My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband - Chapter 63

“Ah Yin, if I answer you, how much would you believe me?”

Yu Luocha slightly raised his head to look at Yan Hongyin. Even though his throat was in someone else’s hands—a vulnerable position—he showed not the slightest bit of fear or hesitation. With a raised eyebrow and light smile, he revealed a hint of his previously restrained mischievousness and wildness.

Yan Hongyin’s eyes flickered, but the hand pressed against Yu Luocha’s throat did not relax its pressure at all.

Moonlight streamed through the stone door that was left slightly ajar, falling upon the two entangled figures. The cool winter night breeze also swirled into the vast, cold great hall.

Yan Hongyin’s voice softened somewhat as she leaned toward Yu Luocha, her lips close to his ear, whispering like a lover. “That depends on how much truth and how much falsehood are in your words.”

The poison hadn’t paralyzed Yu Luocha for very long—ever since Yan Hongyin had begun giving him medicinal baths, and as the dosage increased, Yu Luocha discovered his tolerance for any medicine or poison had increased considerably.

Raising his hand to grasp Yan Hongyin’s hand at his throat, Yu Luocha’s fingers carelessly smeared with his own blood as his thumb and forefinger slid to Yan Hongyin’s wrist and gradually tightened.

Yan Hongyin sensed something was wrong and was about to pull away when she felt the atmosphere change. In a dizzying moment, the weight beneath her suddenly lightened, and she fell into darkness!

Yu Luocha’s long fingers gripped both of Yan Hongyin’s wrists, raising them above her head. His other hand circled Yan Hongyin’s waist, and as she glared at him, he actually lowered his head and kissed her!

Yan Hongyin’s eyes widened for an instant, her expression in the darkness indiscernible—whether shock or confusion.

This was a real kiss. The warm, hot sensation between their lips left Yan Hongyin’s mind completely blank. The aroma of grape wine gradually dispersed between their lips and teeth, along with warm breath that formed white mist. What began as a shallow, exploratory kiss gradually spiraled out of control.

Yu Luocha released Yan Hongyin’s wrists, placing his palm instead behind her head, delving deeper and more urgently as if he had received permission.

After a moment’s daze, Yan Hongyin’s hands climbed to Yu Luocha’s neck, her fingers entwining in his thick hair, returning the kiss with equal fervor.

With a tremendous splash and the roar of water exploding, both of them crashed into a deep, bottomless pool!

After a good while, the silence was broken by the sound of rushing water as the two emerged from the pool.

Their clothes were in complete disarray. Yan Hongyin untied her hair and loosened her tresses, removed her water-soaked outer robe and tossed it carelessly aside, then unfastened the hidden weapons bound to her body and took off her shoes and socks before stepping back into the water.

She was an excellent swimmer, diving back underwater like a fish to retrieve various small items which she placed by the pool’s edge. Frowning, she pushed her hair to one side and said softly, “To be able to build such a secret passage, you truly are an undeniable madman.”

The upper half of Yu Luocha’s clothing had been used as a buffer when they crashed into the water and had been carried away by the waves. The gold ornaments on his body had left several red marks where they had pressed against his skin. He didn’t immediately go ashore but sat at the water’s edge and began removing his gold accessories.

Soon, a small pile of glittering gold items accumulated at the edge of the pool, with a white jade Luocha badge lying on top.

“This isn’t a secret passage, though I admit I am somewhat of a madman,” he said with a downcast smile.

As his eyes shifted, those glass-colored pupils exuded tremendous pressure, weaving together arrogance and sharpness, carrying the dignity and coldness of one who had long held high position.

This demeanor was starkly different from the playful, teasing man of the past few days.

“Those I bring to this place are either lovers to whom I can entrust my life, or enemies to the death. I always leave some room for reaction.”

Yan Hongyin scoffed. “To think that your lovers receive the same treatment as your mortal enemies—somehow that doesn’t sound particularly flattering.”

The pool water emitted a lukewarm heat—it was actually a natural hot spring cavern. It was a mystery how it came to be hidden hundreds of meters deep beneath the oasis, and how this man had discovered it.

At the pool’s edge underwater were several stones at different heights. Yan Hongyin, completely soaked, didn’t want to get out, so she leaned back against one of them and half-closed her eyes.

Her head felt somewhat hazy, though she couldn’t tell if it was the grape wine from the ceremony being intensified by the hot spring’s steam, or because of that passionate, wine-scented kiss they had just shared.

Yu Luocha sat on the shore, his muscular body exposed without concern to the cold wind that penetrated the cave. He pulled over Yan Hongyin’s outer robe that she had tossed ashore, first wringing out the water, then beginning to dry it bit by bit with his internal energy.

His internal energy was scorching hot and could be used for such purposes. Although it couldn’t compare to sun-dried clothes, at least when Ah Yin emerged from the hot spring, she would have something to wear that wouldn’t make her catch cold.

“When we first met, you did indeed save my life, but at that time…”

One person reclined in the hot spring with eyes closed, slightly intoxicated, listening to him tell the tale of their past encounters, her expression revealing nothing;

The other person diligently dried clothes on the shore, for once telling the story of their acquaintance without embellishment, albeit pursing his lips and refraining from complaining about his father-in-law who had dug him into this pit.

……

By the time Yu Luocha finished speaking, only a few quarter hours had passed.

He was momentarily stunned.

Looking back now, he realized that from their first meeting until the present, only a few short months had passed. The tender affection typical between ordinary lovers was barely discernible in their relationship if one searched carefully, yet somehow they had become so entangled that they could no longer be separated.

“After saying so much, with your personality, I doubt you believe even three parts of it,” Yu Luocha sighed mournfully.

Yan Hongyin opened her eyes to look at him, her star-bright pupils filled with amusement. “No, I believe it all.”

Yu Luocha pouted.

How difficult Yan Hongyin’s personality was—there was likely no one else in the world who understood it better than he did.

“What you’ve said is far more truthful than your previous nonsense about princess, high priest and such.”

“Besides,” Yan Hongyin rose from the water and came ashore, sitting down next to Yu Luocha, “do you really think I chose to seal my memories just so you could get reacquainted with an amnesiac version of me?”

Yu Luocha draped the outer robe over Yan Hongyin’s shoulders. “Isn’t that so? You didn’t trust me because I’m a reformed evil sect leader, right?”

Ah Yin’s constitution was different from his. Wang Lianhua had once mentioned that in her childhood, due to consuming too many cold medicinal herbs, Ah Yin had accumulated significant cold toxins in her body. Although Wang Lianhua had later drawn these toxins away, they had nevertheless affected her health. This was why she constantly circulated her internal energy cultivation technique. If she ever fell ill, it would be much harder for her than for others.

“That’s not it.” Contrary to Yu Luocha’s expectations, Yan Hongyin directly denied his assertion. “If you were that kind of righteous hero who cared about the world, I probably wouldn’t have married you even if I had saved you.”

“Why—” Yu Luocha had barely uttered a syllable when he realized something. “That’s true, you’ve always looked down on the righteous martial arts world.”

“The imperial court has upright officials as well as corrupt rats. I understand the principle that ‘water too clear has no fish,'” Yan Hongyin glanced sideways at Yu Luocha with exasperation. “The righteous martial arts world has hypocrites as well as genuine heroes who fight for the people. I wouldn’t mischaracterize everyone with the same brush.”

“My temperament takes after my mother; I’ve been domineering since childhood. Although according to you, my birth father wasn’t His Majesty, when I was young I once asked my mother why she didn’t love father-emperor, and she told me…”

Yan Hongyin lifted her arm; the wet clothes clinging to her body were extremely uncomfortable, so she extended it toward Yu Luocha.

Yu Luocha very naturally took hold of her two sleeves and began dutifully drying them.

Yan Hongyin watched Yu Luocha’s movements, then averted her gaze and said softly, “Mother said that if she was attracted to a man for his appearance or talent, but that man forever had someone or something more important than her in his heart, then she would rather have only a brief affair with him, enjoying the present pleasure without involving matters of love. That way, when it was time to part, there would be no lingering attachments, sparing both from harm.”

Yu Luocha’s movements paused as he looked up to meet her gaze.

Yan Hongyin’s cheeks were flushed from the wine, and she spoke slowly. Her words might not have been resoundingly firm, but they carried an inflexible stubbornness that allowed no turning back.

“I told my mother then that I would definitely choose a husband who had only me in his heart and eyes.”

“He couldn’t be a pedantic, pampered young master from the capital’s noble families; he would have to accompany me through the bustling mortal world, galloping across all regions. He couldn’t be a prominent hero from the martial arts world, full of talk about righteousness and morality. If I saved people, he would have to accompany me in making medicines; if I killed, he would need to hand me the knife.”

“If there was no such person, I would rather remain single than make a compromise like my mother did.”

“Mother once said that if you’ve seen someone truly dazzling in your youth, afterwards you can never see anyone else. But I’m different,” Yan Hongyin smiled, her eyes revealing a light Yu Luocha had never seen before—like fire, like candles, like burning ice. “If I set my sights on someone, I must capture him in my hands. From then on, amid the vastness of the mortal world, he alone would forever be the one who dazzles me.”

The sleeves in Yu Luocha’s hands were already dry, the smooth fabric sliding down from the back of his hand.

“Ah Yu, among all the beautiful people in the world, she happened to see only you.” No one understood Yan Hongyin better than herself, and from this man’s description, she could discern what her former self had been thinking. She smiled at him. “Yet you only thought her taste in picking up people was poor?”

Yu Luocha hadn’t expected Yan Hongyin to suddenly bring this up, but in that short time, many of his previous understandings about their relationship, or how he thought Ah Yin saw him, were completely overturned.

“I may not have my memories as a Jinyiwei, but I understand myself,” Yan Hongyin thought for a moment, her face showing slight amusement. “I never make meaningless choices or actions.”

“Those she investigated and captured were imprisoned in the imperial prison, yet you alone were kept by her side. Why?”

One hand propped against Yu Luocha’s side, Yan Hongyin turned to face him, her other hand soothingly stroking the wound on his throat that had turned slightly pale from soaking in water.

Yu Luocha instinctively leaned back, his breathing momentarily chaotic.

“She had countless ways to keep an eye on you to prevent you from causing trouble, yet she chose the most troublesome method, the one most likely to reveal flaws.”

Yan Hongyin slowly raised her lips, her voice clearly tinged with amusement.

“Because they were Jinyiwei prisoners, while you…were only her prisoner.”

“How foolish, wasting all that time. I sealed away my memories not to test or confront you.” The previous sharp aggressiveness had been completely concealed; Yan Hongyin now looked at Yu Luocha with an encouraging expression. “No one understands me better than myself. If Ah Yu wants to know something, wants to ask something, rather than guessing and testing, why not directly ask the current me? Isn’t that better?”

After all, whatever excessive, awkward, or foolish things her previous self had done had little to do with her current self. She felt no reluctance to expose those small thoughts and reservations.

Yu Luocha suddenly grabbed Yan Hongyin’s hand that lingered at his throat, his eyes burning as his Adam’s apple bobbed. He opened his mouth, and after a long while, finally uttered a dry question, “Do you… prefer eating crab or roasted lamb?”

“???” Yan Hongyin suspected she had misheard. “Is that really what you wanted to ask?”

Yu Luocha pressed his lips together, holding Yan Hongyin’s hand firmly and not allowing her to withdraw it, his gaze urging. “You just said I could ask whatever I wanted, now you won’t answer me?”

Yan Hongyin rolled her eyes, somewhat unwilling to humor him, but patiently replied: “…What crab? There’s barely any meat in one, and it’s such a hassle. As for lamb… what you roast is passable, I suppose.”

“You once tricked me by saying you found eating crab exquisitely enjoyable, and I even specially learned how to take apart crabs!” Yu Luocha’s tone was accusatory, filled with grievance.

Yan Hongyin thought for a moment, then stated with certainty. “Impossible. Think carefully—did she say she enjoyed eating crab, or did she enjoy the pleasure of exploring others’ hearts and secrets like peeling crab shells?”

Yu Luocha inhaled sharply, his face showing disbelief as he muttered, “…You really do understand yourself quite well.”

Yan Hongyin looked at Yu Luocha as if he were a little fool.

Then Yu Luocha raised both arms to grip her shoulders, and with his internal energy surging, an extremely warm feeling enveloped Yan Hongyin, demonstrating how Yu Luocha’s control over his internal energy had reached the point where it responded perfectly to his will.

His fingers then brushed through her hair clinging to her cheeks, gradually touching and caressing her eyebrows, following her eyes, and finally coming to rest at the corner of her lips.

Though he was like a burning flame, his gaze was as soft as gentle water.

On the path to approaching Yan Hongyin, even though he couldn’t see the future before, he had never feared difficulties. He was willing to temper his nature to accommodate her and was capable of making all sorts of conjectures. But as he walked on, the moon that had been hanging high suddenly jumped into his arms, asking why he hadn’t asked her where she wanted to go, and whether she wanted to come and go with him.

Yu Luocha blinked, those glass-colored eyes full of sincere pleading.

“After signing and sealing pledges for so long, why am I still wandering outside the prison, unable to enter within the walls?”

“Dear Ah Yin, teach me, how can I pursue you into my arms?”

Hearing this, Yan Hongyin’s gaze lingered on his face, chest, and abdomen before she drawled, “Seduction is the way. That method is the fastest and most effective.”