Nie Kong flicked her forehead with a gesture of annoyance, and the little figure shot out.

The little one's teasing instantly dragged Nie Kong back to the great battle of the previous night. A feeling of absurd amusement warred with rising irritation. Though the affair had been mutual, the sheer thought of being taken by Long Meixian in that particular manner left him feeling thoroughly miffed.

Especially since that woman's ultimate goal was "sperm donation"!

Indeed, the environment of Dragon Island was perfectly suited for Long Meixian's "sperm donation," but was he some stud horse? Could a seed be casually borrowed whenever one pleased?

"Next time I see her, I'll have a serious reckoning with that woman," Nie Kong gritted his teeth fiercely.

"Brother, who are you reckoning with?"

Tai Yan's sweet voice chimed in. Nie Kong looked up to see her gazing at him with her bright, dark eyes wide with curiosity. The realization that this pure girl had witnessed the entire scene from last night made his old face flush slightly. He quickly concocted an excuse. "Of course, it’s your Sister Xuechan. Most of the herbs she planted in the valley turned out to be poisonous, and low-grade ones at that. Not a single truly precious variety."

"Oh."

Tai Yan nodded, accepting the deflection. But then, a spark of excitement lit up her beautiful eyes again. She pushed herself up, leaning her chest against Nie Kong's, looking down at him. "Brother, the way you two fought last night was so interesting! I want to try fighting with Brother too, okay?"

The word "fight" was something Tai Yan had picked up from Qing Yue. As she spoke, the fullness of her chest swayed, and the ruby of one peak brushed past Nie Kong’s lips several times. Such a spring scene made Nie Kong’s heart flutter, but he was instantly brought back to earth by Tai Yan’s innocent words. He grabbed her shoulders and pressed her back down beside him. "Tai Yan, put your clothes on first."

"But Brother, I really like it like this," Tai Yan cooed, her springy chest rubbing against his arm.

"Absolutely not!"

Nie Kong felt a surge of overwhelming desire and quickly adopted a stern look.

"Oh."

Tai Yan pouted her red lips slightly, looking wronged. She slowly dallied for a moment before finally covering her delicate, smooth body with a red robe.

With the exquisite view concealed, Nie Kong finally let out a breath. He couldn't help but find his own restraint amusing; facing Tai Yan’s utterly yielding demeanor, what was there to hold back? Holding her felt far more comfortable than holding that hateful woman, Long Meixian.

The memory of the brief, intoxicating glimpse of Tai Yan’s exposed leg flashed through his mind, sparking a strange notion. The Great Yan Spirit Venerable of the Nether Realm shouldn't have forcibly severed their connection yet. If he were to spar with Tai Yan now, would the Great Yan Spirit Venerable sense it?

As soon as this thought surfaced, it spread through Nie Kong’s body like dandelion seeds, frantic and consuming. In moments, his entire frame felt restless and eager. Yet, the instant his gaze met Tai Yan’s pure, clear eyes—eyes almost devoid of impurity—all impulse vanished.

Nie Kong felt a pang of self-reproach. Although Tai Yan and the Great Yan Spirit Venerable were soul-linked, she now possessed her own intellect, her own consciousness. Moreover, she was his mother’s adopted daughter, his sworn younger sister. How could he taint her burgeoning innocence with such vulgar thoughts and cause her harm?

Unaware of how close she had come to falling into a wolf's jaws during those brief moments, Tai Yan twisted her delicate body to remind him, "Brother, you haven't answered me yet?"

Nie Kong composed himself and smiled. "The kind of 'fighting' Long Meixian and I do, you cannot do with me."

Tai Yan looked puzzled. "Why not? But you did it with Hua Mei too, just not as intensely. And Sister Xuechan as well."

Nie Kong was speechless. How could such matters be explained clearly? He feared that one wrong explanation would only prompt a deluge of further questions from this curious little one. Better not to tarnish her pure heart. Nie Kong resorted to stubbornness. "There's no 'why.' If I say you can't, then you can't."

"You're being unreasonable," Tai Yan huffed, puffing out her cheeks.

"Who made me the older brother and you the younger sister? In necessary moments, an older brother has the right to be unreasonable."

Nie Kong stated this solemnly. However, before he could finish, he received two looks of utter disdain from Qing Yue. "According to your logic, since I am the grandmother and you are the grandson, doesn't that grant me the right to be unreasonable as well?" With that final retort, Nie Kong flicked Qing Yue away again.

"You've angered this old grandmother!"

With a flourish of archaic language, Qing Yue flapped her arms and lunged back. But at that very moment, a cheerful shout rang out from outside: "Master! Master…"

"It's Pingping and Tingting, they're coming to hide!"

Qing Yue ignored Nie Kong and vanished into the Beast Token with a whoosh. She certainly didn't want to be discovered and turned into toys for two young lasses. As for Tai Yan, she merely pouted at Nie Kong, clearly still angry about his "unreasonableness," showing no intention of hiding.

In a flash, she donned the specialized inner garments Nie Kong had fashioned for her in the style of his previous life. When the "Lingxi Battle Robe" materialized over them, Tai Yan remained motionless. Nie Kong felt a headache coming on. Pingting and Tingting were not like Long Xuechan; if they discovered Tai Yan like this, they would surely begin a loud fuss, and he would soon have two more curious babies around. Helplessly, he pleaded, "Good little sister, wait until Pingping and Tingting leave, and then I will explain everything to you, okay?"

"Mm."

Tai Yan was easily placated and immediately broke into a bright smile. Her red silhouette shrank rapidly and dove into Nie Kong's chest…

…

He rushed out of the bedroom like a gust of wind and found Long Ping and Long Ting in the main hall. The two young girls were dressed anew today, resembling fresh lotuses emerging from the water—clean, beautiful, and vibrant, having shed a touch of their youthful rawness for a subtle air of charm.

The two had also prepared an exquisite breakfast for him. After quickly washing up, Nie Kong called the two girls to sit down together and asked with a hint of guilt, "Pingping, Tingting, why didn't Sister Chan come over this morning?"

"Sister Xuechan was sleeping so soundly, we couldn't wake her up no matter how hard we tried," Long Ting said bluntly.

"Oh? I was planning to ask her for help finding some medicinal herbs," Nie Kong sighed in great relief. Long Xuechan had lent him her residence, but he and Long Meixian had made a complete mess of her bed last night. If she had come over, he would surely have endured a round of teasing.

An hour later, the two girls departed. Nie Kong returned to tidy up the room, then stopped dwelling on last night's affair with Long Meixian. He walked to the open space among the flower patches to continue testing the idea he’d conceived yesterday. As his "Medicine Cauldron Illusory Body" manifested, he placed a single herb inside.

"Whoosh!"

A dense plume of inky green flame burst forth from the flame seed in his palm, completely enveloping the exquisite medicine cauldron. Intense heat continuously permeated the cauldron’s interior. In barely two to three minutes, the palm-sized white herb had transformed into a small, round bead as crystal clear as jade…

…… ……RO

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