Chapter 8: A Night for Two

This was not his original character.

Before inheriting the healer’s legacy, he didn’t even dare look at women like her, believing such women to be as untouchable as celestial beings. Yet now, he felt as if they were within his grasp.

He discovered that after acquiring the healer’s inheritance, he also possessed the healer’s traits. Brimming with vitality and an intense possessiveness, he was filled with a longing to ascend to a seventh-tier purple talisman healer, yearning to reach immortality, his soul soaring to the sacred mountains, his spirit wandering the void.

Wang Xinyao led Gou Liang directly into her private reception lounge.

The lounge was spacious and luxurious, draped with gauzy curtains and fragrant with delicate scents. Thick wool carpets covered the marble floor; walking barefoot upon them was soft and indescribably comfortable. The wide sofa invited one to lounge lazily, sinking deep into its cushions. Though there was no bed, the plush carpet offered even greater possibilities for the imagination.

Upon entering, Wang Xinyao closed the door with a click.

Gou Liang’s heart skipped a beat. What was she planning?

Wang Xinyao shed her usual icy hauteur, abandoning the cold dignity of a queen. She smiled with irresistible charm, gentle and tender like a caring woman.

“Make yourself comfortable, as if you were at home. Don’t be shy. You saved Xiaomeng’s life, which means you saved our whole family. From now on, I will treat you as one of us.”

Her words warmed Gou Liang’s heart, stirring it with a fiery glow.

Wang Xinyao took a bottle of Lafite from the wine cabinet, poured two glasses, and handed one to Gou Liang. She lightly clinked glasses with him, then sipped from her luscious lips. Afterward, she reclined casually on the wide sofa.

Wang Xinyao had the beauty of a classical woman. Her hair was piled in elegant waves, her face delicate and radiant, her skin smooth and supple, her neck long and slender. Her figure was tall and voluptuous, her straight, long legs shining beneath a sheer dress. Truly stunning, she was like a living vision of moonlight, enough to make any office worker or homebody roar with excitement.

Wang Xinyao lifted her dreamy, seductive eyes. Her long, curled lashes trembled, her cheeks flushing deeper as her breathing grew rapid, her voice soft and alluring.

“Gou Liang, great kindness needs no thanks. Tell me, how would you like me to repay you?”

Gou Liang nearly blurted out, “Sister, I just want some spicy hotpot.”

But the words were swallowed back before they escaped.

“Auntie, you’re being too polite. I was paid to help, it’s what I should do.”

His true nature hadn’t been completely erased, and he struggled against the healer’s unruly, free-spirited instincts. Since inheriting the healer’s legacy, a new personality had been growing wildly within him. He felt a severe split in his identity, nearly losing himself, even tempted to seek a psychologist.

Wang Xinyao clinked glasses with him again, then sighed softly.

“Xiaomeng is my life. If anything happened to her, I couldn’t go on. You saved Xiaomeng, which means you saved me. No matter how I thank you, it wouldn’t be too much.”

Gou Liang’s heart burned; he understood what Wang Xinyao meant.

Her moist eyes overflowed with passion. This woman was born with a natural allure; a glance, a gesture, could make any man’s heart race and leave him helplessly captivated.

In this fast-paced age, if a woman shows interest in a man, he’d immediately respond, exchange contacts, meet at a bar, and in the privacy of a booth, become an animal, sowing the seeds of love.

But Gou Liang wasn’t that kind of man. He had a touch of cleanliness fetish and hoped for a proper first love.

He found it hard to meet her gaze. The tinder was already stacked, and if their eyes met, the sparks would ignite instantly. So he lowered his gaze to the coffee table.

On the table was a tray filled with popcorn, fragrant and tempting.

This must be Wang Xinyao’s little habit—she liked to eat popcorn while drinking wine.

Gou Liang took a piece and popped it into his mouth. It was crisp and sweet, the aroma enticing him to salivate. Sipping the red wine, a satisfaction beyond words spread through his body, a feeling of floating on air, as if transcending mortal concerns.

He sighed inwardly at his luck—overnight, he’d reached the peak of life, receiving gratitude and devotion from a woman of such status and standing. If not for the healer’s inheritance, a hundred years of effort wouldn’t have brought him here.

Yet his nature didn’t want to take advantage of the situation, so he ignored the temptation and steered the conversation to the point.

“Auntie, do you recognize the girl in this photo?”

Wang Xinyao was just about to eat a tender piece of popcorn when the question startled her. The popcorn got lodged in her throat!

Her face turned crimson, her chest heaving violently, but she couldn’t cough it up!

Gou Liang immediately wrapped his arms around her slender waist from behind and performed the Heimlich maneuver, pressing her abdomen forcefully. After dozens of quick compressions, the popcorn blocking her airway was finally expelled.

As soon as Wang Xinyao could breathe freely, she noticed Gou Liang’s strong arms, his taut muscles, and her heart couldn’t help but flutter, her cheeks blossoming with warmth.

Gou Liang withdrew promptly.

Wang Xinyao hadn’t been touched by a man in a long time; her heart was thrown into disarray. Her cheeks burned, her chest rose and fell, her breathing soft and trembling, her long, curled lashes quivering incessantly.

After regaining her composure, she gently parted her lips.

“Thank you, Gou Liang. You’ve saved me again. You truly are my lucky star.”

“It’s my fortune to be able to help you, Auntie. You don’t need to be so formal.” Gou Liang was also breathless, his heart pounding.

He hadn’t expected Wang Xinyao to react so strongly to Zhang Zhihan, so he refrained from pressing further.

After a brief silence, Wang Xinyao broke the awkwardness.

“Gou Liang, you’ve opened my eyes to fields beyond medicine. At first, I never believed in such things, but your presence forced me to reconsider.”

Gou Liang, full of mysterious confidence, revealed a faint smile.

“All things are connected by cause and effect. Tonight at midnight, I’ll need to use the bathroom in your bedroom.”

Wang Xinyao paused, her moist eyes filled with confusion.

“No problem, use it as you wish. But why midnight?”

Gou Liang was just following the instructions in his mind; he couldn’t explain it clearly.

“I need to enter another realm to dispel the resentful spirit haunting you.”

“Oh, that sounds profound.” After the earlier excitement, Wang Xinyao now seemed tired, lying languidly on the sofa.

Her hair, once neatly pinned, had come loose. She untied it, letting her black hair cascade like a waterfall, half-shrouding her delicate face.

She then reached her slender hands for the straps on her shoulders.

Gou Liang suddenly grew tense. She was about to undress.