Chapter 102: Erlang Shen and the Howling Celestial Hound

Fuxi listened from the side and grew more and more uneasy. Encouraging someone was one thing, but how had the conversation ended up with talk of making a union irreversible and forcing the issue? Nuwa and the three sisters of Su Daji were even joining in, offering advice on how to get Erlang Shen into bed.

His face darkened as he pulled Nuwa back. "What nonsense are you teaching her? Qianqian is still a child!"

"Ancestral God, I was already in my twenties before I died. I am not really a teenager, you know," Yu Qian said after a moment of blankness.

Fuxi's face turned even darker. "Even if you count your previous life, you're still a child in our eyes!"

Yu Qian fell silent. In the eyes of these towering figures, all of whom were centuries old at the drop of a hat, she really was a child—barely into her thirties all told.

Nuwa could not bear Fuxi's scowl and nudged him with her elbow. "Why so fierce? We're only teaching our little darling how to win Erlang Shen over. You can't possibly stop people from being together, can you?"

"If you're going to teach her, then teach her properly. What is all this nonsense?"

"What is wrong with bedroom arts? If you think it's so bad, then you can sleep on the sofa from now on!" Nuwa shot him a glare, looking ready to hit him if he said another word.

Fuxi fell silent. He did not want to sleep on the sofa, so he could only let it go.

Seeing that he had no objections, Nuwa rejoined the discussion.

With everyone's encouragement, Sweetheart gathered her courage again. Blushing, she walked toward Erlang Shen, who had already stopped fighting and was leaning against a pillar to drink water.

The moment Erlang Shen looked up, he saw the little girl he had been longing for coming toward him, her face flushed red. He glanced at the people not far away, all of them wearing knowing smiles, and could not help feeling a little nervous.

He had no idea what Sweetheart was about to say.

When she reached him, her face was so red it looked as though it might burst into flame. "M-Master!"

"I am here." Erlang Shen smiled at her.

That smile only made Sweetheart blush harder. She felt as if she were about to explode.

She spun around abruptly, fanning herself with one hand, then looked toward Nuwa and the others in the distance. Seeing them all cheering her on, she clenched her fists and turned back.

"Master! I like you!" With her eyes shut, Sweetheart shouted it out loud.

The moment the words fell, the grotto-heaven fell silent. Everyone turned to stare at the pair of them.

The stillness made Sweetheart even more nervous. She did not dare open her eyes to look at Erlang Shen's reaction. She was terrified of seeing disgust on his face, terrified that he would no longer want her at his side.

Erlang Shen said nothing for a long time. Sweetheart grew more and more despondent. Lowering her head, she opened her eyes and stared at the man's feet, tears already threatening to fall.

Then Erlang Shen suddenly laughed. "You little fool. So you have finally figured it out." As he spoke, he gently stroked her hair.

Sweetheart looked up, stunned, the tears in her eyes trembling on the brink of falling.

With a soft sigh, Erlang Shen wiped them away, then pulled her into his arms. "I've been chasing you openly and in secret for more than a thousand years. I was starting to think you would never catch on."

Sweetheart was even more baffled. When had her master ever been chasing her?

Having lived together for thousands of years, Erlang Shen understood every expression on her face. "You thought someone else was changing the flowers in your room? You thought I only had the Meishan brothers do the work and never let you do it? You thought your food never stopped coming for two thousand years by accident?"

Sweetheart thought about it. It really had always been like that for the past two thousand years.

"If I did not like you, why would I always make you my partner at every banquet? If I did not like you, why would I keep interfering with Father and Mother's attempts to play matchmaker? If I did not like you, why would I..." He paused and leaned close to her ear. "If I did not like you, why would I keep taking off my clothes to seduce you?"

Sweetheart was completely stunned. So her master had not been asking her to serve him during his baths—he had been trying to seduce her?

"You silly girl!" Erlang Shen held her tighter, unable to stop himself from calling her foolish.

Once she had finally processed it, Sweetheart suddenly burst into tears. Erlang Shen panicked, flailing helplessly as he tried to soothe the girl.

He had only just made their relationship official and already made her cry. Erlang Shen felt he was going to be beaten by his mother all over again.