Reward

Vichy was rather peculiar. When dressed in a cloak, vest, and trousers, she looked tall, slender, and poised. Even with long pink hair cascading over her shoulders, it could not suppress the viper-like aura bred into her bones—cold, clammy, and slippery. Looking at her, Yaxiu would often think she was a tall elf roughly his own height, or perhaps even a fraction taller. Yet when she sat in his lap wearing a maid outfit, Yaxiu realized she was actually a bit shorter than the Sword Princess. Her body was soft and full of supple bounce, her legs plump yet straight and slender, making her wonderfully comfortable to hold—just like hugging a big fox. Yaxiu took the initiative to coax open her teeth. A deep, slow, and lingering kiss sent even a Soul Demigod instantly succumbing. His hands were not idle either; after several previous transactions, Yaxiu already knew how to please the Spectre Prophet. By the time their lips parted, Vichy was half-undressed, her entire being seemingly melted into a pool of warm water. She lay limp and pliable in the warden's arms, panting in shallow, rapid breaths, her hazy eyes gazing up at Yaxiu as her hands gripped his hand where it rested over her heart, as if unwilling to let him pull away. Only after giving her enough sweetness did Yaxiu speak softly: "Vichy, I'll trade with you, but not tonight. We can find time to do it tomorrow. Could you leave for tonight, all right?" Liking her was one thing, but Yaxiu hadn't forgotten that the Sword Princess and the others were still right there! He trusted Vichy himself, but he couldn't be certain the Sword Princess and the others were willing to accept the Spectre Prophet. And even if they were, that wouldn't stop them from storming out to hack this adulterous pair to death together... Vichy was different from the others. Yaxiu had dared to slip up with the Witch and the Silver Lantern earlier because he knew at worst, he and either of them would only be beaten half to death by the Sword Princess. But if it were Vichy, the Sword Princess might not hold back at all, and the Witch and Silver Lantern would most likely seize the chance to eliminate the party's greatest latent threat. Right now, Yaxiu was a cripple unable to channel sorcerous power; he couldn't even protect himself, so how could he dare let Vichy stay? The maid shuddered slightly, murmuring sullenly, "Did you forget? I've already been exposed by the Gospel God. Once they find out tomorrow, do you think they'll still allow me anywhere near you?" "And didn't I already say?" She arched her brows, her eyes brimming with unspeakable longing and grievance. "I tossed and turned in bed for half the night, unable to endure waiting until tomorrow morning to see you, which is why I came looking for you on such an impulse. After all this, do you still not understand?" Yaxiu was at a loss for words, able only to say, "Can't you be satisfied for now? Just hold out until the abstinence pact ends—" "It's not enough!" Vichy shook her head. "Far from enough!" She sniffled, suddenly feeling wronged. "It's not fair! Why are you still so composed and at ease when I'm already reduced to this? It's so unfair... Why can you hold back better than I can?!" "I'm not leaving, so just give up on that thought. I had exhausting training today, and just coming to find you took all the strength I had left. I don't have the energy to leave on my own... unless I can replenish some vitality from a transaction." "If you still hate me or can't bring yourself to pretend, then order me to get out." Vichy wrapped her arms tighter around Yaxiu's neck, her voice slightly hoarse from forced restraint. "A maid can play shameless with her master, but a prisoner cannot disobey her warden." Yaxiu stared blankly at the woman before him. The instinct for self-preservation that he had painstakingly mustered was quashed by her once again. *I feel just like a Lalafell who knows full well that Hell lies ahead, yet is seduced by a demon into marching steadfastly to doom,* Yaxiu thought. Turning sideways, he shifted Vichy onto the bed. Resting together on the fluffy pillows, they lay facing each other on their sides, gaze locked with gaze. Yaxiu happened to position himself right between Vichy and the wardrobe. "I've never had the time to properly thank you," Yaxiu said, raising his voice slightly as he ruffled Vichy's hair. "In the battle at the Star Bridge Hall, you did wonderfully." Vichy looked a little bashful. Burying her face in his chest, she muttered, "I was only saving myself. It wasn't for your thanks." "If not for you, every one of us might have remained there forever. Without you teaching them soul self-detonation to blast the water coffin open from within, I never would have had the chance to slay the Heart Sword God, let alone defeat Sword Law afterward." "If you had all stayed trapped in the water coffin, even if I had a chance to escape, I would have had no choice but to stay behind and be taken away by Sword Law and Star Law... You were the one who turned the tide." "Foolish," Vichy scoffed disdainfully. "Throwing yourself away just to save others is the height of idiocy. If it were me, I would never—" Yaxiu leaned in abruptly and sealed Vichy's lips. She whimpered twice, surrendering weakly. "When I'm praising you, you're not allowed to question it, you're not allowed to scold me, and you're certainly not allowed to showcase your philosophy of life." Yaxiu pinched her cheek. "I know full well what kind of person you are and how your mind works—I don't need you to remind me... All you have to do is be good and accept my praise." Vichy pouted, nodding with reluctant yet faintly pleased concession. "I don't know if you noticed, but my source energy was completely exhausted back then," Yaxiu said. "Yet because I could share your Virtual Wing Wonder, I was able to restore source energy by harvesting souls. I had already harvested a wave of Sanctuary and Legendary sorcerers earlier, but that was nowhere near enough to sustain a demigod battle. If the deadlock had dragged on any longer, to obtain source energy, my only viable option would have been to turn my gaze toward Jialesi down below." "If you had taken even a moment longer to destroy the water coffin, I might have already torn a small gap through the Pool of Sword Rain, unleashed the full might of the soul wonder, and harvested the souls of hundreds of thousands of civilians below to replenish my source energy." "Even though I had long prepared myself mentally for having to harm others to survive," Yaxiu said softly, "deep down, I still clung to unrealistic fantasies." Vichy nodded. "Indeed unrealistic." "If you had noticed my situation, all you had to do was delay destroying the water coffin, and you could have pushed me across my moral bottom line." Yaxiu curiously caressed her pointed ear. "Once that happened, I would have had no right to restrain your actions anymore, and I might even have walked the exact same path as you. For you, that would have been the most wonderful outcome imaginable." "Indeed," Vichy murmured softly. "In my eyes, your moral bottom line is nothing more than an obsolete ornament." "So... did you notice?" Vichy blinked. Meeting Yaxiu's gaze, she slowly shook her head. "No. I was busy hypnotizing them at the time—how could I have had the attention to spare on you? Consider yourself lucky that I didn't seize the chance to drag you into depravity." Looking at her, Yaxiu suddenly burst into laughter. He couldn't stop, even having to cover his mouth to stifle his chuckles. Made self-conscious by his laughter, Vichy bit his neck in annoyance and demanded fiercely, "What are you laughing at? Stop laughing!" "All in all, you truly made an indelible contribution," Yaxiu said with a smile as he calmed himself. "I want to reward you." Yaxiu had deliberately brought up Vichy's actions in the Star Bridge Hall to remind the people hidden inside the wardrobe—even if Vichy was indeed a nefarious, ill-intentioned evil sorcerer, she had also fought tooth and nail alongside the team and secured a crucial victory that reversed the tide of battle. That way, even if the Sword Princess or the others couldn't hold back from attacking, remembering Vichy's merits would at least stop them from striking to kill; at most, they would beat Vichy half to death. To protect Vichy from the Sword Princess and the others, Yaxiu had truly racked his brains. "A reward?" Vichy blinked, then immediately said, "Then my reward will be a transaction—" "Either way, I'm going to trade with you tonight," Yaxiu chuckled. "You can ask for another reward you'd like. Hmm, it's best not to be cultivation resources. Even though you did wonderful work, favoring you with cultivation resources would likely make the others unhappy..." Vichy instinctively retorted, "Favoring the Sword Princess makes everyone unhappy too, but I don't see you stopping that." The moment the words left her mouth, she realized something was amiss. Looking up, she found Yaxiu staring straight at her. She quickly defended herself, "I was just speaking for everyone, not being jealous... Fine, fine, I won't ask for you to favor me with resources, okay?!" "Then what reward do you want?" "I want..." Vichy hesitated for a long while, and Yaxiu was in no hurry to rush her. After a moment, she lifted her head to look at him. She appeared calm and poised, but blushing red had already crept to the tips of her ears: "I want to experience the taste of Master." Huh? Vichy watched Yaxiu agonize over it for quite a while, thinking he would refuse. In the end, however, Yaxiu seemed to make up his mind and nodded: "All right. But you have to finish this drink first." Yaxiu picked up a drink from the nightstand and handed it to Vichy. Taking a sip, Vichy asked curiously, "Pineapple-flavored aphrodisiac?" "What aphrodisiac? It's just ordinary pineapple juice!" Yaxiu said exasperatedly. "Finish it, and I'll reward you." Vichy gulped it down. Setting the cup aside, Yaxiu turned and pressed Vichy beneath him, emphasizing with a hint of bashfulness, "Let's make this clear first: this is tonight's special reward, not part of our routine transactions. Lie back, and I'll let you experience the taste of being the master." Vichy blinked. Huh? *Wait, I said I wanted to experience 'the taste of Master', not 'the taste of being the master'! How could you possibly mishear that—* Yaxiu took the initiative to lace his fingers through hers, then wriggled backward like a snake, slipping his entire body deep under the quilt. Vichy looked down, locking eyes with Yaxiu beneath the covers. Clearly she was the maid and he was the master, yet right now, she was looking down at him. Vichy was about to say something, but in the next second, a shudder jolted through her entire body. Her hands clamped tight onto Yaxiu's, the arches of her feet snapped taut, and her head arched back as an undulating whimper broke from her throat... *Well... misheard or not, so be it.*