Chapter 40: Luo Xing’s Taste

With a do-or-die attitude, Luo Xing waded through layers of spirit plants and entered the spirit spring.

At that moment, Ye Li had already emerged from the pool, barefoot and unshod, draped in a layer of sheer white silk. Her cool figure was faintly visible, wet ink-black hair hanging down, with a few rebellious strands clinging to the skin of her shoulders and neck, adding an eerie beauty to her coldness. Beneath her was a seat condensed from sword energy, its icy patterns shimmering with sharp intent, further accenting her cold, noble aura.

She lounged sideways on the seat, crossing her long, elegant legs one over the other. One hand propped up her delicate chin, the other rested on the armrest, fingers tapping lightly. She raised her eyes slightly and looked at Luo Xing.

At first, she had asked Luo Xing to massage her feet to make him understand his situation—the mortal world's rules of male superiority were useless here. But later...

It had to be said, this disobedient disciple might not be great at cultivation, but he seemed to have a natural talent for certain things.

Anyway, Ye Li felt that Luo Xing's massage skills were far better than his half-baked swordsmanship.

"Master..."

"Weren't you going to show filial devotion to me?"

Ye Li didn't change her posture. She just slightly shook her fair, tender bare foot.

"Come here. I'm waiting."

She didn't completely trust Luo Xing; she was merely testing him. If the disobedient disciple showed any unusual expression later...

"Yes, Master."

Luo Xing nodded slightly, then came before Ye Li and knelt on one knee. He gently lifted one of her fair jade-like feet and placed it on his knee.

Perhaps because Ye Li had just bathed in the spirit spring, the moment Luo Xing touched her foot, he felt a warmth and softness completely different from before. It was like a piece of top-grade mutton-fat jade, incredibly delicate—an absolute killer for certain special people.

But Luo Xing guessed that Ye Li was testing him. If he acted strangely, he'd probably end up soaking in this hot spring forever.

So he forced himself to empty his mind, not allowing any strange thoughts to arise.

Perhaps the effect of the Clarity Pill was still there; Luo Xing was indeed very calm, with not a trace of evil thought in his heart. It was as if what he held in his hands was not a foot, but...

A peeled, hairless, blanched pig trotter!

'Yes! That's it! That's the mindset! Now he wasn't Luo Xing, but Advanced Technician No. 28, Little Luo!'

While Luo Xing was attentively "serving" Ye Li, she was also watching his every move.

His eyes were clear and free of any distracting thoughts, his breath steady, his pulse calm. He seemed to be truly serving and honoring her as his master.

And...

Ye Li diverted some attention to feel Luo Xing's massage. Threads of tingling numbness and comfort came from the soles of her feet—a sensation that was both pain and not pain, both swelling and not swelling—released in that small area of her soles, then spread like a gentle stream to her limbs and bones.

It was indeed very different from before, and even more comfortable.

'So the little guy wasn't lying—he really came to express gratitude? And she had wrongly blamed him?'

With that thought, Ye Li slightly opened her eyes and looked at the boy kneeling before her, massaging her feet with devotion.

'Even if she had wrongly blamed him... so what? Did she have to apologize?'

At that moment, the corner of Ye Li's eye caught the shallow sword mark on Luo Xing's neck.

Perhaps because of the warm mist, the scabbed wound was bleeding again.

Ye Li's eyes shifted. She leaned forward, using her astonishing flexibility to get close to Luo Xing, then reached out and lightly wiped the scar with her fingertip.

The young man's body trembled slightly.

"Does it hurt?" Ye Li sat back and asked indifferently.

"It doesn't hurt..." Luo Xing continued his "service" without looking up. "Just a superficial wound."

"Do you know your mistake?"

"This disciple knows his mistake."

"What was your mistake?"

"I didn't explain clearly to Master earlier, causing Master to misunderstand."

The master and disciple's question-and-answer session casually brushed over what had just happened, as if Ye Li hadn't been furious enough to kill her disciple, and Luo Xing hadn't nearly died by his master's sword.

Luo Xing's answer pleased Ye Li greatly, and she thought to herself:

'So he wasn't only obedient when drunk—he could be this obedient normally too.'

'She liked this Luo Xing very much.'

Ye Li lowered her eyes to look at the faint blood on her fingertip, lost in thought.

Her fingertip brushed across the tip of her tongue. A taste—slightly sweet yet carrying the faint, thin flavor of blood—spread to every taste bud. There was no impurity; it was like a brew of moonlight, clear, smooth, lingering, with an aftertaste that stayed in her mouth for a long time.

She didn't know what she was doing, nor why she did it. It was as if it were an innate nature, a bodily instinct.

'Is this his taste... Luo Xing's taste...'

Ye Li's eyes, in a place she couldn't see, gradually became excited, burning, and vaguely tinged with a greed she didn't even recognize herself.

'Seems... not unpleasant...'

And all of this, Luo Xing was completely unaware of. He was still deeply immersed in his role as "Advanced Technician No. 28, Little Luo".

[Massage: 10/10]

[Touch Dao: 9/10]

After finishing one foot, Luo Xing's two skills had also leveled up.

'Haha! Good thing these two skills saved my sorry life!'

Knowing that Ye Li had dispelled her suspicions of him, Luo Xing wept tears of joy in his heart.

'Who said these two skills were useless? These skills are incredibly useful!'

'Who said these two skills couldn't control Ye Li? Wasn't he controlling her right now!'

At that moment, Luo Xing's mindset changed. He would never again underestimate any seemingly useless skill—who knows, maybe one day one of them would save him.

While massaging Ye Li's foot, he also split his attention to organize his skills.

After much hesitation, he decided to strengthen the [Massage] skill—after all, it had saved his life today.

[Massage Lv.1: 0/20]

......

In the evening, Ye Li brought Luo Xing back to the Xuantian Sect. But as soon as they reached Duan Tian Peak, Ye Li left again without telling Luo Xing where she was going.

Of course, Luo Xing didn't dare ask.

After watching her leave, he quickly returned to his room, locked the door, and hid in bed.

No choice—today had been too dangerous. That sword energy had been only 0.01 centimeters from his throat. He didn't think saying "I love you for ten thousand years" would have worked on Ye Li.

But this incident was over. He had survived, at least for now.

'For now...'

Now Luo Xing wanted to know more about why he had inexplicably taken the wrong path. He remembered clearly that he was walking toward the exit of the valley, and only when Ye Li's sword energy rushed toward him did he finally snap out of it.

The valley had only one path in and out, and the route was very obvious. Logically, it was impossible to take the wrong path, and Luo Xing wasn't directionally challenged.

'Who would suddenly become directionally challenged after never being one for over ten years?'

Since Luo Xing wasn't directionally challenged and the valley path was fine, how did he take the wrong way?

Could it be...