A red mole graced her brow, stirring a captivating charm that was almost sinful.
Tightly clinging to her body, a red gauze dress split open at each side, faintly revealing equally sheer ice sleeves beneath, outlining a pair of slender, jade-like arms, as white as snow.
It was unclear what sort of sheer, yet snug fabric wrapped tightly around her long, jade-like legs, subtly visible beneath the spread of her skirt, trailing peony embroidery and white fur at the hem.
Even though her face was veiled, the breathtaking allure she emanated could not be hidden. Several female Sacred Land Disciples stared at the woman, obviously stunned. They watched as she gave a charming glance and gracefully approached, stirring a bold breeze of fragrance.
"Is Elder Su in this room?"
The female Sacred Land Disciples took a deep breath and then nodded.
"We've seen Headmistress Yu. Elder Su is inside this room... But."
"..."
Headmistress Yu's brows rose slightly as she looked at the round-faced girl, curious about what she was about to say.
"But... the situation inside the room seems a bit odd. Hmm, I would advise Headmistress Yu to avoid any disturbance..."
"..."
Headmistress Yu's lips curled into a meaningful smile, as if she hadn't heard the latter half of the Sacred Land Disciple's words at all, and she pushed open the door and went straight in.
Then, all eyes in the room turned toward her in unison.
They surrounded the man in the center, who had a pear stuffed in his mouth and red dates in his hand, blinking at her rapidly.
Yu Hongxiu covered her mouth and chuckled lightly. "What a coincidence that I've arrived... and so many people are here."
Yu Hongxiu walked over to Su Bei's side as if no one else were present. Then—
"You heartless thing! You ask how I had time to come here?"
"I came specifically to see if you were dead or not."
"..."
As she spoke, she prodded Su Bei a bit forcefully, her brows raised thoughtfully as she looked at him.
"All your meridians are broken? Why be so harsh on yourself...?"
She glanced at the group of women around and then closed her mouth. It was clear that some words weren't meant to be said in front of so many people.
Headmistress Yu glanced at Ji Nanjue, and then her gaze deepened as she looked back at Su Bei.
Even the Eastern Emperor was deceived. What secrets does he hold?
"Um, I want to get some more sleep... With so many of you around, it's a little scary."
"..."
Su Bei gestured to stop Xiao Ruoching, who was about to stuff a peach into his mouth, and tightly covered his half-drunk cup of water. In just a short while, he had already drunk six cups, and he looked at them with pleading eyes.
Hmm, the service is quite good, he thought. It even reminds me of the way they keep refilling your sour plum juice at Haidilao.
Wenren Pingxin rose with some helplessness, shooting a fierce glare at Headmistress Yu before turning to Ji Nanjue with a smile.
"Eastern Emperor, I was planning to seek you out earlier."
"..."
Ji Nanjue, coming back to his senses, suppressed the shock in his heart and looked at Wenren Pingxin.
"Elder Wenren, if you have something to say, please speak freely. I and Brother Bei are good friends."
Wenren Pingxin coughed lightly and began, his expression somewhat unnatural, "I wonder if Su Bei still has the Linglong Pearl he gave to Empress Lin a few days ago? Perhaps soaking the pearl in a cold spring could help his injuries recover faster..."
"..."
Linglong Pearl?
Ji Nanjue blinked, then remembered the scene at Su Bei's lodging a few days earlier when he was drunk.
...
Key Smoke considered her life to be very regular.
She would rise to eat candied fruit, lounge in bed at noon eating candied fruit, and eat candied fruit in bed at night. This might have become a habit over hundreds of years. Now that she was well past a thousand years old, these habits had scarcely changed.
The candlelight flickered.
Like the past few days, after finishing the day's battles on the Ascension Platform, Key Smoke stretched languidly. Clad in silky smooth satin pajamas and trousers, she reclined on her pillow, diligently applying red polish to her toenails, surrounded by various romance novels.
While reading tear-jerking passages about lovers in the novels, she rested her jade-like feet on a low table, waiting for the polish to dry.
Tears glistened in her eyes. It was hard to imagine the Saintess having such a homebody side.
For hundreds of years, she had never bothered to flip through a Cultivation Technique manual. To the world's mightiest Saintess, even the most profound Cultivation Techniques paled in comparison to her own understanding.
Of course, that was unless an Ascension manual was practically thrown in her face. If she were willing to put pen to paper, her work would undoubtedly become the foundational text for most manuals available.
Her exquisite face, untouched by the passage of millennia, wore no powder or rouge. Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders, her complexion like the blush of dawn upon snow.