35: Chapter 35 The First Night of Healing: Goddess, Please Take Off Your Clothes

The night grew deeper, and the rain outside Listening to Rain Pavilion seemed to intensify; the pitter-patter of raindrops hitting the window frames could not mask the room's atmosphere of passion and anxiety.

Inside the Isolation Array, the candlelight flickered.

When Jiang Liuli woke up from her slumber, she felt as if she were next to a warm furnace.

The chill radiating from the depths of her marrow was still there, but it had been wrapped in a layer of warm aura, no longer as piercingly cold as before.

She slowly opened her eyes, and Xu Chen's handsome face appeared close at hand.

At this moment, Xu Chen was sitting cross-legged by the bed, one hand still pressed against her lower abdomen, continuously channeling spiritual power.

His expression was focused and serious; the fine layer of sweat on his forehead shimmered in the candlelight, making his originally somewhat cynical demeanor appear... sacred at this moment.

“Awake?”

Feeling the slight tremor of the delicate body beneath his palm, Xu Chen withdrew his hand and let out a long sigh of relief, a slightly weary smile appearing on his face.

“How do you feel? Do you feel like your body is much lighter?”

Jiang Liuli instinctively tried to sit up, only to find her limbs still weak and limp, so she could only manage a nod.

“Mhm... it’s warm and very comfortable.”

Her voice was still weak, but it was much better than her previous state of being barely audible.

“It’s supposed to be comfortable.”

Xu Chen stood up and stretched his stiff neck, which let out a series of crisp cracks.

“Just now, I only used golden needles and spiritual power to protect your heart meridians.”

“Now, your body has adapted to my Pure Yang Qi.”

Having said this, Xu Chen turned around, looking at Jiang Liuli lying on the bed with burning eyes, his tone suddenly becoming somewhat meaningful.

“Next, we are going to proceed with the second stage of treatment.”

Jiang Liuli’s heart skipped a beat as a bad premonition welled up within her.

“The... the second stage?”

She instinctively tightened the only remaining undergarment on her body. Although it was already in disarray after the previous ordeal and couldn't cover much, it was at least her final psychological line of defense.

“That’s right.”

Xu Chen walked to the table, picked up a bowl of spiritual liquid that had been prepared beforehand, and held it to her lips.

“Drink this first. This is ‘Nine Yang Spring-Returning Dew.’ It will give you... a bit more strength later.”

Jiang Liuli obediently drank it.

The spiritual liquid entered her stomach and instantly turned into a scalding hot current that rushed through her limbs and bones.

Her face turned red instantly, and her breathing became rapid.

“Hot...”

“Being hot is normal.”

Xu Chen put down the bowl and sat back by the bedside.

He looked at Jiang Liuli’s face, which had become as radiant as a peach blossom due to the medicine's effect, and her chest, which was heaving violently from her rapid breathing; the trace of admiration and possessiveness in his eyes was no longer hidden.

“Liuli.”

Xu Chen leaned down, bracing his hands on either side of her head, trapping her in this small space.

“The second stage of treatment is called ‘Tongyou’ (Probing the Obscure).”

“I need to guide the Pure Yang Qi into the most secret and most severely blocked major acupoints in your body.”

“These acupoints are spread across your entire body and are extremely difficult to find.”

Xu Chen’s fingers slid down her cheek, passed her slender neck, and finally rested on the tie of her undergarment.

“This clothing is too much in the way.”

“It blocks the flow of spiritual energy and also blocks my line of sight.”

“So...”

Xu Chen’s voice was low and husky, carrying an irresistible magic.

“Her Highness the Divine Maiden, please remove your clothes.”

Boom!

Even though she had been mentally prepared, when this moment finally arrived and Xu Chen said those words so bluntly, Jiang Liuli’s mind still went blank.

Remove them...

Does that mean... meeting in total sincerity?

Completely, without reservation...

“No... I can’t...”

Jiang Liuli instinctively shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes; it was a reaction of extreme shame.

She was the Jiang Family Divine Maiden!

Since childhood, she had never even shown her ankles to anyone, yet now she was expected to be stark naked before a man she had known for less than a day?

“Young Master Xu... can I... can I keep one piece on...”

Her voice carried a sob, sounding almost like a plea.

“No.”

Xu Chen’s refusal was categorical, leaving no room for negotiation.

“Liuli, you must understand.”

“In the face of life, so-called shame is nothing more than a self-deceiving fig leaf.”

“Furthermore...”

Xu Chen leaned close to her ear, his warm breath fanning across her sensitive earlobe, triggering a wave of tremors.

“Your current body, every inch of skin is longing for my touch.”

“You can lie to others, but you can’t lie to me, nor can you lie to yourself.”

As he spoke, Xu Chen’s finger gave a gentle tug.

The tie, which wasn't tied tightly to begin with, instantly came loose.

“Ah!”

Jiang Liuli let out a startled cry and tried to reach out to cover herself, but Xu Chen grabbed both her hands, raised them above her head, and pinned them against the pillow.

“Don’t move.”

Xu Chen looked at her, his eyes as deep as an abyss.

“Be good.”

“I will be very gentle.”

With the fall of the final line of defense.

That jade-like body, which had been tormented by illness for eighteen years yet remained breathtakingly beautiful, was finally revealed before Xu Chen without reservation.

Though thin, her skeletal structure was exquisite.

It was an extreme sense of fragility, as if she would shatter with the slightest force, making one unable to resist wanting to cherish her, yet also unable to resist wanting to... destroy her.

Her skin was whiter than snow and crystal clear.

Out of shame, her entire body was tinged with a faint pink hue, like the finest pink diamond, shimmering under the candlelight.

Xu Chen’s breath hitched.

Even though he had seen countless beauties, Jiang Liuli’s unique ‘fragile beauty of a sickly girl’ still dealt him a massive visual impact.

“So beautiful.”

Xu Chen praised her from the bottom of his heart.

His gaze did not seem lewd; instead, it carried the reverence of one admiring a work of art.

But when this gaze fell upon Jiang Liuli, it felt substantial, so scalding that it made her want to scream.

She kept her eyes tightly shut, not daring to look at Xu Chen, much less at her current self.

Tears slid from the corners of her eyes, wetting the pillowcase.

“Don’t cry.”

Xu Chen kissed away the tears at the corners of her eyes, his movements incredibly gentle.

“Trust me.”

“You will fall in love with this feeling.”

After saying this, Xu Chen no longer hesitated.

He circulated the Hongmeng Creation Technique, and a ball of dazzling golden light condensed in his palm.

“The first major acupoint, Guanyuan.”

Xu Chen’s palm pressed against her flat and firm lower abdomen.

“Ugh!”

Jiang Liuli’s body suddenly arched, letting out a suppressed mournful cry.

Scalding!

Too hot!

That palm was like a branding iron; the moment it touched her, an overbearingly hot current forced its way into her body, rushing straight toward her dantian.

That feeling was both painful and... refreshing.

It was like parched, cracked earth finally receiving long-awaited sweet rain.

“Relax.”

With one hand pressing on her lower abdomen, Xu Chen’s other hand began to roam over her body, helping her channel that straying heat.

“Breathe along with my rhythm.”

“Inhale... exhale...”

Under his guidance, Jiang Liuli’s originally tense body gradually softened.

Although the sense of shame remained strong, with the flushing of those waves of heat, a strange pleasure she had never experienced before began to spread through her body.

It was the joy of reviving vitality.

It was also... the precursor to the awakening of desire.

“Xu... Xu Chen...”

Jiang Liuli’s eyes were misty as she unconsciously called out his name.

Her voice was no longer resistant as before, but instead carried a hint of soft, sweet dependence.

“I’m here.”

Xu Chen responded, yet the movements of his hands did not stop; instead, they became bolder and deeper.

From Guanyuan to Qi Sea.

From Zhongji to Juran.

Every acupoint was a vital part of the human body and also the most sensitive spot.

Xu Chen was like a master musician, playing a movement titled ‘Desire and Life’ on the perfect instrument that was Jiang Liuli’s body.

“Mmm...”

Jiang Liuli’s panting grew heavier, and her originally pale cheeks were now so red they looked as if they were about to bleed.

She felt as if she had become a small boat tossing in stormy waves, only able to cling tightly to Xu Chen, her only piece of driftwood.

“Hot... so hot...”

She unconsciously twisted her body, originally to escape the dry heat, but in Xu Chen’s eyes, it clearly looked like a silent invitation.

“It’s supposed to be hot.”

Looking at her appearance of being ready for the taking, Xu Chen’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

He leaned down, pressing his scalding chest against her cool, delicate body.

Skin to skin.

Without any barrier.

The sensation of that moment made both of them tremble involuntarily.

“Jiang Liuli.”

Xu Chen whispered in her ear, his voice incredibly husky.

“Your body is ready.”

“‘Tongyou’ is complete.”

“Next...”

“It is time for the final... Union of Yin and Yang.”

Jiang Liuli’s body suddenly stiffened.

She knew what this meant.

It meant she would completely lose her maidenly innocence and become this man’s... woman.

If it were in the past, she would rather die than agree.

But now...

Feeling the vigorous vitality within her body, and the warmth and sense of security this man brought her.

She found that she... actually didn’t reject it.

There was even... a hint of expectation?

“Xu... Husband...”

Jiang Liuli closed her eyes, two lines of clear tears sliding down, but it was no longer sadness, but a kind of resolution.

She reached out her jade-like arms and, for the first time, proactively wrapped them around Xu Chen’s neck.

“Save me...”

“Or... love me...”

At this moment, there seemed to be no difference between these two phrases.

Looking at the Divine Maiden beneath him, who had finally completely opened her heart and body and allowed him to do as he pleased, the string named ‘reason’ in Xu Chen’s mind snapped completely.

“As you wish.”

He let out a low growl and kissed those long-desired red lips.

The bed curtains swayed.

The sound of rain inside Listening to Rain Pavilion seemed to grow louder, masking the prelude to the great harmony of life that was about to begin inside the room.