The man smiled but remained silent. He welcomed this idea.
Chu Qiao lowered her voice and said in a demure tone, "Master, this is the Qianyun acupoint. It's the acupoint for relieving fatigue." Finishing her words, she clenched her fists and gave him a punch in the chest.
As expected, the man let out a grunt, arching his back and shedding his lazy aura.
Chu Qiao pretended to panic and knelt down, lowering her head. Frantically, she said, "Did I use too much force?"
The man grunted a few more times, breathing heavily. After a long while, he said hoarsely, "None of your business." He sat breathlessly by the side of the pool, muttering to himself, "Darned lass, so ruthless in her strokes."
"Are you referring to me, Master?"
"Not you."
Chu Qiao naturally knew who he was referring to. That was the spot where she had hit him during their battle earlier on. The way he said those words sounded strange, as if he had been acquainted with her previously. She frowned slowly and squinted.
"Were you purchased from Xianyang City a few days ago by Lord Tian?" the man asked joyfully, trying to start a conversation. It looked like the unconscious woman was purchased from Xianyang City too. They had some affinity after all. Chu Qiao, still disguising her voice, replied, "Yes, Master."
"Mmm." The man continued to ask, "from which stall?"
Out of the slave sellers in Xianyang City, Chu Qiao only knew one person. "Boss Mu from the west market."
"West market?" The man in the pool was intrigued. He turned around and asked in a low voice, "Have you seen a lady as tall as you, but skilled in martial arts?"
Chu Qiao frowned and replied, "Skilled in martial arts? Would she be enslaved in this case?"
"She was seriously injured."
Chu Qiao was shocked. She frowned and probed, "There are many such people. Do you know that person's name, Master?"
"Her name is…" the man froze and thought for a long while, before replying, "It's alright. She would have used a fake name."
"Then I do not know anything," Chu Qiao stated, pretending to be relaxed by adding a little laugh at the end. With caution, she probed, "Are you looking for someone, Master? Given your status, you would not have any friends who are slaves. Is that a slave under your family?"
The man was deflated, turning around and not saying a word. The hot water entered the pool from behind the statue of the beautiful women, making a swoosh as it entered the pool. After a long while, Chu Qiao heard the man whispering, "I'm after her."
Chu Qiao felt cold inside. She had anticipated that the Xia troops had caught up with her. They were capable after all, managing to locate her despite the circumstances. They had surrounded her in Wupeng City and located Boss Mu's stall in advance. If she had not blended in as a slave on the boat of the Zhan family, big trouble would have befallen her. If she had known, instead of being chased by the Xia troops, she would have stayed on the boat.
As she was in her trance, the man in front of her stood up suddenly. Chu Qiao was caught off guard, losing control of her entire body. With a splash, she landed headfirst into the pool, landing on the floor of the pool forcefully. If not for the deep water, she would have easily been killed by the impact.
Chu Qiao felt dizzy. Suddenly, feeling light headed, she was dragged to the surface by someone.
"Cough…cough…cough..."
The water currents by the side intensified. The water splashed out ferociously, causing large amounts of white mist to form in the air, spreading across the room. Chu Qiao was helped up by the man and leaned against his arm, coughing uncontrollably. She was like a normal human being after choking on water, face red and throat burning. Simply put, it was miserable.
The man felt the lady in his embrace trembling, almost coughing her lungs out. She was tall but skinny. There was little flesh on her arms, but it felt good to the touch. Her skin carried a certain degree of elasticity, appearing radiant and warm. Amidst the white mist, the young lady had been thoroughly drenched. Her clothes stuck tightly to her skin, accentuating her curves. Her long, toned legs were in contact with his body. It was evident that not even the complexions of the noble daughters could compare with hers.
Unconsciously, the man suddenly demonstrated a gesture of warmth. He reached out his hand gently and patted her back to alleviate her cough. However, as his hand landed on her back, the thin robe fell off her body. His hand landed on her bare back, which was smooth and good to the touch.
Chu Qiao's body stiffened. Momentarily, she forgot that she was coughing.
A sinister look flashed across the man's eyes. He grabbed Chu Qiao's arms, lowered his head, and fiercely planted his lips on Chu Qiao's. At that instant, Chu Qiao was stunned and angered. The man's strong arms held her in his embrace. Before she had time to grit her lips, they were pried open by the man's agile tongue. A wild ambience enveloped the room. The man held her in his embrace with one arm, pressing the back of her head with his other arm. His actions were overbearing, making her unable to escape.
The surge of panic and fear caused Chu Qiao to blank out. However, in an instant, she snapped out of her daydream and kicked out at the man forcefully. Tragically, she was in the pool. Due to the resistance of the water, she did not land her kick on the man, falling backwards instead.
The man gave another sinister laugh and fell into the water while holding her in his arms. With a loud sound, the water droplets scattered in the air! The warm water gushed into their ears from all directions. Their jet black hair scattered around in the water, blocking their vision. The man pressed himself on Chu Qiao's body. They both sank to the bottom of the pool, over a meter deep. The flower petals in the water spread out. As they approached the bottom of the pool, the man used one hand to press against the back of Chu Qiao's head, the other hand wrapping around her waist. He delivered another passionate kiss to her lips.
The techniques which he used to kiss were filled with passion. His tongue swam wildly in her mouth, as if it was trying to suck out her beauty and her power. Chu Qiao frowned. She did not care about concealing her identity anymore. She reached out her fist to resist, but all of her force was dissipated by the resistance of the water. The man grabbed her fist and restrained her arms behind her back, wrapping his legs around hers. With his other hand, he started to feel her thin waist, her flat tummy, and her perky breasts…
"Mmm…" Chu Qiao grunted and started to resist fiercely. She opened her mouth and bit the man's lip fiercely. She felt the scent of blood in her mouth. Her resistance did not cause the man to retreat, igniting his passion instead. He reached out his hand and tore her clothes off, revealing her fair skin.
Chu Qiao opened her eyes wide, grunting in anger. Without waiting, the man's warm hand had uninvitingly placed itself on her chest. Chu Qiao, inspired by her desperation, retaliated with a technique of submission to break free of the man's grip, elbowing the man fiercely in the chest. With a leap, she surfaced from under the water.
"Whew!" Having been under the water for a long time, Chu Qiao's face turned red, panting breathlessly. After a short while, the man's head popped out from under the water.
"Come here!" the low, hoarse voice echoed. "Don't play this kind of game with me!"
"Mmm, okay." Chu Qiao gave a sinister smile and squinted, like a predator that spotted its prey. She was determined to kill him.
Alas, the mist was too heavy for the man to see her expression. As she approached him, he thought that she submitted to him. However, at this instant, Chu Qiao leapt up fiercely, half a meter above the water, and kicked at the man with her right leg!
Plop! The water droplets scattered high into the air once again. The man, amidst his trance, had taken a blow to the chest. With the impact, he fell backwards forcefully. In a flash, the angered lioness pounced on the man, falling into the water with him and started to rain merciless punches on the man's handsome face.
Everything happened in a matter of seconds. Even though the man's martial arts prowess was not beneath hers, he was defenceless due to the explosive nature of the assault. The sounds of her punches reverberated across the room. The man had taken a few punches to the face. If not for the fact that he was submerged in the water, his nose would surely have been broken.
The man was dazed. Helpless, he did something uncharacteristic of his status. Before he had time to retaliate, he pushed Chu Qiao aside and crawled pathetically towards the side of the pool.
"Running away?" Chu Qiao spit out the water in her mouth, leaping at him again! Speed, unorthodox blows and an unrestrained anger combined together. The man no longer had any chance to fight back. He was subdued again by the vicious woman. After a merciless assault, he managed to make his way to the side of the pool, attempting to run out of the steam room. She leapt at him again, grabbing at his waist. The both of them fell to the ground with a thud.
As they were no longer in the water, the man's movements were no longer hindered by the water resistance. He started to fight back instead of retreating. In the strong mist, two silhouettes danced around, executing their exquisite strokes. Their blows matched each other with a force unparalleled in this world.
Chu Qiao's cover had been blown. If the man managed to escape, she would be doomed. Naturally, she fought with desperate survival instincts.
The man was no longer so naive as to treat her as a normal slave. He fought back with no intention of mercy!
There were no weapons, no assassinations, no underhanded tactics. What was on display was real, authentic martial arts, and a duel to showcase the survival of the fittest!
With the god of death staring the both of them in the face, their movements were synchronized, grabbing at each other's throats. As long as one person moved their hands, the other party's neck would be snapped.
Bizarrely, both of them stopped in their tracks. They raised their other hand in unison, gesturing for a truce. Perishing together? That was silly on the part of both parties. Subsequently, they loosened their grip on each other's throats, backing off slowly.
At this moment, another gush of water rushed out from behind the statues. At this critical moment, the hot spring water splashed into the pool. With the movement of the water, the both of them dashed forward towards each other, grabbing at each other's throats again.