Chapter 103: Chapter 103: To Devour, or to Warm the Bed

"Then I felt an arm wrap around my waist, which made me think it was a bandit chief trying to carry me off."

Emperor Wu Su listened to her vivid description, his expression softening. He raised an eyebrow and said, "You, with your skinny arms and legs? You wouldn’t even be enough for a beast to pick its teeth with."

He pinched the flesh on her arm and continued, "But if you were carried off by bandits, you might have some use. Do you know what use that might be?"

Ji Qingwu sat up a little straighter, puffed out her chest, raised her head, and said proudly, "There’s great use in taking me! I know medicine, so I can treat their illnesses. If they have trouble conceiving, then I’m just what they need. I can give them a few nourishing pills."

Emperor Wu Su, however, drew out his words. "For you to be just a medical woman in a bandit stronghold would be too much of a waste."

"Why would it be a waste?"

"A delicate little lady like you, with your sweet voice, should be taken to warm the bed and bear many sons. That’s the proper way of things."

Ji Qingwu: ...

’Where am I delicate? I was clearly very brave today.’

Then, Emperor Wu Su asked, seemingly a little troubled, "But all your guesses were wrong. It was neither a beast nor a bandit. It was I who carried you off. Tell me, what should I do?"

Ji Qingwu quickly turned her head and sat up straight. Her slender waist began to tremble as she scooted forward.

But with the two of them on horseback, the distance she managed to create was negligible. Unless she "jumped off the horse" again, there was nowhere to run.

Emperor Wu Su leaned down toward her, his broad, heavy shoulders pressing down.

A good portion of the weight of his upper body settled onto Ji Qingwu, until he had completely gathered her into his embrace.

His large hand began to rub against her navel, and he said with a smile in his voice, "Should I eat you, or should I have you warm my bed? Ah Wu, you choose."

’Is this a choice? Neither option is proper.’

Ji Qingwu lied through her teeth, shaking her head. "Your Majesty, I don’t taste good. I also have a cold constitution. If you eat me, you’ll be poisoned by cold, and if I warm your bed, you’ll freeze to death."

He said dismissively, "Is that so."

Emperor Wu Su lifted her by the waist and turned her around to sit facing him. This time, Ji Qingwu couldn’t even avert her gaze.

He saw her staring at him earnestly.

Emperor Wu Su raised an eyebrow, the corners of his eyes lifting. "In that case, I shall reluctantly play the part of Shennong for once and taste this little herb with its cold poison."

Soon, Ji Qingwu wished she really were afflicted with a cold poison.

A mere butterfly kiss was enough to set her whole body on fire, leaving no part of her untouched by the heat.

The fine steed continued its leisurely pace, a slight jostling coming from beneath them. This subtle, uncontrollable feeling seemed to jolt Ji Qingwu’s heart.

The pure black horse, unaware of what its masters were doing on its back, snorted from time to time and flicked its tail. Its ears were relaxed and pointed backward, as if listening to the sounds they were making.

Every time before had been like a thunderstorm, but this time, Emperor Wu Su seemed to have had a change of character.

Their lips were merely pressed together, shallow and light. He shifted a few times, as if handling a fragile treasure.

The wind had cooled Ji Qingwu’s lips, making them like chilled honey cakes—icy-cold upon first taste, then soft, sticky, and sweet once they melted.

Emperor Wu Su said he would only have a taste, but in practice...

...he really did just stop after a light taste.

Ji Qingwu instinctively hugged his waist, wanting him to hold her tight—tighter—not like this.

He only held her waist loosely to steady her, his long arm shielding her to prevent her from falling off the horse.

She could feel that in their recent encounters, he seemed to be intentionally restraining his physical impulses.

But never had it been like this, where even his hands were so well-behaved.

She lifted her thick lashes, her watery eyes gazing at him in a daze.

Emperor Wu Su, with his deep-set brow, had his soul-stealing eyes closed. This stripped away most of their fierceness, leaving only a hint of a coldness that was unbearably tantalizing.

It was like an unattainable, snow-capped mountain that you’d normally never have the chance to touch, suddenly appearing before you, making you want to scoop a handful of its icy peak into your palm.

To feel its penetrating chill, to feel the stark ice and snow melt, until the trickling icy water turned into a scorching hot current.

Ji Qingwu pulled back slightly and stared at his lips. Their shape was well-defined, yet the lines were exceptionally soft.

She knew it was dangerous, yet she couldn’t help but draw closer.

The night air was cool. Ji Qingwu imagined the heat those thin lips once held and gently leaned in.

As she pressed against them, the man’s lips instantly curved upward, as if he had been expecting it.

But Ji Qingwu didn’t know what she was doing. She could only press and rub her lips against his, growing more and more frustrated.

’This is harder to pry open than a clamshell!’

She pouted her dry lips and hinted in a soft, delicate voice, "Your Majesty, why aren’t you holding me tighter?"

Ji Qingwu thought her meaning was already obvious.

Sure enough, Emperor Wu Su granted her request. He tightened his hold on her waist, and his warm palm came to rest on her back, like a piece of charcoal chasing away the chill of the late-night dew.

Ji Qingwu’s body grew even softer, and she relaxed, pressing herself against him.

But that was all. There was no next move. She felt something was still missing.

Ji Qingwu hesitated and fidgeted for a long while before speaking again. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Your Majesty..."

The smile in Emperor Wu Su’s eyes deepened, and he patted her back. "What is it, calling for me?"

Ji Qingwu was too embarrassed to look at him. She gripped his shoulder and mumbled something under her breath.

"What did you say, Ah Wu? I didn’t hear you clearly."

Her voice was faint, as thin as a mosquito’s buzz, as light as a falling leaf, almost inaudible.

Ji Qingwu rested her forehead on his shoulder and increased her volume slightly.

Emperor Wu Su’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He coaxed in a low voice, "Too quiet. The wind is strong on the grasslands. I still couldn’t hear you."

’Still can’t hear me?’

Ji Qingwu felt that even the horse had heard her, but he still couldn’t.

But she wasn’t the type to give up easily once she’d set her mind on something.

She raised her head, her bright eyes shining like stars. Gripping his outer robe, she shouted into his ear with puffed cheeks, "I said, I want Your Majesty to kiss me!"

This time, her voice was not only loud, but it also echoed.

The horse beneath them was startled by the sudden noise and began to paw restlessly at the ground.

Ji Qingwu’s body jolted with the movement. Before a gasp could escape her lips, it was completely smothered by Emperor Wu Su.

After that, nothing was up to her anymore.

「Dusk settled into night over the vast grasslands, the chirping of insects an incessant chorus.」

Ji Qingwu’s lips were sore and numb. She had finally quieted down completely.

Since she had asked for it herself, she had to endure the process no matter how unbearable the pain and tingling became.

’What melting snow-capped mountain?!’

He was clearly a volcano, cleverly disguised under ice and snow. After luring the weak-willed traveler Ji Qingwu over, it had erupted completely.

Her waist felt like it was about to be snapped in two. In the end, even when it was time to dismount, Emperor Wu Su had to lift her down, scooping her up from behind her knees.

Ji Qingwu lay on her back on a white animal pelt. It was the saddle flap that had been hanging from the saddle, which Emperor Wu Su had untied and spread on the grass to keep her from getting cold.