From a barbaric clash to an amorous kiss, in their long-lasting lives, Mukri and Gulseni had seen much, yet never dealt with such an erratic scene. But as the spectators exchanged perplexed looks, Harun waved his right hand in a "get lost" sign. Wind gusts slammed into the five, hurtling them toward various locations. Though full of grievances, they dared not complain, and quietly rolled away.
Meanwhile, Jiyan discovered an addiction to Harun's lips. More accurately, her primal instincts took over, clouding her brain in a haze of delight. As the only experienced party, Harun drove the dance, controlling both his and Jiyan's rhythm. From the tree, he nimbly guided her toward the ground. But when his lips left hers, and his tongue trailed up Jiyan's neck, her flushed cheeks reddened further, and she snapped out of the haze.
"Wait, wait, too fast…" The words stopped Harun in his tracks, and stepping back, he gave Jiyan some space, but maintained eye contact. With a ragged breath, Jiyan faced Harun, who stood above her with a disarming smile, and his arms flanking her face.
"Are you sure it is wise to jump a sword-wielding woman?" Jiyan asked after a pause, attempting to regain control of the situation. At the start, Jiyan inferred that Harun came to train her one deficiency: lack of same level, mortal clash. In her life, due to the balance shift between her age and strength, Jiyan rarely fought people on her level. Either they were substantially stronger, or tremendously weaker. There was no right middle. Add to that her past status of divine princess, and the limits of her battle experience became clear.
Regardless of how talented and martially trained she was, without experiencing a true life and death struggle against someone of a similar level, Jiyan could not perfect her killing skills. And while she knew Harun could never threaten her life, faced with his lethal attacks, her body entered survival mode—for their training, that was more than enough. But never did she expect that at the edge of victory, Harun would switch to hooligan mode. Thus, though her recent actions showed otherwise, Jiyan's eyes narrowed at Harun, nailing him with a "Don't take me for granted" look.
"As a gentleman, if I didn't think you'd reciprocate, why would I risk it? I'm just slightly more honest than you are, and helping you acknowledge what we both know you want," Harun countered, lowering his face on Jiyan's, but keeping it a few centimeters away. Too inexperienced to handle the wolf with a straight face, Jiyan felt her heart rate speed up. But thanks to her peerless mental fortitude, she regained her wits, and met his gaze without flinching.
"If you're a gentleman, this world doesn't have a single rogue. But it's fine…" Here, Jiyan's tone underwent a 180 turn, and her lips curled into a smile, "I just happen to like you this way."
Sometimes, Jiyan felt that Harun had the hooligan trait engraved in his genes, as if he inherited it from his father and, regardless of his other characteristics, could never shake that trait off. Not that she cared. There were so many facets of his personality only she had access to. The flaws only made him look more endearing. Jiyan didn't know when she stopped seeing Harun as a mere partner and started developing such thoughts about him.
Post-reincarnation? Pre-reincarnation? Perhaps she always did, but merely deceived herself. None of that mattered anymore. Raising her right hand, Jiyan trailed her fingers across Harun's cheeks. Holding her wrist, Harun lowered Jiyan's hand, and placed a tender kiss on the back of her hand—then again took her lips into hers. This time, he maintained a steady pace, not rushing her into more sensual settings.
They meshed like a perfect match, but as their lips parted, Jiyan raised one eyebrow.
"Aren't you too good at this? You'd think that someone who invested three-fourth of his life into enslaving and destroying his mother wouldn't be so casual with girls. How many lasses did you cheat?" Jiyan teased her partner.
"Oh come on. I'm a 181-year-old fossil. Unless I spent the past 165 years cultivating in a sealed cave, there is no way I haven't fooled around. You celestials are the weird ones," Harun rolled his eyes at the words. Did he spend so much time wearing monk clothes that people now took him for one? But using this moment of distraction, Jiyan flipped Harun over, and exchanged places, now standing on top of him.
In pure cultivation and destructive power, Jiyan surpassed Harun by a large margin. However, when he combined his Sovereign Essence and Mythical Idol's Golden Body, despite the Decaying Flower's side effects, unless she went all out, even she couldn't dent his body. At the same time, Harun's Golden Body enabled him to ignore his foes' physical defenses—a dreadful combination.
But as a sensible man, Harun wouldn't resist an alluring goddess wanting to sit on his lap, and so let Jiyan do as she pleased. About one hour of witty banter and smooches followed, and at the end of their games, Harun lay on Jiyan's thigh, with her gentle hand going through his sleek, dark hair.
"We're leaving tomorrow," Harun said after a moment of silence. Though the date took her aback, aware of Harun's plans, Jiyan wasn't that surprised, and knew precisely where they were going.
"Are you leaving your totem here?"
"Yes. Might as well let it cultivate in peace. Gulseni will temporarily return to the Vermilion Brides, leaving Mukri as the only Celestial-Knight-level expert to guard the clan. Although we have some defensive methods, that situation is far from optimal. Only by leaving the totem behind can I feel relieved," Harun replied. His totem's strength wasn't proportionate to his own. But it could cultivate the Myriad Poisons Bridge and grew stronger by devouring rare treasures or delicacies. At the same time, its bloodline quality increased, steadily approaching the mythical Star-Devouring Serpent tier—a matter for another time.
"Why don't you take those two onto the Myriad Poisons Bridge?"
"Too soon. Both have been cultivating for centuries or thousands of years. As he already did so once, perhaps Mukri can easily give his path up. He has average willpower, but sky-high talent due to the Devil Essence. Once he finds the motivation, he can cross the First Step without too much trouble.
But for Gulseni, it's more complicated. Her 865 years of cultivation carry an emotional baggage she may not be willing to give up so soon. Thus…"
"Forcing the change will only be counterproductive. They need at least enough motivation to ask for it on their own," Jiyan finished the words for Harun, who nodded in approval.
Closing his eyes, Harun sent all members of the Birusk clan a mental message, directing them all to the temple's gates.