No need for you to drive
She buried her head in his chest, listening to the strong, powerful heartbeat emanating from his broad chest.
A rich, delicate fragrance wafted over, and the warm spring water naturally relaxed her, making her feel as if she were in a strange and gentle dream.
His lips brushed against the back of her neck again, and he said in a deep voice, "Answer me."
A-Qiu felt a tremor run down her spine where he had been touched, and the answer she was about to give was once again blocked by his heavy breathing.
When exactly did I experience this familiar scene, and who was the person opposite me then?
A-Qiu struggled to control himself, forcing himself to wake up, and pushed his chest with both palms again.
She could clearly sense that after this entanglement for a while, the flow of his internal energy was indeed much smoother, and his meridians and internal organs had also regained their vitality.
Therefore, she used at least 30% of her true strength to push it out, and it wasn't just for show.
Liyang Shenjun was pushed by her and stumbled in the water. He took a step back, straightened up, wiped the water droplets from his lips, and looked at her with a half-smile, saying, "I have thought of a way to dry your clothes."
A-Qiu didn't dare to look directly at his body, quickly lowered her head to avoid his gaze, and replied, "No need for you to do that, I'll dry it myself."
This time she learned her lesson. She lightly touched the bottom of the pool with her feet, leaped out of the water, and skimmed onto the shore. Following the map she had just drawn in her mind based on the waterways, she quickly ran towards the main hall. Her movements were so clumsy that they could almost be described as a hasty escape.
By the time she ran back to the main hall, she was already panting heavily. But then she heard the leisurely voice of Lord Liyang behind her, asking, "Where are you going?"
A Qiu dared not turn around, fearing that his current situation would be seen by him, and said, "I want to go back to Jinlingtai."
The moment the words "Jinling Terrace" left her mouth, she immediately thought of Gu Yi. Strangely, throughout the entire process in the pool, she hadn't thought of Gu Yi at all.
Thinking of Gu Yi at this moment, although she did not turn around, she could clearly feel that Lord Liyang's gaze was as real as a physical object, looking her up and down. She felt so ashamed and indignant that she wanted to die, and she did not want to say anything more, so she turned and left.
A gust of wind whistled behind her, and the gentle command of Lord Liyang rang out above her head: "Sit down."
With that soft shout, she felt a gentle pat on the shoulder from behind, and she involuntarily sat down on the ground.
Liyang Shenjun placed one of his hands against her back from behind, and she immediately felt a warm current flowing into his palm. Her internal energy circulated, and her body gradually heated up, while her soaked clothes slowly emitted white steam.
However, drying clothes with internal energy in this way is extremely taxing on one's skills.
A-Qiu sat there blankly, waiting for him to evaporate the last drop of water from her clothes. Before she knew it, he had carefully taken a comb and combed her hair neatly.
Throughout the entire process, Lord Liyang remained silent.
He had probably come to his senses by then and also felt embarrassed.
After he finished tidying the last strand of her hair, A-Qiu stood up and said softly, "May I go now?"
Her voice was devoid of emotion, but the fact that she refused to turn around and look at him revealed her thoughts.
Without even looking, she knew that the person behind her paused before speaking, "Ah Qiu."
Strangely, the voice sounded very familiar, as if he had called it a thousand times in his dreams.
Ah Qiu said sullenly, "Hmm."
Lord Liyang said clearly, "I am not an irresponsible person. If you are willing, I can marry you at any time. But if you are not willing," his voice suddenly lowered, "then I cannot force you."
Hearing his deep voice, completely devoid of the domineering and unrestrained manner he had displayed in the pool, A Qiu, for some reason, stomped her foot hard and said in a half-serious, resentful tone, "You've already barely passed!" Then, without looking back, she rushed straight out of the hall.
She had only run a few steps when she couldn't help but feel secretly grateful that Lord Liyang had dried her clothes and combed her hair at just the right time.
Because from afar outside the Liyang Temple, Xiao Chang'an's nonchalant voice could be heard saying, "May I ask, Divine Lord, is the Grand Musician here?"
A Qiu immediately called out, "I'm here!" and at the same time quickened his pace and ran out.
Xiao Chang'an was leaning casually against the stone pillar at the entrance. When she came out, his gaze swept over her without making a sound, but he didn't find anything unusual before he smiled and said, "Miss Shangguan is right, you are indeed here."
Ah Qiu had a feeling that although he seemed relaxed, he was still paying attention to the subtle clues in her actions.
She composed herself, returned a polite smile, and said, "I only asked the God of War for confirmation on one matter, and now that I have received the answer, I have come out."
Xiao Chang'an walked alongside her without showing any emotion, and said with a smile, "May I ask what is it? Today I heard that you went to the Divine Hound Camp with Miss Shangguan and Miss Pei to select soldiers to participate in the performance, but only Miss Shangguan returned to the East Palace. I was ordered by the Crown Prince to find you urgently. She said you were probably at the Liyang Divine Palace, and it turned out that you were."
A Qiu knew perfectly well that Shangguan Yuqi hadn't told Xiao Chang'an about the life-or-death turmoil that had occurred at the Divine Hound Camp. After a moment's thought, she replied, "I wanted to invite Lord Liyang to participate in the performances of 'Shao' and 'Wu,' but he has already refused." Her words were not far off the mark, and it was perfectly acceptable to use them to appease Xiao Chang'an.
Because she went to the Divine Hound Camp to select people, she also thought of Lord Liyang himself as an excellent candidate when she returned. This line of thinking was flawless.
Upon hearing that she wanted to invite Lord Liyang to participate, Xiao Chang'an seemed to immediately tense up, but after hearing that Lord Liyang refused, he relaxed. He didn't ask why, but just smiled and said, "Although this person is called a Lord, his good and evil are unpredictable, and his origins are also hard to know. It's best for you not to provoke him, sister."
Ah Qiu tentatively asked, "Xiao Xiao, have you investigated his background and whereabouts?"
Xiao Chang'an's eyes flickered, and he smiled, changing the subject, "Sister is a native of the Southern Dynasty and entered the palace earlier than me. If you don't know these things, then Chang'an knows even less."
A Qiu said calmly, "It's normal that you didn't know he existed before. But I don't believe that, given your meticulous nature, you wouldn't investigate this person's background after returning from Wuyang Mausoleum."
Xiao Chang'an smiled and said, "Sister Aqiu understands me best." He then composed himself and said seriously, "The legend of Lord Liyang originated at the end of the Qianhuan period. However, after the establishment of Dayan, the legend disappeared from this place, but I don't know why it has suddenly reappeared now. My feeling about this lord is similar to that of Li Wujiu of the Hidden World Sect. He must be a senior master who has lived in seclusion."
Hearing him mention the name of Li Wujiu of the Hidden Sect, A Qiu felt a sudden pang of pain in her heart. Thinking of how Li Wujiu had been forced into a life-or-death situation by Xiao Chang'an because of Gu Yi, her expression turned cold. She said calmly, "I've noticed you really enjoy taking advantage of senior experts. It seems that none of the experts whose backgrounds you've investigated have fared well. I hope you won't set your sights on this Divine Lord."
Hearing this, Xiao Chang'an knew that A Qiu was displeased, and smiled, "Sister, you flatter me. How could a junior like Chang'an possibly cause any harm to a senior expert? However, it seems that you are very protective of Lord Liyang, which makes Chang'an," he paused, and said in a low voice, "not very happy."
In fact, A-Qiu has never liked playing mind games, especially with someone he used to be close to and trusted.
After a moment of contemplation, she finally decided to speak frankly. She stopped and looked at Xiao Chang'an, saying, "Sect Leader Li of the Hidden World Sect was forced into a bet by you because of your elder sister, Xiao Yu. And because you wanted to protect my master, Gu Yi, you ultimately issued the prophecy of destiny and entered a life-or-death situation. My master, Gu Yi, was also forced into seclusion because he believed in you and was unable to obtain the Divine Transformation Pill in time. And the root of all this is because you replaced your elder sister, Xiao Yu, and entered the Southern Dynasty court as a Flying Phoenix Guard."
As she spoke, Xiao Chang'an's face first stiffened, then grew increasingly cold. A Qiu saw this and was determined to make things clear today.
She was not unaware of Xiao Chang'an's extraordinary tolerance towards her, but she did not want to take advantage of that tolerance.
Jing Ke, the leader of the Divine Weapon Hall, is a ruthless and cold-blooded man who doesn't care about lying to his enemies. However, he cannot tolerate being hypocritical to his closest relatives for long.
Ah Qiu said, word by word, "Whether it's Xiao Yu, Li Wujiu, or my master Gu Yi, none of them have ever harmed you, and they have all been kind and caring towards you. Yet you have repeatedly schemed against each of them. Xiao, I am not unaware of the cold-blooded nature of the martial world, but I simply cannot agree with your actions."
Xiao Chang'an's expression shifted, his eyes seemingly spitting fire as he fiercely said, "That's because you're a member of the martial world, while I'm a member of the imperial court. A Qiu, I won't allow you to judge me like that. Throughout history, anyone can say a few words about me, but you alone, I won't allow it!"
He reached out a hand to touch A-Qiu's face.
A Qiu was prepared. Instead of retreating or dodging, she brushed one hand towards his wrist and instantly placed two fingers on his throat with the other, staring back at him without flinching.
Xiao Chang'an came to his senses, his eyes regained their clarity, and he immediately let go, allowing A Qiu to press against his throat without any resistance.
He gazed at her intently, his eyes as clear as a still pool, utterly undisturbed.
Ah Qiu heard him say, "And what about you? I have been tolerant of you time and time again, not caring about your background or your purpose, and I have never thought of betraying you to gain credit. Have you ever been grateful to me?"
For a moment, A Qiu's blood seemed to freeze, and he couldn't utter another word.
She heard Xiao Chang'an continue, "The first time I saw you, I could tell that you had a foundation in martial arts. You were able to fool Sun Neiren and the others because they don't know martial arts. You were able to fool Madam Pei and Zhao Zhaorong because they never had close contact with you in private. But how could you possibly fool a Flying Phoenix master when you get close?"
Ah Qiu suddenly realized and said, "Back then, when you took me to leap across rooftops and walls, you were actually testing whether I knew martial arts."
Xiao Chang'an gave a bitter smile and said, "It was not without the intention of testing you, but also with a frivolous heart. If you were not from the martial arts world, but an ordinary woman, you would never have allowed me to hold you so closely and walk through walls and houses without changing my expression."
Ah Qiu was speechless for a long time before finally saying, "I could also do it simply because I trust your abilities."
Xiao Chang'an smiled bitterly: "Sister, even if you let me get close because you trust me, only notorious thieves are used to things like scaling walls and tearing off roof tiles."
A Qiu fell silent again.
So from the very beginning, he suspected her identity.
The two jade-like fingers that had been pressing against his throat finally slowly released their grip.
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