Bathing with Huang Fei

Bibi Dong turned to Huang Fei, who stood waiting nearby:

"Huang Fei, take him to Dragon Valley."

"Dragon Valley?"

Huang Fei froze for a moment, surprise flickering in her eyes. "Your Holiness, Dragon Valley is Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan territory..."

"I know."

Bibi Dong spoke calmly. "The Yu Clan may have claimed Dragon Valley as its private hunting ground, but it has always allowed independent Soul Masters to pay a fee to enter and obtain Soul Rings. That was the promise the clan made to the entire Soul Master World when it was founded.

"Draw a thousand Gold Soul Coins from the treasury for the entry fee. Change into ordinary clothes, and don't reveal your Spirit Hall identity.

"Take him to Dragon Valley and find a dragon-type Soul Beast suited to him, preferably one at the thousand-year level."

Huang Fei bowed slightly. "As you command."

Bibi Dong's gaze returned to Lu Mingfei.

There was something in her violet eyes that he could not quite read. "The Soul Beasts in Dragon Valley are all dragon-type, making them highly compatible with your Martial Soul.

"The Soul Ring you obtain from hunting one will suit your Martial Soul far better than those from ordinary Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest.

"The Star Dou Great Forest has dragon-type Soul Beasts too, but those under ten thousand years old are inferior to Dragon Valley's.

"Obtaining your First Soul Ring from Dragon Valley will benefit you greatly in the future."

Lu Mingfei blinked, then nodded.

"Thank you, Your Holiness."

Bibi Dong said no more. She waved a hand, dismissing them.

Huang Fei led Lu Mingfei out of the quiet chamber, but the moment they stepped through the door, she stopped dead.

She frowned and looked back at him as if she had stepped in something unspeakable.

"You stink," Huang Fei said bluntly.

Lu Mingfei raised an arm and sniffed himself. The mixture of sweat and something fermented nearly made his eyes roll back.

The impurities expelled by the Whale Rubber had stuck to his skin and clothes. After drying for so long, the stench had become downright unbearable.

Without another word, Huang Fei grabbed Lu Mingfei by the back of his collar. Carrying him like a filthy kitten, she strode down the corridor, rounded two corners, and pushed open a door.

Only when she dropped him on the floor did Lu Mingfei get a chance to look around.

It was an exquisitely furnished room, with rosewood furniture and several landscape paintings on the walls. A faint orchid fragrance lingered in the air.

Through the inner doorway, he could make out a large bath steaming with hot water. The water was clear to the bottom, and a few red petals floated on its surface.

Huang Fei's private bath.

"What are you standing there for?"

Huang Fei had already reached the edge of the bath.

She moved briskly, undoing the sash at her waist. Her outer robe slipped from her shoulders, revealing a close-fitting white undergarment.

Without a change in expression, she kept undressing. As the undergarment fell away, glimpses of pale skin appeared through the rising steam. The graceful lines of her back flowed smoothly, her shoulder blades as finely shaped as a work of art.

Lu Mingfei turned to stone.

He might have been a homebody, but he was no innocent boy who had never seen anything. Even so, the sight brought his mind to a complete halt.

Huang Fei had an exquisite figure, slender where she should be and naturally full where it counted.

Her pale skin gleamed like pearls in the steam, and her long legs were straight and shapely.

Her hair fell over her shoulders, half concealing a sight that would set any man's blood racing.

Huang Fei herself was oblivious. To her, Lu Mingfei was just a six-year-old brat.

He was too young to make anything of what he saw.

She stepped naturally into the bath. Warm water rose past her slender waist, and she leaned back comfortably against the wall. "Wash him clean," she instructed.

Two maids came forward and took Lu Mingfei by the arms, one on each side.

Lu Mingfei was still too stunned to react. The maids had already stripped off his clothes before they lifted him bodily and tossed him straight into the bath.

Splash! Water flew everywhere. Lu Mingfei swallowed a mouthful, surfaced, and looked utterly helpless.

One maid approached him from behind with a washcloth.

The other poured fragrant soap over his head, and together they began to scrub.

Lu Mingfei had never been tended to like this before. They scrubbed him until he was red all over.

The maids were remarkably practiced, scrubbing every inch of him. They even cleaned beneath his fingernails and behind his ears.

Lu Mingfei drifted through the whole ordeal in a daze, letting them do as they pleased.

About fifteen minutes later, the maids finally stopped.

A bucket of clean water poured over his head, rinsing away the last of the suds.

Lu Mingfei shook his wet hair. He felt as though he had shed a layer of skin, and every inch of him was clean enough to shine.

The maids brought him a fresh set of dry clothes.

A light gray shirt, dark trousers, and sturdy leather boots. The outfit was plain and understated; no one would connect it with Spirit Hall at a glance.

Once dressed, Lu Mingfei looked much more alert. His former grimy appearance was gone.

He was still small and thin, but his skin had a healthy glow, and his eyes looked brighter.

At some point, Huang Fei had left the bath.

She had changed into plain clothes similar to Lu Mingfei's: a long gray dress, her hair tied simply behind her head, and no makeup. She looked like an ordinary woman setting off on a journey.

But she could not hide her bearing or the cool beauty that seemed to come from her bones. She stood out from any crowd, unmistakably someone out of the ordinary.

Huang Fei walked up to Lu Mingfei and looked down at him. She gave his new appearance a slight nod, as if he was just barely presentable.

Then she bent down, caught the back of Lu Mingfei's collar with one hand, supported his waist with the other, and lifted him clean off the floor.

Lu Mingfei's feet swung twice in the air. He stared blankly, like a chick being picked up.

The maids moved in at once. While Lu Mingfei hung in the air, they quickly tied the remaining fastenings on his clothes, secured his trouser cuffs, and buckled his boots.

They did it all in one smooth motion, taking less than ten breaths from start to finish.

"That'll do." Huang Fei set him down and dusted off her hands.

Lu Mingfei's legs were still a little weak when his feet touched the floor.

He rubbed the back of his neck and muttered inwardly that Lady Huang Fei handled him like a little chick.

But Lu Mingfei did not dare say a word aloud. He simply followed Huang Fei obediently out the door.

Dressed in plain clothes, the two quietly left through a side gate of Spirit Hall's compound.

An unremarkable carriage waited outside. Its driver was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man, no different from any driver they might have passed on the street.