There was a different light in Cao Xiang’s eyes when she looked at Wu Long now. He smiled and after helping her up placed a hand on her cheek, caressing it with his thumb as she closed her eyes and relished this tender gesture. He bent down and kissed her. Her eyes flew open in surprise, but quickly narrowed from the pleasurable sensation of his lips tasting hers and his tongue going into her mouth to twirl around hers. As she closed her eyes again she returned the kiss, loud kissing sounds resounding in the hot and humid room.

“You are mine now”

As he ended the kiss he said to her and shivers of excitement went through her since she realized the meaning of his kiss now. She was his woman from now on, she belonged to him and him only.

Her cheeks turned red again and she nodded, meekly looking down as a light smile touched her lips.

“Hug my neck”

He told her and when she did he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bathroom where he tenderly washed her up. He then went into a hot bathtub that a servant prepared for Wu Long that had arrays for heat preservation installed in it. Wu Long sat first, placing Cao Xiang in front of him, her back facing him. She was too exhausted so she leaned on him without any strength left to adjust her position, but he placed her so comfortably that she felt like she assumed the most comfortable pose on her own.

“W… Wu Long…”

“Yes?”

She called lightly and he replied with a smile as his muscles relaxed, soaking in the hot water with her soft body pressing against his.

“Did I… is it over now?… the punishment”

“Heh, did you think it would be over with just one time?”

He chuckled, asking with a low voice into her ear and she lightly trembled. She first thought it was out of shock or fear, but to her own surprise, she realized that the shivers that went through her body were that of excitement and anticipation.

‘Eh? Was I…’

Her eyes widened at that realization as she never had such thoughts or tendencies before. But at the same time, she felt like she did not change, only saw a different side that she was not aware of. .𝒄𝒐𝒎

“You really are… how do you know things about me that even I do not know?”

She smiled as she lightly turned her head that rested on his shoulder. With a tranquil sound of water he moved his right hand to lightly trace the skin on her shoulder, sending waves of pleasurable sensations wherever his fingers touched her.

“I am a Dual Cultivator, after all, and have some tricks up my sleeve. But I do not necessarily know you better than you. I just see some things that are related to Dual Cultivation”

She lightly nodded. Her eyes were closing as she started dozing off. The fatigue from the intense cultivation they did before was finally catching up with her. Wu Long pushed her to the limits, stopping only when she was completely spent.

He smiled and held her up, leaving the bathroom and placing her on the sofa as he dried her up with soft towels and after using talismans and liquid absorption bottles on the bed, carried her over to lay with her on the cleaned-up bed.

The cultivation he did with Ye Ling last time as well as the intense cultivation today brought him to the 2nd level of Qi Manifestation Realm. He has also restored his reserves of Spiritual Qi along the way, much faster than if he would meditate to do so.

In the morning, Cao Xiang woke up in his embrace. She first froze, and then last night’s memories poured into her and her cheeks turned rosy and then red at the thought of how bold she was. She very carefully raised her head to look at him when she was greeted by a pair of amused eyes that made her entire face beat red as she escaped into the bed covers.

Wu Long chuckled at the squirming blob of bed covers that appeared on the bed. It was one thing to act in the heat of the moment, and a completely another to remember that behavior afterward.

“So, do you regret it?”

When he asked this, the squirming blob froze, and then slowly only her face surfaced as she shook her head.

“N… no”

She said, still rosy and not looking at him directly.

“Then come and get your reward for enduring your punishment well”

She gulped and finally raised her eyes to look at him as he beckoned her, and the blob of bed covers slowly approached him as he sat up and kissed her. She closed her eyes at the blissful sensation of that kiss, forgetting to hold up the bed covers that slid off, revealing her gorgeous body.

He embraced her, feeling the soft flesh press against him as he relished in the comfortable and warm sensation.

After spending some time kissing her, he finally broke the kiss and looked at her dazed expression and slightly unfocused eyes with a satisfied smile.

—

Cao Mei stood in the corridor of the inn, looking at the inner courtyard while leaning on the railings. She was closed up and introspective most of the time since the incident on the islands, and she did not speak to her mother since she stormed out of her office on the ship the day Wu Long drank wine with Cao Xiang.

Wei Lan tried to talk to her several times, but every time Cao Mei would shut herself in and not talk. Wei Lan understood that it was hard for her to reconcile what her mother did, and since Wei Lan was one of the people that could have been potentially harmed by the actions of her mother, she was reluctant to seek comfort in conversations with her.

Thus, Cao Mei’s brooding emotions were deepening without any release and there was no one around that she could confide in. The Gong sisters that appeared not long ago were the only people who were not related to the incident but they were not the best choice since they did not know much about Wu Long and she did not want to risk accidentally exposing any information about him that he did not want revealed.

And most of all, she almost did not interact with Wu Long at all, since she could not look him in the eyes.

So while she was trapped in her own emotions and thoughts, days passed after day with no end to this predicament in sight.

As she stood there, wondering what she should do the door to Wu Long’s room opened. Cao Mei instinctively looked in the direction the sound of the opening door came from and her eyes widened as she saw her mother come out of that room. She looked in disbelief, and then looked in the direction of the door to Cao Xiang’s room to make sure she was not mistaken. When she made sure that the door to her room was indeed in the opposite direction, she looked back at the frozen Pirate Queen who also noticed her daughter.

A myriad thoughts went through Cao Mei’s head but they were all blown away when she saw Wu Long come out from behind Cao Xiang and casually grasp her ass.

“Ah! W- Wu Long… wait”

“What, are you embarrassed? Don’t be, you are my woman now, so wherever and whenever I touch you is my right… and part of your punishment”

As she gasped, he chuckled at how rosy her face got and then spoke the last phrase in a low voice to her ear, making her heart start pounding as she understood that this would now happen often.

Cao Mei looked on in astonishment, having a hard time believing the reality that was suddenly thrust in front of her.

“Boss, the imperial envoy came to fetch you”

At this moment Old Yen ran over to inform Wu Long with a hurried step, to which he nodded and slightly kneading the asscheek that he grasped earlier let it go.

Cao Xiang felt a reluctance as the feeling that brought her a flurry of emotions, both exciting and embarrassing, and made her confused ended.

“I’ll be back”

He chuckled and whispered into her ear as she nodded while looking down, red to the tips of her ears.

“Tell Butler Bang to take the two and follow me”

Wu Long told Old Yen and went away, leaving the mother and daughter who silently stood at a distance from each other, as Cao Xiang reluctantly looked up to see the shock in her daughter’s eyes that has yet to disappear.