Here.
Gu Qingfeng leaned at an angle, his left arm wrapped around the woman's slender waist, his right index finger held up to block her fiery red lips. Squinting his eyes, a slightly wicked smile played at the corner of his mouth as he drawled teasingly, "What's the matter? Even if this lord is as handsome as a jade tree in the wind, you don't need to start by biting, do you? Shouldn't we cultivate some feelings first?"
"Hehe..." The woman's enchantingly beautiful, fox-like face showed no surprise; instead, it grew even more alluring. The seductive crimson in her soul-stirring eyes deepened as she whispered softly, "Are you rejecting me?"
As she spoke, her previously languid demeanor suddenly turned aggressive. She spread her legs, intending to sit astride Gu Qingfeng.
But the moment she moved, Gu Qingfeng instantly pressed down on her thighs, forcing her legs back together. Then he stood up, lifted her, and tossed her onto the table with a laugh. "Little sister, this lord is an honest man. I can't handle such aggression from you."
"You..." Despite the woman's efforts to conceal her shock and astonishment, a flash of humiliated anger still flickered in her captivating eyes before instantly vanishing. Looking at Gu Qingfeng, she couldn't help but let out a light laugh.
"Alright, have fun by yourself. This lord is leaving."
Gu Qingfeng had originally wanted to play with her a while longer, but sensing Fei Kui's hurried and flustered return—likely because something had happened—he had no choice but to leave for now.
After Gu Qingfeng left, the woman snorted coldly, climbed down from the table, and gazed in the direction he had disappeared. Her pretty face remained bewitching, but it had lost some of its seductive charm, gaining instead a measure of anger, a touch of embarrassment, and a hint of doubt.
"Young Lady, this man seems very difficult to deal with."
At some point, an old crone leaning on a cane had approached, speaking gravely. "Young Lady used the Profound Mysteries of Great Seduction to lure him here. This old servant thought he would take the bait, but who would have thought..." The old crone looked at the vibrant wine cup on the table, shimmering with frost. She knew the Young Lady had wanted that man to drink this cup of Blood Gu Wine. Once drunk, it would allow control over him. She never expected the other party to be so cautious. When the Young Lady made her second aggressive move, attempting to deliver the Blood Gu Wine into his mouth, he refused again.
Thinking of this, the old crone said, "That man earlier was half-truth, half-false. This old servant couldn't tell whether he was truly affected by the Young Lady's seduction. It seems now he was not. Since that's the case, why didn't the Young Lady try using the Heart-Bewitching Art?"
The old crone was well aware that the Young Lady was proficient in various seductive mysteries. Earlier, the Young Lady hadn't used her full charm, only employing a Bewitching Gaze.
As she pondered, the old crone seemed to realize something and asked, "Could it be the Young Lady was testing him?"
"Testing?"
The woman sat on the chair with her legs crossed, her light gauze red robe draping down, revealing a pair of alluring legs. She picked up the cup of wine she had poured earlier for Gu Qingfeng, a cold smile tracing her lips. "You could call it a test."
"What was the result of the Young Lady's test?"
The woman took a gentle sip from the cup. "Unfathomable. Unobservable. Imperceptible. Inscrutable. He can be called a profoundly mysterious person, far more complex than I imagined."
Her slender, jade-like hand swirled the wine cup, brought it to her fiery red lips, and took another light sip. "Very mysterious, and also very bizarre... No wonder Wei Qing could only remain silent in his presence."
"Young Lady, now that one Taiyin Seed is in his hands, what should we..."
"No rush."
The woman finished the wine in her cup and continued, "The Empress said back then that anyone who comes seeking the Ice-Profound Heart may have Karma with her."
"Now that all seven Soul Pearls have appeared in the world, why hasn't the Empress awakened yet? Could it be... After all, Bloodline Legacy is too variable."
Before the old crone could finish, the woman shook her head to interrupt her. "The Empress's divination is peerless under heaven. It cannot be wrong."
"But... Young Lady, you said Leng Yanqiu is not the Empress's Bloodline Legacy. If Leng Yanqiu isn't... then who could it be? Why is there still no clue at all?"
"There will be... There must be..." Perhaps this question also troubled the woman. She lowered her head slightly, closed her eyes, pressed her brow against the wine cup, and murmured incessantly, "The Empress's Bloodline Legacy will definitely awaken... Definitely will..."
"Then what should we do now?"
"Wait. First, find out who holds all seven Soul Pearls."
"And then? Young Lady, won't we take action?"
"This matter isn't only about the Empress's awakening; it also concerns the Empress's Karma. Moreover... The Empress said that although what she did back then deceived heaven and earth and outwitted the Heavenly Dao, it would inevitably be discovered after the Great Calamity. Now, although the Heavenly Dao is in the process of re-derivation, it should have already issued an edict... We must proceed with caution."
"Ai..." The old crone sighed. "To this day, this old servant still cannot understand whether it was worth it for the Empress to take such great risks for that man..."
Was it worth it?
This was a question the woman also wanted to know. She didn't even know the true identity of the man for whom the Empress was willing to risk her soul's utter destruction to mend Karma.
Yes.
She didn't know. She had only seen that person once, and that was his identity after reincarnation. As for who he was before reincarnation, she didn't know and couldn't imagine.
"If the Empress still doesn't appear, this old servant truly worries... when the time comes..." The old crone's face was full of worry as she said indignantly, "Among the seven, only the Young Lady, Wei Qing, and Wan Wei are still holding on. The others... are becoming more and more unrestrained... Especially that woman Zhu Xia! The Empress put her in charge of the Bingxuan Sect, yet she actually... actually created a Leng Yanqiu in an attempt to replace the Empress! It's utterly despicable!"
"Zhu Xia?"
The woman opened her eyes. A red light flashed in her beautiful eyes—not a seductive red, but a bloody crimson. It was killing intent, furious killing intent. With a *bang*, the stemmed wine glass in her hand shattered into countless fragments. With a wave of her slender jade hand, she gathered the myriad fragments into her palm, kneaded them into sand, and casually scattered them into the air. Coldly, she said, "When the time comes, I will personally kill her!"
Standing up, the woman poured herself another cup of frosty, blood-red wine, tilted her head back, and drank it down in one go. "Make arrangements for me. I will take the stage tonight."
"Take the stage?"
For a moment, the old crone didn't understand the woman's words and asked in confusion, "Young Lady, what stage are you going to take?"
"Of course, the stage to perform."
"Young Lady, didn't we come to attend the auction?"
"That starts tomorrow. What's the hurry?"
The woman looked up at the neighboring garden, seeming somewhat unwilling. "I want to properly test that man from earlier."
"Young Lady, you... That man earlier is mysterious and bizarre. This old servant thinks the Young Lady should not test him again... to avoid complications."
"Precisely because he is mysterious and bizarre, I need to test him several more times."
The old crone wanted to say something but hesitated. Having followed the Young Lady for many years, she knew the Young Lady truly wanted to test him, but more likely, she was unwilling and dissatisfied in her heart. In her memory, the Young Lady had never encountered such an embarrassing situation when using her seductive arts. Even if the target could resist, their will would inevitably be greatly affected. But that man earlier was not only unaffected, he even... even picked up the Young Lady and tossed her directly onto the table. It was simply...
Meanwhile, in the neighboring garden.
Gu Qingfeng looked at Fei Kui and frowned as he asked, "I say, were you robbed?"
Fei Kui knelt on the ground. Half of his face was somewhat swollen, bearing the mark of a slap.
This is the fourth update today... If nothing unexpected happens, there's still one more to come!!