Chapter 79: A Steamy Invitation

The night had deepened, and a profound silence enveloped everything. Only the soft rustle of snowflakes could be heard as they drifted gently downwards.

Snow had begun to fall again on Eye Cloud Peak, a delicate, continuous shower that shimmered faintly in the darkness.

***

Two graceful figures, one clad in red and the other in white, pushed open the vermilion courtyard gate. Their footsteps made a soft, ‘creaking’ sound as they trod upon the accumulated snow, entering the small courtyard.

Snowflakes landed on their shoulders, quickly melting into fine, glistening traces of water.

“This child must have played herself to exhaustion with Little Pomegranate earlier,” Hua Yan murmured softly. “Just look at how utterly sleepy she is.”

Hua Yan held Hua Xiangrong, who was nodding off in her arms—they had just brought her back from Danxia Peak—and spoke in a hushed tone to Yun Xueshang beside her.

“Mhm. Perhaps I should bathe Rongrong tonight?”

Yun Xueshang responded softly.

Hua Xiangrong was already over nine years old and usually bathed herself.

However, seeing her unable to even keep her eyes open tonight, it was hard to believe she could manage to wash herself properly, rather than simply falling asleep in the tub halfway through.

“Mhm, alright…”

Hua Yan was about to nod in agreement when she suddenly realized something significant.

‘Wait! Bathing together… Isn’t this a perfect opportunity?!

‘Although I now know Xueshang isn’t just attracted to my physical form, that doesn’t mean I can’t continue to tempt her! On the contrary, precisely because of this, I should intensify my efforts! Otherwise, who knows when this slow-witted girl will finally catch on?’

‘I want to bathe with them too!’

“I, I’ll come help too!”

Hua Yan quickly blurted out.

“Y-you see, two people helping Rongrong bathe will definitely be easier than one, wouldn’t you say?”

Yun Xueshang nodded, looking a little bewildered.

“Good, then it’s settled!”

Whether fearing Yun Xueshang might change her mind, or that she herself might retreat due to embarrassment if she lingered, Hua Yan’s face flushed as she scooped up Hua Xiangrong and headed towards the bathroom.

“I-I’ll take Rongrong over first! You go fetch her clean clothes and come quickly once you have them!”

“Mhm…?”

Hua Xiangrong, half-asleep, was jolted awake by Hua Yan’s suddenly raised voice and the series of bumps. Her pink eyes were still clouded with sleepy mist, and she let out a soft whimper.

[Host, you’re finally awake.]

099’s voice, carrying a hint of amusement, echoed leisurely in her mind.

[While you were dozing off, Host, Hua Yan and Yun Xueshang have already decided to bathe you together tonight~ (▽)]

“W-what’s going on?!”

Hua Xiangrong was now completely wide awake. She abruptly lifted her small head from Hua Yan’s shoulder, her large eyes filled with immense bewilderment.

***

In the misty bathroom, Hua Xiangrong, stripped bare, huddled on a small stool, not daring to move.

“Little girl, you must have been awake for a while now, right? Why aren’t you speaking or looking at me?”

Hua Yan sat behind her, meticulously washing her soft, pink hair with soapwort. The girl had been constrained ever since they entered, a stark contrast to her usual lively self, which made Hua Yan somewhat puzzled.

‘I, how could I dare to speak?!

Hua Xiangrong listened to the trickling water behind her—the sound of Hua Yan rinsing her hair with a basin.

‘Although I am currently a girl… I was a boy in my previous life after all! Bathing with my mother…’

The pink-haired girl’s small face was flushed crimson. Her gaze was fixed rigidly on the floor tiles, utterly daring not to look at the fiery figure who moved freely before her, bending to scoop water, her curves fully revealed.

‘How could I possibly accept something like this so calmly?!’

‘How could I suddenly accept something like this! 099, why didn’t you warn me beforehand?’

Unfortunately, 099 had already gone offline and wouldn’t respond to her cries. To protect the host’s privacy, the system automatically entered sleep mode during bath time. Hua Xiangrong could only scream silently in her heart.

‘This girl, why does she become so quiet and shy when it’s time for a bath?’

Hua Yan squatted, carrying the basin of water, and walked back. Her bare jade feet stepped on the wet tiles, leaving a trail of shallow, damp prints.

She looked at the pink-haired girl’s flushed ear tips and suddenly recalled the scene from several months ago, when she first put Hua Xiangrong in the bathtub.

‘Rongrong must have been just as shy then, right? At the time, I thought it was because Xueshang hadn’t bathed her much. Now it seems it must be because the ‘Xueshang’ from another world didn’t often accompany Rongrong during her baths.’

‘Speaking of which, where is Xueshang? Why is she taking so long with the clothes?’

Just as she sat down, intending to continue washing Hua Xiangrong’s hair, the bathroom door opened.

A slender figure, naked and with long white hair, walked straight in.

Hua Yan’s face instantly grew hot. Almost instinctively, she turned her head away, afraid she might see something she shouldn’t.

‘Wait! No! I’m supposed to be seducing her! How can I be the one who gets shy first?’

‘I, I need to pull myself together…!’

“Xueshang, …why are you only just arriving?”

Ultimately, in the internal struggle between shy instinct and the ‘Seduction Plan,’ the young girl’s actions were as follows:

She cupped her soft bosom with one hand, suppressing her embarrassment, and directly faced the approaching Yun Xueshang.

Her legs were slightly pressed together, yet her head was turned, her cheeks flushed, and her other hand covered her eyes, completely daring not to look at her.

Hua Xiangrong, observing from the side, could barely watch.

‘Xueshang, in this state—are you trying to seduce someone, or are you trying to be shy?’

‘Will this really tempt Mother…?’

Meanwhile, Yun Xueshang—

The moment she entered, she was struck speechless by the sight before her.

The young girl’s skin was fair and delicate, tinged with a faint blush from embarrassment and the rising steam.

The young girl’s legs were well-proportioned and slender, her thighs full. Now, slightly pressed together, her soft flesh gently squeezed, inviting fanciful thoughts.

She gazed at the slender waist that could be embraced—a curve she had held in her arms countless nights, reluctant to let go. Yet, to look directly at that tender skin and adorable navel without any concealment was a first.

And of course, there was that unhidden, even deliberately accentuated…

Yun Xueshang’s throat subtly bobbed as she swallowed. A faint blush spread across her usually cool and detached face.

She quickly averted her gaze, focusing on her nose and then her heart. She didn’t know why she was dodging.

However, looking at the beautiful body before her, she couldn’t help but recall their first encounter on the Joyous Union Sect’s Yin-Yang Platform ten years ago, and that scene in the Dao Inquiry Peak illusion several months prior.

—Her heart began to pound rapidly.

‘So, bathing with Yan’er is actually like this…’

Yun Xueshang, who initially hadn’t thought there was anything improper about bathing together, now felt a faint sense of regret.

‘Is, is this… offending her?’

But what made her even more flustered were the inappropriate thoughts emerging one after another from the depths of her mind.

‘I want to be closer to Yan’er like this.’

‘I want to kiss Yan’er like this… just like ten years ago…’

The steaming bath emitted warm mist, enveloping the entire bathroom in a hazy white shroud. The few people present were silent, with only occasional water droplets falling, tapping crisp, light sounds on the tiles.

The white-haired girl gently closed her eyes. Her usually cool and serene face was now thoroughly tinged with a faint blush.

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