This chapter contained mature content, click HERE to read the uncensored version.
“Let me see your eyes…” I murmured, and my other weak hand touched his temple. I wanted to remove the blindfold, but he grabbed my wrist.
“Unaware of, death.”
The next moment, there was a lightness behind me as the back basket fell off. The world spun, and my body seemed to land on thick beast pelts. Above, the octagonal skylight appeared, with a crescent moon fragmented by the mottled tree shadows. Tunshe Nalin’s figure loomed over me. He had brought me to the place I had been to before. I squinted at him and smiled, “So, what’s the deal? If you look at me, will I turn to stone? Are you Medusa?”
He grabbed both of my wrists, his fingers tightening, as if I had angered him, yet he didn’t let go.
“Ah, you really are like Medusa, both beautiful and dangerous. Your people are terrified of you, they’re scared to death… were they afraid that you would turn them into stone? But I’m not afraid. You’re my muse. From the moment I saw you, I was captivated. Do you know? So many people desperately want to be my muse, but I don’t care about them… but you… you’re special.”
I babbled on in drunkenness, but he remained silent.
Like a piece of dry firewood thrown into the snow and burning on its own, I was so annoyed that I could no longer bear it. My hands were held down by him, and I couldn’t move, so I raised my head and wanted to kiss him.
Before I could taste the pleasure, my neck was suddenly strangled and my head was pushed to the side.
He said coldly, as if gritting his teeth, “I am keeping you here, not for you to be the goddess consort.”
“You think I want to be…” I was confused and babbling, “I’m doing this all for you. They said you’d be happy. I want to paint you… Tunshe Nalin… Will you let me paint you, please?”
My wrists were tightened suddenly.
He didn’t say anything or move, but I could clearly feel him looking at me.
“Tunshe Nalin…” I became increasingly hot and confused. I clamped my legs together involuntarily and couldn’t help but call out his name, hoping that he could do something to quench my thirst.
The next moment, thick hair brushed across my cheek, the corner of my eye felt cool, and a soft touch covered me—Tunshe Nalin was actually kissing me… on the left corner of my eye, against the petals.
He suppressed me with such strong force but kissed me very gently and carefully. His lips were even trembling, and he held his breath, as if he was someone who had been trapped in a glacier for ten thousand years and was looking for a handful of fire, eager to draw a little warmth from me.
“Umm, Tunshe Nalin…” His lingering kiss made my blood boil, with one stream flowing up and the other flowing down. My hands could not move, and my tied legs instinctively kicked and kicked wildly. With a ‘ding-ling’ sound, my ankles loosened, and the red rope was freed for me. My lower body was swollen and painful, and I couldn’t stand it. I raised one leg to hook it around him, straightened my waist, and my abdomen was immediately touched by something cold and hard. I didn’t know if it was the gem on his belt or something else. I rubbed it, but Tunshe Nalin was shocked, grabbed my calf, and pressed me back.
Although I couldn’t see his face in the dark, I felt that he was staring at me angrily—I wondered if it was because he was offended by the way I rubbed against him.
…
“Ah!” I woke up with a start, opened my heavy eyelids, and dim light fell into the gaps between my eyes. The scene in front of me gradually became clear, but I didn’t know where I was.
I was lying on a simple wooden bed with intricate carvings on the bedposts that were rich in ethnic characteristics of southern Jiangsu. It was covered with red curtains on all sides, like an ancient wedding bed.
Vaguely recalling what happened last night, I suddenly sat up and lifted the quilt. I was no longer wearing the crimson goddess costume but a white, lined jacket and trousers in the traditional style of southern Jiangsu. The red rope tied around my ankles was gone, leaving only a circle of red marks. Only the pair of anklets woven from vines was still there.
The bronze mirror opposite the bed reflected my appearance, with messy hair and a slightly open collar, revealing a red “bright” with strawberry marks on both sides of my neck left by Tunshe Nalin—this was not a dream, Tunshe Nalin and I had gotten out of control, and he also bit me.
After that, I seemed to have blacked out.
What happened next? Tunshe Nalin and I… did-did we do it?
With my physique and being so drunk, it was impossible for me to top him.
I subconsciously touched my buttocks and felt relieved that I didn’t feel any pain.
It seems that Tunshe Nalin doesn’t understand this kind of thing…
I breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, I didn’t cross the line with my muse.
But this is also a complete loss of face. I vaguely recalled the fragments before I lost consciousness, and I covered my face in embarrassment. Oh my God, I actually did such a reckless and obscene thing to Tunshe Nalin. How will he look at me in the future? Will he hate me?
I took a deep breath. This time, he didn’t throw me out. Does that mean he’s not as angry as last time? Where am I? Is this still that cave temple?
I drew aside the curtain and discovered a spacious room with wooden columns covered with relief carvings, colorful beams and eaves painted with patterns of birds and animals, hanging murals, and furniture, all of which displayed its luxury and antiquity. If I had not caught a glimpse of the human bone chandelier hanging overhead, I might have suspected that I was in a luxury hotel in southern Jiangsu.
I got out of bed, walked out of the curtains, and came to the striking double-opening embossed wooden door in the room. I pushed it open with my hand, and the cold wind blew in my face, making me shiver. When I saw the scene outside the door, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes. There was a long corridor outside the door. Standing here, you can see the rolling Suwajia Mountains, and below is a sea of forests floating in the mist. This place is at a high altitude, not in that cave temple.
I took a few steps to the edge of the railing and looked down. The snowy cliffs of the mountains were visible below. It seemed that this place was situated halfway up Sumilou Snowy Mountain, the highest peak of the Suwajia Mountain Range, in a forbidden zone few dared to enter—a structure resembling a floating temple.
Not far below, I could see a tower with an open circular dome. It turned out that this place was located behind the cave temple. Perhaps there was a tunnel inside that led directly to this spot.
Though I didn’t have a fear of heights, after looking down for a while, my legs started to shake. I took a step back and bumped into a cold, lifeless body.
I turned around, and right in front of me was the pair of lips that had caused me so much trouble on my neck last night.
I don’t know when Tunshe Nalin arrived, but every time he appears, it’s without a sound, like a ghostly presence.
Remembering my drunken state from last night, I couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed. We had met only three times, and I nearly ended up in bed with him. I view him as my muse, but it’s not just about a one-night fling.
“Last night, we…”
“I’ve forgotten.” He replied coldly.
This tone was like an ice blade falling, seemingly intending to sever everything that had happened last night—the kiss he left at the corner of my eye and the savage way he had bitten my neck. Staring at his back as he turned to enter the room, I instinctively touched my neck, grinding my teeth as a surge of anger rose within me. Damn it, the evidence was still fresh, and yet this person dared to say he’d forgotten? When had I, Qin Ran, ever been treated like this?
“Fine, you forgot. You’re impressive.” I nodded, leaning against the doorframe, coldly watching as he placed the basket filled with pigments on the low table covered with animal hides in the room.
“Come here.” He took out the rolled-up painting from his sleeve, his blindfolded face turning toward me.
“What for?” I pretended not to hear clearly, leaning against the doorframe and staying still.
“To touch up the painting.”
“Since you want my help, it seems that Lord Shaman remembers quite clearly.” I raised an eyebrow, still not moving. Despite the cold wind blowing against my back, making me shiver, my dignity had to be reclaimed. Otherwise, from now on, I’d only be left with the option of groveling and licking up to him.
“It was you who said that you wanted to, help me touch up the painting.”
I smiled. “So what if I took the initiative? If you didn’t have this need, even if I offered, would you accept? There are other painters in the village as well. Oh, I remember now, you said he only paints the dead, so now it seems I’m the only one who can help you. Tunshe Nalin, when you ask someone for help, you should at least show basic respect. I’m not from your tribe; I’m a foreigner. Back where I’m from, everyone calls me Teacher Qin. You don’t have to call me that, but at least call me by my name. I don’t go by ‘come here’.”
Tunshe Nalin didn’t say a word. He stood there silently, and though his eyes were covered, I could still clearly feel his gaze on me. The oppressive feeling, like dark clouds hanging above, pressed down on me again, filling me with an inexplicable and overwhelming fear. My legs even started to tremble slightly. I told myself it was because of his high status within the tribe, that he was revered and feared by everyone, which gave him that imposing presence without even needing to show anger. I, a foreigner, shouldn’t view him through such a filter. He is my muse, and I am going to conquer and capture him and make him submit to me. With determination rising inside me, I stared at him, holding our silent standoff.
The cold wind behind me intensified the physical reaction caused by fear, making my whole body shiver uncontrollably. I couldn’t stop myself from coughing lightly.
This cough also triggered a dull pain in my stomach. I suddenly realized I had been hungry for too long and had drunk alcohol, and it seemed like my stomach condition was acting up. I had always had irregular eating habits due to my painting, and after Ming Luo’s passing, I had gone through a phase of heavy drinking. I was once rushed to the emergency room due to a stomach bleed and had to undergo surgery. But I’m someone who doesn’t take care of myself, and my stomach ulcer has never fully healed.
I didn’t want to let Tunshe Nalin see that I was at a disadvantage. I bit my lip and endured, my fingers unconsciously digging into the carvings on the door, but my stomach pain worsened with each cough, and cold sweat began to pour down. Just as I felt I couldn’t hold on any longer, I suddenly heard a deep voice from across the room: “Qin Ran.”
I suppressed my cough, snorted, and walked towards him.
