Chapter 349

Pei Ji returned to the bedroom after finishing his bath and found Ning Ning sitting on the bed, looking unusually serious as she pondered something.

Her brows were furrowed, and it was rare to see such a grave and troubled expression on her face.

However, her eyes lit up the moment she caught sight of him.

Pei Ji instinctively felt that whatever was troubling her so deeply might somehow be related to him.

It hadn’t been long since he and Ning Ning had become a Taoist couple.

He often left Xuanxu to wander aimlessly across the four seas, exploring the world.

Ning Ning was someone who couldn’t stay idle.

Before she had spent much time in one place, she would grow restless and eager to move on to another.

Yet, she was also quite sentimental, often reluctant to leave behind unique and beautiful sceneries.

Over time, the two of them simply bought houses in their favorite places, planning to return on a whim and stay for a night.

For example, this courtyard in Nancheng is surrounded by bamboo and trees.

Today, Ning Ning had met an old friend on Qishan and spent half a day with Lu Wanxing and others.

By now, she was out of energy and lay languidly against the bed.

She had bathed earlier than Pei Ji.

Her long hair was loosely gathered with a jade hairpin, a few stray locks brushing her cheeks as the evening breeze from the window stirred them gently.

“Pei Ji.”

Ning Ning looked at him with a rare solemnity, her tone uncharacteristically heavy.

“I have something to discuss with you.”

She paused, seemingly finding it hard to say, and beckoned him over with a curl of her finger.

“Come here.”

Obediently, Pei Ji approached and sat down on the edge of the bed.

As he got closer, he caught the faint fragrance of gardenias clinging to her.

Despite her earlier decisiveness, Ning Ning hesitated when the words were about to leave her mouth.

Her expression betrayed a hint of nervousness, and her earlobes flushed a soft pink.

Fortunately, Pei Ji was very patient.

Lowering his gaze, he gently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

“What is it?”

“It’s just…”

Ning Ning quickly glanced at him before lowering her lashes again.

She pursed her lips, paused briefly, then finally mustered her courage and blurted out, “Don’t you think… every night, you’re a little too intense?”

Pei Ji froze.

Now he understood why Ning Ning was blushing.

Hearing her words, his own ears couldn’t help but heat up.

Was he ever “too intense”?

Having only recently become a Taoist couple, they were both inexperienced in such matters.

At night, it was often a tentative exploration between them, with their spiritual energies intertwining.

Inevitably, Pei Ji would delve deeper, his spiritual energy surging, while Ning Ning…

Ning Ning frequently ended up breathless and exhausted, begging him to stop.

Though he rarely obliged.

And even when he did, she would bite her lip, grab his arm, and hoarsely urge him to continue.

Besides, by the next day, Ning Ning always seemed to forget the entire ordeal, never once expressing dissatisfaction.

So, with reddened ears, Pei Ji asked seriously, “Have I… hurt you?”

“Not really! I’m satisfied—no, wait!”

Ning Ning’s voice became increasingly flustered.

She had intended to sound firm, but her tone remained filled with bashful awkwardness.

“What I mean is… tonight, I want to take the lead!”

Finally, she said it!

Internally, Ning Ning cheered for her courage, imagining herself overthrowing Pei Ji’s oppressive regime and taking charge for once.

Pei Ji stared at her in stunned silence.

Ning Ning forced herself to maintain composure and met his gaze, her heart pounding nervously as she wondered how he might react.

Then she saw Pei Ji move slightly.

The freshly bathed young man climbed onto the bed, took her right hand, and pressed it lightly against his thin sleeping robe.

Then he gently shifted the robe aside.

“…Like this?”

Critical hit.

A fatal critical hit.

As he performed this action, the robe slipped slightly from his chest, revealing smooth, pale skin beneath.

His expression remained serious, tinged with curiosity and confusion.

Both innocent and seductive.

Ning Ning’s face flushed uncontrollably.

Seeing no objection from her, Pei Ji held her hand as he leaned back further into the bed, lying against the headboard.

A posture that seemed to say, “I’m ready. Do as you wish.”

His directness left Ning Ning flustered.

Though she had declared her intent to lead, she now felt a wave of panic.

Still, while their experience was limited, it wasn’t entirely absent.

She steadied herself, resolved to take action, and clutched the front of Pei Ji’s falling robe.

Slowly, as though peeling back a fruit long kept hidden, more of Pei Ji’s figure came into view.

As a sword cultivator, his body bore the results of years of training, with defined muscles visible throughout.

Pei Ji’s physique was lean, his upper body a harmonious blend of strength and elegance.

As the thin fabric slid down, it revealed the taut, sculpted lines of his waist and abdomen.

Ning Ning, now straddling his legs clad in loose trousers, caught sight of Pei Ji’s right hand gripping the bedsheet tightly, his knuckles faintly white from exertion.

This was a subtle gesture he made only when nervous.

He always put up a stoic front, maintaining a calm and indifferent demeanor regardless of his inner thoughts.

The room’s candlelight had yet to be extinguished, casting a soft reddish glow over everything, including the fair profile of the young man and his dark eyes.

It was a picturesque scene.

If not for the scars crisscrossing his body.

Pei Ji had endured countless injuries from a young age.

In his early years, he lacked access to medicine and couldn’t treat wounds in time.

Later, as he grew up and joined Xuanxu, he grew indifferent to scars and rarely bothered with proper healing.

As a result, old scars covered his skin—dark and light lines marring his chest, arms, and abdomen.

Some looked like bites; others resembled lash marks or cuts from vines.

Pei Ji felt her gaze linger, and his eyes darkened.

He knew his body, covered in scars, was neither smooth nor attractive.

Ning Ning had always been careful to avoid touching them.

But now—

A faint sense of shame and discomfort rose in his heart.

Pei Ji grew inexplicably uneasy and softly muttered, “Don’t look, Ning…”

Before he could finish, the young woman before him suddenly lowered her head.

In the warm glow of the firelight, Ning Ning pressed a gentle kiss to the scar below his collarbone.

Pei Ji’s long lashes trembled helplessly, and his throat bobbed as he struggled to speak.

Those scars symbolized his lowest moments, each one an ugly, frightening reminder of the past, like centipedes crawling across his body.

Even he found them repulsive.

Yet Ning Ning kissed them with the utmost tenderness.

“Ning Ning…”

His voice came out hoarse and thick with emotion.

“That place… it’s ugly. Don’t touch it.”

Ning Ning lifted her head, meeting his gaze.

Somewhere along the way, Pei Ji’s face had turned completely red.