Chapter 440: Chapter 158 I’m Not Clean Anymore
After another metamorphosis, Jiang Li’s body was wracked with pain, but it only further fueled the fire within his heart.
His entire body seemed to be burning, his Qi as strong as Pure Yang, filling his whole being and driving him to frantically seek coolness.
With his vision blocked, his other senses became even sharper. Although the Heavenly Dharma had transformed into Fuxi Dharma, the techniques to control perception were still effective. As his hand moved, outlines materialized clearly in his mind.
At last, Bending Flower Hand was put to its proper use, and Jiang Li’s fingers danced, playing "Pipa Song."
Then at a certain moment...
His fingers suddenly clenched tight, gripping Jiang Li’s fingers so hard that the bones crackled under the strain.
"Hiss—"
Jiang Li gasped in cool air, feeling as if his entire body was being crushed.
Both of their movements halted abruptly, like two statues, while the shadows cast upon the rocky walls truly turned into murals.
As time ticked by, the tightly coiled serpent’s tail gradually loosened, replaced by intimate caresses, making a rustling sound.
After a while, a hoarse female voice whispered in Jiang Li’s ear, "Move."
"Boom!"
Thunder roared, followed by the splattering of raindrops from sparse to heavy, continuous like a pattering on banana leaves.
...
...
After the rain ceased, there came a long-lasting calm. A familiar sensation swept over Jiang Li’s soul, as if his bones had been removed, and he slowly lay down.
Time passed indeterminably until light from outside shone into the cave, bringing a touch of warmth. At that moment, Jiang Li felt the jade-like touch leave his embrace.
She emitted a soft moan, then rustled as she dressed.
"Leaving just like that?" Jiang Li murmured lowly.
"Do you hate to part with me?"
The raspy voice lost its earlier clarity but took on an intangible allure, just like the sound of intertwining serpent tails, tugging at one’s heartstrings.
"It’s not a matter of hate to part with or not."
Jiang Li said earnestly, "It’s about your responsibility. My innocence has been tarnished by you."
Looking at his righteous expression, one would never imagine how skillfully Jiang Li had used Bending Flower Hand earlier.
However, Gongsun Yuanxi did not proceed along his line of conversation, not falling for his trick. If she continued discussing this matter with Jiang Li, it could lead to endless disputes and might accidentally reveal her identity.
"Still, you hate to part, don’t you?"
Gongsun Yuanxi let out a soft chuckle, "Don’t you know? The one who ruins somebody’s innocence never has to take responsibility."
"Not having to take responsibility is because they can’t be caught. If caught, it’s another story," Jiang Li said meaningfully, "Even if Mistress flees today, how can she escape the Daoist Nun from her temple? You will eventually be caught by me."
As both are from the Gongsun Family, they are bound to meet eventually; even if she goes today, they are destined to meet again.
Provided Jiang Li truly had such a "Mistress."
"Heh~"
Gongsun Yuanxi laughed cryptically, "Then wait until my nephew catches the Daoist Nun before discussing further."
With that, she waved her hand gently, and a ripple of water flowed over their bodies and surroundings, erasing all traces. Then, her figure flickered and vanished into the dispersing spatial ripples.
The sunlight gradually shifted, fully illuminating the cave. Jiang Li sat up, untying a scarf he had worn for who knows how long, and once again saw the light.
He scanned his surroundings and noticed that all traces of their intimate encounter had vanished, and even the skin that had been torn in the chaos had healed. The signs of turmoil imprinted by the Dragon and Snake, the cracks caused by impacts, had all been restored, making it look like a natural cave.
Everything that happened previously, as Gongsun Yuanxi had said, was like a dream, leaving no trace behind.
’Even my Essence Element has been restored...’
Jiang Li looked at the Karma Collection with a peculiar expression.
[After a fierce struggle between the Dragon and Snake, the Dao Fruit has further integrated, Pure Yang strengthened, its marvelous use boundless. Jiang Li felt he was vaguely grasping the profound principles of Heavenly Qi.]
Well, that really advanced the Dao Fruit.
Is it I who am indecent, or the Karma Collection, or this Dao Fruit?
Jiang Li felt the surging blood and Qi inside his body, showing no signs of weariness from the prolonged battle. He had expected that, after mere mating for countless hours and being physically inferior, he should be lying on the ground like a dead snake, not lively as a spirited dragon.
"I feel that the advancement of the Dao Fruit this time is even greater than killing the Flood Dragon’s Crown Prince."
Muttering to himself, Jiang Li reached for the green Cloud Clothes and draped them over his body.
Although he had accidentally torn the Cloud Clothes earlier, fortunately, they had the ability to recover automatically, and the duration of Jiang Li’s fierce battle had been enough for the clothes to mend back to whole...
Clothed, his body covered, Jiang Li brought the scarf to his eyes, a pure white that clearly was someone’s preference.
It was Gongsun Yuanxi who had used this scarf to blindfold Jiang Li, trying to take pleasure in Jiang Li’s body for free.
[I feel like I’ve become Xiao Longnu, no, a Dragon Person...]
Jiang Li shook his head to dismiss the nonsensical thought, clutched the scarf tightly, and whispered, "Caught you? When did you get the illusion that I couldn’t find you?"
This pursuit game’s result was predetermined from the start, and Jiang Li did not need to worry about how to find Gongsun Yuanxi.
What he should worry about was how to expose the other person’s identity smoothly and naturally, a hasty move might lead him to get severely beaten by Gongsun Yuanxi.
Besides...
"Mistress, I owe you an apology," Jiang Li sighed deeply.
"I am no longer pure."
...
...
Imperial City, Great Ming Hall.
The place where the Emperor used to handle memorials, now served as the office for the Princess.
A large stack of memorials amassed on the desk, Ji Lingguang and Gongsun Qingyue sat on the left and right, respectively processing them.
Suddenly, Gongsun Qingyue stopped her actions and tilted her head slightly.
"What’s wrong?" Princess Ji Lingguang, noticing this, put down her memorial and asked.
"Suddenly, my head feels heavy."
Gongsun Qingyue’s brows furrowed slightly, revealing a worried expression, "And I have a bad premonition."
She did not take these whim-like feelings as mere accidents but treated them with great regard.
Those practicing Yi Dao value sudden premonitions highly as they create opportunities for divination. Gongsun Qingyue, being adept in this art, naturally did not take it lightly.
"A bad premonition..." Her eyes sharpened, and she uttered with a stern voice, "Jiang Li!"
Jiang Li was the only one who could bring her such uneasy premonitions.
As for the other person, with her strength, only other people could bring trouble.
"Aunt, I remember hearing from Divine Travel Grand Protector that Yun Jiuye has gone to Liangzhou Province, right?" said Gongsun Qingyue coldly.
"Do you suspect that Yun Jiuye means to harm Jiang Li?" Ji Lingguang spoke, pulling out a memorial and handing it to Gongsun Qingyue while adding, "With Jiang Li’s current power, Yun Jiuye might not necessarily be able to trouble him, not to mention plotting against him."
That cheap uncle of hers, not plotting against others is already good enough.
From this standpoint, the Tianxuan lineage isn’t on the losing end.
"Yun Jiuye might not corner my junior, but given the current situation in Liangzhou Province, it wouldn’t be surprising if something happens."
Gongsun Qingyue accepted the memorial but also pulled out a black booklet to skim through.
The memorial listed a summary of news from Liangzhou, while the booklet she held was the Book of Life and Death.
In just a few days, the demon menace had escalated in Liangzhou; the death toll listed in the Book had reached thirty thousand, with the naturally deceased not even making up a tenth.
"Demon problems emerge frequently in Liangzhou, people from all sides have been sent there. Previously, the different branches of the Mystic Sect had been reluctant to respond to the Taiping Sect’s invitation to Liangzhou, but now due to the demon menace, they have no choice but to go," Gongsun Qingyue said, flipping through the Book of Life and Death, "I wonder how my junior is doing..."
Her fingers suddenly stopped on a page, her already cold expression growing even more solemn.
Her finger pressed down, a name was being updated with new information.
[Jiang Lin.]
Gongsun Qingyue remembered, this was one of the Jiang family members from the ancestral land.