Re-birth: The Beginning after the End-Chapter 190: LITTLE BY LITTLE
"Such a good girl," he whispered in her ear as he took the empty bowl from her hands. The words sent a shiver down her spine, and she found herself leaning into his touch. No one had ever called her that. The first time he'd spoken those words was during their thousand veils training, his voice carrying that same dangerous warmth that made her pulse skip. Now, like then, the praise settled somewhere deep in her chest, making her feel both accomplished and treasured with just three simple words.
"I-um," she turned her gaze to stare at her ceiling, fighting the urge to bite her lip again. The gesture felt too intimate now that she knew how he'd respond to it. "Color? What's your favorite... color?"
Mo Xing chuckled, and she could hear the smile in his voice without having to look at him. "My Little Tempest, are you actually trying to start with something so innocent?"
She nodded her head, feeling strangely adrift.
It was disconcerting how easily he could make her carefully constructed walls crumble with just a touch, a look, a smile. The woman who had once orchestrated corporate takeovers and executed flawless assassinations now found herself struggling to maintain composure over something as simple as the brush of his fingers against her skin.
Even now, as she tried to gather her scattered thoughts, he proved her point perfectly. Mo Xing leaned in, his movement deliberately slow, as if giving her time to process how completely he commanded the space between them. She felt his breath first, warm against her neck as he inhaled her scent like a man savoring his favorite fragrance. Then his arms were around her, gathering her close with a possessive tenderness that made resistance seem pointless. The way he carried her to the bed spoke of both strength and certainty, and when he settled beside her, it was with the fluid grace of shadow becoming solid.
"I've never thought about my favorite color," he said, turning to study her face with that intensity that always made her feel both seen and exposed. "But if I had to say, it would be red, like the soft red of your lips," his voice carried that dangerous warmth again, "and the ash grey of your eyes."
Even such a simple answer from him felt like both a caress and a claim, making her wonder if there would ever be a moment between them that didn't feel charged with unspoken meaning.
"Master..." Little Firefly's voice echoed in her mind, his concern cutting through the intimate atmosphere. "The soul strengthening fruit can help repair the damage to your soul. Maybe you could see if there is a pill recipe? Or even try just consuming it?" His voice trembled slightly with worry. "You truly need to repair your soul, Master. The damage from earlier... it's still there."
The slight sniffling at the end of his words didn't escape her notice—he was still trying to recover from his earlier bout of crying. Her heart tightened; she had really scared him this time. She'd have to think of a way to make it up to her faithful spirit companion later.
She noticed Mo Xing watching her with that penetrating gaze of his, clearly sensing her disconnect from their moment. His ability to read her was both unnerving and...oddly comforting.
Little Firefly's suggestion had merit though. Her mind drifted to a passage she'd read about the Soul Revitalizing Pill. The ancient texts had been quite specific: combining the soul strengthening fruit with spirit water and grounding mind lotus would create something far more potent than the fruit alone. Such a combination wouldn't just heal soul injuries, but would enhance the soul's resilience and deepen the connection between a cultivator's soul and core. It was exactly what she needed after her brush with dissolution.
She studied Mo Xing for a moment, weighing her next action. In her past lives, trust had always been a calculated risk, a weapon to be wielded carefully. But something deeper than reason pushed her forward now—an instinct that felt older than her current existence, demanding she let this man past her carefully constructed walls.
"Little by little," she whispered to him, a reminder of their earlier promise. Then, with a casual wave of her hand that belied the significance of the revelation, the Spirit Condensing Cauldron materialized before them, its ancient surface gleaming with inner light. Beside it appeared an aged text, its pages marked with complex pill refinement diagrams, and two transparent soul strengthening fruits that seemed to pulse with their own ethereal rhythm.
Mo Xing's eyebrows lifted slightly—the most surprise she'd ever seen him display. His eyes moved from the cauldron to the texts to the fruits with an intensity that made her pulse quicken. There was something in his gaze—not confusion at their existence, but rather recognition, as if these treasures stirred memories he couldn't quite grasp. His expression remained carefully neutral, but she caught the slight tremor in his hand as it moved unconsciously toward the cauldron, like a man reaching for something he'd once known intimately.
When he hesitated and pulled his hand back, Li Hua slowly rose into a sitting position. Something about his uncertainty moved her, and she found herself reaching for his hand, guiding it to the cauldron's surface. For a single breath, she felt the vessel vibrate beneath their joined touch.
The resonance faded, leaving behind a charged stillness in the air. Their hands remained connected on the cauldron's surface, neither quite willing to break the moment. Li Hua found herself acutely aware of the warmth of his palm against hers, the slight roughness of his fingers, the way his breath seemed to have caught at the cauldron's response.
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The silence stretched between them, heavy with unasked questions, until Mo Xing finally cleared his throat. "Can I watch?" His voice carried an unusual note of both eagerness and restraint, as if he was trying to contain a deeper interest in what she was about to do.
