Chapter 2: A Deal in the Dark

Yue Lan stepped into the room without a word, her silver robe catching the lantern light just enough to shimmer faintly. It clung close around her curves not tight, but precise. Refined. Controlled. Every step she took made the fabric shift just enough for Li Feng’s imagination to fill in the rest.

That soft scent followed her in something clean, sharp, almost icy. It didn’t fit a dusty place like this.

She sat across from him without hesitation, spine straight, eyes calm as still water. Li Feng tried not to stare. He really did. But how could he not?

That silver robe flowed like a second skin. Her chest rose and fell gently with each breath firm jade mounds wrapped in cloth that might as well have been air. And her hips, the slight sway in her walk, the peach-shaped rear hidden beneath that sash... she wasn’t even trying, and she was driving him mad.

He sat down, coughed lightly, trying to calm the blood rushing downward.

"I heard you were rich," Yue Lan said, her voice flat but not unfriendly. "Not strong. Just rich."

Li Feng smiled thinly. "Sounds about right."

She pulled out a porcelain bottle plain, no markings and set it on the table. "Three Cloudbreaking Essence Pills. Clean out the qi channels. Not cheap. But I need spirit stones more than pills."

Li Feng looked at it. Yeah, those pills could help... someone else. Not him. Not now.

"They won’t do much for me," he said. "Even if I swallowed all three, I’d still be stuck at Qi Refining level three."

She just nodded. "Then name your price."

He paused, fingers tapping the table slowly.

Thirty years in this sect. He’d seen the way people acted how cultivation made people cold, focused, inhuman. Everything was about breaking through, advancing, living longer. Everything else? Trash.

Flesh? Desire? Nobody cared. Not really. Most of them would trade away their own bodies if it meant getting closer to the Dao.

He glanced at her again the cold look in her eyes, the way she carried herself. Yue Lan wasn’t some innocent flower. She was desperate. Controlled. Sharp.

This was his chance.

He said slowly. " I’m willing to give 100 spirit stone to you."

She raised a brow, slightly. "What do you want in return?"

Li Feng’s voice was calm. "A night. With you."

The room fell silent. Her expression didn’t change.

"No dual cultivation," he added quickly. "Nothing like that. I don’t want to take your qi or your Dao insight. I’m not even asking for anything spiritual."

He leaned forward, eyes steady. "I just want the physical. A taste of warmth. Flesh. Nothing more."

She stared at him, long and quiet. Her golden eyes didn’t blink.

"I don’t normally do this," she said finally. "And I don’t plan to start now. But... I’m not stupid either."

Li Feng stayed silent. Let her talk.

"There’s an outer sect competition in a month," she continued. "Top 5 will gets a Foundation Establishment Pill. I’m this close to breaking through to the ninth level, but I need more spirit stones, but if I go and do the sect mission, by then it’s too late."

She looked him straight in the eye. "So no, I wouldn’t be here if I had other options."

Li Feng nodded slowly. "I understand."

She leaned back slightly. "But you... why ask for something so pointless?

You’ve been here longer than me. You know how this world works. Mortal pleasure? It’s just a waste of time and energy"

Li Feng let out a breath. He gave her a small, tired smile.

"Maybe," he said. "But I remember what it’s like to be human. This world grinds people down. Turns them into statues chasing the Dao and forgetting everything else."

He shrugged lightly. "I’m not strong. I’m not fast. I’m not talented. But I remember what warmth feels like. And I’d rather spend my last stones chasing that than rot away meditating in the cold."

It sounded honest. Almost noble.

But inside?

His thoughts were crawling with heat. He could already imagine it her silver robe slipping down her shoulders, those cold golden eyes slowly softening, her pale skin glowing under candlelight. That tight peach he’d stared at for years, finally within reach.

And the best part?

She was still sitting there. Still thinking about it.

She hadn’t said no.

His heart thumped louder.

Still calm on the outside. Still humble. Still polite.

But inside?

He was grinning.

Like a hungry dog who just saw the kitchen door swing open.