Chapter 19: A Deal Sealed with a Kiss

“Congratulations to Bai Yuliang and Qichuan Feng for successfully completing the task!”

The moment they stepped out of the dormitory building, Teacher Matsui’s message appeared in the class group chat.

“It truly astonishes me; I never imagined such outstanding students existed in my class! Given your excellent performance, I, your teacher, will remember you. I hope you will complete your next assignment perfectly too!”

“Your eligibility for assignment transfer has been recorded. Since you finished the assignment a day early, I won’t assign any more tasks for the remaining Sunday. Let’s all enjoy our free time! (Smile 🙂)”

Although it was already Saturday evening, Teacher Matsui’s message instantly brought the previously quiet class group chat to life.

“You two actually made it out alive? That’s incredible! (Shocked 😮)”

“Wow, what exactly happened in this assignment? Three out of five people died (Scared 😰)…”

“Ogiwara Tai died? What the hell! (Shocked 😮)”

“How did that guy Koda Hikari die?! He still owes me money!!!”

As the results of this assignment became known, the class group chat immediately erupted into a clamor, with messages appearing like a bombardment.

Bai Yuliang set his phone to silent, took a deep breath, and turned to look back at the dormitory building. A sigh escaped him.

‘I never thought that one day, my rather unconventional Taoist techniques would find such a practical use.’

‘If I had been an ordinary person, I probably would have died there.’

“Mmm… sniffle…”

A faint sobbing reached his ears. He knew it was Qichuan Feng.

His gaze shifted, and sure enough, he saw the small figure crouching on the ground, her tiny head tucked in like a turtle’s shell, stifling her cries.

He knew she was grieving for her deceased friends. Although they had turned on each other in the end, the long days spent together had forged indelible memories that continued to stir her emotions.

‘I should comfort her.’

Bai Yuliang instinctively reached out, then paused. Considering his relationship with her, and deeming it unlikely to cause offense, he gently patted the young girl’s head.

“I understand the pain of losing a friend. It’s truly heartbreaking…” he said softly, offering solace. “But you survived. Being alive is better than anything else.”

“Mmm…”

Qichuan Feng sniffled a few times, then slowly lifted her small head, her indescribable gaze flickering beneath her fringe-like hair.

As his eyes focused on her exquisite face, Bai Yuliang had to admit that a beauty was, after all, a beauty. Even in tears, she was far more stunning than an ordinary person.

Amidst her soft sobs, a glistening tear welled up in her watery eyes, gently overflowing from her peach-blush, swollen eyelids. It traced a path down her delicate, rosy cheek, finally coalescing into a pearl on her small chin.

And as her moist, plump, cherry-like lips parted slightly, that tear dropped, shattering on the ground like a flower, yet it felt as if it struck the observer’s heart, piercing him with pain.

Bai Yuliang’s heart trembled slightly. ‘This little girl truly possesses an innate charm. If she had been born in the Central Plains, she might have become a femme fatale, a harbinger of disaster.’

“Noriko…” Qichuan Feng sobbed, covering her mouth. “If I hadn’t woken her up then, I wouldn’t have argued with her, and if we hadn’t argued, she wouldn’t have fallen to her death… It’s all my fault…”

“Don’t… don’t blame yourself!”

Bai Yuliang struggled to steady his voice. Though his heart was pounding, he maintained an air of indifference toward women.

“No one can predict the future. There’s no point in lamenting what has already happened. Moreover, the deceased are gone. We must pull ourselves together and strive to live!”

“Live… live…”

Qichuan Feng softly repeated the words, and after a long moment, a glimmer of light gradually returned to her eyes.

“Yes, I must live.”

“Excellent!” Seeing the young girl before him regain her resolve, Bai Yuliang felt profoundly relieved.

“But my own strength… might not be enough… I definitely won’t survive on my own…”

Qichuan Feng suddenly uttered a somewhat ambiguous statement.

“Huh?”

“Yuliang-kun…”

In that moment, Qichuan Feng tightly clasped his hand.

The second young lady of the Qichuan family, usually so ill-tempered, shed her thorny exterior and, with the softest voice, slowly made her request.

“Can you… protect me?”

Boom!

In an instant, a tingling current drilled into Bai Yuliang’s head like an awl. His mind went blank, as if struck by five bolts of lightning.

His blood vessels suddenly burst open, as if hot, freshly boiled soup was forcefully poured into them, rushing through his internal organs, scalding his limbs into numbness, and making his head spin. He didn’t know how to respond.

‘Yes, yes, of course, a thousand times yes.’

‘Exorcising demons and vanquishing evil spirits is the sacred duty of us cultivators. There’s no need for a lady to ask; I will naturally do my utmost to protect you.’

‘Qichuan, you’re truly too kind. Even setting aside my profession, we’re classmates after all. How could I refuse your request?’

‘Hahahaha… and to be frank, I can’t stand to see women sad. A maiden as beautiful as you, I couldn’t bear for you to die.’

‘Just rest assured, leave everything to me!’

In his mind, Bai Yuliang had already composed an entire book’s worth of replies, but due to his extreme nervousness, all the words felt like stuck phlegm, like constipated feces, unable to come out.

He simply stood there, stiff and wide-eyed.

Seeing that her request received no response, Qichuan Feng assumed her plea was too presumptuous. A bitter smile touched her endearing face.

“I’m sorry, I was too greedy. In this death assignment, we could face danger at any moment. Everyone is fortunate just to ensure their own survival; protecting others…”

At this point, Qichuan Feng took a deep, sharp breath, clenched her teeth, and a look of fierce determination flashed across her face.

“But, I absolutely refuse to die.”

With that, she suddenly stood up, seizing Bai Yuliang’s collar with a fierce grip, and pressed her soft, fragrant body close to him.

“Mmm—”

A waft of sweet fragrance drifted into Bai Yuliang’s nostrils. His head instantly felt dizzy, as if he’d been drugged.

All his senses became sluggish, except for one area that sharpened several times over: his lips.

Bai Yuliang’s eyes widened. He gazed into the girl’s eyes, her emerald green pupils like an enticing vortex.

He knew it was an unreasonable temptation, yet it still urged him to explore.

Feeling the warmth and wetness from her lips, a gentle stream flowed within Bai Yuliang’s heart. This stream was like the warm spring rain, washing over his parched heartbed.

He panicked. His mind panicked, his breathing became ragged, and his heart hammered even faster.

Even after eighteen bowls of strong liquor, he had never felt such a strange sensation. It was as if something was opening his sealed heart, wanting to seep in little by little through the cracks.

“Mmm~”

In a daze, the surrounding lights distorted, the air distorted, the world distorted.

Brilliant green swam before his eyes, guiding him forward.

He felt as if he stood atop a towering volcano, yet he heard no sound around him. The fiery furnace ahead was both hell and heaven.

“Mm…”

Unconsciously, he took a step, plunging into the scorching magma. Everything around him began to twist, accompanied by an intense dizziness. A tide of interwoven bliss and agony enveloped him, sweetness and pain reaching their zenith in that moment.

“Haaah…”

Warm breath left his lips. When Bai Yuliang came back to his senses and looked again into the beautiful eyes of the girl before him, his mind was still a muddled mess, and even his breath tasted sweet.

“Haaah… haaah…”

This exchange seemed to have cost Qichuan Feng a great deal of strength and courage. She leaned against Bai Yuliang’s body, recovering for a long time before her breathing finally calmed.

“Is that… okay?”

She lowered her head, her tone holding a hint of dissatisfaction, but more so, an appeal.

“Everyone says I’m very cute, so I have some confidence in my appearance… If you protect me, I’ll give you more… more things like this in the future.”

‘Qichuan, there’s no need to debase yourself like this. I am willing to serve you like a dog or horse.’

‘Qichuan, please calm down. As classmates, I would help you no matter what.’

‘It’s merely within my capabilities. Having taken advantage of you this time, I will certainly repay you.’

Again, Bai Yuliang’s mind composed a heap of dashing words. If he uttered them, they would surely highlight his indifference to women, proclaim his status as a gentleman, and showcase his pure and noble character.

However, in reality…

In the end, desire brutally shattered his rationality.

“Deal.”

‘But… is that really something I would say?’