I CULTIVATED BY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE DEMON LORD

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CHAPTER 16: Painting

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"Astride" wasn't quite the right word for it, honestly.

Chu Li knelt with her knees spread on either side of the boy's thighs, her body leaning forward, one hand held over his eyes, the other still holding the lit candle.

She felt almost like she was practicing yoga, relying entirely on her core to hold her hips suspended in midair, careful not to let her body actually touch his legs, lest it raise his suspicions.

At this angle, Chu Li's gaze fell directly onto the boy stretched out beneath her.

His chest and stomach looked, to her eyes, like a snow-covered landscape unfurled right before her, and the candle in her hand, her brush.

Except, in this particular position, she couldn't actually begin painting just yet.

Worse still, leaning forward like this meant her hair inevitably slipped free from her shoulder, falling loose to brush against the boy's chest, sweeping lightly back and forth with every breath she took.

...

Chu Li rubbed her chin thoughtfully, already planning ahead. Next time, she'd melt down a few candles, mix in a bit of red dye, and reshape the wax from scratch. That way, she could drip as many plum blossoms as she liked without any trouble.

Once her "plum blossoms in the snow" was finally complete, Chu Li blew out the candle and summoned a white silk cloth, already dampened in warm water beforehand.

Genuinely pleased with her handiwork, she began wiping away the hardened wax, feeling almost reluctant to see it go.

At that moment, a dry, strained word slipped from the boy's lips beneath her. "Thirsty..."

With his eyes still covered, Chu Li couldn't read his expression, but she could see him straining to tilt his chin upward, his mouth opening and closing, looking exactly like a fish struggling to breathe out of water.

His chest rose and fell heavily, one hand fumbling blindly at his side, as though searching desperately for some saving grace to quench his thirst.

His long fingers brushed against the hem of her robe, then suddenly bumped against her bent knee. Chu Li's knee jerked back on pure reflex, instantly shattering the careful balance she'd been maintaining.

Her body tipped forward, and she watched, her mind going momentarily blank, as the freshly finished "plum blossoms in the snow" rushed up to meet her.

Even in that critical moment, she still refused to let out any strange sound, and on instinct, she clenched her jaw shut, sealing off the startled cry threatening to escape her lips, collapsing forward against his chest with a muffled thud instead.

...This was bad.

If she'd managed to keep her composure earlier by maintaining some physical distance, how was she supposed to explain this now, pressed flush against him like this?

Little Lian clearly startled as well, his hands reaching out blindly, feeling around in evident concern. "Sister, what's wrong?"

Chu Li didn't dare make a sound, bracing her hands against his sides, trying to push herself back up, only to feel one of his hands land unguarded on her back, inadvertently pressing her right back down.

She was just about to complain when she saw her face heading straight for one of the plum blossom buds, and in a panic, she twisted her neck sharply to the side, using her own long hair as a cushion, turning her face aside and dropping back against his chest instead.

After that whole harrowing ordeal, what Chu Li felt most wasn't embarrassment so much as pure exasperation.

Was there some kind of switch hidden on her left knee, or something?

Why did the slightest touch there send her whole body completely to pieces!

"Sister, are you all right?" Little Lian's hand pressed carefully against her back, his voice equally cautious. "Did I hurt you just now?"

"...No." Chu Li stared blankly at the bed nearby, thoroughly done with everything. "Let go of me. I can get up myself."

"But I thought I heard something twist." Rather than letting go, Little Lian brought his other hand up as well.

Both of his hands now pressed against her back at once, pressing here, pressing there, searching haphazardly for an injury that didn't actually exist anywhere on her.

Wherever he happened to press, it sent an unexpected itch up her side, and Chu Li's whole body flinched on instinct, a small, involuntary "mm" escaping her lips.

"Is this where you twisted something, Sister?" Little Lian sounded increasingly worried, his fingers repeating the same pressure along the edge of her shoulder blade once more.

Chu Li couldn't help but laugh. "Don't press so randomly, that tickles."

"Wasn't it here?" Little Lian sounded genuinely confused.

His hand went ahead and traced its way down her spine instead, one vertebra at a time, his fingertips leaving small trails of warmth in their wake.

Things were starting to feel strange. What had only made her want to laugh a moment ago was now leaving her body tensing up despite herself.

Before he could reach the very last vertebra at the base of her spine, Chu Li caught his wrist in her hand. "There's nothing wrong with my back. You don't need to keep checking."

Her voice came out with an inexplicable edge of guilt as she said it, and her breath stumbled unwillingly out of rhythm.

Little Lian's next words only made things worse. "Sister, your heart's beating rather loudly."

"That can't be right, I can't even hear it myself..." Chu Li said without thinking, then remembered his eyes were still covered, which likely meant his hearing had sharpened considerably to compensate.

Could her heartbeat really be that loud?

But her breathing hadn't sped up at all, had it?

A fierce curiosity took hold of Chu Li, and she forced herself to stay perfectly still, determined to rule out anything that might be affecting her own heart rate, eliminating every possible distraction so she could listen carefully for herself.

But after holding still and listening intently for a long while, she never heard the frantic pounding she'd expected from her own chest. Instead, she found herself noticing the steady, even beat of the boy's heart beneath her.

Chu Li couldn't help but frown slightly.

Could someone who'd just had wax dripped on him, and been startled on top of that, really have such a calm, steady heartbeat?

The silence stretched on a while longer before it was finally broken by the boy's faintly hesitant voice. "Sister, are you finished?"

Chu Li felt a small pang of deflation. "Yes, yes, I'm done. I couldn't hear anything at all."

"I wasn't asking about the heartbeat listening, Sister." Little Lian paused slightly. "I meant, are you finished lying on top of me."

Only then did it fully register with Chu Li.

Ever since she'd lost her balance, exactly how long had she been sprawled there on top of him, completely oblivious?

Chu Li practically launched herself off the cot in a single push, pulling away from his chest at once.

The sudden movement left her head spinning, and she had to press a hand to her temple, bracing herself against the edge of the cot for a good while before her sense of balance finally returned.

For some reason, even though Little Lian had been the one having wax dripped on him, Chu Li felt more like the fish flopping helplessly on the cutting board right now, her whole body drained of strength as though she'd been pulled straight out of water.

The strange sense of role reversal left her staring at him a moment longer than she meant to.

The boy lay stretched out on the bamboo cot, the crimson silk still covering his eyes, the faint curve at the corner of his mouth paired with his slightly tilted chin, making him look distinctly pleased with himself.

"Sister, weren't you still planning to drip wax on my back?" His voice came out restrained, though the way it trailed off at the end carried an unmistakably satisfied note.

"...Some other day." Chu Li pressed her fingers against her temples, a headache building.

Tonight's wax-dripping session had proven far too exhausting. Better to cut her losses now, before things got any worse.

The next morning, Chu Li received one of Qi Ying's spirit paper cranes first thing, asking after her ankle.

She wrote back honestly, letting Qi Ying know she was walking normally again.

Soon after, a second crane arrived, telling her to stay put, as a surprise was on its way.

Before two cups of tea's worth of time had passed, a piercing crane's cry split the sky, sending the whole courtyard into a flurry of startled commotion, and Chu Li watched, wide-eyed, as Dandan came swooping down from above, wings beating hard, landing neatly and precisely right outside her door, completing quite the spectacular grand entrance.

Qi Ying, seated on Dandan's back, waved enthusiastically at her, then hopped down alongside the person seated behind her, pulling him along to stand in front of Chu Li. "You've met my partner before, but I never properly introduced him. This is Xu Huai."

Xu Huai gave Chu Li a polite bow, then turned to thoughtfully smooth out the sash draped over Qi Ying's shoulder.

"Where's your partner?" Qi Ying stood in front of Chu Li, rising onto her toes to glance around. "Didn't he come out with you?"

Chu Li gestured back over her shoulder. "Little Lian's inside helping me prepare breakfast. It's at a crucial stage right now, he can't step away."

"That smells wonderful!" Qi Ying rushed over to the half-open window, resting her hands on the sill and lifting her chin to take a deep sniff. "What delicious thing is that?"

"Mushroom and duck congee." Chu Li could tell Qi Ying was practically drooling. "I made an enormous pot of it. Since you're both here, would you like to join us for breakfast?"

"I haven't had a proper breakfast in ages, not since I stopped needing regular meals." Qi Ying rubbed her nose, sounding wistful. "But this is your cooking. I absolutely can't pass this up!"

The small sitting room in the outer-disciple quarters wasn't particularly spacious, the little square table by the window barely large enough to seat all four of them comfortably.

Chu Li sat with Little Lian on her left and Qi Ying on her right.

Xu Huai initially offered to give up his seat, so the three of them could sit more comfortably, but after Qi Ying and Chu Li insisted repeatedly, he finally agreed to join them, taking the seat across from Chu Li.

Of the four of them, Qi Ying was clearly enjoying herself the most, scooping up spoonful after spoonful of the hot congee without pause.

Xu Huai gently cautioned her, "Ah Ying, slow down, you'll burn yourself eating that fast."

Within the time it took to burn through a single stick of incense, Qi Ying had already polished off an entire bowl, and still unsatisfied, reached over and took Xu Huai's bowl from him, continuing to slurp it down eagerly.

Xu Huai let out a resigned sigh, though his expression as he watched her remained entirely calm and fond.

Little Lian, meanwhile, though he kept his bowl in hand and continued bringing spoonfuls to his mouth, moved his spoon with unusual slowness, his mouth opening even more slowly still, his gaze somewhat distant and distracted.

"Is the congee too hot?" Chu Li asked, puzzled, stirring her own bowl with a small spoon and blowing on it repeatedly, her cheeks puffed out. Once the visible steam had noticeably thinned, she lifted her own bowl and held it out toward Little Lian. "Why don't you try mine instead?"

Little Lian shook his head. "That spirit pill from yesterday might have been too filling. I'll just let it settle. There's no need to worry about me, Sister."

Chu Li supposed that made sense, given that a single spirit pill had provided him roughly ten times the spiritual nourishment of a regular meal. It was only natural he'd still feel full even a night later.

Reassured, she relaxed and settled into enjoying her own congee at a leisurely pace.

Qi Ying's appetite proved formidable, and in no time at all, she'd finished off a second bowl as well, letting out a satisfied little burp behind her sleeve before turning to Chu Li with a suggestion. "Now that your ankle's healed, why not take Dandan out for a proper ride around the sect after breakfast?"

Chu Li was immediately on board. "I was hoping you'd suggest exactly that!"

Noticing Little Lian still staring thoughtfully into his bowl of congee, something occurred to Chu Li, and she leaned over to whisper to Qi Ying, "Could Little Lian ride along with me again this time?"

Qi Ying blinked knowingly, then let out a low whistle toward the window. The crane, taller than a grown person, ambled over obligingly, craning her long, slender neck through the open window.

Qi Ying reached out and stroked the red crest atop Dandan's head, then waved Chu Li over. "Let me tell you something. Boys like Dandan love having their heads petted. Doing this shows him you like him, and he'll warm up to you even more."

"Dandan's a boy?" Chu Li's mouth fell open in surprise. "From the name, I honestly assumed she was a girl..."

Qi Ying waved a hand dismissively. "It really is hard to tell a crane's gender at a glance, but I made a point of asking Elder Lu about it properly. She told me the ones that go 'honk honk' are male, and the ones that go 'honk-ah honk-ah' are female. My Dandan's always gone 'honk honk' since he was a chick."

Chu Li couldn't help laughing. "You've got the impression down pretty well."

The moment she finished speaking, she reached out to imitate Qi Ying, meaning to stroke the crest atop Dandan's head herself, but before her fingertips could even make contact, a sharp, unmistakable clatter rang out from the table behind her.

All three of them turned toward the sound at once, and found Little Lian's fingers just pulling away from the small spoon that had fallen into his bowl. The moment he noticed their attention, he offered an entirely innocent smile. "What's wrong?"

Under the table, Chu Li tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "I was about to ask you the same thing. Why did that make such a loud noise all of a sudden?"

"I'm sorry, Sister, I got a little distracted." Little Lian turned his face slowly toward her, his smile perfectly composed, giving nothing away. "While I was letting my food settle just now, I happened to be thinking about a question related to congee."

Chu Li blinked. "What kind of question?"

The boy narrowed his eyes slightly at her, something faintly dangerous and predatory flickering across his expression for just a moment, and spoke slowly, each word deliberate. "Aren't you curious, Sister, what congee made with crane meat might taste like?"

【Author's Note】

【Bonus scene】

Chu Li: Do you know why you're still stuck on the bottom, even after all this time?

Ji Wuyan: Isn't it because you like it that way?

Chu Li: It's because you told me that day my heartbeat was too loud.

Ji Wuyan: ?

Why are you still holding onto something from that long ago?

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Apologies in advance, but for everyone's wellbeing, this chapter has been edited for content.

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