Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

"Why did you suddenly stop talking?" Yongzhen turned around and looked at him, the previous topic arousing her curiosity.

If anyone else had said these words, Yongzhen would have ignored them completely. However, Chu Mingkong had indeed previously taken out something that could help her cultivate, namely that pearl, and it had been quite effective. Now that Chu Mingkong had returned from his trip, he might have had some extraordinary encounters and obtained some treasures.

But his inexplicable silence puzzled Yongzhen, who didn't know what was going on.

After a moment's thought, Chu Mingkong, drawing upon his honed eloquence, came up with a relatively safe explanation:

"That's right. This item is rather special. It was originally intended for people who study medicine. As you know, studying medicine inevitably involves learning acupuncture points, which requires the use of some special auxiliary items."

When it comes to medical skills and acupressure, Chu Mingkong considers himself to be someone who has conducted in-depth research on acupoints.

Yongzhen still didn't understand, and was confused by his cryptic words:

"Take it out and see what it is."

Chu Mingkong then took out the witchcraft doll. Yongzhen sat up from his lap, picked up the doll, examined it, and frowned in thought:

“I’ve seen it in ancient books. This is a witchcraft doll, the kind used to cast spells on people. How can something like this help people cultivate themselves?”

"You don't know this, but I have a younger sister named Wei Qingning. Her family practices witchcraft. Strictly speaking, these dolls aren't used for casting spells; they're just a medium for performing witchcraft..."

"Yongzhen, take a strand and try wrapping it around this doll."

Upon hearing this, the graceful and elegant woman plucked a strand of hair, gathered a bit of spiritual energy at her fingertips, and with a swift stroke, severed a lock of hair from her glossy, smooth black hair. Yongzhen, though suspicious, was also curious. She deftly and quickly wrapped the hair around the witch doll, and the black hair transformed into a red rope that bound the doll to it.

The hands and feet of the witchcraft doll were tied, its neck was bound, and a red rope was passed through the middle of its chest and strangled between its buttocks.

"And then?" Yongzhen asked, returning the doll to Chu Mingkong.

Chu Mingkong flipped the doll over and examined it. The way it was bound was rather unusual!

He immediately took out the large doll in the shape of Yongzhen. Its exquisite and curvaceous figure flashed by, but Chu Mingkong covered it with a blanket to cover it up.

Yongzhen stared in disbelief at the large doll on the bed, whose appearance was exactly the same as hers.

She gently poked the doll, and found that its skin texture was exactly the same as a real person's.

"What...is this?" She stammered, looking at Chu Mingkong with suspicion.

"Let me explain. This was originally a faceless doll, but after you tied your hair to the voodoo doll, it took on your likeness. I didn't have someone make a doll that looks exactly like you to play with in private."

"I'm not that kind of person. Someone like me, shameless enough to kiss you indiscriminately, would I need to do something so disgraceful and blasphemous?"

Chu Mingkong looked directly at Yongzhen with pure and upright eyes, but Yongzhen's beautiful eyes still held more doubt than anything else. However, she sighed and chose to believe him.

She had just seen the doll's figure, and it looked exactly like her in every way, making Yongzhen feel as if her soul had left her body and she was looking at her own body as a soul.

Even if Chu Mingkong wanted to keep it to himself, who could he find to make such a masterpiece?

Most likely, as he said, it was because of the witchcraft doll that this doll was transformed into her likeness.

"Although Mingkong's explanation sounds like a lie, I still believe you. But how can this thing be used for soul cultivation?"

"Ahem... Try touching this doll."

"?"

Yongzhen frowned, puzzled, and silently did as he said. The moment her hand touched the doll's cheek, she felt a chill run down her spine, and withdrew her hand as if she had been electrocuted, stammering as she touched her own cheek.

"I think I was just touched, could it be...?"

She finished the second half of her sentence in her mind: Could this be that mysterious empathy?

Seeing Yongzhen's reaction, Chu Mingkong knew that this thing was even more powerful than he had imagined.

Before buying it, I thought it was just a cup, but I didn't expect it to be a life-size doll... I really need to find a chance to sculpt Tifa and the other 3D waifus to play with!

While Yongzhen was in a daze, Chu Mingkong lowered his body and kissed the doll's jade-like toes. The toes were flat and smooth, plump and beautiful. Apart from the lack of body temperature, it basically reproduced the delicate and beautiful feet of the real Yongzhen to the fullest extent.

Yongzhen suddenly shrank her legs, curling her toes like a frightened little animal. This reaction contrasted sharply with her previous assertiveness, making her look quite adorable.

"You, why are you kissing me randomly again!"

Yongzhen pulled the blanket over to cover the doll's feet, but she knew it was a bit of a stretch. Chu Mingkong was kissing the rare doll he had brought, not her feet, but that familiar feeling did indeed come back to her feet.

And for some reason, the sensation of Chu Mingkong touching her face was much clearer than when she touched it herself.

"Is this the cultivation method you were talking about?" Yongzhen's heart raced as he was subtly stimulated.

"Yes, I have consulted those witchcraft masters. Ancient witchcraft has a deep involvement with the soul. Many soul cultivation techniques in later generations come from ancient witchcraft. However, the most difficult point in soul cultivation is that it is difficult to perceive. It cannot be seen or touched. With physical training, one can know whether one is strong or not, but with the soul, let alone training, it is difficult to even perceive."

"If you use this method more often to experience that mysterious and intangible feeling, it should be helpful."

Chu Mingkong was lying through his teeth. Although this thing looked like a toy for children to cultivate their character, the principle was sound: this method could actually help one cultivate a bit of the soul.

"There's one more thing. Yongzhen, if you feel uncomfortable with this, you can destroy this witchcraft doll to sever the connection and no longer be affected by it." He handed the witchcraft doll to Yongzhen.

Yongzhen wasn't pretending to be confused; she knew that Chu Mingkong probably had some ulterior motives. He had just kissed her indiscriminately, and although he hadn't gone all the way, he was just waiting for her to make his move.

The fact that they're suddenly bringing out this mysterious thing means they definitely have something in mind.

If the doll didn't have her face, that would be one thing, but now the doll looks exactly like her, even the feeling is the same... This is unheard of, but it still feels strange.

“…Mingkong, if you want, you can use this to vent your frustration first…” she sighed.

"Aren't you angry?"

"Don't be angry this time, just get on with it." She snatched back the blanket, lay down with her back to Chu Mingkong, and pretended not to know anything.

Chu Mingkong touched the doll's round body, and Yongzhen immediately covered her chest with both hands, clenching her fists to endure his antics, but Chu Mingkong's act of pinching the doll's head was really too much.

"Hurry up!" Yongzhen gritted her teeth.

Chu Mingkong peered inside, trying to enter the house, and felt a sense of "extreme narrowness" at first.

He looked at Yongzhen, whose delicate body was still turned away from him, but she curled up even tighter. With his movements, Yongzhen bit the blanket and mumbled words.

"Mingkong... be gentle, be gentle."

Chapter Forty-Three: Using My...

"...It's time to stop... Ah... It's been so long!"

Yongzhen, who had been keeping her back turned, had no choice but to turn around and stop this endlessly indulgent guy. Her clear, beautiful eyes glared at Chu Mingkong, and despite her strong gaze, the words that came out of her thin lips were soft and sweet, like a delicate whisper, with a beautiful hum in between.

Chu Mingkong was stuck in a state of neither being able to move forward nor backward, and it was difficult for him to describe exactly what he felt.

If he were to entertain himself with Yongzhen's doll by himself, he would probably put it away sheepishly after a while and end up feeling bored. This kind of thing is only novel; once you've experienced its intricacies, you'll find it's nothing special.

But with Yongzhen herself right there, things were different. She kept trying to hold back, but every now and then she couldn't help but let out some sounds, let her delicate body tremble, and let a stream of spring water flow. Her own adorable reactions were more charming than any external toys.

Chu Mingkong found the toy uninteresting, which dampened his enthusiasm, but Yongzhen's reactions occasionally rekindled his passion, like a perpetual motion machine, keeping his enthusiasm alive through cycles of cooling and heating.

It neither cools down to the bottom nor rises to the point of complete exhaustion.

"but......"

As soon as Chu Mingkong spoke, Yongzhen blushed and took the large doll away, making a "pop" sound like she was taking out a bottle cork, and the essence of her inner power that had been trapped inside the doll flowed out.

Yongzhen was a little dumbfounded, and said in a coquettish tone:

"No buts... This has happened several times already, and you're still not stopping! Stop now!"

She glared at Chu Mingkong with a hint of anger, but her gaze was drawn to his imposing and powerful presence. In her heart, she cursed him as a "bad guy."

Chu Mingkong carefully explained to her that subtle feeling of being powerless, caught in the middle, and uncomfortable, and then said:

"Let's discuss it. Let me try out the other wonders of that doll, and then I won't tinker with it anymore."

Yongzhen repeated "other wonderful aspects" to herself, and after a few moments, she realized what it meant. She bit her lip and whispered:

"Didn't you just say that using this doll felt neither good nor bad, and that trying another one would make you feel comfortable?"

"That's not necessarily true, but it's probably still possible, right?" Chu Mingkong stammered, unable to give a definite answer.

But ending it was actually quite simple: once Emma left the scene, the fun of playing with the puppets immediately lost its appeal.

Yongzhen picked up the doll, whose appearance mirrored hers. The doll's body wasn't stiff; it could be naturally lifted in a princess carry, its joints bending naturally. She placed the doll on the table beside her, moving it out of Chu Mingkong's sight.

The awkward thing is that the doll was filled to the brim, and it dripped and overflowed along the way, leaving quite a few marks on the ground.

Yongzhen returned to bed and sat facing Chu Mingkong. She pursed her rosy lips and looked at him as he stammered and awkwardly asked:

"What other benefits do you mean... that area after fasting?"

"Yes, not to the point where the primordial yin is damaged."

“Then use mine…” Yongzhen’s voice was so faint it was barely audible.

Chu Mingkong thought he had misheard, and blinked repeatedly:

"Yongzhen, what did you just say?"

"This guy clearly heard me!" Yongzhen gritted her teeth, rolled her eyes at him with teary-eyed embarrassment, then looked away, angrily scolding him:

"I told you to get out of here and deal with it yourself. You're going to suffocate, you wicked thing!"

Chu Mingkong looked remorseful and admitted his mistake, but his body moved to embrace the eldest princess of the Tianji Empire, pulling her into the bed.

then,

To get to the bottom, the fallen liquid returns to its source.

......

After a long while, they stopped.

Chu Mingkong was still holding Yongzhen, glancing at the bill. He realized that the cost of buying the model had been recouped from Yongzhen's money. It was truly a case of the wool coming from the sheep's back.

It was clear that Yongzhen really wanted to turn her back to him so that he wouldn't see her expression and reaction, but she still chose to face Chu Mingkong directly.

The reason is probably similar to Shangguan Rong's mindset back then. It's too dangerous to have Chu Mingkong, that bastard, behind her back. It feels like she has a thorn in her side, making it hard to feel at ease.

Chu Mingkong was an experienced person. He gently applied ointment to her with his hands behind her back. She wasn't actually injured. The ointment was mainly used to relieve her discomfort.

It's not good to remain silent now, so Chu Mingkong said in a compliment:

"Yongzhen is so beautiful, beautiful from head to toe, there's not a single part of her that isn't beautiful."

"......Shut up."

Chu Mingkong carefully smoothed her messy hair, kissed away the sweat on her forehead, and then said:

“I will take care of Madam Zhen’s matter in five days, so Yongzhen doesn’t need to worry. I will also take care of your matter afterward. No one can use Yongzhen as a tool to find allies through marriage.”