Chapter 24: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, the Oriole Lurks Behind

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From the silent private room came faint, suggestive sounds.

Squelch… squelch…

Ye Jingtang lay flat on his back, watching the heroine only inches away as she moved on top of him. The look in his eyes was exceptionally strange.

Luo Ning was in the dominant position. Though she had one arm braced against her chest and was not in direct contact with him, her glossy hair slipped from her shoulder and spilled beside his face, teasing his skin and making his heart itch.

There was only one fair, delicate hand between them, but the position undeniably resembled a woman forcing a kiss on a man.

Ye Jingtang thought the method rather clever. Suppressing his wayward thoughts, he focused on the sounds outside and diligently kissed her palm.

Squelch…

!!

Luo Ning felt the moist heat and tingling sensation transmitted through her palm, and gooseflesh rose all over her body.

Their faces were practically touching. She could feel Ye Jingtang’s scorching breath brushing her cheek. Though they were not truly kissing, the impact was no less overwhelming.

It was difficult to endure, but Luo Ning had experience from the last time he had touched her. In the end, she suppressed the trembling in her heart, kissed him through her palm with a series of soft smacks, and closed her eyes to listen carefully to the sounds outside.

But…

This fellow seemed remarkably practiced at taking liberties with women!

Luo Ning had only just forced down her embarrassment when she discovered that Ye Jingtang was not merely kissing her. He had also raised a hand and placed it against the back of her head. Then his fingers slid down through her black hair to her back, gently stroking her shoulders and the space between her shoulder blades.

The sensation was difficult to describe. Luo Ning only felt that his gentle caresses were like a branding iron wandering over her back, each stroke striking straight at her heart and making her tremble involuntarily. Her throat strained to suppress a soft moan.

Luo Ning moved her hand slightly and pressed against Ye Jingtang’s arm, warning him not to touch her recklessly.

Ye Jingtang looked somewhat innocent. After all, when a man kissed a woman, it was impossible for him to keep both hands rigidly at his sides. He had merely touched her shoulders and back, not any truly sensitive places.

Sensing the killing intent radiating from the heroine, Ye Jingtang became more restrained. He spread his hands and rested them against the pillow, putting on the look of a “young hero abused by a female warrior.”

Squelch… squelch…

The faint sounds continued for nearly half a quarter of an hour.

Luo Ning had clearly overestimated her own endurance. At first, she had kept one hand curled against her chest to support herself as she pressed down over Ye Jingtang, thinking it was nothing. But as the man’s body heat steadily reached her, she gradually began to feel uncomfortable all over. Her face grew hotter, her thoughts tangled, and her breathing involuntarily grew heavier…

Her mind in disarray, Luo Ning could only close her eyes and force herself not to pay attention to any of it, concentrating instead on listening to what was happening outside the window.

Ye Jingtang lay there obediently and did not cross the line again. Before long, however, he noticed that something was wrong with the heroine lying atop him.

They were too close for him to see her face clearly. He could only tell that her eyes were shut, her breath was hot, and the front of her clothing rose and fell intermittently.

Luo Ning’s left hand had originally been curled against his chest, keeping some distance between them. As time passed, however, the strength supporting her body gradually weakened, until at last her upper body rested directly against his chest.

The point of support had changed from one slender arm to that arm plus two small melons…

?

Ye Jingtang’s self-control was extraordinary, but he was no saint. Seeing Luo Ning pressed so closely against him, his hand rose of its own accord and quietly moved to her back, stroking it with gentle fingers.

Luo Ning kept her eyes closed, concentrating with all her might on sensing what was happening outside. She seemed not to notice that his actions had changed from before.

“…”

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Ye Jingtang blinked. Seeing this, he let his hand slide a little lower, moving it onto the round, full moon beneath her.

Even through the coarse cloth of her skirt, he could still feel the silky smoothness beneath the fabric…

“Hm?!”

This time Luo Ning finally reacted. She jolted awake, pushed herself upright again, and glared furiously at Ye Jingtang.

Ye Jingtang quickly raised both hands. His expression grave and solemn, he mouthed a reminder:

“Don’t get distracted!”

I got distracted?

Luo Ning had been “concentrating” on the sounds outside just now. She certainly did not feel that she had lost focus.

Besides, even if she had, did that give him the right to touch her? And in that place…

Seeing him turn the blame back on her, Luo Ning desperately wanted to draw her sword and reason with him. But the person outside the inn seemed to be lying in wait, moving without a sound and apparently having no intention of leaving.

After glaring viciously at Ye Jingtang, Luo Ning wiped the hand that had touched him against his clothing in disgust. Then she rolled onto her back, placed one hand on the soft sword at her waist, and suppressed her emotions as she said:

“We have things to do tomorrow. Let’s go to sleep early.”

Seeing that Luo Ning was angry, Ye Jingtang gave a slight shrug, lay properly on his back, and continued listening carefully to the sounds outside.

The inn fell completely silent. Neither of them spoke again, as though they had been perfectly satisfied after their kiss and had drifted into peaceful sleep.

But the two of them were finished. Other guests still remained in the inn.

People from all walks of life gathered in the vicinity, and martial artists were not particularly concerned with conventional propriety. With their excess energy, it was perfectly common for men and women to take advantage of an inn at night.

Ye Jingtang had only just closed his eyes when a sound came from one of the rooms:

“Mmm… mmm…”

The voice was plaintive and breathless, far more professional than the heroine’s.

Ye Jingtang’s expression turned peculiar. He secretly glanced toward Luo Ning, only to see her already-flushed face gradually turn as red as a bank of sunset clouds before cooling again. Her hands, folded over her lower abdomen, clenched tightly as she pretended not to hear a thing.

Smack, smack…

Creak, creak…

The sound of the bed shaking was strangely familiar.

Ye Jingtang was trying to pay attention to what was happening outside, but the noise was seriously distracting. After thinking for a moment, he muttered:

“That woman is really shameless.”

“Mmm… what a slut…”

The sounds from nearby left Luo Ning’s mind in turmoil. After muttering her own comment, she turned over, presenting the back of her head to Ye Jingtang.

Surprised that Luo Ning had actually offered an assessment, Ye Jingtang considered making a few casual remarks. But seeing her expression, he guessed that she did not wish to speak and let the matter drop.

In the deep stillness of night, the sounds of passion from the bedroom were a test of will for the solitary man and woman lying side by side.

Fortunately, the man nearby was of mediocre ability. After only about three minutes, the noise stopped, followed by an irritated female complaint:

“Didn’t you eat?”

Luo Ning felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The rainy night grew completely quiet as well. At first, there were still voices along the street, but as the darkness deepened, only the lantern hanging outside the inn remained, swaying gently in the wind and rain.

The two of them lay there in silence for nearly an hour. No further movement came from outside.

Ye Jingtang was not sleepy. Every so often, he studied Luo Ning’s profile to see whether she had fallen asleep.

Luo Ning, meanwhile, gradually grew accustomed to lying beside Ye Jingtang. Her expression returned to normal as she patiently waited for the fish to take the bait.

But the fish outside was more cautious than they had imagined. In the end, there was no movement at all. It was not until the latter half of the night that two soft sounds came from the window:

“Chirp, chirp…”

Luo Ning’s eyelashes fluttered. She opened her eyes, bewildered.

Ye Jingtang understood exactly what Blackie meant:

“Open the window! Blackie’s freezing out here!”

After observing the window for a moment, he climbed over Luo Ning, took up his saber, and silently crept toward it.

Creak—

The window was lifted, and the cold wind and rain immediately drifted inside.

A fluffy little bird shot into the room from outside. Its feathers were soaked through, and it landed directly on the bed before frantically shaking its head.

Swish, swish, swish—

Droplets flew everywhere.

Luo Ning frowned, but her heart went out to the bird. She gathered it into her arms and dried it with the thin quilt, asking softly:

“Has he left?”

The bird had been battered by wind and rain for some time and was thoroughly aggrieved. It opened its beak first.

Ye Jingtang watched the window for another moment before walking over and tossing it a strip of dried meat.

“It looks as though he has.”

Luo Ning had endured all this for so long, and she had not done it for her own amusement. Hearing that, she was naturally irritated.

“Then what now? Was all this acting for nothing?”

After finishing its food, the bird finally felt somewhat better. It pointed outside with one wing.

“Chirp, chirp…”

Ye Jingtang explained:

“It’s clever. Since someone was secretly watching us, it naturally played the hidden predator. I refuse to believe that the Wingless Owl could be cautious enough to shake off a bird’s pursuit. We only need to follow it and catch the man.”

Luo Ning still harbored resentment over Ye Jingtang’s furtive groping earlier. But with serious business at hand, she could not vent her anger. In the end, she climbed out through the window together with Ye Jingtang…

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