The moment his head sank into the familiar softness, Xiao Jingcheng's mind went "buzz" and he completely forgot how to react.
But the next moment, the young girl let go of him and swam forward, putting some distance between them.
She was smiling brightly as she scooped up a handful of lake water and splashed it at the yellow dog.
"Da Huang, are you so hot that you can't stand it anymore and can't help but jump in for a bath?"
Having been splashed in the face with water, Xiao Jingcheng finally snapped out of the previous amazement and the inexplicable sense of emptiness. Then he angrily gritted his back teeth.
It seemed that his previous worry had been in vain. This woman was an excellent swimmer!
Moreover, she...
His gaze shifted downward to the water surface.
This was pure mountain spring water, extremely clear. One could faintly see the girl's graceful and charming body hidden in the water.
As if noticing his gaze, the young girl paddled her hands and swam backward. Her jade - like arms sliced through the water, leaving arcs behind.
She waved at him with a smile: "Da Huang, let's have a competition to see who can catch more fish today!"
After saying that, she sank into the water.
Xiao Jingcheng had no idea what she was up to. Holding his breath, he also sank underwater.
The mountain spring water was so clear that his vision remained quite sharp after entering the water. He could clearly see that the sunlight passed through the sparkling water surface and formed beams of light underwater.
The young girl gently swayed her body, just like a nimble fish, swimming through the beams of light.
There were quite a few fish in the water. Instead of avoiding the girl's intrusion, these fish swam towards her affectionately and surrounded her.
Her long hair spread out behind her with the current, looking like dense water plants. Her skin was already fair, and underwater it was so white that it seemed to be glowing. Her small bellyband supported her plump figure, making her look even more charming and alluring, just like an extremely enchanting water nymph.
Xiao Jingcheng was stunned speechless by this scene. He didn't know if it was because of the lack of oxygen or the water pressure at the bottom, but he felt it hard to breathe, and his heart in his chest was beating even faster.
The young girl seemed to sense something and looked towards him. She tilted her head slightly and winked at him with her left eye. Then she gently rotated her wrist, and the fish that had been surrounding her swam towards Xiao Jingcheng instead.
Countless small bubbles floated upwards with the girl's movement. Her breasts seemed ready to jump out of the bellyband -
Xiao Jingcheng suddenly felt panicked. Immediately, he turned around, with his back to the girl, and frantically waved his limbs, fleeing towards the shore.
Ye Wanmian had been waiting for the yellow dog to play the fish - catching game with her as usual, but she never expected it to flee in such a hurry.
But how could Ye Wanmian let it go? She waved her limbs and swam over. Just as the yellow dog emerged from the water, she hugged its fleeing figure.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Ye Wanmian inevitably choked on some water and said curiously:
"Why are you running away, Da Huang? Didn't you like to play the fish - catching game with me the most before?"
Xiao Jingcheng once again felt something soft pressing tightly against him, and the cold fragrance in his nostrils became even more obvious.
"Woof, woof, woof!"
[Let go of me! You shameless woman!]
Xiao Jingcheng struggled in panic, trying to break free from the girl's embrace. However, he had forgotten his current situation. In terms of swimming skills, he was no match for Ye Wanmian. Moreover, his limbs were much shorter than Ye Wanmian's, so he simply couldn't escape her control.
"Alright, alright, we won't catch fish. But at least you should take a good bath."
The young girl lowered her head and sniffed gently at it, saying with a hint of disgust: "Yuck, after several days of rain, you're starting to smell bad. You stink. If you don't let me wash you clean obediently today, you're not allowed to get on my bed tonight. Sleep in your doghouse properly."
The girl's words were like a thunderbolt striking Xiao Jingcheng on the head.
What did she say?!
Did he stink?
Xiao Jingcheng immediately thought of that mongrel named Sang Biao that he had encountered outside Jiang Zhiqing's courtyard. That dog hadn't taken a bath for who - knows - how - long, and it stank to high heaven. Just the smell was enough to make one vomit.
Was he starting to develop that kind of strange smell that only dogs had?
The Crown Prince was deeply affected. He no longer cared about being angry. He stopped struggling and let the girl find a brush to clean his body and wash off the bloodstains on his fur.
The yellow dog's cooperation made Ye Wanmian's job much easier. She even softly hummed an unknown tune.
It had to be said that her cleaning movements were very gentle. The feeling of the brush running through his fur made Xiao Jingcheng comfortably squint his eyes, and the tips of his ears slowly drooped back.
Suddenly, he forcefully opened his eyes and struggled again.
"Woof, woof!"
[Bold village woman, where were you just touching!]
The yellow dog that had been so quiet just now slipped out of her embrace and swam away frantically, looking rather embarrassed. Ye Wanmian held the brush in her hand, looking completely confused.
What was wrong with Da Huang? It had been fine just now. Why did it suddenly throw a tantrum?
Xiao Jingcheng was both angry and annoyed. Recalling the feeling when the girl's soft fingers had brushed across a certain place, he felt a numbness in the top of his head.
Hurriedly climbing onto the shore, he felt his limbs go weak. He burrowed into the nearby bushes and didn't turn back no matter how much the girl in the lake called him.
Ye Wanmian helplessly shook her head and stopped paying attention to it. She sank into the water and enjoyed this pleasant moment to her heart's content.
...
At this moment, there was another flurry of activity in a large mansion in Dongli Town.
In the dim secret room, the body that had been lying quietly on the bed suddenly began to twitch, scaring the sleepy guard beside it badly.
The guard picked up the oil lamp and took a closer look at the bed in the light. He was greatly shocked.
"Why is he having a nosebleed again for no reason?"
Even more astonishing was that the person who had been lying there unconscious actually had an obvious bulge in a certain place!
This was really too strange. He quickly put down what was in his hand, got up, and went out to call someone.
After a while, several other people entered the secret room to check on Xiao Jingcheng's body.
"You said his body twitched for a moment just now? Are you sure no one touched him?" the man in the Taoist robe frowned and asked.
The guard looked aggrieved and said: "Master, please understand. I'm the only one here. I really didn't do anything to him."
The Taoist stroked his beard: "That's really strange. Logically, I've already locked his soul. His body should have long become a walking corpse and shouldn't have any reaction. Why is this happening?"
"Could it be that there's something wrong with the Master's spell?" the guard hesitated and said.
The Taoist coldly shouted: "My spells never go wrong. There must be some other reason for his condition!"
After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and strode away.
The guard looked at the other person with a difficult expression: "Steward, what should we do now?"
The one called the steward pondered for a while and said: "You keep a good eye on him. If there's any movement, come and inform me."
"Yes, Steward."