Today, Zhu Zhuqing was strikingly bold. The moment she arrived, she pressed her full, curvaceous body into his arms. Before Lu Feng could utter a word, her soft, fragrant lips sealed his mouth.
Her delicate, lilac-like tongue boldly parted his teeth.
Using the very techniques he had taught her, she turned them back on him with startling mastery.
This was her language now: tender as flowing water, fierce as flame, overwhelming as the tide.
The usual icy aloofness that kept others at arm's length had completely vanished. In its place was a woman whose heart burned too fiercely to hide.
Even on that first day apart, she'd realized just how deeply Lu Feng had rooted himself in her heart.
Though Zhu Zhuqing's first bold move was a touch awkward, it set Lu Feng's insides ablaze, like molten lava coursing through him.
With his little vixen being so affectionate, it was clear he could strip off her leather armor and dive into what most couples would naturally do.
Like dry tinder meeting a wild flame, there'd be no stopping it nor any reason to try.
But then Lu Feng remembered the other person in the room, someone special, and forced himself to tame the fire within.
He had to give his sister-in-law time to slip away.
After a heated embrace and passionate kiss, Zhu Zhuqing pulled back from Lu Feng's arms. She stretched out two slender fingers, her black nails playfully pinching his waist.
"You were gone too long," she murmured, though her eyes sparkled. "Did you at least finish what you needed to do?"
"Ow—!" Lu Feng laughed through the sting, nodding. "It's done."
"Then do you know what's happened while you were away?"
"What 'earth-shattering' event could I have missed?"
"The whole of Star Luo City is buzzing about it! How do you not know?" She huffed, then launched into the tale: "A reclusive powerhouse appeared in Notting City, out of nowhere! He's now the fourth known Transcendent Douluo… with twin martial souls! His blade soul crippled the despicable Haotian Douluo in a single strike. And guess what? He's actually a honored elder of the Pan-Continental Merchant Alliance! If the Alliance can recruit someone like him, imagine how terrifying their leader must be! Everyone's obsessed—Pope Bibi Dong, the Star Luo and Heaven Dou emperors, even Seven Treasures' Ning Fengzhi are begging for an audience. But the Merchant Alliance elders keep saying their leader is 'in secluded training' and refuses guests…"
The words poured out of her, a torrent of excitement. She detailed Tang Hao's humiliating defeat, how his schemes had unraveled, his reputation reduced to ashes.
The man had manipulated emotions, exploited the Spirit Hall, and after reaping every benefit, still pinned the blame on them. All while hiding behind that noble, righteous facade.
"If not for the signed confession and Master Yu Xiaogang's verified testimony, no one would've believed it," Zhu Zhuqing added, shaking her head.
Lu Feng listened, amused.
He knew all of this better than she did.
The reason the news had spread so far, so fast?
He'd made sure of it.
Every merchant caravan, every courier horse under the Pan-Continental Alliance's banner had carried this story to every corner of the continent.
Though, notably, the reports conveniently omitted his own presence in Notting City. Compared to the spectacle of Transcendent Douluo Li Xunhuan dismantling Tang Hao, a scuffle between two juniors like him and Tang San was hardly worth mentioning.
But Li Xunhuan's emergence? That was a quake felt across every power structure.
Because with a fourth Transcendent Douluo in play, one tied to the Merchant Alliance—
The entire continent's balance had just shifted.
The fact that a Transcendent Douluo like Li Xunhuan served as an elder of the Merchant Alliance, obeying the Alliance Leader's orders naturally drew everyone's attention to the mysterious figure behind the scenes.
Lu Feng chuckled. "Actually, I already knew about what happened in Notting City."
"Oh—!" Zhu Zhuqing's eyes narrowed. "Right, you're part of the Merchant Alliance too. You probably know more than I do. So why did you let me ramble on for so long?"
"Because watching you talk is its own kind of bliss." He traced a finger along her cheek. "You're too beautiful, too captivating to interrupt."
"Smooth-talking rogue." She scoffed, but the faint blush on her cheeks betrayed her. No girl could resist praise, least of all from the one she loved.
Then, curiosity got the better of her. "But tell me… what's your Alliance Leader really like? Have you met him?"
Her wide, expectant eyes pinned him in place.
Lu Feng's smile twitched. How do I answer this without—
Suddenly, Zhu Zhuqing's nose wrinkled. "Wait. Why do you smell perfume on you?"
A cat's sense of smell was sharp and with her Netherworld Spirit Cat martial soul, Zhu Zhuqing's was even sharper. She leaned in, sniffing his collar. "This scent… it's familiar."
Well, shit.
Lu Feng cleared his throat and opted for honesty. "Probably your sister's 'Night Rose' perfume. We, uh… sparred earlier."
"Sparred?" Her brows shot up. "Since when does she train with you? And where is she now?"
"Gone. Probably."
His gaze might have flicked toward the bathroom for half a second.
She's had enough time to sneak out, right?
Desperate to redirect, he blurted: "I've got a secret for you—I'm the one who wrote Battle Through the Heavens."
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes went round as saucers. "You?! You're 'Tentacle Monster'?!"
"Yep." He pulled out handwritten drafts, signed awards, and engraved seals from his storage soul tool, irrefutable proof.
In an instant, her skepticism melted into starstruck awe. "I—I've loved that book since I was a kid! Why would you write books?"
Truthfully, she hadn't had many options. In a world where cultivation manuals dominated shelves, Lu Feng's serialized novel was the only escape from dreary training. And he'd seized that niche shamelessly, plagiarizing tropes from his past life.
Lu Feng shrugged. "Needed money before my soul power awakened. Writing paid the bills."
"But you stopped right before the 'Three-Year Agreement' climax! Do you know how badly I wanted to bite you for that?" She tugged his sleeve, half-pleading, half-accusing.
"Eh, once I found business ventures that paid ten times more…" He rubbed his neck, grinning sheepishly. "Who'd waste time scribbling drafts all night?"
"I don't care!" She pounced, locking him in a grip that would shame her feline martial soul. "You're finishing that story. Now."
"I've already planned out the entire rest of the story," Lu Feng said, leaning closer. "And right now, you're the only person in this world who'll get to hear it."
Zhu Zhuqing's breath hitched. "You can just… tell me? Really?" Her eyes sparkled, but what truly sent her pulse racing was his last line that whispered promise of exclusivity. It felt unbearably intimate, like sharing a secret no one else would ever know.
"In return, though, you've gotta… tell me orally too?" Lu Feng teased with a sly grin.
"Tell you orally?" Zhu Zhuqing echoed, puzzled.
"You said you wanted to bite me, right? So, bite me…"
"…" Zhu Zhuqing froze.
She blinked, confused, until she caught Lu Feng's wicked smile and the hungry glint in his eyes. Then it clicked.
Her cheeks flushed a deep crimson.
Dirty jokes between lovers were their own kind of playful flirting, sparking a unique thrill.
And today, she was ready to give him everything.
"You bad boy, I'm really gonna bite you!" Zhu Zhuqing declared, launching herself at Lu Feng. She tackled him to the floor, her red lips crashing against his. After a fiery kiss, she nipped his lip gently with her pearly teeth.
What started as a joke ignited an even fiercer, bolder response from Zhu Zhuqing.
Now, there was no holding back, even if he tried.
He wasn't sure if his sister-in-law had slipped out yet. The bathroom was eerily silent.
Zhu Zhuyun hadn't left.
Hearing Lu Feng and Zhu Zhuqing's intimate exchange, she felt a growing unease, her own body catching fire.
On the windowsill, a sturdy Blue Silver Grass swayed without a breeze, like a shy Mimosa pudica, as if too bashful to witness such an intensely private moment. And it knew Zhu Zhuyun was still in the bathroom.