The Scoundrel’s Warning

The moment Xia Niansheng uttered those words, the inviolable ‘divinity’ White Snow Jade had so inexplicably conjured in her mind dissipated like smoke.

Xia Niansheng reverted to the image of that damnable, utterly despicable scoundrel.

No… in truth, he had always been nothing but a scoundrel.

White Snow Jade glared at Xia Niansheng with venomous intensity, yet he met her gaze with an unnervingly composed expression.

Before White Snow Jade, he slowly extended a single finger…

White Snow Jade’s pupils contracted almost imperceptibly, a fleeting second of hesitation flickering in her eyes.

“Master!”

A ‘gentle’ smile played on Xia Niansheng’s lips as he gave a slight nod.

“Consider this merely a warning. Should I need to remind you again, my hand will no longer rise in caution, but will strike directly.”

It was much like training a dog: when teaching it not to guard its food, simply raising a hand to startle it when it exhibited such behavior would prove counterproductive, only encouraging it to become more audacious.

The proper method dictated a swift slap the very instant it bared its teeth and wrinkled its nose.

The same principle, he believed, applied to people.

If he constantly had to ‘apply pressure’ to achieve his objectives, White Snow Jade would inevitably grow more and more recalcitrant.

He was keenly aware that to avoid repeating past errors, he needed to be decisive and unyielding when the situation demanded it.

The epithet ‘scoundrel’ remained unspoken, swallowed by White Snow Jade.

She fixed her gaze on Xia Niansheng, struggling to compose herself.

“What are you doing here?”

“And why shouldn’t I be here?”

“You…” White Snow Jade’s next words caught in her throat, her gaze falling upon Xia Niansheng’s enigmatic smile.

“This is, after all, my master’s residence. Surely, you wouldn’t want her to discover the nature of our relationship, would you?”

White Snow Jade undeniably possessed a certain tenacity in some respects, though the latter half of her statement struck him as peculiar.

Nevertheless, Xia Niansheng sensed no genuine threat in her words.

“Your master is currently presiding over the Sect Grand Competition; she won’t discover anything. She won’t realize her beloved disciple has become another’s s*ave.”

Xia Niansheng deliberately reiterated the entire sentence, emphasizing each word.

“You!” White Snow Jade’s eyes widened, fixing him with a furious glare.

Xia Niansheng, however, paid White Snow Jade no mind. Instead of lingering by the window, he pushed open the nearby door and stepped inside.

Moments before, a wall had offered a fragile sense of separation between them, but now that meager security vanished entirely. White Snow Jade instinctively rose from her chair.

“What are you doing?”

“? I wasn’t…”

“Don’t you dare say it!”

Xia Niansheng, caught mid-sentence before he could utter the word ‘do,’ paused, interrupted by White Snow Jade.

Realizing her inadvertent blunder, White Snow Jade’s cheeks flushed a deep crimson.

While it was true that White Snow Jade had, just a week prior, used her mouth on Xia Niansheng’s…

Ultimately, however, she remained inexperienced in matters of intimacy.

Her natural talent for performance and tantalizing others did not, by any means, translate to effortless grace in such a moment.

Even Xia Niansheng was momentarily taken aback by her reaction.

White Snow Jade possessed a genuinely pure, graceful, and amiable appearance, and under the veil of shyness, she was, objectively speaking, quite endearing.

Xia Niansheng, however, was not one to be swayed by such superficialities.

Reaching out, he pulled the chair from behind White Snow Jade and settled himself beside the writing desk.

A faint warmth lingered on the seat, a remnant of White Snow Jade’s presence.

Xia Niansheng, however, betrayed no hint of notice, lest he be perceived as a pervert.

He reached for the bamboo slips White Snow Jade had been perusing moments before.

As he had anticipated, they concerned various contracts.

Xia Niansheng found himself unconcerned by White Snow Jade’s desperate search for information, her futile fantasy of dissolving their pact.

For he knew her efforts would ultimately be as fruitless as drawing water with a bamboo basket.

Only he truly grasped the formidable power of the [Cultivation Anomalies Record]; once their contract was fully solidified, not even an immortal could hope to break it.

Xia Niansheng remained seated, holding the bamboo slips, while White Snow Jade stood stiffly beside him.

The scene strikingly resembled a scholar attended by his page.

Xia Niansheng cast a sidelong glance at White Snow Jade.

“Have you found a way?”

“Hm?” White Snow Jade responded, a hint of confusion in her tone.

“I asked, have you found a method to dissolve the contract?” Xia Niansheng’s lips curved into a mocking smile.

Only then did White Snow Jade grasp that Xia Niansheng was deliberately taunting her.

“…Xia Niansheng, you scoundrel.”

Xia Niansheng merely shrugged, entirely unfazed by White Snow Jade’s latest outburst of vitriol.

“Does the Saintess know why I’ve sought you out this time?”

“What…” White Snow Jade’s thoughts suddenly drifted to a conversation she’d had with Qiu Yan some days prior.

Xia Niansheng desired to become the Saint Son.

“Is it about the Saint Son position?”

This time, it was Xia Niansheng who paused, taken aback.

‘How did the topic suddenly shift to the Saint Son?’

He quickly pieced it together, though.

The fact that Qiu Yan had offered him what amounted to a ‘promise’ suggested she had, to a significant extent, accepted him.

Thus, White Snow Jade’s knowledge of the matter likely stemmed from Qiu Yan’s subtle probing.

“Hmph… What else did that woman, Qiu Yan, tell you?”

‘That woman, Qiu Yan…’

To refer to the Sect Master in such a disrespectful manner was truly outrageous. White Snow Jade felt a prickle of discomfort, but knew better than to reveal it.

“She didn’t say much else, just asked if you were… suitable…”

Xia Niansheng’s expression became contemplative.

A knot of anxiety tightened in White Snow Jade’s chest.

If he were truly to become the Saint Son, the time they spent together, whether on external missions or in private, would increase exponentially…

Moreover… she harbored a faint suspicion that Xia Niansheng held certain intentions toward her master…

As a woman, Qiu Yan was undeniably exquisite, her figure and countenance both reaching the pinnacle of beauty.

She possessed a mature allure and intellect that White Snow Jade, despite her own youth, sometimes found herself envying.

White Snow Jade simply refused to believe that any man could remain entirely unaffected by her.

While she had absolute faith that her master would never stoop to fancying any man, a gnawing worry persisted regarding the underhanded tactics Xia Niansheng might employ.

Though she didn’t truly believe Qiu Yan would be outmaneuvered by Xia Niansheng, some of the methods at his disposal were undeniably unconventional.

“I’m warning you, don’t harbor any improper thoughts about Master…”

Xia Niansheng was somewhat startled by White Snow Jade’s perceptiveness, a trait befitting a heroine.

Yet, upon hearing her words, he couldn’t help but conjure a certain image in his mind.

‘White Snow Jade, you wouldn’t want your master to be… so it can only be you, right?’

‘Cough, cough…’

Maintaining a perfectly impassive facade, Xia Niansheng feigned ignorance. “What kind of improper thoughts?” he inquired.

White Snow Jade wished she could sink her teeth into Xia Niansheng and rip him to shreds.

‘What kind? You’ve already done *that* to me…’

Xia Niansheng chuckled softly, set the bamboo slips on the desk, and then stretched languidly.

“While it is true that I harbor aspirations of becoming the Saint Son, my purpose in seeking you out this time is not related to that.”

White Snow Jade’s brow furrowed in confusion. ‘Then why has this scoundrel come to find me?’

Xia Niansheng simply gazed at White Snow Jade, then offered a shrug.

“Though the contract is potent, it seems it cannot be perfected in a single stroke…”

Xia Niansheng extended a finger, its tip radiating a soft light. White Snow Jade felt the brand upon her skin begin to glow once more.

Within the confines of that contract, the bond between s*ave and master, it seemed, was still insufficient.

White Snow Jade’s pupils dilated slightly as a chilling premonition began to form.

“What in the world do you mean by this!?”