IFIWMWMAE Chapter 8: Where Did You Learn This Flirtatious Conduct?

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The pampered Xie Lin disliked bathing in the sea, complaining about the fishy smell, so he created a replica of the Demon Realm's hot spring on the island.

Not only did he refuse to bathe in the sea himself, but he also forbade me from doing so.

I didn’t like hot springs—I only liked the sea.

But Xie Lin's words were absolute. He forced me to bathe in the hot spring, and I had no choice but to obey his command.

As I undid my robes, a pill rolled out from my sleeve. I paused for a moment, then bent down to pick it up.

So it had fallen into the inner lining earlier, and I hadn't noticed.

The pill was bitter, and I didn't really want to take it. But it contained an ingredient that  Immortal Lord Zezhou had painstakingly found for me. Not taking it felt like letting down his goodwill.

Just as I hesitated, Xie Lin glanced at the pill and asked what illness I had.

I dejectedly explained the situation. Finding it odd, Xie Lin took the pill, examined it carefully, and even broke off a small piece to taste.

Xie Lin asked, "Su Zezhou gave this to you?"

I nodded and gratefully said, "Immortal Lord Zezhou went through great trouble to heal me."

Xie Lin's expression turned grave. "It does contain Cold Mountain Ice Lotus, which can indeed nourish your soul. But your body is too weak to withstand it. Before long, you’ll collapse from exhaustion and die."

I was stunned.

"You don’t believe me? What kind of look is that?" Xie Lin said. "I haven’t falsely accused your Immortal Lord Zezhou."

I was stunned for a long time, unsure of what to do.

I thought, it probably wasn't the Immortal Lord Zezhou. He had saved me from the jaws of wild dogs, taken me back to Cuiwei Peak, and gone to great lengths to protect me—there was no reason for him to harm me.

But I also believed Xie Lin's words.

I secretly speculated that it was perhaps Lu Yan and his group who did it.

Xie Lin probed my consciousness and said, "Half of your divine soul has been sealed, while the other half is exposed. This is the effect of that pill. You mustn’t continue taking it."

"But I want to cultivate," I clutched Xie Lin’s sleeve. "Everyone says I’m useless."

Xie Lin pondered for a moment and said, "The demon race has a type of technique that specializes in refining the physical body. Do you want to learn it?"

Of course I did. I was desperate to cultivate.

During the day, Xie Lin was busy searching for an exit from the secret realm, and at night, he taught me how to strengthen my body.

I moved into Xie Lin’s sleeping quarters and shared his lodging.

I hadn’t expected it to be so painful. Xie Lin severed all the meridians in my body with his true energy and then reshaped them bit by bit.

I cried so hard that after it was over, Xie Lin sighed and told me this was only the first day.

Then he asked if I wanted to continue training. Even as I sobbed uncontrollably, I shouted that I did.

Seeing how heart-wrenchingly I cried, Xie Lin, perhaps out of kindness, hugged me and comforted me a little.

The exit to the secret realm was never found. We had been inside for nearly three years. I had grown rapidly and now reached the height of Xie Lin’s nose.

I once asked Xie Lin if his long disappearance would make the people of the demon realm anxious.

He said that one year here was only a day outside, so I didn’t need to worry.

I wasn’t worried. The time I spent on this island was the happiest I had been since escaping the merfolk clan.

I even thought that it would be nice if Xie Lin never found the exit so we could stay here forever.

I asked him about it, though, because I feared that one day, the secret realm would collapse and shatter this dream.

I woke up in Xie Lin’s arms. He was still asleep. He was a terrible sleeper. Every night before we rested, we would each take half of the bed, not disturbing each other.

Yet every morning when I woke up, I would find myself completely wrapped in his embrace, sometimes so tightly that I could barely breathe.

I would occasionally complain about it because his body was so hot that it often made me feel feverish.

He said that people of the demon race naturally had hot blood and asked me to bear with it.

Since he put it so humbly, I couldn’t bring myself to resent him anymore.

The morning glow spread across half of the sea’s surface. Seizing the moment while Xie Lin wasn’t paying attention, I sneaked into the ocean to play and caught a lot of small fish and shrimp.

The seawater was gentle, like being embraced by my mother.

I was having fun when I caught a glimpse of Xie Lin’s figure from the corner of my eye. Startled, I hurriedly sank into the water, afraid of being discovered.

A moment later, I was yanked out of the water by Xie Lin.

His expression was grim. "How many times have I told you not to play in the water? One wave could drown you."

I mumbled, "I’m actually a good swimmer. Maybe I was a fish in my past life."

Xie Lin narrowed his eyes. "Are you talking back to me?"

I didn’t dare to argue further and grabbed his hand to apologize.

Xie Lin shook off my hand, scolding me for being improperly dressed and telling me to go back and change out of my wet clothes.

As I started to remove my soaked garments, Xie Lin turned his head away, his expression growing even darker. "Where did you learn such shameless behavior?"

Feeling wronged, I put my outer robe back on and muttered, "We used to bathe together all the time."

Xie Lin heard me and ordered me to shut up.

Somehow, I found the courage to raise my voice and say, "Stop pretending! Don’t think I haven’t noticed—you always peek at me when I bathe!"

This time, Xie Lin neither got angry nor scolded me.

I saw the tips of his ears turn red.

Something in my heart tickled, and I leaned closer to him, asking why he peeked at me and why his ears were turning red.

Xie Lin pinched my cheek and said harshly, "No fish for you tonight."

He threatened me all the time. At first, I would feel a bit nervous, but by now, I didn’t take him seriously at all.

I said, "Fine, I won’t eat fish. I want sea snails and clams instead."

That night, Xie Lin made me plenty of sea snails and clams.

I found it strange because this time, the snail meat was hidden deep inside the shell, making it impossible for me to get it out, so I had no choice but to eat the clams.

But I couldn’t open the clam shells either!

Holding a sea snail in one hand and a clam in the other, I looked at Xie Lin, on the verge of tears.

He had done it on purpose—he was bullying me.

I angrily threw the food beside him and stormed toward the shore.

Xie Lin asked, "Where are you going?"

"I’m jumping into the sea!" I glared at him and ran toward the vast ocean.

Xie Lin pulled me back and made me sit beside him, scolding me for having a short temper while feeding me the snail meat himself.

By the time I reached the final stage of body refinement, I had grown used to the pain and no longer cried, enduring it with grit.

After the marrow-cleansing process was complete, I collapsed in Xie Lin’s arms, drenched in sweat, my inner garments sticking to my body.

I panted slightly, wrapping my arms around his neck and resting my chin on his shoulder, then asked, "Can I punch a Qiongqi to death now?"

Xie Lin replied, "Don’t belittle yourself. You could punch Su Zezhou to death now."

I was furious. He was mocking me again. In a fit of rage, I turned my head and bit him—right on the jaw.

Xie Lin scolded me for being sharp-tongued and told me to stop clinging to him.

I refused, wrapping my arms around his neck and locking my legs around his waist in defiance.

Xie Lin lifted his gaze to look at me, his eyes deep and unreadable.

A sudden fear gripped me, and I hurriedly rolled away.

Xie Lin said, "You’re just asking for trouble."

Afraid that he would punish me, I shrank under the covers and pretended to sleep. In that half-asleep, half-awake state, I suddenly realized that I hadn’t thought about the Immortal Lord Zezhou for a long time.

I wondered if the Immortal Lord Zezhou ever thought about me.

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