305: Chapter 305 The jade bed is icy cold, but you'd better warm it up for me.

Xu Ruyu walked to the bedside and lifted the soft quilt. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he turned his head and said to Xiao Nianyin: "Oh, there is one more thing. The bed is a bit cold; you, go in and warm the bed for me."

"Warm... warm the bed?!"

Xiao Nianyin jerked her head up, the anger in her eyes that had just calmed down flared up again, even more intensely than before!

If scrubbing her back and massaging her feet could barely be understood as "service" or "treatment," then warming the bed completely exceeded her bottom line of acceptance, carrying an explicit implication of personal possession and intimacy!

"Xu Ruyu! Is it necessary for you to humiliate me like this?!"

She finally couldn't hold it in, her voice trembling with irrepressible anger. It was as if ice crystals were congealing in her ice-blue eyes.

"Even if I, Xiao Nianyin, have fallen on hard times, I was once a Sect Master, a Saint Realm Cultivator! You..."

"Humiliate you?" Xu Ruyu interrupted her. The smile on his face faded, replaced by an inscrutable, knowing expression.

"This is called humiliating you? Grand Sect Master Xiao, have you forgotten who it was back in Ningyin Hall that would secretly crawl into my bed every night to 'heal' using that method? At that time, why didn't you say you were humiliating yourself?"

"Boom!" Xiao Nianyin felt her mind go blank, followed immediately by an overwhelming sense of shame!

Xu Ruyu's words were like a red-hot branding iron, searing fiercely into her most hidden and unbearable memories!

On those nights, in order to absorb the strange vitality within Xu Ruyu to stabilize her Origin, she had indeed... indeed taken the initiative to have intimate contact with him.

That was an undeniable fact!

A flush instantly spread across her stunningly beautiful face down to her neck, and even her exposed, delicate collarbones were tinged with a shade of pink.

She was so ashamed and furious she wanted to die. Angry and anxious, yet unable to refute him, she could only glare at Xu Ruyu with eyes that seemed to be spitting fire yet were filled with watery luster. Her cheeks puffed out slightly from clenching her teeth.

Xu Ruyu looked at her, so ashamed and angry, looking like a little punching bag, and suddenly found it somewhat amusing.

He stepped forward, reached out a finger, and actually poked Xiao Nianyin's puffed-out cheek. It felt smooth and was very elastic.

"Tsk, what's wrong? A little pufferfish? Getting all puffed up after just a few words?" Xu Ruyu teased. "If those old lechers like Situ E saw you like this, I wonder how they would react? They'd probably have their eyeballs pop out and fight tooth and nail to snatch you back to 'cherish' you properly, wouldn't they?"

When he mentioned Situ E, a flash of cold killing intent and disgust crossed Xiao Nianyin's eyes, but it was immediately replaced by even deeper shame and annoyance.

Xu Ruyu withdrew his finger and pointed at the bed, his tone becoming unquestionable. "Alright, stop glaring. Quickly, warm the bed. This was a rule set by Fairy Qing Tian back then; you just need to do as you're told. This Sect Master is tired today and wants to rest early."

He once again brought up the great figure of Old Ancestor Qingtian. Although Old Ancestor Qingtian's original words might not have been so blunt, they had indeed implied Xiao Nianyin's "belonging" and "responsibility" back then.

Xiao Nianyin's chest heaved violently. Looking at Xu Ruyu's nonchalant demeanor, she thought of her own cultivation, the current state of Hehuan Sect, and those enemies eyeing her like tigers...

In the end, all her pride, anger, and shame dissolved into an almost inaudible sigh, filled with endless grievance and resignation.

Warm the bed then... anyway... anyway, she and he had already... done that. What difference would one more time make? As long as she could restore her cultivation and revitalize the Hehuan Sect, she would endure this bit of humiliation for now.

She stopped looking at Xu Ruyu, lowered her head, and walked to the bedside. With somewhat stiff movements, she took off her outer skirt and shoes, wearing only a thin, nearly transparent silk nightgown. Then, she quickly dove into the quilt, wrapped herself up tightly, and curled into a ball, facing away from Xu Ruyu.

Xu Ruyu looked at the lump under the quilt and the small tuft of ice-blue hair exposed outside, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

He didn't get into bed immediately but sat down at the desk. By the light of the bright Moonstone, he reviewed the manuscript of the "Qi Induction and Micro-Movement Art" for a while longer, pondering a few details.

After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, he estimated that the bed should be warm enough. Only then did he stand up, blow out the lamp, and walk to the bedside.

Lifting a corner of the quilt, a wave of warm air mixed with the unique, cold, and faint fragrance of Xiao Nianyin rushed toward him. The bed was indeed already nice and warm.

Xiao Nianyin felt him lie down, and her body instantly tensed up like a startled little beast.

Xu Ruyu made no further moves; he simply lay down comfortably, pulled up the quilt, and closed his eyes. Soon, the sound of steady breathing rang out.

He was truly tired.

In the darkness, Xiao Nianyin's tense body slowly relaxed. She remained facing away from Xu Ruyu, eyes open, staring at the blurred outline of the wall in the dark. In her ice-blue eyes, emotions were complex and hard to decipher.

There was humiliation, unwillingness, and a hint of indescribable strangeness. Perhaps, there was also a tiny bit of reliance on this fleeting warmth and peace that even she herself was unwilling to admit?

Listening to Xu Ruyu's steady breathing beside her and feeling the body heat radiating from him in the quilt, Xiao Nianyin's chaotic thoughts gradually calmed down. She slowly closed her eyes and also tried to fall asleep.

The night deepened. Inside Tingquan Residence, there was only the faint sound of the spirit spring waterfall and the intermingling breathing sounds of the two.

Ordering and being ordered, control and dependence—in this silent night, they formed a subtle and fragile balance.

And Xu Ruyu seemed to be becoming more and more adept at ordering this former Saint Realm Sect Master around, with things gradually getting into a rhythm.