Her hands clenched tightly beside her as she felt the last thread of her patience snap. Biting her lower lip, she finally begrudgingly hissed, "Fine."
Hearing the answer he wanted, Wei Xing finally released her. For a second, she thought she saw the corners of his mouth tilt upwards. Blaming it on the lighting, she huffed angrily at him. She watched as he turned his back on her. It almost seemed like he couldn't wait to go bathe. She closed her eyes, releasing a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Right as soon as she opened them, Wei Xing was suddenly standing directly in front of her again. This surprised her to the point where she nearly tumbled backwards. Wei Xing's arm suddenly swept around her waist, pulling her back toward him. The tug had been harder than he initialized and she smacked right into his firm chest again.
"Are you going back on your word?"
"Of course not!" she snapped. Shocked that he had once again pulled her tightly into his arms, she abruptly raised her hand to push against him. This action however seemed to irritate Wei Xing. He immediately retaliated by pulling her even closer against him.
"Oomph!" Her face slammed right into him again. Subconsciously, she inhaled his scent and a memory of him pressing her up against the wall in the very same room came hurling to the forefront of her mind. Her eyes bulged. She felt unhinged and flustered. The only thing she could think of was to put as much distance between them as she could. However, the more she struggled, the tighter his grip around her became.
"Wei Xing!" she shouted out of frustration. She glared up at him and nearly fainted from anger when she saw an amused look on his face. Did the dark energy give him a few loose screws? Why did he look amused at her frustration?
"Why didn't you follow me obediently? When I saw you just standing there, I assumed you wanted me to carry you," he said huskily. He finally pulled away and started for the door again.
She stood frozen on the spot. Ever since she was reborn, he had done nothing but get on her last nerve. Just what exactly was he trying to achieve?
When he realized that she wasn't following him, he glowered at her.
"Are you going to obediently follow or would you rather I toss you over my shoulders?" he asked sharply.
Struggling to hold back an insult, she stepped forward and followed closely after him. He led her into the study and straight through the secret passageway to where the hot spring was. Unable to hide the glower on her face, she stared at Wei Xing who already started to undress.
"What are you doing?!" she shrieked. She quickly spun around to stare at the rock wall just missing the smirk on Wei Xing's face.
"I obviously need to undress if I want to bathe," came a snarky reply. His clothes were tossed carelessly over her head then she heard the sound of water rippling. She gripped at the clothes that were tossed at her. Her hands shook. She was just about to toss the clothes onto the ground when she heard Wei Xing say, "If my clothes get dirty, you'll wash them, right?"
She gritted her teeth tightly. She debated on whether she should just bolt out of there or not. In the end, she folded his clothes neatly and placed them on the table where extra clothes and a towel laid for him.
Keeping her back facing Wei Xing, she knelt on the ground, refusing to do anything else.
"Is that how you're supposed to help a person bathe?" Wei Xing's condescending voice echoed within the cave. When Xiu Xiang didn't answer, Wei Xing sighed purposefully. "You really are jealous, aren't you?"
"I'm not!" Xiu Xiang hollered.
"Then come over here and help me bathe like you're supposed to," Wei Xing ushered.
Xiu Xiang had been too concerned with denying her jealousy, she didn't think twice about rising up to the challenge of helping Wei Xing bathe. It was steaming quite a bit within the cave so it wasn't like she was going to see Wei Xing completely naked.
She grabbed the bar soap and a clean towel. Sitting on the edge of the hot spring, she dipped her feet into the hot water. Wetting the bar soap, she grabbed Wei Xing firmly on one shoulder and started to scrub his back.
With his back facing her, she missed out on the mischievous smile on his face. He remembered how he had accidentally come upon Xiu Xiang bathing in here in the past. If it was the past him, he would've let such a grudge go. Now that he was filled with dark energy and turned into a demon, he found he could let loose however he wanted. He was free to openly express how he felt; he felt happy, sad, anger, greed, and even lust.
By now, Xiu Xiang was done scrubbing his back. She reached for the towel, wetting it to scrub his back clean of the suds. As soon as she was done, she slapped the towel onto the ground.
"There. I've helped you bathed," she declared. She placed one hand down on the ground to push herself back up to her feet. In the middle of getting up, Wei Xing spun around. He yanked her by the wrist and pulled her into the hot spring with him.
Xiu Xiang lost her footing and splashed into the hot water. After a bit of struggle, she finally managed to stand up. She coughed madly, spitting out the hot water. When she found her voice again, she shouted, "Wei Xing! What are you playing at?!"
Wei Xing didn't answer her. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her, placing his chin gently on her shoulder.
"Wei Xing!"
Right as she was about to struggle, he spoke up. "I wouldn't move if I were you. Unless you want me to see everything."
Xiu Xiang's eyes bulged. Her clothes were not only white, it was quite thin. She could only imagine what she looked like with her clothes wet and lined against her body like a second layer of skin.
"You! Let go of me and turn around!" she ordered nervously.
He chuckled at her nervous tone.
"Doesn't this scene look familiar?"
Why wouldn't it? Wei Xing had walked in on her when she was bathing and she nearly drowned him. Was he getting back at her for every small grievance? Could that be the reason why he had invited her into the harem before?
The bastard!
"Just how much of a grudge do you hold against me that you're getting revenge for every bit of grievance you suffered in the past?" she spat.
"Revenge? Who ever said this was all a revenge?" Wei Xing asked.
"But you're repeating everything I've done to you back onto me! Isn't that revenge?" Xiu Xiang shot back.
She heard a heavy sigh from him.
"Are you just pretending or do you really not know how I feel?"
Pretending? Know how he feels? What?
She felt him finally pull away only for him to loom over her. His hands held her firmly in place then he bent down to capture her lips.
Stunned at the sudden kiss, she froze in place. His lips softly melded with hers, taking in her taste. It was gentle and not overbearing, almost like he was treasuring her. The hot steam along with the kiss made her mind spun. This feeling that he was sending through the kiss, it was the same when he kissed her within the harem.
Wei Xing only reluctantly pulled away when he felt that Xiu Xiang was running out of breath. He brushed aside the wet strands in her face and pressed his lips on her forehead. He pulled her back into his arms, not wanting to release her for even a second.
"Why didn't you tell me who you were? You let me mistake you for a stranger who simply held a similar aura," Wei Xing said softly.
"I..." The kiss seemed to have jumbled Xiu Xiang's mind. She couldn't decide if she was angry or not. If he was finally going to give her the chance to explain, she might as well. "You didn't give me the chance to and I knew you were already in love with Bai Qing. Why would it matter if I told you who I was or not?"
"I'm in love with Bai Qing? Says who?" Wei Xing pulled apart to look her seriously in the eyes.
"Aren't you?"
"I've waited patiently for you all these years. My heart never wavered once," he replied.
"Then what about all those women in the harem? And Bai Qing when you tried to destroy my master's treasured courtyard?" she asked frowning.
He smiled guiltily at her.
"Hua Jian said you were extremely tightlipped and the only way for you to speak up was to evoke your jealousy," he said truthfully.
Xiu Xiang's frown turned even deeper when he heard his explanation.
"I swear! Everything was all an act! I have no feelings for Bai Qing whatsoever! You can ask Hua Jian. It was all his idea!" He quickly pinned the blame on Hua Jian. "As for the harem, I've never once entered it until that day when I brought you in to make you jealous!" he quickly said. He even held three fingers up, swearing his loyalty.
When he saw that Xiu Xiang's frown stayed firmly on her face, he struggled to appease her.
"If you aren't happy, I'll gladly remove the harem! I have no need for it! As for Bai Qing, she had saved me once and she was useful so that is the only reason why she was allowed to stay here. If you don't want her here, I'll have Hua Jian take her back to the human realm!"
Xiu Xiang couldn't believe him. She had been played completely by him. The bastard had learned how to toy with her feelings. Well, two can play at that game.
"You didn't recognize me when you first met me. Then, you brought me here, dumped me in a remote corner of the palace. When you realized who I was, instead of apologizing, you tried to evoke my jealousy. After almost destroying my master's treasured courtyard, you bring me here into the hot spring to try and seduce me. Did I get everything right?" she asked sharply.
"..." He knew this was a bad idea! Why did he listen to that idiot Hua Jian in the first place? He should've been straightforward with Xiu Xiang like he done in the past! What was he thinking?