The warm spring water gently enveloped her jade-like body. An elegant and pleasant fragrance filled the air, and the swirling mist created a scene akin to a fairyland. Ning Xuefei's beautiful eyes were slightly closed. Her hands, bringing up crystal-clear splashes of water, glided lightly over her delicate frame, soothing her physical and mental fatigue. Wherever her palms passed, they met skin that was tender, smooth and as white as jade. Above the water's surface, only her exquisite head, cloud-like hair, delicate and graceful collarbones, and the edge of her full, alluring breasts were visible, yet the sight was incredibly sensual.
She was resting her mind, but also in deep contemplation. Her palm lightly tapped the edge of the hot spring, and a faint wisp of deep blue cold energy condensed between her slender fingers, coiling around them like threads of ice. The spring water, drawn by this force, formed subtle whirlpools, while wisps of cold mist rose from her body, making her jade-like form seem even more ethereal and otherworldly. However, upon closer inspection, a slight frown creased her brow, and her snow-white cheeks showed an unnatural pallor, as if she were forcefully suppressing some internal turmoil. As the cold energy coursed through her, her delicate body trembled slightly, and a flicker of pain crossed her beautiful brows, clearly indicating unstable internal energy and damaged meridians. In her dazed state, a faint look of sorrow and anguish could be seen between her lovely eyebrows.
Hu Hong watched for a moment, his keen perception noticing that the cold energy from Ning Xuefei's palms seemed abnormal and her breathing was intermittent, signs of a flaw in her internal cultivation. He was secretly delighted. This breathtakingly beautiful woman was bathing here alone, so aloof and cold, and seemingly suffering from an internal injury of unknown origin. Coupled with her strained relationship with the Emperor, and the fact that as a mature woman who had known a man's touch, her desires were naturally fiery, he surmised that the more cold and aloof she appeared on the outside, the more lonely and frustrated she must be on the inside. This was a golden opportunity for him.
However, his own martial arts skills were rather weak, and his cultivation was insufficient. The stunningly sensual sight before him made it difficult for him to control his emotions. Under the shimmering water, Ning Xuefei's partially visible curvaceous body was like the most powerful aphrodisiac in the world. Although he used his internal energy to steady his breathing, the penis between his legs had swollen to a painful, unbearable state. Unable to endure it any longer, he quietly slipped his hand into his pants, grasped the sensitive glans, and began to stroke and knead it, his eyes fixed on the beautiful scene of the peerless beauty bathing.
An utterly absurd and inconceivable scene was now unfolding in the once-secluded "Cloud-Secluded Courtyard." The lady of the house, Ning Xuefei, was naked in the hot spring with her eyes closed in contemplation, while just a few meters away, Hu Hong was hiding behind a large rock, staring intently at her and masturbating.
Hu Hong stroked faster and faster, the pleasure mounting. The sexy and enchanting beauty before him sent his libido soaring, out of his control. He closed his eyes, indulging in fantasy. In his mind, he saw the beautiful woman panting and moaning, her lovely face flushed, her round, slender, silk-stockinged legs wrapped around his waist, her hips rising to meet his thrusts in a scene of erotic bliss. The fantasy was so wild and lewd that his hand moved too quickly, and his "Turtle Breath" technique momentarily failed to suppress his breathing, causing him to let out a few slight pants.
He immediately realized the situation was dire. Ning Xuefei's divine martial arts were unparalleled, and she had clearly heard the sounds around her. Her beautiful eyes snapped open, and her lovely face, cold as frost. She shouted sternly: "Who's there!"
Her fair, jade-like hand shot out, and a streak of blue qi energy blasted toward the rock where Hu Hong was hiding. Hu Hong's heart sank. He tried to flee, but a massive current of air swept around his body, enveloping him completely. In his terror, he found himself unable to exert any internal strength. The airflow tossed him out from behind the rock, sending him crashing heavily onto the marble floor by the spring.
At the same time, Ning Xuefei's delicate body leaped gracefully from the water. Her fair hand reached out, and a white bathrobe hanging in a nearby pavilion was drawn to her by her internal energy. With an exquisitely beautiful spin, the white bathrobe swirled around her graceful, curvaceous figure, wrapping around her and completely concealing her snow-white, alluring naked form.
"It's you!?" Ning Xuefei exclaimed, her face filled with astonishment as she saw Hu Hong lying on the ground in a sorry state, crying out in pain.
Hu Hong had landed hard and hadn't yet gotten to his feet. Ning Xuefei's fair, lovely face was cold as frost. Moving like a phantom, a blue light flashed from her jade-like hand, and she actually condensed her true qi into a solid, tangible sword. In an instant, she was beside Hu Hong, holding the phantom sword. Hu Hong caught a whiff of the beauty's fragrance, followed by a cold sensation as the ethereal blue sword pointed directly at his neck, having already broken the skin. A few drops of bright red blood trickled out.
"Speak! How did you get into this courtyard, and why were you spying on me while I was bathing? What are your intentions!" Ning Xuefei demanded, her voice as cold as ice.
Hu Hong was horrified that the Empress's martial arts were so profound she could turn formless true qi into a tangible sword. His neck was cut and hurting from the sword's qi, but he was well-read and quick-witted. In that instant, he realized that while this was a great crisis, it was also a perfect opportunity to get close to the Empress. He immediately kowtowed, prostrating himself on the ground, and said in a loud voice:
"In my entire life, I have been fortunate enough to witness the Empress's celestial beauty, like the first light of dawn breaking over the sea, or the first glimmer of the moon on the water. I lament that across the heavens and the earth, none can be your peer; that for a thousand years, one such as you has been uniquely born. You are truly a goddess, unmatched by any flower, a heavenly beauty of celestial fragrance. I am utterly captivated, unable to free myself from this obsession. Ashamed of my own inferiority, I have been weeping sorrowful tears, wandering in a daze through this sacred mountain, and by chance, I stumbled upon this place."
Kneeling on the ground, he lowered his head and saw Ning Xuefei's beautiful, fair, and delicate feet right before him. Glistening water droplets still clung to them, and her ice-clear skin was adorned with pink toes. A faint, elegant, and sweet fragrance wafted from her feet and from the hem of her bathrobe.
A thought struck Ning Xuefei. This man spoke with such literary grace and extraordinary talent, and his admiration for her seemed absolute. Although his words were somewhat exaggerated and flattering, she found them rather pleasing.
Although she had occasionally seen this man before, knew he was a guest from Hundred Flowers Island, and though he was handsome and dashing, she hadn't paid him much mind. But in this sacred mountain, everyone treated her like a goddess. Even the Emperor now treated her with polite distance. It had been a long time since anyone had praised her with such elegance.
Hu Hong slightly raised his head. Seeing that Ning Xuefei was still looking at him expressionlessly and had made no further move, he raised his head again, the sword of true qi still at his neck, and bowed respectfully. "In my daze, I wandered into these mountains. Seeing the mist rising here, I guessed there might be a natural hot spring and thought to wash away my fatigue. I had no idea the Empress was gracing this place with her presence. By the time I realized, I was already in a compromising position, with no time to leave. I could only hide behind the rock, terrified of being misunderstood by you."
Ning Xuefei snorted coldly and said flatly, "So you're saying you came here by accident? This is the secondary peak of the sacred mountain, with treacherous terrain. How could one possibly wander here by mistake? I think you were clearly hiding there on purpose, spying on me and committing this profane act!"
Hu Hong continued, "In my homeland, Hundred Flowers Island, our pavilions and towers are built in the old style. After arriving at the Sacred Palace, I was captivated by the exquisite design of the buildings here, with their white brick and tile walls. I often roam the grounds at night, admiring the beauty of the palace's pavilions under the moon and stars."
"I am untalented, but I have practiced my family's qinggong, 'Flower Walk,' which makes it easy for me to traverse the mountains. I saw the hot spring's smoke from a distance and came over. It was not my intention to offend you. I implore the Empress to forgive me."
As he spoke, Hu Hong secretly activated his family's cultivation technique, "Night Heart." His senses became incredibly sharp, and he could vaguely perceive Ning Xuefei's emotional fluctuations, the yin-cold energy she was trying so desperately to suppress, and the occasional stagnation and instability in her energy flow.
Seeing his sincere attitude and plausible story, and that he was looking directly into her eyes with an expression that seemed genuine and not faked, Ning Xuefei pondered for a moment before retracting her formless sword qi and saying flatly, "I will believe your words for today. But if I ever find out you were intentionally offending me, it won't be too late to take your life."
Hu Hong was overjoyed. It seemed he had bluffed his way through this. Before him, the Empress Ning Xuefei was a vision of beauty fresh from her bath. Her full, rounded figure was slightly flushed from the hot spring. Her still-damp, jet-black hair cascaded over her fair, fragrant shoulders. Her white, oval-shaped face had a rosy tint from the bath, and her high, fair breasts pushed against the bathrobe, which rose and fell with her breathing. Her skin was like snow-white cream, smooth and flawless, and her deep cleavage was faintly visible before him.
Seeing that the Empress's expression had softened, though still cold, her killing intent gone, Hu Hong's courage grew. He stared at Ning Xuefei's slightly pale, jade-like face and recalled the subtle changes in her energy he had sensed in the spring. An idea struck him. He decided to take a risk. If he could use this opportunity to show his worth and win a bit of the beauty's favor, it would be an unexpected windfall.
He spoke cautiously, "The Empress's celestial beauty should be free from worldly troubles. However, I must be so bold as to say that when you were concentrating just now, I seemed to sense an occasional stagnation in the flow of your energy, and the cold energy from your palms also seemed unstable. I wonder if my eyes deceive me, and I am overthinking things?"
Hearing this, Ning Xuefei's beautiful eyes narrowed, a flash of surprise in them. She said coldly, "Oh? So the arts of Hundred Flowers Island do have some substance. You are quite observant. However, the state of my body is no business for an outsider like you to speculate on."
Although her expression remained calm, she was truly shocked inwardly. Her efforts to suppress her internal injury were extremely secret. How had this man noticed?
Seeing that while her reaction was cold, she hadn't directly denied it, Hu Hong became more certain of his guess. He quickly bowed and said, "My family has some knowledge of the arts of medicine, making me somewhat sensitive to changes in energy. When your true qi was circulating just now, I inadvertently sensed an anomaly, which is why I asked. It was purely a case of my concern getting the better of me, with no other intention. If I have been presumptuous, I hope the Empress will be magnanimous and forgive me."
Hearing this, Ning Xuefei's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of surprise in them before she returned to her cold, frosty expression. She said nothing. She saw the man before her stand up. He was eight feet tall, dressed in exquisite white robes, standing tall and straight like a jade tree, his face as handsome as jade. He was truly a dashing, beautiful young man, and his polite manner toward her did not go unnoticed. Her beautiful eyes couldn't help but linger on him for a moment. Their eyes happened to meet. The man had sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, his gaze bright and piercing. For some reason, she felt a strange flutter in her heart.
Realizing how improper it was to be standing there in just a bathrobe with a young man, Ning Xuefei's face flushed slightly. Ignoring him, she turned, activated her qinggong, and leaped up to the third floor of a nearby pavilion.
Hu Hong looked up from below, admiring her stunning figure. As she flew through the air, her white robe fluttered, making her look like a fairy. Looking up from beneath the hem of her robe, he could see it trace the lines of her full, rounded, peach-like buttocks down to her snow-white thighs. Her buttocks were full and perky, and her two fair, slender, perfectly rounded legs were pressed together elegantly, their lines smooth as silk. Her delicate feet were slender and translucent, their skin crystal-clear and snow-white as she moved, exuding the unique charm of a mature woman.
He swallowed hard, his heart swelling with joy. Since the Empress believed his story, the crisis was averted. She hadn't immediately ordered him to leave, and his desire to seduce and flirt began to stir again. He had always been confident in his looks. Although he was often in the Sacred Palace, he rarely had the chance to meet the Empress. This was a perfect opportunity. He straightened his clothes and walked toward the pavilion, intending to press the issue of her internal injury.
"Lord Hu, this is my private resting place and does not receive male guests. I am about to go out. Please leave on your own."
He had only taken a few steps when Ning Xuefei's soft, graceful voice drifted down from the pavilion above, sounding as if she were whispering in his ear, yet her tone was cold and aloof.
He knew he must not rush things, angering the Empress would be a grave mistake. He immediately bowed respectfully toward the upper floor of the pavilion and said in a clear voice, "I stumbled here by chance today and offended the Empress. It was truly wrong. I will take my leave now. In the future, I will prepare a generous gift to apologize. I hope the Empress will forgive me. If you truly do have an internal injury, my family has secret treasures, and I would be willing to serve you with all my might."
"That won't be necessary."
Ning Xuefei's voice came, and to Hu Hong, it sounded ethereal and distant, like the music of immortals.
He heard the sound of a window opening upstairs and the rustle of clothes being swept by the wind. Hu Hong looked out toward the mountains, and Ning Xuefei's graceful, white figure was already flying away.
A few thoughts flashed through his mind, and a slight smile appeared on his lips. He immediately activated his qinggong and followed her.
*****
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