The spacious room was dimly lit with flickering shadows, punctuated only by the crisp clinking of glasses.
The four of them had grown up together and were extremely close. Moreover, with Dugu Yan occasionally teasing him, Li Xun had developed some special thoughts about her.
The reason he hadn't made a move was that he had seen through Dugu Yan's tendency to talk big without following through.
He wanted to see if her courage truly matched her usual bold demeanor.
As expected, after the incidents involving Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong, Dugu Yan seemed to have suddenly turned into an ostrich.
She stopped telling risqué jokes and no longer dared to whisper provocatively in his ear.
Was it really that terrifying? Li Xun was puzzled.
However, he had been quite busy lately and hadn't looked into it further.
A mouthful of spicy liquor went down, and Li Xun immediately felt a fiery trail that made him furrow his brows. "Sister Yan, why did you buy such strong liquor?"
"If I remember correctly, this should be your first time drinking, right?" Dugu Yan covered her mouth and giggled. "You'll get used to it."
This was indeed Li Xun's first time drinking alcohol since childhood, but he felt something was off.
It was too strong.
After one sip, he felt his entire body heating up.
Was he drinking pure alcohol? Li Xun looked at Dugu Yan with suspicion.
Otherwise, given his current cultivation and physique, why would he have such a noticeable reaction?
"Here, have a few bites of food, and you'll feel better."
Feeling she had laughed too unrestrainedly, Dugu Yan quickly pursed her lips, picked up her chopsticks, and served Li Xun a piece of Salted Chicken.
"Alright, it seems I'm just inexperienced." Li Xun chuckled, enjoying Dugu Yan's attentiveness while preparing to see what tricks this girl was up to.
But after the second and third glasses, he truly began to feel something unusual.
Heat.
If the earlier warmth was due to his body's unfamiliarity with alcohol, there was definitely a problem now.
At this moment, Li Xun felt his body temperature skyrocketing, his heart pounding wildly, as if an inexplicable fire was spreading through him. He quickly took off his jacket and then turned his focus inward to examine his condition.
Poisoned wine?
The thought flashed through Li Xun's mind but was immediately dismissed.
Not to mention his relationship with Dugu Bo and his granddaughter, anyone who knew he was immune to poison wouldn't try to harm him this way. Besides, his years of studying pharmacology hadn't been for nothing.
Li Xun withdrew his internal focus and looked at Dugu Yan. "Did you mix something into the wine? Did Grandpa Dugu give it to you?"
He had just checked his condition—everything seemed fine. Not just fine; his bodily functions were now stimulated, putting him in an extremely excited state.
This level of cellular activity was something he could only achieve partially even during combat.
For his body to react like this without being poisoned, there was only one type of drug that could do it—and not just any ordinary drug, as his constitution would quickly absorb it.
It must be some potent tonic the old man had specially concocted to target him.
Li Xun picked up the wine glass and examined it carefully. Sure enough, there was a faint yellowish tint in the liquor.
He looked into Dugu Yan's eyes. "Didn't Grandpa Dugu tell you the dosage?"
"What are you talking about?" Dugu Yan blinked, forcing herself to maintain eye contact with Li Xun.
"You'll soon understand what I mean."
Li Xun smiled, took off his clothes, and casually tossed them onto a nearby chair: "Do you remember what I told you on Seagod Island?"
"W-what?" Dugu Yan's gaze drifted nervously, unable to look in Li Xun's direction.
Li Xun walked over to Dugu Yan, placed a hand gently on her shoulder, and whispered softly in her ear: "I said, the more you provoke me, the more you'll suffer in the end."
Dugu Yan recalled that rainy night on Seagod Island and shuddered, a tingling sensation spreading through her body as she tightened her legs.
Her voice trembled slightly: "Y-you should be done drinking, right? If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
As she tried to stand up, Li Xun's large hand pressed down like a steel plate—though he didn't seem to exert much force, Dugu Yan found herself unable to rise.
Li Xun blew a warm breath into Dugu Yan's ear: "You've been here this long and only had three drinks with me. We haven't even talked properly—how can you leave like this?"
"Besides, you drank too. Why are you unaffected?"
Feeling the scorching heat near her ear, Dugu Yan shrank her neck in.
Her face instantly flushed like a ripe peach: "How would I know? Maybe you're allergic to alcohol?"
"Is that so?"
Li Xun kneaded Dugu Yan's shoulder with one hand while picking up the wine pot from the table with the other, examining it closely: "Oh? There's even a special little gadget."
Caught red-handed, panic flashed in Dugu Yan's eyes, and she immediately felt as if sitting on pins and needles.
She tried several times to stand but was held down. Just as she was about to speak, she felt her body lift lightly—scooped up by the waist.
"Ah!" Dugu Yan let out a startled cry.
Feeling the softness of the peach at his fingertips, Li Xun's eyes sparkled with amusement.
"Did he go to Zhu Zhuqing's place?" Ning Rongrong tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, wondering why Li Xun hadn't come today.
Once this thought emerged, she couldn't lie still anymore.
She bolted upright from the bed, hurriedly put on her shoes, threw on an outer garment, and headed for the door.
She still felt jealous about Zhu Zhuqing, but what was done was done. There were feelings involved, and all advantages had been taken—if she left in a huff, she'd feel it was a loss.
Fortunately, the three of them had reached an unspoken understanding, allowing them to coexist peacefully.
"That guy must have planned this long ago." The thought made Ning Rongrong somewhat irritated, feeling she had been outmaneuvered by Li Xun.
Ning Rongrong's room was adjacent to Li Xun's, but she didn't stop there and instead went to Zhu Zhuqing's door.
She stealthily pressed her ear against the door but heard no movement.
It had to be said, the soundproofing of rooms on the mainland was much better than on the island.
This thought inexplicably crossed Ning Rongrong's mind.
"Maybe he went out for something." After hesitating for a long time, Ning Rongrong finally knocked on the door. Soon, she heard the sound of the door opening.
"What's wrong, Rongrong?" Zhu Zhuqing rubbed her eyes.
"Nothing, really. I just wanted to chat since I had nothing to do. Since you're already asleep, I'll go." Ning Rongrong said apologetically.
Zhu Zhuqing became more alert and looked at Ning Rongrong with confusion.
According to their tacit agreement, Li Xun should have been in Ning Rongrong's room at this time, but now she was at her door—something must have happened.
However, she tactfully didn't press further and instead stepped aside: "It's fine, I'm awake now. Come in and sit for a while."
This made Ning Rongrong somewhat embarrassed to leave now.
The two entered the room and found themselves momentarily at a loss, unsure of what topic to begin their conversation with.
Fortunately, Zhu Zhuqing had a calmer disposition and forcibly steered the conversation toward cultivation topics. Gradually, they began to chat more naturally.
However, this atmosphere didn't last long, as faint noises occasionally drifted in from next door.
Though the sounds were soft, both were Soul Masters with considerable cultivation, so they naturally noticed the anomaly.
Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong exchanged a glance, immediately holding their breath and straining their ears to listen.
The room where the commotion was coming from happened to be Li Xun's.
Gradually, the sounds grew louder, and there even seemed to be pleas for mercy.
Phrases like "Gently," "Slow down," "It hurts..."
Their expressions shifted.
Zhu Zhuqing, blushing, remained silent and stole a glance at Ning Rongrong.
"Dugu Yan,"
Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth, her face flushed. "Who would have thought she'd sneak into Li Xun's room on her own? How shameless."
Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head and brushed aside a strand of her hair.
Compared to them, she really was lacking...
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