Beaches and Swimwear (3/4)

Time quietly passed. About half an hour later.

Pop! a sound like a bubble’s thin membrane bursting was heard.

The pressure of the lake water covering their bodies suddenly disappeared.

A clear, fresh air with a salty tang rushed to greet them.

Their vision suddenly opened up, and they were greeted by a dazzlingly golden, soft, and warm beach, an endless expanse of turquoise waves, and a scorching sun hanging high above.

Xuan Ya’s tense back finally, almost imperceptibly, relaxed at the sight of this unbelievably peaceful scene of sea and sky. The spiritual light gathered on her horsetail whisk quietly dissipated. It seemed it had just been a false alarm.

“Wow—!!! It’s really the sea! The big—sea—!!!”

Gan Tang, like a bird released from its cage, instantly let out a cheer that pierced the clouds. She jumped up and down a few times and was about to sprint towards the golden sand. If not for the lingering authority of her master, she would have probably turned into a streak of light and pounced into the waves.

“This place… indeed has a secret realm.”

Lu Qiancha looked at the suddenly changed environment, a sense of understanding rising in her heart. She then turned to look at the smiling Xun Xue beside her, her telepathic message filled with deep confusion: “Mother, how did you find this place?”

“Hm?”

Xun Xue tilted her head, her azure eyes rolling once, like a cunning fox. Then, a mysterious smile that made one’s heart itch with curiosity formed on her lips, and she placed a finger gently on her lips. “Well… it’s a secret~”

“Little Qiancha~” Xun Xue’s eyes curved into a mischievous crescent, and she leaned closer, her voice as seductive as a whisper. “Do you… really not want to know?”

She wiggled her finger, and the mysterious smile deepened. “As long as… you promise me one, tiny, tiny thing~~ I’ll tell you?”

“?” A glint of light flashed in Lu Qiancha’s blue eyes, and her little ears under the disguise perked up warily. “Tell me what it is first.”

“Hehe… lend me your tail to play with for a few minutes, okay?”

Xun Xue’s smile widened, and her fingertip, without any attempt to hide it, made a virtual tap towards her daughter’s hidden, fluffy, and warm tail, she said telepathically.

Hearing this, Lu Qiancha’s hidden, fluffy tail, as if it had been filled with molten iron.

With a swish, it stiffened.

“Don’t even think about it.”

Lu Qiancha’s mouth twitched, and she silently moved two steps to the side.

Learn from a mistake.

She would, of course, not agree to Xun Xue’s request.

Since the other didn’t want to say, Lu Qiancha didn’t ask any more questions.

She turned her head away, seemingly staring in a daze at the white waves that were rushing up and receding not far away, but her tail was raised warily, as if on guard against something.

Xun Xue looked at her daughter’s on-high-alert, as-if-facing-a-great-enemy little appearance. A “regretful” light flashed in her azure eyes, and was then covered by a thicker smile.

She began to hum a little-known tune, and as she hummed…

Her fingertip quietly reached out to the tip of Lu Qiancha’s unyielding tail.

With her nail, she gently and quickly scraped it.

“Hiss!”

Lu Qiancha’s whole body felt as if it had been electrocuted, and she almost couldn’t help but jump up.

She turned her head sharply, her fur bristling with anger.

But Lu Qiancha found Xun Xue standing with her hands behind her back, as if nothing had happened, walking towards Xuan Ya and Gan Tang, who were setting up a tent in the distance.

Only the sound of her cheerful, rising humming was left in the wind.

Looking at Xun Xue, who was helping to set up the tent in the distance, Lu Qiancha stood in place, a subtle tingling sensation still lingering on the tip of her tail.

“…Really.”

Lu Qiancha shook her head helplessly. She tried to ignore the strange sensation on her tail and started walking towards Xuan Ya.

As she got closer, she saw that the three of them had already spread out an elegant cloud-patterned ground cloth, set up the bamboo tent poles, and put up the frame of the tent. They were now in the final stages of reinforcement.

Without saying a word, Lu Qiancha joined the queue.

Her paw tips hooked a heavy ground spike.

“Thump! Thump! Thump!”

Lu Qiancha used her spiritual sense to pick up a hammer and, with a force that seemed to be a vent for her frustration, drove the spike firmly and accurately into the coarse sand.

The wind rope tightened, and the tough dragon tendon buckle hummed softly.

She repeatedly checked the position and tightened every restraint.

After a burst of intense labor…

Three tents of different styles but equally sturdy, one large and two small, finally stood on the edge of the beach.

Xuan Ya’s spacious main tent, with its moon-white and cloud-patterned design, was shared by Gan Tang and her master. The remaining two small and exquisite accessory tents, embroidered with gold thread, were divided between Lu Qiancha and Xun Xue.

The moment they finished, Gan Tang, dressed in a light blue, translucent, and gauzy Zen robe that clung to her exquisite figure, was like a bird that had been set free.

“Wooohooo—!”

She let out a meaningless but freedom-filled cheer, her tender white feet bare, kicking up a spray of golden sand. She rushed like the wind towards the intoxicating turquoise tide.

A faint smile appeared on Xuan Ya’s lips. With her hands behind her back, her skirt was swayed by the slightly salty sea breeze.

Like someone walking on the moon and riding the wind, she strolled leisurely along the border between the golden beach and the blue sea, as if savoring the unique rhythm of heaven and earth.

Just then, a rich fragrance with a frosty temperature, mixed with the sea breeze, quietly approached the young man by the sea from behind.

Xun Xue, like a stealthy cat, silently sidled up to Lu Qiancha, her voice extremely low as she asked, “Little Qiancha, did you bring a cute little swimsuit?”

“No.”

Lu Qiancha replied without turning her head, her tone calm. “The clothes I’m disguised in are illusions of spiritual power. I can change them to any form I want with a thought.”

With that, a glint of spiritual light flashed from her fingertips—

Swish!

The flowing white shirt on her body instantly and seamlessly switched to a simple and neat, cool swimsuit.

“This is just a change in appearance.”

Xun Xue pouted, a little dissatisfied. “The clothes are still the same material! The salty seawater will damage the fabric! And it’s so annoying to wash!”

She poked Lu Qiancha’s forehead heavily with her finger. “And! A beach without changing into a swimsuit has no soul!”

“If it gets wet, it gets wet. What can I do about it? I didn’t bring a suitable swimsuit. It’s better than running around naked on the beach.”

Lu Qiancha said in an annoyed tone.

“Hehe, I actually brought a suitable swimsuit.”

Xun Xue smiled slyly and took out a pink and white, lace, thin-strapped one-piece swimsuit from her storage bag. The back was a cute, large bow tie.

The overall design was so short that it only reached the top of her thighs, an extremely dreamy and even criminally suggestive, exquisite one-piece swimsuit.

“This, I refuse.”

The moment Lu Qiancha’s gaze fell on the pink and white lace, the calm expression she had been trying to maintain cracked with a snap, and her voice became somewhat cold.

“Aiya, aiya~ Little Qiancha~~~” Xun Xue immediately began to shake Lu Qiancha’s arm, and her full, soft, and warm side pressed against the other’s arm irresistibly.

“This kind of cute swimsuit is practically tailor-made for you.”

She swayed the swimsuit, her amber eyes filled with an undeniable plea. “Just wear it once, just once for your mother to see, okay~~~ Just once, okay~!”

With that, Xun Xue pressed her full, soft body directly onto Lu Qiancha.

“Ngh…”

For some reason, this time, the bloodline resonance produced by contact with Xun Xue was particularly strong.

A sense of security, thick enough to drown all defenses, washed over her nerves like a tsunami, directly causing Lu Qiancha to let down her guard.

As for the disguise… was there a need to disguise oneself in front of one’s closest kin? Lu Qiancha almost instinctively gave the answer.

The spiritual power supply to the Mirage Art instantly stopped, and her azure, fluffy ears and soft fur were completely exposed to the warm sunlight and sea breeze.

She even subconsciously nuzzled the inside of Xun Xue’s soft, warm arm with her small head. A series of satisfied “purr, purr, purr” sounds escaped her throat.

Xun Xue, like a little fox that had gotten its way, smiled and said softly, “Little Qiancha, let your mother change you into some beautiful clothes, okay?”

“Ngh…” Lu Qiancha was completely lost in this sense of intimacy. Her blue eyes were hazy, and without any thought, she uttered a sweet, sticky syllable: “Okay~ Mother can do whatever she wants~”

“Hehe! My baby is the best, the best!”

Xun Xue, triumphant, planted a loud “Mwah!” on that soft, vanilla-scented cheek.

“Mi~”

The moment she was kissed, a sense of happiness and satisfaction, like being enveloped in a warm ocean, completely scrambled Lu Qiancha’s little head, making her give up on thinking altogether.

Only one sentence remained in her dizzy little head: ‘Ehehehe, I was praised, I’m so happy!’