The dizziness brought by spatial travel should have been negligible to a powerhouse of Zhang Mingyuan's level.
But this time, he felt as if his very soul was about to be flung out of his body.
The ultimate power of frost and snow enveloped him. There was not a single trace of gentleness, only a pure, savage dragging force.
His vision shifted from blurry to clear in the blink of an eye.
The darkness before him was suddenly replaced by a soft white light. The force holding him let go, and he hit the cold floor with a soft thud.
“Hiss...”
Zhang Mingyuan grimaced in pain, struggling to raise his head and take in his surroundings.
Where... was this?
What met his eyes was an incredibly elegant bedchamber.
Everything in the hall, from the tables, chairs, and bed to the screens and curtains, was made of a material that emitted a faint chill, completely translucent and spotless.
The air was filled with a cool, refreshing fragrance that was identical to the scent on Su Jinxue.
Was... was this Su Jinxue's bedchamber?!
The realization exploded in Zhang Mingyuan's mind, making every hair on his body stand on end.
He was finished.
This woman had dragged him back to her lair—and into her most private bedchamber, no less. This was absolutely not a good sign!
According to typical novel tropes, what followed would either be brutal torture or being refined into a puppet, never to be reincarnated for eternity!
“Zhang Mingyuan.”
Su Jinxue's voice drifted down from above. It had returned to its usual coldness, perhaps even more bone-chilling than before.
She looked down from on high at Zhang Mingyuan, who was splayed on the ground. In her stunningly beautiful red eyes, the blush of shame and anger had already faded, leaving behind only a frost capable of freezing everything in existence.
“What did your disciple mean by those words?”
Here it came!
She was indeed here to settle the score!
Shuddering, Zhang Mingyuan scrambled up from the floor, his face instantly plastering on an innocent and sincere smile.
“A misunderstanding! It's a massive misunderstanding, Palace Master Su!”
“That rebellious disciple of mine has a loose screw in his head. He's loved talking nonsense since he was a child! Please, don't take him seriously! I'll break his legs and expel him from the sect the moment I get back!”
His survival instinct reached its peak at this very moment.
Any bond between master and disciple, any dignity as a sect master—he threw them all out the window.
Only by staying alive could he have anything at all!
Su Jinxue did not speak. She simply stared at him in silence.
That quiet gaze put more pressure on Zhang Mingyuan than any world-destroying immortal spell ever could.
Under her gaze, he felt completely naked, as if no lie could ever be hidden from her.
“Zhanxue...”
Su Jinxue slowly uttered the two words.
“To conquer? To possess?”
The smile froze on Zhang Mingyuan's face.
“That... that's just his nonsense! My sword is just named Zhanxue. There's no such thing as some ancient tongue! That rebellious disciple is illiterate! What the hell does he know about ancient tongues?!”
He wished he could rush back to Qingyun Heaven right this instant and sew Chu Jinghong's mouth shut.
This wasn't just sabotaging his master anymore; this was pushing him straight off a cliff!
“The Nianxue Pill?” Su Jinxue asked again, a barely perceptible tremor in her voice. “Indirect kissing?”
Thud!
Without a single thought, Zhang Mingyuan's knees buckled, and he dropped straight to the floor.
“I've been wronged! Please be reasonable, Fairy Su! What I refined was the Heart-Cleansing Pill! A pill meant for purifying one's heart and extinguishing desires!”
“As for the Enlightenment Tea, wasn't that... wasn't that because I wanted to learn the way of tea from you? Yes, exactly! I just wanted to study the way of tea!”
He was already starting to babble incoherently.
What did you cultivators know about transmigrators? The Thomas Flare Slash was the romance of his past era!
But did he dare say that out loud?
If he did, he would probably die even faster.
Su Jinxue paced forward slowly until she stood right in front of him.
Her Crimson Clouds Cold Mist gown trailed along the floor without making a single sound.
She stopped and looked down slightly.
“So, it was all fake?”
Her voice was very soft, devoid of any discernible emotion.
Zhang Mingyuan's heart skipped a beat.
This question... was a trap!
If he said it was fake, what if she flew into a rage out of shame, feeling like she had been toyed with?
But if he said it was true... wasn't that fucking courting death? Admitting he had improper designs on her?
Zhang Mingyuan's mind raced at breakneck speed, flashing through countless responses and their potential consequences in an instant.
In the end, he chose the safest answer.
“Half true, half false!”
Su Jinxue paused.
Zhang Mingyuan steeled himself and continued to spin his yarn: “Although that rebellious disciple speaks utter nonsense, there is one thing he didn't get wrong. I... I indeed... have admired you for a long time!”
“I pick fights with you because I want to get your attention. I named my sword ‘Zhanxue’ because I want to keep you in my heart at all times. I stole your tea because... because I wanted to feel your presence!”
“But this is all my one-sided admiration! It's just a toad lusting after swan meat! It has absolutely nothing to do with Little Xuexue! I will take full responsibility for all of it!”
He spoke with immense passion, sounding righteous and solemn.
Painting himself as a pitiful, unrequited admirer was much better than being seen as a scheming rogue.
He refused to believe that Su Jinxue could ruthlessly execute a humble pursuer who had "secretly loved" her for thousands of years.
However, he ultimately underestimated the heart of a woman, especially that of a female immortal.
After listening to his "passionate confession," not only was Su Jinxue not moved in the slightest, but her icy, jade-like face was also covered in another layer of frost at a speed visible to the naked eye.
An aura even more terrifying than the one on the Star-Plucking Platform crashed down upon him!
Zhang Mingyuan felt as if an immemorial divine mountain had collapsed onto him. His bones creaked and groaned, and his very soul felt on the verge of being crushed to pieces.
“Zhang Mingyuan, do you think I am easy to fool?”
Su Jinxue's voice was bone-chillingly cold.
She closed in step by step, forcing Zhang Mingyuan to retreat in terror.
Thud!
His lower back hit something soft. Looking back, he saw it was actually her massive ice-jade bed.
He had nowhere left to run!
In the next moment, a scene unfolded that nearly scared the soul right out of him.
Su Jinxue slowly raised her foot.
It was a jade-like foot so perfect it seemed otherworldly. Translucent and beautifully contoured, every inch of it looked like heaven's finest masterpiece.
Then, carrying a bone-chilling cold, this foot stepped precisely onto Zhang Mingyuan's chest.
With a gentle press, Zhang Mingyuan lost control of his body and fell backward, landing heavily on the soft bed.
He was dumbfounded.
Completely and utterly dumbfounded.
What he felt on his chest was the cold, delicate touch of her bare foot, and what wafted into his nose was her crisp, refreshing fragrance.
He could even see her slightly curled, round, and lovely toes.
What... what was going on?
Did Su Jinxue just pin him to the bed? And with her foot?
What was this? Humiliation?
Damn it, why was his heart beating so fast?!
Then, Su Jinxue leaned down, her cascade of silver hair draping over him.
A few strands of hair brushed against his cheek, tickling him slightly.
She assumed an incredibly oppressive posture, completely enveloping him in her shadow.
On the bed, those red eyes churned with complex emotions that Zhang Mingyuan couldn't quite decipher.
There was shame, anger, and even a trace of... panic?
“Zhang Mingyuan.”
Her voice was pitched very low, carrying a dangerous rasp.
“I will ask you one last time.”
“What exactly did your disciple mean by what he said?”
“You had better... think very carefully about your answer.”
Zhang Mingyuan's mind went completely blank. He could only stare blankly at the peerless face inches away from his own.
At this bizarre moment, where intimacy and murderous intent were tightly intertwined—
Knock, knock.
The door to the bedchamber was lightly knocked.
Right after, a crisp and respectful voice drifted in from outside.
“Palace Master, are you there?”
Before the words even finished, the doors of the hall creaked open from the outside.
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