Chapter 67: If You Keep This Up, I’m Taking My Pants Off!

Four in the morning. He Yimo was summoned away by Mo Yuyan.

Of course, he tried to explain: why he was in the same sleeping bag as Yun Jin, why his arm was being cuddled against her chest, why his lower half was pitching such a prominent ‘little tent’… and, most importantly, why the jade pendant Mo Yuyan had given him was now nestled around Yun Jin’s neck.

He Yimo answered everything methodically, point by point, but Mo Yuyan maintained a suspicious, unconvinced glare throughout the entire explanation. Since it was obscenely late (or early), Mo Yuyan didn’t really want to argue further. Her cold gaze merely flickered downwards, lingered for a few intense seconds… and instantly deflated He Yimo’s overly enthusiastic ‘little brother’. Poof.

After that, Mo Yuyan sternly reminded He Yimo of two crucial things:

First: He was absolutely forbidden from giving her pendant to anyone else ever again. Not even Yun Jin. No exceptions.

Second: He needed to control himself. No funny business with Yun Jin at night. Especially no more secretly pitching ‘little tents’.

Although He Yimo had no idea how Mo Yuyan planned to supervise him, the sheer severity in her stunningly cold eyes made him feel incredibly guilty. No matter how much ‘heat’ had built up from snuggling with Yun Jin, one look into Mo Yuyan’s aloof, imposing aura was enough to make him wilt instantly. `Maybe… this is the legendary Senior Sister bloodline suppression…?` he pondered nervously.

Once Mo Yuyan was satisfied he’d properly memorized her instructions, she turned to leave. Just before she disappeared, though, He Yimo couldn’t help but call out, “Senior Sister!”

In the freezing pre-dawn wind, the white-robed Sword Kensei paused, turning back slightly.

“Senior Sister,” He Yimo said sincerely, “Thank you… for covering for me last night.”

Bathed in the faint, initial glow of sunrise around 4:30 AM, the Kensei’s beautiful eyes widened slightly in surprise. She tilted her head subtly, her cheek catching the soft, orange light of dawn. A soft scoff escaped her lips, the stern mask finally cracking. Her eyes curved into a slight crescent, a genuine, rare smile touching her lips, revealing a hint of actual happiness.

He Yimo stared, captivated, feeling like he could look at that rare smile for ten thousand years.

“Your performance last night… was acceptable,” Mo Yuyan praised softly, her voice laced with warmth. “Continue to conduct yourself properly. When we return home… Senior Sister will naturally reward you.”

As she finished, however, her gaze pointedly flickered downwards again… then back up, her lips curling into a knowing, profoundly meaningful smirk. With that parting glance, she lifted her black-silk-clad leg gracefully, turned, and vanished into the snowy woods.

“Reward…” He Yimo murmured, blinking slowly. In that instant, Yun Jin suddenly seemed… completely unappealing. No matter how hard he tried to recall the feeling of snuggling with her in the sleeping bag earlier, his heart remained utterly calm, steady as if he were in Sage Mode.

`So THIS is the power of the cool, aloof main heroine from the original story…` he mused in awe. `Just one casual mention of a ‘reward’… and my mind is already racing, filled with anticipation.`

“Ah well…” he shrugged mentally. “It’s fine. No big loss. Wasn’t really expecting anything to happen with Yun Jin anyway.” He felt strangely calm now. “Actually, this is better. Saves me from being too worked up to sleep later tonight.” It was genuinely amazing, He Yimo thought, how Mo Yuyan could, in just a few minutes, effortlessly flip his switch from ‘raging hormones’ to ‘Zen monk’. In a way, she was a miracle healer. From now on, whenever his youthful energy got the better of him and his thoughts started wandering… all he needed was a few seconds of direct eye contact with Mo Yuyan, and he’d instantly calm down. Way more effective than suffering through deep breaths and tossing and turning alone!

“Yep, ” he decided firmly. “Definitely need to make time every day to look into Senior Sister’s eyes for a few minutes. Gotta train my temperament… and willpower…”

(Later that day, around noon…)

Inside the small tent, Yun Jin stretched languidly, smacking her lips softly as she reluctantly surfaced from a sweet dream. She blinked her sleepy eyes open… and instantly jolted awake, startled by the proximity of the sleeping boy’s face right next to hers.

—!!!

“Wh-What the…?” Yun Jin whispered, her eyes wide. But her soft exclamation disturbed the sleeping youth beside her. He scrunched his nose slightly, licked his lips… and in doing so, his tongue nearly brushed against hers.

“Mmph!” Yun Jin clamped a hand over her mouth, scrambling backwards slightly. Her heart hammered against her ribs, terrified by the near-kiss upon waking. She honestly had no idea how they’d ended up sleeping face-to-face, so close they almost locked lips!

“What time is it…?” she mumbled, peeking at the light outside. “Young Master He still seems to be asleep… I… I should probably get up and make some breakfast…” She started to push herself up—

—and froze, suddenly realizing another, major issue.

“I-I-I-I… Did I… Did I really sleep the whole night hugging Young Master He’s arm like this… with my leg wrapped around his waist?!” Her eyes darted down in horror. “A-And… when did Young Master He put his hand… on my thigh…?!”

She stared down. Her left leg was indeed draped over He Yimo’s waist. He had rolled onto his side to face her during the night. His left arm was still being hugged tightly in her embrace, while his right hand rested casually, possessively, high up on the back of her thigh, near the base.

She was clamping him with her leg; he was hugging her leg back. In a weird way… their sleeping position was almost… balanced? Neither was really taking more advantage than the other…

“Wh-What do I do…?” Yun Jin, freshly woken and never having experienced anything remotely this stimulating, felt her face ignite with a deep blush. Vague memories of their sleepy conversation last night surfaced. Saying those things in the dark, hazy atmosphere hadn’t felt like a big deal… but now, in the bright light of noon, with the sun high in the sky and her mind fully awake… Oh gods. Recalling it now, Yun Jin wanted to smack herself. What embarrassing nonsense had she babbled to He Yimo under the cover of darkness and sleepy intimacy?!

And… As she thought about it more clearly now… hadn’t she been the one to initiate the leg-clamping first last night…?

“S-So indecent…” Yun Jin mumbled, her face burning. She carefully reached down, grabbing He Yimo’s wrist, trying to gently lift his hand off the back of her thigh.

But just as she started to move it, He Yimo chose that exact moment to stretch languidly in his sleep. The hand on her thigh, as if releasing tension, gave her soft upper thigh a firm, resounding SMACK! before gripping it again tightly.

“Eeeeek!?!?”

“Th-Th-Th-This…!!!” Yun Jin yelped internally, snatching her hand back as if burned. The unexpected slap left her thigh tingling and her body frozen in shock. Because that location—high up on the inner thigh—was far too dangerous! She instinctively arched her back slightly, sticking her butt out, terrified that any further movement might cause his sleeping hand to shift higher… maybe give another smack… maybe a squeeze…

`No! No! That’s not okay!` Even if it was Young Master He, things couldn’t progress that fast! The thought made her face flush even hotter, her breathing becoming rapid and shallow. She felt dizzy again, despite having just woken up.

Seeing his hand still firmly gripping her upper thigh, Yun Jin held her breath for as long as she could stand it, then finally, desperately, started poking the sleeping boy’s cheek. “Y-Young… Young Master He… W-Wake up… Please wake up…”

Normally, Yun Jin was far too shy and considerate to wake someone sleeping so soundly. But today? Special circumstances! If she didn’t wake He Yimo right now, things might escalate beyond just thigh-groping!

But just as her panicked imagination ran wild, He Yimo, annoyed by the poking, grumbled and rolled over—

“Y-Young Master He!!! AAAAH!” This time, Yun Jin couldn’t help but cry out loud. Because when He Yimo rolled away, while his right hand did release her thigh… his left arm, which had been pillowed under her chest all night, dragged its elbow directly across her soft ‘small buns’! Brush~!

“Agh—What the?!” The sudden shriek startled He Yimo awake. He shot upright, eyes wide, looking around wildly. “What?! What happened?! Did Senior Sister Mo come back already?!”

“N-No… N-Nothing… It’s nothing…” Seeing him finally awake, Yun Jin quickly clutched her chest protectively, trying to calm down, looking up at him with wide, tearful, utterly mortified eyes. She knew He Yimo hadn’t done anything intentionally… but being stared at by his confused face now… she had absolutely no idea how to explain their incredibly compromising sleeping position. After all… he might not remember, but she, having woken up earlier, had seen – and felt – everything!

What made it even more embarrassing was the lingering tingly, numb sensation high up on her thigh… where she was pretty sure He Yimo’s handprint was still faintly visible near her butt! First the near-kiss, then the near-ass-slap… all just this morning! Yun Jin dreaded to think what other intimate things might have happened unconsciously during the long night while they were both asleep!

“No, seriously, what happened?” He Yimo rubbed his eyes, sitting up properly. He looked at Yun Jin, utterly perplexed by her beet-red face and the metaphorical steam practically rising from her head so early in the morning. “Why is your face so red? Are you hot or something?”

But just then, before Yun Jin could even formulate a response, her gaze snagged on something else… something about He Yimo… something very prominent, clearly demonstrating a natural morning phenomenon— (tln: morning wood)

“Ah… Ahhh…!!!”

“Huh? What?” He Yimo followed her wide-eyed stare downwards… and his own lips twitched awkwardly. Ah. Right. If this were Jiang Jinyue or Mo Yuyan, he wouldn’t think twice about it; anyone with basic knowledge understood this perfectly normal physiological occurrence.

But Yun Jin…? A completely innocent, sheltered girl…? Yeah, this could be complicated.

“Okay, okay! Calm down! Let me explain—”

“I… I-I-I… Y-You… Y-Your… Y-Y-You…!!!” Yun Jin, seeing such a… thing… up close for the first time, was so startled she couldn’t even form coherent words. She vaguely remembered elder sisters in the sect gossiping… saying that the more a man stood tall like that… the more fiercely he wanted to… do… certain unspeakable things… And now… looking at He Yimo… Yun Jin suddenly felt like she was about to personally experience exactly what they’d whispered about.

Just as the awkward tension reached peak levels inside the tent, He Yimo’s sharp ears picked up the sound of approaching footsteps outside. Seeing Yun Jin on the verge of terrified tears, he realized the gravity of the situation.

“Don’t! Don’t don’t don’t! Little Ancestor, please don’t cry!” He lunged forward, trying to explain. But Yun Jin’s entire focus was locked onto the ‘Extreme Yang Divine Spear’, her face alternating between pale fear and crimson shame. She scrambled backwards frantically. In her panicked state, recalling the seniors’ gossip, her trembling body seemed to brace itself for whatever ‘fierce’ things were about to happen.

Seeing she was really about to burst into tears, He Yimo reacted instantly, clapping a hand firmly over her mouth. “Mmph! Mmph mmph!”

“Shh! Be quiet! Someone’s coming!” He Yimo hissed, glancing nervously at the shadows moving outside the tent, his voice taking on a stern edge. He was still groggy himself and had no idea what had set Yun Jin off this morning, but her extreme reaction was making him tense too. For the sake of both their reputations, he had to shut her up, even if it meant being a little harsh.

“Don’t cry!” he ordered, his voice low and firm. “If you cry again, I’m really taking my pants off! You hear me?!”

“Mmph…” The threat, bizarrely, seemed to work. While Yun Jin’s face flushed even brighter, her panicked frenzy noticeably subsided. She seemed more stunned and confused than scared now, her brain apparently short-circuiting.

“I’ll give you three seconds to calm down. Stop fooling around,” He Yimo commanded sternly.

“Mm… Mhmm…” Yun Jin nodded obediently behind his hand. It seemed that with a simple, sheltered girl like her, a sudden, sharp tone really could shock her into compliance. In just three seconds, as promised, she managed to forcefully hold back the tears welling in her eyes.

In the confined space of the tent, Yun Jin lay beneath He Yimo, his hand still covering her mouth. Her large, watery eyes, shimmering with unshed tears, gazed up at him with a strange mix of fear, confusion, and… perhaps… resigned anticipation? As if she’d braced herself for something strange to happen.

Once the footsteps outside faded away, He Yimo finally let out a long sigh of relief.

“Yun Jin,” he said seriously, removing his hand. “It’s okay if you don’t understand. I don’t blame you. But you need to listen carefully now!”

“This is a completely normal physiological phenomenon that happens to almost every guy when they wake up in the morning. If you don’t believe me, I can take you to ask the other male disciples right now—” He started explaining earnestly.

Yun Jin’s face flushed crimson. “N-No! Don’t ask! Please don’t ask! I… I believe Young Master He!”

“Okay, good.” He Yimo breathed another sigh of relief. “Buuut… since you understand now… could you maybe stop looking at me with that… pitiful, blushing, embarrassed expression?”

“Oh…” Yun Jin nodded obediently again.

But this time, He Yimo sucked in a sharp breath, raising an eyebrow. “Wait a second… Was that… Was that a flicker of disappointment in your eyes just now?”

“N-No! Of course not!”

(Scene shifts again)

Northfall Peak summit. The ruins of the Divine Deer Shrine.

Jiang Jinyue pried open a rotten wooden plank, her eyes immediately locking onto the object she’d been searching for beneath it: the Nine-Colored Compass. A cold, enchanting smile spread across her face. She glanced back at the sword-bearing youth who was also diligently searching through the rubble nearby.

“Junior Brother Cheeeen~!” she called out sweetly. “Look over here~!♡”

“Underneath all this junk… I think I found some kind of… strange compass~!”