26:: Admitting Her Feelings

She woke up to the sounds of birds chirping in the morning, and every single part of her ached. What she realised was she was in the warm arms of a man, and he coiled himself around her like a snake.

Waking up in such a state triggered her desire, and she unconsciously let out a moan. But he didn't let her go, and with a chuckle, he felt her wet privates.

"Zhan Peng!" she yelled, despite knowing how strong her sexual desire was right in the morning. The next thing was, she felt him rubbing his thing near her opening, and he slid right into her.

Just what she needed. She couldn't even absorb what was happening as her lust consumed her and she began moaning loudly instead. This time, it was quick, and she took in his load as he exploded inside her.

That sneaky man had conquered her with her weakness. She sighed in exhaustion. She didn't have any energy to detest him.

After what felt like forever, she rubbed her eyes and scanned her surroundings. She couldn't recollect where they were, only what Booyeong did to her yesterday. But even with his humiliation and going to the extremes of being stripped before the bandits, sprayed with water and confined inside a cage, what mattered to her most was Yang Tian's safety. Blood relations meant a lot to Yuxi. 

"Tell me Yang Tian is alright," she demanded when he released her and looked around for some source of food for them.

"He's made his way back to the village."

"How could you allow him to travel alone?" she yelled at him.

"Use your brains and think carefully why he was abducted. And why, after I left with him, nobody even pursued us. Idiot."

"Who are you calling an idiot?" she hissed at him.

"You." He pulled a face at her. She followed him, still naked, as he looked for fruits on the nearby trees. He took off his tunic and tossed it at her.

"Wear this, or the snakes will sting."

Yuxi pulled the tunic over her body uncomfortably and knotted the bows of the shirt in one corner. She knew she was just being annoyed with him because of how he had control over her.

She even despised it more that her heart wanted him and she was helpless without him. If only she listened! Yet, why was she so weak compared to him? She had never been like this in the past.

Zhan Peng located some berries and carefully collected them in a silk handkerchief he had brought with him. A closer look by Yuxi yielded the fact that it was one of her handkerchiefs and had her name on it.

When did he have one of her possessions? She marvelled and suddenly he turned and faced her. She hurriedly reverted to her previous expression.

"What?" 

He smirked and returned to the inside of the cavern. Outside, it was raining so hard that they couldn't set foot outside but collected what they could from the bushes growing at the mouth of the cave.

"This should fill us for the time being."

She nodded, and he slipped one berry into her mouth. Instantly, she felt herself getting more invigorated. It was a red-coloured berry. He took another of the red berries and consumed it.

Then she reached for the blue-coloured  berry and consumed it as well. It had a different effect from the red one. It was like her powers were being replenished.

"Magical berries," she revealed. "These fruits are not ordinary berries. The bushes must have appeared in a time of need."

She explained that the emergence of the magical berry bushes was the myth on the island. Today, it was fortunate enough that she actually witnessed it happening.

"There's something here."

Zhan Peng ventured to a corner of the cave and shuffled the leaves covering an inscription on the wall. She followed, and he read out the text he had just uncovered.

"It's some kind of power," Yuxi revelled in what they had discovered. 

They both sat down on the floor and tried to experiment with the skill, but Yuxi found herself incapable of it.

"Maybe you should try," she suggested. "After all, we don't know if we can escape this place."

"Let's try it together," he said hopefully.

As negative as Yuxi felt about learning some strange skills from a cave, she gave it a go. It was risky, but the rebel in her didn't believe in following the rules. She knew that the cavern they were in had borne the markings of a dark magician, yet she didn't tell him straight away that what they were going to do was unorthodox.

After her encounters with Xima, she probably wasn't the same innocent person any longer. If she wanted to defeat Xima, she could only do so with magic. The magic she was born with apparently wasn't enough. She needed to dabble as much as possible, despite the costs that came with it.

She sat down on the floor with Zhan Peng, following the inscribed instructions. They were to take off their clothing, as this action would generate massive heat. She was reluctant, since she was naked beneath, but Zhan Peng's fingers slipped under the tunic and played with her bare skin, making her blush again.

"Stop it, Zhan Peng," she giggled, forgetting how tense she was earlier. He took his tunic off her body, then took off his outer clothes as well.

That left both of them topless in the cavern. 

"There's nothing embarrassing about this, Yuxi," he smiled. "You and I have seen enough of each other to be shy."

She pretended she didn't hear him and sat down to practice with him. They recited the texts together, again and again, for hours until they felt it influencing them, like something endowed them now with an ability they never noticed before. But aside from the effect, she felt her desire kick in again, and turned red, pulling away from him and hiding in a corner.

"Yuxi." He followed her and cuddled her. "I don't know how to put this, but I think… this is meddling with our… desires for each other."

"Do it with me then." She lay down on the ground. Her readiness surprised him, and she just repeated her words again blankly at him.

"Yuxi, don't get me wrong. That's not what I want from you, but that inscription on the wall-"

She grimaced. "Just do it. I won't hold it against you."

He took off his trousers and did as she had asked. She felt the sparks of power surge inside her, and then their bodies united with the strangest feeling ever. Rather than their neediness for each other, she actually felt strength. This wasn't right.

Then the shaman's words surfaced in her ears.

Test? This couldn't be…

But regardless of whatever ‌the shaman was trying to tell her, she couldn't stop herself from her feelings or her need for him. She lusted more about him than she could comprehend and harboured feelings she never knew she was capable of in her heart for him. It came to a position that she could no longer get mad at him for long.

At this juncture, she hoped she could stay with him in the cave forever, so that they wouldn't have to return to reality.

"Yuxi?"

He pulled himself out of her and cupped her face lovingly.

"You're falling for me, right?"

She swallowed hard and tried to say no, but her heart was saying yes. It was arduous for her to admit her feelings, but she knew there wasn't a point in denying anymore.

"I like you, Zhan Peng. For a very long time."

He didn't probe further, and just kissed her slowly and tenderly. His arms wrapped around her possessively and she straddled him, letting her emotions take over her at that moment.

He broke the kiss to make his statement suddenly.

"And I love you, Qian Yuxi. I can't live a day without you."

Time seemed to stop as they fell on each other, devouring each other's lips so wildly that they lost all track of time.

Just a silly couple in love.