Chapter 15

Long Ling was first carried onto the ship by Si Tu Tang. Qing Xian took off his outer garment and covered him with it.

He himself was left with only a form-fitting robe. Although still fully covered, the jade-white belt at his waist cinched his waist tightly, making his soft waist seem as if it could be encircled by one hand.

The young man’s figure was tall and slender, cold and ascetic. Many women turned their gazes towards him.

However, Qing Xian’s attention was fully on Long Ling, completely disregarding the stares of others.

Seeing this, Su Rong frowned and stepped forward to block the view of the crowd.

Qing Xian noticed her standing behind him and turned back to look at her with some confusion.

Su Rong merely looked coldly at the sea, as if she had just casually changed positions to enjoy the scenery.

Qing Xian didn’t think much of it and was about to help Long Ling walk to the room.

However, Long Ling pressed his hand, his gaze turning towards Si Tu Tang who had just climbed onto the ship. His eyes were full of concern and even a bit of shyness.

Qing Xian looked at the two of them and asked, “Do you want to go see her?”

Hearing this, Long Ling’s face reddened, and he quickly turned his head forward saying, “No need, I still need to change my clothes.”

Qing Xian nodded, and when they reached a place where no one was around, he let go of the hand supporting Long Ling.

He knew that Long Ling’s body should be fine, and as for other matters, it wasn’t his place to interfere.

However, he still said what he needed to say: “Long Ling, think thrice before you act.”

Long Ling nodded, but in his heart, he didn’t take it seriously.

This was the first time he had encountered a woman who made his heart flutter. If he didn’t seize the opportunity now, who knew if he would ever meet another woman so suited to his heart’s desire.

After reaching the room, he bid farewell to Qing Xian and took out a set of clothes from his storage bag to change into.

After changing, he felt that this outfit was too plain and lacked vitality.

He found a goose-yellow robe and changed out of the blue clothes he was wearing.

But then he felt that the goose-yellow color made him look too young, so he dissatisfied, found another…

He changed back and forth, spending half an hour before finally settling on an outfit.

He decided to go find Si Tu Tang now and thank her.

Long Ling walked to Si Tu Tang’s door but hesitated. What should he say?

Was just expressing gratitude enough? Or was it not enough?

Just as he was pondering without finding a solution, Si Tu Tang’s door opened before his eyes.

“Young Master Lin?” Si Tu Tang glanced at Long Ling, then lowered her eyes and stopped looking at him, her gaze somewhat evasive, the tips of her ears slightly red.

Long Ling pinched the creases of his clothes and said somewhat shyly, “I’ve come to thank you for saving my life, my lady.”

Hearing him address her this way, Si Tu Tang felt a bit flustered. Previously, Lin Long had either called her Teacher Si Tu or addressed her directly by name. This was the first time she had seen him be so polite.

“No need for such formality, it was just a small effort,” Si Tu Tang said.

Hearing this, Long Ling asked, “Then, are you feeling alright? It’s already late autumn, and the sea water is cold. If you caught a chill because of me, I would feel even more ashamed.”

Si Tu Tang smiled warmly, somewhat resembling her former teacher self, except that the ears hidden behind her hair were already bright red.

After coming ashore, she couldn’t help but recall that kiss between them in the sea. Although she knew it was just Long Ling giving her air, she still felt somewhat embarrassed.

Now seeing Long Ling in person, the images in her mind became even clearer, making her speech somewhat hesitant.

“I, I am a woman, strong and robust, I won’t, I won’t.” As soon as she finished speaking, she sneezed.

She quickly covered her mouth and nose with her hand, and now her face was completely red.

Seeing this, Long Ling hurriedly said, “Let me go and fetch you a bowl of ginger tea now.”

“No, no need, I’m fine,” Si Tu Tang refused.

Seeing this, Long Ling pretended to take something from his sleeve, but actually took out a pill from his storage bag, and said to Si Tu Tang, “As it happens, I have some medicine for treating colds. Take one, and I guarantee it will cure your illness.”

Seeing his sincere and expectant face, Si Tu Tang reached out and accepted his medicine.

As their fingertips touched, Si Tu Tang was so nervous that her fingers curled slightly.

“Young Master Lin…”

“Just call me Lin Long,” Long Ling interrupted.

“Lin Long, do you have any other business?” Si Tu Tang asked.

Long Ling looked at her and said, “Won’t you invite me in to sit? Some things seem inconvenient to say here.”

Hearing Long Ling say this, Si Tu Tang’s eyes couldn’t help but contract, thinking about what he wanted to say. They had already had skin contact, and if she pretended nothing had happened, it wouldn’t be gentlemanly behavior. Should she propose marriage to Young Master Lin? Would he… agree?

Si Tu Tang stepped aside to let Long Ling enter, then closed the door and stood behind it, looking at Long Ling.

“Well, Lin Long, I know I offended you in the sea, if you want me to take responsibility…” Si Tu Tang was somewhat nervous. She had read countless books of sages since childhood, but not one book taught her how to interact with men.

“Alright!” Long Ling smiled.

“Hm?”

“Didn’t you say you would take responsibility? I said alright.” Seeing her confusion, Long Ling explained again.

Si Tu Tang looked at Long Ling seriously for the first time since entering the room, her heart surging.

He wasn’t as gentle as ordinary men, but had a unique kind of cheerful brightness.

Usually, he could always understand her perhaps not-so-funny jokes well, and always played along with her.

Most importantly, she felt her heart flutter for Long Ling.

From the day he fell into her arms at the market, she had unconsciously been turning her gaze towards him…

“Young Master Lin, have you thought it through?” Si Tu Tang confirmed again.

“Of course,” Long Ling replied.

Opportunities are fleeting and time waits for no one. Long Ling believed that when you meet someone who makes your heart flutter, you should seize the chance immediately. Even if she only had a hundred years of life, he would accompany her for those hundred years.

Long Ling was just an ordinary dragon’s son, without inheritance rights or heavy responsibilities.

He didn’t need to be as cautious as Qing Xian, so he had the courage to pursue love.

While Qing Xian had many concerns, and although his heart had long been moved, he always felt somewhat restrained, not daring to confess his feelings to Su Rong.

…

On the other side, after resolving Si Tu Tang’s matter, Su Rong returned to her own room.

“Knock knock—”

A knocking sound was heard.

“Come in,” Su Rong said.

“Su Rong, I suddenly thought of a strange thing,” Qing Xian walked in front of Su Rong and said.

“What is it?” Su Rong asked, her eyes on her book, not looking up.

Qing Xian sat down on the chair next to Su Rong, somewhat puzzled, and said, “I always feel there’s something odd about last night’s incident.”

Su Rong put down her book, the corners of her mouth curling into a playful smile: “Oh? Could it be that you wanted something to happen between us?”

Qing Xian glared at her and said, “Don’t talk nonsense.”

“How am I talking nonsense? Aren’t you still savoring last night? I’m just following your train of thought and asking a question,” Su Rong chuckled lightly, her finger tapping the edge of the table repeatedly.

“I’m not savoring anything!” Qing Xian’s ears turned red. He just felt that Su Rong’s words were a bit off after he returned to his room.

“Yesterday, I saw you leave at the hour of You, and after about half an hour, I felt unwell and came to find you,” Qing Xian said. “At that time, my physical condition didn’t seem like I simply wanted to sleep.”

“I hadn’t drunk any water so I couldn’t have been poisoned. Why did I suddenly feel hot all over, and then have no memory of what happened after I reached your room?”

However, Su Rong’s focus was on another aspect: “You said you only started feeling unwell after half an hour?”

“Huh?” Qing Xian was suddenly interrupted by her question, breaking his train of thought.

“Yes.”

Su Rong frowned, feeling something was amiss.

She had initially thought that Qu Yi and that sea demon had colluded, waiting until she left before dealing with Qing Xian.

But if that were the case, Qu Yi should have acted immediately after she left, not waited for almost half an hour before making a move on Qing Xian.

Could it be that Qu Yi had no connection with the sea demon?

Then what was the reason for the sea demon’s actions?

To travel far from the ship to make threats, and then flee in panic, none of this made sense.

Seeing Su Rong lost in thought, Qing Xian waved his hand in front of her eyes, but she caught his hand.

“Let go,” Qing Xian said.

“Mm, so what did you come to ask? Do you think what I told you wasn’t true, that I did something to you?” Su Rong looked at Qing Xian and asked.

Qing Xian’s thoughts were exposed, and he turned his head away in embarrassment.

He did want to know, yet also didn’t want to know, especially since he felt his lips were somewhat sore when he woke up in the morning…

Su Rong smiled and released his hand, saying casually, “Nothing happened.”

“What?” Qing Xian asked.

“Nothing happened between us. Please leave my room now, I need to rest,” Su Rong started to dismiss her guest.

Hearing this answer, Qing Xian felt both relieved and a little disappointed.

Seeing that Su Rong had spoken so clearly, he couldn’t linger any longer and had to leave.

After Qing Xian left, Su Rong stood up and walked to the window, frowning in deep thought.

…

This was their last night on the ship. Su Rong, looking at the calm sea surface, decided to investigate once more.

She came to the place where she had confronted the sea demon yesterday and directly sent out a wave of demonic energy, stirring the sea surface into a whirling vortex.

After waiting for a long time, the sea demon finally appeared.

He asked somewhat fearfully, “My lady, why have you come again?”

“Why were you causing disturbances on the sea last night?” Su Rong asked coldly.

“Well, I just felt bored in the deep sea and wanted to come out and look around,” the sea demon said. As he spoke, he glanced at Su Rong, his eyes rolled, and he leaped out of the sea towards Su Rong.

Su Rong coldly watched as he got closer and closer to her, seeing that he seemed about to reach out to touch her body.

She sent out a wave of demonic energy, directly blocking his path.

“Get lost, do you know how smelly you are?” Su Rong said with disgust.

Although the sea demon was quite handsome, they liked to eat and live with some dirty and smelly things at the bottom of the sea. After years of this, they naturally wouldn’t smell good.

Hearing this, the sea demon didn’t seem to be affected at all. Instead, he said softly and weakly, “My lady~ Why do you dislike me? Is it not allowed for me to admire you?”

As he spoke, his hand was about to climb onto Su Rong’s body.

Su Rong was not moved at all. She coldly sent a wave of demonic energy to his restless hand and said, “Answer my question.”

“Hehe, what bad intentions could we sea demons have? We just find humans interesting and want to play with them a bit,” he said with a coquettish smile.

As soon as he finished speaking, his expression changed. A long sword materialized in his hand and he stabbed towards Su Rong. His eyes were desperate and fierce, as if making a last-ditch effort.

Su Rong frowned. This expression seemed oddly familiar.

She casually cut off the sea demon’s hand, and saw him turn into a wisp of black smoke, disappearing into the world.

Su Rong’s expression was cold as she stared at the point where he had disappeared for a long time, then turned and returned to the ship.