Chapter 259

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Protagonist:

Xuan Ge

Inside the imperial palace's rear palace, Huang Quan walked out of the bathroom, wrapped in a bath towel.

She had only taken two steps when she suddenly halted, her thighs unconsciously clamping tight.

She lifted her head, glaring at the man on the bed who was leaning against the headboard looking at his phone.

There was more trickling out.

Xuan Ge was swiping the screen with one hand; sensing that gaze, the corner of his mouth curled up: "Hehe~~"

He tossed the phone onto the pillow, stood up, walked to Huang Quan, supported her forearm and guided her to sit at the bedside.

"Thanks to you, I feel refreshed and invigorated now."

He rolled his shoulder, joints cracking softly.

These past days of nonstop Void cleansing, that layer of invisible weight pressing on him had indeed been shed.

Like pulling a leg out of a swamp, his whole being felt lighter by a notch.

It just made things hard on Huang Quan.

"Mm." Huang Quan responded faintly; after squeezing out that syllable she refused to speak another word.

Her throat still felt swollen; even swallowing saliva was an effort.

"Say~~ has your strength increased too?" Xuan Ge sat beside her, tilting his head to look at her.

Huang Quan closed her eyes to sense, then nodded.

She had devoured the vast, chaotic Void on Xuan Ge.

Though it was force-fed to her by him, the position and the scene were hardly dignified for an Emissary.

"These two days you weren't wearing a cold face. Why the long face now?"

Xuan Ge raised a hand to lift her chin, his thumb brushing lightly along her jawline, the corner of his mouth hooked with that smile that made her want to draw her blade.

Huang Quan raised her hand and slapped his claw away with a *pa*, the disdain in her eyes genuine and undisguised: "Done is done. Why keep forcing that expression out of me?"

"You know, I'm a man. Men are pure yang qi; they can't stand a cold beloved."

Xuan Ge said it openly and unabashedly, not a shred of guilt on his face.

Huang Quan's eartips flushed faintly red; she turned her face away.

After two seconds of silence, she spoke, her tone returning to its usual cold flatness, but the tail end pressed lower than usual:

"I've learned. Next time, don't force me."

"That won't do." Xuan Ge shook his head.

"Why?" Huang Quan turned back, her violet pupils full of incomprehension.

"Won't tell you." Xuan Ge smiled with deep implication.

The words hadn't landed when his expression suddenly stiffened slightly.

Three auras were approaching this way, speed not fast but direction precise and unmistakable — headed straight for him.

Huang Quan naturally sensed it too.

She stood up, picked up her clothes from the floor, her legs still trembling faintly, but her dressing movements were meticulous.

"Looks like someone's come looking for you."

"You're not going to rest a bit?" Xuan Ge watched her legs trembling inside the bath towel's hem, frowning.

"I'm fine. You should worry about yourself." Huang Quan bent to pick up the dragon robe fallen on the floor, backhanded it to him; the robe dropped over his head.

".... Uh." Xuan Ge pulled off the dragon robe, silently putting it on.

Fei Xiao, Hua, and Han Yuan Jun entered Shen Wu all the way; relying on Consort Hua's status they passed through every restriction and found Ling Sha in the rear palace courtyard.

Ling Sha was sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, a freshly brewed pot of tea set before her, heat wisping upward in the afternoon light.

She lifted her gaze, her eyes pausing a beat on Han Yuan Jun: "Ah~~ so it's Lord Han Yuan Jun who's come——"

Then her gaze slid past Hua and Fei Xiao, her eyebrows not moving a fraction; in an instant she figured out why these three would appear here simultaneously.

She picked up the teacup, took a sip, then spoke: "The Emperor is attending to official business. Please wait."

Hua smiled, leading Fei Xiao and Han Yuan Jun to sit at the stone table.

Ling Sha courteously poured a cup of tea for each of the three: "The Xing Tian Wu Yi is imminent; may I ask what brings Consort Hua to this Shen Wu Xian Zhou?"

"Ling Sha, let's cut the pretense and speak plainly."

Hua took the teacup but didn't drink, just lightly turning the cup body with her fingers, eyes fixed straight on Ling Sha: "Actually you're anxious too. Aren't you?"

"What would I be anxious about?" Ling Sha set the teacup back on the stone table, her smile undiminished.

"The Emperor really is doing official business; why don't you three believe me?"

She glanced at the three's varied expressions, then added: "Besides, the three of you — your motives aren't pure, are they."

"Ling Sha, you know best what Xuan Ge is like." Han Yuan Jun spoke.

Although Ling Sha still treated her with great respect as the Dragon Venerable, she might hate herself for being a Vidyadhara, hate herself for being unable to bear children.

Ling Sha met her gaze for a moment, then sighed, nodding once.

The first day she worried about Xuan Ge.

The second day muffled groans came from the room; she was still worrying.

But from the third day to now, the room began to intermittently transmit Huang Quan and Xuan Ge's conversation voices, volume not low, and Huang Quan's tone was extremely extremely extremely abnormal.

She could gauge it perfectly: this bastard Emperor was still discussing extremely proper matters while doing extremely improper things.

"Hateful woman! You actually dared to ruin my Master's Dao heart!"

Seeing Ling Sha sigh, Fei Xiao stood up, turned around, and looked toward the direction of her Master's palace.

Her eye rims were slightly red, her lips pressed into a line; that expression was both angry and anxious and sour, looking exactly like a little fox abandoned in the courtyard by its owner and left out in the rain.

"Fei Xiao."

Xuan Ge's voice came from under the corridor.

Fei Xiao's fox ears shot up instantly, her whole person springing toward the direction of the sound as if a switch had been pressed: "Master——!"

She threw herself into Xuan Ge's arms, both arms locking around his waist.

She raised her head, her fox ears swaying in her hair, her voice both clingy and soft, acting spoiled with utter brazenness:

"Master~~ I've arranged everything for the Star Sky Martial Arts~~ just waiting for the day~~~"

"Worthy of being Fei Xiao." Xuan Ge raised his hand and rubbed the fox ears on top of her head, his fingertips gently kneading the fluff at the base of her ears.

Fei Xiao's fox ears instantly softened, collapsing entirely into his palm from tip to base, her eyes slightly narrowed, lips slightly parted, a look of letting him pluck at will.

Then she sniffed.

She lay against Xuan Ge's chest, carefully smelling the scent on his body.

Fei Xiao slowly raised her head, her gaze passing over Xuan Ge's arm, coldly looking at the woman standing behind him.

Master's body is full of her scent!!

Huang Quan perceived this gaze and looked back flatly.

She saw that Fei Xiao's pupils had a blood-red outer ring and a dark-blue inner ring.

Those weird pupils were locking straight onto her.

Huang Quan nodded, her tone calm as ever: "Hello."

Fei Xiao choked.

Those demonic pupil colors seemed to have been pressed back by Huang Quan's "hello," quickly fading back to normal.

She also nodded, but her voice was half a beat lower than usual: "Hello...."

"Emperor, this Void..." Ling Sha stepped forward, her gaze carefully sweeping over Xuan Ge's face.

"It's fine now. Thanks to Huang Quan's powerful assistance." Xuan Ge raised his hand and brushed aside a strand of hair at his temple, the movement casual, but the smile at the corner of his mouth carried a touch of long-lost flamboyance.

"Hehe~~ Although I can't sense it, from the looks of it I can tell." Ling Sha smiled gently, watching him act handsome this once.

In a trance, time seemed to flow backward; Xuan Ge turned back into that Divine Might General of the past who returned from a victorious battle and raised his brows at her.

Hua and Han Yuan Jun looked at each other and nodded simultaneously.

Indeed, it can't be sensed.

That faint, barely-there Void aura on Xuan Ge before.

That sense of oppression where standing beside him made one feel the air inexplicably thin——has completely dissipated.

Looks like Xuan Ge and Huang Quan really were doing serious business.

Hua looked at Huang Quan, tone solemn: "Many thanks. If there is any need, you may make a request to the Xian Zhou."

"It's nothing. I've already received my recompense." Huang Quan responded flatly.

Hua's gaze paused for a moment.

Fei Xiao's gaze also paused for a moment.

Ling Sha's smile froze.

Han Yuan Jun's eyelid twitched.

Four people, without prior agreement, slowly landed their gazes on Xuan Ge in unison.

Xuan Ge was pinned in place by these four gazes, his back starting to sweat.

But he didn't panic, didn't retreat, merely feeling this sensation of being as good as dead——long missed.

Very satisfying.

Huang Quan glanced at the four women in confusion, then looked at Xuan Ge.

She didn't quite understand why everyone looked at Xuan Ge after she finished answering.

Could it be her answer was wrong?

Or did they not understand?

Xuan Ge bore the four people's increasingly sharp gazes, turning his head to look at Huang Quan with an unchanged expression: "Staying?"

"I'll stay with you recently. Ensure the Void truly won't regenerate, then I'll leave."

Huang Quan glanced at the four women's changing expressions, responding flatly.

"Sure, just in time for the Star Sky Martial Arts to start soon." Xuan Ge nodded, tone light and cheerful.

Ling Sha's gaze fixed on Xuan Ge's face.

She made out some clues.

There's definitely something between Xuan Ge and Huang Quan, and it's not shallow.

Tonight is settling accounts, but she wondered, has Xuan Ge right now become... younger?

Not appearance, not age, but mindset.

That heavy thing in his eyes has been stripped away a layer, revealing the light underneath.

"Right now my mind is clear and my Qi is smooth."

As if verifying her observation, Xuan Ge reached out and took Ling Sha's hand, his five fingers interlocking into her finger gaps.

"The Void is gone, truly satisfying. Today, we don't return until drunk."

Ling Sha lowered her head, looking at their clasped hands, feeling the temperature of his palm, her thoughts gently scattered by this warm palm.

She raised her head, curving her eyes: "Okay~"