[You’ve gained Energy Mastery!]

  [Quest Complete!]

  The system chimed with far too much enthusiasm, and for once, I did not feel like complaining. This was the whole reason I insisted that Meng Rong teach me cultivation, even if she claimed she was not really teaching me at all. The quest had appeared shortly after Huang Yong was sent packing, quietly dangling a trait as a reward. Traits in YKU were annoyingly rare, the kind of thing you usually got through dumb luck or being dragged into some absurd storyline. Missing one would have haunted me forever.

  The past four days had been brutal. There was no real rest to speak of, only pauses to eat, drink, and swallow sustenance pills that kept my body from collapsing outright. When I got thirsty, I boiled lake water and drank it like some kind of survival expert. Thanks to Meng Rong’s illusion formations, the hidden realm always looked like daytime, which made it even harder to tell how exhausted I should have been. The pills she fed me were even worse, because they erased fatigue just enough to keep me going, forcing me to endure exercise that bordered on torture.

  I was sweating buckets, and not just me. I made sure Meng Rong worked just as hard. Watching her smug expression half the time had been irritating enough that I went out of my way to push back, even if it meant getting thrown around like a sack of grain. By the end of it, I lay flat on my stomach, my clothes torn in several places. They would regenerate eventually, so that was not my main concern. My lungs burning and my limbs trembling were far more pressing issues.

  I pushed myself up, spat out a mouthful of grass, and stared at Meng Rong. She was not exactly pristine either. I had managed to land a few solid hits, which I considered a personal achievement. An illusory fox perched lazily on her shoulder, flicking its tail, the same cursed thing that had harassed me endlessly during our sparring. Seeing it up close again only reminded me how ridiculous the gap between us still was.

  So this was the true strength of a Qi Refinement cultivator, someone sitting comfortably at Level 350. Even with all my gear and tricks, I had been handled in a way that could only be described as deeply ungraceful.

  “Are you satisfied?” Meng Rong asked, her tone calm but carrying a hint of challenge.

  “Yes,” I replied without hesitation. “Let’s go.”

  It was almost time for my duel with Dong Li, and whatever gains I could squeeze out of this hellish training, I had already taken them. When Meng Rong concealed her personal hidden realm once more and led the way out, I found myself stopping to look at the sky. The full moon hung overhead, bright and indifferent, and the world had slipped deep into midnight without me even noticing.

  “Let’s go quietly,” Meng Rong suggested.

  We vaulted over the walls of Xincheng with practiced ease. As my feet touched down, a strange sense of finality crept in. “I guess this is where we part ways,” I said, half-hoping she would agree.

  She shot me a sharp glare. “Did you forget already?”

  “Forget what?” I asked, even though I had a bad feeling about the answer.

  “The changes to the Binding Vow,” she said flatly. “I must remain around you at all times to watch over you.”

  Right. That. I had been hoping she would conveniently forget about it. I scratched the back of my head. “What are you suggesting? I need a bath and a place to rest before tomorrow. You do know nothing beats actual rest, right?”

  She crossed her arms. “If you said that in front of a cultivation sect, they would think you were just being lazy,” she replied, then paused. “But I think differently. You need proper rest. I understand. Come with me. I will show you where you can rest.”

  Before I could protest, she grabbed me and dragged me along, punctuating her words with very convincing verbal threats. We leaped over another wall, and halfway through our escape, a familiar figure appeared in our path.

  Teng Wen.

  The Chief Constable of Xincheng, and the lord’s most trusted bodyguard, froze in place as his eyes took us in. His gaze lingered on Meng Rong first, noting her torn sleeves now repurposed as improvised coverings, the disheveled state that left far more skin visible than her usual dignified appearance. Then he looked at me, my clothes frayed, my hair a mess, and my entire existence screaming “something questionable happened.”

  He stared.

  I stared back.

  “Ummm… There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation to this…”

  I had a terrible feeling about this for reasons I could not quite put into words. Teng Wen’s expression was polite and composed, but the way his eyes flicked between Meng Rong and me told me this was less an official interrogation and more a deeply curious one.

  “It’s been four days, Sir Yakuza and Lady Meng,” he said carefully. “Where have you been?”

  I opened my mouth, already preparing something vague and stealthy, perhaps a story about scouting or hunting rare beasts in the outskirts. Before a single word could leave me, Meng Rong spoke.

  “We were training.”

  I immediately shut my mouth. That was not where I expected this to go.

  Teng Wen tilted his head slightly. “Training?” he echoed. “What kind of training?”

  “Cultivation,” Meng Rong answered, her tone flat and completely unbothered.

  Teng Wen’s posture stiffened a little. “What kind of cultivation?” he asked, his voice now noticeably more cautious.

  “Just moving our bodies,” she replied.

  I felt something crack internally. The direction this conversation was heading toward was not a good one, and I could already see the misunderstanding forming in Teng Wen’s mind like a gathering storm.

  “What kind of… moving your bodies?” Teng Wen asked, his voice dropping as if afraid of the answer.

  Meng Rong raised an eyebrow, annoyance flashing across her face. “Should we demonstrate it to you?”

  Teng Wen paled. He murmured to himself, clearly panicking. “Was it that kind of moving your bodies… Is it a Dual Cultivation method? W-wait… I’m not ready… I mean—” He straightened abruptly and bowed. “I apologize if my question was rude. I-it is not something meant for everyone’s eyes, is it?”

  I stepped in before this derailed any further. “I think you are misunderstanding something,” I said quickly. “Nothing happened between us, okay?”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Meng Rong turned her gaze toward me, unimpressed. “What are you talking about?” she said coolly. “I can only tolerate so much lying from you. Teng Wen is a trusted individual. We should be transparent with him as someone close to my brother.”

  Teng Wen’s eyes widened with sudden seriousness. “So something happened to you?” he asked.

  Looking back, a lot had happened. I had been told my heart was missing, that an evil spirit was sealed inside me, that Meng Rong had fainted because of it, and that our Binding Vow had been renegotiated afterward. I had also been beaten black and blue enough to gain several levels and a rare trait. None of that felt like something I needed to file as a formal report, especially when it had nothing to do with constabulary work.

  Meng Rong answered for me. “Yes, something happened,” she said calmly. “But it is sensitive. I would appreciate it if you do not pry. This is between me and Yakuza Man, a personal matter.”

  “I… I see,” Teng Wen said, clearly trying to recalibrate. “Personal, is it?” He hesitated before asking, “What about the lord? Does he know?”

  “No,” Meng Rong replied. “This is recent. I will inform him in due time. If he believes you should know, he will tell you. There is no need for you to worry about it.”

  She paused, then added casually, “From now on, Yakuza Man will be living with me.”

  The tension vanished instantly.

  Teng Wen’s eyes lit up as if a switch had been flipped. “Is that so?” he exclaimed. “I see! I thought I imagined it wrong. Congratulations!”

  He cupped his fists and bowed deeply, his demeanor now overflowing with enthusiasm. “I shall inform the servants of the changes. Uhm… should I wake them to prepare a bath?”

  Meng Rong nodded once. “I would appreciate it.”

  “Understood,” Teng Wen replied, already turning to leave with remarkable efficiency.

  I stood there in stunned silence, watching him go, painfully aware that whatever misunderstanding he had just settled on was probably far worse than the truth.

  “Meng Rong, what have you done?”

  “Huh? What do you mean?”

  “Never mind.”

  Damn it, I had completely lost my chance to properly explain. On second thought, though, this whole thing was spiraling into something so absurd that it almost felt funny. I figured I would deal with the consequences later, preferably after I survived tomorrow.

  Meng Rong turned toward me with a puzzled expression. “What did he mean by Dual Cultivation?” she asked. “Is there such a method?”

  I stared at her for a moment, weighing my options, then decided my sanity was more important than honesty. I vaguely remembered skimming through an erotic novel at Pine Wind Book Hall once. Back then, I had honestly thought it was describing some profound cultivation technique. In hindsight, it definitely was not.

  “I can tell you,” I said evasively, “but it’s not worth your time.”

  That part, at least, was true in spirit. She was a cultivator chasing immortality, someone who had already stepped onto a path where attachments were treated like shackles. From her own lessons about so-called common knowledge, I had learned that even forming deep emotional ties was frowned upon, let alone anything more mundane. Frankly speaking, cultivators probably should not be having children in the first place. That sort of immortality sounded like a fast track to generational trauma.

  I hoped she did not catch the lie. She simply stared at me for a moment longer, then turned and led the way without pressing the matter. I honestly never expected her to be this clueless about… well, certain aspects of life. If she was this ignorant, someone could really take advantage of her someday, and that thought sat poorly with me. I would not mind explaining things if children were involved, because that would be responsible, but still. She was a fully grown adult woman. The whole thing felt deeply awkward.

  She led me into a well-kept room within the lord’s residence. The space was clean and tasteful, decorated with paintings that were pleasing without being ostentatious. She gestured lightly. “This is where you will sleep from now on.”

  “Tough,” I muttered as I walked around and took it in. Then I noticed the problem. There was only one bed. I turned back to her. “So you want me to sleep on the floor?”

  She raised an eyebrow at me. “I’m not a monster. It is considered inappropriate for men and women to share a bed, but we can still do so. I am not so delicate. Moreover, I can defend myself just fine.” She looked me up and down. “Why? Are you the kind of person who would kill me in my sleep? What would you gain from that? The Binding Vow ensures my safety well enough.”

  I facepalmed so hard it nearly echoed. “You clueless woman,” I said with a groan. “That is exactly the problem. You are too delicate in the wrong way. You have no idea how wrong this situation is. I cannot do this.”

  She scoffed. “Delicate? Me? You must be talking about yourself. I thought you were better than this.” She crossed her arms, then added, “We could ask a servant to bring another bed, but that would be bothersome.”

  I let out a long sigh. “Do you even know how babies are made?”

  She answered confidently, without a hint of hesitation. “Of course. They are sent by heavenly storks.”

  I genuinely froze. My brain failed to produce a response, and for several heartbeats I could only stare at her in silence.

  She tilted her head, clearly unbothered by my reaction. “Now excuse me,” she said calmly. “I want to take a bath and freshen myself. I will send a servant to attend to you afterward. A well-rested mind and body will be important for your bout tomorrow.”

  With that, she turned and left the room, not giving me even a sliver of time to argue my case.

  “This can’t be happening, right?”

  Ah, fucking damn it… this really was not funny anymore. I tried to think of a dozen different ways to explain things to her, and every single one of them ended with me wanting to crawl into a hole and disappear. Maybe I should let Teng Wen handle it. He seemed like the sort of man who could explain these things calmly and without combusting from embarrassment. The problem was that I was not exactly fond of intimate relationships to begin with, and I definitely did not have the mental bandwidth to deal with this now. All I wanted was to go home, back to my own plane of existence, far away from cultivators, Binding Vows, and heavenly storks.

  Only a few minutes later, a servant appeared and bowed politely. “Honored guest, I shall lead you to the Xincheng hot spring.”

  A hot spring immediately caught my attention despite everything. That actually sounded nice. I followed after her, my mood lifting just a little despite the impending disaster I could feel looming overhead. Along the way, curiosity got the better of me. “So, a hot spring, huh?” I asked. “Can you tell me more about it? I mean, what’s its source of heat?”

  Given this was a xianxia world, I half-expected some ancient fire dragon vein or a trapped volcano spirit. The servant shook her head lightly. “I don’t really know how it works, honored guest. I’m not a cultivator.” She gestured ahead politely. “Please, this way.”

  Then, as if realizing she sounded unhelpful, she brightened. “But I’ve heard of its effects and even experienced it myself. The lord is generous enough to allow servants to bathe there once a week.”

  Once a week sounded painfully insufficient to me, but I kept that thought to myself. She continued enthusiastically, clearly proud of it. “It’s very refreshing. It makes the skin fairer and promotes beauty and health. It relieves fatigue and even heals small scars. I heard a special kind of stone was used to give the spring its properties. Ah, we’re here.”

  We stopped in front of a sturdy wooden door. She opened it and gestured inward. “You may leave your clothes here.”

  After she left and closed the door, I quickly removed my clothes and folded them neatly. I felt rather excited, ahem… It was a hot spring! Come on!

  Stepping inside, I found myself in an open-air space under the night sky. Steam drifted lazily upward, and a stone lion statue sat at the center, water flowing from its mouth like a fountain. There was even a cold-water basin for rinsing off first.

  I splashed myself lightly and immediately shivered. “Brr… cold,” I muttered, fully aware it was midnight. Then I eased myself into the spring.

  Warmth wrapped around me instantly, and I let out a long breath I did not realize I had been holding. “So warm. This is the best,” I murmured as I leaned against the edge, my muscles finally starting to relax.

  That was when I noticed movement near the large rock by the fountain. Someone slowly leaned out from behind it.

  It was Meng Rong.

  She stared at me with an utterly unreadable, emotionless expression. The warmth of the spring suddenly meant nothing, and I felt colder than I had in the rinsing basin. My shoulders slumped as the situation fully sank in.

  “I hate myself,” I sighed quietly, completely defeated by fate.

  Her voice cut through the steam, sharp and dangerous despite its calm. “What is the meaning of this, Yakuza Man?”

  I raised both hands above the water in surrender and spoke quickly before she could misunderstand further. “I swear on everything that can swear, this is not what it looks like. I was told to bathe here, I thought this was a private spring, and I had no idea you would be here. If you want me gone, I will leave immediately.”

  I carefully averted my gaze, fixing it firmly on the lion statue instead of her. Right now, survival instincts were overriding dignity, and my only goal was to not make this any worse than it already was.

  “Really?” asked Meng Rong innocently. “If that’s the case, why do you look so nervous?”

  Her eyes looked dangerous.

  Please, stop… I’ve literally and metaphorically dipped myself on hot water.