First Kiss?

When Meng and Yufeng arrived back at their camp, Meng immediately went to rest for a bit to stabilize his body's condition while Yufeng attended to him and all his possible needs, making him feel a bit awkward.

Meng recovered within a few hours but during that recovery time, he thought that he has no good healing arts. Therefore he started developing one for special purposes, his knowledge of human anatomy wasn't bad and he already learned about all Profound Entrances inside Profound Veins. With that in mind, he was determined to create one but it might take some time.

"Yufeng, you know, I am already alright..." Meng said when Yufeng brought his food to him.

"I still think you should rest for the day...Just let me take care of you, there is no need to act reserved" Yufeng said, gently pushing Meng's body against the trunk of the tree.

"..." *sigh* "I guess you won't drop this matter unless I really rest for the day...so be it but don't you dare complain later about my excessive demands" Meng said with a teasing smile but Yufeng just put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest with a proud look on her face saying "bring it on"

Meng decided to slowly start with that healing art as he had no need to leave this place quickly. He also didn't forget to make some ridiculous demands for Yufeng to make her hesitate the next time she wants to take care of him but it kinda backfired at him. He never expected Yufeng to accept all of his demands without a single complaint...no, she has done everything he demanded with a smile plastered over her face.

In truth, while Meng wanted to use this day to make Yufeng more reluctant to attend to him after every small thing despite meaning good, he didn't expect her to care for him so much as far as ignoring her status or power. She obviously wasn't stronger than him but even she has some pride and wouldn't let just anyone order her even if that person was unbelievably stronger than her.

"Little Meng~" Yufeng called him out of his thoughts while sitting on her heels and patting her thighs with a gentle and inviting smile.

"..." Meng just stared at the sight with a twitching eye, however when he considered their relationship, he thought that there is no harm in trying to rest that way.

*sigh* Meng sighed with a slightly helpless smile before he laid his head on top of Yufeng's thighs. Yufeng's hands started gently playing with Meng's hair while she was looking down at him with a gentle smile on her face but there was also a slightly guilty and sad look in her eyes.

Unfortunately or fortunately, Meng didn't catch it as he has already closed his eyes with a peaceful smile replacing his helpless one. Previously Meng thought that such actions weren't necessary but now he wasn't so confident as he felt Yufeng's touches soothing his mind. At the same time, he felt something inside him change but he couldn't pinpoint what it was...he just felt like it was a big change.

Without opening his eyes, Meng stretched his arm up and rested his palm on Yufeng's warm cheek, maybe a bit too warm as he could tell that she was blushing a lot without even looking. However, his hand quickly fell down as he drifted off, ultimately underestimating the pleasantness of resting on such an obscure place.

Seeing him fall asleep like a little kid made Yufeng smile widely as she had one more thing she could tease Meng with. As she was caressing his hair, she slowly but gradually brought her face down closer to Meng but when she was close enough and her hair was tickling his face, she hesitated for a bit. In the end, she moved a bit backward with her head and just kissed Meng's forehead.

...The next day Meng and Yufeng continued hunting the Profound Beasts and in the next week, they finally cleared the second stage. They weren't transported to a different place, instead, a pair of big azure eyes appeared above them.

"You have done well, humans. Clearing the second stage in such a short time is astonishing considering that you have faced it with two-fold difficulty. However, this is not the end yet. You will have to face the third and last trial. Are you ready?" The residual soul asked with a solemn voice.

Both Meng and Yufeng nodded confidently. Meng in particular wanted to be done with this trial as he felt his Hell Suppressing Physique close to the next bottleneck but he couldn't focus on it in the middle of the trial.

"Very well! I wish you luck!" The residual soul said and in flash, azure-colored light shot straight towards Yufeng's forehead and her surprised look was instantly replaced by an absent look in her eyes.

"?" Meng waited for his turn but when nothing happened, he narrowed his eyes.

"What is the meaning of this?" Meng asked.

"You, human, have a Phoenix's presence on your body and soul so I assumed that you have already gone through its trial and I am sure one of the stages was the test of character. I have also already witnessed how you kept helping and protecting this woman when much stronger beasts attacked you. There is no need for you to take this final trial." The residual soul explained but was quickly interrupted by relatively angered Meng.

"That's alright but wouldn't the same apply to her? She never backed down in front of the stronger opponents despite being aware that I can take care of them."

"That is indeed the truth. She indeed possesses an unyielding mindset that would be necessary to take my blood. Her character also seems passable even though I feel some remnants of negative emotions within her but I guess those emotions are from her past." The residual soul agreed.

"Then why?!" Meng questioned even more firmly after discovering that the residual soul agrees with him.

"This is all for her own good, she has her past regrets and I don't wish to pass my blood onto someone who is already filled with regrets. Either she will overcome them here or she will succumb to them." The residual soul replied with a firm tone.

Meng narrowed his eyes while clenching his hands into fists while daringly staring straight back into azure eyes that were emitting unbelievable pressure. He was aware that Yufeng had some regrets or more like feelings of guilt, however, he was planning to get rid of them slowly and not to immediately and forcefully make her face them.

Actually, the residual soul planned to make both of them part of the last trial but when it observed them grow even closer, it immediately abandoned that thought and decided to just test Yufeng. And while it was Yufeng's test, it would also help both her and Meng.

"Ugh..." Meng shook his head with an annoyed expression before he went to sit nearby where Yufeng was now standing with closed eyes.

He had faith in Yufeng's abilities and her new mental strength but it was still different if what she is facing right now are her past regrets, then it would inevitably make her mental strength regress to some extent.

After an hour, Meng finally noticed the first change.

"?!" A difficult expression appeared on Meng's face as he noticed tears flowing down Yufeng's face. He had no idea what was going on inside her consciousness but he started feeling bad.

"Can I help her?" Meng asked the azure eyes that were also closely observing Yufeng.

"You can't provide her any relief nor can you forcefully wake her up." The residual soul replied.

"I won't try anything like that but I can at least be allowed to touch her, no? After all, we both entered together so we both intended to clear the trials together...It is only right for me to help her." Meng said before getting to his feet.

"...Hahaha, still reluctant to call her your woman, huh? Both of you are strange humans but to answer you, yes, of course, you can get closer to her, after all, she is your woman, isn't she?" The residual soul laughed and its words left Meng speechless.

"Don't try to hide it, human. You have to be honest when it comes to your feelings. You aren't worried about her because she is your friend but because you developed feelings for her."

'Yeah, Meng, don't suppress it just because you "think" that it's wrong or whatever you are thinking. If you like this woman, just be honest about it, there is no shame in it' Even Su Zhu's voice resounded in his mind, creating additional pressure on him.

"Tch. Do all Divine Beasts enjoy spying on other people?" Meng muttered before clicking his tongue.

Meng took a deep breath and approached Yufeng who was still standing frozen in place and the only thing moving was her tears. When he was close enough, he suddenly got a bit nervous and he wasn't so sure what he should do to help her.

Meng did the first thing that came up into his mind and pulled her body into a tight embrace however when there was no response from her for more than 10 seconds, he frowned.

'Meng...' Su Zhu called out with what seemed a hesitant voice.

'Jeez, I know, I know!' Meng replied.

Meng broke the embrace and brought his face closer to her. He started staring at her rosy lips for a few seconds, still sorting out his feelings.

*sigh* "Well, I hope you won't mind if I do this..." Meng said with a slightly humorous tone before he closed his eyes and closed in for a kiss. The moment their lips met, Yufeng's expression slightly changed to better, less sad. The kiss lasted for almost an entire minute before Yufeng's eyelashes started to flutter and she slowly opened her eyes in confusion, however, once she felt and saw that she was kissing Meng, her eyes immediately widened in pleasant shock completely waking her up from her drowsy state however she didn't state in a sober state for too long.

She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Meng's neck, returning the kiss with all passion and emotions she kept hiding from Meng. To her, it felt more like a dream...a few seconds ago she was experiencing a nightmare which quickly switched to a pleasant dream...those were her thoughts so she decided to fully enjoy this dream.

Meng was slightly surprised by her sudden response but he was glad that she woke up and by her response...she most likely got rid of her regrets and everything that's been bothering her. However, Meng's slight surprise quickly changed to a shock when Yufeng was trying to pry open his mouth with her tongue.

Meng subconsciously slightly opened his mouth and his hands slowly moved down her back until they stopped on her round butt.

"Mmm~" This earned a muffled moan from her but she never stopped eagerly kissing, thinking that this dream is going to come to the end very quickly.