Chapter 62: Bai Li: There’s a Bull, There’s a Bull!

Seeing Chu Huaizhou and Bai Li embracing, the glow of Leng Qingqiu’s long night soured with a sharper, fiercer possessiveness.

But… she remembered.

Every cry.
Every plaintive wail from beyond the ice.

As the array’s creator, she had heard them all with crystal clarity — unlike Master.

Piteous sounds that should have stirred sympathy…
Yet paired with Master’s efforts and her own indulgence, they had only quickened her pulse, making the night’s games more vivid.

So she decided to permit the vixen this single overstep.

After all… Master’s primal yang was hers.

Bai Li?
Just a stray dog. No rival at all.

Absentmindedly, her fingers brushed low over her abdomen.

A pity — court duties would drag her away soon, or she’d enjoy erasing all of Master’s restraint, making up for two centuries of longing…

Bai Li, by contrast, was pure.

Her near-collapse had only driven her to cling to Human’s head, the warmth of her chest against his breath making her blush.

It felt… odd.
Not like kissing. Softer, quieter — but still making her tail twitch.

She’d wanted to stay pressed to him, tell him everything she’d gone through all night, bask in his comfort.

But with Leng Qingqiu watching from the bed, she stepped back with an awkward apology.

Checking him over for injuries — her heart dropped.

Red marks across his face…
More, along his neck, collarbone, bare through his inner robes…
Even his abs and arms.

Her nose twitched, drawing in a scent she hated — plum blossoms.

Not just clinging to his clothes.
Seeping from his skin.

Her eyes filled.

What had Human suffered tonight?

In her mind, that bad woman had been cruel — tormenting him under the veil of “guidance,” venting all her emotions onto him.

The proof was etched in red on his skin, burned into his scent.

Bai Li’s own dreams of such closeness had always been tempered by care — never daring while he was hurt.

Yet Leng Qingqiu had done it effortlessly. Harshly.

What she treasured, another had trampled…
While she had sat outside, powerless.

Her jade fingers brushed a mark on his collarbone.
Her heart clenched.
Her stare sharpened on Leng Qingqiu.

Leng Qingqiu reclined on the bed — silk gauze draped loosely, revealing a pale shoulder and elegant collarbone.

Her eyes, lazy with satisfaction, slid to Bai Li without a flicker of urgency.

That unbothered look made Bai Li’s fur bristle.

Look at her. Resting on the bed she bullied Human on — just like that — smug, vengeful, vile woman…

Bai Li rolled up her red sleeves, stalking forward past Chu Huaizhou toward the woman she revered least in all the sect.

“Qingqiu! Why’d you lock Human up?! This palace… this palace demands answers, meow!”

Chu Huaizhou blinked, startled at her battle stance, and caught her arm.

“Wait, Bai Li, what’re you doing? Is there a misunderstanding? Qingqiu didn’t lock me up.”

She froze mid-step, eyes going wide.

Then her face hardened, a deeper seriousness settling over her features.

“Human! I’m standing up for you, meow! Don’t worry — this time, I won’t back down. You won’t suffer, meow!”

Guilt pricked him; he looked away.

“Uh, well… Little Bai Li… after those two swords yesterday, my soul was drained, so I asked Qingqiu for a secret massage.”

He scratched his cheek, sidestepping her gaze.

“No bullying involved.”

“Then what’s with these red marks, meow? Massages do that, meow?!”

“Oh, uh… it’s Qingqiu’s new soul-soothing massage technique.”

He couldn’t say the truth — that it had been straight-up marital intimacy.

His reputation would shatter.

And telling Bai Li, with her Charm-boosted antics, could only end with her acting on it.

Between Qingqiu’s control, Baiqian’s lurking obsession, and Bai Li unleashed…

He could already see his future — chained in some sunless basement, “attended” to around the clock.

Leng Qingqiu, realizing he was lying to shield her, felt her chest warm.

Her phoenix eyes softened, misted faintly.

Master~ Is your mind now filled with Qingqiu?

Her smile curled sweet and sharp.
Just a bit more, and he’d mold entirely to her shape.

Bai Li’s lips parted, ready to challenge why Human reeked of her rival’s scent if this was just a massage —

But Leng Qingqiu’s light laugh and Chu Huaizhou’s uneasy, averted eyes killed the words on her tongue.

The truth hit like a slap.

Am I… just fooling myself?
Does Human… want to be bullied by her?!
Am I… part of their play?!

Something in her focus shifted.

Her voice caught in a sniffle.
Tears rolled free.

She yanked her arm from his grasp.

“Human! I hate you! I’m done with you, meow! Waaa!”

Sobbing, she wiped her wet cheeks on her sleeve and spun away, bolting from the courtyard.