71: Failed defenses

As the night deepened, the chirping of cicadas outside the window was boiled weak by the muggy air.

Dormitory 301 was currently like an airtight steamer.

Without fans, let alone the air conditioners of later generations, the concrete walls had absorbed heat all day long during the day, and at night, they released it inward without reservation, baking the already cramped space even more feverishly.

Wang Fugui slept on the floor mat, becoming the largest heat source in this steamer.

His body temperature was already naturally high, and now he had become a walking human furnace. Sweat had just seeped out of his pores and was immediately evaporated by his body temperature, carrying that unique, overbearing masculine scent of his, permeating the air.

Under the catalysis of the high temperature, this scent evaporated more violently than ever before.

It was no longer that faint, ethereal temptation of the daytime, but had become a substantial, rich entity that could almost be grasped with one's hands. It filled every corner of the room, seeped into every inch of the bedding's fibers, and dominantly expelled all other odors from the air.

The entire room had taken on the scent of Wang Fugui.

Lin Xiaocao on the upper bunk had originally been holding onto the firm belief of "Tonight I'll keep watch and never let that fox spirit succeed," forcing her eyelids open.

But that familiar scent that could put her at ease had now become the most lethal hypnotic gas.

At first, she could still resist with willpower, pinching her palm and staring fixedly at Chen Yun's floor mat. But gradually, that scent enveloped her, entered her nostrils, and soothed her tense nerves.

Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and her head became groggy.

So sleepy... so hot... She felt as if she were soaking in a hot spring, her limbs stretching out, and all her vigilance and defenses crumbled in this warm and pleasant scent.

Finally, her willpower collapsed completely, her head tilted, and she fell into a deep sleep.

Even in her dreams, she felt a bit oxygen-deprived, her body instinctively curling up, unconsciously leaning towards the source of the scent that made her feel most comfortable—Wang Fugui's direction.

The hemp rope on her wrist was pulled taut, but it didn't make much sound. Her childish line of defense was vulnerable before biological instinct.

Chen Yun hadn't slept at all.

She lay on her side on the floor mat, her beautiful eyes shining startlingly bright in the darkness, her gaze burning as she stared at the robust body tossing and turning on the floor mat not far away.

The scent in the air made the fire inside her burn brighter and brighter.

The crazy feeling of having tasted the marrow last night was now clamoring repeatedly in her body. She felt her mouth go dry, and a wave of unbearable emptiness came from deep within her.

She needed him.

Now, immediately, right away.

She silently propped up her body, preparing to repeat her old trick and crawl onto his floor mat.

But as soon as she moved, she saw the slender arm hanging down from the upper bunk, and the hemp rope tied to the arm with the other end tied to the bedpost.

Lin Xiaocao's arm happened to be blocking the only path to Wang Fugui's floor mat.

Chen Yun's movements stopped, and her beautiful brows furrowed.

This little girl is really in the way.

And at this moment, Wang Fugui was experiencing the most painful ordeal of his life.

He couldn't sleep at all.

The feeling of weakness from his body being hollowed out hadn't completely faded, but that ultimate experience from last night replayed in his mind over and over. The fragrance on Chen Yun's body, that soft touch, that soul-consuming taste... his body had already developed a memory for this feeling.

As soon as he smelled that hint of mature body fragrance belonging to Chen Yun in the air, his body, which had just calmed down, began to heat up uncontrollably again.

"Form is emptiness, emptiness is form..."

Wang Fugui closed his eyes, frantically reciting in his heart the half-volume of the Diamond Sutra he had heard from the Old Temple Priest in the village.

He tried to use this method to suppress the beast inside him that was about to break through its cage.

But it was of no use at all!

Just as he was about to be driven mad, a very slight pressure suddenly came from his chest.

He stiffened all over.

Across a thin bedsheet.

It was Chen Yun!

Wang Fugui's heart skipped a beat instantly.

Through the thin quilt, Wang Fugui could clearly feel that amazing elasticity and delicate touch.

This completely ignited all the gunpowder in his body.

The Diamond Sutra, "form is emptiness"—everything was blown to pieces at this moment!

"You..."

He snapped his eyes open, squeezed a word out from between his teeth, and reached out to grab that mischievous ankle.

Her ankle was very slender, the flesh and bone well-proportioned, and the skin so smooth it was hard to hold.

Wang Fugui originally wanted to push her away forcefully, but as soon as his palm touched that warm and silky skin, his strength vanished without a trace.

Instead of being pushed away, Chen Yun used the strength of his grip to trace circles with her foot.

This Enchantress!

Wang Fugui's breathing instantly became heavy, and all the blood in his body rushed to his lower half. The string of his rationality was about to snap.

He even had a crazy thought: he wanted to pull this woman into his covers and fiercely... right at this critical moment!

"Squeak~"

A slight but exceptionally clear sound of metal friction rang out abruptly in the deathly silent room.

It was Lin Xiaocao on the upper bunk turning over in her sleep, pulling the hemp rope on her wrist and causing the old iron bed to let out a protest.

This sound was no different from a clap of thunder!

Wang Fugui snapped awake instantly.

Chen Yun's reaction was even faster than his; almost at the same time the sound rang out, that jade-like foot wreaking havoc on his chest withdrew like lightning.

Wang Fugui only felt his chest go empty, leaving only a hint of residual warmth and pressure.

With a stiff neck, he looked towards Chen Yun's floor mat.

The other party had already returned to a side-lying position, her breathing even and long, as if she had been sleeping soundly from the beginning and everything just now was merely his hallucination.

If not for the silky touch still lingering in his hand and the unique fragrance of that Enchantress still wafting around the tip of his nose, he really would have thought his lust had gone to his head and caused a hallucination.

This night, no one else fell asleep.

Wang Fugui stared with wide eyes, fixedly at the ceiling, his heart beating like a drum, not daring to close his eyes again.

He could feel that Chen Yun, on the other floor mat, was also awake.

In the darkness, two equally awake gazes seemed to meet and collide in the air, sparking invisible flames.

Only Lin Xiaocao on the upper bunk was completely unaware, hugging her quilt and sleeping with a sweet face, even a trace of glistening drool trickling from the corner of her mouth.

Ordeal.

Extreme ordeal.

When the first ray of morning light finally squeezed through the crack in the window, Wang Fugui felt as if he had died once.

He slowly sat up, feeling his eye sockets ache and his head buzzing.

Almost at the same time, Chen Yun also sat up.

The two looked at each other, both seeing the same heavy dark circles and an indescribable exhaustion on each other's faces.

And, hidden beneath the exhaustion, that unextinguished, surging undercurrent of fire.