That afternoon.
Li Huaixian lay on the soft, luxurious bed, a delicate, feminine fragrance lingering at the tip of his nose.
He felt a dull ache in his head.
“Ugh…”
He couldn’t help but raise a hand to rub his temples, letting out a soft groan.
Then, he slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was a curtain of violet gauze.
And a room bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun.
“Young Master Li, you’re awake?”
At the sound of movement, a girl named Cui Lian rushed over, her face lighting up with excitement.
She reached out to help him up with concern in her eyes.
Li Huaixian looked up at her and recognized her right away—she was the little maid who had led the way earlier that day.
Now, her pair of deer-like eyes were sparkling as they stared at him.
“Ah, it’s you.”
“What happened to me?”
He smiled at her and tried hard to recall what had happened, but no matter how much he thought, he couldn’t remember anything.
Left with no choice, he asked out loud.
Cui Lian was now very close to him, which only made her more aware of how ethereal and refined Li Huaixian’s presence was.
Just being near him felt like basking in a spring breeze, and her heart began to race uncontrollably.
When Li Huaixian asked the question, his clear, bright eyes met hers. Cui Lian blushed even more.
She quickly fetched a pillow to support his back.
Then, with hurried footsteps, she scurried to a nearby shelf. Her small hands scrubbed a cloth in a copper basin as she lowered her head and replied softly, “Young Master Li, you… you don’t remember? Earlier, you were playing games with the young lady, but not long after that, you said you were tired, and then you collapsed and fell asleep. The young lady was really worried about you!”
Li Huaixian’s gaze never left Cui Lian.
This made her heartbeat even more frantic.
Without thinking, she pressed her wet hand over her chest.
‘I didn’t lie to the young master, I really didn’t!’
‘Wuwuwu… I’m sorry, young master! It was the Pavilion Master who made me do it!!’
“Hmm? Is that what happened?”
Hearing her words, Li Huaixian furrowed his brows in confusion.
He rubbed his head again, trying hard to recall the events from earlier.
Something didn’t feel right, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
If he had simply fallen asleep from exhaustion, why did his head hurt so much?
And even if he had been tired enough to fall asleep, it shouldn’t have wiped all memory from his mind.
He had many questions in his heart, but Cui Lian didn’t answer him further.
Seeing her nervous, fidgeting expression and bright red face, he decided not to press her.
After all, she was just a maid.
There was no real reason for her to lie to him.
There was no point dwelling on it.
For now, he’d just assume he had overworked himself in training lately.
He gave her a warm smile.
“Where is your young lady now? I passed out so suddenly—it must have startled her. I feel terrible.”
“Ah, the young lady…”
“She’s—”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Before Cui Lian could stammer out an answer, a voice cut in abruptly.
Li Huaixian frowned slightly at the sound.
“Weakwater?”
“The day’s getting late, and I’m a little tired. If there’s nothing else, Huaixian gege, you should head back first.”
Although Bu Qingge was still using Bu Ruoshui’s voice, there was a faint trace of repression and irritation in her tone.
After all, having been taken such advantage of, how could she possibly stay calm?
Hearing this, Li Huaixian looked around the room.
He didn’t see anyone, and Bu Ruoshui’s tone sounded a bit off.
He asked with concern,
“Ruoshui, are you angry?”
“No, I’m just really tired and want to rest early. As for today… nothing happened, understand? Nothing happened at all!”
The moment those words left her mouth, her presence completely vanished.
Li Huaixian didn’t say anything more.
The person was already gone—there was no point speaking if she couldn’t hear him.
Besides, Ruoshui had always been gentle and considerate.
Even if her tone just now had been a little strange, she was still worried about his health.
‘Maybe she really was just tired.’
Thinking that, he stopped overthinking it.
Besides, he’d already been out for quite a while.
If he did the math, the troublemakers at Qianji Manor probably knew about what happened last night by now.
“Hopefully, they can stay calm.”
With a soft sigh, Li Huaixian turned and left.
***
Not long after he departed, Bu Qingge finally reappeared in the room.
Earlier, she’d hidden her presence entirely, afraid she might lose control and smack him to death on the spot.
She’d had no choice but to suppress herself and wait for him to leave.
Even now, her beautiful eyes remained icy cold—so cold it could freeze one to the bone.
Her tall, graceful figure exuded both a seductive allure and a chilling aura.
Fortunately, she was now alone in the room.
She sat down on a wooden chair, one long snow-white leg crossed over the other, and gazed into the direction Li Huaixian had left.
Her eyes flickered with complex emotions.
It was absolutely ridiculous!
She, the exalted Empress of the Lone Peak, had actually been molested by a mere young man!
Just thinking about what had happened moments ago made her delicate hand unconsciously rise to her chest, which still heaved slightly with uneven breath.
That electric sensation… it was still so vivid.
“That bastard…”
She muttered in a low voice, clearly still frustrated.
In both her past and present lives, when had anyone ever dared to touch her so brazenly?
If this had been in the past, not to mention touching—just staring too long would’ve been enough to get someone executed under her imperial pressure.
But with Li Huaixian… she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.
She had to hold back.
The main issue was, he was also the person her beloved disciple had feelings for.
As a master, how could she bear to hurt her own disciple?
What’s more, based on her past life memories, even her former self had a very favorable impression of this young man—graceful, refined, and gentle as jade.
Especially today’s events—no matter how much she didn’t want to admit it, the main responsibility truly lay with her.
She was the one who had lost control and gone too far.
If she hadn’t taken that last bite… none of this would’ve happened!
She, the empress whose elegance and power had stunned the ages, had actually lost her spiritual composure over a mere youth.
Just thinking about it made Bu Qingge feel utterly miserable.
It seemed that even after reincarnating, her Dao heart and willpower had declined significantly.
***
“This can’t go on. At this rate, I won’t be able to control myself.”
“Maybe… I should cut off all contact with him?”
Her eyes filled with hesitation.
Yet after today’s little incident, she could clearly sense the changes in herself.
Things that used to take her months to achieve were happening within just a few hours of being around Li Huaixian.
Even now, her cultivation was progressing much faster than usual.
But she also understood—this was merely the lingering effect of absorbing his blood.
The accelerated cultivation wouldn’t last; it would soon return to normal.
Even so, the benefits were undeniable—so much so that it was practically addictive.
“Just a brief moment of contact resulted in such unbelievable improvement…”
“If I kept seeing him regularly, I could recover my peak strength thousands of times faster!”
Her eyes flickered with anticipation, but it was soon replaced by deep inner conflict.
“No, no, no! What am I even thinking?!”
“I already lost control once—what if it happens again and someone finds out? Wouldn’t that be utterly humiliating?”
“Damn it! I need to focus and temper my mind. How could I let myself be ruled by desire?!”
But what Bu Qingge didn’t know… was that Li Huaixian’s current physique wasn’t just some ordinary Bewitching Constitution.
It had already evolved into something far beyond that—a Heavenly Dao Enchanting Body.
Its power was in a whole different league.
So what if she was an Empress?