Although the sounds in the secret chamber weren't as intense as before, there were still occasional rustling noises. After some time, the chamber finally returned to calm. The
new storm that had swept through the room subsided. Hun Changqing, now fully dressed, sat on the edge of the bed, watching Zi Yan, whose face had been cleaned of the marks, curled up in his arms, occasionally nuzzling him, a look of enjoyment on her face, as if she were still savoring something.
Hun Changqing looked at Zi Yan with a strange expression. Although he had experienced it once before, he still felt an inexplicable unease about what had just happened.
Hun Changqing reached out and gently pinched Zi Yan's little ear, saying irritably.
"You've got some nerve, daring to do something so outrageous."
"Hehe, Master, why didn't you stop Zi Yan from doing that? You know Zi Yan is a Dou Huang, you know. Master could easily immobilize her with a flick of his finger. But Master didn't resist at all just now."
Zi Yan didn't take Hun Changqing's slightly reproachful words to heart. She snuggled into his arms a couple more times, then looked up at him with a slightly playful smile.
Hun Changqing's face immediately showed embarrassment. Although he knew this was wrong and he should have firmly refused Zi Yan, he just felt... cough cough. Unfortunately, Hun Changqing had never learned how to refuse such things and could only helplessly endure his disciple's exploitation.
"Isn't it because I'm afraid of hurting you? You know, you can't withstand even a little bit of my energy,"
Hun Changqing explained to Zi Yan. However, this explanation seemed utterly weak to Zi Yan. She didn't believe a single word Hun Changqing said. He was being stubborn, but she had clearly seen his expression earlier.
"Hmph! You stinking master, you still want to deny it?"
Zi Yan snorted in dissatisfaction, then reached out her delicate white hands to pull at Hun Changqing's already-donned black robe. She strongly condemned Hun Changqing's behavior of taking advantage of her and then refusing to admit it, so she decided to prove him wrong once again with her actions.
"You unfilial disciple! You're doing it again?! Stop it right now!"
Hun Changqing was startled by Zi Yan's actions and quickly grabbed her restless hands. He knew that he had already wasted a lot of time because of Zi Yan; if she did it again, how could he get anything else done?
"Aren't you afraid Medusa will come back later? If she sees you like this, she'll be so angry she'll peel off your dragon skin!"
Hearing Hun Changqing's reprimand, Zi Yan stopped what she was doing and snuggled into his arms again, her face full of dissatisfaction as she huffed and puffed at him.
"It's all because you're being hypocritical, Master! You were clearly enjoying
yourself just now, and now you're blaming me!" However, Zi Yan's expression changed again, and she smiled at Hun Changqing, revealing her cute little tiger teeth. She snuggled against him and then said coquettishly,
"Besides, even if that stinky woman finds out, if she goes crazy, Master will stop her, right?"
Hun Changqing glanced at the coquettish Zi Yan in his arms and said irritably.
"That's hard to say. You rebellious disciple are incredibly audacious. Let Medusa teach you a lesson so you'll remember it."
Upon hearing this, Zi Yan's eyes widened, her amethyst-like eyes glistening with tears. She spoke to Hun Changqing with a wronged tone and a hint of a sob.
"Master, aren't you afraid that wretched woman will go too far? You know, that woman has harbored resentment towards me for a long time, she just can't find a reason. If she finds out that you don't stop her, then you'll lose a lovely and obedient disciple!"
Looking at Zi Yan, who was now in tears, Hun Changqing's lips twitched slightly. He naturally knew that Zi Yan wasn't really sad, she was just putting on an act, so he had no intention of indulging her.
"If you had behaved yourself and didn't provoke her, how could she have harbored resentment towards you? It's all your own doing, always going against her for no reason. Don't worry, if she really finds out and tries to harm you, I'll be there to watch. I absolutely won't let my 'good disciple' die a violent death."
Hun Changqing emphasized the words "good disciple" slightly, then looked at Zi Yan with a meaningful gaze.
"Hmph! Master, how could you be like this? If I fought with that woman, you wouldn't help me, you'd just watch the show. If I got hurt by that woman, I wouldn't be able to do those things for you anymore!"
Zi Yan retorted to Hun Changqing, annoyed.
"So I should thank you for what you did for me?"
Hun Changqing was somewhat amused and exasperated.
"Of course, although I said I came here on my own, Master, the expression on your face just now couldn't be faked, hmph."
Zi Yan said to Hun Changqing with an air of matter-of-fact, occasionally letting out a soft snort to express her dissatisfaction with Hun Changqing's attitude.
"You..." Just as Hun Changqing was about to say something more to Zi Yan, a sudden thought struck him. He sensed an incredibly familiar aura slowly approaching the secret chamber. This made Hun Changqing's expression turn strange. He hadn't expected that his words, meant only to scare this fearless and rebellious disciple, were about to come true.
"Master? What's wrong?"
Zi Yan looked at Hun Changqing, who had suddenly fallen silent and whose expression had become very strange. Her large purple eyes flashed with confusion as she asked him, puzzled.
Upon hearing this, Hun Changqing immediately turned his gaze to Zi Yan, a strange smile appearing on his face. He spoke to her with a hint of amusement.
"It's nothing, I just didn't expect that what I said earlier would actually come true. Medusa is already at the door and will be coming in soon. I'm thinking about how to save you, my good disciple, from the clutches of the crazed Medusa, so that you don't die young at her hands."
"What!"
Zi Yan exclaimed in shock. Her previous nonchalant and fearless attitude towards Medusa vanished completely, replaced by utter panic. Just thinking about the scene Medusa would see and the ensuing outburst made Zi Yan's petite body tremble violently.
You see, in the year since Hun Changqing was gone, Zi Yan, with her personality, had often acted disrespectfully in front of Medusa, frequently making Medusa so angry that her blood boiled and she was furious, even causing her menstrual cycle to become irregular.
At the time, Hun Changqing wasn't around, and the enraged Medusa showed no mercy to Zi Yan. With her cultivation level a whole realm higher than Zi Yan's, she frequently gave her a sound thrashing. This was why, outside the hall, when faced with Medusa's rage, Zi Yan didn't argue with her as she had a year ago, but instead remained silent, swallowing her anger.
The thought of Medusa's gloomy face, her eyes gleaming with murderous intent, made Zi Yan unable to contain herself any longer. She jumped up from Hun Changqing's arms, frantically looking towards the door while shaking Hun Changqing's arm frantically, shouting,
"Quick! Master! Think of something! That woman is coming in soon! If she finds out about you and me, she'll be angry with you too!"
Hun Changqing remained calm despite Zi Yan's words, showing no reaction whatsoever to Medusa's impending entrance. He was joking; he wouldn't let his woman scare him. Hun Changqing usually gave in to Medusa, but that didn't mean he was afraid of her.
Although Zi Yan had come to him herself, it was ultimately a matter between Hun Changqing and Zi Yan. Hun Changqing's previous statement that he would watch Medusa teach her a lesson was just to scare her; he couldn't really let Zi Yan bear Medusa's wrath alone for something like this.
Moreover, even if his actions displeased Medusa, he had ways to calm her down—either through simple and direct persuasion or through gentle coaxing and serious convincing. Therefore, Hun Changqing didn't care about this.
On the contrary, seeing the extremely flustered Zi Yan, he couldn't help but find it amusing. He had almost never seen Zi Yan so panicked. It seemed that Medusa had left quite a shadow on Zi Yan during his absence.
Hun Changqing's mischievousness suddenly arose. Taking advantage of the moment before Medusa entered, he decided to tease Zi Yan and enjoy watching her panicked state. So he spoke to Zi Yan in a mocking tone.
"So you're scared now? Where's that arrogant and unruly attitude you had just displayed? Besides, what can I do? She's right outside the door. Do you think you can just run away under her nose? And if Medusa comes in, she'll only vent her anger on you. As for me, she'll at most throw a little tantrum at me, but she won't be affected. What you should be thinking about now is what you want to do, not what we should do."
"Master! You..."
Hearing Hun Changqing's completely indifferent attitude, Zi Yan suddenly became anxious. A surge of anger welled up in her heart, making her so angry that she was somewhat incoherent and didn't know what to say. However, Zi Yan heard a light footstep coming from outside the door. At this moment, Zi Yan no longer cared about Hun Changqing's attitude. Her thoughts flashed through her mind like lightning. Then, as if she had thought of something, her eyes lit up, and she suddenly shouted at Hun Changqing.
"Master, you're a Dou Zun expert! Quickly open the spatial rift and let me in!"
Hun Changqing's eyes flashed with surprise as he spoke to Zi Yan with some astonishment.
"I didn't expect your brain to be so much smarter than before. You actually thought of having me use the spatial passage to send you away at a time like this. It seems you haven't just been eating all year; your brain has also improved a bit."
Normally, Zi Yan might have felt a little proud of Hun Changqing's lavish praise, but in this urgent situation, she was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
She had no time to pay attention to Hun Changqing's praise and hurriedly said, "Master! Stop talking nonsense! Quickly open the spatial passage!"
However, Hun Changqing remained unmoved by Zi Yan's anxious cries. He simply shook his head slowly, then leaned back, lying on the soft but messy bed, and spoke to Zi Yan with a hint of helplessness.
"Medusa is now at the eighth level of the Dou Zong realm, and she's extremely sensitive to fluctuations in spatial power. She'll definitely notice if you open a spatial passage in the room. If you slip away through the passage, how am I supposed to explain to Medusa the spatial fluctuations that occurred in the room before she came in? So, you'd better stay here and face Medusa. Don't worry, with me watching over you, I definitely won't let her go too far."
After Hun Changqing finished speaking, he looked at Zi Yan with a sinister smile on his face. Then, Hun Changqing spread his hands and slowly closed his eyes, as if waiting for Medusa to enter.
Zi Yan looked at his completely resigned state and heard the increasingly approaching footsteps outside the door. A sense of desolation filled Zi Yan's heart. She could already foresee her miserable state under Medusa's wrath. Looking at Hun Changqing lying calmly on the bed with his eyes closed, Zi Yan was furious. However, she was helpless in the face of the current situation and slowly lay down with Hun Changqing, closing her eyes as well.
She was tired, she loved no more, let the world end!
Then, as footsteps approached, and unsurprisingly, a heavy, muffled sound of a door being pushed open echoed throughout the secret chamber.
Upon hearing this, Zi Yan's petite body trembled violently, her eyes tightly shut, afraid to open them. However, as Zi Yan lay on the bed, her eyes tightly closed, a crystal-clear mirror silently and slowly appeared above her, instantly covered with countless tiny cracks.
Then, the mirror shattered silently, the broken pieces transforming into beams of shimmering silver light that enveloped Zi Yan. At the same time, a graceful figure in a vibrant red dress, her curves exquisitely alluring, appeared in the room.