"How beautiful."
Ning Caichen was stunned when he saw the woman outside the door.
For a moment, he even forgot about the book he was reading.
"Miss, it's raining heavily outside. Come in and warm up quickly."
Ning Caichen invited enthusiastically, bringing the woman in white inside.
"Thank you, young master."
The woman in white looked at Ning Caichen, lowered her head, and thanked him charmingly and shyly.
Ning Caichen heard her and managed a faint smile on his scholarly face.
"It's nothing. When you're out and about, if others are in trouble, help them as much as you can."
At this moment, Ning Caichen noticed the woman in white glance to the side. Her face immediately flushed with shyness, and she lowered her head slightly.
Ning Caichen also shifted his gaze and saw that in that direction, Li Qi was staring intently at the woman in white.
Seeing this, Ning Caichen immediately chided him.
"Brother Li, don't stare at the lady like that. She's getting shy."
Then, Ning Caichen turned to comfort the woman in white.
"Miss, don't be afraid. This is Brother Li, my companion. He's not a bad person."
Li Qi, however, had no intention of looking away. His voice was heard.
"Uh... is your name Nie Xiaoqian?"
Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise and confusion flickered in the woman in white's eyes.
She quickly reverted to a timid expression and bowed to Li Qi.
"This young master, my name is indeed Nie Xiaoqian."
"Brother Li, do you know this Miss Xiaoqian?" Ning Caichen asked Li Qi with some confusion.
"It's nothing, I just guessed. I didn't expect to be right," Li Qi shook his head, steering away from the topic.
Drip, drip.
Water droplets fell from the hem of Nie Xiaoqian's dress onto the ground at her feet, making the previously dry temple floor slightly damp.
Her wet white clothes clung to her skin, revealing her graceful curves faintly.
Ning Caichen, standing beside Nie Xiaoqian, also noticed this. He instinctively glanced over, and his face immediately turned red.
"Miss, you..."
Nie Xiaoqian's face flushed with shyness again.
"The rain outside was too heavy, and I got wet."
"So that's how it is."
Hearing this, Ning Caichen quickly picked up his backpack and began to rummage through it.
Soon, a dry sweat towel was produced.
"Miss Xiaoqian, if you don't mind, please use my sweat towel to wipe yourself. If you stay like this for too long, you might catch a chill."
"This... thank you, young master."
Nie Xiaoqian shyly accepted the sweat towel and thanked him. She looked around, her gaze falling on the dilapidated Buddha statue inside the temple.
She tiptoed over and hid behind the Buddha statue.
For some reason, Ning Caichen felt that he couldn't calm down enough to read his book no matter what.
Then, rustling sounds came from behind the Buddha statue, and Nie Xiaoqian's somewhat seductive voice was heard again.
At this moment,
"Young Master Ning, are you there?"
"Yes. Miss Xiaoqian, what can I do for you?" Ning Caichen replied quickly.
From behind the Buddha statue, Nie Xiaoqian's soft voice rang out.
"Xiaoqian's clothes are too wet. Could you please help Xiaoqian dry them by the fire?"
As she spoke, a fair, lotus-like jade arm extended from behind the tattered Buddha statue.
In it, she held the thin white clothes Nie Xiaoqian had been wearing earlier.
"Thank you for your trouble, Young Master Ning."
Holding the slightly damp, thin white clothes, a faint fragrance emanated from them.
Inhaling the fragrance.
Ning Caichen's gaze instinctively shifted to the dilapidated Buddha statue.
After all, behind it, Miss Xiaoqian was currently without a shred of clothing.
"Gulp."
Ning Caichen's throat involuntarily bobbed, and his mind began to wander.
The content of the book he was reading had long been forgotten.
Just then, a hand landed on Ning Caichen's shoulder, startling him.
He snapped back to reality and realized Li Qi had somehow sat beside him.
"Li... Brother Li, what is it?"
Li Qi didn't speak directly. He just stared at Ning Caichen until Ning Caichen started to feel unnerved. Then, Li Qi's voice finally sounded.
"Brother Ning..."
"Ah... what is it?"
"As someone who has been through it, I'll offer you a piece of advice. As the saying goes, lust is a knife over your head, and under a woman's skirt, your life is hard to escape. Wine is poison that corrodes the intestines, and lust is a steel knife that scrapes away your bones."
"Beauty is indeed important. But sometimes, beauty can also become a man's death warrant, so never indulge in it."
"If a man wants to succeed, he must first abstain from lust!"
Ning Caichen: "???"
"Brother Li, what are you talking about? Lust? Abstinence? As a scholar, I only wish to go to the capital and attain official status."
Ning Caichen retorted with a blush.
Li Qi smiled, then shook his head to himself and stood up, returning to his original seat.
However, before Ning Caichen noticed, Li Qi's fingers traced a bit of spiritual energy on Ning Caichen.
Before long, the water stains on the white clothes in Ning Caichen's hand had evaporated. He returned the clothes to Nie Xiaoqian behind the Buddha statue.
Nie Xiaoqian thanked Ning Caichen profusely again.
Time gradually moved into the evening. The sound of rain outside also gradually subsided, and the bonfire seemed to dim.
It was time to sleep for the night.
Besides the room with the Buddha statue in Lanruo Temple, there were several other dilapidated rooms connected to it.
As a woman, Nie Xiaoqian found it inconvenient to sleep in the same room as the two men, Li Qi and Ning Caichen, so she went into a separate, run-down room.
Li Qi had intended to ask Ning Caichen to share a room with him.
However, Ning Caichen, thinking he was nearing the capital, wanted to study by lamplight again. To avoid disturbing Li Qi's rest, he also found a room for himself.
Night fell.
Lanruo Temple was shrouded in darkness.
Only in one room, a dim oil lamp flickered.
In front of the oil lamp, Ning Caichen was engrossed in a book.
At this moment.
"Knock, knock, knock."
"Who is it?"
"Young Master Ning, it's me." Nie Xiaoqian's voice came from outside the door.
"Miss Xiaoqian."
Ning Caichen, who had been feeling sleepy, instantly became alert. He quickly put down his book and opened his door.
"May I know what brings Miss Xiaoqian here so late at night?"
"Nothing much, I just wanted to thank you for your help earlier."
Saying this, without waiting for Ning Caichen to react, Nie Xiaoqian glided into the room.
Her fair arms wrapped around Ning Caichen's neck.
"Miss Xiaoqian... you..."
Ning Caichen's mind went blank for a moment.
The next instant, Ning Caichen's eyes began to glaze over, and his own consciousness started to blur.
"Young Master Ning, let Xiaoqian repay your kindness."
A sinister smile appeared on Nie Xiaoqian's lips. She slightly lifted her head to meet Ning Caichen's gaze.
The next moment, just as an eighteen-rated scene was about to unfold.
Behind Ning Caichen, a faint formation pattern made of spiritual energy began to shimmer.
His previously dazed gaze snapped back to reality. He looked at Nie Xiaoqian, who was now embracing him.
Ning Caichen's pupils contracted sharply, and a frantic scream echoed through Lanruo Temple.
"Aaaaaaaah!!!!!!"
Terrified, Ning Caichen fiercely pushed Nie Xiaoqian, who was embracing him, away.
Because in his vision at this moment, Nie Xiaoqian no longer had her previous seductive and delicate appearance.
What appeared before Ning Caichen's eyes was a monster covered in thick, oozing fluid, with maggots crawling on its face, and in some places, even bare bones were visible.
At this moment, the monster's mouth opened and closed, revealing its set of white, sharp teeth. Occasionally, it would crunch on a maggot that crawled into its mouth, speaking in Nie Xiaoqian's soft voice.
"Young Master Ning, what's wrong? Did Xiaoqian frighten you?"
"Aaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!"