Having returned ho, the weary Jiang Shouzhong took off his blood-stained clothes and heated so water to wash himself.
He had been sweating all over after tossing and turning the whole night.
Nurtured by the Taoist River Map, the wound on his back no longer troubled him, leaving only a slight sting.
Just as Jiang Shouzhong was about to remove his clothes, he suddenly thought of sothing and said to the air, "Master ngniang, the hot water is ready. Do you need to bathe?"
A figure clad in red materialized inside the room.
Gazing at the steaming hot bath tub, ngniang said indifferently, "You and I are rely collaborators. I am not your maid, and you are not my servant. There’s no need to heat water for . From now on, I can use cold water myself."
Jiang Shouzhong thought to himself that the water was heated for , but he still sincerely said:
"This collaboration itself is unfair to Master ngniang, rely a part of my agreent with Master Li. Tonight, you’ve seen the situation yourself and it’s unavoidable that I’ll need to trouble you more. Thus, small matters like heating water are nothing, but I’ve been feeling guilty about it all along."
Looking at the man’s sincere apologetic eyes, ngniang’s expression softened.
The little resentnt she had in her heart diminished even further.
The young man’s attitude was genuinely good.
"Then I will step out first. The soap and towel are over there, the towel is new... Of course, you’re a highly skilled cultivator and can dry yourself.," Jiang Shouzhong said with a smile, finishing his explanation and tactfully leaving the room.
After ensuring with her Divine Sense that the man had gone far, ngniang let down her guard, undressing her bridal long skirt.
As expected, the legs of this serpent spirit were indeed top-notch, both thin and straight, silky smooth like jade, unblemished, glowing faintly under the lamplight.
Only the words "exquisite beauty" could describe the allure of these legs.
ngniang slowly subrged herself in the gentle water and closed her eyes.
Although coerced by Li Guanshi, and utterly unwilling in her heart, the current situation wasn’t unacceptable.
Cloud Lake was safe indeed, but she couldn’t remain confined there forever. Staying with Jiang Mo might restrict her sowhat, but the young man was very disciplined, kind, and upright, so friction between them was unlikely.
Perhaps, following him to see more of the outside world would be rather pleasant.
Moreover, if luck allowed her to find that person’s descendant, she wanted to ask why they had treated her that way originally.
If you’re a woman, why did you deceive ?
ngniang was imnsely sorrowful in her heart.
Originally, she was just an ordinary little snake who had just awakened her spiritual intellect. By chance, she was captured by a snake catcher, expecting to be skinned and chopped, yet fortunately, she was saved by an elegant young man.
She would forever rember that face, warm as the sun.
After the resurgence of Demon Energy, she beca the first demon to transform into a human, went through great hardships to find that man, intending to repay his kindness.
Upon eting him again, he was still as handsmoest and charming as ever.
He was like the first touch of the sun in the spring breeze.
At first, he did not welco her, but sohow, as ti passed, he began to care for her, speaking sweet nothings... and thus, sowhat muddled, she accepted his proposal.
Even though she couldn’t bear to deceive him and revealed her demon identity, he still embraced it without hesitation.
She thought that was what love in the human world was supposed to be.
Sweet and intoxicating...
Even later when the Mo Family faced calamity, and she endured the tornt of waiting on their wedding night only to be suppressed by the imperial censors without seeing daylight ever again, she never really hated him, just felt so resentnt.
But the truth brought by Li Guanshi struck her like a bolt from the blue.
A woman...
Mr. Mo, so you were a woman.
Your marrying was rely to legitimately raise a child you had with so faithless man.
It turns out I was always... just a tool.
Large tear drops fell, not even rolling, dropping straight from the woman’s eyes onto her undulating snowy mounds, mixing with the vapors in the tub, as if her whole body was covered in tears.
Yesterday the flowers were dazzlingly bright, today they seem ready to fall.
Mr. Mo, from now on, let us cease longing for each other.
...
A woman’s bath ti is generally long, and ngniang was no exception, even as a demon.
As it was really boring to wait, Jiang Shouzhong simply practiced standing postures.
ngniang had ntioned before that to solidify his martial arts, practicing standing postures was beneficial.
Combat with others honed his adaptability, but for solid force in his punches, foundational practices like standing postures were necessary.
Unlike the traditional horse stance, standing postures focus more on form and intent, fitting the shape to the intention, relaxing the body, concentrating the mind, and coordinating the sinews, bones, and flesh of the body so that the muscles comply with the bones’ movents without twisting or straining.
This is also called the way of postures.
Jiang Shouzhong took several deep breaths, calming his breathing to match the natural rhythm.
Jiang Shouzhong expanded his intentions, cleared his mind of distractions, starting from his head and gradually inducing his whole body to relax.
The cool night felt as if a cleansing breeze were brushing against him, waiting for complete calmness. Then Jiang Shouzhong extended himself on each side, tensing the muscles in his neck, initiating changes, as if every bone and muscle in his body was subtly vibrating.
Being only a novice in cultivation, he couldn’t achieve the profound and serene state of standing posture, where one is ethereal and silent, and the hair bristles lightly.
Jiang Shouzhong had to be patient, calming his impatience, and repeating the process over and over.
Unbeknownst to him, ngniang, having finished her bath, stood at the doorway, elegantly poised. Several strands of her black hair, damp from the water, lightly clung to the corners of her lips. Under the night breeze, she appeared exquisitely indescribable.
Seeing Jiang Shouzhong becoming more and more disheartened as he practiced, ngniang said indifferently, "The spirit should not spill out, the intent should not show in form, the body’s structure should not be compromised, and the force should not peak sharply."
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