She bit down hard on her lip until the faint taste of rust crept up to her nostrils—only then did her drowsy mind clear a fraction. Without a moment's hesitation, Su Qingying spun on her heel and bolted out of the ruined temple.
When you should fold, you fold. Of the thirty-six stratagems, running is the best—she had absolutely no intention of being taken advantage of by some idiot.
"Mama, wifey… wifey, don't run, don't run, I want kissy, want kissy, come back, come back quick." The moment the fool saw Su Qingying bolt, he panicked at once and scrambled after her in hot pursuit.
This fool, dim as he was, could run surprisingly fast — several times he had nearly caught her!
The night was dark and the wind ran high; deep into the watches of the night, the dew fell heavy. Even the bright moon that had hung suspended overhead had, at some unnoticed moment, quietly hidden itself behind layer upon layer of dark clouds.
After Su Qingying ran out of the crumbling temple, she fled in blind panic straight into a forest.
As she sprinted desperately, the blood within her body circulated faster and faster, unknowingly deepening the grip of her allure-poison. The heat made her feel as though her entire body had been thrust into a blazing furnace, the torment growing ever more unbearable, filling her with a profound sense of helplessness.
"Ah!"
The forest was pitch black, the visibility already poor, and with her consciousness growing hazier by the moment, Su Qingying's legs gave out — she missed her footing, and her entire body tumbled down the slope, completely beyond her control.
With a loud splash, she toppled stiff as a board into a deep pool. The water was icy cold, cutting straight to the bone — yet it was this very chill that pulled her half-conscious mind back toward clarity.
"Who's there?" Su Qingying had barely broken the surface of the deep pool when a voice—cold and merciless to the extreme—cut through the air beside her. The iron-blooded killing intent threaded through those words hit her like a blade, and every hair on her body shot upright in an instant!
"Who's there?!" Su Qingying's expression hardened in an instant, her piercing gaze cutting straight to whatever lurked behind her.
The moon, hidden behind dark clouds, had just crept out from the overcast sky. By the pale, cold glow of moonlight, Su Qingying finally saw that the one who had spoken was a man.
He was an exceptionally handsome man — and though she had laid eyes on countless beauties in her past life, the sight of his face still left her momentarily breathless with admiration.
His face rivaled the hibiscus in bloom, fair as polished jade, with long dark brows sweeping boldly into his temples. The bridge of his nose rose steep as a mountain peak, and his pale, thin lips were pressed tightly shut, radiating an air that warned all strangers to keep their distance. Beneath those sweeping brows, a pair of blood-red, narrow phoenix eyes gleamed with cold, piercing clarity—proclaiming their master's unrivaled dominance and untamed arrogance.
At this moment, the man lounged languidly against the bank of the pool, the icy waters submerging his body while leaving his honey-bronzed chest exposed — the very picture of wicked, bewitching allure.
Su Qingying stood momentarily transfixed, her mind wiped clean of every thought but two words: *absolute monster*.
"Mm…" Su Qingying was lost in her lovesick reverie when suddenly, the heat within her body—which had already begun to subside—went berserk, rampaging wildly through her as if desperate to find an outlet. The scorching surge left her face flushed crimson, her breathing rapid and ragged.
"So hot, so hot…" Su Qingying could bear it no longer. Her hands clawed frantically at her own clothes, her eyes glazed and unfocused.
Damn it—she never imagined this seduction toxin would be so overwhelming. Could it truly be that she had no choice but to… *do that* with a man?
Watching Su Qingying's shameless display with cold contempt, Jun Liye's blade-sharp brows knitted tightly together, his cruel yet strikingly handsome face darkening with undisguised revulsion. This woman was so grotesquely plain—and yet she dared to undress and seduce him right before his eyes? Who on earth had given her that kind of nerve?
"Get lost! Otherwise, don't blame this King for showing no mercy!" The voice, laden with biting cold, rang out once more — and with it came a murderous aura that sent a chill of dread through all who heard it.
At his words, Su Qingying's body trembled as she lifted her gaze to meet his cold phoenix eyes. She stared at his breathtaking face for a long moment, then quietly gritted her teeth — and in that instant, made up her mind.