Amusing Tales of Four Women Bathing! Tang San Recognizes His Inner Heart!

Gu Qing withdrew the hand he had placed on Ning Rongrong's shoulder, took two steps back, and swept his gaze over the four girls.

The pale blue medicinal mist still lingered around them, while the warm, jade-colored glow of soul power flickered faintly at the nodes of their meridians.

All four had reached the required body-tempering progress. Zhu Zhuqing's five-stage directional shifts in Netherworld Absolute Kill had all landed during yesterday's practical test; Ning Rongrong's interception rate with her Sea of Qi Vortex had stabilized at sixty percent; Xiao Wu's Soft Bone Rabbit Teleportation range had expanded by more than double; and Tang San's three-state Blue Silver Tyrant Body stack could now last for half an hour.

A month of hellish training had dragged every one of them out of their comfort zones and to heights they themselves had never imagined.

"Today's body tempering ends here."

Gu Qing closed his notebook. "Tomorrow morning, Xiao San and I will head to Sunset Forest to hunt a soul ring."

Ning Rongrong abruptly opened her eyes. "Just you and Third Sister? What about us?"

"You'll stay behind and continue training. Flender and Zhao Wuji will keep an eye on your daily tasks. Don't think you can slack off just because I'm gone."

Gu Qing tucked the notebook under his arm, his tone leaving no room for debate. "This trip to Sunset Forest is mainly to obtain Xiao San's fourth soul ring. Her soul power has been stuck at the peak of level thirty-nine for some time. Your soul power hasn't reached a bottleneck yet, so going would be pointless."

Ning Rongrong puffed out her cheeks, wanting to say more, but Zhu Zhuqing gently tugged her sleeve, and she swallowed the words.

"Once training is over, go soak for a while and draw out the remaining medicinal effects. Starting tomorrow, the training volume will not decrease while I'm away." After saying that, Gu Qing turned and headed toward the men's bathhouse.

The four girls answered in unison, gathered their wrist guards and training equipment, and headed toward the baths together.

The bathhouse at Self Academy had been built at great expense by Flender years ago. It drew in hot spring water from the back mountain and was divided into separate men's and women's sections by a thick stone wall.

The women's bath was not large, but it could comfortably fit four or five people. Steam drifted through the air, and several fallen leaves that had blown in through the window floated on the water.

Tang San was the first to slip into the pool. The warm spring water rose over her shoulders as she leaned against the edge and closed her eyes, feeling the lingering Whale Dragon medicinal power inside her gradually disperse under the soak. The tension in every muscle slowly eased away.

Xiao Wu was the second to jump in, splashing water everywhere. Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing entered after her. A thin layer of steam hovered over the surface, and the four girls each leaned against a different side without speaking. Only the gentle ripples lapping against the pool walls could be heard.

Ning Rongrong leaned against the edge, her gaze wandering back and forth between Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing. Tang San's full, rounded chest was faintly visible beneath the water, made even more crystalline by the heat of the spring.

Zhu Zhuqing reclined against the pool wall, her waist slender and supple, her snow-white curves perky, her long legs crossed beneath the water, lean and firm.

Ning Rongrong looked down at herself, then back at Third Sister and Zhuqing. Her cheeks puffed up without her realizing it.

"Third Sister."

Ning Rongrong's voice was muffled. "What do you usually eat? How did you grow like that?"

Tang San opened her eyes, but before she could answer, Ning Rongrong had already pounced across the pool. She wrapped both arms around Tang San's waist from behind and hugged her tightly.

Tang San's body visibly stiffened for a moment, and her cheeks instantly flushed red. "Ning Rongrong! What are you doing...?"

"I just wanted to feel them! How did they grow like that? It's so unfair!"

Ning Rongrong still refused to remove her hands from Tang San. Xiao Wu swam over from the other side and secretly poked Tang San in the waist. Tang San reflexively shrank aside, splashing Ning Rongrong across the face.

"Xiao Wu!"

Tang San's voice rose half a pitch, but at this distance, she could not escape. The two girls had her trapped between them from either side.

"Third Sister, your waist is so thin, but it's all muscle when I touch it. How did you train it? I want one too!"

As Ning Rongrong spoke, her fingers slid downward from Tang San's waist. Tang San shuddered all over from the touch, grabbed Ning Rongrong's wrist, and spoke with rare panic in her voice. "Stop fooling around..."

Zhu Zhuqing leaned against the edge, watching the three girls make a mess of things in the water. She shook her head slightly, but the corners of her lips unconsciously curved upward.

Tang San finally broke free of their pincer attack and retreated to the side of the pool, her back against the stone wall and the blush still lingering on her face.

The sensations Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong had left on her body were completely different from Gu Qing's palm pressing against her chest.

Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong's touches made her feel ticklish and embarrassed, but that was all. Yet whenever Gu Qing's palm covered her, her heartbeat sped up, her skin grew hot, and her entire body felt as though it had been ignited. That comfort was something Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong could never recreate, no matter how they touched her.

Tang San had once agonized over whether she was male or female. She had been a man in her previous life and was a woman in this one, stuck awkwardly between the two. But now, soaking in the hot spring and recalling the warmth and pressure of Gu Qing's palm over her chest, she suddenly felt that the question no longer mattered.

Her body was female, and her heart was slowly becoming female as well. Tang San accepted that fact—not because she was forced to, but because she was willing!

Meanwhile, Gu Qing was alone in the men's bath. He leaned against the edge, hot water covering his chest, his eyes closed as he adjusted his breathing. Guiding the medicinal power for the four girls during the day had consumed a fair amount of soul power, and the spring water slowly dissolved the exhaustion in his meridians.

Outside the bathhouse, the sky had already turned completely dark. Dai Mubai had just taken away Gu Qing's changed training clothes and was bending over to add firewood to the stove when brisk footsteps and hushed voices came from the end of the corridor.

"Hurry up, hurry up. Brother Gu Qing should still be soaking."

"You're sure you want to go now? What if someone sees us...?"

"What's there to be afraid of? We're here for proper business. Zhuqing, walk faster."

Dai Mubai straightened and turned around just in time to see Ning Rongrong pulling Zhu Zhuqing around the corner at the end of the corridor.

Ning Rongrong had changed into a clean pale green dress and carried a small cloth bag in her hand. Zhu Zhuqing had changed back into her black fitted outfit and held a clean towel and a small porcelain bottle. When they saw Dai Mubai standing guard at the bathhouse entrance, they both stopped.

Dai Mubai looked at the things in their hands, his brows drawing together slightly. "You two... what are you planning to do?"

Ning Rongrong hid the small cloth bag behind her back and lifted her chin. "What's it to you? Brother Gu Qing is in there, right?"

"Dean Gu is bathing."

Dai Mubai emphasized the word "bathing," his gaze moving back and forth between Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing. "It's so late. Whatever it is, discuss it tomorrow."

"Can you control us?"

Ning Rongrong snorted and moved to walk around Dai Mubai. "We came to give Brother Gu a massage, to repay him for teaching us this past month."

Dai Mubai raised a hand to stop them, his expression complicated. The girl in black who had been his fiancée a month ago was now holding a towel and a porcelain bottle, preparing to enter and massage another man.

Although his engagement to Zhu Zhuqing had already become an empty formality on the road to Shrek, standing here and watching this still stirred an indescribable feeling in his heart.

It was not jealousy—at least, Dai Mubai did not think it was entirely jealousy. It was more unwillingness. He was here as a menial worker, sweeping floors, hauling bricks, repairing training grounds every day, without even the qualifications to approach the training field.

Yet that boy, who was the same age as him, had two girls competing to go in and give him a massage to help him relax!

Zhu Zhuqing sensed Dai Mubai's gaze and turned her head slightly. There was no extra emotion in those dark violet eyes; she merely waited quietly for him to move aside.

Looking into those eyes, Dai Mubai suddenly understood something. In Zhu Zhuqing's heart, from the day he fled the Star Luo Empire, he had already forfeited the right to fight for anything.

Dai Mubai withdrew his hand and stepped aside from the doorway. His voice was hoarser than before. "Dean Gu is still soaking. I just added wood to keep the water warm. Be quiet when you go in. Don't disturb his rest."

Ning Rongrong had not expected Dai Mubai to step aside so easily. All her prepared words got stuck in her throat, and in the end, she merely said dryly, "Got it," before pulling Zhu Zhuqing through the door into the bathhouse's outer room.

The outer room of the bathhouse was a changing room. The stove burned brightly, and the air carried the fresh scent of burning pinewood. The door to the inner room was slightly ajar, with steam curling through the gap. The faint sound of water lapping against the pool walls could be heard from within.

Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing stopped in the outer room. Separated by a single door, neither of them moved.

"You go first." Ning Rongrong gave Zhu Zhuqing a push.

"You suggested it. You go first." Zhu Zhuqing replied, her face slightly red.