Saying one thing and meaning another
Moreover, his location is still related to water. Just follow this stream for another ten or so feet, and you will reach his place.
A-Qiu held her breath, continued to close her eyes and concentrate on sensing the changes in the flowing water and the shifts in her own position as she walked.
She dared not make a sound, fearing he would hear her and leave immediately. Unconsciously, she used her self-created "Earth Concealment" technique, hiding her breath and heartbeat within the fluctuations of all things, silently approaching her target location.
Although the stream was only a dozen or so feet long, she could clearly feel the changes in its water properties. The most obvious change was that the water temperature gradually warmed up, and the plants growing along the way gradually transformed from wildflowers and weeds that had sprawled haphazardly into various medicinal herbs and spiritual plants. From the change in vegetation alone, she could tell that this section had been deliberately cultivated.
After walking a few more steps, she could smell the aroma of herbs in the air. Some of them were familiar to her and were often used to treat internal and external injuries, but upon closer inspection, she could also smell some herbs that she had never heard of before.
By this point, she was almost certain that this was the secret place where Lord Liyang had been healing his injuries year-round. Judging from the formation, this place was located at the Gate of Life, and the earth beneath it was nourished by the ever-flowing spiritual energy. It was probably the best place in the entire Jianzhang Palace for healing and secluded cultivation.
The aroma ahead grew stronger, and after being released by the water temperature, it had a subtle, intoxicating fragrance.
Although A Qiu inhaled the fragrance, he didn't pay attention and continued walking step by step towards the direction he sensed.
But a moment later, she realized something was wrong and hurriedly opened her eyes, but it was too late.
She had already plunged headfirst into the hot spring water, and immediately sat up, soaking wet from head to toe. Before she could even adjust to her surroundings, she heard the whooshing sound of the wind behind her.
She instinctively leaned back, simultaneously thrusting her left elbow back in a sharp strike—a common tactic used by assassins to prevent attacks from behind.
A dull, heavy snort rang out as she struck the man squarely in the left ribs. Startled, she turned around and saw, through the mist, a handsome, deep-set face with sharply defined features staring at her in a daze. However, his face was as pale as paper, clearly indicating that he was exhausted.
This face came into view in an instant, but it was like a bolt of lightning, as if it had shattered her memories of her past life.
It's as if many memories flash by like lightning, fleeting and indistinct.
She suddenly felt a headache and immediately reached up to touch her forehead, forcing herself to calm down.
She glanced at it one more time, then immediately turned away and closed her eyes.
Because the man was standing naked in the hot spring water, his body was completely exposed.
Of course, she completely ignored the fact that she herself was not much better off, because her clothes were soaked and stuck to her body.
The burning sensation throbbing between his brows was even more pronounced.
She finally remembered the purpose of her visit and stammered, "So you...you are...Lord Liyang."
She finally remembered that in that fleeting glimpse she had seen, he had seen his long hair, glistening with water droplets, hanging down his back, shining like silver threads.
There was no one else here but Lord Liyang. She didn't recognize him at first because she was used to seeing him wearing a mask.
She never expected that the person behind the mask would look so young. She had assumed that Lord Liyang had lived in Jianzhang Palace for a long time, and that he must be at least in his forties or fifties, if not seventy or eighty.
She recalled that she had used all her strength in that elbow strike, and became even more flustered. Before he could answer, she said, "Was my strike too heavy? I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was you."
The person behind him showed no anger, and said calmly, "It's alright. You've always been like this, attacking without distinguishing friend from foe, without any sense of restraint."
A Qiu was taken aback. She'd always been like this? What did that mean? Did Lord Liyang know her well?
She glanced around again and realized that this was indeed a natural hot spring pool, surrounded by artificial hills. Various medicinal herbs and herbs floated in the pool, some of which were even fresh, picked directly from the poolside. This naturally formed pool, which followed the terrain, was not very large, and it was obvious that she and Lord Liyang were... a bit cramped.
Upon realizing this, A Qiu immediately stood up sheepishly and said, "I'm sorry for disturbing you, my lord, while you are bathing and resting here. I'll be leaving now."
As she spoke, she stood up from the water, ignoring how soaking wet she was, and scrambled towards the shore.
Unaware that her clothes were soaked, the person behind her felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
The man shouted, "You're soaking wet inside and out, it's indecent! Where are you going?"
A Qiu was surprised that he had the time to care about this. She said, "It's alright. Although it's not very presentable, it's still better than..." She stopped, thinking to herself, "It's still much more proper than soaking in the same pool with you, sharing a bath."
She only managed to say half of it before she felt a gust of wind behind her. This time, she learned her lesson and dared not fight back, afraid of hurting him again.
She felt a tightness around the back of her neck as she was being lifted up like a chick and thrown directly into the water, splashing water all over her head and body.
Lord Liyang probably realized that he was completely naked. He sat down, leaving only his face on the water, and looked at her closely. He said in a threatening tone, "You stay here for now. I'll think of a way to dry your clothes before I send you out."
He added, "Anyway, these are all herbs, and soaking them in won't harm you."
Looking at his sharply defined face so close to hers, A Qiu felt her heart pounding unusually fast for some reason. She followed his example and submerged herself underwater, saying awkwardly, "Then you'd better think of something quickly."
But in her mind, there was a vague recollection of the exact same situation, as if it had happened before.
But I can't remember many of the details.
I don't remember the people around me at the time.
Lord Liyang looked at her with annoyance and said, "Tell me first, why did you insist on coming here?"
Ah Qiu immediately said, "I was just thinking that you were injured and I didn't know how badly it was done. I thought maybe I could help."
As soon as she finished speaking, she unexpectedly felt that she seemed to be saying one thing and meaning another.
She almost instinctively ventured into the formation to search for him. Was it really just because she was worried about Lord Liyang's injuries?
That was more like a plausible reason she used to convince herself.
The real reason, however, was her curiosity about the abandoned palace in Liyang, a sudden surge of curiosity that arose within her.
It was as if everything here resonated with her in a familiar way. Even though it was a maze, it was a maze she had explored a thousand times in her memory.
And then there was the almost instinctive urge she felt the moment he turned and left, not wanting to be abandoned by him.
More accurately, it's less about not wanting to and more about being afraid.
She only showed her head, looking at the person opposite her with some fear.
Lord Liyang remained silent, only staring at her for a moment before saying in a deep, unreadable gaze, "You can indeed help me. But you certainly won't."
A Qiu was surprised that he actually took her words seriously and said, "Of course I'm willing. You...you've helped me so much, and I haven't given you anything in return."
When Lord Liyang heard her say this, he was stunned for a long time, and then smiled bitterly and said, "You are not even willing to marry me, so you will definitely not agree to this."
Listening to his words, A Qiu seemed to understand, yet also seemed confused, and said, "What does this have to do with marrying you? Helping you doesn't necessarily mean I have to marry you!"
Lord Liyang let out a long sigh and said decisively, "Stretch out your hand."
For some reason, A-Qiu stretched out his right hand from underwater and reached towards him.
It had only reached halfway when his hand grabbed it.
Come to think of it, he had already held her hand many times, so there shouldn't be any awkwardness.
But this time, after he held his palm, A Qiu felt his true energy flowing continuously into his meridians through his palm, miraculously merging with his original true energy, just like a clay ox entering the sea, blending together seamlessly without any stagnation.
When A Qiu was possessed by a demon in the underground tomb of Wu Yangling, he also sent in his true energy in this way to help stabilize her heart meridian.
But at that time, she was fully focused on overcoming the illusionary demonic sounds and didn't have time to carefully discern what was so special about his true energy. She only felt that his true energy naturally merged with her, which was quite miraculous.
But with patience and perception, she immediately realized the specific wonders within.
Simply put, their true energy originates from the same source, yet it differs in yin and yang; one contains yin within yang, while the other contains yang within yin. Therefore, they are naturally compatible and can continuously generate each other in a cycle.
She allowed a wisp of his internal energy to invade her body, circulating through her lungs and meridians, which was equivalent to letting him tour her entire body, and everywhere she went, she felt a strange sensation of yin and yang merging.
Even though A-Qiu was still quite naive, she suddenly blushed and immediately tried to pull her hand back, saying in a flustered voice, "This... is really not a good idea."
But she was too late.
Before she could pull her hand back, Lord Liyang had already exerted force and instantly pulled her over.
So when she raised her face again, she was not only face to face with Lord Liyang, but very close. She could clearly feel his heartbeat and the warmth of his breath.
His eyes were as deep as the sea, yet they sparkled with a mesmerizing sparkle.
She heard him say softly, "You said you had pledged your life to someone else, so what's wrong with being with me now?"
Before A Qiu could even process whether his words made any sense, she felt completely overwhelmed as his kiss seized her lips, leaving her no room to resist.
She instinctively wanted to struggle, but her hands went limp the moment they touched his chest.
The true energy within his body surged forth like a vast ocean, but when it encountered his supreme yang true energy, it was almost completely overwhelmed, absorbed and transformed by him, and then entered a continuous cycle of life.
Thankfully, he didn't make any further moves. But even that was enough to send shivers down her spine and leave her mind in turmoil.
What does it mean to say, "If it's okay with others, why can't it be okay with me?"
She heard him whisper in her ear, "Now, do you like me?"
The most crucial point is that she couldn't find a single reason to object to his statement.
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