Chapter 21: Torment
Inside of the quiet bathing room, Gu Qingluo gently raised her jade-like hand, running it across her entire body. Her movements had an indescribably elegant and attractive quality to them.
Although the young maiden was not old, she had developed quite nicely. What was supposed to protrude protruded, and what was supposed to be elevated was elevated. All the capital that she should have on her body was right there.
When this scene appeared before Su Chen's eyes, he couldn't even stand up straight.
He was well aware that sneaking peeks at someone was considered immoral, so Su Chen had to constantly force himself to turn away and not look. But every time he turned away, that beautiful, marvelous, jade-like figure would surface in front of his eyes, causing Su Chen to be unable to stop himself from turning around again. His morality and his instinct began to do fierce battle. Sometimes, morality won; other times, instinct had the advantage. Su Chen's head turned back and forth in the midst of this conflict.
Gu Qingluo could not know that he was currently battling with the heavens. Upon seeing his head shake back and forth, she curiously asked: "Why are you shaking your head?"
"Oh…… my neck is slightly sore, so I'm just shaking it out," Su Chen replied, beginning to shake his head like a pellet drum[1. Pellet drums are common toys in China that are spun to make noise. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pellet_drum].
Su Chen kept glancing at the beautiful, marvelous body hidden in the rippling water, which in turn caused great ripples in Su Chen's heart. Finally, Su Chen could not suppress the pressure due to an intense reaction from a certain area of his body, and so he slowly sat down, his eyes eagerly and hungrily trained on Gu Qingluo.
If she were a maiden with lots of experience, perhaps Gu Qingluo would have noticed that Su Chen's behavior was slightly strange. However, her heart was pure and the matter didn't even cross her mind. Instead, she asked: "Right, how exactly did you offend Lin Xie to the point of killing each other on first sight? Is the hatred between your Su Clan and the Lin Clan so great?"
Gu Qingluo's words shifted Su Chen's attention, causing the pressure in his lower body to greatly cool down.
Su Chen concentrated for a moment before replying: "You misunderstand. Although the Lin and Su Clan do have animosity for each other, it's not yet to the point of killing each other on sight. This actually happened for another reason……"
Su Chen told Gu Qingluo about how he had the idea to come and search for Gu Qingluo, but he had unwittingly overheard the pair's conversation.
Upon hearing Su Chen tell the whole story, Gu Qingluo sat up straight. In the midst of the rising steam, a pair of breasts gently trembled, causing Su Chn to have another bout of "discomfort", his neck once again pulled taut.
Gu Qingluo said: "So you mean that there's someone else who knows you killed Lin Xie?"
"En, " Su Chen nodded his head: "However, I'm not worried about this issue. That Elder Sang was clearly not someone from the Lin Clan. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so cautious about the Lin Clan's guards. It was precisely because he was worried about being discovered by the guards that he left Lin Xie to chase and kill me instead of himself."
"But he can still use other methods to let the Lin Clan know that it was you who did it."
"He won't. Don't forget that I heard their secret. If they can publicize that, I can also reveal their secret. If he doesn't want both sides to suffer, he won't do so," Su Chen indifferently responded.
Upon hearing these words, Gu Qingluo let out a breath of air, sitting back down into the water. The pair of beautiful breasts also sunk back into the water, now only faintly discernible. Su Chen's heart relaxed, but at the same time he felt a sense of loss.
Gu Qingluo said: "Since it's like this, you should be careful in case that old man comes to find you and personally silence you."
"That's why I have to tell this matter to you," Su Chen gently laughed: "Even if he were to kill me now, he wouldn't be able to silence me."
"Hey!" Gu Qingluo opened her pretty eyes wide: "Aren't you dragging me down with you? Isn't that too unjust of you?"
"How could I? That old man doesn't know that we're familiar with each other. After all, you are not the only person who knows about this."
Gu Qingluo started: "You mean……"
Su Chen slowly and deliberately responded: "It's always a good idea to leave behind some backup plans."
Su Chen had known to tell the laborer from the True Jade Pavilion to leave behind some backup plans. Naturally, he would not forget when it came to himself.
When Gu Qingluo heard this, she clapped her hands and laughed: "Good good good, I will be your backup plan. If you're killed by someone, I will spread this information everywhere and completely wreck their plans."
Um…… You are still an esteemed guest of the Lin Clan, is it really good to undermine them so excitedly?
Su Chen said: "There's one more thing I need your help with."
"Send me out of here."
"Now's probably not the best time. The Lin Clan is still searching for you. They came here multiple times while you were passed out. If I were to bring you out right now, I most likely wouldn't be able to hide it from them. Once the sky brightens, I have my own methods to safely bring you out."
"If I don't return for one night, perhaps my household will be too eventful."
"That's easy to fix, I'll help you send notice and say that you spent the night at a friend's house."
"Then, I'll have to trouble you."
"You and I are friends. Why be so courteous?" Gu Qingluo pretended to be prideful and patted her chest. Upon seeing the beautiful jade pair change shape under her palm so casually, waves began to ripple once more in Su Chen's heart.
Gu Qingluo, seeing his appearance, curiously murmured: "You lost so much blood but yet you still have enough to have a nosebleed? Did I use too much medicine earlier?"
Su Chen: "......"
The two conversed some more before Su Chen suddenly thought of something and asked: "Right, do you know of Yue Wuti or the Spirit Burying Terrace?"
Gu Qingluo shook her head: "I don't know, but I can have someone check for you. If this Yue Wuti isn't some nobody, it shouldn't be difficult to find out what he does."
Su Chen immediately shook his head: "It's best if you don't go and inspect. Nobody knows if that Elder Sang has any other people inside the Lin Clan. If they discover your investigation, it would definitely be unfavorable for you. You're my backup; you can't go and expose yourself, okay?"
"So will you just let those people's conspiracy succeed?"
"This…… Let me think of a method. Don't we still have another year of time? From their tone, they shouldn't be making a move in the near future.
When Gu Qingluo heard this, her small mouth pouted: "Okay, fine."
Her expression was very cute, and when Su Chen saw it, his heart rippled again.
Su Chen spent that night in Gu Qingluo's room.
That night, Gu Qingluo's carefree behavior around Su Chen caused him much suffering. For one thing, that seductive, lithe body continuously tempted Su Chen. That little girl actually only wore her undergarments when she talked with him, not setting up any defenses at all! On the other hand, Su Chen had to turn a blind eye and pretend that he hadn't seen it while doing his best to avoid looking at it.
Su Chen wanted to look yet did not dare to do so, and he had to control the undesirable reaction from some part of his body. His rationality clashed with his instinct, and he had to pretend to not know the truth; this truly caused Su Chen a great deal of torment.
Thankfully, his severely wounded body could not hold up under this assault, and Su Chen eventually fell asleep while tossing and turning.
The next morning, Gu Qingluo woke Su Chen up and made him follow her out from the back door.
Su Chen arrived at a small forested area after following Gu Qingluo through the forest. Although it only appeared to be a regular forested area, Su Chen had felt strong Origin Energy fluctuations beneath his feet as soon as he stepped into the forest.
"Origin Energy Formation?" Su Chen was dazed.
This was very clearly an array formation that had been designed for Origin Energy, which was why there were such strong Origin Energy fluctuations.
"Shhh!" Gu Qingluo raised her finger to remind Su Chen.
Following the "shh" sound, the roars of beasts came from not too far away.
Upon hearing these roars, Su Chen suddenly realized where he was.
Beast Garden!
The Lin Clan's Beast Garden!
Gu Qingluo had actually brought him into the Lin Clan's beast garden!