I Saw the Female Sword Immortal Sitting in Her Boudoir

Great Zhao, Lin'an Prefecture.

By West Lake, the white jade railings stretched endlessly. A spring rain had just passed, leaving the air slightly cool and carrying a faint, sweet fragrance.

The emerald lake water rippled, gently swaying the lotus leaves upon its surface. In the center of the lake, flower boats adorned with red lanterns began to stir with the restlessness of a spring night. Vague, graceful figures of women could be seen leaning against the window ledges of the boat pavilions, their eyes shimmering with allure.

Scholars and poets stepped over the rain-slicked bluestone, idling along the long embankment. They recited poems and composed verses, occasionally standing on tiptoe to gaze at the flower boats, hoping to catch a glimpse of the charming silhouettes within without having to board—a classic act of "free-loading."

"Sigh, it's too far. I can't see clearly."

"Why not buy a pleasure boat and get closer? You might even see the Flower Queen, and it could save quite a bit of silver."

On the embankment, a youth in green robes held a jug of wine, took a light sip, and muttered to himself.

"But if I don't go to see the Flower Queen, I don't have to spend any silver."

The youth frowned and countered his own thought: "Scholars and poets, they just love a bit of romance."

"Forget it. No silver, no romance. I can barely afford the inn's rent as it is."

The youth sighed; the inability to enjoy the pleasure of "free-loading" left him feeling quite melancholy.

He raised the wine jug and took a drink, savoring the beautiful scenery of West Lake.

A gentle breeze brushed his face, and the willow trees swayed.

Watching the bustling West Lake, ripples gradually stirred in the youth's eyes.

He had never imagined that one day he would encounter such an absurd situation: transmigrating into the body of a scholar who was traveling to the capital for the imperial examinations across the vast expanse of time and space.

The scholar himself was not poor; he hailed from a family in Chong Prefecture and could even be considered wealthy. However, he did not understand the principle of keeping one's wealth hidden. Near the capital, he was robbed, his guards abandoned him and fled, and the scholar was beaten so severely that it allowed a traveler from another world to take over his body.

The youth, both in his past life and his current one, was named An Le. He found the name easy to accept. In his past life, he was an art student who had been admitted to an academy of fine arts and possessed quite a bit of talent in painting.

After arriving in the capital, he was fortunate enough to use the one tael of silver hidden in his pocket to buy some drawing paper and charcoal. By selling a few sketches in a distinct, realistic style, he earned enough silver to barely establish a foothold.

In An Le's memories, there was no dynasty called the Great Zhao in his past life. However, after inheriting the memories of this body, An Le gained a hazy understanding of this world.

This world was not ordinary; it was filled with cultivators and gods and devils, a chaotic mess.

Along his journey to the capital, An Le saw that human lives were as cheap as grass, and the roads were littered with the bones of those who had frozen to death.

Externally, powerful barbarian nations watched like tigers eyeing their prey, ready at any moment to march south, annihilate the Great Zhao, and completely occupy the Central Plains.

The capital of the Great Zhao was originally in the north, where it had stood against the barbarians for eight hundred years. Eventually, the barbarians grew too strong, and the Zhao Emperor ordered the entire imperial court to migrate south, establishing the capital in Lin'an to temporarily avoid the brunt of their power.

Five hundred years had passed since the Great Zhao's southern migration. The capital, Lin'an, was extremely prosperous, filled with songs and dances every night, and the ambition to march north and reclaim the lost lands of the Central Plains had long been buried beneath this prosperity.

In the Great Zhao, all professions were considered lowly; only cultivation was noble.

Even scholars could not compare to cultivators.

The imperial examinations were even divided into Jia Bang and Yi Bang Jinshi. Even if one were exceptionally talented in literature and capable of becoming a great minister, if one were not a cultivator, one could only attain the rank of Yi Bang Jinshi. Only cultivators could ascend to the Jia Bang and ask for the Cauldron as the top scholar.

An Le could not cultivate, but if he wanted to live a decent life in this era, attaining the rank of Yi Bang Jinshi was a viable path.

This was why An Le chose to continue to the capital and prepare for the imperial examinations.

An Le even harbored a wild ambition: to strive for the position of a Jia Bang Jinshi.

If he could become a Jia Bang Jinshi, that would be the true ascent—a leap into the sky.

Although he was not yet a cultivator, he still held hope because he possessed the reliance of a transmigrator.

Gazing at the slightly rippling surface of West Lake, An Le's pupils dilated, and a semi-transparent light screen appeared before his eyes.

Name: An Le

Time Qi: 2 wisps

Time Dao Fruit: None

It was a very simple light screen, one that had only appeared three days ago when An Le first set foot in Lin'an Prefecture.

After several attempts, An Le discovered that through this light screen, he could absorb a gray current known as Time Qi.

Although An Le had not yet figured out the function of this gray current.

There was no doubt, however, that if An Le wanted to step onto the path of cultivation, he could only pin his hopes on this.

In the Great Zhao, the status of a cultivator was noble. Once one began cultivation and registered with the government, one could even receive a monthly salary. It was said that even the lowest-level cultivator could receive thirty taels of silver.

Thirty taels of silver—enough for An Le to live comfortably in Lin'an.

With a hint of envy, An Le dismissed the light screen before him. The scholars and poets to his side began to stir. In the center of the lake, amidst the swirling mist, a flower boat lit up with red lanterns. Within the pavilion, the curtains were drawn back, and graceful maids dressed in goose-yellow gowns slowly emerged, standing on both sides.

Although they were far away, the maids' figures were slender and beautiful, their allure not inferior to the top-tier beauties of ordinary flower boats, causing the hearts of many scholars and poets to race.

This display was quite special. According to the original owner's memories, An Le had some understanding of the prestige of these flower boats. The flower boats on West Lake were also graded; the closer a boat was to the center of the lake, the higher its rank, and the more noble the status of its Flower Queen.

It was even rumored that the Flower Queen of the flagship boat in the center of the lake was actually a cultivator with impressive cultivation!

How could the scholars and poets not be excited by a cultivator serving as a Flower Queen? That was an extra bonus to her professional charm.

If one could get close to such a beauty, even writing a hundred poems would not be enough to brag about it.

Suddenly, an uproar erupted among the scholars gathered along the long embankment.

"Fairy Yun Rou is here!"

"How beautiful! A female sword immortal, truly peerless in grace!"

"If I could board Fairy Yun Rou's flower boat, this life would be worth it—even if it meant failing the Spring Imperial Examination, I wouldn't regret it!"

The scholars and literati chattered incessantly, their words overflowing with unrestrained passion.

An Le stood on the long embankment, lifted his wine flask, and took a light sip. The fragrance of the wine spread from his slightly upturned lips, and his eyes narrowed with a hint of excitement.

"Finally here."

High in the sky, a hundred meters above, a brilliant streak of sword light pierced through the air.

Standing atop the long sword was a woman in a white dress, her figure slender and elegant. Her long black hair drifted in the wind, and the mist over the lake seemed to swirl around her, stirred by her Sword Qi, making her appear otherworldly.

The sword-controlling woman descended onto the flower boat. As the maids on either side bowed, the woman in white looked back and smiled. Her veil covered her mouth and nose, but the eyes revealed beneath were enough to send a jolt through the onlookers.

The scholars on the embankment were electrified, their hearts racing with uncontrollable excitement.

Although this was not his first time seeing her, An Le was still struck by her beauty. The sheer impact of witnessing sword-controlled flight in person was simply too intense.

A female sword immortal playing the role of a courtesan—in this era, who could withstand such a temptation?

In An Le's slightly narrowed eyes, as the otherworldly white-clad Flower Queen landed on the boat, strands of grey energy were seen coiling around her like flood snakes.

Counting carefully, there were over a dozen strands of this grey energy.

The grey energy stood in stark contrast to the white mist covering the lake. Although they were far apart, they were incredibly clear in An Le's eyes, and they even exerted a faint, extremely strong attraction toward him.

An Le had been lingering on the West Lake embankment for the past few days precisely for this cultivator Flower Queen. The two strands of Time Qi in his system panel were ones he had "plucked" from Fairy Yun Rou over the last two days.

The first time he saw Fairy Yun Rou on the embankment, An Le had detected the Time Qi on her. There were over a dozen strands, but he could only pluck one per day.

Therefore, An Le had spent his recent days camping out by the West Lake.

One strand a day, plucking them slowly.

Although he did not yet know the function of Time Qi, he operated on the principle that if it was free, he might as well take it; getting more was never a bad thing.

Before his eyes, a pale golden light screen emerged.

On the screen, the Time Qi column flickered unsteadily.

Then, An Le watched as a strand of grey energy detached from the headlining flower boat in the center of the West Lake, drifting through the world like an unrestrained dandelion.

The grey energy crossed the hundreds of meters of West Lake and finally coiled around An Le's fingertip.

However, strangely enough, the moment this grey energy touched his fingertip, it transformed into gold. Like a ray of light bursting from silt, it could not hide its brilliance as it seeped into An Le's body.

On the light screen, the Time Qi count increased by one.

As for why it turned gold, An Le could not fathom.

Since he couldn't understand it, he didn't dwell on it.

With the task complete, An Le happily took a large gulp of wine.

An Le tried his luck, hoping to "leech" another strand of Time Qi from the headlining Flower Queen, but the Time Qi column on the light screen remained still. He could not extract any more; clearly, she had entered a "sage time" cooldown.

Feeling slightly regretful, An Le became heartless after the deed. No longer lingering, he turned and squeezed through the crowd of flushed, excited scholars, shaking his wine flask as he walked away.

However, he had only taken two steps away from the crowd when he froze.

Before his eyes, the golden energy he had just absorbed was burning like a stick of incense, curling into the air.

Then, An Le saw a scroll unfurl before him, the images within shifting like light and shadow.

It played slowly, just like a movie.

What came into view was a woman's boudoir.

Gauze curtains hung low, and the air was thick with the scent of rouge.

On the bed in the boudoir, a graceful, curvaceous figure was faintly visible.

Looking closer, An Le was shocked.

Because this curvaceous figure...

Was none other than the cultivator Flower Queen, the female sword immortal who had just flown across the West Lake and boarded the flower boat!