Chapter 689: A Month Flows By: The Blushing Requests of the Flower Queens

【Cultivation knows no years; winter passes, and one loses track of time.】

【A month has passed in the blink of an eye!】

【Each day, twelve hours: at dawn, as light creeps eastward, you begin cultivating the Yang Fu Scripture, refining your Primordial Spirit.】

【Then, you ponder the Eighth Sword.】

【Through painting and calligraphy, you train your Primordial Spirit.】

【In the afternoon, you practice martial cultivation.】

【At night, you repeat the same routine—when you pour your entire being into one thing.】

【With two Zhao Ming Luans aiding you, your cultivation speed has grown even faster.】

【The long, tedious, monotonous cultivation has only deepened your stillness.】

【All things under heaven, when pursued with full effort, yield results—this is the constant of the Dao.】

【Over this past month, Xie Yuan has visited several times; he has reached the third realm of martial cultivation and now seeks to comprehend the fourth, grasping the elusive qi within his body.】

【If a master of the upper three martial realms could daily use primordial true qi to unblock meridians and guide the flow of qi, cultivation would double in efficiency, flowing as naturally as water downhill.】

【But Xie Yuan’s master insists he must break through on his own. For a full month, he left only a cultivation scripture and vanished, declaring that if Xie Yuan could not awaken the qi-sensation by himself, he should abandon martial arts entirely.】

【Xie Yuan has been troubled lately—martial cultivation is his only confidence for walking the world alone; how could he abandon it?】

【So he came to ask you. Xie Yuan knows your martial cultivation surpasses his. You simply gave him one method—the insight you yourself gained through recent practice.】

【“At the point of utter exhaustion, primordial power reveals itself.”】

【Xie Yuan’s eyes lit up, and he hurried off without another word.】

【This morning, Xie Yuan returned to the small courtyard.】

【He was radiant—his cultivation had already reached the fourth martial realm, the Nurturing Stage. Overjoyed, he insisted on sparring with you. When you deliberately held back, he refused to relent, determined to see your true strength.】

【You sighed helplessly and unleashed only a fraction of your true power. Before Xie Yuan could react, a vast, irresistible force struck him—he flew backward and crashed heavily onto the courtyard’s blue stone slabs.】

He groaned as he rose, brushing dust from his robes, yet his eyes gleamed with excitement: "Brother Guan, what realm have you truly reached?"

【You paused briefly. “By month’s end, I should gather true essence and enter the upper three martial realms.】

【Xie Yuan’s pupils shrank—he gasped: “What? Old Man said even the young scions of the Nine Surnames haven’t touched the upper three realms! You—”】

"Brother Guan, how long have you been cultivating? You didn't start since childhood, did you?"

【You nodded slowly.】

Xie Yuan seized your neck in a bear hug: "Brother Guan, you've kept this from me far too long!"

【You smiled faintly, saying nothing.】

【Xie Yuan did not know your true cultivation began only half a year ago, the day you met Sima Ting and Lu Hua at Daguan Garden. If he learned your Primordial Spirit had already reached the Ninth Realm, the Purple Star Eternal Realm, what expression would he wear?】

Xie Yuan turned to leave, then halted, frowning: "Brother Guan, strange—why hasn't Fourth Cousin been coming to your courtyard lately?"

【He scratched his head, troubled: “Before, it was always me, Yunzhi, and Qiyue together. But lately, Fourth Cousin hasn’t come to see you—or even set foot in Xie Fu.”】

【He brightened suddenly: “By the way, Father has won every battle in Jiangnan Province—three victories in a row, forcing the Crimson-Eyed rebels back to their stronghold. Imperial dispatches keep arriving.”】

【“If we win this war decisively, our Xie family’s title of Marquis of Dingyuan may rise again!”】

【Lately, Xie Fu buzzed with joy; the matriarch even hosted a banquet in Daguan Garden.】

【You merely nodded slightly, but a shadow of gravity passed through your eyes.】

【You have glimpsed the Crimson-Eyed army breaching Bianjing—soon, all under heaven will burn.】

【Yet now, the Great Qi court advances like a storm, and the rebels retreat in disarray—where, then, lies the turning point?】

【Xie Yuan took his leave.】

【Wutong has lately followed Luya, as Fourth Sister Xie Ying married into the Sima household, and she has been deeply troubled.】

【Today is Fourth Sister’s return day; Wutong went to see Luya early this morning.】

【These two sisters, reunited after long separation, had endless intimate words to share.】

【Just after noon, several guests arrived at the small courtyard.】

【Hu Yunniang led several courtesans, as they did every month, for their usual gathering.】

【“Young Master Guan, we intrude again,” Hu Yunniang bowed gracefully.】

【It was April; the air had grown warmer. Each woman had dressed with meticulous care.】

【Hu Yunniang, Zhou Yuner, Chenxiang, and Li Xiangjun.】

【They wore matching apricot-red, open-fronted gauze robes—thin as cicada wings, revealing faintly the lotus-pink inner corsets embroidered with trailing rose patterns. Though identical in attire, each woman’s figure and aura lent the ensemble a distinct charm.】

【Every time these women came to your courtyard, servants from the West Courtyard pretended to pass by—really, they stole glances. Whispers in Xie Fu claimed the illegitimate son Xie Guan consorted shamelessly with courtesans.】

【Yet in Bianjing, such tales were spun into tales of romantic elegance.】

【Zhou Yuner was tall and voluptuous; she changed her clothes most often during past visits.】

【Today, bolder than ever, she entered the courtyard, shed her outer robe, and revealed a low-cut front that exposed dazzling, tantalizing flesh.】

【She excelled at the Hu Xuan dance, radiating a vitality rare among women of Xixiang Tower.】

【She noticed the surprise in your eyes—her cheeks flushed crimson, yet a mischievous smirk played on her lips.】

【The women knew this courtyard well. Zhou Yuner took the initiative to brew tea; Hu Yunniang rolled up her sleeves to help. Soon, the entire courtyard was filled with the misty fragrance of tea.】

【They mentioned something!】

【Zhou Yuner, Li Xiangjun, and Chenxiang planned to buy their freedom from Yuehua Xuan. These women had long been close friends; seeing Hu Yunniang and Yunwan’s tavern thrive, they realized women could live richer, freer lives beyond the brothels. For a month, their hearts had burned with longing.】

【A golden cage bird, no matter how well fed, is no match for a free sparrow.】

【They expected resistance from Yuehua Xuan—Li Xiangjun and Chenxiang had once been Flower Queens; Zhou Yuner, the top courtesan. They were Yuehua Xuan’s golden geese.】

【Yet Yuehua Xuan agreed readily—even its owner personally received the two women, leaving them stunned.】

【For Yuehua Xuan’s backer was always mysterious; even its Flower Queens had seen his face only once—Nihuang.】

【The three famed courtesan houses of Xixiang Tower—Yuehua Xuan, Zixiao Pavilion, and Qimochun Courtyard—all stood behind powerful figures in Bianjing.】

【Who could have imagined this unseen owner now offered a condition—】

【He wanted the painting you had gifted Zhou Yuner at the Qunfang Banquet: “Cloud and Mist Dragon Head.”】

【Even more astonishing—he did not seize it by force, but offered to buy it at a staggering price: he promised all three women their freedom, plus a generous sum for their resettlement.】

【Li Xiangjun and the others were moved—this exceeded their wildest hopes.】

【Only Zhou Yuner bit her lips, unmoved—the painting she had vowed to keep forever.】

【Li Xiangjun and the others dared not press her; after all, the painting belonged to Zhou Yuner alone.】

【But since they knew you, they came today to ask you to paint another.】

【If you agreed, they would return to negotiate with the Yuehua Xuan owner.】

【The women hesitated to speak—especially Hu Yunniang, who had won her place in the Qunfang Banquet’s top ten thanks to your poetry.】

【Yet their sisters’ futures were at stake, so she finally spoke up.】

【“I know this request is bold, Young Master Guan. But if you demand it, we sisters dare not refuse.”】

【Chenxiang, ever the polished courtesan, now seemed awkward: “I once offended Young Master Guan—it was my fault.”】

【She and Hu Yunniang had mocked you before. Though long past, the memory weighed on her heart—she dreamed nightly of Xie Guan’s cold rebukes, not with fear, but with shame that left her sheets damp each morning.】

【Li Xiangjun rose and bowed deeply, fingers clutching her sleeve, then spoke words that stunned them all.】

【“If Young Master agrees, I offer myself as your bed companion—to repay you.”】

【Perhaps the words were too brazen—Li Xiangjun instinctively pressed her thighs together, lowering her head shyly.】

【Before she finished, she closed her eyes and untied the silk sash at her waist—the apricot-red gauze slipped down her snowy shoulders, revealing a lotus-pink corset embroidered with twin lotuses, and a body of pure white…】

【Zhou Yuner cried out in alarm: “Sister Xiangjun, those words were meant for me to say!”】

【This sudden turn left you unprepared—you were momentarily dazed.】

【Chenxiang suddenly pressed close, her fragrance enveloping you, warm and soft against your chest.】

【“Chenxiang wishes to apologize for offending Young Master. Please punish me—do not spare me.”】

【Chenxiang’s face burned with shame, mimicking Li Xiangjun’s posture.】

【Hu Yunniang bit her lip, unfastening the golden hairpin from her tresses—her black hair cascaded like a waterfall.】

【“Yunniang… also wishes… for Young Master.”】

【Thin garments slid slowly to their ankles, then were gently kicked away.】

【In an instant, all four women stood thus—offered, ripe for your taking.】

【You swiftly waved your hand and closed the courtyard gate.】

【As the gate clicked shut, the four women dared not raise their heads.】

【In the small courtyard, beneath the parasol tree, dappled shade lay scattered.】

【Four exquisite silhouettes, glowing like crimson lacquer in the sunlight—now you understood: the identical gauze robes had been chosen for this moment.】

【Watching them lift their faces together, especially Chenxiang’s flushed cheeks, her feet trembling slightly on the ground, pale and restless.】

【And clearly, none of them had ever done this before—their bodies carried faint, sweet scents.】

【You felt a wave of helplessness—and suddenly, heat stirred within you.】

～

～

Yu Ke watched the characters floating above the great cauldron.

What are they doing now? It’s so hard to guess.

Beast!

One against four!

He had personally witnessed them—all four were stunning, one more beautiful than the next, all at once.

Can you handle it?

(End of chapter)