Chapter 58: Knowing There Are Tigers in the Mountain, Yet Heading Straight for Them

“Hm?”
Liu Shen’s eyes widened. As he came to his senses, he seemed to feel the affection of the beauty in his arms as well. He reached out to encircle her slender waist, turning from passive to active as he began to kiss her hungrily.

In the accounting room, the two, unskilled in their technique, kissed each other with abandon, clinging to one another as though they wanted to merge their very bodies together.

Pei Xueyan could clearly sense that the man holding her was like a furnace; even the breath he exhaled was searingly hot. She herself felt as if she were wrapped in flames, her entire body melting with a tingling softness, her almond-shaped eyes growing hazy, her very heart trembling.

She realized that the young man holding her was starting to breathe heavily, and the hands around her waist were beginning to wander elsewhere. Suddenly recalling something, Pei Xueyan shuddered and broke free from his embrace.

“No...”

The haze in her almond eyes cleared slightly as she hastily retied the sash around her waist that had already come undone. Seeing Liu Shen’s rapid breathing and the faint flush in his eyes, she bit her lower lip and admonished softly, “You’re still cultivating. If you act recklessly now, wouldn’t it ruin all your hard work?”

Liu Shen trembled inwardly at her words, quickly shaking his head to dispel the distracting thoughts.

He had only been practicing the “Pure Youth Technique” for half a year, yet he was already on the threshold of the second realm of martial cultivation. Such speed might not compare to the true prodigies of the martial world, but for someone like him who started after his body had matured, it was nothing short of miraculous.

First, the “Pure Youth Technique” itself improved one’s aptitude and was genuinely effective; second, it was clear this method suited him well.

After six arduous months of training, with one foot already across the threshold to the second realm, it would be a real pity to lose it all over a moment’s indulgence.

He let out a long, slow breath and said with a wry smile, “Had I known it would be like this, I never would have chosen to practice the ‘Pure Youth Technique’ in the first place…”

Pei Xueyan couldn’t help but cover her mouth and laugh at his expression. “You’re a man. Since you’ve set your mind on the martial path, you must put cultivation first and not be lost in women’s charms.”

“I’m not lost in women’s charms…” Liu Shen pulled her back into his arms, inhaled deeply against her fragrant hair, and said with a smile, “It’s just that you’ve stolen my soul, my lady.”

“So glib…” Pei Xueyan’s lips curled with a trace of a smile. Tilting her fair neck in feigned pride, she said, “The old master just passed. I must observe three years of mourning before I can remarry, do you understand?”

“Naturally…” Liu Shen knew well the importance of propriety in these times. If a family’s elder had just died and the descendants rushed to remarry, others would surely gossip behind their backs.

“Old Master Song was a benefactor to me. How could I, Liu Shen, be so ungrateful as to make things difficult for him in the afterlife?”

Pei Xueyan bit her lip and murmured, “But that’s three years. Can you really wait that long?”

“Three years is nothing…”

Liu Shen smiled unconcernedly, then straightened his expression and said, “Within three years, I, Liu Shen, will certainly reach the innate realm of martial arts and have no further worries. Then, with all the proper rites and ceremonies, I’ll come to marry you in grand style!”

“Then…” Pei Xueyan’s eyes shone with genuine joy as she turned her cheek and whispered by his ear, “I’ll wait for you…”

Liu Shen’s heart fluttered, and his hands around her waist grew restless again. The beauty in his arms only rolled her eyes at him in playful reproach, but did not truly resist.

As he indulged himself, Liu Shen marveled inwardly at how impossibly perfect her figure was. By logic, a slender waist rarely came with such generous curves elsewhere—how could a thin branch bear such abundant fruit? Yet Pei Xueyan was the exception: a slender branch with abundant fruit indeed!

Seeing the beautiful woman’s expression growing dazed, while he himself could only touch but not taste, Liu Shen sighed inwardly, all the more determined to reach the fourth realm as soon as possible.

“When we return, I may need to seclude myself for a few days and try to break through to the second realm…”

“That works out, I have things to take care of as well.” Pei Xueyan seemed to remember something important. She removed his hand from her body and asked solemnly, “There’s something I want to ask you, and I need you to answer truthfully.”

“Ask.”

“Was it you who arranged for my brother to lose thirty thousand taels at the gambling house?”

Liu Shen’s eyes narrowed slightly at her question. Seeing Pei Xueyan staring directly at him, he nodded and replied, “It was me.”

Pei Xueyan nodded thoughtfully at his answer. “Then it all makes sense…”

But seeing her reaction, Liu Shen grew uncertain of her thoughts and asked, “You don’t seem surprised?”

“Not in the least.”

“Why not?”

“Do you really take me for a fool?” Pei Xueyan shot him a glance. “My brother just arrived here, a complete stranger, yet somehow made friends and lost thirty thousand taels at a gambling house. It’s obvious he was set up.”

“Gambling houses aren’t honest businesses, and anyone able to risk thirty thousand taels on a scheme is no ordinary person. These days, every gambling den in Heyang County is backed by the Green Sand Gang. It’s not hard to guess your people set the trap…”

“The Song family does business with the Green Sand Gang. Even I know the gang values loyalty and righteousness—why would they target my family for no reason?”

“In fact, I specifically asked around and learned you, Liu Shen, are now a deputy hall master in the Green Sand Gang. When I thought about it, if you were the one behind it, that makes perfect sense.”

Liu Shen frowned deeply and asked, “You don’t blame me for making your brother suffer?”

“He deserved a taste of hardship…” Pei Xueyan replied coldly. “I’ve been in the Song family for two years and never saw my own family once. When the old master lay bedridden, suddenly they show up to ‘help’? Who would believe they had no ulterior motives?”

“You know?” Liu Shen looked at her with a complex expression.

“I’m not a fool…” Pei Xueyan shot him a glance, her expression turning forlorn. “I can even guess that when the old master asked us to leave the room before his death, he must have told you all about this.”

“And you…”

“What else could I do?” Pei Xueyan’s face twisted with emotion. “They may act nothing like parents, but they are still my blood. And this time, they claimed to be here to help. Could I refuse to let them through the Song family’s gates? And once inside, could I drive them out?”

Liu Shen fell silent.

On one side was her husband’s family, on the other, the distant yet inescapable bond of her blood family. Pei Xueyan, caught between the two, was the one who suffered most.

Pei Xueyan seemed to recall something sorrowful and lowered her eyes. “Before he left, my father invited me to return for the Pei family’s ancestral rites. I agreed.”

Liu Shen shook his head. “It’s dangerous…”

“I know.”

“You know, and you’re still going?”

“I want to see for myself…” Pei Xueyan pressed her lips together and smiled bitterly. “In my memory, my father has always been a calculating man, but I never wanted to believe a parent could scheme against their own child.”

She seemed lost in thought, murmuring to herself, “Maybe it’s because we lack something in childhood that we long for it as adults. I’ve always harbored illusions about my parents. Maybe this trip will shatter those foolish hopes and help me see things clearly.”

Liu Shen was silent, and a line suddenly surfaced in his mind: “Knowing there are tigers in the mountain, yet heading there nonetheless.”

“People are forever trapped by what they lacked in their youth,” he sighed. Then, as if making a decision, he leaned close to comfort the beauty in his arms, whispering, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll go with you…”