Bai Ran averted her gaze, perhaps not even understanding when she had fallen in love.
Was it on her birthday when Long Jinhan risked his life to bring her a gift?
Was it when she was breaking down, and Long Jinhan's warm embrace and gentle words offered solace?
Was it when she was hesitant, and Long Jinhan showed her his hundred percent trust and openness?
What was love? She, Bai Ran, truly didn't know.
After repeated betrayals and endless pain, she had thought she had long since turned into a heart of stone.
But Long Jinhan's appearance was the first time she felt that in matters of the heart, she was as fragile as a snowflake.
If she were to remain constantly enveloped in severe cold, she would only become colder.
But if someone gently caught her, held her in their palm, even the ice and snow would melt and turn warm.
Bai Ran pursed her lips, not daring to look at the person before her.
"Little girl... I love you..."
Her head was gently turned, and Long Jinhan's handsome face loomed larger and larger before her eyes.
Her crimson lips were captured, and the man's kisses were relentless, the amorous atmosphere in the air growing thicker.
Suddenly, something hard pressed against Bai Ran's waist.
Bai Ran's face turned beet red, and she shoved Long Jinhan away.
Her tender lips still glistened with tiny dewdrops, and a hint of anger flickered across her shy face.
Looking at her like this, Long Jinhan's throat bobbed, and the darkness in his eyes intensified.
"Long Jinhan! We still have important matters to attend to!" Bai Ran's gaze involuntarily shifted away.
Long Jinhan took a deep breath. "I need to go out and calm down."
The man suppressed his surging emotions and turned to leave. In the room, Bai Ran felt her body go weak.
Half an hour later, Long Jinhan returned to the room.
Seeing the young girl crossing her legs before him, he couldn't help but smile.
Bai Ran glanced at him. "Sit."
Long Jinhan obediently sat opposite her, his eyes brimming with doting affection.
"Wang Yu is hiding in the Howling Dragon Academy. She's not a new student?"
"Perhaps there are demonized people within the academy who brought her in directly, bypassing the enrollment process."
Bai Ran pondered the answer. Demonized people within the Howling Dragon Academy too...
Perhaps the powerful aura Jiang Ye detected belonged to these few...
Bai Ran playfully raised an eyebrow at Long Jinhan. "If I break the academy's rules, will you punish me?"
He chuckled deeply, his voice intoxicating. "I am the rule. Who would dare touch you?"
"Why didn't you recruit Jing Feng and the others too?" That way, I'd have help with my actions.
"My being here is enough," Long Jinhan smiled, and Bai Ran narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
The truth was, Long Jinhan simply wanted to spend time alone with her; nothing else mattered.
It was late into the night, and just as Bai Ran was starting to feel sleepy after they had gathered most of the information, Long Jinhan showed no sign of leaving.
"You're not... planning to stay here overnight, are you..." Bai Ran looked at him uncertainly.
A beautiful curve formed on Long Jinhan's lips. "How did you know?"
Bai Ran blinked in surprise and, blushing furiously, burrowed into the blankets, covering her head. "You're not allowed to touch me!"
He leaned gently on the edge of the bed, a captivating smile on his face. "Alright, I won't touch you."
The feeling of security lulled her into drowsiness, and soon, Bai Ran closed her eyes.
In a daze between sleep and wakefulness, she felt someone tucking her blanket more snugly.
That night, Long Jinhan watched her sleeping face, remaining awake until dawn...
...
The next morning, the sun was high in the sky, but the figure beside her was gone.
For some reason, she felt a pang of loss. Bai Ran composed herself and immediately threw herself into cultivation.
Meanwhile, Jing Feng was becoming mentally exhausted under Jiang Ye's torment.
"The King has someone he favors!" Zhong Zi looked at Jiang Ye abruptly, finding it hard to believe what he heard.
Jing Feng actually admired how Zhong Zi had absorbed every word Jiang Ye had spoken all night...
"Of course! That person is the Demon Lord of the Demon Realm!" Jiang Ye winked at Zhong Zi.
After a night of deep conversation, he suddenly realized that Zhong Zi wasn't that annoying after all.
It was just that compared to others, Zhong Zi valued strength above all else.
The Demon Lord of the Demon Realm... Zhong Zi clenched his fist. "Compared to me, is he strong?"
Jiang Ye covered his mouth and laughed mockingly. "You? Forget it. The Demon Lord's aura is overwhelming."
"Standing in front of him, I'd be as docile as a quail."
Hearing this, Zhong Zi seemed to recall something and chuckled softly. "If Dong Ling knew, he'd be very surprised..."
Jiang Ye looked at him in confusion. "Who is Dong Ling?"
Below the Ghost King, there were two left-hand men: Zhong Zi and Dong Ling.
They had exceptional默契 (mòqì - unspoken understanding) and formidable strength. Together, one gentle and one strong, they were known as an undefeated legend thousands of years ago.
"He's like you, a brute with no brains," Zhong Zi glanced at Jiang Ye.
"Huh?" Jiang Ye bristled at the description. "What do you mean a brute with no brains?"
Jing Feng sighed helplessly. "If you're not a brute, then who is? Someone like you can actually pursue Vermilion Bird?"
In an instant, Jiang Ye's face turned red at a visible rate. "You! Don't talk nonsense! How could I possibly like her!"
So violent and unladylike... What man would like her...
"Really?" Jing Feng raised the pitch of his voice, his face full of gossip. "Then I'll pursue her?"
"You... I..." Jiang Ye suddenly stammered. What was this feeling of sourness...
Could it be that he actually liked her...
Zhong Zi also had a knowing expression, a hint of a smile in his eyes.
Suddenly, Jiang Ye's expression turned serious. He abruptly turned his head and looked towards the entrance of the Howling Dragon Academy.
"Shhh—"
Jing Feng and Zhong Zi beside him also became solemn, looking down.
They saw a tall woman emerge, looking around.
Jiang Ye lowered his voice. "She is the strong presence I detected earlier. She's a demonized person."
"That's not possible!" Jing Feng's eyes widened. "Luo Qianqian! How is she here!"
Moreover, had her strength recovered? To possess such a powerful aura!
Jiang Ye had never met Luo Qianqian, but he had heard from his young master that she was an extremely cunning woman who had deceived everyone!
So she was Luo Qianqian... She wasn't even as good-looking as my young master. Why did she bewitch people like that?
Luo Qianqian looked around. Soon, a carrier pigeon landed on her outstretched wrist.
She took down the letter tied to the pigeon's leg and then released it.