Kěnéng was a beautiful city. It had looked magnificent from far away and was even more beautiful up close. The buildings were all magnificent structures built to look like small palaces. The flora and fauna was colorful. Gorgeous pink sakura blossoms filled the skyline while colorful blossoms took root around them.

Several arched wooden bridges crossed over numerous canals. Steam from the canals filled the air. All the water in this city was sourced from the natural underground hotsprings and the Snow River.

Cì Chuān showed Zhou Lihua around the city as promised, and he acted like the perfect gentleman. He never touched Zhou Lihua inappropriately nor did he make a pass at her. This was different from what she was used to.

Up to now, Cì Chuān had always tried hard to woo her. If he wasn’t complimenting her on her beauty, then he was arrogantly discussing his family’s wealth or displaying it. Having him not bring up her appearance or his riches even once unnerved her. It felt like something had changed in him since their last meeting.

What made matters worse was how everyone around them spoke.

“Isn’t that Lord Cì Chuān?”

“It is! Oh, heavens above! How does my hair look? Is it okay?”

“Girl, why care about your hair? Do you not see the heaven defying beauty next to him? What makes you think he’s going to look in your direction when he is being accompanied by a woman like that?”

“Ugh, you’re right. That woman is gorgeous. Who is she? I’ve never seen her before?”

“I don’t know, but she’s definitely an alchemist. Look at the badge on her robe.”

“Maybe she’s a fellow disciple at the Alchemist Association then? Do you think they’re dating?”

“Hard to say, but I would bet money they are. I don’t even like girls and that woman is pressing all my buttons.”

“I hate to admit it, but they do make a good match. They’re both so beautiful, and of similar social standing.”

Endure it. Endure it. Endure it.

Zhou Lihua repeated the words like a mantra inside her head. She disliked how these people automatically assumed she was with Cì Chuān, but it wasn’t like she didn’t understand. Romance between men and women was the single most discussed topic among the common folks.

This did not surprise her. Courting was not something people did casually. If a young man asked a young woman to spend time with him, it was always done with the intention of starting a courtship. This is why everyone they passed automatically assumed they were a couple.

While there were loose men and women, and the red light district was quite popular, those were all unmentioned aspects of their culture. The red light district was often considered the dark side of any city. Even if someone went to such a place, social moores would prevent them from ever telling someone else.

This was also one of the reasons Zhou Lihua had been placed under such heavy restrictions. As a woman of the Zhou Clan, she had to uphold the reputation of being a pure and peerless maiden, such that when the time came for her family to select a husband for her, they would be able to propose her to the most peerless young man of the clan.

The Zhou Clan had been building her up for a while now, and there was a very good chance they would try to matchmake her to someone from the main house. In truth, were it not for her current circumstances, she would have been able to safely refuse Cì Chuān’s advances. The only reason she was even with him now was because he was the second prince of a nation and she, as a Zhou Clan heiress, needed to remain cordial with him.

Of course, all of this was irrelevant to Zhou Lihua. She had no intention of marrying Cì Chuān or someone from the main house, and if they tried to force the issue, she would just run away with Wu Jian.

“You seem troubled,” said Cì Chuān.

“I’m surprised you noticed,” Zhou Lihua struggled to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

Cì Chuān chuckled. “Do not let their words bother you.”

That is easy for you to say. I know you’re enjoying this.

Zhou Lihua did not voice her discontent and merely walked alongside the young man as Wu Jian trailed behind them. Oh, how she wished she could look back at him. She hated that he was being forced to walk behind her instead of alongside her. What kind of face was Wu Jian making as he listened to Cì Chuān talk with her? Was he jealous? Indifferent? She wished she could see behind that mask.

It was harder to listen to Cì Chuān than normal. Her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Wu Jian, but she somehow managed to maintain her smile and nod at everything he said. She was even able to respond as if she was truly paying attention. That was one of the good things about her alchemist training. She could split her attention between many different thoughts and actions.

They visited several prominent attractions. There was the open market, which consisted of several wide streets that had vendors of all kinds selling their wares. Most of what they sold were clothing and jewelry. There was also a fabric seller who had a wide variety of expensive silk fabrics for sale.

Most of the Zhou Kingdom’s economy was based on tourism, but they also had a large agricultural and fashion industry. Everything was controlled by the emperor. He had placed his most trusted subordinates in charge of the numerous farmlands and silk farms. They were also responsible for gathering taxes, which were high enough to drain the commonfolk dry. Nobody could do or say anything about that, however, since the emperor could destroy an entire village with a wave of his hand.

And that was not an euphemism.

Deva Realm cultivators were more than capable of such feats.

The tour eventually came to an end as the sun began to set, and Cì Chuān finally escorted Zhou Lihua home.

“Thank you for showing me around,” she said with a smile, her face a mask of civility.

“You’re quite welcome. Good luck in the tournament,” said Cì Chuān.

As he left, Zhou Lihua breathed a sigh of relief. He was finally gone.

“Thank you for accompanying me,” she said to the man beside her, who had been silent until now.

“I would have demanded I go with you even if you hadn’t asked,” Wu Jian confessed.

“That does make me feel a little better. Are you okay?”

“Mmm. I’m fine.”

Zhou Lihua bit her lip as she and Wu Jian entered their current residence. She wanted to say something to him, but without seeing his face, she was afraid to say it. Oh, how she wished she could go back in time to when they were younger and she was able to plant a kiss on his mouth right in front of her father.

***

The night was late, yet Wu Jian remained wide awake. He sat on his floor with his legs crossed, hands forming the shape of the tiger hand seal, and eyes clenched shut. Objects floated around him. Each one was locked into a specific space. No one would be able to move them unless they disrupted his spatial locks, which required using nearly two times more chi than what he used to lock these objects in place.

However, this was just a side effect of his meditation.

Wu Jian was currently not cultivating the Dao of Space, which had hit a roadblock. He instead focused on cultivating Byakko’s blood. Only four drops of blood were active. He assumed that was because his cultivation level wasn’t high enough to withstand using more than just four drops, but what if he could activate more? Would he be able to achieve greater strength?

That was what he wanted to find out.

He was drawing in chi from the surroundings, supplemented by the middle-grade chi gathering pills that Zhou Lihua had provided for him, and fed it into a single drop of blood. Sweat trickled down his scalp as he concentrated. The drop of blood flickered gold, illuminating the space around it. It flickered several more times before lighting up.

I did it. Oh, wow. I really did it!

Wu Jian had not expected this to work. He was so excited that he tried doing this to another drop of blood, never realizing that he was being overzealous until the blood within his body began to boil. Eyes bulged as he fell over. He coughed, hacking up several globs of blood. The thick liquid splashed against the wooden floor.

Ugh, what happened?

He didn’t understand why this hadn’t worked a second time, but maybe it was just like he thought. His cultivation level did, to an extent, affect how much of Byakko’s blood he could activate. The reason he had been able to activate the fifth drop of blood was because he was at the Asura Realm’s ninth subrealm. Maybe he would be able to activate the sixth drop after breaking through.

Standing up and making his way to a bowl filled with clean water, Wu Jian cupped his hands to feed himself some, swished it around, and spat it into a bowl. The once clear liquid was dark red. He grimaced as he summoned a healing pellet and quickly consumed it.

Just as he was beginning to feel better, his senses went on high alert. He turned his head and looked around the room. He was no longer alone. No one had entered through the door. He would have heard them, which meant…

He turned around and looked out the window. No one was there. Had he imagined it?

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Just then, someone tapped on the window. He saw a small hand peeking out from the bottom. Wu Jian suppressed a relieved sigh as he wandered over, opened the window, and poked his head out with a smile on his face.

“Sneaking into a young man’s room in the middle of the night? How unbecoming for a Zhou Clan heiress?” he teased the woman crouching behind a bush. She wore a cloak that blended well with the darkness of night. The hood thrown over her head blocked her face from sight.

“Not as unbecoming as a young man who won’t let a young woman into his room after she so boldly decided to visit him,” replied Zhou Lihua.

“Hmmm. I suppose you have a good point.” He leaned back. “Come on in.”

“Thank you.”

Zhou Lihua leapt into the room as he stepped back. She crouched on the ground. He closed the door while she stood to her feet and removed the hood, long locks of unbraided sandy blonde hair descending to her knees. With the bangs no longer held up by a headpiece or styled, they looked longer than normal and framed her soft face. She then removed her cloak, revealing the cute red nightgown she wore underneath.

“What are you doing here, Lili? Or is this really just a midnight tryst?” asked Wu Jian.

Zhou Lihua did not answer as she grabbed his hand and directed him toward the bed. He blinked as she positioned him before the bed, walked several chih away, then turned to face him. A bad feeling suddenly settled in his stomach. Wu Jian had no chance to act on it, however, as the woman pounced.

“Gotcha!”

Wu Jian blinked and stared at the ceiling as the Zhou Clan heiress rubbed her face against his chest. Should he be grateful or annoyed that he was wearing a shirt? He looked down at the woman as she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tight. The sensation of her superlative chest pressing against his stomach did not go unnoticed.

“Lili…”

“I’m sorry,” Zhou Lihua suddenly said.

“Uh… why?”

“You seemed annoyed earlier today.”

“Ah…” Wu Jian needed a moment to compose himself. He took a deep breath, then released it as he reached up to stroke the woman’s hair. “I was pretty annoyed today, but it wasn’t with you. I know there was little you could have done. From a purely social standpoint, your position within the Zhou Clan is not high enough that you can refuse a prince in his own kingdom. I’m just annoyed that I couldn’t do anything to stop Cì Chuān from forcing you to go along with his whims.”

“I figured that might be the case, but still.”

“Don’t make me finger flick you.”

“You wouldn’t do that. The cost of blemishing my beautiful face is far too high, you know.”

“Pfft!”

Wu Jian chuckled and Zhou Lihua, after a moment, giggled. As they calmed down, the young woman slid her body up and off to the side. Wu Jian turned around so they were face to face.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

Zhou Lihua seemed to ponder, then shook her head. “I think I need a little more comfort.”

“You’re very demanding, but fine.”

Wu Jian scooted closer and wrapped his arms around the elegant young woman. He pressed the back of her head against his chest, and she turned her head as though listening to his heartbeat. The warmth from her body was lulling. He felt a strong urge to fall asleep, but he knew she wanted more.

“Better?”

“Mmmmm… not quite.” Zhou Lihua used her feet to slip out of her slippers and kicked them to the floor, then entwined their legs together like a quatro of snakes. Her silken skin against his sent shivers up his spine. “This is better.”

Wu Jian sighed and tried to adjust himself. They would have to wake up early so Zhou Lihua could slip back into her room before anyone noticed, but he didn’t mind letting this woman share his bed. It was just too bad they still couldn’t do anything more than this.

“Jian?”

“Yes?”

“…Nevermind.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t leave me hanging like this. What is it?”

“I’m sorry. I wanted to say something, but I don’t think now is appropriate. Later, when we have a better chance of truly being alone.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“It’s a promise.”

Since Zhou Lihua wanted to wait for whatever it was she wanted to say, Wu Jian closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall into a light slumber.