Chapter 3: Discovery

When the young man saw her, his eyes immediately became clear. He glanced at his own body, seeing that it was still the same as before, and then looked at Su Heng’s appearance.

“Put your shoes on!”

When the young man’s voice became deep, there was indeed a sense of authority without anger.

Su Heng made a surprised sound and lowered her head to look at her feet. Her white feet were brazenly sticking out from her fiery red dress, without any concealment or intention to cover them up. She allowed this snowy white expanse to be exposed in front of others, making people blush and their hearts pound like drums.

She was not human, so naturally, she did not follow human conventions. If she had not been human for a period of time, she might have completely let herself go and thrown away all those human taboos.

“Why do I have to wear shoes?” She looked completely puzzled, and as she spoke, her feet moved a few more times. Her slender ankles jingled with the small bells on the silver chains as she moved.

She said this while stepping one foot directly on the ground. “Wearing shoes is your rule, not mine. It’s fine if you wear them yourself, but asking me to listen to you, tell me why?”

As she spoke, she lifted her foot directly. Tan Ye turned his back the moment she raised her foot.

She raised her chin and looked at him with a bit of petulance. “Tell me, what are you to me? Not my father, nor my mother.”

“Your clothes do not cover your body. What do you think?” Tan Ye had his back to her, truly not looking at her improperly, displaying the demeanor of a righteous gentleman.

“I’m wearing clothes!” Su Heng instantly appeared in front of him. She lifted her skirt. Her red dress was the most stunning against her snow-white skin. Her raven-black hair fell on both sides of her body, beautifully stunning. Like a fire burning fiercely in front of one’s eyes, it was simply impossible to ignore her.

“What does it mean for clothes not to cover the body?” She abruptly stood between him and the stone wall. Originally, Tan Ye was already close to the stone wall. With her sudden appearance, there was only a small, almost negligible distance between them. If she leaned forward a little more, or if he leaned forward slightly, the distance between them could be completely eliminated.

Tan Ye immediately took a few big steps back. His face was ice-cold as he coldly stared at her.

Su Heng didn’t care about him at all. She lifted her skirt slightly and turned in a circle. “Tell me, where am I not wearing clothes? Don’t tell me that even with me wearing so much, in your eyes, I’m completely naked?”

The enchantress was originally transformed from the spirit of grass and trees that had existed for thousands of years. She had stayed in the deep mountains and old forests for much longer than in the human world, so she spoke very bluntly.

Seeing the pair of feet exposed under her skirt, Tan Ye turned his back to her again, not looking at her. “Put on your shoes!”

His voice was the same as before, but one could hear that his words had become a few shades deeper.

Su Heng laughed a few times. “At such a young age, where did you learn this set of old-fashioned rules?”

“I’m not human, so naturally I don’t need to follow those human rules. Besides, what’s the big deal about exposing a pair of feet? Don’t tell me that with me showing my feet, you’re imagining what’s above them?”

Tan Ye clenched his fists inside his sleeves. What this enchantress said was irrefutable.

“I’m not human, I don’t abide by your rules. Use your rules to govern yourself, don’t come pointing fingers at me.”

In the next moment, she appeared in front of him. She was some distance away from him, just enough for him to see her full appearance. She took a few steps closer, her words very unruly.

“Today, I’ll teach you again that human rules are for humans to use.”

She spoke without any courtesy. After saying that, she turned around and sat down directly. With a flick of her finger towards the bonfire, the flames immediately burned more vigorously.

“Don’t worry, I won’t seduce you.”

Tan Ye looked at her.

“I’m not interested in young boys.” She gestured a few times. “I’ve always been like this, and haven’t changed for hundreds of years. If you can stand to look, then look. If you can’t stand it, you’ll have to look anyway. If you really can’t take it, go gouge your own eyes out.”

Tan Ye’s gaze at her was as calm as water, his expression pure.

She propped her chin up. “Looking at it this way, I’m starting to like you a bit.”

This enchantress spoke and acted entirely based on her own preferences, her face changing in an instant without any warning.

“What do you want?” Tan Ye asked.

“You shouldn’t have any connection with those demon sects, but you also shouldn’t have any ties with my Chaoyun Sect,” he said, his eyes, clean to the extreme, looking at her. “Your target is me. What do you want to get from me?”

Su Heng lazily leaned by the bonfire. “Of course I do.”

She looked at the young man’s sharp yet extremely clean eyes. Good looks were not rare, but eyes that were so well-formed were very rare indeed.

“What are you looking at?” Noticing her enthusiastic gaze, Tan Ye spoke up.

“Looking at you.” She answered without any concealment or shyness.

“I think you’re good-looking.”

She enjoyed the warmth of the bonfire. “If you ask what purpose I have in saving you, I indeed have my own purpose.”

Su Heng glanced at him and saw that he had already sat down. “I want you to see through everything, attain perfect virtue, and ascend to the upper realms.”

She didn’t bother lying to him, and besides, this person didn’t have the ability to make her rack her brains to come up with excuses yet. It was fine to speak the truth directly.

Tan Ye, who had originally been quietly sitting cross-legged, frowned upon hearing her words and turned back to look at her.

At this moment, Su Heng added some more grass and wood energy to the bonfire, and the flames immediately burned more vigorously than before. The surging firelight illuminated his face, along with his eyes.

His jet-black eyes were fully illuminated by the firelight.

“It’s the truth, I’m not lying to you.” Su Heng said.

She smiled at him.

Tan Ye’s brows furrowed.

“A chance encounter, and you have such expectations for me?”

“No.” Su Heng looked completely innocent. “Actually, I don’t have any expectations for you either.”

After she said that, she saw the young man’s throat bob. Tan Ye didn’t say anything more. He turned his head away and closed his eyes to rest.

He had been accustomed to cultivating in solitude since he was young, and was used to the tranquility in Chaoyun Sect. Since he couldn’t get any answers from this enchantress, he didn’t want to waste any more effort talking to her.

But with his eyes closed, he could still feel her gaze roaming back and forth on his face. Her gaze was not wanton, more appropriately described as appreciation or curiosity rather than the coveting of those past evil spirits.

He secretly circulated his qi, intending to expel the residual demon poison from his body. Under the restoration of the spirit of grass and wood, the spiritual meridians that had been plagued by the demon poison slowly recovered. As soon as his spiritual power moved, the demon poison that had been suppressed immediately flared up again.

Su Heng sat there, looking the beauty up and down. When she was human, she didn’t remember what she was like. As an enchantress, her temperament was strange. She liked good food, good scenery, and good-looking people. The first two were easy, but beauties were hard to come by.

Over the years, she had seen so many people, demons, and ghosts pass by like fleeting clouds. When she saw someone who wasn’t bad, she couldn’t help but take a few more glances.

Just as she was looking, the meditating person suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. His originally ramrod-straight spine was like a broken branch as he clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground.

Fresh red blood flowed from the corner of his lips, staining his clothes.

Su Heng watched from the side without immediately taking action. She didn’t like to take the initiative to express concern for others. Seeing him spit out several mouthfuls of blood in a row, she said leisurely, “You should have understood before that this kind of thing can’t be forced.”

She actually knew what he wanted to do as soon as she saw him close his eyes and circulate his qi. She didn’t remind him, allowing him to make his injuries worse.

Since she had agreed, she would naturally do it. She could see that this kind of person had an extremely strong sense of vigilance. Whether he would believe her if she stopped him was debatable. Even if he believed her and recovered early, letting him go back, what good would it do for her? Since there was no benefit, there was no need to do it.

Moreover, to deal with such a highly vigilant person, persuading with kind words, especially from a non-human like her, might not be as effective as letting him spit out a few mouthfuls of blood himself. After spitting out a few mouthfuls of blood, it might leave a deeper impression than her saying anything.

She watched coldly as Tan Ye spat out a few mouthfuls of blood. He had been in a hurry to heal his injuries earlier and used too much force, actually injuring himself more severely than before.

A few mouthfuls of blood spat out, dyeing a patch of the ground bright red and also staining the front of his clothes red.

He struggled to turn over, his lips dotted with fresh blood, which made Su Heng like him even more. This appearance of having suffered great torment added a sense of extremely fragile beauty.

It was truly rare.

Like colored glaze, it would only take a slight force to create cracks.

He clutched his chest, his five viscera feeling as if they were on fire. His face was pale, and the intense pain inside made him gasp a few times involuntarily.

After the enchantress said those words, she didn’t move. After a while, not seeing him get up, she said, “What’s wrong? I heard that you are the most promising disciple in your immortal sect. Even your eldest senior brother may not have anything that can compare to you.”

Her voice was full of endless puzzlement, not sarcasm, but genuine surprise.

A hint of self-mockery appeared on Tan Ye’s pale face.

Su Heng waited for a while and didn’t see him get up. She walked over and looked at him for a bit, then reached out and pulled him up, after which she leaned close to him.

As she approached, her fiery red dress slid onto his hand, and the warmth from the bonfire that had permeated her clothes was transferred to him as well.

He looked at the enlarged, exquisite, and beautiful features before his eyes. The faint fragrance of camellia wafted directly over to him as she drew near.

“What are you doing?” Tan Ye’s throat tightened, and then he became angry.

“Healing your wounds.” Su Heng answered frankly, “I healed you like this before too.”

“The demonic poison in your body can’t be cured with your method. The more you stimulate your spiritual power, the more severe the damage. That’s how I saved you.”

She feigned confusion, “What, it was fine the first time, but not the second time?”

She reached out and gently patted him, “Are you afraid I’ll take advantage of you? Don’t worry about that. I absolutely don’t have any improper thoughts about you. If I really had any intentions towards you, it’s hard to say whether you’d even be able to stay here in one piece right now.”

These words were sincere. She was curious about him, but definitely didn’t have many other thoughts.

Even though she found him very good-looking, a rare sight that could catch her eye, she mostly just appreciated beautiful things and was content with looking a few more times.

“Just treat it as me healing you, nothing more. Don’t think too much about other things.”

“I won’t make you take responsibility, and likewise, you don’t come looking for me either.”

She spoke with great confidence, making Tan Ye, who was desperately resisting, seem quite pedantic in comparison.

Seeing that he still refused, Su Heng didn’t force him. Since that was the case, she would just let him suffer properly there. When he had suffered enough, he would know to behave.

But she waited for a good while and saw that Tan Ye’s poison was flaring up even more violently. He bit his lip until it was bleeding profusely. Even at this point, he didn’t ask her for help.

If this continued, he might really be done for.

Su Heng didn’t have a liking for being a good person, nor was she in the habit of warmly offering herself up. But Tan Ye couldn’t die.

Seeing this, she no longer cared. She pressed down on his shoulders and turned him over, leaning in close.

As soon as she got close, she felt that something was very wrong with him. His entire body was extremely resistant to her approach. That resistance and rejection left her dumbfounded.

Su Heng let go with her hands, and he immediately turned over to avoid her touch.

At this point, he had already been tortured to the point of losing consciousness. She tried several times and saw that he still had a strong aversion to her touch.

If it had been like before, that would have been fine. But this was just normal contact with her palm, and it was to save his life. No matter how explosively vigilant a normal person was, when facing someone who was saving their life, it was impossible for them to be like this no matter what.

He was already in this state…

“Your God seems to dislike women. When the time comes for him to cross the love tribulation, should I find him a man?”

Su Heng very seriously asked the voice in her head.