256: Chapter 36 Young Master, how could you...

Meng Li remained noncommittal regarding A Zi's request to accompany them to Manda Mountain Villa.

Wang Yuyan, however, readily agreed.

Because A Zi was very good at reading people and coaxing them—simply put, she was a flatterer—she not only won Wang Yuyan's favor but was equally liked by Li Qingluo.

This was also why she could freely enter Manda Mountain Villa to find Wang Yuyan.

Wang Yuyan agreed to let A Zi follow along, thinking that if Li Qingluo got angry later, the girl could help smooth things over.

As it turned out, Wang Yuyan's move was very wise.

Since she returned late, Li Qingluo's face was covered in dark clouds, as if thunder and rain could strike at any moment.

Looking at the guilt-ridden Wang Yuyan, she said coldly, "I sent you to give word, and you only return now? I thought you were staying there for the night."

Wang Yuyan wanted to explain but didn't know how to start.

Although she had changed somewhat, her essence was still that of a 'good girl'; she couldn't simply let lies roll off her tongue.

Seeing this, Meng Li spoke up: "Aunt, it's not Yu Yan's fault. I had quite a few matters to handle, which is why we arrived late."

"I'll penalize myself with three cups."

Having said that, he took the wine flask from the table, poured, and drank three cups in a row.

Seeing this, Li Qingluo's expression finally shifted from overcast to merely cloudy.

A Zi's eyes darted around, and she quickly followed up with a few coaxing words, turning the clouds into sunshine.

Afterward, the group took their seats and began the feast.

Li Qingluo began to ask Meng Li about his trip.

Meng Li picked out some key points and interesting anecdotes to tell.

After listening, Li Qingluo also felt a sense of strangeness regarding Wu Ya Zi and the Old Woman of Tian Shan being together, even more so than Wang Yuyan.

After all, Wang Yuyan was a generation removed from Wu Ya Zi, whereas she was the biological daughter of Wu Ya Zi and Li Qiu Shui.

But thinking of the history between Wu Ya Zi and Li Qiu Shui, her own experience of being abandoned, and her abnormal relationship with Meng Li, Li Qingluo immediately cast that sense of strangeness to the back of her mind. These messy affairs were already chaotic and bizarre enough; a little more weirdness didn't matter.

By the time the stories were finished, the feast was also mostly over.

Outside, the Jade Rabbit—the moon—had already begun to rise.

Meng Li simply decided to stay in a guest room at Manda Mountain Villa.

Once in the guest room, he settled in briefly, pondering whether to go discuss the 'debt issue' with Li Qingluo. Unexpectedly, before he could decide, he sensed someone approaching.

Before long, he heard Wang Yuyan's soft call outside the door: "Cousin, are you asleep?"

"Not yet," Meng Li responded, getting up to open the door.

Outside the door, Wang Yuyan stood gracefully, holding a tray with a bowl of soup on it.

Wang Yuyan explained, "Cousin, I saw you drank quite a bit of wine earlier, so I went to prepare a bowl of Sobering Soup."

Meng Li nodded slightly and stepped aside to let her in.

After Wang Yuyan brought the soup inside and set it down, Meng Li closed the door and reached out to pull her into his arms.

Wang Yuyan gave him a playful glare and said softly, "Drink the Sobering Soup first, otherwise it will get cold."

Meng Li cupped her face and chuckled, "I want to drink it mouth-to-mouth."

Wang Yuyan was stunned. Once she understood his meaning, her flawless jade-like face was instantly covered in a red flush; she was shy, joyful, and annoyed all at once, her heart pounding wildly.

She felt a bit embarrassed but didn't want to refuse her lover's wish, so she finally reached for the bowl on the table.

At that moment, Li Qingluo's voice came from outside.

"Fu'er, is Yu Yan with you?"

Wang Yuyan trembled in fright and quickly withdrew her hand, rising from Meng Li's arms to start tidying her clothes which had been ruffled by the embrace.

This posture was exactly like a primary school student caught doing something bad.

Meng Li smiled, then spoke to respond to Li Qingluo: "She is. She just brought me some Sobering Soup."

As he spoke, he tidied himself slightly and turned to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, Li Qingluo cast a scrutinizing gaze over them.

Seeing nothing amiss with the two of them, she withdrew her gaze and said to Wang Yuyan, "Now that the soup is delivered, go back and rest. It's late; a lone man and a lone woman in the same room is improper if word gets out."

"I understand, Mother," Wang Yuyan answered softly.

"Mm," Li Qingluo acknowledged, then turned to Meng Li. "You should also rest early. I'm taking Yu Yan back to her room."

Meng Li nodded.

Once Li Qingluo and Wang Yuyan had left, he turned his gaze toward another direction and leaped forward.

In an instant, Meng Li rose into the air, like a ghost wandering at night, silently flitting over the courtyard wall to pursue a vigorous figure in purple.

In just a few breaths, he quietly bypassed the other person and stood ahead on their path.

The purple figure noticed him and slammed on the brakes.

"Young Master Master, why are you here?" The purple figure was none other than A Zi.

"What do you think?" Meng Li asked instead of answering, his gaze playful.

A Zi felt guilty inside, but on the surface, she laughed it off. "How should I know? I was just..."

Before she could finish, she was snatched up under Meng Li's arm in a sudden strike and carried into the air.

By the time she recovered from the shock, she found herself in the guest room where Meng Li was staying.

A Zi suddenly had a bad premonition and hurriedly tried to explain: "Young Master Master, I..."

"Was it a good show?" Meng Li interrupted her explanation directly, then added with a smile, "Earlier, in the garden of Canhe Village."

A Zi's blank expression instantly froze; she felt both ashamed and nervous, not knowing how to answer for a moment.

"Want to try?" Meng Li leaned in and asked with a half-smile.

A Zi: "??"

Try what?

In the next second, she understood.

Because Meng Li reached out to pinch her chin and lowered his head to seal her lips.

...

After a long time, their lips parted.

Looking at the red-faced and breathless A Zi, Meng Li teased with a smile, "Your breath-holding technique isn't quite up to par."

A Zi retorted, "It's not that, I just wasn't prepared."

As soon as she said it, she realized something was wrong, because that wasn't the point. The point was...

"Young Master Master, how could you..."

"You didn't like it?"

A Zi: "..."

Out of a sense of modesty, she wanted to say she didn't like it, but the honesty of her body made it impossible to deny. That feeling just now was something she had never experienced; it was very stimulating, leaving her head spinning as if she were floating on clouds. She was nervous yet reluctant to leave, completely captivated.

She also knew what that behavior meant, but she didn't resist; instead, she was half-willing.

She knew she couldn't resist, but more than that, from the bottom of her heart, she didn't really want to.

Because the person doing it was Meng Li.

Regarding Meng Li, A Zi's feelings were very complex.

When they first met, she only thought he was handsome and from an extraordinary family.

Upon learning that he had easily taken down the great Devil Head Ding Chunqiu, she developed a certain admiration for his strength.

By the time she reunited with her sister A Zhu, A Zi felt an added sense of gratitude toward Meng Li.

It was true that she had a wild nature, but she knew good from bad.

This "good and bad" wasn't in the conventional sense of good and evil, but rather what was beneficial or harmful to her.

Especially after being kept at Canhe Village, she had tried to escape several times and failed. Meng Li only administered slight punishments, like an adult dealing with a naughty child, and never truly hurt her.

This made A Zi certain that Meng Li was truly good to her.

However, his goodness wasn't directed at her alone.

This made A Zi feel annoyed, yet she was helpless.

Because compared to A Zhu and A Bi, she was a latecomer, and Wang Yuyan went without saying.

Furthermore, their Martial Arts were also superior to hers.

In her helplessness, A Zi could only use her own methods to vie for favor: secretly watching Meng Li, taking him as her master, using the strange title "Young Master Master," and hovering around Wang Yuyan. All these behaviors were intended to capture Meng Li's attention.

Gradually, she had fallen for him...