Chapter 27: The Peculiar Bond and a Daring Conjecture

In this world, neither love nor hatred ever truly arises without cause.

Indeed, the grand Dao of the mortal realm largely adheres to the law of cause and effect, forging the intricate links of emotion. As the esteemed Peak Master, Su Mei had always wholeheartedly embraced this truth.

Half a month prior, her life had been saved by the medicinal herbs plucked by the small fox, Xiao Xixi.

Yet, in the days that followed, as Su Mei spent every waking moment with the little creature, she slowly began to notice something peculiar about herself.

By all accounts, it seemed perfectly natural for her to dote on Xiao Xixi—this adorable ‘savior fox’ with its snow-white, soft fur, mischievous eyes, and incredibly clingy nature.

However, only Su Mei herself knew the truth. While outsiders perceived her as the embodiment of kindness and gentleness, these were merely protective colors she employed to conceal her ‘innate charm’.

After all, rather than shrouding herself in a mysterious allure that begged to be explored—a mystery that kept one ‘behind closed doors’—it felt far safer to appear openly before others.

She lived in constant fear that the secret of her innate charm would be discovered if someone touched her.

Consequently, despite her outwardly amiable demeanor, Su Mei had always maintained a deliberate distance from everyone, even her most direct disciple, Bai Luozhu.

This carefully maintained rule, however, was silently shattered the moment she encountered the little one, Xiao Xixi.

Initially, when the little one clung to her and leaped into her arms, she had only permitted it out of respect for her ‘savior’ and because the small creature was still untrained, knowing nothing of cultivation.

But slowly, as time wore on, Su Mei began to realize.

Unbeknownst to her, the small act of holding Xiao Xixi had transformed into a deeply ingrained habit.

Yesterday, when the little girl transformed, the empty weight in her arms left her with a faint sense of loss.

Upon realizing the emergence of such an emotion, Su Mei began to reflect on its origins, seeking to stabilize her Dao heart.

Thus, after Xiao Xixi transformed last night and fell asleep from the herbal medicine given by Bai Luozhu, Su Mei retreated to her room, pondering the ‘peculiar’ relationship she shared with the little one.

Her all-night contemplation, coupled with recalling the hidden mark that appeared after the little one’s transformation, led Su Mei to a daring conjecture.

Indeed, regarding the act of embracing the little one, there was more to it than just her conscious desire.

Her body, with undeniable honesty, yearned for contact with Xiao Xixi.

This suspicion solidified even further this morning. While changing Xiao Xixi’s ‘floral dress,’ Su Mei inadvertently brushed against the mark, feeling a subtle loosening in her cultivation, which had long been stuck at the Great Perfection stage of the Golden Core realm.

It seemed the little one’s ‘Lustrous Spirit Root’ and her own ‘innate charm’ possessed a mutually beneficial effect. Now, she needed to verify this hypothesis.

Su Mei gazed at the innocent, pure little fox-girl lying serenely in her arms, stripped bare and as pristine as a boiled egg, utterly oblivious to the ways of the world.

She felt the little one’s skin, like congealed cream, cool to the touch, softly gliding against her own as if it were flowing water. She inhaled the faint, delicate fragrance emanating from the bedding. For a fleeting moment, Su Mei felt as though she had been transported to a celestial realm.

Fortunately, with her cultivation already at the Great Perfection stage of the Golden Core realm, Su Mei’s Dao heart remained steadfast. After merely half an hour of indulgence, she remembered the ‘main objective’ of this endeavor: to verify her inner conjecture.

Regarding the method to ‘verify’ her suspicion, Su Mei quickly recalled the records within the ancient text.

Then, remembering the scenes described ‘in the book,’ she gently shifted Xiao Xixi’s silky-smooth skin from a side-lying position to a superior one.

Feeling the feather-light weight of the naked little girl atop her, and inhaling the intertwining fragrances within the bedding, an unfamiliar emotion stirred within Su Mei.

This was her first time experiencing such ‘close’ proximity with another person since childhood, and the indescribable sensation was something Su Mei could not yet articulate.

For at this moment, the intense, soft sensation of her skin ‘pressing against’ the little one’s stimulated Su Mei far more than any vague emotional stirrings.

As Xiao Xixi was still in her growth phase, her height was significantly less than Su Mei’s.

Due to this height difference, Xiao Xixi, nestled in Su Mei’s embrace, had her entire small face pressed against those incredibly soft ‘bunnies’.

In this position, the bare skin of both individuals gleamed like snow. The sensory experience for Su Mei was akin to two soft pieces of tofu continuously colliding.

With each gentle impact, Su Mei could feel the little girl’s body seemingly melting further into her embrace.

Since the little one had no cultivation to protect her, her body naturally carried a slight chill in the mountain night. This only heightened Su Mei’s sensory enjoyment to its absolute peak as she held her close.

This intense sensory experience caused Su Mei, who had just regained her focus and intended to ‘verify her conjecture,’ to once again forget her original purpose.

Fortunately, at this moment, due to the principle of action and reaction, Xiao Xixi, clearly enjoying her comfortable position on the mature, ample ‘bunnies,’ let out a soft ‘Yingxi~’ in her sleep, which jolted Su Mei back to reality.

After gently tracing her hands over Xiao Xixi’s flawless, cream-like back, Su Mei’s right hand lightly touched the little one’s delicate neck.

This touch caused Xiao Xixi, who had shown signs of waking, to once again drift into a deep, beautiful sleep.

Seeing Xiao Xixi lower her small head once more, Su Mei—the Peak Master of Zixia Peak, who typically remained ‘unperturbed even when Mount Tai collapsed before her’—let out a long sigh of relief.

After all, if she had truly been discovered at that moment, she wouldn’t have known how to explain herself.

And not knowing how to explain was a minor concern. What worried her more was that if the little one learned the ‘full story,’ wouldn’t her status as a master in Xiao Xixi’s heart plummet dramatically?

Thus, after the minor disturbance of Xiao Xixi’s ‘muttering,’ Su Mei, despite her lingering desire for the exquisite sensation of skin-to-skin contact, finally began to formally verify her conjecture to avoid revealing any secrets.

As Su Mei formed hand seals, she softly chanted a long, complex incantation under her breath.

The next second, the thin silken quilt covering their two intertwined, luminous bodies slowly floated into the air.

With the silken quilt removed, their two delicate, fair bodies were fully exposed to the air.

If this scene were to be witnessed by an outsider, they would surely exclaim at the sheer beauty of the world.

As the quilt drifted to a stone stool laden with clothes, another shimmer of light soon appeared within the moonlight-bathed wooden house.

This light was unlike the scorching heat of the sun or the serene tranquility of the moon. It was a faint glow with a delicate pink hue, offering a ‘heart-pounding’ visual experience just by looking at it.

Su Mei watched the faint pink light emanating from Xiao Xixi’s body, exactly as described in the ancient texts. A wave of excitement washed over her, for the scene before her unequivocally proved her ‘conjecture’ correct.

Her ‘innate charm’ truly complemented the little one’s ‘Lustrous Spirit Root.’ She could even cultivate with the sleeping little one using that ‘secret method.’

However, upon recalling the various cultivation methods, Su Mei once again fell into deep thought.

According to the ancient text, there were roughly three primary methods for cultivating with these two ‘mutually beneficial’ physiques.

The most effective method required a certain ‘tool’ to connect their cultivation.

As someone who had always maintained her purity, Su Mei naturally did not possess such a ‘tool.’

Among the remaining methods, the most effective for cultivation required the diligent cooperation of both individuals. The final ‘cultivation’ result depended on the ‘uniqueness, difficulty, and cooperativeness’ of the practice.

Su Mei quickly dismissed this option as well.

After all, getting the little one to cooperate would mean waking her up. While Su Mei believed the innocent Xiao Xixi would likely accept her proposal, considering the highly difficult postures described in the ancient text, Su Mei felt it was simply too early for the little one, who was still in her growth phase.

With the first two options discarded, only one method remained.

While this method yielded a slower cultivation progression compared to the first two, its advantage lay in its low difficulty.

Crucially for Su Mei, this method could also be used even without the cooperation of the ‘Lustrous Spirit Root’ holder.

Thinking of this final method, Su Mei’s eyes brightened.

Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around Xiao Xixi’s delicate body and sat up in bed.

Sitting upright, she gazed at the small mark beneath the little girl’s sapphire-like jewel, which constantly emitted a faint pink glow.

She recalled the method described in the book: to absorb as much of that glow as possible, achieving a mutual warming and nourishing cultivation.

Thus, in the next moment, Su Mei parted her fiery, crimson lips and slowly moved towards that flat mark.

Just as she was about to cover it, a whisper, almost imperceptible, echoed through the room.

“Xixi, your master is starting… *cough*… Your master apologizes!”