The loft stood in a corner of the city lord's residence. Few people came there ordinarily, and no one dared approach it.
Qing Chen used his internal force to shake the window latch loose, then gently pushed the loft's window open and slipped inside.
Moonlight fell slantwise across Qing Chen's face, revealing the beads of sweat on his temples as they trickled down his chin.
His lightness skill had already reached the point where he could tread on snow without leaving a trace, so he made little noise.
After slipping into the loft, he saw no armored soldiers moving to surround it and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Suddenly, his ears twitched!
Besides his own breathing, there were other sounds in the loft: first a splash of water, then a woman's soft hum?
His spiritual perception at qi refining layer one picked them up with perfect clarity.
Huh? Why is someone here?
Qing Chen's heart instantly leaped into his throat, and his right hand reached for the saber at his waist. The search was still underway outside; too much noise would only draw them over.
He crouched and moved forward along the base of the wall.
After rounding a yellowed wooden table, he suddenly saw a little more light ahead.
It was candlelight from the inner room, leaking through a crack in the door.
The fragrance grew stronger too: the scent of lavender mixed with steam from hot water, warm and cozy, a world apart from the chill outside.
Qing Chen held his breath and slowly pushed the door open a crack.
The sight inside made him clench his fists abruptly. A wooden tub stood against the wall, steam rising from it, and a woman soaked inside, with only her shoulders and everything above them exposed.
Her hair spread through the water, black as ink. Wet strands clung to her neck, dotted with droplets that shone dazzlingly in the candlelight.
She was lifting a hand to scoop up water. Her wrist was so slender it looked as though it would snap with a single bend. Her fingertips brushed her collarbone, leaving a trail of water that slowly slid down and disappeared beneath the surface.
Qing Chen's Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed with a soft gulp.
It was not as though he had never seen a woman, but this was his first time seeing a scene like this.
He quickly came back to his senses, however. Just as he was about to retreat, he suddenly remembered the medicinal powder clinging to him.
When he had hurled it at the old man earlier, quite a bit of dust had drifted onto his black clothes. Although his spiritual energy had protected him and he had not been affected, the smell remained.
Sure enough, the woman in the wooden tub suddenly paused. Her brows furrowed slightly, her hand pressed against her chest, and her breathing grew a little heavier.
Qing Chen watched her cheeks slowly redden as though brushed with rouge, even the tips of her ears turning pink.
She hummed softly, her voice carrying a tenderness she herself had not noticed. "Why... is it so hot..."
Over the past few years, although Li Muyun had shown concern for her well-being, he had grown increasingly cold toward her in matters of the bedchamber.
Thus, since their marriage, Li Muyun had shown her little affection.
Especially after Qing Chen became acquainted with Li Muyun, Qing Chen often sent him "delicacies" to enjoy.
As a result, Li Muyun remained just as cold toward her, hardly ever touching her.
"Mm..."
Qing Chen's heart lurched.
He knew how potent this powder was: an aphrodisiac with twentyfold strength. An ordinary person could not withstand even a little of it.
This woman looked delicate and frail; he feared she would not hold out for long.
The splashing in the inner room stopped again. The woman leaned against the edge of the wooden tub, her eyes half closed, as though enduring something.
After a moment, she sighed softly, her voice full of helplessness.
Qing Chen took all of this in, and it left his mouth and throat dry.
Just then, his stomach suddenly growled.
He had eaten nothing since evening, and his exchange of palm strikes with the old man earlier had also consumed considerable strength.
The sound was especially loud in the quiet loft. The woman in the inner room abruptly opened her eyes, her voice instantly tensing:
"Who's there!"
This is bad, Qing Chen thought. His body shot through the gap in the door like an arrow loosed from a bow;
His left hand clamped over the woman's mouth, while his right pressed against her shoulder, pushing her a little farther down into the wooden tub.
He feared she would struggle and splash water, alerting the armored soldiers nearby. Then Qing Chen would find it hard to escape even if he sprouted wings.
The woman's body was soft, as though she had no bones. She swayed under his pressure, her fingers instinctively gripping his wrist.
Qing Chen could feel the heat of her palm. It was frighteningly hot.
He could also smell the fragrance of her hair, mixed with the scent of the medicinal powder, slipping into his nose.
The woman's eyes were wide, filled with terror. Yet after she looked at him for a while, that terror slowly faded, replaced by a little of something else.
She stared at the black cloth mask on Qing Chen's face, then swept her gaze over his straight, broad shoulders, her breathing growing heavier.
Zhao Ningyi felt the intense masculine aura radiating from Qing Chen, like a wave of heat rushing into her face.
At that moment, she was already utterly empty inside.
This aura was completely different from the insubstantial feeling surrounding Li Muyun.
Zhao Ningyi could not help becoming intoxicated by this masculine vigor. The terror and unease in her heart quietly dissipated at that moment.
She looked up, although Qing Chen was wearing a mask.
But after being tempered on the path of immortal cultivation, his sinews cleansed and his marrow purified, Qing Chen's appearance had taken on an even more otherworldly air.
Even with a mask on, he could be seen to be a handsome, sharply featured wandering martial hero.
Qing Chen's hand stiffened a little. Not only did this woman fail to struggle, she leaned closer to him instead, her chest pressing against the back of his hand, so soft that it made his heart falter.
Just as he was about to speak, the woman suddenly scratched his wrist lightly with her fingertips. Her voice seeped through the gaps between his fingers, soft and tender:
"Who... are you?"
A hint of embarrassment showed on Qing Chen's face as he spoke awkwardly. "This... this elder sister, actually, I am a kindhearted man."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Ningyi said mildly, "I believe you."
Qing Chen grew a little more mortified and continued, "To tell you the truth, elder sister, I actually... lost my way."
Zhao Ningyi laughed softly, her tone teasing. "Losing your way into the city lord's residence, and then all the way to my room-you are the first person in Ford City to manage that in all these years."
Qing Chen sighed helplessly and gave a bitter chuckle. "There are so many people pursuing me outside right now. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you tonight, elder sister."
Something stirred in Zhao Ningyi's heart. For some reason, she had developed a measure of inexplicable trust in the young man before her, so she said:
"I can let you go, but you must tell me who you are. I am Zhao Ningyi, the city lord's daughter. I have the power to help you, and I also have the power to deal with you."
Qing Chen looked troubled and furrowed his brows. "If I tell you and you turn around and capture me, what am I supposed to do?"
Zhao Ningyi looked straight into Qing Chen's eyes. "Either kill me, force me, or tell me.
"If you don't tell me, without my help, I guarantee you will never escape this place."
Qing Chen fell silent for a moment, seemingly weighing the advantages and disadvantages.
He took a deep breath and finally made up his mind. "My name is Ximen Qing, and I live near Ford City. I stumbled into this place because I was truly being hunted by enemies.
"Now I'm being pursued by others as well. I really had no choice, so I had to resort to this poor measure and intrude upon you, elder sister."