The Hehuan Sect cultivates alchemy; my senior sister helps me refine alchemy throughout the world.

Shen Yifei arrived at Qin Wan's courtyard gate and knocked three times.

The door opened quickly, and Qin Wan stood in the doorway wearing a moon-white nightgown, her hair loose and her face still showing signs of sleepiness. She paused for a moment when she saw him, then smiled.

"Junior Brother Shen? It's so late, is something the matter?"

"Can't I come to see my senior sister if there's nothing wrong?" Shen Yifei grinned and squeezed through the door.

Qin Wan stepped aside to let him in, closed the door, and followed him into the house.

"What happened to all these injuries?" Qin Wan frowned when she saw the scabbed bloodstains on his neck.

"Han Zhengli stopped me this morning and left me a little souvenir."

Qin Wan's expression changed: "He really made a move?"

"It moved." Shen Yifei sat down in the chair and stretched his shoulders. "More than a dozen wounds. If I weren't thick-skinned, I would be lying down by now."

Qin Wan walked over, reached out and lifted his collar to take a look, her expression turning even uglier.

"This injury... he's trying to kill you. Does Su Yao know that?"

"I know, she rushed over and scolded Han Zhengli away."

Qin Wan breathed a sigh of relief, sat down opposite him, poured a cup of tea, and pushed it towards him.

"So you came here tonight to avoid him?"

Shen Yifei picked up his teacup, took a sip, and smiled. "I suppose so. What, aren't you welcome?"

"Welcome, of course you're welcome." Qin Wan rolled her eyes at him. "It's just that I feel like you're the kind of person who doesn't come here unless you need something. Coming here in the middle of the night, it can't just be to avoid Han Zhengli."

Shen Yifei put down his teacup and looked at her.

Qin Wan may seem gentle, but she's incredibly shrewd. There's no point in beating around the bush when dealing with her.

"Senior Sister Qin, I'd like to stay here tonight."

Qin Wan was taken aback, not expecting him to be so proactive. "Overnight?"

"Yeah." Shen Yifei nodded. "It's just staying overnight, doing nothing, just sleeping."

Qin Wan stared at him for a couple of seconds, then suddenly laughed: "Junior Brother Shen, you're really something else. Running to a female cultivator's house in the middle of the night, saying you're just going to sleep and won't do anything else. Do you think I'd believe you?"

Shen Yifei laughed too: "Believe it or not, it's up to you. I'm just here to sleep."

Qin Wan looked at him, her smile growing wider. She stood up, walked to the bedside, and lifted the covers.

"Okay, then go to sleep."

Shen Yifei walked over, took off his outer robe, and lay down on the outer side of the bed. Qin Wan blew out the lamp and lay down on the inner side.

In the darkness, the two lay side by side, neither of them speaking.

Shen Yifei closed his eyes, and although a beautiful woman was beside him, he was thinking about something else.

Liu Mengli should have already set off by now. Nightmare demons can turn invisible, and Han Zhengli's abilities are simply not enough to detect her.

Once Han Zhengli fell asleep, Liu Mengli entered his dream and drained him dry. Tomorrow morning, the Hehuan Sect would have one more corpse, dead from a qi deviation.

"Junior Brother Shen," Qin Wan suddenly spoke.

"Um?"

Your heart is beating very fast.

Shen Yifei paused for a moment, then touched his chest; it was indeed pounding fiercely. Not from nervousness, but from excitement. Killing a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator—the thought alone was thrilling.

"Maybe it's a bit hot," he casually made up a lie.

Qin Wan chuckled softly in the darkness: "Hot? Should we take off the covers?"

"Need not."

"You're so stubborn." Qin Wan turned over, facing him. Shen Yifei could feel her breath on his arm, warm and with a faint sweet fragrance.

"Senior Sister Qin, stay away from me, your spray is making me itchy."

"No way." Qin Wan moved closer to him, her face almost touching his arm. "Junior Brother Shen, the medicinal scent on you is even stronger now."

Shen Yifei's heart skipped a beat. Sun Yiran had said that after cultivating with her, the medicinal fragrance on his body would be stronger. It seemed she was right.

"They probably just came back from the secret realm and ate a lot of good food; they haven't finished digesting it yet."

"Really?" Qin Wan rubbed her nose against his arm, her voice slightly trembling, "It smells so good..."

Shen Yifei felt her breathing becoming more and more rapid, and the hot breath she exhaled on his arm felt like small flames, making him a little distracted.

"Senior Sister Qin, didn't you say you were going to sleep?"

"I can't sleep." Qin Wan's voice was muffled, tinged with grievance. "It's all your fault, coming over in the middle of the night and lying next to me. How am I supposed to sleep?"

Shen Yifei was both amused and exasperated: "Then I'll sleep on the floor?"

"You dare!" Qin Wan grabbed his arm. "The ground is cold; what if you catch a cold?"

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

Qin Wan stopped talking, burying her face in his arm, her breathing becoming heavier and heavier.

Shen Yifei sighed. He came to Qin Wan's place tonight for two reasons: first, to create an alibi, and second, because he genuinely wanted to find a quiet place to sleep. But now it seemed that a quiet place was out of the question.

"Senior Sister Qin, I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I practiced dual cultivation with Senior Sister Sun today."

Qin Wan stiffened for a moment, then looked up and stared at him in the darkness.

"Sun Yiran?"

"Um."

"You and she... practiced dual cultivation?"

"Hmm! The cultivation technique she practices is called the 'Mysterious Yin Technique,' which emphasizes the balance of Yin and Yang, without absorbing or replenishing. Cultivating with her would also benefit me."

Qin Wan remained silent for a while before saying softly, "Junior Brother Shen, you really don't hide anything at all. You sleep with other women and then come to tell me right away. Aren't you afraid I'll be angry?"

Are you angry?

Qin Wan fell silent again. After a long while, she suddenly smiled, a smile tinged with bitterness.

"What's the use of getting angry? You're not just mine. There's Liu'er, Sun Yiran, and who knows how many more there will be in the future." She paused, her voice lowering. "I've seen this kind of thing countless times in the Hehuan Sect over the years. Men, once they've achieved something, they'll have no shortage of women around them."

Hearing her say that, Shen Yifei felt a little guilty.

"Senior Sister Qin, that's not what I meant..."

"I know," Qin Wan interrupted him. "You don't need to explain. I just want to tell you that I don't care who you cultivate with. But if you ever forget me, I won't let you off the hook."

Shen Yifei reached out and pulled her into his arms. Qin Wan obediently leaned in, burying her face in his chest.

"I can't forget it," he said.

Qin Wan snuggled closer to him, finding a comfortable position, and stopped talking.

Shen Yifei held her close, able to feel her heartbeat. It was beating so fast, mingling with his, that it was impossible to tell whose was whose.

"Junior Brother Shen." After a while, Qin Wan spoke again.

"Um?"

"You said you'd just sleep tonight and not do anything."

"Um."

"So, what do I want to do now, is that okay?"

Shen Yifei looked down at her. He couldn't see her face clearly in the darkness, but he could see her bright eyes!

"Didn't you say you were going to sleep?"

"I've changed my mind." Qin Wan's hand slid down his chest. "You've teased me like this, and you still want to sleep with me? Dream on."

Shen Yifei felt a shiver run through his body from her touch, and the warm current in his lower abdomen began to surge again.

It seems tonight is destined to be a sleepless night.