Chapter 76: Maybe that is okay?~
When he finally pulled back, her chest was heaving, her pale blonde hair surprisingly staying blonde entirely without shifting now.
"See?" Kian murmured, gently wiping a trace of nectar from the corner of her lips with his thumb. "I told you today was going to be a lot more fun than sweeping floors."
"Is this a kiss?" she asked, curious. "I never knew it was like this.
Kian chuckled softly, his thumb resting against the curve of her jaw. "Yes, little Cui. That’s what a kiss feels like."
"Do you and your wives do it all the time?" She tilted her head, her pale blonde hair swaying over his arm. "Now I understand why the senior disciples are always sneaking into the bamboo groves behind the laundry quarter."
"Pretty much," Kian said, amused by her straightforward logic. "It’s what people do when they like each other."
Xiao Cui processed this for a moment, her gaze drifting down to his mouth before rising back to his eyes.
"Does it mean we are going to have babies now? The old kitchen auntie once said that if a man touches your chest and puts his mouth on yours, a baby grows in your belly by next spring."
Kian blinked in confusion. Then nodded. "Do you want babies?"
"If they are cute and small and bubbly. I want!"
Kian burst out laughing, the sound ringing across the rushing water.
"It takes a bit more than a kiss to make a baby, little Cui," he said, tapping her nose with a finger. "Though we can certainly work on that part later."
Xiao Cui huffed, her face flushing crimson as she swatted his hand away. "You can only kiss me if I get babies in return."
In Kian’s mind, a surprising thought went through.
Damn he liked this girl.
Kian didn’t answer with words, simply pulling her flush against his chest as the bear let out a low, satisfied grunt beside the riverbank.
"Come on, let’s swim."
"We haven’t decided what to do with the clothes!"
"You can just swim with your clothes on if that’s more comfortable," Kian said, standing up and dusting off his robe. "It’s warm out anyway, and they’ll dry in no time."
Xiao Cui looked at her mud-stained dress, then at the sparkling river, and gave a firm nod. "Okay! But if my dress gets ruined, you have to buy me a new one."
"Deal," Kian chuckled. "I’ll buy you better things than that stupid servant’s clothes."
"Really?"
"Of course. You’ll have to pay me with kisses, though. Or babies."
"Deal!!!"
He turned and waded straight into the cool, rushing water, his Iron Skin easily adjusting to the temperature as he moved toward the deeper section near the center.
Turning back toward the boulder, he extended both arms toward the shore with an inviting grin. "Come here, little Cui."
Xiao Cui didn’t hesitate; she launched herself directly into the water and swam to his open arms.
Kian caught her effortlessly, her weight next to nothing as the current surged around his waist.
"You are a really good swimmer, huh?"
Xiao Cui didn’t just tread water—she kicked her feet and cut through the flow like a sleek river otter, her wet servant dress clinging tight to her small frame.
"This is nothing!" She kicked off his chest, dove under the crystal surface, and popped up five feet away with a shining silver fish wriggling between her palms. "I told you I loved swimming!"
Kian whistled, using Wind Step to glide across the water’s surface, snatching the fish from her hands before she could react.
"Hey! That’s my fish!"
She splashed a wall of spray right into his face.
Kian grinned and shoved both hands forward through the river.
"Let me show you how it’s done," he said.
A massive wall of water erupted, slamming straight towards Xiao Cui’s chest and drenching her from head to toe.
She surfaced sputtering, her pale blonde hair plastered flat against her face like wet seaweed.
"That’s completely unfair!" she complained, wiping water from her eyes and glaring at him with a pout. "You used your cultivator magic!"
"How is it unfair if it’s my own power?"
Xiao Cui gasped, noticing the predatory gleam in his eyes as he began wading toward her.
"No way!" She kicked off a submerged boulder, spinning on her stomach and kicking her legs into a fast, effortless freestyle. "You are not catching me!"
Kian cut off his Qi control and lunged after her with raw physical strength, intending to scoop her up without cultivation or techniques.
But the sheer density of his Iron Skin made his body sink like a cannonball, his arms churning through the current with heavy, clumsy splashes.
She glided past a cluster of river stones, completely outpacing him while looking back over her shoulder with a ringing laugh. "Look at you! You’re swimming like a fat turtle!"
"My technique is my technique!"
Kian scoffed, brought his Qi back online with a sharp exhaled breath, and activated Wind Step right beneath the water.
A pulse of compressed air shot him forward like a crossbow bolt, breaking the surface right beside her and wrapping his arms around her waist before she could even turn around.
"Hey! No fair!" she squeaked as he hauled her up into his chest.
Kian didn’t give her a chance to complain further, pressing his mouth firmly against hers and smothering her laughs into a warm, wet kiss.
Xiao Cui gasped against his lips, her small hands splashing against his shoulders before her fingers found the wet fabric of his robe and held on tight.
The current pulled at their tangled legs, but Kian stood as solid as a mountain in the riverbed, deepening the kiss until her resistance melted completely into the warm, rushing water around them.
When he finally let her breathe, her pale hair clung to his collarbone, and her round eyes were wide and glossy in the fading light.
"You really are a cheater," she whispered into his mouth. "Using cultivator magic just to catch a girl like me. I am not giving you babies anymore!"
"Can I get kisses?"
"Maybe that is okay, I guess."