A Beauty

Soft crystal lamplight spread in a gentle halo. Light and shadow crossed within the room, and a graceful silhouette fell faintly across the window.

Smoke curled from a crane-beaked copper censer, rising slowly and lending the woman an otherworldly grace, dreamlike and ethereal.

Her ten fingers were white as jade, her skin fine and flawless. With just the right pressure, she worked slowly along Qin Ming's meridians.

In the stillness, a female Great Sage had slipped into his room without a sound. Anyone with less composure would have tensed and sprung to his feet.

Qin Ming remained calm and unruffled.

Behind him stood a tall, slender woman. Rosy light flowed through her hair, her beauty could topple a city, and her bright eyes shone.

She pursed her red lips. "How boring. I thought I'd give you a real fright, but you noticed me beforehand after all."

Qin Ming smiled. "Your cultivation has improved by leaps and bounds, but I haven't been standing still either."

The woman smiled faintly and suddenly pressed harder.

At her fingertips, a foot-long True Dragon coiled, a palm-sized White Tiger raised its head, and a brilliant red Vermilion Bird spread its wings. All became force that sank into Qin Ming's back.

The void twisted slightly. Faint dragon roars and bird cries echoed through the room.

Anyone else would have been startled.

Qin Ming did not resist. His whole body relaxed.

A moment later, he felt so comfortable he nearly moaned aloud.

"If outsiders knew the Four Sacred Spirits Joint-Heaven Secret Art was being used to massage shoulders and pound backs," he said, "who knows how many jaws would hit the floor?"

The mysterious woman behind him was, of course, the Great Sage Si Yeli.

The Myriad Spirits Sect was not far from here and could be