with a sense of release. What would happen next Qilin had an ominous premonition. She had just heard that the previous Heavenly Queen, the Celestial Flower Fairy, was to perform the ritual today. The...Chapter 3: A Cool Ambiguity

The black-clad man noticed Qi Lin's chill but didn't make any move. After taking a breath to calm himself, he had already recovered about five-tenths of his strength; the remaining issue was the sword wound, which had been treated and stopped bleeding; recovery was only a matter of time.

Now, he could easily slip away unnoticed. If he waited until tomorrow, those people would definitely send someone to search the mountain, making things troublesome then. Fortunately, he had entrusted his belongings to someone he trusted and sent a signal earlier just to let that person know not to wait for him.

"Achuu." Qi Lin rubbed her nose and tried to inhale; this way she would eventually catch a cold. The person beside her didn't seem to move, so Qi Lin naturally wouldn’t think they had fallen asleep. She then opened her mouth to find something to talk about. "Why don’t you leave"

"···" The black-clad man was slightly taken aback; he would leave but wasn’t planning on doing it now. "What about you"

Returning the question to Qi Lin, he naturally knew that she wasn't leaving simply because she couldn't.

"Such beautiful scenery is hard for me to take in." Qi Lin looked up at the stars; such a view could never be seen in modern times. The starry sky had long been replaced by dazzling neon lights; although human life was luxurious and extravagant, she still favored natural beauty.

She had once considered buying a house in the suburbs to live with her lover, rising at dawn and resting when the sun set. But this dream seemed so distant now. "What year is it"

The black-clad man was taken aback again; he hadn't expected Qi Lin to switch topics so quickly. "Year Seven of Phoenix."

"Year Seven of Phoenix" Qi Lin repeated in astonishment. There wasn’t such a reign title in history, which meant she had crossed over into an alternate world. That was fine; she wouldn't need to deliberately pay attention to historical facts. "Is this place called the Phoenix Kingdom"

The black-clad man nodded. He was curious about Qi Lin's questions and reactions; did she live in the jungle without knowing what was happening outside Even if she didn’t know the time, surely she should have some knowledge of reign titles.

In the darkness, both the black-clad man and Qi Lin frowned simultaneously.

The black-clad man turned his face to look carefully at Qi Lin. Although it was pitch dark, he could clearly distinguish objects; during the day he had only seen her profile. At that urgent time, he hadn’t paid close attention, but he felt as if he had seen her somewhere before. He had just thoroughly searched through his memories but found nothing.

Could it be... The black-clad man’s pupils constricted; a strong aura of killing intent emerged from between his brows, making the surrounding air extremely cold.

Qi Lin sensed the change in the black-clothed man and was about to ask when her head was forcibly pressed against a tree trunk, making her face hurt from the rough bark.

"Isn't it too late for you to think of killing me now" Qi Lin didn’t know what the black-clothed man intended to do. If he really wanted to kill her, why would he bring her to safety instead of leaving her with the wolf pack

"I was wondering why you saved a complete stranger like me." The black-clothed man held Qi Lin’s head tightly; he couldn’t afford any risks. As long as there was even a hint of suspicion, he had to eliminate it completely. Otherwise, everything would be ruined. "Now I understand."

"I don’t get what you’re saying." The black-clothed man’s attitude made a complete 180-degree turn, and Qi Lin couldn’t keep up with the pace. "Whether or not to save you was just out of curiosity. Maybe I would’ve left you for the wolves."

"Is that so" The corners of the black-clothed man’s mouth curled in mockery as he pulled his mask off; it didn’t matter if Qi Lin couldn’t see clearly at night. He leaned close to her ear, and she immediately smelled a strong scent of wolf blood. "That person sent you here, wasn’t it just because they wanted my life"

That person Qi Lin had figured it out; apparently, she was being treated as a spy. Ha ha, Qi Lin couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. The black-clothed man frowned slightly—wasn’t that the case Although everything pointed to the contrary, he still couldn’t let his guard down. He would wait and see what happened next.

"Ah-choo." Qi Lin sniffled; it was too cold in the mountains at night with heavy moisture. She had only stayed for a short while but already felt uncomfortable.

Not to mention that she hadn’t eaten much, making her head feel dizzy and heavy. She had intended to discuss an escape plan, yet this unexpected turn of events occurred. "If you think I was sent here by someone specifically to wait for you, then believe it as such. Whether you choose to leave me with the wolves or break my neck is up to you."

No denial The black-clothed man found Qi Lin’s reaction rather intriguing; most people would at least put up a fight in their final moments, yet Qi Lin did nothing and even spared herself resistance.

But the black-clothed man didn’t loosen his grip on her. He coldly said, "The fruit you just gave me made the wolves hallucinate and temporarily view you as a fellow wolf pack member, hence your control over them. However, you didn’t foresee that my poison was neutralized once I ate the fruit. Even though you also consumed it, you vomited out all its contents due to being too sour, indicating that this fruit is highly toxic for ordinary people."

He was just making things up on the spot; those fruits were merely regular wild berries for normal folks.

Qi Lin listened quietly to his analysis. So that fruit had such an unusual effect She’d picked it because it looked like a wax apple, but never imagined it would become a lethal tool and even an "ambulance."

She sneered and said, "Poison, then let me be a well-fed corpse."

Saying that, Qi Lin forced herself to retrieve one of the fruits. In her memory, she had picked mostly this kind. Although it was very sour, she was hungry, so there was no other choice. She closed her eyes and bit into it with all her might; the sour taste instantly filled her mouth. Despite the awful taste, Qi Lin managed to chew and swallow the fruit bite by bite.

The moment she swallowed the last bite, Qi Lin slowly spoke, "You can proceed now."

The black-clad man quietly observed Qi Lin. He had never seen a woman so composed, almost to an excessive degree. Releasing his grip on Qi Lin's shoulders, he slightly raised one corner of his mouth; in the darkness, a trace of cunning flashed through his eyes.

Qi Lin was still curious as to why nothing happened yet, did he just test her Despite approaching with such thoughts, she cautiously turned around—only to find herself enveloped in darkness once more...

"Awooo~~~" A mournful howl pierced the silence. Several figures stumbled and quickly departed.

"Damn it," Qin Xiao punched the tree trunk hard, startling a flurry of birds nesting there into flight.

Only after everything quieted down did Qin Xiao's murderous intent lessen slightly; blood trickled slowly down his arm. He swiftly pressed on acupoints to staunch the flow; however, out of the dozen men who entered earlier, only he returned alive, with everyone else becoming wolf food. The injustice gnawed at him as he screamed, "Damn it!!!"

Qin Xiao raised his head and roared into the starlit night, falling to one knee, "I, Qin Xiao, swear I will level this Wolf Mountain for my brothers’ revenge. Otherwise, let me die an inglorious death."

"Huff huff"

A few birds flew by, leaving behind a couple of feathers before vanishing into the darkness. The wolf pack continued to loiter under the tree, occasionally glancing upward, yet still no movement from above.

One feather landed on Qi Lin's head; she had no time to pay attention to it. Even in the dark, one could see her wide eyes gleaming in the starlight.

Her quickened breathing, racing heartbeat, and blank mind comprised the entirety of her current state.

She couldn't comprehend how events transpired as they did—this man who had aimed to kill her a second ago kissed her without warning. By the time she reacted, his lips already covered hers in wetness.

"Ugh..." Qi Lin tried to struggle but found her hands firmly clamped above her head by this man's immense strength; furthermore, he suddenly leaned in close, pressing his entire body against hers with no space between them. She desperately avoided his kisses, and the humiliation surged forth like a dam breaking, transforming into force that urged her to seize an opportunity for a vicious bite.

But the black-clad man nimbly sidestepped her attempt; smirking triumphantly at her look of frustration, he used his other hand to hook Qi Lin's chin and gently pulled it open. Without hesitation, the man kissed her again.

This time, it was not just on the surface but with a soft tongue stretching through Qi Lin's pearly teeth to explore her delicate tongue and entwine with it. Qi Lin felt as if the world was spinning around her; no one had ever kissed her like this before, which left no doubt that it was her first kiss, yet it was not what she wanted.

However, her body was tightly restrained by him, leaving her unable to move even slightly. The more so, the greater Qi Lin felt humiliated; how was this different from being raped

Sensing Qi Lin's anger, the man in black was quite satisfied with it; he wanted exactly that. Anger makes a person impulsive, and impulsiveness would make one lose their ability to think rationally. He loosened his grip on Qi Lin slightly but soon felt her breathing heavily through her mouth. The man mocked her with a sneer: "You dress so revealingly; what else can it mean other than being a courtesan I'll fulfill your wish as repayment for saving my life."

"W-Who... Who needs... Mm," Qi Lin's words were drowned out by the man's kiss. This time, his kiss was not as rough as before but seemed mocking instead. His kiss deepened gradually with his tongue slipping in and out through her teeth.

Each time she tried to close her lips, he would suddenly slip his tongue into them, and just when she caught it in her mouth, his nimble tongue would glide inside hers, repeating this cycle as if Qi Lin were the one seeking his kiss.

Spying on Qi Lin's bewildered eyes, the man smiled faintly and loosened his grip on her jaw, but Qi Lin didn't notice. Seizing the opportunity, he slid his hand down to Qi Lin’s waist and rubbed it back and forth.

"Ah...," Qi Lin emitted a stifled moan that sounded like an embarrassing sound.

The man's kiss left her lips and slowly moved down to her neck where he greedily sucked on it. There was no scent of perfumed powder, instead, there was a refreshing natural scent that pleased him; his grip also slackened involuntarily.

"Ugh...," an unusual sensation from her waist brought Qi Lin back to her senses instantly as she opened her eyes wide in disbelief. The man was still on top of her, taking advantage of her, and now he had moved his hand from her waist to between her legs, which made her regain all her senses at once but also burst her shame. Qi Lin pushed the man away roughly.

"Ugh...," Not expecting Qi Lin's sudden return to rationality, the man stumbled backward a few steps, nearly losing balance. Seeing Qi Lin shielding herself tightly under the starlight, he found her form still tempting and couldn't help reaching out his hand as if wanting to grab her.

"Though I am a woman, I would never fall so low as to be taken by an unknown man," Qi Lin tried hard to keep her voice calm but it still trembled slightly.

Although she could tolerate the theft of her first kiss from this man, what she couldn't accept was losing herself in the embrace. Glancing down at the pack of wolves who seemed to have noticed something amiss and were all staring up, Qi Lin tugged at the corner of her mouth: "After being saved by the wolf pack, can it now be considered a repayment"

The man in black looked at Qi Lin with confusion; when he saw her relieved eyes, she had already dropped straight down from the tree trunk.bed, she finally realized that there was something she needed to do. She swiftly opened a secret door, thinking, isn't it asking others for adviceIsn’t it true that in this century, women’s thickest s...