Chapter 1312: Lost Words

Yun Jianyue nearly fainted. "Stop it!"

Yan Xuehen's usually serene face now showed an unusual excitement. "Oh, the feel is quite good. No wonder you used to hit me every now and then."

As soon as she finished speaking, several more slaps landed.

Yun Jianyue was utterly humiliated and furious. The reversal was simply too great; just a second ago, she had been excitedly planning to pin down Yan Xuehen and give her a good beating to satisfy her itching hands after days of restraint. She never expected to be the one pinned down and beaten by the other. This role reversal made all her senses exceptionally acute.

"How exactly did you recover?" Yun Jianyue tried to divert her attention. "Stop hitting me! My backside is burning."

"You want to know? Beg me then!" Yan Xuehen felt an unparalleled sense of satisfaction and clarity. Even breaking through to Grandmaster all those years ago hadn't brought her such joy. Perhaps only a few days ago, in the great snow mountains...

Her face flushed at the thought. Why was she thinking of that guy? To hide her embarrassment, she raised her hand and gave Yun Jianyue another hard beating.

Yun Jianyue was on the verge of fainting. It used to be so satisfying to bully the 'Ice Stone Woman,' but she never imagined being beaten would feel like this. Seeing that her opponent seemed to be getting more enthusiastic with each strike, Yun Jianyue started to panic. She decided to yield for now to get through this ordeal, planning to settle scores properly once she was free. "Alright, I really want to know. Even if I beg you, how did you recover so quickly?"

Yan Xuehen had fought with Yun Jianyue for so many years, and this was the first time she had seen her humble herself. It felt as comfortable as eating a ginseng fruit.

"What do you mean, 'even if I beg you'? That's not sincere at all. It doesn't count!" she snorted.

Yun Jianyue gritted her teeth in frustration. However, having come from the Demonic Sect, she was more adaptable. Knowing that one must bow under another's roof, she reluctantly forced out, "I beg you, tell me how you recovered so quickly?"

A smile touched Yan Xuehen's face as she watched Yun Jianyue's frustrated helplessness. "Your voice is too soft; I can't hear you."

"Ice Stone Woman, you're doing this on purpose!" Yun Jianyue snapped angrily. With their cultivation levels, they could hear a mosquito whisper at this close range, so how could she not hear?

"I said I can't hear, so I can't hear. What, do you have a problem with that?" Yan Xuehen delivered another slap, watching the trembling undulation. She thought, *This demoness is quite shapely.*

"Fine, I beg you! Did you hear that this time?" Yun Jianyue raised her voice. She was genuinely curious. People at their cultivation level typically didn't get injured, but if they did, it was usually difficult to recover quickly. She knew very well the injuries Yan Xuehen had sustained; they shouldn't have healed in less than a year or two, let alone just a few days.

Seeing Yun Jianyue beg her multiple times, Yan Xuehen raised an eyebrow, a mischievous glint in her beautiful eyes. "I heard you, but why should I tell you?" Her injuries healed so quickly because of Zuan's peculiar cultivation method for recovery. That healing method was so shameful; she would die before revealing it.

Yun Jianyue was utterly bewildered.

After a moment, she realized she had been played. "Ice Stone Woman, when did you become so cunning? You've always been honest!"

"I didn't lie. I only said you could beg me if you wanted to know, but I never said I *would* tell you if you begged." Yan Xuehen's face flushed slightly as she spoke. In truth, she wouldn't have acted this way before, but a few days ago, Zuan had taught her how to speak sentences where each part was true, but together they formed a falsehood. She found herself unable to go back to her old ways.

Yun Jianyue froze. When did this 'Ice Stone Woman' with her dense mind learn such tricks? Could it be from spending these past few days with Zuan...?

Just then, another slap descended with a sharp *smack*. The stinging pain quickly halted her thoughts, and she angrily cursed her opponent in various ways. The more fiercely Yun Jianyue cursed, the harder Yan Xuehen hit. The humiliation of being pinned down and beaten by him was still fresh in her memory; how could she let Yun Jianyue off so easily?

At that moment, the door creaked open, and Zuan's voice drifted in. "What are you two doing? It sounds like you're slaughtering a... pig..."

When he saw the scene in the room—the expanse of pale skin and that mysterious forbidden zone—Zuan's words caught in his throat. He stood there, completely petrified.

Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue also froze, never expecting to attract Zuan.

Yan Xuehen felt a wave of dizziness. She remembered being similarly stripped and beaten over Yun Jianyue's knee, with Zuan, hidden in the shadows, witnessing everything. Even though they had since shared the most intimate physical contact, the memory of that moment made her so ashamed she wished she could burrow into the ground.

Yun Jianyue, meanwhile, felt a thunderclap in her mind. Normally, she was high and mighty, exuding an aura of dominion over the world. Today, however, she had been seen by a man in such a humiliating and private state. If it were anyone else, she could simply kill them to silence them, or if truly enraged, grind their bones to dust. But she couldn't kill Zuan, neither because of his relationship with Hong Lei nor his relationship with herself.

*Argh!* She would never be able to face anyone again!

Yan Xuehen finally snapped out of it. She pulled a nearby blanket over Yun Jianyue's buttocks, which still bore several red handprints, and then lightly coughed. "Why didn't you knock before coming in?"

Zuan was quick to react. "Huh, could it be that I made a mistake in my recent cultivation? Why can't I see anything right now...?" As he spoke, he fumbled his hands around in front of him, perfectly imitating a blind person. To make it more convincing, he even "accidentally" bumped into the doorframe. He then shuffled out, thoughtfully closing the door behind him.

Yan Xuehen let out a giggle. This guy certainly knew how to act.

Hearing her laughter, Yun Jianyue felt even more enraged. "Laugh, you still have the nerve to laugh! I can't believe you, Ice Stone Woman, could be so malicious. You've made me miserable, and you can still smile?"

Yan Xuehen snorted. "So what if you were seen? You're not losing a limb. Why are you wailing like a ghost? It's not like I haven't... *cough, cough*..." She suddenly realized her slip of the tongue and quickly closed her mouth.

Yun Jianyue was furious. "Am I the demonic sorceress, or are you? How can you speak so casually about something like this?"

"Alright, alright. You look a bit pathetic today, so I'll let you off for now." Distracted by what had just happened, Yan Xuehen no longer felt like continuing. After stepping out, she worried it might be unsafe for Yun Jianyue to lie there alone. With a flick of her finger, a wisp of *qi* energy dispelled the restraints on Yun Jianyue.

"Ice Stone Woman, I'll fight you to the death!" A terrifying surge of murderous intent erupted from the room, and Yun Jianyue shot out like lightning.

Hearing the crashing and banging outside, Yu Yanluo, in the other room, turned pale. "What's wrong with them? Why are they fighting so fiercely?" Although the two had been sworn enemies, after spending this time together, they were clearly allies now. Why were they fighting to the death like this?

A captivating scene flashed through Zuan's mind, and he felt his nose warm slightly. He quickly tried to cover it up, saying, "It would be strange if these two *didn't* fight, wouldn't it? Don't worry, their cultivation levels are on par; neither can truly defeat the other."

As expected, they fought from day to night, leveling several nearby hilltops, yet neither could gain the upper hand.

Finally, Zuan stepped out and called, "That's enough fighting. Come down to eat and rest. We still have to travel tomorrow."

Yan Xuehen instinctively stopped because the memory of Yun Jianyue's dominance in the hot spring was deeply imprinted in her mind.

Yun Jianyue usually acted according to her own will and would never listen to his advice. However, having just been seen in such a private state, she felt extremely guilty and ceased fighting as well.

Yu Yanluo was astonished. She had thought Zuan's persuasion would have no effect, yet these two arrogant Grandmasters were actually listening to him?

During the meal, Yan and Yun still sat far apart, and their occasional glances at each other sparked with hostility.

Yu Yanluo, worried they might start fighting again, quickly interjected to smooth things over: "Zuan, how did Sister Yan's injuries recover?"

"Of course, it was my doing..." Zuan answered subconsciously, immediately realizing his mistake. As expected, three sharp gazes instantly darted towards him.

***

*(Author's Note: I wrote a chapter tonight and felt a bit sleepy, so I planned to take a short nap. However, I woke up past midnight. Sigh, I'll probably get heavily criticized. I'll update this chapter first, and the second chapter will come later.)*