“Chapter 245: Audience with the Empress! Your Highness, your grip is a bit too strong!”

"Bang!"

The knocking outside the door was dull and forceful.

The mechanical and icy voice of the Shadow Guards penetrated the thick door panel and reverberated inside the Hidden Sword Pavilion.

The helplessness on Gu Lan's face instantly vanished completely.

He took a deep breath and once again mobilized the True Qi that had just calmed down within his body, making his expression look grim and aggressive.

He turned his head and looked at Jiang Wanqing, who was standing by the wooden basin.

At this moment, Jiang Wanqing also straightened her body.

She was still clutching the damp towel that had been used to wipe feet, her cold and aloof eyes filled with worry.

Although she did not know what that Female Demon Lord wanted Gu Lan to do, her intuition told her it was definitely nothing good.

That ruthless and bloodthirsty Devil Lord of the Soul Transformation Stage was capricious; for Gu Lan to go there now was simply like accompanying a tiger.

"Junior Brother…" Jiang Wanqing's lips moved slightly as she subconsciously took a step forward.

"Don't come out. Stay in the room."

Gu Lan lowered his voice and interrupted her extremely quickly.

"No matter what commotion you hear, you are not allowed to open the door. You are my spoils of war. Aside from me, if anyone in this Heavenly Demon Palace dares to forcefully break into the Hidden Sword Pavilion and touch you, I will have a reason to draw my sword and hack them. Therefore, staying inside is the safest thing for you."

After saying that, Gu Lan didn't give Jiang Wanqing any chance to speak again, turning around and walking with large strides toward the door.

He reached out and pulled open the room door.

Outside the door, the wind and snow continued as before.

A Shadow Guard wrapped completely in black armor stood in the wind and snow like a lifeless wooden stake.

Seeing Gu Lan come out, the Shadow Guard lowered its head slightly and made a gesture of invitation.

"Lord Sword-Wielding Envoy, the Sect Master is waiting for you on the top floor. Please accompany this subordinate immediately."

Gu Lan didn't waste words, using the back of his hand to slam the door of the Hidden Sword Pavilion shut, leaving Jiang Wanqing only with his tall and straight back.

"Lead the way."

Treading on the thick snow, Gu Lan followed behind the Shadow Guard and walked toward the tallest building in the Heavenly Demon Palace.

The wind of the Far North scraped across his face like knives.

As Gu Lan walked, his mind was spinning at high speed.

Why did Ye Hongzhuang summon him at this time?

Was it because he spent the whole night in the Saintess Palace last night? Or because on the Sunset Plain, not only did he steal the limelight, but he also carried back the number one Fairy of the Righteous Path, and the Female Demon Lord wanted to question him about the details?

No matter what it was, Gu Lan knew very well in his heart that in front of Ye Hongzhuang, he must never show the slightest bit of a guilty conscience.

That woman was like an extremely acute she-wolf; the moment you revealed the slightest flaw, she would bite your throat off without hesitation.

After walking for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the huge black basalt gates of Zhaixing Tower appeared before his eyes.

The Shadow Guard stopped its steps and walked no further.

"My lord, the Sect Master is inside. This subordinate takes leave."

The Shadow Guard seemed to melt into the wind and snow, disappearing without a trace after a few leaps.

Gu Lan stood before the door and exhaled a puff of white air.

He reached out and pushed open the heavy doors.

"Creak—"

As soon as the door opened, an extremely warm wave of heat, carrying even a somewhat sweet and cloying fragrance, rushed toward his face.

Unlike the freezing snow outside, top-grade smokeless spiritual charcoal was burning inside Zhaixing Tower.

The entire grand hall was arranged extremely luxuriously, with complete polar fire fox pelts spread across the floor. Stepping on them felt soft and fluffy, swallowing even the sound of footsteps completely.

The grand hall was extremely spacious, with no maidservants attending by the side.

Gu Lan followed the red carpet all the way to the deepest part of the grand hall.

Ahead was a ridiculously large sandalwood daybed, surrounded by hanging gauze curtains in black and gold colors.

Through the translucent gauze curtains, a graceful figure could be vaguely seen lying sideways on the daybed.

"Subordinate Gu Lan pays respects to Your Highness."

Gu Lan stopped five steps away from the daybed, knelt on one knee, his voice steady and resonant, without the slightest flaw to pick on.

Behind the gauze curtains, no response came immediately.

Only a fair, slender jade hand painted with dark red nail polish reached out and gently parted the black and gold gauze curtains.

Today, Ye Hongzhuang was not wearing that heavy phoenix robe symbolizing the identity of the Sect Master.

On her body, she wore only an extremely thin and light black silk nightgown.

The fabric of the clothing was pitifully scarce, and large areas of snow-white skin were directly exposed to the warm air.

She was barefoot, her legs casually crossed together, toying with an exquisite white jade wine cup in her hand.

The scarlet wine sloshed in the cup, reflecting her unfathomable phoenix eyes.

"Rise."

Ye Hongzhuang's voice was lazy and hoarse, carrying an innate allure.

Gu Lan stood up, his gaze extremely well-behaved as he stared at the fire fox pelt carpet before him, refusing to look around even a glance.

"I heard you stayed in the Saintess Palace for the entire night last night?"

Ye Hongzhuang drained the red wine in the cup in one gulp, casually tossing the jade cup onto the low table beside her. Her tone revealed neither joy nor anger, as if she were discussing today's weather.

But a layer of cold sweat had already instantly seeped out of Gu Lan's back.

It was coming.

A death trap question.

"Replying to Your Highness." Gu Lan raised his head, his face devoid of any panic. "Last night, when Saintess Your Highness practiced cultivation, her True Qi reversed and she almost suffered a Qi Deviation. As the Sword-Wielding Envoy, this subordinate ought to act as the Protector for Your Highness, which is why I guarded the outer room of the Saintess Palace for the entire night."

"Oh? Acting as a Protector?"

Ye Hongzhuang let out a soft chuckle.

She walked down from the daybed barefoot.

The black silk skirt hem trailed across the red carpet. She walked up to Gu Lan, the distance between the two of them close enough for Gu Lan to clearly smell the cold body scent mixed with wine fragrance on her.

"How is it that this seat heard not only did you act as a Protector, but you also stirred up quite a commotion inside that vixen's room?"

Ye Hongzhuang suddenly reached out her hand.

Her icy fingertips directly lifted Gu Lan's chin, forcing him to raise his head and stare straight into her eyes.

At the instant they locked gazes, Gu Lan only felt an extremely terrifying Soul Transformation Stage coercion shroud down from above, pressing down on him until breathing became difficult.

Ye Hongzhuang's gaze swept across Gu Lan's face like knives.

Suddenly, her line of sight froze above Gu Lan's collar, at the position of the right side of his neck.

There, despite being treated with ointment by Gu Lan, was a row of deep, clearly visible bite marks.

Ye Hongzhuang's gaze instantly turned cold.

The temperature of the surrounding air seemed to drop to freezing point at this moment, and even the blazing spiritual charcoal flames shrank slightly.

"Guarding, all the way onto the bed?"

Ye Hongzhuang's voice was bone-chillingly cold.

Her thumb directly pressed down onto that bite mark on Gu Lan's neck, and then pressed downward with extreme force.

"Hiss—!"

Gu Lan sucked in a cold breath of pain. The wound that was already close to scabbing over immediately seeped a few wisps of fresh blood again under her press.

He wanted to dodge, but he knew that if he dared to take half a step back now, this woman would definitely smash his head to pieces with a single palm strike right on the spot.

"Your Highness… you have misunderstood."

Gu Lan clenched his teeth, stubbornly enduring the intense pain on his neck and that suffocating coercion, bracing himself to explain.

"Last night, the Saintess was consumed by evil fire in her heart and completely lost her reason, biting people randomly like a crazed beast. In order to forcibly use Pure Yang Qi to help her suppress the evil fire, this subordinate's hands were locked down with no time to dodge, and that was how I was bitten by her."

"This subordinate swears to the heavens that, aside from circulating Qi to suppress it, I definitely did not do anything that overstepped the rules!"

"Bitten by a beast?"

Ye Hongzhuang gave a cold huff.

Not only did she not let go, but instead she applied a little force with her fingernails, directly piercing Gu Lan's skin and staining them with a bit of Gu Lan's fresh blood.

"Gu Lan, remember this clearly for this seat."

Ye Hongzhuang withdrew her hand, brought that drop of fresh blood stained on her fingertips before her eyes to take a look, her gaze revealing an unmasked madness and desire for possession.

"You are the Sword-Wielding Envoy personally appointed by this seat."

"Your life, the Pure Yang Qi within your body, and even every piece of flesh on your body, all belong exclusively to this seat."

"Without the permission of this seat, no one is allowed to leave a trace on your body."

"Even Saintess Ji Wushuang cannot."

Ye Hongzhuang turned around, casually pulling a black cloak off the shelf beside her to wrap around her body, covering up that large expanse of alluring springtime scenery.

"This subordinate understands! This subordinate would never dare forget!" Gu Lan lowered his head and answered loudly.

"It's best that you understand."

Ye Hongzhuang walked over to the huge sandalwood desk, casually picked up a black Jade Slip, and tossed it onto the tabletop with a crisp "snap" sound.

"Calling you here today is not to listen to you sophistry about those petty matters of fighting for favor."

With her back to Gu Lan, Ye Hongzhuang's voice became solemn and cold.

"Your performance on the Sunset Plain, this seat saw it."

"With a Half-step Golden Core cultivation, being able to step those trash who pride themselves as Righteous Path Prodigies under your feet, and even withstand that old fellow's coercion head-on, you truly have some foundation."

"However, this bit of strength is still far from enough to look at in my Heavenly Demon Palace."

Ye Hongzhuang turned her head, her phoenix eyes flashing with a kind of near-cruel anticipation.

"Three days later, Wanmo Cave will open."

"I want you to go in."