Fairy, I am truly a virtuous gentleman!

"You're not wrong, I'm the one who's wrong."

Ning Yuan said calmly, with an apologetic look on his face.

Xiao Lingjiang was still puzzled. Her clothes were disheveled, and large patches of white skin could be vaguely seen from her neckline, with two mounds of snow-white skin pressing together to create a deep cleavage.

Ning Yuan stepped forward, reached out his hand, gently tucked her hair behind her ears, and then straightened the collar of her dress.

Xiao Lingjiang neither dodged nor avoided the young man, her beautiful eyes fixed on him as he did as he pleased.

That's just her personality; now that the hymen has been broken, there's no need to hide it anymore.

The karmic entanglement between Ning Yuan and her is not important to discuss.

She saw everything he did, including the manners he displayed.

Over the course of their time together, Xiao Lingjiang indeed found it difficult to suppress her feelings for him.

Undeniably, she chose to face it with equanimity.

But then, Ning Yuan immediately belittled himself, saying, "Miss Xiao, I'm really not a good person. Do you really see me for who I am?"

Xiao Lingjiang nodded slightly and said softly, "Now I see, he is indeed a bad person. He has kissed and touched you. Does Young Master Ning intend to let it go?"

That's not what I meant.

Ning Yuan sighed and said, "Miss Xiao, you are dissatisfied with the family's arrangements and would rather risk breaking through your cultivation level than accept my protection for nothing, even if it means becoming my personal maid. These points are enough to show that you are a person who dares to love and hate."

Xiao Lingjiang asked, "So what? Are you bothered that I rejected the marriage arrangement my family made for us?"

"No."

Ning Yuan shook his head and only said one sentence.

"Can you accept that I have other women?"

Xiao Lingjiang's face stiffened, and she forced a smile, "You mean Fairy Lingyin? She has been with you since childhood, and you are very close. I... can understand what she means."

Ning Yuan shook his head again. "No, it's not just her."

Xiao Lingjiang immediately fell silent.

Ning Yuan smiled slightly, not minding, and said sincerely, "Food and sex are the greatest desires of humankind. Miss Xiao is as beautiful as a fairy and has a charming demeanor. I am honored by your favor, but precisely because of this, we must know when to stop. We cannot be blinded by momentary lust and ignore long-term plans. It was my fault that I couldn't resist."

Xiao Lingjiang's red lips parted slightly, but Ning Yuan interrupted her again, "Besides, I noticed that Miss Xiao's words and actions were unusual before. She took the initiative to seek me out, so there must be something else going on?"

A series of sincere words gradually brought Xiao Lingjiang's dizzy mind back to normal.

She looked at the handsome young man in front of her, dressed in white robes with clear eyes, and her feelings were extremely complicated.

In a daze, she felt as if her every move was always seen through in advance, and she had never been able to win against Ning Yuan.

Xiao Lingjiang took a deep breath, biting her red lips lightly with her silver teeth, "Young Master Ning is right, I do have something important to ask of you."

"Speak your mind."

Ning Yuan nodded slightly.

"Regarding the spot for the Crimson Abyss expedition... could you, young master, grant Ling Jiang one?"

Ning Yuan looked surprised. "Oh, Crimson Abyss? You're just starting to refine your Qi, and you want to go to Crimson Abyss too?"

Although Ning Yuan said he was making plans for the Golden Core opportunity, his situation was different from Xiao Lingjiang's.

Ning Yuan hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Would you mind revealing your reason?"

Xiao Lingjiang hesitated, but eventually shook her head slowly.

"Alright, since that's the case, I won't ask any more questions... In a couple of days, Miss Xiao will travel with me."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lingjiang asked incredulously, "You just agreed like that?"

As a secret realm for seeking the Golden Core, Crimson Abyss is home to many Divine Palace Realm alchemists from all over the Great Xuan Heaven. Ning Yuan enters as a Qi Refining Body, and only by bringing along two Divine Palace Realm attendants can he gain an advantage in the secret realm.

If it were Xiao Lingjiang instead, she would not only find it difficult to compete with others for benefits, but would also likely become a burden.

Ning Yuan simply smiled and said, "I agree. Consider it compensation for what happened earlier."

"Compensation? What do you take me for?"

Xiao Lingjiang looked somewhat sad. She bit her lip and asked, "Did you think I only slept with you to get into the Crimson Abyss?"

Ning Yuan shrugged, looking innocent, and said, "I didn't say that."

Xiao Lingjiang's eyes flickered, but she finally said calmly, "Young Master Ning is right. I don't want to owe you anything. I have now severed ties with the Xiao family. Apart from my physical body, I have nothing else to offer you."

Ning Yuan seemed to understand. "I see."

But Xiao Lingjiang's expression quickly brightened, and she strode forward, standing only three inches away from Ning Yuan, her bright, clear eyes looking at his handsome and refined face.

"How could I give up a young girl's most precious thing just for the sake of a transaction? I do all this because I would only do so if it were you."

If Young Master Ning refuses Ling Jiang, then I won't make a fool of myself. From now on, I will settle down as a maid in the manor and wait for another opportunity...

But you didn't; you clearly have me in your heart too!

Xiao Lingjiang seemed to have figured it out, and with a determined look on her face, she asked, "Yes, although having three wives and four concubines is the norm in aristocratic families, and it is not uncommon for their status to be unequal, I really cannot accept it."

But if one day I soar into the heavens and become the most powerful in the world, I will marry only Young Master Ning, and you will only have me as your Daoist partner. Is that alright?

Ning Yuan was genuinely taken aback. He was speechless for a moment, then asked to confirm, "Marry me?"

Xiao Lingjiang smiled slightly.

"It's good to have this confidence. If you can truly be the best in the world, having such a wonderful wife would be my blessing."

Ning Yuan readily agreed.

Xiao Lingjiang smiled faintly and said, "Is it a deal?"

"A word..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ning Yuan felt a soft touch seal his lips.

Ning Yuan was somewhat puzzled and was about to respond, but the girl seemed to be merely enjoying this fleeting moment, like a dragonfly skimming the water, gone in an instant.

"Miss Xiao..."

Xiao Lingjiang extended a slender, jade-like finger and gently pressed it against Ning Yuan's lower lip.

"From now on, no matter when, you can just call me Ling Jiang, okay?"

Ning Yuan blinked, gently licked the jade-like finger, watched the girl quickly withdraw it as if she had been electrocuted, and then said leisurely, "Okay."

"He really is a bad person."

Xiao Lingjiang gave a reproachful look, then unexpectedly threw herself into Ning Yuan's arms, her breath sweet as orchids, and said, "Since we both have concerns, let's put aside those bottom lines and do other things, right?"

"You mean...?"

Ning Yuan looked at Xiao Lingjiang in his arms. Her originally spirited and delicate face, which was pure and beautiful, had become alluring and charming again, with a delicate and seductive appearance.

"How about we test our willpower again?"

Xiao Lingjiang smiled sweetly and said.

Ning Yuan readily agreed, carrying the girl's delicate body as he walked into the inner room.

The veil slipped down, revealing two ambiguous figures, their necks intertwined and overlapping.

Those who keep people at arm's length and appear aloof in front of others often behave in the opposite way in front of their loved ones.

The pent-up emotions and intense feelings accumulated over many days burst forth, destroying their usual rationality and gradually leading the young men and women into a suffocating abyss of depression.

...

...

At dusk, a seven-colored light descended upon the courtyard.

Qiao Shuang is back.