Chapter 167: Foot-washing Incident! Senior Sister, that look in your eyes is making my heart race!

"Splash…"

The sound of water echoed inside the cabin.

In the pure gold basin, a few bright red petals floated.

Jiang Wanqing bit her lower lip.

She knew the Female Demon Lord was watching from next door.

In order not to make things difficult for her Junior Brother, she prepared to bend her knees and compromise.

But the moment her knees bent, they were steadily supported by an invisible True Qi.

She raised her head in astonishment.

Right into Gu Lan's gaze.

Gu Lan's lips moved slightly, silently spitting out three words.

"Water Control Art."

Jiang Wanqing's heart trembled.

A mixture of bitterness and emotion surged up instantly.

She instantly understood Gu Lan's meaning.

Although her Golden Core was sealed, her basic manipulation of water Spiritual Qi was still there.

She stood in place, her back held straight.

Her slender hand hooked slightly in mid-air.

The warm water in the gold basin instantly turned into several streams of water, wrapping around Gu Lan's instep and calves, gently washing them.

Water vapor rose.

Jiang Wanqing's earlobes were stained with a blush.

"Use more force."

Gu Lan leaned against the soft couch, intentionally putting on a stern face and shouting loudly.

"What? Didn't the Qingyun Sect give you food to eat?"

"As the dignified Senior Sister of the Righteous Path, is that all the strength you have when serving people?"

This voice was extremely loud, obviously meant to be heard by the Female Demon Lord next door.

But in reality.

Gu Lan was sitting upright at this moment.

His hands tightly grabbed the edge of the soft couch, and his back was tense and straight.

This is killing me!

The water flowed across his skin like fingertips.

That was Jiang Wanqing!

The pure and flawless Senior Sister of the Righteous Path!

At this moment, she was actually using her spiritual power to wash his feet.

This dual visual and psychological impact almost made Gu Lan lose control.

"Yes… I understand."

Jiang Wanqing responded softly.

She lowered her eyes.

There was no resentment, nor any coldness.

Only heartache.

The moment Gu Lan supported her knees earlier, Jiang Wanqing's brain began to run wild with imagination.

Junior Brother is being forced into all of this!

He is controlled by the Female Demon Lord and is in a dangerous situation!

Yet even right under the Female Demon Lord's nose, he would rather risk exposure than use True Qi to protect her knees, preserving the dignity of a Righteous Path Disciple!

He bears eternal infamy and suffers endless torture, yet he is still doing his utmost to protect her!

Thinking of this, Jiang Wanqing felt a sourness in the tip of her nose.

Not only did she no longer feel humiliated, but instead a sense of heroic tragedy arose within her.

Junior Brother… you are too foolish.

Jiang Wanqing chanted silently in her heart.

She raised her eyes and looked at Gu Lan.

Gu Lan: "???"

Wait, Senior Sister! That look in your eyes is not right!

You are currently a humiliated captive, you should be looking at me with a gaze that wishes to skin and cramp me!

What is this look of heartache?!

If the Female Demon Lord next door figures out we are putting on a double act, we're both going to be finished!

Gu Lan was so scared his scalp went numb.

To cover it up, he slammed his foot onto the edge of the basin.

Splashes of water flew up and moistened Jiang Wanqing's white clothes.

"Clumsy!"

Gu Lan intentionally raised his voice and scolded viciously.

"The water is too cold! Do you want to freeze this seat to death?!"

"Dry it off!"

Splashed by the water, Jiang Wanqing not only wasn't angry, but felt even more heartache.

In order to act, Junior Brother even had to say such insincere words; how much pain must he be feeling inside!

"Yes."

Jiang Wanqing obediently picked up the silk towel.

She did not kneel, but instead brought a stool and sat down.

The towel was delivered to Gu Lan's feet, wiping them clean with care.

Her movements were gentle, as if wiping a rare treasure.

After wiping, she carefully helped Gu Lan put on his brocade boots again.

The whole process was neither humble nor overbearing, yet exuded obedience.

Gu Lan sat above, cold sweat soaking his back.

Right at this moment.

That pricking sensation of being watched suddenly receded like a tide.

The shark pearl at the top of the cabin flickered once.

The heavy stone in Gu Lan's heart finally dropped.

The Female Demon Lord's Divine Sense had withdrawn!

This hurdle could be considered muddled through.

…

Inside the cabin next door.

Ye Hongzhuang lazily reclined on the imperial concubine couch.

She held spiritual wine in her hand, the corners of her mouth curling into a satisfied arc.

"Not bad."

"This brat is usually glib, but at critical moments he really nails the demeanor of the Demon Cult."

She drank the wine in her cup in one gulp.

"To be able to have a Righteous Path fellow Disciple serve him like this, it seems that over these ten years, he truly hasn't developed any sense of belonging to the Righteous Path."

"However…"

Ye Hongzhuang recalled the scene she had just seen.

That Righteous Path woman had quite a stiff spine; she never knelt, using the Water Control Art to wash away dust.

And that look in her eyes seemed a bit strange?

Intuition told her that there seemed to be a certain tacit understanding between these two.

"Heh, whatever."

Ye Hongzhuang shook her head and didn't delve deeper.

"Once you enter the gates of the Heavenly Demon Palace, even a Dragon must coil up."

"There are plenty of secrets on this brat, this seat has plenty of time to play slowly."

…

Inside Gu Lan's cabin.

Confirming that the Divine Sense had left, Gu Lan collapsed on the soft couch like a puddle of mud, panting heavily.

"I finally made it through…"

He turned his head to look at Jiang Wanqing.

"Senior Sister."

Gu Lan hurriedly leaned closer, "I'm sorry about just now, that was just me…"

"I know."

Jiang Wanqing reversed her hand and grabbed Gu Lan's wrist tightly.

She raised her head, her face full of determination and tenderness.

"Junior Brother, you don't need to explain, I understand everything."

"You understand?" Gu Lan was stunned, feeling somewhat guilty.

"Yes!"

Jiang Wanqing's eye sockets were slightly red, and her voice was firm.

"You are alone in the Demon Cult, every step is difficult, and you also have to suffer the surveillance and coercion of the Female Demon Lord. You didn't let me kneel, and even used harsh words to cover it up, all to protect me, to eliminate the Female Demon Lord's murderous intent towards me, right?"

"Uh…" Gu Lan swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Although the process had some deviations, the conclusion seemed flawless?

"Actually, I live… quite alright in the Demon Cult…" Gu Lan defended weakly.

After all, he had just come out of the Female Demon Lord's bedchamber.

"You don't have to hide it from me anymore!"

Jiang Wanqing interrupted him, reaching out to gently stroke his pale cheek.

"Look at you, what have you been tortured into."

"When you were scolding me just now, your hands were shaking!"

Gu Lan inwardly complained: I was shaking from fear, alright!

"Junior Brother, rest assured."

Jiang Wanqing took a deep breath, seemingly making a major decision.

"Since I am here, I will never let you fight alone."

"I will cooperate with you to play this act well and never reveal any flaws."

"As long as I am alive, I will definitely find a way to lift the Seal and take you away from this devil's den!"

Looking at Jiang Wanqing's tragic and heroic look of enduring hardships, Gu Lan was completely numb.

Senior Sister, oh Senior Sister!

It's a waste of talent for you not to go write storybooks with this imagination of yours!

If I told you that I was scrubbing the back of the Female Demon Lord last night, what thoughts would you have?

"Bang!"

Right in this misplaced touching atmosphere.

The cabin door was kicked open by someone.

"Gu Lan! Washing your feet for so long! Has the skin peeled off or what?!"

Saintess Ji Wushuang rushed in pouting angrily.

When she saw Jiang Wanqing's clothes half-wet, her eyes slightly red, and still tightly holding Gu Lan's hand, she instantly bristled.

"Very well!"

"No wonder there was no movement for so long! So you were secretly meeting an old lover behind this palace's back?!"

Saintess Ji Wushuang's soul-locking whip trembled fiercely in her hand.

Slap!

A crisp sound.

"Jiang Wanqing! You foot-washing maid, who allowed you to pull my husband's hand?!"

"Still not apologizing to me!"

Jiang Wanqing turned her head and coldly looked at Saintess Ji Wushuang.

Her back was held straight, like a sharp sword that would rather break than bend.

Even trapped in a predicament, her cold and proud Righteous Path moral integrity had not diminished by half.

"I lost to Gu Lan, so I naturally fulfill my vow." Jiang Wanqing's voice was cold, neither humble nor overbearing, "But you are not yet qualified to make me lower my head."

"You are courting death!"

Saintess Ji Wushuang was extremely angry, her soul-locking whip suddenly raising and whipping down fiercely.

Snap!

A muffled sound.

The skin-tearing damage imagined did not happen.

Gu Lan was quick-witted, pulling Jiang Wanqing behind him with one hand and grasping the tip of the whip barehanded.

"Enough!"

Gu Lan protected Jiang Wanqing behind him, looking at Saintess Ji Wushuang in a deep voice.

"Shuanger, she is the trophy I won back. No one is allowed to touch her except me."

His tone was low, carrying unquestionable majesty.

Saintess Ji Wushuang looked at Gu Lan protecting Jiang Wanqing, both angry and aggrieved, her eyes instantly turning red.

Gu Lan painfully covered his face.

It's over.

This Shura field can completely no longer be explained away.