Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
It was the first time that Dragon King had gotten up late.
The high-ranking military officers had not stopped drinking until midnight, but they still appeared in the main tent the following day at dawn to receive the daily roll call.
The Dragon King had never missed a roll call as long as he was in the military camp. He used to stay until the roll call was over, even if he did not have anything to say. However, General Dugu Xian was responsible for calling the roll today, so the Dragon King did not have to show up.
Dugu Xian had not earned much prestige or regard from the military officers, so he needed the support from the Dragon King behind him.
But today, the Dragon King did not show up.
When the call roll was over, all the military officers grinned. They thought that it was normal for the Dragon King to be unwilling to separate from his new bride.
On that day, several high-ranking military officers met the Dragon King in person to send their congratulations.
The next day, the Dragon King was still absent from the roll call. A ridiculous rumor was started that the Dragon King was too exhausted to get up.
“Nonsense,” was many people’s first response when they heard the rumor. As for those swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain, they were shocked by the rumor and responded, “The Dragon King isn’t interested in women. He is a cold-hearted man.”
Others also questioned from another perspective, asking, “How old is the Princess? How could such an innocent girl like the Princess do it? No more jokes.”
The rumor soon spread widely. Some believed it, others doubted it, but everybody could understand the Dragon King’s behavior. “It is kingly. A king should own more women, but the Dragon King has only one queen,” they thought.
Zhong Heng also heard the rumor, but he gave no response, except to laugh. He had met with the Dragon King since, finding that he was acting normally. Their meeting was short, but he didn’t suspect anything, because the Dragon King only spoke about important matters during their conversation, as usual.
On the third day, the Dragon King still did not show up in the main tent. Instead, he sent the Captain of the Guards, Long Fanyun, to supervise the roll call on his behalf.
Noticing this, Zhong Heng started to become suspicious, thinking, “I can understand the Dragon King being absent from the roll call the last two days, but now, he’s sent Long Fanyun to do the roll call. It suggests that he will not attend the roll call anymore.”
“He is an ambitious young lad who swore to avenge his family. Was his determination shaken by the Princess?” Zhong Heng wondered. After meditating on it, Zhong Heng decided to talk to the Dragon King, as was his duty as Prime Minister.
Gu Shenwei was surprised by himself, but the Princess surprised him even more.
On their wedding night, the maid had been panicked, with anxiety in her eyes. She was just like a lifeless toy at the mercy of her husband. But when she touched the scars on his body, she trembled with fear.
They didn’t enjoy their first love making that night. One endured in sacrifice, while the other acted violently, in pride and anger.
Neither uttered a single word that night.
After that, Gu Shenwei laid on the bed, intending to send the Princess to the Royal Palace while he stayed there. It was just business. He believed that the Princess would be content with this arrangement.
But instead, she put her hand on his arm, and slowly moved it upwards. After that, she let her hand linger on a scar on his chest, gently touching it. This was an obvious suggestion that shocked Gu Shenwei.
On the second round, the Princess seemed to become a different person. This time, she took the initiative and became enthusiastic. After having sex the first time, she had become less afraid of the Dragon King. Overpowered by her desire for sex, she displayed to him another side of herself that she had been shy about.
For Gu Shenwei, this experience was different. Luo Ningcha had sex with him for flirtation and revenge, while others did it for money. This time, he felt that he completely owned the woman in his arms. This feeling helped him get rid of the all tension that had disturbed him for years.
His tension came from the killers behind him and the noble moral sense he was unwilling to admit. That night, he finally was able to leave both of them behind.
As they got more and more comfortable with each other, both of them began to enjoy the process. They became more greedy and desired more after each time. Their desire for sex became too strong to be completely satiated. As a result, they indulged themselves in it.
The rumor was true. The Dragon King was reluctant to get up because of the Princess. He had never been so exhausted in his life. During these days, he was even too tired to lift a finger on the bed. Besides, he was also unwilling to leave the woman in his arms. He put his fatigued fingers on her naked body even during rest.
“I’m Xiuyao,” the Princess whispered in the Dragon King’s ear. It was the first time that she had uttered a word during the whole night.
“Ju Xiuyao — it’s a good name,” Gu Shenwei responded in a cool tone, as if he was making a formal judgment. He was trying to be gentle, but failed.
Hearing it, the Princess burst into laughter and said, “Why is your name Yang Huan? It doesn’t sound like a Dragon King.”
“Hmm, my father didn’t expect me to be the Dragon King. He thought that I would take his career and be a guardian,” he said.
The Princess’s hand on the Dragon King’s chest became slightly stiff. His words reminded her that the man beside her was the offspring of a servant, and he had been a servant in Golden Roc Fort. She agreed that a hero couldn’t be judged by his family background, but she was born into the Royal Family, so she had always expected that her future husband would have a more decent birth family.
She soon forgot it since they barely had time to think about it in bed.
To receive congratulations from high-ranking military officers, Gu Shenwei had to force himself to get up. Facing them, he pretended to be calm, but was really absent-minded. He was impatient to get back to the tent where the Princess was waiting.
He always returned to the tent before it got dark. Then, he commanded people to deliver food to them, but they had very little appetite, for all they wanted was sex. They were amazed that they had such a strong desire and so much energy. When their bodies were separated, they felt satisfied, yet disappointed.
Before Prime Minister Zhong Heng resolved to offer his advice, Gu Shenwei thought that something was wrong.
“I have never behaved like this before. The Princess seems to have been possessed by Xu Yanwei,” he mused.
The day after they got married, Gu Shenwei called Xu Yanwei to him while he had his senses about him. He questioned what she had taught the Princess.
Xu Yanwei noticed the affection between the Dragon King and the Princess. Although there were a few tents were between hers and theirs, she could vaguely hear their breathing over the shouts from a group of drunk men.
She wanted to take credit for it, but facing the Dragon King, she did not dare to lie to him. She had intended to teach the Princess how to please a man in bed, just as she had done to Luo Ningcha. The Princess had refused decidedly, though. The Princess was humiliated and offended by her suggestion.
“How to explain it?” Xu Yanwei grinned and asked. Compared to affairs of national defense and administration, she was more interested in sex. She started to explain it to the Dragon King excitedly, “Self-taught. Yeah, no one taught her. The Princess is a woman, and she knows how to please a man. Even a woman without talents can manage to survive as a whore… Don’t think too much. Everything is okay. Haha, I underestimated the Princess. She usually acts elegantly and shyly. When she took off her clothes in front of me, she even blushed…”
Xu Yanwei digressed far from the subject, so Gu Shenwei forced her to leave.“Something is wrong. It’s strange to ask Xu Yanwei about it. Besides, it’s hard to tell her some of the odd details,” he thought to himself.
Though he was full of doubts, all he thought about was the Princess. As soon as he let down his guard, the Princess would immediately pop into his head.
It was strange that he could remember her scent, movements and voice clearly even though he almost forgot her appearance. These thoughts nearly drove away his ambition to seek hegemony. As soon as he entered the tent and touched her body, he felt that nothing was more important than her.
Upon thinking this, Gu Shenwei started to suspect that it was Maid Lotus’s doings.
“If she didn’t want me to marry the Princess, she should have done the opposite. She has no reason to do this. It’s crazy to use an aphrodisiac,” he thought.
Thinking the word “crazy”, Gu Shenwei felt sure about his guess. He always took Maid Lotus for a crazy woman.
“Unlike Xu Yanwei, I can’t mention my desire for sex to Maid Lotus. I can discuss the most confidential and important matters with her,” he meditated.
Therefore, Gu Shenwei had to secretly investigate it.
“It’s impossible to find any clues based upon Maid Lotus’ behavior or expressions. She has a knack for hiding her emotions. Even when we were apprentices, she could cancel her feelings better than experienced killers,” he pondered.
She usually stood outside the Dragon King’s tent, but after the Dragon King got married, Maid Lotus had only appeared in front of him once. She was as cold as before, and all she talked about was practicing kung fu skills.
Her Qigong Deviation had been greatly alleviated by Wayless Qigong, but she was still in danger of being attacked by the Death Scripture. The eminent monk, Fayan, from Four Truths Temple, had given her and Gu Shenwei each a set of Internal Strength. She thought that this might help her overcome her evil thoughts. She planned to practice Internal Strength when there was no more war.
The Dragon King had asked the Princess to piece together the text in chapter 8 of the Wayless Book. Maid Lotus wanted to know the progress.
It was not easy to sort out hundreds of scriptures and put them in the correct order. The Princess had finished half, but the sentences made no sense.
As for the Sumeru Mustard Mantra from Fayan, Gu Shenwei thought that they could learn it. He asked Maid Lotus to try it on others first, though. He didn’t want to be fooled by the old monk, just as they had suffered from Breaking Obsession years ago.
Maid Lotus showed no interest in the Princess.
Gu Shenwei investigated their food and the ornaments in the tent. He even got a new tent for the Princess, but he found no suspicious signs. “Does this strong desire for sex really come from our inner minds?” he wondered.
Maid Lotus had told Gu Shenwei about most of the occult sciences of New Moon Hall, but she had not mentioned all of them to him.
The investigation did not last long. His desire for sex was too strong to deny. Having spent most of his time with the Princess, he did not have much energy to deal with other matters.
Noticing this, Zhong Heng resolved to advise the Dragon King and solve this matter as soon as possible.
To figure out the Dragon King’s bottom line, he intended to speak directly and see if the Dragon King would get angry. He said, “Women can only bring temporary happiness. Seeking hegemony is the right way to achieve something great, forever. Dragon King, with all due respect, it’s not the time to indulge yourself in married life. You’re the backbone of the Dragon Army. Once you become slack, others will soon follow suit. A kingdom or women — those are your choices. After you become the King, you can do whatever you want.”
“A Kingdom or women — those are your choices,” Gu Shenwei repeated in his mind. All of a sudden, he realized that that was what Maid Lotus wanted to say herself.
