Aromatic Flesh
Chapter 119.3: Demon Sect Leader’s Holy Maiden Concubine (11)

She landed in a warm and solid embrace with the full moon hanging behind her like a backdrop, the soft and gentle light enveloped them both. Jia Ling had caught Gu MingYue in his arms, his frosty gold brocade robes steady and secure.

The hand on her waist trembled, though Gu MingYue did not understand why.

“Don’t go.” The man’s voice was deep and bitter. Gu MingYue turned around in confusion and placed her hands on that face that made the moonlight seem dull by comparison. Her eyes were clear as water, filled with incomprehension.

“Smile, smile.” Gu MingYue pinched Jia Ling’s cheek, her voice soft and sweet.

Jia Ling stared at her in a daze, his thin lips trembling slightly. He pursed the corners of his mouth and suddenly picked Gu MingYue up in a princess carry, then strode toward the inner hall of LingZhao Palace. The white-robed girls cried out in alarm and fell to their knees, but none of them dared to stop him.

Gu MingYue’s eyes curved into crescents. She looked extremely excited; everything around her was new and novel, and she had met so many outsiders tonight. It was enough to make her dance with joy.

“Sect Leader, don’t do this.” Jia Ning stood at the exit of the platform and spoke calmly.

Jia Ling walked straight ahead without sparing him a glance. Just as he was about to walk past, an arm blocked his path.

“Move aside.” Jia Ling’s voice was cold enough to freeze over.

“Sect Leader, you mustn’t.” Jia Ning fell to his knees with a thud. “Once the Holy Baptism has been started, it cannot be cancelled or changed. Is the Sect Leader going to disregard the rules?”

In response, Jia Ling merely kicked him in the chest and continued walking without pausing.

“Sect Leader! If this ceremony does not succeed today, she will never have another chance to formally marry the Sect Leader. Any children born after this will have no right to inheritance. Please think carefully.” Jia Ning quickly crawled to his feet and knelt properly.

Jia Ling chuckled and turned around, holding Gu MingYue in his arms. “So what if I have no heir? I only want her.”

Gu MingYue’s eyes flickered slightly. This should count as one of the requirements for completing her mission, right?

“Those in positions of power must bear their responsibilities. If you do not have an heir, are you intending to abandon the thousand-year legacy of the Shendai Sect?” Nan Qiu walked out from the inner hall. He had a refined and reserved air, with a jade-like face and red lips. His words were elegant and refined, and his every movement was graceful. He stared at Gu MingYue in Jia Ling’s arms, his eyes dark.

“Out of my way.”

“What’s going on?” Dong Qian came out from the inner hall at the sound of this. When he saw the beauty in Jia Ling’s arms, he immediately understood the situation.

After a moment of thought, he smiled warmly and said with a foreign accent, stroking his chin, “Nan Qiu and I were fortunate enough to serve the previous Sect Leader for several years. Although we never personally attended a Holy Baptism, we heard from the previous Sect Leader about the cost of cancelling one. If the Sect Leader insists on cancelling this, we will not go against your wishes, though we cannot agree with your method. Though, if the Sect Leader has already made up your mind, then please do as you wish.”

“If the Sect Leader can endure the 10,000 Snakes’ Cave, I wonder if his little beauty can do it too.” Nan Qiu continued Dong Qian’s words, his gaze never leaving Gu MingYue as she cowered in Jia Ling’s arms. “However, the rules state that if the Sect Leader can make it out of the 10,000 Snakes’ Cave, he is free to leave the sect. However, a bounty would be placed on him and every sect member would be hunting his head as long as he lived. I wonder if we should carry it out.”

Jia Ning stood to the side, head lowered so his expression couldn’t be seen.

The atmosphere quickly grew uncontrollably heavy.

Gu MingYue feigned fear and clutched at Jia Ling’s lapels. She had more or less grasped the gist of the conversation: the Holy Baptism was an important ceremony for the Shendai Sect that involved matters of succession and inheritance. Once it was set, it could not be cancelled. If one insisted on cancelling it, they would be punished severely and lose their position.

To disregard the rules of the sect for the sake of personal affection, to abandon countless other members of the sect – that was the price to be paid.

The hand wrapped around her suddenly tightened, squeezing Gu MingYue painfully. Tears glistened in her eyes as she lifted her face to see the man’s expression change several times. Sweat gathered at his temples, his thin lips pressed tightly together, and his teeth gritted against each other beneath his skin.

Jia Ling felt like a storm was raging within his chest, and a force was surging to break free. His face was ashen, and he gazed down at the woman in his arms with narrowed eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but just as the gap between his lips widened, the force within him found an exit. A stream of blood spurted from his throat and rained down on Gu MingYue’s pale face, where it gathered into beads and slid slowly down her skin.

Gu MingYue blinked. The man before her had the same features: a straight nose, and thin, pale lips, but his expression had changed completely. His eyes were dark and seductive, his brows lifted in a playful arc, his lips light and graceful as they parted and closed. “Consider this my temporary madness,” He said. “How could I possibly neglect such an important matter?”

“The Sect Leader is wise.” Nan Qiu smiled. He didn’t comment on Jia Ling’s sudden change in attitude as he turned to Gu MingYue. “The priestesses will be bathing you once again.”

Jia Ling nodded and set Gu MingYue down. Jia Ning clapped his hands, and the girls in white robes stepped forward to help Gu MingYue back into the hot spring. After another round of bathing and perfuming, they sang melodiously as she was led into the tent.

Gu MingYue lay on the soft bed, waiting quietly for the ceremony to begin.

“Sect Leader!”

Gu MingYue frowned. What now?

The curtain was lifted, and a gust of wind blew in. A tall man pressed down on her, so suddenly that she had no time to react.

The man who had burst into the tent was none other than Jia Ling. He lifted Gu MingYue’s chin and pressed his lips to hers, a deep kiss filled with a pang of ferocious hunger. His teeth broke the tip of her tongue, and a metallic taste spread between their lips.

Gu MingYue’s eyes welled with tears from the pain.

“This should be sufficient… You should be satisfied now.” Jia Ling wiped his mouth with his fingertips, expression impatient as he mumbled these words under his breath. Then, without sparing Gu MingYue another glance, he walked out of the tent.

Something unknown had just been passed into her mouth. Gu MingYue patted her chest as her eyes widened unnoticeably.

“My lady, the Left Protector is about to enter.” Jia Luo sat before the tent. As the Right Protector, she was a woman, so although she was participating in the Holy Baptism, her only role was to report the progress of the ceremony to the high-ranking members of the sect who had gathered on the platform.

Jia Ning entered the tent after Jia Luo’s words fell. He wore only a long robe of plain white silk. With a light tug at his belt, it slid off his slender body.

“The Holy Baptism begins.”

Enjoy~

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