Yang Kai's expression shifted dramatically.
He had never expected such a turn of events. Though his earlier experiments had confirmed that he could absorb energies other than Yang-attributed ones and store them in his bones, how had he ended up absorbing half of the Nine Yin Essence Condensation Dew as well? And with such terrifying speed.
This was something Xia Ningshang needed — what was he going to do?
He turned his head, wearing an awkward expression, still fumbling for the right words to explain when Xia Ningshang had already drifted before him on a waft of fragrant scent.
Right now, the blush on his senior sister's cheeks bloomed like scattered petals, her breathing slightly ragged, and her clear, innocent gaze was flustered with a unmistakable tinge of shyness.
"Junior Brother… just bear with it." Xia Ningshang spoke suddenly, slowly extending one hand to loop it around Yang Kai's neck, gently guiding his head downward.
Her hand was cool to the touch, yet soft as if boneless — like the first snowflake of early winter, carrying a refreshing chill that washed over Yang Kai.
Rising on her tiptoes, Xia Ningshang closed her eyes, her long lashes trembling nervously, then lifted her own veil, tilted her head slightly, and pressed her ruby-like, delicate lips against Yang Kai's mouth.
Two pairs of soft lips met, and a sweet, intoxicating feminine fragrance wreathed through his nostrils.
Yang Kai froze.
In that moment, he finally understood why both Manager Meng and Xia Ningshang had been evasive whenever he asked how to collect the Nine Yin Essence Condensation Dew, refusing to give him a straight answer.
He had never grasped the reason before, but now it struck him with blinding clarity.
Heavenly treasures required all manner of unique methods to collect, each spiritual artifact demanding its own particular approach to be tamed. And the method for collecting the Nine Yin Essence Condensation Dew — it was this exquisitely beautiful, this achingly sweet.
Lips pressed together, Yang Kai's breathing grew heavier, his throat burning as if aflame. Even with the Nine Yin Essence Condensation Dew held in his mouth, he could not quell the boiling surge of blood running hot through his veins.
Xia Ningshang fared even worse. The moment her lips had touched his, she went rigid as a statue, her face flushed the deep red of weeping blood, her heartbeat thundering like war drums — powerful, rapid, and utterly without rhythm. She stood in a daze, clearly in a state of complete panic.
Though Yang Kai didn't fully understand the principle or precise method behind taming the Nine Yin Essence Condensation Dew, he knew that maintaining this frozen posture indefinitely wouldn't do.
Without further hesitation, he wrapped one arm around Xia Ningshang's slender, willow-like waist, drawing her closer against him. Then, with his tongue cradling the Nine Yin Essence Condensation Dew, he parted her pearly teeth and delivered the heavenly treasure into her mouth.
The shock of the icy-cold dew jolted Xia Ningshang back to her senses. She accepted it, swallowing it down into her belly.
A wave of sweet, luscious sensation rippled endlessly across her tongue. Their bodies were pressed tightly together, and Yang Kai, bare-chested, felt everything with acute clarity. A young man in the full vigor of his blood and fire — how could he possibly endure such temptation?
Almost entirely on instinct, Yang Kai tightened the arm around Xia Ningshang's waist while his other hand drifted upward to the round, perky curve of her hips, kneading gently.
He could feel the two soft swells pressing against his chest, feel the scorching heat radiating from her body. His breathing turned even more labored. After a long moment of indulgence, his hand circled to the front, ascending steadily upward to cup and caress those twin peaks of breathtaking elasticity.
A soul-stealing whimper escaped Xia Ningshang's lips. Yang Kai watched as her enormous eyes slowly cracked open just a sliver, lashes fluttering. The instant she realized he was gazing intently at her, she snapped them shut again in fright.