Chapter 4
Lu Lin's gaze drifted downward.
Though Hu Tao was rather slender, lying half-reclined in his arms, he could still make out the faint rise and fall of her chest — especially as her breathing grew heavier and heavier, making the movement all the more apparent.
She tried desperately to steady her breath, but it was futile.
Lu Lin's fingers had been tracing across her skin inch by inch, sending sensations through her that she had never experienced before. How could she possibly calm down?
When she noticed where his gaze had fallen, her heart lurched even harder, and her pretty face flushed so red it looked ready to drip.
"I — this Director really isn't hurt!" The girl who was normally so full of energy now lay soft and helpless in his arms, flustered and embarrassed all at once. The stark contrast sent Lu Lin's heart hammering at a furious pace.
After checking so many places, Lu Lin naturally knew Hu Tao was probably uninjured — but with the girl lying scarlet-faced in his embrace, how could he not be moved?
The strings of his heart had been pulled taut to their absolute limit.
"Lu Lin~ let me up…" Seeing his hand still slowly drifting lower, Hu Tao couldn't help but plead softly.
Her gentle, yielding voice sounded less like a plea and more like a pout — and it became the final straw that snapped every last string in Lu Lin's heart.
He leaned down, found Hu Tao's rosy little lips, and sealed them shut before she could say another word!
"Mmn~" Caught off guard by the kiss, Hu Tao's eyes went wide with disbelief.
Seizing the moment, Lu Lin captured Hu Tao's delicate tongue before she could react, launching a full offensive and drinking in the sweet, intoxicating warmth of her breath.
A warm, rich presence enveloped Hu Tao, dissolving her resistance and drawing her completely under its spell, until she was responding of her own accord…
This presence… what was it?!
She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but Hu Tao felt a strange energy flow from Lu Lin's lips into her own, spreading through every inch of her body.
Her mind cleared at once, and strength returned to her limbs. At last, she managed to pull free from Lu Lin's embrace.
Lu Lin gradually regained his composure as well. He steadied Hu Tao with easy grace, helped straighten her disheveled clothes, and smiled. "You seem to have recovered quite a bit of your strength?"
Hu Tao gave him a coy roll of her eyes and tossed out a question: "Aren't you curious why I ran out of strength fighting just a few ordinary Hilichurls?"
That was indeed a puzzling point.
She held a Vision, and had trained in the Wangsheng Secret Spear Arts since childhood — her strength was beyond question.
The Hilichurls just now had been more frenzied than usual, but there were only seven or eight of them. By any measure, they shouldn't have been enough to drain her like that.
"It's the black miasma. Something is wrong with the miasma here — it's been steadily eroding my strength," Hu Tao said softly, guessing at his unspoken doubts.
"I only noticed it during the fight. Both my Elemental Power and my body's own strength had already been heavily depleted.
The drain was so gradual I didn't feel it at all until I actually tried to use my power. That unease I felt earlier must have been my subconscious sounding the alarm."
The black miasma could drain Hu Tao's strength?
Lu Lin clenched his fist. He hadn't felt any drain on his own physical strength, nor had he experienced that sense of unease.
Was he somehow unaffected by the black miasma?
But his combat ability was that of an ordinary adult — even if his strength wasn't being drained, it wouldn't make much of a difference.
Wait — the way she was brimming with energy right now didn't look anything like someone who had just been completely drained.
"How did you recover?"
"Hmph hmph! That's this Director's secret — not telling you!" With her strength restored, Hu Tao was back to her usual spirited self.
She spun around gracefully, trailing a bewitching fragrance in her wake, and skipped ahead, calling out to Lu Lin.
"Let's go, let's go — onward we march!"
"Coming!" Lu Lin smiled warmly and strode after her.
The black miasma in the main hall was far thicker than in the corridor, reducing visibility to barely two meters.
The two of them made their way to the far side of the hall, where another door stood closed — though there was no doubt the Hilichurls from before had come through it.
"Someone's pulling strings from the shadows!" Lu Lin refused to believe it was mere coincidence that the moment they entered, the door had shut behind them and Hilichurls had been released.
"Can you undo the mechanism here?"
Hu Tao's large eyes blinked up at Lu Lin. The way he had solved the puzzle earlier had truly opened her eyes.
"I'll give it a try!" Lu Lin held up the Night Pearl and leaned close to the door, examining it carefully as he began working on the mechanism.
The mechanisms in this Domain were indeed intricate, but they weren't particularly difficult — once you found the right approach, unlocking them was actually quite straightforward.
As a player who had fully explored every corner of the map, Lu Lin had extensive experience with puzzle-solving. Mechanisms of this level were genuinely no challenge for him.
He opened the door without much effort. Beyond it lay another corridor.
In the corridor, six Hilichurl Berserkers swung their massive axes, looking every bit as ferocious as demons!
"Leave them to this Director!" Hu Tao twirled her spear in a flourish, and butterfly-like shadows danced once more.
After clearing out that wave of monsters, Lu Lin was about to step forward when Hu Tao suddenly spun around, put away her weapon, and launched herself at him!
Lu Lin instinctively wrapped his arms around her impossibly supple waist, while her hands deftly looped around his neck.
A soft, warm sensation arrived at his lips — and only then did Lu Lin realize: she had kissed him first?
The mischievous Hu Tao — her revenge had come so fast!
It had to be said that Hu Tao was a remarkably quick learner. Having followed Lu Lin's lead just once, her kissing technique had already improved by leaps and bounds, and she had even taken the initiative to go on the offensive.
Like a butterfly diving into flame!
But against the great demon king, she was still a little outmatched.
After a fierce contest, the great demon king Lu Lin ultimately triumphed over the overconfident fire butterfly, his wealth of experience carrying the day.
"So — you recovered your strength because you kissed me?" Lu Lin was no fool; he pieced together the truth from the details.
The girl rose on her tiptoes and pecked him lightly on the cheek, then praised him: "Oh my, you're so clever — you figured it out right away!
When we kiss, a strange energy passes from you into me, and it drives away the black miasma that had seeped into my body.
Hehe, but this Director kissed you just now — it wasn't only to drive away the miasma, you know~"
The girl's smile was radiant. She spun around and skipped merrily onward.
She was the type who loved boldly and hated boldly. Having taken the initiative, she shed all trace of her earlier bashfulness and led with warmth and confidence.
Lu Lin touched his lips and pressed a hand over his pounding heart, wondering inwardly whether this little minx was about to take a shortcut and become the first resident of the Serenitea Pot.
The two continued deeper along the corridor, until another door blocked their path.
Solve the puzzle, open the door, fight.
Kiss!
Solve again, open again, fight again.
Kiss again!
The black miasma grew thicker and thicker, and the erosion accelerated. The two were forced to kiss more and more frequently to keep Hu Tao's condition stable.
Her cherry lips grew ever more rosy, the tenderness in her plum-blossom eyes deepened with every exchange, and her kisses grew bolder and bolder — the little tricks her hands played were even more numerous than Lu Lin's!
The two fought their way through obstacle after obstacle. The miasma thickened until visibility dropped below one meter, and then they came upon another ancient, solemn gate.
"Opening this door should bring us to the core of the Domain — the source of the black miasma is very likely right here!" Hu Tao's expression turned grave. Spear in hand, she focused her senses and stood on guard.
They were about to reach the heart of the Domain. If someone was truly pulling strings in the shadows, they would most likely encounter them here.
Lu Lin also understood that the most critical moment was at hand, and he quickly set to work on the mechanism.
Click!
A crisp snap — the mechanism gave way.
Rumble! The great door slowly swung open, revealing an ancient and imposing palace before them.
At the center of the palace stood a stone Altar, shrouded in a layer of yellow barrier. Hovering above the Altar was a glowing green orb.
Around the Altar, two strangely dressed figures in black each held a dark sphere, from which emanated a deeply unsettling power.
They were attempting to use the power of the black spheres to shatter the barrier surrounding the Altar!
Black miasma poured endlessly from the spheres, only to be driven back by the radiance of the green orb, forced to spread outward instead — which meant visibility inside the palace was actually quite good, and everything could be seen clearly.
The sound of the door opening startled the two black-robed figures. They turned around together, and Lu Lin finally got a clear look at their faces.
Abyss Heralds!
"Frost Slayer, another pair of insignificant insects has wandered in — deal with them!"
"Hmph! Blazing Fire, we are equals in rank — what gives you the right to order me around?!"
The Abyss Herald called Frost Slayer let out an angry snort and fired back — but his hands moved without hesitation. A pillar of ice wreathed in dark violet energy shot forward, hurtling straight toward Lu Lin and Hu Tao.
"Watch out!" Hu Tao reacted instantly, thrusting her spear forward. Flames ignited at the tip, and she drove it hard into the ice pillar.
Bang!
The ice pillar shattered into fragments beneath her strike.
But the sheer force of the impact sent her flying backward. Lu Lin caught her with quick reflexes, though the impact drove him stumbling back as well, and he slammed hard into the wall!
Hiss! That hurt like hell!
Lu Lin sucked in a sharp breath — it felt like every bone in his body had been rattled loose. And the girl in his arms had blood at the corner of her mouth. She had lost consciousness!
In the same instant the ice pillar shattered, a dark violet fireball materialized out of thin air and was already bearing down on Lu Lin's head!
The Abyss Herald called Blazing Fire had made his move!
At that razor-thin moment, a door to Lu Lin's left swung open.
Whoosh!
A frost-tipped arrow arrived first, intercepting the fireball and detonating it in midair!
"Lu Lin, run — I'll hold them both off!" A familiar voice rang out. It was Ganyu.
Lu Lin did not run. Even in that brief glance, he could see that Ganyu's condition was far from good.
Her full chest heaved with labored breaths — clearly, that Frostflake Arrow had taken a significant toll on her. Though she was of semi-divine lineage, her strength had evidently been affected by the black miasma just as Hu Tao's had been before.
And she had been in the Guili Plains far longer than Lu Lin and the others, meaning the miasma's effect on her ran even deeper.
If he simply fled now and left Ganyu to cover their retreat, she would have little chance of escaping safely!
These two Abyss Heralds were nothing like the Hilichurls outside. They were core members of the Abyss Order, and their power was formidable.
In an instant, several thoughts flashed through Lu Lin's mind — and then he made his decision, activating [Critical Moment]!
Time froze at that very instant!
He made no attempt to attack the Abyss Heralds. At his current level of strength, even wielding a divine weapon like the Staff of Homa, he'd likely do little more than scratch them.
They were shielded by the power of the Abyss — Lu Lin might be able to wound them, but taking down both in a short time was simply not feasible.
[Critical Moment] could only be activated once per day. With a safer option available, he wasn't about to gamble!
He scooped up Hu Tao, crossed the distance to Ganyu in a few swift strides, pulled her into his arms as well, and simultaneously pressed his palm against the Serenitea Pot mark on his hand!
After accidentally entering the Domain, he had quietly tested it — the Serenitea Pot mark on his palm was still responsive. This was his final trump card and escape route, and the safest option available.
When the familiar little building appeared before his eyes, and both Ganyu and Hu Tao were successfully brought inside with him, Lu Lin let out a long breath of relief. He carried Hu Tao into a room on the ground floor and laid her down on the bed.
The effect of [Critical Moment] was extraordinarily powerful — even time within the Serenitea Pot had come to a standstill.
He settled Hu Tao in, then returned to Ganyu's side.
The graceful girl still held her bow drawn, her gaze steady and fearless. Her martial attire hugged her figure perfectly, tracing every elegant curve and putting her beautiful form on full display.
She really was stunning.
Lu Lin took Amos' Bow from her hands and set it aside, then couldn't resist giving her soft little cheek a gentle pinch before carrying her inside.
But he had misjudged the timing. He had barely stepped through the doorway and hadn't yet set her down when —
Time resumed!
"Huh? What — where am I?! Wasn't I just in the Domain fighting the Abyss Heralds?"
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