"How have you been feeling living here recently?"
Xiao Jietian reached out and lightly tapped the lotus-leaf platform floating on the lake surface. Tiny ripples spread outward like gentle laughter. He then leaned back comfortably, hands pillowed behind his head, and asked in a casual, lazy tone.
Medusa sat beside him, her long emerald hair trailing across the lotus leaves like spilled ink. She glanced sideways at the man lounging next to her; a faint, almost imperceptible ripple passed through her usually cold purple eyes.
"It's… acceptable," she answered after a moment's pause. "The spiritual energy here is abundant and pure — extremely beneficial for cultivation. Occasionally I enter the Trial Tower to temper myself."
She did not continue.
In her heart, however, she silently added many unspoken words.
Here, she had experienced things she had never known in all her years as queen of the Snake-People Tribe.
Someone to converse with idly under starlight.
Someone to spar with until both were drenched in sweat and breathless laughter.
Someone who — without fanfare or demand — would quietly adjust the temperature of the water when she felt a chill, or leave a bowl of warm spirit-fruit soup beside her cultivation mat when she emerged from closed-door training.
And most importantly…
Someone who made her feel… seen. Not as the indomitable Queen Medusa, not as a vessel of divine beast bloodline, not as a prize or a threat — simply as herself.
"That's good." Xiao Jietian's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "If you like it here, then stay. There will always be a place for you in the Eternal Heaven Palace."
His tone was light, almost careless — yet the promise carried the weight of mountains.
Medusa's gaze softened imperceptibly.
The two fell into comfortable silence, then began chatting idly.
Xiao Jietian spoke of amusing anecdotes from the Inner Academy — the chaos of the Fire Energy hunting season, the old monsters in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower who still grumbled about "youngsters these days having no respect," the way Xun'er once accidentally froze an entire lake during a spar because she was too focused on controlling her new flame.
Medusa, in turn, spoke — haltingly at first — of her past.
Of scorching desert nights when she stood alone atop the Medusa Shrine, watching her tribesmen celebrate while she felt nothing but cold isolation.
Of the endless pressure to protect her people, to grow stronger, to never show weakness.
Of the day she swallowed the Qinglian Earth Heart Flame and felt her bloodline scream in agony and ecstasy at the same time.
Neither spoke of romance. Neither spoke of the future.
Yet the atmosphere was warm — warmer than the sunlit lake water, warmer than any flame either of them had ever cultivated.
In this peaceful, sun-dappled quiet, Xiao Jietian's taut nerves — always strung tight from schemes, battles, and endless planning — finally relaxed completely.
His eyelids grew heavy.
His breathing gradually evened out.
He fell asleep.
Medusa noticed the change immediately.
She turned her head and looked at his sleeping face.
In slumber, the usual teasing sharpness was gone. His features softened; long lashes cast faint shadows across his cheeks; the corners of his lips curved upward ever so slightly, as though even in dreams he was pleased with something.
Medusa stared for a long time.
A tenderness she herself had not noticed crept into her gaze — soft, unguarded, almost vulnerable.
She lifted a slender hand.
A gentle wave of her fingers, and the surrounding air became even more comfortable — warmer without being hot, cooler without being cold — perfectly suited for deep rest.
She continued watching him.
Countless thoughts swirled in her mind.
She had once believed her life would consist only of cold battles, lonely nights, and the endless burden of protecting her tribe.
Until this man appeared.
He had barged into her world like a wildfire — arrogant, shameless, impossible to ignore.
And somehow… he had brought color to her monochrome existence.
For the first time, she felt concern that was not strategic.
Care that asked for nothing in return.
Companionship that did not demand submission.
Sometimes she even felt a sense of unreality — as though all of this was a beautiful dream she did not dare believe in, lest it shatter upon waking.
Lost in thought, she did not notice Yun Yun standing on the balcony of a distant palace pavilion.
Yun Yun watched the scene beside the lake, arms folded, an aunt-like smile playing on her lips.
"One has a thieving heart but no courage, the other is tsundere to the bone with a thousand unsaid thoughts… and now, finally, some real progress."
The relationship between these two was like Sima Zhao's ambition — obvious to every passerby.
Yet both of them tacitly refused to take that final step.
As an observer, Yun Yun could only feel anxious on their behalf.
Medusa remained unaware of Yun Yun's presence.
In the Eternal Heaven Palace, no one released their soul perception wantonly; the small world itself was the safest guardian. Any killing intent directed toward its residents would be instantly detected by the world's will.
Medusa continued gazing at the sleeping Xiao Jietian.
Then — as though possessed by some sudden impulse — she slowly extended a finger toward his cheek.
Her fingertip hovered just above his skin.
Her heart abruptly began pounding violently.
Countless voices warred inside her mind.
*Don't do this — you are the Queen.*
*Just once… just to see what it feels like.*
*What if he wakes up? What if he laughs at you?*
*What if… he doesn't?*
Her finger trembled slightly in mid-air.
From the distant balcony, Yun Yun was practically screaming internally.
*Don't hesitate! Hesitation leads to defeat! Just touch him!*
(Though she conveniently forgot that she herself had once hesitated for far longer.)
After what felt like an eternity, Medusa finally — gently, almost reverently — let her fingertip brush against Xiao Jietian's cheek.
The instant she made contact, the warmth and smoothness of his skin flowed into her fingertip like spring water.
A strange, electric feeling raced up her arm and exploded in her chest.
Her beautiful purple eyes widened slightly.
She felt as though she had fallen into some wonderful, forbidden sensation she could not name.
Just then, the sleeping Xiao Jietian seemed to sense something. His head moved slightly.
Medusa jerked her hand back as though burned, eyes wide with panic.
She stared at him nervously, terrified he would open his eyes and catch her in the act.
Fortunately, he only shifted once before settling again.
Medusa let out a long, quiet breath of relief.
Recalling the fleeting sensation from moments ago, a faint blush crept across her cheeks — so subtle that even she did not notice it.
She slowly turned her gaze toward the distant mountains, trying to calm her frantically beating heart.
The moment she looked away, a faint, mischievous smile curved the lips of the "sleeping" Xiao Jietian — then vanished as quickly as it appeared.
After calming herself, Medusa did not resume cultivation.
Instead, she simply sat there.
Occasionally she looked toward the horizon.
But far more often… her gaze returned to the man sleeping peacefully beside her.
After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Jietian's eyelashes fluttered.
Medusa immediately straightened her posture, adjusted her expression, and pretended to be immersed in cultivation.
Xiao Jietian opened his eyes.
Full consciousness returned.
He glanced around, then looked at Medusa — who was "focused" on her cultivation — and a refreshing, boyish smile spread across his face.
"How long did I sleep?"
He sat up, laced his fingers behind his neck, rotated his head until it gave several satisfying cracks, then stretched luxuriously.
"About two hours. I'm not entirely sure… I was cultivating," Medusa answered without turning her head, voice deliberately flat.
"Two hours?" Xiao Jietian raised an eyebrow. "My sleep was excellent — I feel completely refreshed. Thank you, Fei Yan. I slept very soundly."
He deliberately emphasized the last two words.
Medusa's shoulders stiffened almost imperceptibly.
She knew he had noticed her adjusting the temperature.
"This is the price of your promiscuity," she snorted softly, turning her face away to hide the complex emotions swirling in her eyes. "Keep fooling around with so many women… who knows, you might die in bed one day. Hmph."
Xiao Jietian laughed brightly.
"I am a very devoted man. What you just described definitely does not apply to me."
"Devoted?" Medusa finally turned her head, looking at him with open disdain. "Then what about all the others? Do I need to count them out for you one by one? Or have you already hooked up with more women in the Inner Academy that I don't know about?"
"That's right," Xiao Jietian stood up, grinning shamelessly. "I have always been devoted — to every single one of you peerless beauties who can topple kingdoms and ruin cities."
Medusa's beautiful purple eyes widened in disbelief.
She had not expected him to be *this* thick-skinned.
Raising her foot, she aimed a swift kick at his waist.
"Fei Yan, be a lady. You'll expose yourself like that~"
Xiao Jietian casually caught her ankle.
Under her stunned gaze, he gave the arch of her foot a quick, teasing rub — then released it.
Before she could react, he took a step back.
His figure blurred and gradually faded into thin air.
"Quite smooth, haha~"
His playful voice lingered in the air even after he vanished.
Medusa sat frozen in place, still processing what just happened.
After several breaths, she finally reacted.
She stood up abruptly and punched the water where Xiao Jietian had been lying.
"Promiscuous dog-man… shameless rogue…"
Even as she cursed, a smile — bright, helpless, and unconsciously sweet — bloomed across her face.
In that moment, the surrounding lotus flowers seemed to pale in comparison.
…
Xiao Jietian reappeared in the dense forest outside the Inner Academy.
Recalling the earlier scene, his mood soared.
He glanced at the storage ring on his finger.
The Earth Core Body Tempering Fluid he had come to collect was now safely inside — along with quite a few rare medicinal herbs he had gathered along the way.
Refining a sixth-grade pill here in the Inner Academy was out of the question; the energy fluctuations would be far too obvious.
Every time he finished refining in the past, he had immediately fled the scene. Otherwise the old fogeys in the Academy would swarm him, begging him to refine pills for them — wasting endless amounts of his time.
But in the future, when he ran short of ingredients… perhaps he could "borrow" from their collections.
Those old monsters were obscenely wealthy.
He would save this forest for later — next time he would bring a certain human-shaped treasure detector along.
Xiao Jietian oriented himself and flew back toward the living quarters.
There were no flight restrictions in the Inner Academy — he could come and go as he pleased.
He landed lightly in front of his own pavilion.
"Tiger Girl, where's Xun'er?"