Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

After taking a bath, Chu Mingkong stood up from the pool, excitedly planning to go play in his master's precious room.

The sound of gentle splashing water rose from the bathtub.

Chu Mingkong stopped in his tracks. In the hazy mist, he could vaguely make out a beautiful woman with wavy hair, but he was certain that it was neither Balan nor Empress Ba.

"You are......"

Chapter Sixty-One: A Huge Blunder

When Chu Mingkong approached, the place was empty; there was no sign of the beautiful woman emerging from her bath.

He looked around blankly, his senses taking in every corner of the bath, but still found nothing new.

Even if there is a ghost, it's impossible for it to leave no trace. It's not like he hasn't seen ghosts before.

Back when we were in Xiling, when I accompanied Aunt Gu back to her parents' home, didn't a huge, swaying female ghost crawl out of the wardrobe?

The "female ghost" is still helping to take care of the baby at the Fairy Pavilion.

"What a strange thing. I'm not so blind as to suddenly pop up like this, not fighting or chatting. What are they doing out here?"

Chu Mingkong murmured to himself, recalling the scene again. His strongest impression of the woman he had just vaguely seen in the mist was her alluring curly hair that cascaded into the water.

That seems to be a family characteristic of the Ba royal family?

But even the strongest swordsman of the royal family, Balan, couldn't escape his senses.

After searching in vain, Chu Mingkong had no choice but to get up and leave the bath with a slight sense of frustration.

......

dong dong dong-

In the pleasant stillness of the night, the knocking sounded particularly abrupt, but the Sword Emperor Palace was vast, and these few sounds quickly dissipated into the night.

Zuo Qiuchi and Zuo Donglu chatted casually, but it was mostly Zuo Qiuchi who did the talking, recounting her journey to the Tianji Empire.

In this respect, Zuo Qiuchi has more to say than Zuo Donglu. If Zuo Donglu were to dominate the conversation, it would probably be nothing more than a diary entry, repeating things like, "I practiced martial arts alone today, and I'll practice martial arts alone tomorrow too."

It's like a shut-in can't come up with anything to talk about with a social butterfly, but that's definitely not because Zuo Qiuchi is particularly socially adept. She's just slacking off in a different place. It's just that Zuo Donglu has been out of touch with the world for too long. She's become a nun and it's like she's left the world behind.

The knocking interrupted their conversation, and Zuo Donglu, for once, found something else to talk about:

"I'll go open the door."

Zuo Qiuchi stopped his younger sister and pushed her into the quilt:

"You can just lie there. It's probably my traitorous disciple. I'll go."

She sat up from the covers, wearing an elegant white undergarment as her nightgown. The neckline was quite high, and her collarbone was hidden beneath the white garment. However, her chest was round and full, and the buttons were stretched open by her fullness. She got up and took a sip of water to moisten her throat. It was rare for her to talk for so long; usually, she was the one listening to stories.

As soon as he opened the door, Chu Mingkong only caught a glimpse of a figure before he picked Zuo Qiuchi up in a bear hug, burying his face in her full, firm breasts. He rubbed his face against her breasts with practiced ease, managing to unbutton her clothes and kiss her soft skin.

Zuo Qiuchi was a little flustered. Dong Lu was still there. Although their relationship had been definitively exposed, it hadn't been officially clarified yet. Zuo Qiuchi's current identity still had a hint of being a traitor, and Chu Mingkong was doing this right in front of Dong Lu...

"Hey!"

She wanted to pry this traitor's body away from her chest first, but Chu Mingkong had been holding back during their conversation in the main hall and was already impatient to get close to her. In addition, she had been used to shamelessly sticking to him for many years, a habitual offender.

Sensing that Zuo Qiuchi was about to lift his face away, Chu Mingkong not only did not restrain himself, but intensified his actions.

His two large hands precisely swept across the beauty's slender waist, reaching the plump and moist peach-shaped area, lifting Zuo Qiuchi up and slamming her onto the soft couch—and then he felt someone touch him in the bed.

With difficulty, Chu Mingkong looked up from the rich aroma of frankincense and met Zuo Donglu's gaze. He froze, speechless...

At that moment, it was as if his mind had experienced the dwindling of the seas and the changing of the earth, the shifting of the stars and the moon, and the transformation of the universe.

While inside the formation, he briefly connected with Zuo Donglu and afterwards hastily said, "I will give her an explanation later." But before the explanation could even begin, he hugged and rubbed against Zuo Qiuchi right in front of her.

His thoughts raced, his mind already contemplating the creation of the world, but reality was but a fleeting moment.

"I just saw a ghost in the bath. Logically speaking, someone of my level should be able to sense someone approaching, unless it's someone like the Wind Shadow who can teleport directly. But just now, I suddenly saw a woman with wavy hair in the bath!"

Several parts are terrifying, scary!

Chu Mingkong tried to explain in an absurd way why he had tackled Zuo Qiuchi, claiming it was simply because he was afraid and wanted to hug her.

Zuo Qiuchi was too embarrassed to listen to his absurd explanation, and said in a desperate tone:

Do you even believe what you're saying?

"..."

Chu Mingkong remained silent for a moment.

"I don't really want to believe it, but I just saw a woman with white hair, a bit like blonde, and long, slightly wavy hair that does resemble Balan's."

Just like before, Zuo Donglu continued to act as a good listener and shared her views:

"Long, slightly wavy, pale golden hair, somewhat reminiscent of the first emperor."

Zuo Qiuchi still thought Chu Mingkong was talking nonsense and didn't take it seriously. She pinched Chu Mingkong's cheeks and stammered as she explained to her sister:

"Donglu, this situation is... a bit complicated. I think it's necessary to explain it calmly first. Even within the great formation, he wanted to enter my Heart Tribulation Illusion to help me, and then..."

Chu Mingkong was a man of principle. He sat up with a shiver running down his spine, still thinking that he could explain things properly and have a happy ending. He never expected that such an embarrassing situation would happen at the last minute.

Having had many experiences, Chu Mingkong knew that unless it was a complicated situation like Yongzhen's, in most cases, being honest and open was the best approach.

Making up stories to maintain a facade of harmony will only widen the gap between people's hearts and even build up defensiveness.

With an upright and unyielding expression, he said with a pained expression:

“My dear Master, there’s no need to use these words to cover it up. This relationship didn’t start in the great formation. We’ve been hooking up for a long time. Just be honest and say it. Is there any need to hide it like this? Don’t you trust Aunt Donglu’s magnanimity?”

Zuo Qiuchi blinked, feeling a bit like twisting his ear off. How could he make her sound like the bad guy?

Chu Mingkong immediately recounted the story of how their feelings had grown over time, and finally, steeling himself, said:

"At the time, my master and I both thought this engagement was outrageous. We hadn't even met each other yet, and maybe you wouldn't be interested either. Besides, I've been with so many girls, so you might be even less likely to accept this, and you'd probably want to call off the engagement or something."

After a while, I fell in love with my beloved Master. I didn't mean to belittle you. But after all the twists and turns, we didn't talk much about our engagement or feelings, and we ended up having sex.

"How about you reconsider, Aunt Donglu? We can make do from now on?"

Chapter Sixty-Two: Wear Less Clothes Before Explaining

Before Zuo Donglu could speak, she was still sorting out her thoughts when Chu Mingkong first said something about seeing ghosts, and then mentioned a whole bunch of other things. She couldn't tell if it was a joke or a joke.

Her silence was somewhat stressful for Chu Mingkong. Whenever he encountered such a moment, the most agonizing thing was waiting for the girl to end her silence and speak.

However, Zuo Qiuchi understood his sister well. Chu Mingkong thought Zuo Donglu was struggling with something, but Zuo Qiuchi knew that Zuo Donglu was just still pondering the cause and effect of the matter, and her mind was just a little slow.

She sat up, and just as Chu Mingkong had given her a bear hug earlier, now it was her turn to give Zuo Donglu a bear hug, and she offered Zuo Donglu some advice in a somewhat shameless manner:

"This revelation came as a complete surprise. We never expected things to develop this way after we arrived at the Sword Dynasty..."

"But I don't intend to leave you alone in the Sword Dynasty any longer. I'll have to keep you by my side. Besides, you've already ruined Mingkong. Let him serve you for now. If you're really not satisfied in the future, then you can leave him and come live with me!"

Is there any difference between living with you and living with me?

Chu Mingkong listened from the side, feeling helpless and inwardly complaining, but these words really had the style of his master's precious child.

Zuo Donglu's focus veered slightly off course; her thoughts drifted back to her first encounter with Chu Mingkong, and then to her initial ascent of the Immortal Treasure Pavilion...

"When Mingkong came here, he intended to break off the engagement with me, so why did he seem reluctant to do so at the time?"

Girl, have you been alone on the mountain for too long and become rusty in social interactions? Didn't I just tell you that I was afraid you'd have some reservations and didn't tell Zuo Qiuchi about it? So naturally, you're hesitant to break off the engagement.

Chu Mingkong cleared his throat, realizing it wasn't easy to be direct about the matter, so he could only say it tactfully:

"Ahem... Feeling guilty? This marriage contract is like a red thread that's been forcibly tied. But if the other party in this marriage contract were a daughter of a wealthy family, someone you don't have any special relationship with, then it would be fine to break it off. But seeing how much you care about your fate and past, I feel a little reluctant. But now, perhaps you really don't want to break it off."

Zuo Donglu is rather slow to understand matters of the heart. If Chu Mingkong were to ask himself honestly, he might have become familiar with her, but their romantic progress was rather shallow, since they had only known each other for a few days.

But since you've already hurt them, feelings can only be cultivated slowly over time.

"Sympathy?" Zuo Donglu asked again after a long pause.

"No!" Chu Mingkong denied repeatedly. "I do have some compassion, but sometimes sympathy is just a fleeting thought, and I forget about it as soon as I turn my head. It doesn't even count as paying attention. But you are my master's family, so you are practically my family too. We have no grudges against each other, and my master even cares about you a lot, so I have to pay more attention to you. This is not just simple sympathy, nor is it something I can pay more attention to just any woman I meet."

"They have to be pretty enough to warrant my attention," Zuo Qiuchi added.

Please don't be so disrespectful.

"..." Chu Mingkong stated his principle firmly: "It has to be a nice butt."

For Zuo Donglu, Chu Mingkong and Zuo Qiuchi were both important people who, despite knowing her fate, were still willing to stay by her side and insist on keeping her with them.

Even when she was trapped in the great formation and the sword intent around her was in chaos because of her, Zuo Qiuchi even took the initiative to risk her life and stepped into the Yin-Yang Chaotic Soul Formation. She was almost turned into a sword. Even her family could not express how grateful she was.

Because family never means anything, it doesn't mean how close the relationship is, and it certainly doesn't mean that the other person should do a certain amount of work for you. The family you are born with is simply the people around you in a certain life background that you cannot choose.

No matter how close the blood relationship, if something goes wrong, the person should still be sent to become a monk or nun.

Zuo Donglu didn't harbor much resentment or bitterness towards her family members, but she deeply cherished her closeness to Zuo Qiuchi.

Returning to the issue of relationships, Zuo Donglu actually didn't feel too much resentment or dissatisfaction when she learned that her sister Zuo Qiuchi had "embezzled from her own post."

This marriage was arranged by our ancestors, and the two betrothed were even separated by vast distances. Putting aside this extremely superficial relationship, she and Chu Mingkong were complete strangers. Even if he married one of the girls she was in love with, she couldn't say anything.

This is especially true for the matter concerning Zuo Qiuchi.

“When our ancestors arranged the marriage, they did not specify who would marry whom. My grandfather and the others simply assigned me to the marriage. But if we follow the late emperor’s wishes, there should be quite a bit of room for choice. Qiu Chi and I are sisters. If I could be the one to be married, then you could be the one to be married.”

Looking at Donglu's humble attitude, Zuo Qiuchi felt that they had really deviated from the original point of discussion. Under normal circumstances, Donglu should still have the right to speak, but she started giving in again as they were talking.

She grabbed Chu Mingkong's cheek and pulled him over, wanting him to say something. But Chu Mingkong had no idea what to say. Zuo Donglu's thoughts were still outside Chu Mingkong's knowledge, and he couldn't quite grasp her tactics.

Zuo Qiuchi had no choice but to speak for herself; when she was too lazy to think of a solution, she would just force it:

"Oh dear, Grandpa and the others pointed to you, so don't overthink it!"

"If you and Mingkong have developed feelings for each other over time and your love has blossomed, does that mean I'm the one who interfered by holding the marriage contract, preventing you from even getting close to each other in person?"

"......" "......"

Chu Mingkong and Zuo Qiuchi both fell silent; this aunt's way of thinking was indeed a bit unusual.

After these words were spoken, it became unclear who was superior. It seemed that Zuo Qiuchi got there first because of Zuo Donglu's engagement, but in terms of feelings, Zuo Qiuchi had the upper hand. However, he became cautious because of Zuo Donglu's entry into the picture, and their intimate behavior was so careful that it was like an affair.