Chapter 92: Aunt Believes in You, Little Man
“Really?”
“To help me vent my fire isn’t such an easy thing. Besides, this fire has been suppressed for so many years—Heir, you might not be able to bear it.”
Ran Yi showed none of an ordinary woman’s shyness. Even as she faced Shen Yanzhou’s earnest gaze, her lips still carried a soft smile, her eyes charming and gentle, like a lamb awaiting slaughter.
“Whether I can bear it or not, I’ll only know after trying, right?” Shen Yanzhou said.
“Then have you thought it through?”
Ran Yi leaned closer, resting her head on Shen Yanzhou’s chest with a touch of delicate affection. One slender hand lifted a strand of her own hair, tracing circles on his face.
“Even if the ‘Scripture of Binding Life through Yin Essence’ is tricky and sinister, could it really take my life?” Shen Yanzhou said indifferently.
Ran Yi’s eyes froze slightly, her hand pausing midair. She truly hadn’t expected that.
The cultivation methods of the Four Fiends—aside from Shen Jingxiao—were known only to each of them individually.
So how did Shen Yanzhou know?
That was her greatest secret.
“Heir, you really do have many secrets. No wonder the Prince can’t do anything about you right now.” Ran Yi sighed faintly.
Since Shen Yanzhou knew she cultivated the ‘Scripture of Binding Life through Yin Essence’, he naturally understood the consequences of getting involved with her.
“Everyone has their secrets. I do. Don’t you as well?” Shen Yanzhou said casually.
“Then aside from the ‘Scripture of Binding Life through Yin Essence’, what other secrets does Aunt have?” Ran Yi’s curiosity was piqued; she no longer tried to tease Shen Yanzhou.
Since he already knew about that scripture, there was no way she could bind or control him as Shen Jingxiao had planned.
The so-called beauty trap—this path was doomed to fail.
Shen Yanzhou thought for a moment, as if seriously considering, before saying, “You’ve got a big addiction.”
“……”
Ran Yi’s charming smile stiffened.
She reached out a slender jade finger and poked his forehead, exhaling softly like an orchid, “All you do is make fun of your Aunt, little rascal.”
“Alright, it’s getting late. I’ve had my drink with you.”
“Heir, you should head back to the mansion now, or else the Princess Consort might worry.”
Ran Yi lifted her slender body, clapped her soft white palms, and was about to sit up.
“Leaving just like this—are you really willing, Aunt Ran?”
Shen Yanzhou was in no hurry. Still seated calmly on the mat, he reached back, caught her wrist, and with a slight pull, drew her back toward him—right into his arms, face to face.
Though Ran Yi was far more voluptuous and graceful than most women, she didn’t feel heavy at all—instead, she felt light and supple.
“Oh my, Heir, what are you trying to do? This isn’t proper…”
Ran Yi let out a playful giggle but didn’t struggle, letting Shen Yanzhou hold her. Her full, peach-like hips even brushed lightly against him.
“Sit properly,” Shen Yanzhou said expressionlessly.
“Huh? Why so serious all of a sudden…”
Ran Yi blinked her bright eyes. Though she asked, she behaved obediently, sitting upright like a proper lady.
Of course, if anyone else were watching, they certainly wouldn’t think their current posture had anything to do with “sitting properly.”
“How are you going to report back to Shen Jingxiao?” Shen Yanzhou asked.
“Report back? About what?”
“Isn’t it just telling him honestly what you did today and where you went?”
Ran Yi blinked and feigned confusion.
Shen Yanzhou met her gaze directly. “Aunt Ran, there’s no need to play dumb. You know what I’m talking about better than I do. Shen Jingxiao wants you to use that ‘Scripture of Binding Life through Yin Essence’ you’ve painstakingly cultivated all these years to restrain and control me. That’s your greatest value to him.”
“If you fail, he’ll abandon you. And those he abandons… you should know better than I what becomes of them.”
“Even if you wanted to die, he wouldn’t let you. Instead, he’d use you on someone else—perhaps some old clan elder of a powerful family in the capital, white-haired, hunched, with… particular tastes. Or he might gift you to a demonic sect’s grand elder—one with yellow teeth and a stench all over his body…”
As Shen Yanzhou spoke, the charming smile on Ran Yi’s face slowly faded.
Moonlight from outside fell upon her flawless jade face, leaving a pale, luminous glow—a kind of tender, helpless sorrow.
“I know.”
“But this is my fate.”
“Even if I’m unwilling, what can I do?”
“Whether it was you before, or me now, we’re both just pieces on Shen Jingxiao’s chessboard. Even if we try to jump off, an invisible hand will throw us back on.”
Her voice grew soft—something she’d never shown before.
The day she accepted the title of one of the Four Fiends, she already knew how her story would end. Walking this path meant there would be no good ending.
To have survived until now was already a blessing.
How could she dare to ask for more?
Shen Yanzhou fell silent for a while. He thought of his past self—a caged spirit bird. Wasn’t that also a fate long foreseen?
“So, even if it ends like that, it doesn’t matter?” he asked.
Ran Yi smiled again, lifting her hands to cup Shen Yanzhou’s face. “You don’t need to pity your Aunt. I know you want to help me. But since you’ve finally escaped that whirlpool and regained the chance to control your own destiny, you must cherish it. Don’t step into that quagmire again.”
Shen Jingxiao’s schemes ran deep. Whether he anticipated that Shen Yanzhou would turn her against him, or guessed he might try to dissolve her death curse, everything stemmed from one truth—Shen Yanzhou wanted to help her. He held a so-called “fondness” for her.
And that was a human weakness.
A ruthless man like Shen Jingxiao understood well—since Shen Yanzhou was a man of flesh and blood, he could never ignore another’s suffering.
But once he intervened, he’d again fall under Shen Jingxiao’s manipulation, just as before when he was shackled by the “Nether Curse.”
Shen Yanzhou let out a deep sigh and fell silent, feeling an overwhelming sense of helplessness at Ran Yi’s words.
“Don’t blame yourself.”
“Aunt isn’t a good person either. At the beginning, I wanted nothing more than to complete Shen Jingxiao’s orders early, even if it meant harming you. In truth, I haven’t done anything to help you.”
“You being so insistent on helping Aunt—it really makes me feel unworthy.” Ran Yi said with a light smile, her tone easing into calm acceptance.
To accept fate, to accept everything that had happened—such a change in mindset could happen in an instant.
“But what if I insist?”
Shen Yanzhou lowered his gaze, looking deeply at her.
Ran Yi, still sitting in his arms, froze, staring blankly at his determined expression. For no reason, her heart fluttered in confusion.
Yet the next moment, an unfamiliar warmth spread through her chest, making her brows curve as she smiled. She raised a finger and tapped his forehead.
“Don’t do anything foolish. Aunt won’t agree.”
She knew full well that stepping back into Shen Jingxiao’s web would only mean being trapped again. Yet even so, for her sake, he was willing to risk everything.
She couldn’t deny it—just now, Shen Yanzhou’s moment of resolve had made her heart beat faster.
That feeling—of being trapped in the mire but having someone wish to save her—was… rather nice.
But precisely because of that, she couldn’t accept it.
She couldn’t drag Shen Yanzhou down with her.
“Even if you don’t agree, you’ll have to.” Shen Yanzhou’s voice grew deep.
“So domineering, little man.”
“But… Aunt really is starting to like you more and more.”
Ran Yi’s eyes glimmered with amusement, dark as black gemstones.
Then she suddenly tilted her head back, wrapping her arms tightly around Shen Yanzhou’s neck. Her soft, petal-like lips, like a serpent, bit down on him.
Ran Yi bit hard—
As if she wanted to leave a mark that belonged only to her on Shen Yanzhou’s body.
But soon, she softened. This bold, stubborn little man—if she hurt him for real, she would truly feel pain herself.
“Does it hurt?”
Ran Yi looked at the strawberry mark on Shen Yanzhou’s neck and gently blew on it.
“Doesn’t hurt.”
Shen Yanzhou shook his head honestly. His physical strength was now terrifyingly great—his body was as tough as iron and his flesh thick as hide.
“Really?” Ran Yi didn’t believe him. She was a Grandmaster of Martial Arts, after all—she could bite through refined steel.
“Really.”
“Then I should bite you back.”
“What a little man who can’t stand to lose even a bit… mm—”
……
Inside the inner room, candlelight shimmered faintly across the window paper.
There was a touch of warmth that spread along the window lattice, spilling across the pool and the riverside outside, making the spring night feel even more tender.
Soft music from flutes and strings, and the graceful singing of courtesans drifted faintly from the painted pleasure barges on the river.
By the latter half of the night, a fine drizzle began to fall, and mist rose over the river’s surface.
However, the rain didn’t last long. Soon it cleared, and the night sky became bright again.
Shen Yanzhou added some charcoal to the bronze brazier. Dressed in a casual robe, he sat by the couch, waiting for the tea water to boil.
He pressed his slightly dry lips together, which immediately drew a reproachful glance from behind him.
Ran Yi’s face was rosy, her complexion radiant. She stepped down from the bed, bent over, and picked up her scattered dress, putting it back on in front of Shen Yanzhou without a trace of embarrassment.
After all, they had already seen each other without reserve.
But in truth, they had stopped short; before things went further, Ran Yi had halted him.
She had refused to let Shen Yanzhou once again become Shen Jingxiao’s pawn.
Shen Yanzhou, though fully aware that this “Scripture of Binding Life through Yin Essence” could not actually control his life, didn’t bother explaining. If he did, everything he had said and done tonight would lose much of its intended effect.
The “Scripture of Binding Life through Yin Essence” was an obscure dual-cultivation art from the ancient Sect of Pure Maidens. After certain modifications, it became what it was now—an art that could, through dual cultivation, seize control of one’s partner’s life and death.
But in essence, it worked by using Yin True Qi to devour a partner’s True Qi, a parasitic method that rooted itself in another’s body to draw energy for one’s own use.
Yet the “True Explanation of Primordial Unity” that Shen Yanzhou cultivated produced Primordial Qi, which possessed the divine power to withstand all arts, encompassing all phenomena and transforming all things. Any Yin True Qi, no matter how potent, would dissolve upon contact.
Therefore, in truth, the “Scripture of Binding Life through Yin Essence” could have no effect on him whatsoever.
Of course, Shen Yanzhou would never tell Ran Yi this truth.
Everything he said and did tonight was for the sake of earning her trust.
And indeed, everything was progressing exactly as he had foreseen.
Gurgle—
Steam rose from the bronze brazier as the water began to boil. Shen Yanzhou stood, lifted the teapot, and poured himself a cup of hot tea.
“Do you want to rinse your mouth?” he asked Ran Yi, who had just finished dressing.
Ran Yi rolled her eyes at him, though her expression was full of charm. “Little man, you nearly choked your Aunt to death just now.”
So… that was a no?
Shen Yanzhou chuckled, lifted the teacup, and drank without fear of heat. With his current constitution, he indeed had little to fear from hot water.
“After drinking so much water earlier, you’re still thirsty?” Ran Yi asked with a teasing smile.
“……”
The flame Shen Yanzhou had just managed to suppress surged back up again. As expected of an innate enchantress—she knew exactly how to provoke a man.
Ran Yi, however, knew when to stop, and she didn’t continue teasing him.
“Shen Jingxiao won’t be giving me any new orders for a while, so you don’t need to worry. I’ll just drag things out for now,” she said casually, changing the subject.
Shen Yanzhou nodded and reached out to pull her into his arms. “I’ll do everything I can to help you escape this sea of suffering.”
“Aunt believes in you, little man.”
Ran Yi tilted her head up slightly and gave him a soft, gentle kiss on the lips.
……
The next day, at the Emerald Bamboo Courtyard, the sun was already high in the sky.
Shen Yanzhou awoke to the sound of Chunchao knocking on his door.
“You certainly slept soundly.”
He rubbed his temples, feeling refreshed.
It was almost midnight when he had left Yuxian Pavilion and returned to the Prince’s Mansion.
By then, the Princess Consort had long gone to bed. Only a few maids with golden lanterns waited for him under the corridor.
“Heir, don’t oversleep. The Princess Consort asked you to join her for breakfast,” Chunchao’s clear, urging voice came from outside.
“Stop shouting.”
Shen Yanzhou got up, washed briefly, and headed to the dining pavilion. Princess Consort Yu Chenyu was already seated, neatly dressed, sipping her congee in small, elegant bites.
“Is there something important today? Why is Mother so elaborately dressed?”
Shen Yanzhou glanced at Yu Chenyu’s formal palace attire—red and gold, embroidered with dragons and cranes. Clearly, it was the Princess Consort’s ceremonial robe. She looked dignified and noble, yet serene and coldly elegant.
He couldn’t recall seeing her dressed like this before.
“His Majesty sent word from the palace early this morning,” Chunchao explained softly at the side. “He summoned the Princess Consort and the Prince to dine in the palace at noon.”
“An imperial summons?” Shen Yanzhou was slightly surprised.
If the two he had met yesterday were indeed His Majesty and Lord Wei in disguise, then could this imperial decree today be related?
Yu Chenyu set down her bowl and glanced at him. “It’s probably just that His Majesty and the Empress wish to share a meal with your father to maintain cordial relations, and invited me along as well.”
She didn’t seem very willing.
“Well, that’s a good sign—it shows His Majesty still values the Prince’s Mansion,” Shen Yanzhou said with a smile.
Yu Chenyu remained silent, but her gaze suddenly fixed on him. Her brows furrowed slightly as she said, displeased, “What’s that on your neck?”
“Hm?”
Shen Yanzhou froze.
Chunchao also noticed it and pouted. “Looks like a mark left by one of the girls from Yuxian Pavilion. The Heir did come back quite late last night.”
After spending so much time with Shen Yanzhou, she was no longer the innocent girl she once was.
Yu Chenyu’s lips curved into a cold sneer. “A girl from Yuxian Pavilion? Who could possibly leave such a mark on him now that he’s at the Sixth Rank of the Martial Path?”