Chapter 52: The Virgin Body

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The icy chill spreading from the bed instantly snapped me wide awake.

The moment I realized what was happening, my scalp began to prickle.

How could this be?

Could this thing really be unafraid of the old man’s Demon-Breaking Golden Mace, and have forced its way in to harm me?

The thought made me even more tense.

I silently recited an incantation and gripped a Soul-Calming Talisman in my hand. Then I slowly reached out and pulled at the quilt before me.

If some evil creature had come to harm me, I would kill it without hesitation!

But when I threw back the quilt, the face that greeted me was a beautiful little face, utterly harmless.

And that person was Liu Qingqing.

When I saw who it was, I relaxed slightly and put away the Soul-Calming Talisman.

“Qingqing, why aren’t you asleep at this hour? What are you doing here? And how did you get in without me noticing?”

I questioned her in a solemn tone, though my relaxed mood quickly became tense again.

“My mother told me that if you want to win a man’s heart, the most important thing is to let him taste a little sweetness. Only then will he willingly stay with a woman.”

“Brother Qiyue, I want to be with you too, so I sneaked over here. I want to give myself to you... I only ask that you change your mind and take me back.”

By the time Liu Qingqing finished speaking, her pretty face had turned bright red.

“Brother Qiyue, take me. I’m giving myself to you willingly. I only ask that you change your mind and marry me.”

Her words grew more and more explicit. In the end, she threw herself at me and wrapped both arms tightly around my waist.

I tried to push her away, but the feel of her skin beneath my hands was impossibly smooth.

I had to admit, Liu Qingqing took truly excellent care of her skin.

“Qingqing, let go for a moment. I still have a few things to ask you.”

I patted her arm, signaling for her to release me.

With such a beautiful woman pressed against me, I was afraid I might lose control.

I was no Liu Xiahui, after all. I did not possess his legendary ability to remain unmoved with a beauty sitting in his lap.

“Brother Qiyue, I’m not afraid. I want to be your woman. Hurry and take me.”

Liu Qingqing began tearing at her own clothes, and the light in her eyes grew feverishly intense.

“Liu Qingqing, put your clothes back on at once. If you keep this up, I’m going to stop paying attention to you.”

I raised my voice to stop her and urged her to dress herself properly.

The old man had told me that Liu Qingqing was the greatest variable in my destiny, and warned me to be careful around her.

That was why I instinctively guarded against her. Until I was married, I would never casually surrender my virginity.

No matter how forward the other person was, it was absolutely out of the question.

“Brother Qiyue, are you still angry with me? I shouldn’t have broken off our engagement. It was all my fault. I hope you can forgive me. I don’t mind giving myself to you.”

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Liu Qingqing’s eyes brimmed with tenderness, and her words sent my imagination running wild.

Even so, I never forgot the old man’s warning to be careful around this woman.

She was the greatest variable in my destined calamity. It was better to keep my distance from her.

Liu Qingqing tried to move closer again, but I pointed a finger at her and rendered her unconscious.

I did not know why she had become like this, but I could never allow myself to ruin her.

The technique I had used to knock her out was called the Finger of Spiritual Understanding. It was specifically meant to calm and pacify the mind.

Liu Qingqing must have suffered some kind of provocation to start spouting such deranged nonsense.

After settling her on the bed, I prepared to rest in the room next door.

After all, it would not look good if word got out that a man and a woman had spent the night alone together.

But just as I was pulling the quilt over Liu Qingqing, I lowered my head and looked at her.

I had to admit, her physiognomy was extraordinary. She practically radiated nobility.

A head with four prominent corners indicated wealth and rank, while a rounded crown and high forehead promised fortune and longevity.

Her features did not merely suggest the countenance of an ordinary noblewoman. They bore the true aura of royalty—the face of an emperor.

Had she been born in ancient times, Liu Qingqing would certainly have been a member of the imperial family, destined to be the daughter of an emperor.

It was no wonder Grandfather had arranged for me to marry her and betrothed us when we were children.

A destiny like hers was no simple matter. Perhaps she really could alter my fate of five afflictions and three deficiencies. It was even possible that she could help me survive my destined calamity unscathed.

Yet although Liu Qingqing’s features were nobler than words could express, one thing about her puzzled me.

The lamp of her destiny was always wavering, its light bright one moment and dim the next.

Ordinarily, a woman with features like Liu Qingqing’s should have a destiny lamp shining brilliantly. If one opened the Third Eye, golden light ought to be flickering over both her shoulders.

Something was not right.

To be honest, this was the first time I had ever encountered such a strange destiny.

Even among the ancient books Grandfather had left me, I had never seen anything similar recorded.

No wonder she was the woman for whom Grandfather had been willing to shorten his own life just to arrange our childhood betrothal. Her destiny truly was extraordinary.

At that moment, I found myself inexplicably curious about Liu Qingqing’s fate.

I reached beneath the quilt and pulled out her small, fair, smooth hand.

It was somewhat improper, but if I wanted to understand what was going on, I had no choice but to grit my teeth and do it.

After all, if a man did not look after his own interests, Heaven itself would destroy him.

I examined Liu Qingqing’s hand for a while, then felt my face flush and was suddenly overcome with embarrassment.

For some reason, Liu Qingqing, who had been unconscious a moment earlier, opened her eyes.

“Brother Qiyue, what are you doing? Are you reading my palm? Are you trying to see whether I was born with good fortune?”

Liu Qingqing sat up and blinked her limpid, sparkling eyes at me. Her entire manner was indescribably alluring.

“Your features are noble, so naturally you were born with good fortune. You have the destiny of a high-born lady. It’s just... just...”

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After studying her carefully for a while, I spoke to Liu Qingqing with a flushed face.

Her palm lines were utterly inconsistent with her features. Her face belonged to a noblewoman, someone with the destiny of royalty.

But her palm lines suggested the fate of a wanton woman, one who would give herself to any man.

For a moment, I had no idea how to smooth things over. By all rights, the hands of a woman destined for such nobility could never be so base.

There had to be some hidden explanation.

But what exactly was it?

I could not say.

Still, I could sense that something had gone wrong in her destiny, tightly suppressing her fortune.

Had I not studied the Azure Hemp School of physiognomy in depth, I probably would never have noticed that something was amiss.

“Just what? Brother Qiyue. Don’t tell me you can’t figure it out and you’re embarrassed now?”

Liu Qingqing lay on her stomach on the bed, blinking at me teasingly.

“It’s nothing serious. You have a few minor tribulations ahead, but I’m sure you’ll get through them easily.”

I did not tell her the truth. Instead, I casually made up a lie to brush the matter aside.

After hearing this, she giggled.

“That’s for certain, Brother Qiyue. I have the face of a great person. I’m destined to become a high-ranking official. Why don’t you take me now? Then you’ll have a high-ranking official’s wife to protect you.”

“When you return to the village, you’ll have plenty of face as well.”

Liu Qingqing blinked repeatedly and continued chattering beside me.

I had no idea whom she had been spending time with these past few days, but even I felt my face grow hot at the things she said.

“Well, Brother Qiyue? Think about it and take me as your woman. I really want to marry you!”

Liu Qingqing seized my hand and kept pulling it toward herself.

Embarrassed, I quickly broke free.

I knew that although Liu Qingqing had feelings for me, they were not deep enough for her to behave like this.

That meant there could only be one explanation: she had been manipulated by someone.

And whoever controlled her possessed extraordinary abilities.

Even a master of physiognomy like me could not see the person pulling the strings behind her. That alone was enough to prove how powerful the enemy was.

This was someone not to be trifled with.

If my guess was correct, there was only one reason this person had controlled Liu Qingqing and sent her here: to strip me of my virginity, so that when my destined calamity arrived, I would lose one of my means of preserving my life.

What a vicious scheme!