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"So sleeping with you carries the risk of shortening my life..."

"Hmm, who knows?" At this point, Jinyue curled into a smile, amused.

She raised her face and, like Yunjin before, first nuzzled Yino's neck affectionately, then gradually moved up to give him a highly symbolic goodnight kiss.

"If you had truly forced your way in just now, I wouldn't have resisted..."

"The difference is whether you trust your own strength or the sincerity of my kiss just now."

After kissing him, she licked her lips and smiled seductively in the moonlight, her enchanting eyes appearing incredibly attractive to Yino.

Her meaning was probably that she would give what was due eventually, but if Yino wanted to take it by force, she wouldn't stop him.

"Never mind, you're a fox demon. I trust that you understand the innate charming Physique better."

"I've been planning to conserve my energy these days anyway. I was just curious and testing your true reaction because you've been holding back from me."

Yino sighed with relief and turned back to lie in the center of the three-meter bed.

But before he could lie down for long, he turned his head suspiciously to look at the girl's still-flushed profile: "But how do you know that practicing with you would drain my true energy and cause addiction?"

When he said this, Jinyue turned her head as well.

She blinked, feeling puzzled but then seemed to guess something, and laughed: "To ask such a boring question, you're either making small talk, or you think I might have discovered the characteristics of my innate charming Physique by testing on other men before you?"

"..."

The atmosphere fell into silence.

Yino was speechless, realizing it was somewhat stupid, like asking why the innate charming Physique was so powerful, and Jinyue answering that it's powerful because it's the innate charming Physique.

And besides this boring meaning, there was only Jinyue's conjecture just now.

"Alright..."

"You're so clever. Can't you think more positively?"

At some point, Jinyue took the initiative to break the awkward atmosphere.

As she spoke, she moved closer, lifting her leg over Yino's abdomen while pulling his arm to pillow her face.

"Yino, I've seen it all along. You're always extremely wary of every woman around you, and you always use absolute rationality to assess their value to you..."

"But actually, you just lack a sense of security. You're afraid I don't really like you, afraid I wasn't pure before you, afraid I might be hiding something and betraying you..."

Jinyue spoke softly, her eyes gradually drooping with fatigue.

For Jinyue, who was born in the Western Region and experienced the destruction of her family from a young age, she could really understand Yino's mindset. She too had once been extremely vigilant toward everyone around her.

But the essence of this self-defense was the fear of loss, which prevented one from easily developing feelings for someone they liked.

Jinyue once had this mindset too.

But having seen and experienced much, Jinyue gradually became more positive and cheerful.

Because... She had already lost everything.

She just wanted to live in the moment and leave no regrets in her life.

When she confessed to Yino in the Azure Forest, Jinyue herself wasn't even sure if these feelings were love.

But it didn't matter. Jinyue didn't care. In that moment of confrontation with Yino, she just followed her feelings and stood on tiptoe to kiss him.

Compared to those who carry pressure and think carefully about everything they do, Jinyue seemed much more frivolous. After all, no one in this world truly cared about her, so why should she consider others' feelings in what she did?

"Shouldn't I be like that?" Meeting Jinyue's sincere gaze, Yino hesitantly asked.

Jinyue was right, but even with these words laid out, Yino still didn't see any problem.

His previous life had been full of regrets, and he had died pathetically in front of a computer game...

Now that he had been reborn, Yino cherished his new life. Even if Jinyue confessed to him, he still didn't dare to develop feelings for these dangerous women.

Yino feared his new life would be filled with regrets.

If Yino's feelings for Jinyue were always just casual, then no matter how Jinyue might betray him in the future, Yino wouldn't feel heartbroken. After all, they were just playing around.

Wasn't this insurance a good thing?

Yino wasn't like Jinyue. He truly didn't dare take that brave first step, which was why he always found himself drawn to pure and innocent girls like Yunjin or Jinyu.

Because they were simple and easy to understand, Yino wasn't afraid of being betrayed by them one day.

"But sometimes, the feeling of a pounding heart can't be measured by value! You should follow your heart. After all this time, don't you have any feelings for me at all?" Jinyue bit her lip lightly, still unwilling to give up as she asked.

Yino fell into deep thought, his eyes avoiding hers, but eventually nodded obediently: "I think I do have feelings..."

"Then let me ask you this: if one day I were to defy the Mandate of Heaven and be captured by the Celestial Master and imprisoned in the heavenly prison, would you oppose the entire Heavenly Way to save me?"

When she asked this question, Jinyue's clear eyes trembled slightly.

But this time, Yino answered without much hesitation, which was unexpected:

"I would."

"See! You clearly like me! Otherwise, how could a purely self-interested person be willing to oppose the entire Heavenly Way for a fox demon you slept with?" Jinyue hit upon the truth, and her face moved closer to Yino's mouth.

Yino couldn't escape her gaze and could only nod on the surface while his mind raced with thoughts.

"Alright, it's getting late. Let's go to sleep," Jinyue finally got a satisfying response.

She smiled and went up to kiss Yino again:

"Yino, I truly like you. Though it began with an impulse, I'm still devoted to every moment of our story together over these past six months."

"Hmm..."

"Is that all you have to say?"

"What else should I say?"

"Haven't you noticed that you've never said 'I like you' to me?"

"Oh... I... like you too..."

"You don't sound decisive enough!"

"Jinyue, I like you."

"I didn't hear clearly. Come closer to my ear and say it again!"

The foxgirl crossed her arms, her blushing face puffing up.

Yino took a deep breath, turned over and pressed her beneath him. Meeting the foxgirl's somewhat caught-off-guard eyes, Yino lowered his brow and gently bit her earlobe, licking with the tip of his tongue: "Jinyue, I like you."

"You're awful..."

"..."

"I like you too."

...

...

...

The next morning, Yino woke up early as usual.

He sat up, and the two girls on either side of his pillow were still sound asleep.

When she sensed Yino moving, Yunjin, who had fallen asleep earliest and slept most soundly, was the first to open her drowsy eyes.

She glanced at Yino, about to struggle up from her sweet dream, but was gently pushed back onto her soft little pillow by Yino's hands on her shoulders.

"It's still early. Sleep a bit more."

"I'm going upstairs to discuss business with the head of the Hundred Spirits Pavilion. You stay in the room and catch up on sleep, have breakfast and such. I'll come back in a few hours and take you around the Western Province City."

Yino's tone was gentle, like a lullaby, making the half-asleep Yunjin feel at ease.

She nodded obediently, and as Yino tucked her in, Yunjin returned to her unfinished sweet dreams.

However, after comforting Yunjin, when Yino focused his gaze on the similarly sleeping red foxgirl to his right, his eyes held much less tenderness and affection.

He stared at Jinyue's sleeping face in silence for a while.

But this little fox was sleeping deeply, perhaps because Yino had forcefully drained her energy last night.

There was no help for it.

Yino needed to bring Jinyue when meeting the head of the Hundred Spirits Pavilion, so now he had to find a way to wake her up—

"Mmm~?"

As Yino's hand reached under the covers, expertly finding and precisely grasping his target in the darkness.

At the same time, the red foxgirl instinctively let out a happy breath in her sleep.

Her face reddened slightly as she twisted her body under the covers, but Yino's two fingers kept pinching steadily.

Seeing Jinyue still wasn't waking up, he gently rubbed his fingertips, increasing the friction.

Just moments later...

As the girl under the covers suddenly trembled, Yino proceeded to the final step—using the friction to inject a wisp of spiritual energy into the soil beneath the pod.

"Mmm—!!!"

Instantly, Jinyue groaned and awakened from her dream. As her body stopped trembling, she irregularly sprawled in Yino's arms, gasping for breath.

She looked up to find Yino had already covered her mouth, wearing a meaningful smile.

"What... what kind of strange way is this to wake someone up?!"

"You don't like it?"

"Who... who would like this kind of...!"

"Then why are you hugging my arm? Let go of my hand if you don't like it."

"You... you should... continue rubbing for a while..."

"I thought you didn't like it?"

"You can't just stop halfway after you've started rubbing! Since we'll be taking a bath later anyway, why don't you finish the rest in the bathroom?"

.

.

.

.

Jinjie felt that the atmosphere in the Hundred Spirits Pavilion was terribly gloomy today.

Actually, last night she wanted to persuade the pavilion master to go to bed early, but ever since her master heard Yino was coming, she seemed to be on stimulants and couldn't be persuaded. Seeing that Yino hadn't arrived, she insisted on transforming into a bird and flying out to peek through the window at what Yino and the two girls were doing.

There was nothing to be done. Jinjie could only watch her master leave and guard the Hundred Spirits Hall at the top of Phoenix Pavilion by herself.

About two hours later, before dawn, her master finally returned, dragging her lifeless body.

Her complexion was terrible, her eyes so dark they could kill.