Chapter 405: The Second Drop of Blood of the Blood Asura

Chapter 405: The Second Drop of Blood of the Blood Asura

Zhao Changhe stared with a twitching expression at Huangfu Qing atop him.

That face brimming with victorious joy seemed to radiate light from every pore, as if making Tang Wanzhuang suffer was the most important thing in her life.

But what the hell are you so thrilled about? You haven’t even gotten in yet!

You might not be in much pain, because the one who’s really hurting is me!

Without enough foreplay, how could a single sit-down lead to success? Who understands that kind of pain…

At this moment, Zhao Changhe finally realized what Tang Wanzhuang was so angry about… Maybe there was some jealousy, but what she said was clearly a helping hand, wasn’t it?

Was she hoping he’d take down this important figure from the Four Symbols Sect planted in the palace?

Was this now considered acting on imperial orders?

Seeing Huangfu Qing’s ecstatic expression, Zhao Changhe finally said irritably, “No matter how strong she is, her divine sense can’t peek into a bedroom through an entire building. How did you convince yourself you were cucking her right under her nose…”

“What’s ‘cucking’?” Huangfu Qing didn’t understand but didn’t dwell on it. She said cheerfully, “She might not see it, but the intent is enough. Besides, you didn’t rush to pull up your pants and run out, did you?”

Zhao Changhe’s face was expressionless: “But I’m in a hurry now.”

Huangfu Qing’s expression froze for a moment.

Soon she felt a surge of force from below, flipping her over and pinning her beneath him.

Their eyes met, one above and one below, and Huangfu Qing suddenly realized something.

She had only been putting on a show to anger Tang Wanzhuang, but he didn’t see it that way… Since you’re willing to go that far, why not go all the way? Who could stop now!

Come to think of it, was she really just trying to drive Tang Wanzhuang away?

Actually… it was because she was willing in the first place.

If not for the entanglement with Tang Wanzhuang, given that she had just secured the Yang family, she should have rewarded him anyway—it was already agreed upon…

“It was agreed…” Zhao Changhe murmured as well. “A reward of my choice was promised. You can’t back out now.”

A flicker passed through Huangfu Qing’s eyes. After a long moment, she replied softly, “Is it just a reward?”

Zhao Changhe recalled her resolute words from the night before last, spoken to Tang Wanzhuang: “I like him.”

I like him…

The same thought crossed Huangfu Qing’s mind.

At this moment, silence spoke louder than words.

The atmosphere had reached this point. Huangfu Qing truly couldn’t be bothered to think about all the trivialities—sects, positions, the imperial court, Tang Wanzhuang… the Vermilion Bird, Xia Chichi.

Why did he need to prove that these deeds were for the Four Symbols Sect? As long as there was love, would he ever betray her…

She only wanted to hear him say the same thing.

As if by telepathy, Zhao Changhe whispered, “I like you. Forget the sects, the imperial consort, the Room Fire Pig or Wing Fire Snake, whether the Vermilion Bird approves or not—I want you.”

Whether the Vermilion Bird approved… From the Vermilion Bird’s perspective, she didn’t, but the Wing Fire Snake did. How to reconcile that…

Right now, there was no mask. She was Huangfu Qing, and he was Zhao Changhe.

Huangfu Qing’s eyes stirred. She replied softly, “What I’ve sacrificed to be with you… you can’t imagine. You… must not betray me.”

Zhao Changhe had no idea that this was the Vermilion Bird Venerable, the de facto leader of the Four Symbols Sect, yielding herself to a man. He truly couldn’t grasp what she had to sacrifice—wasn’t she just a nominal false imperial consort? Xia Longyuan didn’t care, and even if he did, they’d face it head-on. He couldn’t let her be bound for life just because of someone’s voyeuristic amusement.

Zhao Changhe said earnestly, “I will never betray you.”

He knew that men would say anything at such a moment, that it couldn’t be taken seriously, but every woman wanted to believe it at that instant.

Huangfu Qing closed her eyes and said softly, “This is your reward.”

Just now she said it wasn’t just a reward, and now she said it was.

The Venerable’s hard beak was pried open, lips and tongues intertwined, melting completely into water.

In a daze, she felt a pang of pain. This time, it was real.

Huangfu Qing gasped, opening her eyes. With a tender, indulgent smile, she gently stroked his head and whispered, “Satisfied?”

Zhao Changhe said, “Your humble servant will strive to make the Imperial Consort even more satisfied.”

…

One night of sparse rain and sudden gusts.

Tang Wanzhuang woke leisurely. Through the bed curtain, she glanced at the leftover wine on the table, then at the rain beating against the plantain leaves outside the window, a steady patter.

She said lazily, “Baoqin, roll up the curtain.”

Baoqin pouted as she came to roll it up. Tang Wanzhuang asked, “Spring is almost over. How are the fallen petals outside?”

Baoqin said, “The crabapple blossoms remain the same.”

“What do you know…” Tang Wanzhuang murmured, “It should be lush green and withered red.”

Baoqin twitched her mouth: “Miss, don’t be so poetic. That one’s no spring chicken; she won’t wither. She’s probably savoring the taste, not like Baoqin.”

Tang Wanzhuang: “?”

Baoqin: “…”

Tang Wanzhuang grew uncertain: “That can’t be. She should be a first-timer. They say the first time is always painful, and he’s so virile…”

Baoqin blurted out, “How is she a first-timer? She’s an old woman of twenty-eight or twenty-nine…”

The expression of the young lady before her turned very dangerous.

Baoqin caught herself and said with a fawning smile, “Of course, that’s different from my miss. My miss is pure and chaste; she was married.”

“That marriage of hers was probably fake, never consummated.” Tang Wanzhuang rose, draped a robe over her shoulders, and stood by the window looking at the flowering trees, lost in thought.

Baoqin had no idea what her miss was thinking. She had been so upset yesterday that she couldn’t sleep and had to drink to fall asleep. If it hurt so much, why not fight for him herself? Instead of fighting, she even helped him along.

What if the Four Symbols Sect really lured him away with beauty? Then she’d end up with nothing.

And she was supposed to be the chief strategist, but she wasn’t even as clever as that rabbit next door.

Tang Wanzhuang murmured to herself, as if convincing herself: “I once said that even if I died, he would continue to move in a direction beneficial to the world, because he couldn’t bear to see otherwise. He denied that to give me the will to live, but the words still hold true.”

Baoqin: “…”

“As long as he cares for the people of the world, as long as he can’t bear to see injustice, in the end he will do what I want to see. His connection with the Four Symbols Sect is extraordinary; just with Xia Chichi there, trying to sever them is impossible… It’s better to… The precedent of the Blood God Sect shows that this direction might not be unattainable… I believe.”

Baoqin couldn’t help but say, “Miss, your heart is burning, isn’t it? Sour to death, right? You’re just saying this to make yourself feel better, aren’t you?”

Tang Wanzhuang ground her teeth: “Are your skin itching?”

Baoqin stiffened her neck: “Hit me if you want, but I have to say it. When will you ever fight for yourself for once?”

Tang Wanzhuang was startled, then suddenly laughed: “Didn’t you used to hate him? Called him a stinking bear with no refinement.”

“That was because you liked him yourself. What can a maidservant do?”

“Is that so… Do I like him…” Tang Wanzhuang gazed at the misty rain outside the window, long silent.

She didn’t notice Baoqin hesitating, shuffling her little feet on the ground for a long time, murmuring to herself: “Besides, now he plays the zither beautifully, not so rough anymore… Too bad, he belongs to someone else now…”

Inside the Imperial Consort's chambers, Huangfu Qing leaned against Zhao Changhe's shoulder, her face flushed with the deep satisfaction of ultimate fulfillment.

At first there was some pain, but for a wanderer who lived on the edge of a blade, it was no different from a mosquito bite; afterward, it was pure pleasure.

He had said he would satisfy the Imperial Consort, and Her Ladyship was truly satisfied.

His physique and strength were beyond reproach—using the Blood Raksha Body for this was like having a wolfhound that no amount of gold could buy. The Imperial Consort realized she had wasted nearly thirty years of her life. What pleasure was there in being angry at Tang Wanzhuang? The thing Tang Wanzhuang couldn't have—that was the real pleasure!

So much so that she indulged without restraint, until she had no strength left and had to beg for mercy in a most embarrassing manner...

She truly didn't understand how this young man, with a cultivation lower than hers, could still have so much energy.

It wasn't that women were at a disadvantage in such matters; rather, he was cheating—he had the dual cultivation technique of the Ultimate Bliss Method, which theoretically allowed him to go on as long as he wished.

It was she who had refused to let him dual cultivate, because she dared not.

Huangfu Qing secretly opened her eyes, and as if by telepathy, Zhao Changhe also turned to look at her.

Their gazes met, and Zhao Changhe pinched her nose: "Awake?"

Huangfu Qing wrinkled her nose and snorted: "I am not Cui Yuanyang."

Zhao Changhe couldn't help but laugh: "I don't see much difference; in the end, you still called me 'good big brother.'"

"You cheated. If you have the guts, don't use the Ultimate Bliss Method! With your skills, I don't believe..."

"I'd like to ask you instead—why do you refuse dual cultivation? In theory, we are both at the first secret treasury; the effect of dual cultivation and union would be especially good."

"It's especially good for you, isn't it? After all, I still have my virgin yin, while your virgin yang has long been lost in some wild woman's belly!" Huangfu Qing pretended to be angry, turning her back to him coldly.

It was just an excuse to refuse... If he probed with his dual cultivation technique, he would immediately know that this was no mere first-secret-treasury Winged Fire Serpent.

If he ever found out that he had been laboring away on the Vermilion Bird, she wondered what expression he would have.

Zhao Changhe truly thought she was throwing a tantrum over the matter of virgin yin and yang, so he could only embrace her from behind and said placatingly: "Actually, it doesn't matter. Dual cultivation requires long-term union; we can in the future..."

"Still thinking about the future? No more!" Huangfu Qing twisted and struggled with a humph: "Once this matter is settled, I'm returning to the capital to release Wang Daozhong and have him come kill you."

A night had passed. Given the pace of Wang Daoning and Qin Dingjiang, who knew if they had already met in the capital by now.

Zhao Changhe couldn't be bothered to think about it and grumbled: "Murdering one's husband deserves punishment."

"Hey, hey, hey..." Before Huangfu Qing could stop him, she felt the presence of a great scholar.

"Oh, why are you at it again so early in the morning... you're really like a bear..."

"But I'm a pig."

"Alright, piggy, stop messing around... mm... I, I need to get up... if, if it's any later, Yang Jingxiu will come to pay his respects... ah..."

"Fine, fine, I won't use the Ultimate Bliss Method..."

Outside the door, Yang Jingxiu stood there, blocked by a group of expressionless maids and attendants: "The Imperial Consort is unwell; no need to pay respects today."

Unwell?

Thinking of how she had crushed the yin energy yesterday, and now she was perfectly fine and "unwell"?

Yang Jingxiu looked up, then turned to glance at Zhao Changhe's courtyard across the way.

That courtyard, once bustling with visitors, had been empty all night long...

Chaotic, truly chaotic, even among the royal family... Old Yang tucked his hands into his sleeves and instructed his attendants: "Add two extra lamb kidneys to Master Zhao's breakfast across the way."