Chapter 53 Bathing with Gu Qi

A magnificent flying boat soared over the snow-capped mountains.

Inside the flying boat, a girl in purple leaned against a man in white, her arms tightly wrapped around his waist. She said, "I asked you about my father before, but you wouldn't tell me anything. Why didn't you tell me that my father dragged you down with him?"

If her father hadn't come to White Lotus Mountain back then, none of the subsequent events would have happened.

She didn't believe her father was a man of his word. There must have been something else that caused him not to return the Nine-Turn Ice Heart Lotus on time. But no matter what, if it weren't for her father, he wouldn't have had to be whipped a hundred times, reflect on his mistakes for ten years, or try to make amends by going to the Bottomless Glacier to collect the Nine-Turn Ice Heart Lotus.

If he hadn't gone there, he wouldn't have encountered the young master of the Xuanbing Divine Palace, and none of what followed would have happened.

Han Wei thought of her father again; her father had never told her about Gu Qi.

Why?

Han Wen felt guilty towards Gu Qi. As for why he didn't mention it to Han Wei, how old was Han Wei when he and Xu Hui died? How could they bring up such a heavy past with a little girl who didn't understand anything?

Han Wei looked at Gu Qi's lifeless golden eyes, and tears welled up in her own.

Her guilt surged up again.

Her father harmed him, and she killed him.

Two lines of clear tears flowed from her eyes and down her fair cheeks.

A voice inside her sneered: So what if he said it? You'll still do it, because he wants to control you. No matter what your father did to him, you'll still do it.

Shut up! Shut up!

She silenced the voice.

She hooked her arms around Gu Qi's neck and kissed his lips. She kissed him passionately, but received no response. After a long while, her lips parted from his. She held him close, their noses touching, her breath brushing against his face, and a light seemed to appear in his golden eyes.

She whispered, "Kiss me."

Having received the order, the man reached out and embraced her slender waist, kissing her luscious lips. At first, the kiss was light, then it gradually intensified, becoming passionate and lingering.

Han Wei's body went limp. She closed her eyes, letting the man hold her slender waist and kiss her passionately. Her head was spinning; she gave up thinking and immersed herself in the pleasure of the deep kiss. After a long while, the man ended the kiss, and Han Wei opened her eyes, looking at his face.

His golden eyes were deep and bright, and there seemed to be hidden emotions in them.

He seemed to come alive.

But when she looked again, her gaze remained cold, making her feel like she was having an illusion.

"Master..."

She nestled in his arms and whispered:

Do you hate me?

She thought he must hate her to death.

She clung tightly to his waist, burying her face in his chest. She thought to herself, "If only his personality were like Lu Qingheng's, then I wouldn't have to kill him."

Do you hate her?

His consciousness had inadvertently wandered into the body of the Heavenly Emperor, Gu Qi, and he was seriously pondering this question. To say he didn't hate her was an understatement; the thought of her stabbing him still made his teeth itch. Yet, seeing her crying, he even considered reaching out to wipe her tears.

He looked at the girl in his arms; she had her eyes closed and was asleep in his arms.

Remembering how she cried, he actually wanted to ask her, "Do you regret it?"

————

Several days later.

The Bottomless Glacier is a notoriously dangerous place in the Northern Region. It is a glacial rift valley that stretches for over 300,000 miles, and the cold intensifies the deeper one goes. Even cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage would suffer frostbite if they ventured thousands of miles into the depths of this glacial rift valley.

Now, in a rift valley somewhere in this bottomless glacier, two figures flashed by.

The two figures moved with incredible speed, quickly reaching a point a hundred miles below the rift valley. Suddenly, shadowy figures appeared on the icy cliffs on both sides of the rift valley, attempting to ambush the two figures. However, the moment they moved, they were pinned to the cliff face by a series of sword energies.

Inside the ice wall, blood blossoms bloomed.

Han Wei and Gu Qi came to this bottomless glacier because Han Wei wanted to see if there were any Nine-Turn Ice Heart Lotuses left. They flew downwards for 38,000 miles until they finally found one. The cold here was truly terrifying; even a Nascent Soul cultivator would be in danger.

However, Han Wei had the Five-Colored Celestial Robe, and Gu Qi was not afraid of the cold air at all.

The Nine-Turned Ice Heart Lotus resembles a lotus flower, with a snow-white center and nine changing colors around its edges. This flower only blooms in frigid regions, absorbing the cold to grow. Even a hundred-year-old plant is extremely rare; the one Han Wei found is a full 150,000 years old, far more precious than the one found by the founding patriarch of White Lotus Mountain.

Having found a Nine-Turn Ice Heart Lotus, Han Wei wanted more, so she and Gu Qi continued their journey. However, they didn't find the Nine-Turn Ice Heart Lotus, but instead discovered a spiritual spring inside a huge ice cave.

The spiritual spring, about twenty zhang wide, was surrounded by many vibrant flowers. Scattered within the spring were large pieces of warm jade, which maintained the water's temperature. The clear water was imbued with wisps of spiritual energy, like scattered stardust. Han Wei released her divine sense and saw that there was an eye of the spiritual spring here.

Han Wei smiled and said to Gu Qi, "There's even a spiritual spring here."

She smiled and went over, squatted down, tested the water temperature with her hand, then took off her clothes and jumped into the spring. Han Wei planned to soak in the hot spring and then take the spring's source with her.

The water temperature of the spiritual spring was just right. She soaked in it, feeling completely relaxed. She was like a beautiful mermaid, laughing as she swam around in the water.

Gu Qi stood on the shore, watching the girls playing in the water.

Han Wei looked up at him and blushed when she saw him staring at her. She thought to herself, "Why does his gaze feel so fixed on me, as if he's alive?"

As if possessed, she raised her fair hand, gesturing for the man on the shore to come down.

She could give Gu Qi orders without words; a single thought was enough.

After receiving her command, the man in white removed his clothes piece by piece. His imposing and tall figure was exposed to her view. He walked towards her, step by step entering the water, and approached her.

Finally, he stood in front of her.

His handsome face remained expressionless, but Han Wei's face was flushed. This was the first time she had been so open with him, both of them completely naked. Although she had seen his body before and had even bathed in front of him, this was their first time bathing together.

The spring water is very clear and almost completely unobstructed.

When she looked up, she saw the perfectly sculpted muscles of his upper body; when she looked down, she saw him submerged in the spring water from the waist down.

Her face flushed again.

"Could you help me scrub my back?" she said softly.

After saying those words, she felt a sense of shame. The man had already moved behind her, his large hand brushing aside her wet, long hair to help her wash her fair, smooth back.