Chapter 192: Pools of Wine, Forests of Meat!

Night deepened; the music ended and guests departed.

Wanyi had come to the banquet with a child; afraid to stay overnight, she left with the landlady when the woman returned to the Wang Fu, despite attempts to stop her.

Xie Jinhuan felt a pang of regret; after watching the carriage procession vanish into the distance, he returned to the vast, empty mansion.

Though the landlady had left him several maids and servants, all were Wang Fu personnel—Nai Duo was not among them—and it would be inappropriate for him to act the tyrant, so he told the maids to rest and returned to the main chamber to prepare for his trip to Fengyi River.

As he stepped into the main hall, he found the tall female martial artist in a black dress standing beneath the plaque bearing the words “Upright Gentleman.”

Her veiled hat obscured the back of her head, but her slender waist, barely encircled by a single arm, and her rounded, uplifted hips were fully visible—cold and ethereal, yet undeniably alluring…

Seeing the ice maiden come to him willingly, Xie Jinhuan smiled and stepped forward to stand beside her.

“This plaque was won from the Golden Pavilion; hanging it here feels a bit like a misfit.”

“?”

Nangong Ye had posed here precisely to remind Xie Jinhuan that his conduct must live up to those four characters!

Hearing this, she was abruptly interrupted mid-cultivation; after a brief pause, she replied coolly:

“If you recognize your shortcomings, you must correct them. As a righteous martial hero, you must restrain your desires and not indulge excessively, or you will fall into the demonic path.”

Xie Jinhuan thought he hadn’t indulged—he’d merely been catering to his patrons. He turned his head toward the black-clad martial artist:

“You came to visit my move-in? What did you bring?”

Nangong Ye certainly hadn’t come for him; with a flick of her wrist, she produced a jade flute.

“Moving house is a major event; I saw it and naturally had to offer proper congratulations. Don’t refuse it.”

Xie Jinhuan took the jade flute, examined it, nodded slightly, then sat on the luohan bed and brought it to his lips:

“Wu wu~~”

The flute’s tone was not as bright as a dizi’s; it was soft, deep, and rich with distant resonance.

Nangong Ye listened for a moment, then sat on the opposite side of the small table; only after the melody ended did she ask curiously:

“Your martial foundation is flawless—how do you know so many fringe arts?”

“Martial training is for survival; these are for living. This flute is excellent—you thought of it. Can you play it?”

Nangong Ye could, certainly, but sensed hidden meaning in his words and dared not reply.

“Do you have more to say? If not… I’ll take my leave.”

Xie Jinhuan certainly had more to say.

That afternoon, when he visited the Lin household to fetch the two, he’d already taken the “Golden Dew” and, incidentally, retrieved the Fire-Over-Oil Pill; now he pulled out the vial and swallowed one pill outright.

“You’re not detoxifying?”

“?”

Nangong Ye certainly needed to detox—but this was Xie Jinhuan’s new home; she had no title, no status—how could she detox here?

Yet Xie Jinhuan swallowed the pill without hesitation, and Nangong Ye could not object; her gaze darted around, lips parting, then closing again.

Xie Jinhuan made no pretense; he rose, stepped before her, lifted her veiled hat—and her breathtaking beauty appeared before him, just as if he’d just lifted the bridal veil on their wedding night.

Nangong Ye’s body stiffened slightly, but she’d already agreed; she could not refuse, only frowned:

“You’re detoxing here?”

“You want to go to the bedroom? I feared you’d object…”

Nangong Ye had no objection to going to the bedroom—she’d rather not make a spectacle in the parlor. She pressed her hand down, rose, and followed him upstairs.

Though her heart churned with complexity as she followed Huang Mao upstairs, her bearing remained as steady as a rock.

Yet soon, she could no longer hold it together!

Xie Jinhuan reached the large second-floor room and saw no furniture at all—only a massive round bed in the center, covered in red sheets, with red gauze draping all around.

Above hung five-colored glass lanterns; beside it hung hooks with silk ribbons; at the entrance hung a sign reading “Jinhuan Pavilion”—all Nai Duo’s mischievous ideas…

Nangong Ye stepped inside and saw the suggestive décor; her steps halted abruptly—she felt as if she’d wandered into a torture chamber!

What kind of place is this?

Are the silk ribbons meant for hanging oneself…?

This is worse than the parlor!

Nangong Ye turned silently to leave—but the white-robed young master blocked the doorway. Her eyes grew cold:

“How could you arrange your room like this?”

Xie Jinhuan shrugged slightly: “It’s just a bigger bed, and no one’s around—make do.”

Nangong Ye couldn’t imagine spending a night here without her Dao-heart being corrupted by countless strange influences; she pushed Xie Jinhuan outward:

“There are other rooms. I won’t stay here with you.”

“The maids sleep over there—they’d hear.”

Xie Jinhuan wanted to test his new home, but the ice maiden refused; he naturally didn’t press her, and took her wrist down to the bathroom.

The bathroom was not a tub, but a pool over a zhang square, built of white stone, with a concubine couch and other furnishings around it.

Though September’s weather was cool, Xie Jinhuan was overheated; he entered, undid his robe, and plunged in.

Splash~

Nangong Ye froze at the doorway, stunned—she felt as if a Daoist immortal untouched by worldly dust had accidentally wandered into the Joyful Sect, and every sight filled her with shame and revulsion.

“You… you’re taking a cold bath to cool down? Let me get you a towel…”

Splash~

Xie Jinhuan surfaced, his long hair draped over his back, shedding his soft armor to reveal a chest and abdomen like carved jade.

“Won’t you join me? Of course, if you’re unwilling, I won’t force you—I’ll just soak a while.” Nangong Ye stood at the pool’s edge, towel in hand, posture erect, face icy, yet her eyes betrayed helplessness:

“Can’t you go somewhere normal?”

“I’m poisoned by fire—soaking helps. You know that.”

“...”

Nangong Ye knew well—but how could she endure suffering alongside this brat in the water?

The words were already spoken…

“Only this once. Next time, we go to Fengyi River!”

“Hmm, maybe the poison will clear tonight.”

“...”

Rustle rustle~

Xie Jinhuan leaned back in the pool, watching the black-clad martial artist on shore—her eyes brimmed with disdain, yet her hands hesitantly unfastened her belt, revealing a waist and abdomen as smooth as jade, and long legs…

Perhaps embarrassed by his gaze, she tossed a towel at his face, then:

Splash—

Water sprayed everywhere.

Xie Jinhuan rested his arms on the pool’s edge, lounging like a lord; he waited only moments before feeling a warm, soft weight press against his right arm—skin as smooth as congealed fat.

Simultaneously, a warm, fragrant form leaned against his left arm, her breath soft as honey:

“Huu~”

??

Xie Jinhuan wrapped both arms around them, shook off the towel, and saw the ice maiden with a black silk veil over her eyes, face flushed, pressed close, arms clasping tightly, silent.

On the left, the ghostly girl in a red swimsuit lounged in his arms, her fingers flicking water onto the neck just slightly larger than the ice maiden’s, her gaze seductive:

“Mmm~ Feeling good?”

Xie Jinhuan felt blissful; he stole a kiss on his ghost bride, then slipped beneath the water.

Splash splash~

Nangong Ye, submerged, saw nothing—only felt a great shark in the water; she kicked out in alarm, only to be caught:

“Xie Jinhuan, don’t go too far!”

“Gugugu~ Glugluglu…”

Meaning: Hehehe~ This time, Lady Mu has no say…

?

Nangong Ye gritted her teeth, shut her eyes, and turned her head away.

Ye Hongshang, meanwhile, leaned close, propping her chin on her hand, watching Xie Jinhuan feast and take what he wanted, occasionally teasing him with her jade foot…

…

—

The next day.

Xie Jinhuan dressed before the mirror, his hair neatly combed, humming softly:

“Mmm hmm~~”

Nangong Ye had bathed all night, her body spotless, her hair coiled up, standing alone beside the bed, her gaze radiating the fury of an ice-cold CEO who’d been tricked by Huang Mao:

“You clearly have normal rooms! Why did you deceive me?”

“I told you—I soaked to cool down.”

After dressing neatly, Xie Jinhuan stepped before her and pulled out the vial:

“Keep scolding me and I’ll keep taking the pills.”

“...”

Nangong Ye gritted her teeth but feared this rascal would again act without honor; she snatched the vial away:

“I’m leaving. Go attend to your duties first.”

Xie Jinhuan blocked their path: “Xueying Ridge sent a challenge—I need ‘Tiger Bone Vine,’ so I must go to Sanjiangkou.”

Nangong Ye knew the importance of Tiger Bone Vine: once Xie Jinhuan obtained it, there would be no barrier to entering the Supergrade—he could leap directly from the Third Realm’s peak into the Fourth.

But because its effects were so astonishing, Wei Wu Yi used it as the championship prize, drawing in a vast crowd of First-Grade martial cultivators, including many top-tier prodigies—acquiring it would be extraordinarily difficult.

“You probably can’t seize it now—are you planning to leave today?”

Xie Jinhuan understood his own situation: he could hold his own against ordinary First-Grade martialists, but against late-stage First-Grade cultivators, no matter how skilled, he’d be crushed outright. For these next few days, he needed to raise his realm.

He still had some residual potency of the ‘Living Tiger Pill’ in his body; when it activated, it was like a system update—forcing a hard shutdown, requiring him to sleep for several days. Yet the journey from Jingcheng to Sanjiangkou took two days.

To arrive on time and boost his strength, he could only wait until today’s ‘Mortal Transcendence Pill’ was finished, then immediately set sail, sleep through the voyage, and awaken only upon reaching Sanjiangkou.

Xie Jinhuan explained his plan to Bing Tuozi, then said:

“Why don’t you come along? The tournament may last more than a day—I’ll help you neutralize the poison during your free time, so you don’t miss the month-end deadline.”

Under the witch's pressure, Nangong Ye had no choice but to follow Xie Jinhuan everywhere—he could only nod:

“Then I’ll go pack.”

Xie Jinhuan noticed Bing Tuozi’s complex gaze—no longer the sharp, high-heeled-stomping-on-the-chest hostility of before. After a moment’s thought, he raised his hand as Bing Tuozi turned to leave:

Slap—

A crisp, pleasant sound, like swatting a mosquito, echoed from the bedroom.

Nangong Ye froze mid-step, her phoenix eyes slowly widening, radiating the icy sharpness of a thousand-year frost!

She spun around, shoved him onto the bed, and pummeled him with furious blows, then let out a cold snort and swept out with a flick of her sleeve.

Xie Jinhuan felt this was just right—satisfied, he rose, tidied his disheveled robes, and left the mansion…

———

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