Chapter 38: Shared Sensation, Si Jin Is Going Crazy
Si Jin was accustomed to pain, violence, solitude, and destruction, but he had never experienced such a... gentle yet fatal touch.
The touch held no aggression, yet it dismantled his defenses more effectively than any attack.
A fine sweat soon beaded on his temples—not from heat, but from the completely overwhelming sensory assault.
He raised a hand and pressed hard against his throbbing temples, trying to use a sharper physical pain to overwrite the vexing, warm shiver.
However, it was of little use.
The fingertips seemed to possess a magical quality, every stroke teasing a tiny spark from his taut nerves.
The dependence and yearning transmitted from his spiritual body only made the shared sensation more viscous and intimate.
In the dead of night, Si Jin forced out a scorching breath.
He had perhaps made a fatal mistake.
By leaving his spiritual body with Yun Sheng, while trying to bind her, he had also passively surrendered a part of his most private sensory experience.
And the resulting loss of control, along with the lingering comfort and desire, was far more... troublesome for him to handle than any powerful enemy.
Meanwhile, Yun Sheng, completely oblivious, felt herself soothed by the puppy’s fluffy warmth. Her fingertips combed through its thick, soft fur, and she nearly lost track of time.
"KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK."
The soft knocking broke the room’s tranquility.
Yun Sheng froze. The puppy in her lap immediately perked up its ears, its dark blue eyes fixed on the door, but its body remained relaxed against her legs.
"Shengsheng, are you asleep?"
Su Wan’s gentle voice came from outside the door.
Yun Sheng quickly placed the puppy back on the rug, signaling for it to be quiet. She then stood, straightened her clothes, and went to open the door.
Outside, Su Wan stood holding a tray.
On the tray was a steaming bowl of thick, fragrant seafood congee, alongside several delicate pastries and a small plate of sliced seasonal fruit.
"Shengsheng, you came back late and missed dinner. I had the kitchen keep this seafood congee warm. I just heard you were back, so I brought it up. Eat it while it’s hot, and then get some rest."
Su Wan said, offering the tray to Yun Sheng.
Looking at the genuine concern in her eyes, a complex feeling flickered through Yun Sheng’s heart as she took the tray.
"Thank you... Madam. Why are you still up so late?"
The word "Madam" caused the light in Su Wan’s eyes to dim for an instant, but she quickly hid it.
"It was your first day of training at the Tower, and you hadn’t come home. I... I was worried."
She smiled, and her gaze swept casually over the room. It landed on the small black puppy curled up quietly on the rug, and she paused.
"What’s this...?"
"A friend is letting me look after it for a bit," Yun Sheng explained. "It’s very well-behaved and won’t make any noise or disturb you."
Su Wan nodded without asking any more questions, simply reminding her gently, "You should get some rest too, then."
She paused, then pulled a pale gold card from her pocket and pressed it into Yun Sheng’s hand, a hint of apology on her face.
"Look at me, my memory is so bad. I’ve been so focused on helping you get settled these past few days that I completely forgot something so important. There are one million Star Coins on this card. Take it and use it for now. I’ll deposit an allowance for you every month from now on. Buy whatever you want, whatever you need. Just spend it. If it’s not enough, just let me know."
Su Wan came from a privileged background and had never worried about money. After being reunited with her daughter, she had only thought about preparing clothes, arranging accommodations, and mending their bond, but she had overlooked the most practical matters.
Now that she remembered, she immediately made up for it—not with a sense of charity or condescension, but purely out of a desire to compensate and show she cared.
Yun Sheng’s fingers tightened slightly around the card, which was still warm from Su Wan’s touch.
One million Star Coins. To her, it was an enormous sum, enough to solve many of her current problems.
More importantly, behind this gift was a clumsy but sincere desire to make amends.
"This..." Yun Sheng’s throat felt a little dry.
"Alright, hurry inside. The congee is getting cold."
Su Wan patted the back of her hand, stopping the words of thanks or refusal that were about to come.
"From now on, if anything comes up, you have to tell me. Don’t carry it all by yourself. Goodnight, Shengsheng."
After she spoke, she turned and left, her figure appearing especially gentle under the hallway lights.
Yun Sheng closed the door and stood with her back against it for a moment, calming her emotions.
She carefully put the card away before placing the tray on the table.
The savory aroma of the seafood congee filled the air, and only then did she realize how empty her stomach was.
She scooped up a spoonful, blew on it to cool it down, and took a taste. It was delicious, the warmth soothing her stomach.
After a moment’s thought, she took out a small saucer, poured a little warm water into it, and crumbled half of an unsalted pastry, placing it on the rug.
"Good doggy, I wonder if you can eat this?"
The Abyssal Giant Wolf (and a certain Dark Sentinel sharing its senses from afar): "..."
Of course, a spiritual body didn’t need to eat.
It looked at the saucer in silence, but eventually lowered its head and took a few symbolic licks of the water.
Then it raised its head, looked quietly at Yun Sheng, and wagged its tail, as if to say, ’I accept your kindness.’
Not far away, in a room on the top floor.
Si Jin leaned against the cold glass, his bangs slightly damp with sweat.
When the spiritual body lowered its head to lap at the water, the phantom sensation of cool liquid sliding down a throat was instantly transmitted to him, even causing his own parched throat to swallow reflexively.
This sensation felt even more absurd and... out of control... than her touch from before.
What frustrated him even more was the discovery that he was unable to forcibly sever or reverse the emotional feedback coming from his spiritual body.
Something beyond his control had quietly begun to grow.
’Perhaps I really have... underestimated this woman named Yun Sheng!’
Si Jin closed his eyes, forcibly peeling his focus away from the vexing shared senses, trying to re-concentrate the coldness and rationality befitting a Dark Sentinel.
Yet, the phantom coolness seemed to linger on the tip of his tongue, and the shiver from where she had touched his waist and stomach hadn’t completely faded...
Meanwhile, when Yun Sheng saw the puppy obediently accepting her "offering," she couldn’t help but smile.
’I wasn’t sure if a spiritual body could eat, but I guess it’s possible after all.’
She didn’t disturb it any further. She sat back down at the table, slowly finished the seafood congee, and ate some of the sweet fruit.
After clearing the dishes, she sat on the edge of her bed, opened her terminal, and casually browsed for information on the Star Network.
She mainly looked through public forums about Tower training and basic guide knowledge, and also searched for the name "Mo Chen."
But there was very little public information. It only showed that he was a specially-appointed expert at the Central Star Domain High-level Research Institute, with a research focus in a niche field.
Time passed without her noticing.
Yun Sheng yawned as a wave of sleepiness washed over her.
She turned off her terminal and looked at the puppy, which was still lying quietly on the rug, its gaze following her every move.
It was unbelievably well-behaved. Aside from the occasional twitch of its ears, it was almost like a furry decoration.
On a whim, Yun Sheng stood, walked over, and bent down to pick it up.
It immediately went limp in her arms, letting her hold it. Its head rested naturally on her shoulder, its warm breath brushing against the side of her neck.
She carried it to the bathroom door and suddenly stopped. As if playing a prank, she nudged its wet nose with her own and lowered her voice, her tone lazy with sleepiness and a hint of playfulness.
"Good doggy, I’m going to take a shower now... You be a good boy and don’t run off, okay~?"