Chapter Two: The Fragrant Kiss

No stars, no moon—the Lei Fortress was shrouded in complete darkness. Yet at this very moment, a lone figure strode quickly along a winding path within the fortress, carrying a massive iron hammer on his shoulder. He walked with such speed, the endless blackness seemed to have no effect on him at all. Was he born with eyes suited for the night?

Rules within Lei Fortress were strict: all lights extinguished and everyone abed by the hour of the Pig, morning drills commencing at the hour of the Rabbit. The master checked on the direct descendants of the Lei family every night. Now, it was the third quarter of the Rat hour; everyone was deep in slumber.

Lei Xiaowu, barely drifting off, was startled awake by a sudden cacophony of bangs and crashes outside. Frightened, he leapt up from his bed. “Who dares disturb my dreams? Courting death, are you…” he grumbled as he flung open his door. There, sprawled on the ground, was a fifty-pound iron hammer with a broken white waxwood handle, and beside it lay a person.

When Lei Xiaowu stepped out, the figure struggled to his feet. “Lei Xiang?” Lei Xiaowu could hardly believe his eyes—the one who had crashed at his door was none other than Lei Xiang.

Panic flickered across Lei Xiang’s face. He scrambled up, clutching the heavy hammer, abandoning the broken handle, and limped hurriedly southward, dragging an injured leg behind him.

Lei Xiaowu narrowed his small, fleshy eyes, suspicion stirring within him. “South leads to Mount Wuling. What is that brat up to, sneaking around with that hammer in the dead of night? Hmph, the annual competition is just days away. Is he plotting to master some secret technique for a miraculous turnaround? I can’t let that good-for-nothing succeed.”

Mulling it over, Lei Xiaowu resolved to sacrifice his sleep and tail Lei Xiang to uncover the truth. Not long after he set off in pursuit, a grinning face with tiny tiger fangs peeked out from around the corner of a low wall.

It was Lei Xiang, who had just pretended to flee. Now, his steps were agile and sure—no sign of injury at all. Like a nimble wildcat, he slipped into a house, his eyes gleaming with blue light in the darkness, making everything inside appear crystal clear. He scanned the room and fixed his gaze on a small box atop a long table.

The box was lacquered red, fastened with a small lock of purple copper.

Lei Xiang produced a thin wire from somewhere, slid it into the keyhole, and with a couple of deft twists, popped the lock open. He swiftly retrieved five glossy black hard-shelled fruits from inside.

“So this is the fabled Spirit-Taming Fruit? So it really was he who stole it.” Lei Xiang hesitated only a moment before cracking open the shells and popping the white flesh inside into his mouth. He scattered the empty shells casually across the Eight Immortals Table, locked the box again, restoring everything to its original state, then drifted away as silently as he had come.

Back in his cramped quarters, Lei Xiang’s lips curled in a cold smile. Lei Xiaowu, this time you’re in for it. When the master checks the rooms and finds the shells, you’ll be caught red-handed—punishment is inevitable. You’re still too green to play games with me, child.

Suddenly, blue sparks flickered again in Lei Xiang’s eyes, like starlight in a freezing spring. On the bed in the dark sat a woman in white, her long black hair cascading to her waist, her face obscured, impossible to tell whether she was human or ghost. Startled, Lei Xiang darted a full yard away, hefting his hammer and growling in a low voice, “Who are you?”

The woman turned slowly, revealing a face of pure innocence. Lei Xiang’s jaw dropped further in shock. “Kou’er, what are you…?”

Kou’er smiled softly. “Lei Xiang, I know Xiaowu bullied you again today, so I came to check on you, and maybe talk a little.”

Lei Xiang’s heart skipped a beat. Alone together, a man and woman, in the dead of night—what could they possibly talk about? He could only wait and see.

Kou’er’s lips parted, and she spoke words even more surprising. “In the half year I’ve been here, I’ve always been good to you. Do you know why? I’m an orphan too; I understand what you’ve been through. As fellow wanderers in a cruel world, we need warmth from each other. Do you understand what I mean?”

Lei Xiang listened in silence, beginning to sense where this was leading, though he shook his head outwardly.

Kou’er rose, her cheeks tinged with a faint blush. “You fool. After half a year watching you, I… want to be with you…” she murmured, lowering her head shyly.

Given Lei Xiang’s true age and experience, he understood perfectly what this young girl meant. Yet Lei Xiaowu and the others were so much better off—why would she choose him?

As if reading his doubts, Kou’er replied softly, “Xiaowu and the others are good, but they’re not what I’m looking for. When you smiled bitterly at me today, showing those little tiger teeth, my heart skipped a beat. That’s the feeling I was searching for—I’ve finally found it.”

Lei Xiang flashed a wry tiger-toothed smile. If he truly was the original Lei Xiang, he might have been deeply moved by Kou’er’s words. But she didn’t know the person before her was in fact a modern man, a sniper with an iron will. Remembering her odd look when Lei Xiaowu mentioned the Spirit-Taming Fruit, Lei Xiang sensed things were far from simple. So he played along: “Actually, I like you too. It’s just… in my heart, you’re a goddess. I can only look up to you, never daring to be disrespectful.”

Kou’er’s cheeks flushed even redder, glowing like ripe apples. She stepped forward, her voice barely above a whisper. “I hope you’ll treat me well, always.”

A surge of emotion welled up in Lei Xiang. He reached for Kou’er’s delicate hand and gently pulled her into his arms. “Kou’er, you’re so good to me. If only I had any Spirit-Taming Fruit, I’d give it all to you, so you could live forever.”

Nestled in his embrace, Kou’er’s body seemed to tremble slightly. She lifted her head, her breath hot against his earlobe as she whispered, “I don’t care about any immortal fruit. Even if I don’t cultivate, what does it matter? What I care about most is you.” Her voice faded, but her eyes closed in silent invitation.

Lei Xiang gazed down, seeing her quivering lashes and parted red lips, calling for a man’s tender affection. He felt his body react; which normal man could resist such a silent plea?

And Lei Xiang was a normal man. So he pressed his fevered lips to hers, and the once demure Kou’er responded boldly, her soft tongue venturing into his mouth. In that instant, all else was forgotten.

Suddenly, Lei Xiang pushed her away. Facing her startled gaze, he sneered coldly. “What did you just slip into my mouth?”

Kou’er said nothing, merely winked at him. Lei Xiang winked back. Kou’er froze in surprise, but Lei Xiang grinned, showing his tiger teeth. “You’re wondering why I’m still standing, aren’t you? Because I took a Clearing Powder before your fragrant kiss. You wanted to search my soul for news of the Spirit-Taming Fruit? Sorry, not a chance.”

Kou’er bit her lip, her eyes wide with anger. “Are you even human?”

Lei Xiang replied with a faint smile, “Of course. But I can guess what you’re thinking—like how you’re about to try escaping.”

Kou’er didn’t answer with words; her actions spoke for her. With a swift gesture, she pressed two fingers to her brow. “Turn!”

A sharp sound rang out, and a cloud of pink smoke filled the air. Lei Xiang held his breath. When the smoke cleared, Kou’er was gone without a trace.

But Lei Xiang’s smile vanished too, as his body collapsed limply to the ground.

Lying on the damp earth, he felt his limbs grow weak, utterly powerless, while a burning sensation flared in his lower abdomen. “There must be an aphrodisiac mixed into the paralyzing incense,” he thought, struggling to suppress the urge rising within him. The more he resisted, the stronger it became. Now, even if a female dog appeared, he might not be able to restrain himself.

“Thank goodness I tricked Kou’er away, or I can’t imagine the consequences.” But he clung to a sliver of clarity deep in his mind, sustained by sheer force of will. “Distract yourself—you can do this. Your mental discipline is strong,” he urged himself.

Thinking of mental fortitude, Lei Xiang recalled Instructor Liu from his former life, who had often praised his composure. Memories of life as a special forces soldier soothed him, at least momentarily, erasing his desire.

Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed his gut, radiating throughout his body, so intense he forgot his lust entirely. He felt like a balloon inflating beyond its limits, on the verge of exploding. “The Spirit-Taming Fruit!” The words flashed in his mind. The fruit’s spiritual energy was erupting within him; he actually felt strength returning to his limbs.

The desire was forcibly suppressed, replaced by a surge of wild energy rampaging through his body.

“If I don’t absorb this power, I’ll die from it.” Without thinking further, Lei Xiang sat cross-legged, palms raised towards the sky, and examined his meridians. The result left him speechless: aside from a few wispy threads of energy and a small olive-sized green sphere deep in his dantian, his channels were almost empty. “This Dragon-Elephant Divine Art is rubbish—such an impressive name for such a flawed cultivation method. Was it the Mistress who taught it wrong?”

His past life’s reading told him that a breakthrough required not just skill, but accumulation. Right now, his spiritual threads were pitifully few. He quickly regulated his breathing and circulated the internal energy. As the Dragon-Elephant Divine Art coursed through his eight meridians, dozens of cool, silken threads of energy began to flow through his body, each an inch long and as thin as a hair, finally settling in his dantian.

Taking a deep breath, Lei Xiang focused his powerful will. The threads surged again, now greedily absorbing the energy from the five white fruits within him. With each bit absorbed, the threads grew longer, and the swelling sensation within him lessened.

As the energy circulated, Lei Xiang realized why he hadn’t advanced in five years: his energy sea was a bottomless pit. Dozens of threads could never suffice for a breakthrough.

Searching the memories of his body, Lei Xiang found the cause. Five years ago, atop Mount Wuling, he’d been struck by lightning while trying to save two tribulation-crossing pythons. The lightning didn’t kill him; instead, it refined his body, expanded his meridians and energy sea, and left him fundamentally changed. But the quantity of spiritual threads needed now far exceeded before.

With the Spirit-Taming Fruit as fuel, diligent cultivation would bring a breakthrough. If his meridians were a highway, the spiritual threads were ants racing freely along it, unimpeded and increasingly lively.

One hour.

It took Lei Xiang only one hour to increase his spiritual threads to one hundred and sixty-two—a rate of absorption unheard of, not just in Lei Fortress, but likely throughout the Eastern Yue Kingdom.

The Spirit-Taming Fruit, legendary and rare, was precious beyond measure. Even those with far greater cultivation would not dare to consume five at once—the surge of spiritual energy would be impossible to control, let alone absorb so quickly, unless they possessed a secret technique to boost absorption.

Yet Lei Xiang, at the third level of Qi Refining, had accomplished it. He didn’t know why, but perhaps his exceptionally strong mind, tempered by his life as a sniper, was the key.

Over two inches long and nearly two hundred in number, the spiritual threads coiled and danced through Lei Xiang’s meridians, without the slightest congestion.

Quantity begets quality.

As the threads multiplied, Lei Xiang felt the threshold that had blocked him for five years finally loosen and give way.

With a long exhale, as if releasing years of pent-up frustration, Lei Xiang felt a sense of immense relief. He had finally broken through.

Not just one level, but two.

Now, his cultivation matched Lei Xiaowu’s: fifth level of Qi Refining. At last, he could fight back—no more bullying, no more swallowing humiliation. The disgrace of five stagnant years was swept away; from today onward, he could hold his head high in Lei Fortress.

Disdain, ridicule, sneers, insults—none of it mattered anymore. Today, Lei Xiang was among the top twenty fighters in the fortress.

Examining himself closely, he found that nearly eighty percent of the Spirit-Taming Fruit’s power had been absorbed, and the threads were still lengthening, thickening, and multiplying.

Lei Xiang could feel the vast spiritual energy within, enough for further breakthroughs. “Their method was wrong all along. If I’d cultivated my way, I’d have advanced long ago.”

Despite his progress, Lei Xiang felt little excitement. After all, the path of cultivation had only just begun—it was a long road to true mastery. Having read so many novels in his past life, he knew well the stages: Qi Refining, Foundation Building, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Divine Transformation, and so on—today was only a promising start.

Moreover, he harbored a dream: to forge a sniper rifle and become the first true marksman of the cultivation world. There was a long journey ahead…

PS: New book uploaded, two chapters today.