Chapter 1: The Inside Room

    In the deep darkness of the night, the freezing wind cut through the air, chilling and drying the soft, smooth skin on both sides of her cheeks.

    Ling Wei, a slender woman clad in black garments tailored by her own hands, moved cautiously along the dimly lit balcony outside a room in a corner of the Yi Chang Inn.

    This inn was located in the heart of the Chen Region, governed by Emperor Chen, Yang Mingxian. She had unbelievably easily managed to sneak into this inn.

    It was a mystery how such a place was lax in security, allowed even an unskilled woman like her to infiltrate with ease.

    Ling Wei was sneaking into the inn to rest and gather her strength, feeling utterly exhausted. The journey had sapped her strength, and the frigid air bit into her cheeks. However, staying openly at the inn might lead to being found and taken back home. Therefore, she had to sneak into one of the many rooms of any inn.

    In this town, there were countless inns and similarly plenty of rooms. Thus, it would not be a difficult task for her to sneak in and stay in one of the rooms. If she got caught, she could simply pay her way out. However, being seen might lead to inquiries from those who might be following her, including her father who could have discovered her escape from the manor.

    Her father, Ling Yitang, the Minister of Treasury Department was the reason she had decided to run away from her home.

    Her father and her stepmother, previously his second wife, had planned to send her to the Chen royal family for political alliance through marriage.

    He could have picked any of his daughters, but her father had specifically chosen her.

    The person she was supposed to get married to was a Wang named Chen Yanglong.

    Everyone knew that he was a big womanizer who already had numerous concubines in his palace.

    Why should she, born to one of her father's wives and always deemed lesser within her own home since her mother's death, accept a fate similar to her mother’s dismal history?

    She had witnessed her mother's suffering every day. Her mother had to fake her smile and endured several turbulences in the manor.  

    Despite her best efforts, her mother was always looked down upon by other women until her death. Many of them had mourned superficially, while secretly rejoicing behind her back.

    Ling Wei had endured loneliness and hardship.

    For many years now, she had been without a father's care, without anyone by her side, even the servants also took care of her reluctantly.

    And then there were her half-siblings from different mothers. Just thinking about it made her want to vomit blood in clots.

    To become one of Wang Chen's concubines and bear children who would share the same fate was unthinkable.

    Ling Wei pondered with deep frustration as she navigated the darkening corners of the houses in the town, now cloaked in the darkness of the Hai period (9:00-10:59 PM). She had escaped from her manor during the Shen period (3:00-4:59 PM) after hearing about her impending fate. It must have been several hours since her escape.

    With drowsy eyes, she took a moment to ponder her situation, standing with her slender back against the wall in a dark corner between rooms in the Yi Chang Inn where she had successfully snuck in before stealthily slipping into one of the rooms.

    Although she possessed no martial arts skills, she successfully infiltrated the inn. What a marvel!

    But never mind that. Having observed for a while, she saw that it was an empty room with no one staying in it, and it was also clean and tidy. This room was far away from the others, quite secluded. She had watched for a long time and noticed that other guests chose rooms on the outer edges with better views. While the other rooms which were further away from the front area, like this innermost and deepest room did not pique any of their interest.

    Alright!

    Ling Wei could not wait any longer, fearing she might fall asleep standing. She entered the unoccupied room, quickly climbed into the bed surrounded by tightly drawn mosquito curtains, and immediately pulled a thick blanket from the end of the bed over herself comfortably.

    The scent of candles and incense in the room was pleasantly strong, making her feel clear-headed and extremely relaxed. She shifted slightly to get comfortable and soon fell into a deep sleep.

    She was utterly exhausted...

    A young man with a sturdy, muscular body clad in dark brown attire

    was walking calmly into a room within the Yi Chang Inn, where he regularly stayed. This room, which he often used to rest after completing grueling military missions and reporting to the capital of the Chen Region, was known to be reserved just for him. No one else was allowed to enter. He entered on his own without the guidance of the manager.

    The young man, Feng Xinyang, with a handsome, rugged face, and a large, muscular build exceeding the standard, with broad shoulders and a straight back, looked noble in every aspect in his dark brown attire. He was heading to his usual room, located at the very innermost and deepest part from many others towards the front of the Yi Chang Inn.

    He entered without any intention to sleep just yet. After the long journey, he felt the need to bathe and cleanse himself.

    Just moments after entering the room, he began to smell the fragrance of the room's incense.

    It was peculiar yet pleasant…

    The smell made him feel clear-headed and extremely relaxed.

    He took a moment to enjoy the scent before heading behind the room divider with a tub full of warm water.

    He undressed completely, revealing a chest and shoulders robust with muscle, flowing down his wide back to his muscular arms, looking majestic.

    Sculpted in every proportion from shoulders, chest, back, down to a narrow waist, lean hips, and firm buttocks. Every part of him was muscular and tight, highlighting his strength and power, a hero above all men.

    On his sculptured body, there were several healed scars, indicating his long service and responsibility in his duties.

    Feng Xinyang, a veteran soldier who had fought countless battles, bore these scars not as something strange but as a testament to his role as a general who protected the border of his country. His body was not smooth and flawless like a prince, or a privileged young master accustomed to leisure.

    The young man immersed his robust and larger-than-average body into the large bathtub. He scrubbed his body briefly before rising from the tub and slipping into a comfortable robe.

    A soldier like him never wasted too much time bathing. He was not fond of soaking in water like other men, nor did he enjoy being pampered by others.

    His body was his own responsibility, not someone else's.

    No one had the right to interfere with his physique.

    The young man loosely tied the robe around his waist, inhaling a faint scent. He thought it smelled nice.

    But why was the fragrance in the room so intense, clinging to his skin as well?

    Narrowing his sharp eyes, he looked down at his body before returning to the bathtub.

    He noticed the bath water carried the same scent pervading the room, eliciting a peculiar feeling.

    Despite the cold season, he did not feel chilled. On the contrary, he felt an unusual heat.

    Feng Xinyang's thick brows furrowed slightly in confusion. His sharp gaze, usually unshaken, was now stirred by a rising emotion, resembling lust.

    How could he suddenly feel lustful? What was this unsettling sensation in his lower abdomen, this hardening essence? Why was he feeling aroused?

    It was not unusual for a virile man like him to experience such feelings, but he had always been able to control them. If he wished to indulge in pleasures, there were countless opportunities he could seek in a brothel.

    He could engage with women without any commitment in such place.

    He was sure he had not intended to sleep with anyone before entering the room. But what was this intensifying lust he was feeling?

    His brows knitted tighter before he closed his eyes momentarily to suppress the rising urge.

    Opening his eyes again, his gaze remained fierce but now carried an added intensity.

    He walked away from the room divider with an improbable ache in the middle of his torso, his body becoming rigid and prominently erect. A heavy sensation rapidly emerged at his core.

    He tried to calm himself as he walked towards the bed, intending to sleep peacefully without further arousal.

    Yet, it seemed difficult.

    His lust was escalating, and the thought of having a woman to warm his bed seemed appealing, but where could he find such service at this hour?

    Feng Xinyang pondered deeply, pulling open the mosquito curtains of the bed, hoping to find tranquility for his unusually turbulent emotions.

    But to his surprise, the bed he had expected to be empty bore the silhouette of someone lying stretched out.

    Undoubtedly, that someone was a woman. Her slender form and beautiful face were visible even in the dim light. Her eyes were closed, veiled by long, curled lashes like small black curtains draping over her smooth cheeks.

    Her nose was pert and curved, lips slightly pursed together. She was asleep, gently twisting her body while emitting faint, sweet moans from her graceful throat.

    Feng Xinyang watched the scene before him, lost in thought.

    He extended his hand, burning hot, to lightly caress her body.

    His hand explored her curves and contours in the dim light illuminated by candlelight through the curtains, to ensure his eyes by touching.

    The sensation of her perfect form, coupled with the enticing scent of her body, overwhelmed his male desires, stimulating the core of his manhood to rise proudly and throb with urgency to unload the ache.

    "Ah..."

    Feng Xinyang moaned internally. What is this?

    Ling Wei, deeply asleep, began to stir, blinking her eyes open slightly, feeling an odd heat.

    Before falling asleep, she remembered the air being cold, but now, for some reason, it felt unbearably hot. The blanket, meant to provide warmth against the chilly air, now felt too heavy and cumbersome, compelling her to push it away.

    Hmm...hot...

    Ling Wei started to lazily move her hands across her face and body, caressing herself in a daze with an unfamiliar emotion.

    She had never felt such a strange heat before.

    What is this?

    While the young woman sought an answer to the floating question under her barely conscious mind, she felt increasingly hot, driven to attempt to remove the clothing wrapping her body to dissipate this unusual heat.

    Her hands moved down to untie the sash around her waist, doing so while her eyes remained half-closed, not really seeing anything, and slightly opened her shirt to relieve the heat.

    She was sure she had only opened her shirt a little, but why did it seem as if it had been opened wider than intended, as if it were torn open?

    How could her shirt move to expose her chest so freely?

    But there was something even weirder, a certain sensation.

    That sensation was an unusual moist heat on her chest, with waves of heat gently cascading over her body, as if being caressed by something hot.

    “Hmm...” The woman let out a soft murmur through her elegant throat, a new sensation becoming pronounced. It was hot, yet it felt good, igniting a tingling sensation that was overwhelming.

    And soon, the moist warmth on her chest disappeared, the roaming heat across her body became more intense, and the clothes she wore seemed not to cover her body anymore.

    A faint question rose again in her subconscious, but this time, instead of the warmth originating from herself, it was an external heat enveloping her.

    The heat wrapped around her entire body, with warm breaths against her face.

    In a moment, a searing heat, like a fireball, settled into her midsection and pierced through her body.

    “Ah!” Ling Wei exclaimed.

    "Ah!" The woman cried out again as the fiery shaft penetrated her body and then withdrew.

    She felt a sharp pain in the middle of her torso

    —a painful sting but...

    "Umm..." A deep growl sounded close to her face, accompanied by hot breaths forcefully exhaled onto her.

    "Ah!" Ling Wei cried out again, and this time a new sensation abruptly emerged.

    The first time she felt pain, the second time was still pain, and the subsequent times were painful as well, but the sensation of the hot, fiery shaft in the middle of her torso started to stir a strange feeling.

    This odd sensation came with a stinging pain, a deep, throbbing ache, and a tingling discomfort.

    "Ah..." This time, Ling Wei's voice changed along with that strange feeling.

    A simmering heat, a burning desire circulated around her body as if intending to consume her, the feeling of being rubbed in the middle of her body, a rhythm pounding within her, a painful sensation yet filled with intense pleasure.

    What was happening to her? What was happening to her body?

    Ling Wei arched her back, moaning rhythmically as her slender body was rocked by something.

    The woman tried her best to gather all her consciousness to open her eyes, even though her lips were parted, crying out an embarrassing moan.

    She tried desperately to open her eyes, but every tight squeeze around the middle of her torso made her close her eyes tightly while her mouth opened to let out moans.

    Unable to open her eyes as she wished, she reached out her hand, flailing until she encountered something—the skin of someone hard and taut.

    She struggled to open her eyes, looking as hard as she could even as she continued to cry out from the rhythm pressing down on her core, making her entire body shake up and down.

    At last, she managed to open her eyes. Suddenly, the half-closed, half-awake eyes, previously dazed, widened. The candlelight, lit at some unknown time, cast a soft yellow glow.

    And she saw...

    A large, muscular silhouette looming over her, moving on her body.

    The silhouette breathing stifling air on her face, doing something to her body.

    The silhouette moved up and down, pressing and penetrating the middle of her torso, giving a peculiar sensation to the core of her being, making her moan.

    Ah... What is this!?