The last ray of the sun had faded away when Zhao Xing trailed after the little eunuch, walking toward Lin Shui Courtyard. Darkness began to embrace the capital city as they strolled along the dimly-lit pathway.

After few minutes of walking, they finally reached the end of the pathway. A large black plaque carved in gold clearly told them they were already standing in front of Lin Shui Courtyard.

The moment Zhao Xing slipped inside the building, a wave of amazement struck her dumb. This Lin Shui Courtyard was truly enchanting. Not far from the entrance gate, one could find a man-made stream glittering under the moonlight and a beautiful bridge across it. A row of lanterns placed at each sides of the bridge made the surrounding view seem more surreal. On the river side, a carpet of blooming daffodils were covered by a thick layer of snow and greeted everyone’s eyes. More than that, this place felt exceptionally tranquil.

“Young Miss, we have arrived at the main chamber of Lin Shui Courtyard,” the little eunuch informed the second miss. “This servant shall retreat and give hot water for Young Miss to use.”

Zhao Xing allowed a friendly smile to appear on her face, “You can take Xiao Yi to help you. I will wait for you guys here.”

With the servants gone, Zhao Xing turned her body and pushed the exquisitely carved wooden doors in front of her before finally entering the chamber. Since the courtyard was vacant and there was no one inside the room, the main chamber was currently empty and dimly-lit. Afraid that the winter breeze might freeze the room, Zhao Xing quickly closed the door behind her.

To be honest, Lin Shui Courtyard wasn’t a living quarter. It was more like a mini hot spring inside General Gao’s manor.

In Zhao Xing’s point of view, the inside of Lin Shui Courtyard’s main chamber was extremely ashtonishing. The rectangular building adapted a semi-open layout with quite big hole on its roof. This concept enabled the visitors to gaze at the moon during the night sky, or enjoy the bright skies when spring comes.

With a hot spring stretching in the center of the chamber, and man-made rockeries that encirled it, the interior design truly resembled an indoor imperial garden. From the corner of her eyes, a lonely ginkgo tree stood rather proudly beside the hot spring.

Zhao Xing smiled grimly, this place really didn’t have anything lacking.

“What are you doing here?”

Zhao Xing stood above a man-made rock which lied at the edge of the pool, too busy gazing at the night sky when a baritone voice travelled to her all of a sudden. The girl quickly turned her body around while her heart hammered anxiously, and soon locked eyes with a shirtless man.

This stranger was blessed with an otherworldly appearance that could bewitch everyone, it seemed like every part of his flawless face was carved by the Heavenly Emperor himself!

His celestial visage was covered with an unusual, chilly aura that somehow made him even more captivating. Sword-like eyebrows, long eyelashes, high nose bridge, and pursed lips—all of this deathly combination could be found in him!

If the second miss could point out the most mesmerizing part of his face, it would be his eyes. His phoenix eyes were so deep and dark, akin to the midnight sky without its stars. It was like a bottomless pit that could drawn anyone into its profoundness. Under the tip of his left eyes was a crimson, tear-drop shaped birthmark that adding to his perfection. He was clearly not someone from this mortal world!

At the moment, that immortal creature was shirtless as he soaked at the hot springs pool, he was only wearing a long, white silken pants that could save himself from the transmigrator’s fiery gaze. His jet-black hair was untied, hanging down along his back. Clear water drops was dripping from his wet hair, slid down to his slender, swan neck, and finally to his ravishing collarbone. His strong abdominal muscles were clearly visible under the water, and his pale, satin-like skin glowed under the moonlight.

“What are you doing here?”

The male repeated his question. He had seen her come in and observed the girl for several minutes, but seeing as though she didn’t move, he decided to go ahead and speak up.

This time, his voice was able to drag the transmigrator back to reality. Shocked, Zhao Xing slightly jolted up. It was unfortunate that the rock under her feet was a little slippery. Her body immediately staggered forward as she lost her balance.

However, just before the girl’s face could touch the water’s surface, iron-like arms suddenly encircled her slender waist. Zhao Xing was brought to the man’s gentle and warm embrace as he used his qinggong[1], saving her from knocking her head on the man-made rockeries. The pair then plunged into the hot spring quite chaotically, yet the man still kept his grip tight around her.

Even after they fell into the steaming pool, Zhao Xing’s mind went completely blank. She felt like the earth rotated in a slow motion as love songs kept on playing in the back of her mind. She even unconsciously hugged the man’s neck tightly as though she didn’t want to part with him in this whole lifetime. Resting her head at the crook of his jade-like neck, Zhao Xing could smell his intoxicating, masculine scent and heard the calming rhythm of his heartbeat.

“Cough, cough!”

The male coughed awkwardly as he looked down at the girl that clung onto him like an octopus. Her body was already soaking wet from head to toe, and her dress stuck to her skin, accentuating every curve of her willow-like and alluring body. The man suddenly felt his cheeks burning, thus he quickly looked away from her.

Zhao Xing blinked her eyes before her soul came back to reality. The second miss quickly detached herself from the man’s warm embrace with a gaping expression.

The handsome man didn’t believe he was able to feel such an emotion the moment Zhao Xing distanced herself from him; he felt he lost something quite important, and it made the stuffiness in his chest slightly uncomfortable. At this point, he was shocked with his actions to help the young lady. He decided to swiftly help her almost without thinking.

Since young, he always loathed the existance of beautiful women. In the military camp, he always killed the seductresses and female spies that were sent to him even before they could step their filthy feet inside his tent. But now, when this girl clung herself to him, he didn’t feel disgusted at all. In contrary, he felt... addicted.

He even started to get drawn into her crystal-clear eyes...

What is this weird feeling? Why did my heart beat so irregularly? Did she somehow poison me?

While the man was busy in his mind, the transmigrator took the liberty to gaze boldly at his perfection. After a few moments of appreciating the heavenly emperor’s masterpiece, alas, a certain figure suddenly flashed accross her mind. Scrunching her eyebrows in suspicion, the girl drew her face closer to his, as though she wanted to observe every details of his face.

“Flower thief!”

Zhao Xing exclaimed as she pointed her forefinger at the man’s well-scuplted nose. She knew he looked familiar!

The handsome man blinked his eyes in confusion. In the next few seconds, he asked with disbelief, “E-excuse me? Flower thief?”

Clasping her hands together under her chin, Zhao Xing boldly lifted her face and scolded the man. She clearly wore an angry expression, but instead of making her appear serious, it only made her looked even more adorable.

“No wonder this young lady felt that your handsome face was familiar! It turns out you’re that ungrateful flower thief! Pei, pei, pei!”

He was speechless as a he recalled a certain scene which happened several weeks ago. From the very start, he noticed she was the young lady who saved him back then. At that time, he was in rush. He had an urgent matter to attend, thus he couldn’t delay his departure. However, he swore to himself to come back and properly express his gratitude.

Who knew she would suddenly appear before him?

The male slightly felt anxious, not knowing what to say. He was extremely grateful to her, if not for her then he would’ve definitely died back then. How is he going to express his thanks? Certainly, there might be something she’d want?

But thinking more in depth, it was not the first time nor the second time she appeared before him...

Massaging his throbbing temples gently, the man unsealed his ravishing lips again. Soon, his magnetic voice filled Zhao Xing’s ears, “I think you’ve misunderstood something, Young Miss.”

“What misunderstanding” Zhao Xing pointed her finger to the scars and stitches on that man’s lower stomach. “Look, those stitches are proof!”

Just before the man could refute, the second miss continued her interrogation, “Big Brother, what are you doing in the general’s manor? Are you tired of your life and wish to deliver your soul to the gates of hell? Or do you have some weird ideas toward my Elder Sister Ning?”

“I-”

“Listen to me, the master of this house is definitely not as magnanimous as me. Once they catch you, they will surely chop your pee pee into pieces and send you to the palace to become a eunuch! Hmph!”

A tint of crimson spread accross the man’s cheeks when Zhao Xing boldly talked about castration. S-she was a young lady from boudoir, h-how come she...

Zhao Xing took a deep breath before opening her mouth again, “Big Brother, the heavens have blessed you with this peerlessly handsome face, but why did you choose to become a wastrel ah? Being a flower thief is not a good career path!”

Wait, did she actually tell him how handsome his appearance was? That very thought made the male incredibly flustered, almost to the point of wanting to turn away in complete embarrassment.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” The young miss clicked her tongue as she folded her hands across her chest. “Seems like this time you have the wrong target. You certainly have  big guts to boldly enter my general’s manor ah?”

“W-what? My general?”

The man was stunned for a moment. And then his cheeks flushed even more red. Zhao Xing caught sight of it and was dumbfounded. Is standing in the hot spring making him too hot? Is he going to faint?

Zhao Xing cleared her throat awkwardly, “I-I mean, he’s our kingdom’s beloved general. H-He’s my general and yours as well, isn’t he?”

The girl didn’t understand why she had to explain things to this flower thief. “Enough with the chit-chat ah, quickly spill your last wish before I hand you over to the guard!”

When she didn’t hear any response from the flower thief, Zhao Xing opened her mouth abruptly screamed. However, before she had the chance to do that, the man quickly muffled her lips with his hand. He also encircled his hand on the woman’s slender waist, eliminating the distance between them and once more brought her against his chest in a bit of a panic.

She was wet from head to toe, how could he let someone see her in this state?

The pair stuck very closely, there were only few centimeters of air between them. Their lips were only separated by the man’s hands, and their breaths mixed together. The young lady could even count the man’s alluring eyelashes at this close proximity. The rhythm of their heartbeats were in sync, and they couldn’t differentiate whose heart hammeed inside whose chest.

Facing such a celestial visage right before her eyes, Zhao Xing felt like her soul could almost leave her body ah!

It was the first time for both of them to being this close to another person. But, unfortunately, this springs scene interrupted with Gao Yi Ning’s sudden presence...

Zhao Xing and the flower thief quickly detached themselves from each other as soon as they heard the sounds of the doors being open. At the moment, the pair resembled a couple that was caught after having an affair.

“D-Did I disturb you?”

The princess asked awkwardly. But inside, she held the happiness that roared ferociously in her heart. It was fortunate she entered the chamber alone. It would’ve been very bad if she brought her maids with her.

Zhao Xing quickly regained her composure. She then snatched the man’s jade-like hands and dragged him toward the poolside. Both of them were soaking wet the moment they stood in front of Gao Yi Ning, with the man half-naked and Zhao Xing’s dress sticking to her body.

“Elder Sister Ning, please take this flower thief to the guards. He may have weird or bad ideas toward you!” Zhao Xing still held the man’s hand as she reported to Gao Yi Ning.

Princess Fangyi was absolutely speechless. She quickly turned her head to the man and asked with a confused expression, “Elder Brother, what happened?”

Zhao Xing was stunned silly the moment she heard that.

“E-Elder Brother?”

“Now, can you please let go of this prince’s hand, Miss Zhao Xing?” The man’s alluring voice travelled to Zhao Xing’s ears. The girl then quickly threw his hand away as though she just touched something scorching hot.

“G-Gao Chang Gong?”

Zhao Xing brain nearly exploded from the sudden information. If he was the general, then... ah! Previously, she even talked about castrating him and accusing him as a wastrel!

At this moment, Zhao Xing suddenly had a strong urge to bang her head to the wall. Maybe if she bangs her head against it really hard, she’d travel back to her modern world!

 

Author’s Note:

[1] Translates to lightness skill, and refers to skills meant for agility improvement. In Wuxia movies and television dramas, such skills are often exaggerated to endow users with superhuman leaps and temporary flight.