Chapter 403 - Ridge of the Fallen Drake (1/2)

“I’ll have the bed. You, the floor.”

Su Lianyue pronounced curtly. Without waiting for an answer, she moved to the bed, removed her socks and laid down. She turned herself around to face Xiao Chen. “I’m warning you. If you would dare to come any closer, I’ll scream. I’ll make sure I’m bringing you down with me if I drown.”

“AH!?” Xiao Chen gasped, looking bewildered. “Actually… The bed’s wide enough for the both of us…” He observed.

“Don’t even think about it!” Su Lianyue glowered and pulled her blanket over her head, stifling another shiver.

“Er… How about a blanket, at least?”

Hearing this only made Su Lianyue’s grip on her sheets tightened. “I’m afraid of the cold,” She grumbled from inside of the cocoon, “You have the pure aura of the Yang element. You’d never be cold. Hmph.”

Xiao Chen never expected to see this side of her. He stared at her dreamily, Even she has a dainty and adorable side to her as well… Su Lianyue emerged from the folds of her sheets curiously when she heard nothing from him with only her eyes popping out then she snuck back in like a frightened tortoise, “What are you thinking about!? Nothing nasty, I hope!”

“Ahem,” Xiao Chen cleared his throat. “Whatever. On the table it is. Have a good night’s sleep. I’ll rouse you at daybreak.”

“Hmph,” Su Lianyue snorted and slowly drifted off into sleep.

Moonlight penetrated the curtains and poured into the room in the wee hours of the morning, casting an eerie glow that seemed to only accentuate the cold. Xiao Chen trembled as cold air brushed up his skin. With a loud thud, he accidentally bumped the lamp off the table and it fell to the ground. Su Lianyue sprang up at once, rubbing her drowsy eyes. Softly, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

Xiao Chen was formerly in deep sleep himself but the noise had roused him, sparing him from a terrible nightmare. He had found himself trapped in an icy prison-like labyrinth with no way out. In the ice, he saw the opaque figure of a woman, although he could not see who it was.

He was still feeling sore and wearied when he woke up. “It’s fine. Go to bed,” he answered hushedly and he slid back down onto the table. But the cold was growing no warmer that he was shivering so badly in the cold and the table shook faintly as if in protest.

The roughspun blanket proved poor protection in keeping out the cold and Sue Lianyue began to feel its sting as well. Unable to sleep, she heard the tremors of the table and realized that Xiao Chen was shivering. “Master Xiao. Are you feeling cold?”

“Hmm… I’m fine.” Xiao Chen stuttered a hasty reply.

An uneasy silence lulled about between them, further accentuating the cold that seemed to permeate through the windows and walls. “Please come here,” Su Lianyue whispered, “If you’re feeling cold.” She quickly turned to the inside before she could even finish, blushing furiously.

“What did you just say…” Xiao Chen muttered, wondering if he had heard wrongly. But the cold was leaving him no choice. Wobbling with knees as soft as marshmallow, he slowly limped to the bed and the sweet scent of a woman’s flesh tingled his senses.

“Ahem.” Xiao Chen cleared his throat again to mask his embarrassment while he removed his shoes and socks before he vaulted his legs up the bed. Su Lianyue clenched hard the folds of the blanket between her fingers. Suddenly, a soft Argh! came from her.

The muffled cry took Xiao Chen by surprise; he tensed and sprang up so quickly that he hit his head on the headboard. “W-what’s wrong?” He mumbled quickly.

“I-it hurts! You’re pulling at my hair!”

“Ah?!” Xiao Chen immediately drew himself away, “I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry!” He laid himself down again, carefully this time. Su Lianyue’s face crimsoned into a deeper shade of red. With a shift of her shoulders, she moved deeper into the other side of the blanket, offering one half of it to Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen snuck into the blanket, feeling the warmth now seeping up his shoulders. His heart fluttered at the tender scent of the woman now lying beside him, intoxicated as if he has had too much to drink. With a flick of his finger, he sent a minuscule magic bolt that struck the fastenings that held the bed veils, lowering them and enclosing both man and woman in a small, little, and intimate space.

“Y-you’d do well to remember that this is a one-time-only arrangement! D-don’t get your hopes up for anything untoward!” Su Lianyue squeaked with a voice so unlike her own. Xiao Chen stirred under the sheets and she went on, “I’ll make sure you’d regret it if you dare try anything nasty!”

“Err… Ahem… Rest assured, lady, all shall be fine,” Xiao Chen muttered softly with a voice alien also to himself.

The cold outside the windows thickened and waxed as they dozed off with their backs against each other. They slowly stirred at first light, and the first sight they set their eyes upon made them scream with horror.

It was a sight for sore eyes; they were in each other’s arms that even their legs were interlocked like chains. She was resting her head on his chest with him hugging her tightly.

“ARGGHH!” Su Lianyue shrieked when she realized what was going on. She shoved so hard that she kicked off the bed, her anxiety driving her to the edge of tears, “YOU! HOW DARE YOU!”

“B-but… I… I…” Xiao Chen, aghast beyond any words, raked his mind desperately for any recollections of what happened in the night. He muttered in a voice only he could hear, “I heard you saying you were cold… Then I… I…” Then his voice rose, “But I swear! Nothing happened last night! I swear!”