Free Web NovelChapter 25: Chapter 25: Behind the Holy Priest’s Gauze
Yue Yue froze. She had never seen such a face before. It was so heaven defying. How could someone like him exist at all?
His face was perfect, almost unreal, like he was some deity standing right in front of her. His long lashes fanned over his closed eyes, but even with them shut, he seemed to see everything.
For a long time, both of them just froze. Yue Yue’s heart pounded. She didn’t know why he had stopped her. Did she do something wrong? What if she had ruined her chance to complete her missions? Panic fluttered inside her chest like a trapped bird.
Then, slowly, the man’s frown disappeared. He leaned back slightly and said in a calm voice, "Continue..."
Yue Yue exhaled sharply, relief washing over her. She lowered her head and carefully started washing his back. She didn’t even realize it at first, but a faint tremor ran down his spine under her soft hands. Still, his face remained stoic. She assumed it was nothing strange.
Her hands moved diligently over his shoulders, working through his hair. The water ran gently down his back, and his expression softened even more.
Yue Yue felt like he was asleep, though she dared not disturb him. Her heart beat fast as she continued, wanting to do everything perfectly.
Suddenly, a system message floated in front of her eyes. "Congratulations, Host. Keep working. The fourth Villain mode has decreased by 1 percent."
Her eyes widened, and her heart leapt. It worked. It actually worked. She couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips. Energized, she worked even more diligently, scrubbing his shoulders and hair with extra care.
Soon, she realized she had already finished washing his shoulders and hair. She paused. Now what? What do I wash next? Her mind raced. Should I wash his front too? Will it reduce another percentage? But... why isn’t he stopping me? She didn’t want to go to extra length to wash his front too. Anxiety crept up as she hesitated.
Her hands lingered in the water, unsure. Then she thought about withdrawing them. It was too much hassle. She would just do something else to reduce another percent. After all, the bathing mission was already complete.
So she immediately withdrew her hand and decided to take a step backwards.
Before she could make a move, the man’s hands caught hers. Yue Yue gasped, her eyes wide. "You are not done at all," he said, his voice deep and calm. Then, without warning, he pulled her slightly down into the water. freёwebnovel.com
Yue Yue flailed, her heart jumping. She scrambled to regain balance, then stood straight again, the water now reaching her waist.
She looked at him, eyes full of wronged confusion. "What kind of man he is... he didn’t even help her?" she thought, though the man didn’t answer.
Instead, he handed her a sponge and flexed his upper body slightly, as if asking her silently, Are you done yet?
Her face burned red, but she understood. She needed to continue. With renewed diligence, she started washing his upper body.
She was careful to stay above the waterline, focusing on cleaning his shoulders, chest, and arms. Her hands moved softly, methodically, not daring to make a wrong move.
Why is he letting me do this? Yue Yue thought. Isn’t this too much? What if I accidentally...? She shook her head quickly, reminding herself to stay calm. The system message from before still lingered in her mind. If I do this carefully, maybe I can decrease another percentage.
She kept working, scrubbing gently, massaging the faintly trembling muscles. He still leaned back, eyes closed, expression calm. She was so focused that she didn’t even notice how close she was getting to his lower abdomen.
Finally, as her hands reached near his mermaid line, the man gripped her hands firmly. "That’s enough. You can go," he said.
Yue Yue froze. Go? Already? She quickly realized he might have misunderstood her intention. I wasn’t going to do anything indecent. I was just cleaning above water.
She bit her lip, holding back a small gasp. The maid had warned her that the high priest didn’t like noise. She didn’t dare explain herself.
Slowly, carefully, she climbed out of the water. Her maid’s dress clung to her soaked body, and she cursed silently in her mind. So stingy. I worked so hard, and still the percentage hasn’t dropped yet.
Before she could think further, the man tossed a white towel toward her. "You can go," he said again, calmly.
Yue Yue wrapped the towel around herself as she stepped outside. Just as she moved away, a system voice rang clearly in her mind. "Congratulations, Host. Villain mode successfully decreased by 1 percent."
Her eyes widened as her heart soared. Finally, this stingy man’s villain mode was decreased. She almost flew with happiness, her eyes shining.
But she quickly stopped herself from smiling too widely. She ran outside, wrapped in the towel, her face bright and full of joy. It worked. I actually did it. I helped decrease his villain mode.
Meanwhile, back inside, the man leaned down on the edge of the tub, watching her retreating figure. He sighed softly. What’s so happy about washing me? he thought. She’s so silly...
But then, his expression shifted. He raised his hands to his face, muttering softly, almost to himself. "Why... why is she so pure?"
He had never seen a soul like hers before. So diligent, so sincere, so completely untainted. He had seen many people in his life, many who tried to hide behind masks or ambitions, but her... her purity shone like a light that pierced through everything.
He remained leaning there, silently watching her disappear down the hall, a strange mix of admiration and confusion settling over him. I can’t... understand it, he thought. But... maybe I like it. Maybe I’ve never seen someone like her before...
But who was she? He had never seen her before in the temple... just where did she come from?
And the swirling energy around her... he sighed and took a deep breath, as if trying to inhale the lingering soft scent she left behind.
It was soothing. He murmured that he had never felt this relaxed before... and suddenly his hand reached up to his brows as he realized the constant pounding in his head, the one that had been there for so long, had noticeably lessened.
What? How could this be possible?
His eyes flew open, and he stared into the distance in a daze.
If Yue Yue had been there, she would have been shocked to see his eyes, because they were the color of blood. The red in them was so prominent that he almost looked like a polluted beast.
Only he knew how he was still retaining his sanity...
Feng Yanshen suddenly got out of the water after rinsing and dropped a soft white robe over himself. Then he took the white gauze from the tray and immediately wrapped it around his eyes.
After all, being the Holy Priest, he couldn’t let people see that he was slowly becoming a monster.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Little female... you better wait for me," he said as he left the bathing chambers with slow, elegant footsteps.
After all, he had to make sure the little rabbit stayed by his side. He couldn’t allow anyone to catch even a whiff of her.
