288: The last two sentences...

A lingering, tender kiss, as if trying to make up for all the time spent apart.

After a long while, their lips parted, both of them breathing a little unevenly.

Li Shengyuan continued to hold Pei Shuyun's slender waist tightly, his hands moving up and down to prevent her from "vanishing into thin air" again, his gaze deep as he looked at her and asked once more:

"Now, can you tell me? Where have you been for this past year or more? What did you experience?"

Pei Shuyun lay in his arms, panting slightly, sensing the persistence and refusal to be evaded in his words, knowing she could no longer be vague this time.

She lifted her hazy eyes and said softly: "After you and the Prince of Yan left Prince Yans Mansion, the situation in the Northern Territory was settled, and there was no point in me staying there, so... I quietly returned to my Family."

"Family?"

Li Shengyuan frowned slightly. He had never heard Pei Shuyun mention her background in detail, only knowing she was not a native of the Northern Territory, and that her Family was not to be underestimated, though it was not well-known.

"Which Family? Why..."

"Don't be impatient, let me explain slowly." Pei Shuyun extended a slender finger and pressed it gently against his lips, cutting off his questioning.

She adjusted her posture to lean more comfortably in his arms, even guiding Li Shengyuan's large hand to move in more comfortable places.

She then continued: "After returning to the Family, I went into secluded cultivation, almost completely cut off from the outside world."

"But even so, news of you seemed to grow wings, constantly reaching my ears."

Her voice gradually took on a hint of reminiscence and emotion, and her eyes lit up:

"I heard that you completely purged the remnants of the Prince of Yan in the Northern Territory and stabilized the border..."

"I heard that Outside the Pass at Shanhai Pass, you crushed the Demon-Barbarian Allied Army, slew the enemy general in battle, and even more, I heard that you... actually used thunderous momentum to slay a Second Grade Demon Lord who had been a scourge for many years!"

With every matter she mentioned, the radiance in her eyes grew brighter, and the admiration in her tone became increasingly evident:

"Later, you went south to Jiangnan, quelled rebellions, swept away the demonic cult forces, slew consecutive Demon Lords, and even traveled far overseas to subdue the Immortal Islands..."

"One after another, every time I heard these things, my heart surged with emotion, finding it hard to believe, yet I had to believe it."

She lifted her face, and the gaze she directed at Li Shengyuan carried unconcealed amazement, as well as a hint of quietly growing admiration:

"Shengyuan... you really... achieved too many things that ordinary people wouldn't even dare to imagine. You are now a powerhouse who truly stands at the pinnacle of the world."

Li Shengyuan listened quietly, able to feel that attention and sincerity in her words.

He smiled slightly, not becoming complacent because of these praises, simply stroking her beautiful hair gently.

Pei Shuyun rested her head back on his shoulder, her tone carrying a hint of relieved lightness:

"It wasn't until some time ago that I went through many hardships and finally managed to make a Breakthrough to the Third Grade Realm, which allowed me to leave the Family."

"I came to the capital alone, and my heart was actually very anxious... I was afraid you had already forgotten this old acquaintance of yours, afraid that there was now a world of difference between you and me."

"I didn't expect... you not only still remember me, but were also willing to come see me. This trip was not in vain after all!"

Once these words were spoken, Li Shengyuan could see that Pei Shuyun's eyes had brightened significantly, and he shook his head with a laugh:

"In your eyes, am I, Li Shengyuan, such a heartless and unrighteous person?"

He paused, his tone carrying a touch of playfulness, "It is you, on the other hand, who left without saying goodbye. It seems you don't want those remaining two lines of poetry? Then forget it."

Sure enough, the moment poetry was mentioned, Pei Shuyun became anxious, no longer caring about any sentimental melancholy.

Grabbing his lapels, she quickly said coquettishly: "I want it! Naturally, I want it! I have been thinking about those lines for a long time, tell me quickly!"

Watching her eager appearance, Li Shengyuan laughed inwardly, but feigned indifference on the surface, speaking slowly and deliberately:

"You disappeared without a sound for so long, and now you want the poem the moment you open your mouth. Where in the world is there such a cheap deal?"

He looked at her with burning eyes, implying something: "If you want it, you must exchange something for it."

Pei Shuyun was stunned at first, then met his deep, smiling eyes and instantly understood his meaning.

Her cheeks couldn't help but flush red again, her eyes becoming watery and alluring, and her delicate body twisted unconsciously in his arms, appearing even more seductive.

She bit her lower lip, her flowing gaze brimming with charm, and she asked back in a soft, melting voice:

"Then... I wonder what Lord Li wants me to exchange it with?"

Without waiting for Li Shengyuan to answer, she stood on tiptoe and took the initiative to offer a sweet kiss. This kiss carried a sense of ingratiation and temptation, unprecedentedly hot and extremely lingering.

She even actively moved her clothes and skirt, helping Li Shengyuan fiddle with Shuyun's peaks, the atmosphere becoming incredibly lewd for a moment.

A moment later, she pulled away slightly, her breathing unstable, looking at him with eyes brimming with passion, and asked coquettishly:

"Is this... enough to exchange for it?"

Li Shengyuan felt the lingering fragrance and softness between his lips and teeth, watching her charming posture, which carried a hint of ingratiation at this moment.

He feared that if he wanted to right now, there would be no problem with eating the meat directly.

He laughed heartily, no longer keeping her in suspense, leaned down to her ear, and with a deep voice and a gaze full of reminiscence, slowly recited the long-awaited last two lines:

"If not for meeting on the peak of Qunyu Mountain, we would meet under the moon at the Jade Terrace."

The moment the lines fell, Pei Shuyun's delicate body trembled violently, her beautiful eyes widening instantly, filled with ineffable shock and intoxication.

These two lines of poetry compared her beauty to a peerless appearance that could only be seen at the Jade Terrace or the peak of Qunyu Mountain in the Immortal Realm, the Concept ethereal and distant, the praise reaching its extreme.

"If not for meeting on the peak of Qunyu Mountain, we would meet under the moon at the Jade Terrace..."

She unconsciously repeated it in a low voice, her whole being seemingly immersed in the Concept of this extremely romantic poetry, the gaze she directed at Li Shengyuan so soft it could almost drip water.

For over a year, she had thought about it for a long time, but could never write the last two lines that satisfied her.

Now, she had finally gotten her wish!