The luxurious room was filled with moans and sighs of pleasure. Cì Chuān lay with his hands behind his back, completely naked as a pair of equally naked and nubile young women pleased him with their mouths.

He had always had a higher libido than most--quite different from his father and older brother. The pair seemed almost asexual. It was a wonder their father had slept with his wife enough times that she gave birth to two children. His brother seemed to be going the same route as his father. Perhaps that was why he had such a high sex drive. He chuckled at the thought of karma trying to balance out his family’s lack of desire with him.

As the sensation of two tongues sent ecstasy through his body, he thought about the upcoming alchemy tournament. Their kingdom held one every year and invited all the best alchemists from across the kingdom to join them.

Of course, the alchemy tournament was not to showcase the prowess of those old masters and grandmasters. The more experienced alchemists cared little for the trappings of fame and glory that came from winning a tournament. They would rather spend their days locked in their pill refining rooms, creating more alchemy pills.

Unlike most alchemists, Cì Chuān cared little about actually refining pills. He was born with a naturally high aptitude for it, which was why he had become an alchemist, but pill refinement held little interest for him. If possible, he would rather spend his day in bed, being pleased by the various women he had seduced.

As he was the son of Emperor Cì Shā, a talented alchemist, and a handsome young man in the prime of his youth, many women propositioned him. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he could have any woman he wanted. Those had been his thoughts until just last year

Yes, a few years ago when he met her for the first time.

He still remembered it like it was yesterday. Cì Chuān had gone to a gathering of young alchemists in the Shang Kingdom. He was occasionally required to attend such functions by his father, who used them as a means of gathering information on other nations. Most of those functions were boring. The alchemists only ever spoke of alchemy and little more. Whenever he attended, he would put on a smile, all the while thinking about how dull these losers were. They were just frogs content with their life. Well, he supposed it was better for them to remain content than to chase after swan meat.

It was during one of those meetings when he met Zhou Lihua for the first time. She had stood out to him because of her radiant beauty and the way she held herself. The poise and grace she had exhibited during the gathering told him that she was a woman of class. He had wanted her the moment they met.

Unfortunately, Zhou Lihua was not receptive to his advances. He had tried to use his smoothest lines, told her things that normally made women eat out of the palm of his hand, and lavished her with gifts and praise. None of it worked. She was not a woman who could be moved by gifts, praise, or a silver tongue.

She had not only thoroughly denied him but also disgraced him by dumping water on his head. That should have angered him, but it didn’t. Her actions just made him want her more. She was like an unconquered mountain, and he wanted to be the one to conquer and claim her for himself.

He was brought back to reality when he felt a release of pleasure wash over him. He grunted, and the girls who’d been licking him squealed.

“Oh, no. We’re all dirty,” one of them mumbled.

“Don’t worry. I’ll clean you up,” said the other.

“Oh, thank you so much.”

The two young women began licking each other, and Cì Chuān enjoyed the show. He joined them after they finished cleaning up.

These two young women were servants he had acquired from a slave auction. They had not been this pretty at first, but he had seen their potential. After buying them, he had beautified them with alchemy pills, then helped them reach the Asura Realm so they would remain beautiful for centuries to come. These two were his prized possessions, and they were quite dedicated to him, though he often had them remain in the palace. He didn’t want Zhou Lihua to find out about them.

Well, not until he possessed her as well.

Cì Chuān was a very experimental bedroom partner. He enjoyed trying new things. That day, he decided on bondage. He hung the woman from his ceiling, blindfolded and gagged, and had his way with them both. Their muffled squeals and moans were music to his ears. He even enjoyed the way drool leaked from between the ballgags as he pounded them from behind.

Several enjoyable hours later found him near the window, the two women fast asleep. He drank wine from a crystalline glass and looked at the stars, wondering when Zhou Lihua would finally arrive.

“You are just as lascivious as the rumors say,” a voice said.

He spun around, eyes wide as he surveyed the room. Nobody was there. Yet he could have sworn the voice had spoken from behind him. Sweat trickled down his scalp. An assassin? No, if they wanted to kill him, they would not have revealed themselves. He took several deep breaths.

“I assume since you deigned to let me know you’re here, you have something to speak with me about? Why don’t you show yourself so we can talk face to face?” he asked.

“Apologies, but I’d rather not show you my face at this time,” said the person. Their voice sounded odd. He could not tell if they were a man or a woman, which meant they were using chi to change the pitch and timbre of their voice.

“Very well,” he said after a moment. “Let us speak like this then. What is it you want from me?”

“Journeying alongside Zhou Lihua is a young man called Jian Wu. I would like you to capture him for me,” the person said.

“Jian Wu… that name doesn’t sound familiar… who is that?”

“He was the young man in the mask during the time when Zhou Lihua auctioned her pills.”

“Was there someone like that? Ah, now that you mention it, I do think I remember someone wearing a mask back then. I had not paid him much attention.” Cì Chuān cared little for people who did not catch his interest. It was like they were not even there. “Why do you want me to capture him?”

“You do not need to know that,” said the person, voice bone-chillingly frigid.

Cì Chuān snorted. “Hmph. You do not tell me why you want me to stick my neck out, and yet you expect me to do something for you. Tell me, why would I do this? What do I get out of it?”

“If you capture him for me, I can give you Zhou Lihua.”

The words brought him up short.

“Are you serious? Do you really think I’ll believe you? Zhou Lihua is from the Zhou Clan. Even I would not be so bold as to claim her without the Zhou Clan’s permission.”

Did this person think he was stupid? He might have been lascivious, but he was by no means a fool. There was a reason he hadn’t made any overt moves against Zhou Lihua. Only an idiot would try to make a move on her and risk angering the Zhou Clan.

Something thumped against the floor, causing him to look down. He stared at the item for a moment, then bent down and picked it up, eyes widening as he hefted the medallion.

“Does that satisfy you?” asked the voice.

“Ah ha. Ha ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha ha! It does.” Cì Chuān stood up and grinned. “All right, mysterious voice, you have yourself a deal. I’ll capture Jian Wu for you in exchange for Zhou Lihua.”

***

Wu Jian and Zhou Lihua were a lot more careful about what they did together. They no longer remained in the carriage for extended periods of time. Wu Jian would often walk outside beside the carriage and speak to the young woman through the window. Sometimes she would join him since she didn’t like being inside by herself, but because she was a young lady of the Zhou Clan, she had a reputation to uphold, and so, she didn’t leave the carriage often except when it was time to set up camp.

No one said anything about how close they seemed, but Wu Jian was sure everyone knew. He hoped this knowledge wouldn’t reach the Zhou Clan’s head.

He knew they should have kept some distance between them. That was the smart thing to do. It was also something Wu Jian admitted himself incapable of. He couldn’t pretend that Zhou Lihua was a stranger to him, and from the way she acted, Zhou Lihua couldn’t either. They might as well try grabbing the stars with their bare hands. That would have been easier than acting like they didn’t have feelings for each other.

Fortunately, no one knew the extent of their feelings. Perhaps it was too hard to fathom that a young lady of the Zhou Clan would be romantically interested in a rogue cultivator, no matter how strong.

Three weeks had passed since they entered the Zhou Kingdom, and at long last, the Zhou Kingdom’s capital came into view.

“That’s a city? It looks nothing like the cities I’m used to,” Wu Jian murmured. He was walking alongside the carriage while Zhou Lihua spoke to him through the open window.

Zhou Lihua smiled. “It’s called the City of Hot Springs for a reason. It’s not only the capital of the Zhou Kingdom but also the most popular tourist destination on the continent.”

He could tell even from a distance that it was a splendid city. What stood out to him at first was the multiple tiers on the south side that made the city look like a layered cake built into an incline. Waterfalls ran over the slopes of each tier and flowed into a pool.

Unlike the buildings from the villages they passed through, these were made from wood and cement. All of them were walled compounds with raised pavilions, wooden columns and paneling, and yellow glazed roof tiles. He could see little beyond that at first, but the city was not walled off. Were they not concerned about magical beast attacks?

They soon reached the entrance. The city might not have walls, but they did have an entryway. A lot of people were already in line. Zhou Lihua’s caravan was forced into line with the others, and it drew a lot of attention once people noticed the crest.

“Whoa! Check it out! That’s the Zhou Clan crest!”

“The Zhou Clan? You don’t mean the clan that controls Divine Moon Hall?”

“That’s the one. I wonder what someone from the Zhou Clan is doing here?”

“Maybe they’re here to compete in the upcoming Alchemist Tournament?”

“Hah! Good one. Do you see that beauty in the carriage? Go ahead and tell me that woman is an alchemist. I dare you. A woman of her beauty has no need to learn alchemy. She can have whatever she wants.”

“Well… you do bring up a good point.”

“Right.”

That was not the only conversation happening around them, and while Wu Jian would have loved to douse these people with killing intent, he knew they were not saying all that out of maliciousness. Even so, a glance at Zhou Lihua’s frown made him seriously consider putting those people in their place.

“The struggle beautiful women go through to receive acknowledgement always amazes me,” Wu Jian said.

His words made Zhou Lihua smile. “Yes. People always assume that I never want for anything or have any talents because I’m so beautiful I need nothing more than my looks. It’s annoying. I look forward to showing those fools up at the tournament.”

“Wait. Are they going to compete?”

“Of course. Did you not notice their robes? They belong to the Alchemist Association.”

Now that she mentioned it, their robes were similar to the ones Zhou Lihua wore when she was performing duties for the Alchemist Association. They were a silvery-white that seemed to shine in the sun. A badge with the characters for 46 was pinned to their chests. Standing beside them was an older man with robes several shades lighter than theirs, and his badge had the characters for 77.

“I see. They’re Palladium ranked alchemists,” he said.

“That’s right. They’re the same rank as me, so they must be here to compete.”

It was soon their turn. Zhou Chao showed their papers to the guards at the front gate. One of them nearly stumbled over himself when he realized who they were, while another quickly made his way into the city. They were let in without incident. However, the way they acted was bizarre. Did Zhou clansmen have to deal with this display of nerves on a regular basis?

The Zhou Clan did not have a compound in the Zhou Kingdom. While they did run several businesses here, unlike in the Shang Kingdom, they were not allowed to own property here. They did not even have an embassy. It was somewhat startling to him, but Zhou Lihua gave a history lesson about how the first emperor of the kingdom signed an agreement with the Zhou Clan that forbade them from having a branch established here in exchange for several exclusive benefits.

One of those benefits was the name of the kingdom. He had found it odd that this nation was called the Zhou Kingdom instead of the Cì Kingdom, but this explained it. The name was in honor of the agreement the Zhou Clan and Zhou Kingdom had. Still, he wondered if there was some deeper meaning to all this that he didn’t know about.

“Where are we going?” asked Wu Jian.

“Do you see that pagoda? The one with ten stories? That is the Alchemist Association’s main headquarters here. We’ll be going there since alchemists are allowed free room and board in any Alchemist Association location.”

Zhou Lihua pointed at a building in the distance, a majestic golden and silver pagoda that stood above the man hot springs. It was even bigger than the Alchemist Association branch in Shang Imperial City. That said, the layout looked similar.

To reach it, they crossed over several bridges. This city had numerous canals winding through it, feeding hot water into the many hot springs. Sakura trees lined the canals. He was shocked to see them in full bloom, but according to Zhou Lihua, these trees were specially cultivated to remain in bloom nine months out of the year.

It was not long before they arrived at the Alchemist Association.

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