang Tower’s deputy Lord was no secret. Mu had investigated her background and heard whispers of the Demon Realm’s scandals. Yet she struggled to reconcile the facts: this woman acted with careless frivolity, her appearance fragile and pitiable, yet rumors claimed she’d slaughtered countless cultivators in secret. Her words brimmed with contradictions and lies—how could such a person live up to Xiao Lanle’s glowing praise? Had she bewitched Xiao Lanle with some hidden art?

Demon cultivators were notorious for their cunning, and this one seemed no exception. Trusting Jieyu to act as her cauldron—a vessel to channel her will—brought Mu Weiyin reassurance. After all, half the red list of Yixiang Tower’s most perilous tasks bore her name.

However, the relationship between Jieyu and Xiao Lanle must be completely severed.

“Clasp my five fingers.”

Lin Qianshuang nodded, aligning her fingers with Mu Weiyin’s. The system’s favorability interface flickered, revealing a prompt: Mu Weiyin’s original 10% favorability had plummeted to zero.

She frowned, perplexed. Had she offended Mu Weiyin just now?

Lin Qianshuang racked her brain, finding no clue, until a light tap grazed her cheek.

“Focus and follow my words. No distractions.”

Mu Weiyin glared at her coldly through Xiao Lanle’s eyes. Lin Qianshuang forced a strained smile and quickly focused on channeling the demonic energy within her.

“By combining and varying the five elements, intricately weaving their numbers. Understanding these changes forms the patterns of heaven and earth; pushing these numbers to their extremes defines the imagery of the world.” (Book of Changes)

A faint spiritual seal materialized on Mu Weiyin’s left palm. She lightly pressed it against Lin Qianshuang’s upper abdomen, where a thread of true energy converged. Twin sparks of spiritual light flared in their pupils.

“One qi divides into three acupoints, halting at the central palace.”

Warm energy surged from the spleen and stomach meridians, flowing upward to the chest.

“The qi departs the palace, circles the pivot point, and returns to the dantian after nine cycles.”

Her heart suddenly raced wildly, as though it would burst from her chest, yet a refreshing coolness surged from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head.

Lin Qianshuang felt like a cat being stroked, her senses light and ethereal. Xiao Lanle’s voice had always been clear and sweet, but issuing from Mu Weiyin’s lips, it carried a deeper resonance—still hauntingly beautiful.

Two streams of spiritual energy swirled between their palms. The magic seal on Lin Qianshuang’s forehead flared, her eyes returning to their usual blue. The void in her dantian now cradled a faint golden glow, mending slowly.

“The Glazed Temple Gem seems to take to your energy.”

Mu Weiyin wrenched the dark red Gem from the radiance within her body, her gaze sharp. “The Gem within Xiao Lanle can only be retrieved through intimacy between lovers. Its emitted evil aura splits her soul into warring halves—but extraction would fuse them. That’s why Xiao Shen, who thinks of her as a mere ‘stain’, has kept her alive. He desires the purified Glazed Temple Gem from her body. I tasked you to use your zither’s melody to subdue her inner demons, yet you slept with her?”

Lin Qianshuang’s face paled, leaving her speechless.