Chapter Thirty-Four: Indulgence

“This is basically a hedgehog!”
Ye Han dodged in a sorry state.

With each passing moment, Luan Shuangyu’s command of her own strength far surpassed what it had been at the beginning. Ye Han had never imagined she could unlock the ninth layer of the gene lock. In genetic engineering, the first three layers are manageable enough, mostly supplementing species genes. But by the fourth layer, one was already beyond the realm of humanity, the entire body like cast iron. Combine that with lethal combat techniques or weaponry, and on the battlefield, such a person was nothing short of a scythe wielded by Death. Rather than carbon-based, they were more like biochemical warriors. No, even among biochemical warriors of the same level, none could compare to those who had unlocked the gene lock, for unlocking the gene lock was a transformation of the self, carrying independent will, while biochemical soldiers were nothing but mindless experiments.

Upon reaching the fifth layer, a human’s cells gained a devouring ability. The deeper the gene lock was unlocked, the stronger this ability became, and the more varied the energies or substances that could be consumed. Depending on what was devoured, the cells would evolve in different directions, and as the development deepened, so too grew the ability to control the assimilated matter. For example, at the fifth layer, if one devoured enough iron, they could eventually control that very element. Luan Shuangyu was now borrowing the powers of someone who had unlocked the ninth gene lock. At such a level, although not quite able to regenerate from a single drop of blood, as long as the brain remained intact, survival was still possible.

“Are you done yet?!”
Luan Shuangyu’s rebuke was sharp, eyes blazing with fury and an aura of lethal intent. To her, Ye Han was simply playing the rogue. Borrowing this power, her body had grown so tough that Ye Han’s attacks felt like nothing more than a tickle. But her clothes were not so lucky—tattered and barely clinging to her, exposing her in a sudden burst of springtime.

“Not done!”
Ye Han’s voice was hoarse as he replied, narrowly evading her strike. At this point, every time he teleported, his next step would barely land before she was upon him. The more precariously Luan Shuangyu’s clothes hung, the more feverish Ye Han felt, a pink haze drifting from him and dissipating in the air. His consciousness was growing ever more muddled.

There were even one or two instances where he clearly had the chance to bring his blade down on her neck, but at the last instant, his hand inexplicably shifted, the edge striking instead upon the rocky peak.

A hiss—
Luan Shuangyu felt a chill.
Had her defense been breached?
How could such an attack break her defenses? She looked down in disbelief, only to see a thin line of blood seeping from the stone at the peak. The wound was negligible, but it was there!

“Ye Han!”
She ground his name between her teeth. Usually… usually, even she herself couldn’t bear to touch that precious part of herself, and now he had broken the skin! She wished she could tear him apart.

But looking out, the entire seventh floor was shrouded in mist. Dozens of false forms, conjured by the fog, hid within, impossible to tell real from fake. It felt as though countless Ye Hans were watching her.

“How can you be so shameless!”
Her eyes reddened, tears misting her gaze. But just as her heart faltered, the pink haze drifting from Ye Han silently entered her body. Suddenly, she felt a strange, itchy restlessness within her, an urge to vent, a desire to slap Ye Han to death...

…

“Wait, something’s not right!”
Inside the secret passage beneath the ruins of King Yue’s residence, Gu Xiaoying, once she calmed down, began to sense something amiss.
“Love’s Heaven, Sin’s Sea?”
She tilted her head, nibbling on her pinky, lost in thought.
Why had that phrase slipped into her curse?
She was momentarily dazed; she’d been so focused on enacting the curse that she’d missed its true content.
Love’s heaven, sin’s sea—it meant overwhelming passion, the abyss of sin; both sides sinking deep into the sea of desire.
How could that be a curse?
If the target had a beauty at his side, wouldn’t she have gone too far?
Gu Xiaoying angrily waved her tiny fists, pounding the air: “Impossible! He’s a slaver, all he has around him are those Xiyuan natives!”
“Even if there are females, they’re not worthy of him!”
At the thought, she suddenly giggled: “A bondholder and a Xiyuan native… Hahaha, if she’s a virgin, and her first time goes to a native, I wonder how he’ll react. He’d be disgusted for life!”
Instantly, her mood improved.
If he died during the college entrance trial, his consciousness would be forever trapped on the Bonded Planet.
If that happened, wouldn’t it be perfect?
Eternal savoring over endless years!
She giggled foolishly.
Since gaining this talent, aside from a misstep the first time that let that demoness benefit, everything else had gone smoothly.
Though, it seemed that demoness really hated those two soft, white lumps…

…

The world is like a copper furnace; after enduring the flames and countless tempers, some stand tall atop green hills, while others kneel in the depths of the underworld, forever divided between light and darkness, the paths of man and ghost never crossing again.

At this moment, Ye Han appeared to Luan Shuangyu as a ghoul, fierce and monstrous.
But strangely, her attacks became softer and softer.
She could hardly look at him, turning her head aside, and said, “Ye Han, neither of us can defeat the other. Why don’t we call it a draw, just for today?”

“A draw?”
Ye Han’s muddled mind cleared a little. “Impossible. After all that’s happened, you won’t spare me, and only one of us can leave here alive!”
He was gasping for breath, his consciousness blurred as he lifted his hand and brushed it across Luan Shuangyu’s neck.
His blade—he couldn’t even remember when he had thrown it away during those endless teleports.

Feeling the warmth on her swan-like neck, Luan Shuangyu’s heart was thrown into disarray.
A strange sense of loss welled up in her.
Could it be an illusion?
Her cheeks flushed, she lowered her head in silence.
Ye Han continued to run his hand across her.
In his dazed state, he had even forgotten to use his talents, just stood there, blankly, before her.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll turn on you…?”
Her gaze was misty as she looked at him, dazed as if she’d returned to infancy, when she had been her parents’ treasured child—her mother carefully tending her, her father’s gentle voice—but after her first birthday, everything had changed overnight.
She recalled those long, dark, cold years.
With a bitter smile, she felt tears threaten.
Struggling, she lifted her eyelids, gazing at the staggering boy in front of her who shouted that he would kill her.
It was as if she saw herself.
She could have resisted, but stubbornness held her fast.
Perhaps… perhaps she should let go for a moment?
Strange, but a voice inside her kept urging her on.
She felt unwell, deeply unsettled.

…

Ye Han’s hands wandered aimlessly.
Oddly, this time, on that fierce face, Luan Shuangyu saw a hint of stubbornness—so foolish as to be endearing.
He couldn’t even break through her defenses.
She bit her lip and smiled dreamily.

…

Outside the Sutra Library, night had deepened.
But within, the air seemed inexplicably heated.
The two who had fought so desperately now seemed to have been poisoned, their very souls numbed.
Ye Han, in a trance, felt as if he were drunk, stunned by the beauty before him.
The quiet face radiated girlish innocence, and the deep sadness in her eyes seemed, for a moment, to vanish.
Poison?
Perhaps it was the key to igniting the passion of life.
Everything else was forgotten.
Ye Han bent down and pressed his lips to her snowy swan neck.
Luan Shuangyu’s hands mischievously played with his tousled hair.
Forehead to forehead, their breaths mingled, and whenever their eyes met, they would shyly look away in perfect synchrony.
Something had changed, a subtle intimacy blossomed between them.
In this intoxicating atmosphere, time slipped by unnoticed.

Though Ye Han had lived two lives and was mature in mind, his body was that of a sixteen-year-old boy, untouched and brimming with youthful vigor. With his mind clouded, he could no longer control his reactions.
At this moment, his body was beyond his command.
He reached out, pulling Luan Shuangyu into his arms, his mouth brushing close to her ear as he whispered, “You… you’re beautiful.”
He felt bewildered—this body must be bewitched, for these were not the words he meant to say.
Luan Shuangyu shuddered, unable to bear the heat of his breath. Her head turned aside, but her left foot, thrown off by nervousness, twisted, causing her to lose her balance and fall sideways.
Ye Han, caught off guard, could only slide his hands down, gripping her waist and pulling her tightly into his embrace.
It was a classic bear hug—chest to chest, waists and legs pressed together, no space left between them.
His hands, clutching her at the hips, happened to land on the most sensitive place.
The impact was sudden and fierce, hard and soft, scorching and electrifying, flooding both of them in an instant.
Luan Shuangyu threw her head back, a soft moan escaping her throat.
Ye Han bent down, gently kissing, tearing away the tattered remnants of cloth.
What met his eyes was as lustrous as the finest mutton-fat jade.
Her starry eyes half-closed, Luan Shuangyu threaded her fingers through his hair, pressing his head down to keep him from moving, a single, clear tear sliding from the corner of her eye. “After tonight, I will kill you.”
Ye Han lifted his head and wiped away her tears.
He drew his finger across her nose, then lightly traced her red lips.
“Next time, I’ll definitely break through your defenses.”
Unbidden, Luan Shuangyu extended her delicate tongue, licking the trace of moisture from his fingertip.
Ye Han was utterly bewitched by her seductive expression.
As the poem goes:
Clear river, stately trees of Hanyang,
Meadows lush and green as Parrot Island,
Grass still grows, the oasis ripples—
Only the great trees remain to touch the sky.

Unwittingly, Ye Han’s talent for chaos awakened.
He bent toward her, and Luan Shuangyu yielded in gentle response.
This time, he wagered everything, hoping to trigger true damage.

… (Ten thousand words omitted.)
…
(Please collect, please recommend. It took me five hours to write just 3000 words. I’ve checked this chapter five times—there are no sensitive words or content, and I think it’s very warm and wholesome. There’s nothing explicit—after all, I don’t have a license.)