"How have you been feeling living here recently?"
Xiao Tian reached out and gently tapped the water, creating ripples, then lay back on the lotus platform and asked casually.
"It's alright. There's a lot of energy here, which is very useful for my cultivation. Sometimes, I go and clear the Trial Tower."
Medusa glanced at Xiao Tian lying beside her, a subtle ripple in her eyes. However, she didn't finish her sentence, only silently adding in her heart: Here, she had experienced many things she had never experienced before. Someone to chat with, to train with, even to care for her, and most importantly…
"That's good. If you like it, you can stay here. There will always be a place for you."
After that, the two chatted idly. Xiao Tian explained various things about the Inner Academy to Medusa, and Medusa also spoke about her past. The whole atmosphere was incredibly warm. In this peaceful and cozy environment, Xiao Tian's mind relaxed completely, and he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Medusa also felt Xiao Tian had fallen asleep and turned her head to look at his sleeping face. His face appeared exceptionally gentle in his sleep. A tenderness she hadn't even noticed appeared in Medusa's gaze as she looked at Xiao Tian. She gently waved a hand, and the surrounding temperature seemed to become even more suitable for sleep, even more pleasant.
She looked at Xiao Tian, her mind filled with countless thoughts. She had thought her life would only consist of cold battles, lonely frigidity, and the mission of protecting her tribe. It wasn't until the appearance of this man that her world gained a lot of color. After meeting him, she felt an unprecedented level of concern, care, and friendship. Sometimes, she even felt a sense of loss, as if it all wasn't quite real — something she had never dared to imagine.
As she quietly watched the sleeping Xiao Tian, Yun Yun stood on her palace balcony, looking at the two in the lake with an aunt-like smile, a faint curve playing on her lips. "One has a thieving heart but no guts, and the other is tsundere with too many inner thoughts. Now, they finally have good progress." The relationship between these two was like Sima Zhao's intentions, known to all passersby, yet they seemed to tacitly avoid taking that final step. As an observer, she couldn't help but feel anxious for them.
Medusa didn't notice Yun Yun. Here, everyone chose not to release any perception; it was absolutely safe. If anyone harbored killing intent toward them, the will of the Small World would automatically notify them.
Medusa looked at the sleeping Xiao Tian and, as if by a ghost's whim, reached out her finger to touch his face. But just as her finger was about to reach him, she stopped, bewildered. Her heart inexplicably quickened, and her mind was constantly conflicted and hesitant. Her finger remained suspended in midair, frozen.
Medusa's hesitation made Yun Yun anxious, even screaming internally, Don't hesitate, hesitation leads to defeat. But she didn't remember that she herself had been the same way before.
After much hesitation, Medusa finally gently placed her finger on Xiao Tian's cheek. The instant her finger touched his skin, the warmth and delicate sensation of Xiao Tian's cheek transmitted through her fingertip. A subtle feeling surged into her heart, causing it to tremble. Her eyes widened slightly, as if she had fallen into some wonderful sensation.
Just then, the sleeping Xiao Tian seemed to sense something unusual and gently moved his head. Medusa immediately retracted her finger as if electrocuted, staring at him nervously, afraid he would discover her actions. Seeing that Xiao Tian wasn't startled awake, Medusa breathed a sigh of relief. Recalling the feeling when her finger had just touched Xiao Tian's cheek, her face unconsciously flushed slightly. She slowly turned her gaze to the distance, trying to calm herself down.
The moment she turned her head, a faint smile appeared on the sleeping Xiao Tian's lips, then instantly vanished.
Having calmed down, Medusa didn't continue cultivating. Instead, she occasionally looked at Xiao Tian, and sometimes at the distance, though she looked at Xiao Tian more often.
After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Tian's eyelashes fluttered slightly. Medusa knew Xiao Tian was about to wake up and quickly adjusted her body and expression, feigning the appearance of cultivating.
Xiao Tian opened his eyes, and his sleeping consciousness returned. He surveyed his surroundings, looked at Medusa who was cultivating beside him, and a refreshing smile appeared on his face. "How long did I sleep just now?" Xiao Tian sat up, put his hands behind his neck, rotated it a few times, making crackling sounds, then stretched lazily, looking at her cold and alluring face.
"About two hours. I'm not entirely sure. I was cultivating."
Medusa slowly stopped her feigned cultivation and turned to look at him.
"It's been that long? My sleep is replenished, and I feel completely refreshed. Thank you, Cai Li. I slept very soundly."
Xiao Tian felt that the temperature here had been altered, clearly done by Medusa.
"This is the price of your promiscuity. Who knows, you might die in bed one day. Hmph."
Medusa snorted softly, slowly turning her face to look elsewhere, concealing the complex emotions in her eyes. As the Queen of the Snake-People Tribe, she was proud. To share a husband with others, she still couldn't fully accept it. This was also why she had never been able to truly confront her inner feelings. Because of this, she couldn't even fully concentrate on her cultivation, and it was greatly affected.
"I am a devoted man. What you said definitely isn't about me."
"You, devoted? Then what about them? Do I need to count them out for you one by one? You haven't hooked up with other women in the academy, have you?"
Medusa looked at Xiao Tian with disdain, as if to say, Go on, keep making things up. I'm listening.
"That's right. I've always been devoted to all you peerless beauties who can topple kingdoms."
Xiao Tian stood up, a teasing smile on his face.
Upon hearing Xiao Tian's words, Medusa's narrow purple eyes widened. She hadn't expected Xiao Tian to be so thick-skinned and raised her foot to kick him.
"Cai Li, be a lady. You'll expose yourself like that."
Xiao Tian grabbed Medusa's foot, and in her disbelieving gaze, he gave it a quick rub before letting go. He quickly took a step back, then his figure gradually faded, disappearing from Medusa's sight.
"Quite smooth, haha~"
Medusa was stunned in place by Xiao Tian's actions. Coming back to her senses, she stood up and gently punched the water where Xiao Tian had stood.
"Promiscuous dog-man, shameless…"
As she cursed, a smile appeared on Medusa's face, a smile that made the surrounding flowers seem to lose their color instantly.
Xiao Tian reappeared in the Inner Academy forest. Recalling the feelings from earlier, his spirits were high with good news, and he couldn't stop smiling. He glanced at the forest. The Earth Core Body Tempering Fluid he had come out to find was now in his hands, and he had found quite a few medicinal ingredients. A sixth-grade pill couldn't be refined here in the Inner Academy; the commotion would be too great. Every time he finished refining, he would have to run away. Otherwise, if those old men in the Inner Academy found out, it would be endlessly troublesome. They would try to entice him to refine pills for them, which would take too much time. However, when he lacked medicinal ingredients in the future, he could certainly try that. Those old geezers had very rich collections.
He would save this forest for next time, when he could bring a certain human-shaped treasure detector along.
Xiao Tian found his direction and flew back toward the Inner Academy living quarters. He flew straight through and landed in his own pavilion. There were no rules against flying in the Inner Academy, so he could do as he pleased, unrestrained.
"Tiger Girl, where's Xun'er?"