358: Chapter 358 What hot spring? This is boiling water!

Su Chen blinked, not feeling anything amiss with this form of address.

If she wanted to be called "Sir," so be it.

It was said that one only had a single master, but no one had decreed that a "Sir" also had to be a master.

Without his memories of Blue Star, he was completely oblivious to what this term had actually implied between the two of them in his past life (the romantic undertones).

He simply nodded obediently.

"Very good."

Zhuge Jinyu withdrew her hand with satisfaction.

Afterwards, amidst the fanatical gazes of everyone—gazes filled with envy, jealousy, and even the desperate desire to take Su Chen's place—

she interlaced her fingers with Su Chen's and tapped her toes lightly against the ground.

Transforming into a streak of white light, she whisked Su Chen away, flying directly back to the Prime Minister's palace.

Leaving behind only Aunt Qing, who stood petrified in the gale.

"What the hell..."

Aunt Qing watched the two figures vanish into the horizon, her eye twitching violently.

It seemed there was no need to check Xiao Chen's badge.

The badge was fine.

Was this what they called cold and aloof?

Was this what they called keeping strangers at a distance?

She started by interlacing her fingers with his and kidnapped him without even saying a word?

A sense of crisis surged violently within Aunt Qing.

One had to realize that Zhuge Jinyu not only held immense power in the Daqian Empire, but she was also a genuine, early-stage Tribulation Transcendence Realm powerhouse.

If it really came to blows, she, a mere Integration Realm sister-in-law, would be pinned to the ground and beaten to a pulp by the other party.

"It's over... Sister, you've invited a wolf into the house."

Aunt Qing felt like crying.

If Su Chen were to marry eight wives at once in the future, her sister's strength might be enough to suppress those vixens.

But what about her—an Integration Realm cultivator who preferred fortune-telling and playing mahjong to actual cultivation?

"No!"

"I must cultivate!"

Aunt Qing, filled with grief and indignation, steered her spirit-vehicle and flew dejectedly back to the Cangmang Sacred Land.

Deep inside the Daqian Prime Minister's residence.

Ignoring the fact that Su Chen had yet to pay his respects to the young Emperor of Daqian in the imperial court, and disregarding the shocked gazes and polite objections of the female officials within the Prime Minister's residence,

Zhuge Jinyu led Su Chen directly into her private bedchamber, a place that belonged to her alone.

"This is where you will study and live from now on."

Zhuge Jinyu released Su Chen's hand and poured him a cup of warm spirit tea.

Su Chen looked at the surroundings, which were far more austere than he had imagined, and felt rather bewildered.

Aunt Qing had said that he was coming to the Daqian Academy as an exchange student.

Yet here he was, being led directly into the palace by the female Prime Minister of Daqian.

What was the meaning of this?

Zhuge Jinyu seemed to notice his confusion and continued, speaking calmly.

"You may still attend the Daqian Academy; there are many cultivation techniques and classics there, after all. It wouldn't hurt to browse through them."

"But... other than that, you are not to step a single foot out of this bedchamber without my approval."

"It is dangerous outside; that black dragon is still searching for you like a madman."

Su Chen frowned and was about to retort, but Zhuge Jinyu added.

"Furthermore, you must not go and see the female officials in the outer courtyard."

"Why?"

Su Chen looked toward the door, puzzled.

Ever since Zhuge Jinyu's father—the old Prime Minister—had passed away, there were no men left in the entire Prime Minister's residence.

Most daily affairs were handled by these female officials.

Their cultivation levels were, at most, at the Nascent Soul stage.

Given his current strength, they were of no concern.

Zhuge Jinyu set down her teacup and spoke nonsense without batting an eye.

"Because the cultivation techniques they practice are unique; they specialize in devouring young boys with tender skin like you."

Su Chen: "..."

He could tell at a glance that Zhuge Jinyu was spouting nonsense.

However, faced with such a blatant demand to strip him of his freedom, Su Chen, possessing the mind of an adult, naturally refused to yield an inch.

"Prime Minister, while I am here to seek refuge, I am not here to serve a prison sentence."

"If I cannot even step out the door, then I would rather return to the mountains."

Su Chen straightened his back and stared directly at Zhuge Jinyu, his gaze unyielding.

Seeing that familiar, obstinate look in Su Chen's eyes—the same look from the investment world and his time on Blue Star—Zhuge Jinyu's rock-solid defenses softened.

How could she ever truly bring herself to force him?

"Very well."

Zhuge Jinyu sighed helplessly.

She retrieved a mirror from her sleeve—it looked ancient and imposing, yet it was marred by eight distinct cracks—and placed it into Su Chen's hand.

"Keep this mirror with you. I will dedicate all my private time to being with you."

"However, if there are occasions in the imperial court that require my personal attendance, and you feel stifled or encounter danger, you may call out 'Sir' three times to this mirror."

Zhuge Jinyu gazed at him deeply.

"No matter where I am, or what powerful enemy I face, as long as you call, I will tear through the void and arrive in an instant to save you."

Su Chen held the warm bronze mirror and looked at the powerful female Prime Minister before him; a warm current surged through his heart.

Then, Zhuge Jinyu's expression grew somewhat complex.

She said softly.

"Once midnight passes, it will be your birthday."

"It is also the critical moment for Aunt Qing and me to coordinate the concealment of the Dragon Qi within your body."

"I will see to the arrangements myself tonight."

Su Chen traced the cracks on the mirror in his hand and asked curiously,

"Sir... may I ask, why is this mirror you gave me cracked?"

Who would have thought that upon hearing this, the pretty face that had always been gentle before him would suddenly freeze over.

"Heh... it was smashed by a scumbag who toyed with my feelings!"

Hearing this, Su Chen was instantly incensed.

Hmph!

Such a wonderful, beautiful Sir—what kind of person could have the heart to toy with her feelings?

That person was truly despicable!

The night deepened, and the Prime Minister's residence fell into silence.

Using the flimsy excuse that "concealing one's bloodline causes a violent surge of Dragon Qi, which requires the Prime Minister's residence's unique hot spring to neutralize and suppress,"

Zhuge Jinyu brought Su Chen to the deepest part of the residence.

Mist swirled, and the dense spiritual energy made the entire pool feel like a fairyland.

To Su Chen's utter shock, the moment he stepped into the secluded, deserted chamber—before he could even do anything—

the majestic and untouchable Prime Minister of Daqian, right before his eyes, slowly removed her heavy, outer white robe.

The garment slipped away.

In the end, Zhuge Jinyu was left wearing only a layer of white, silk undergarments as thin as cicada wings.

Her stunning, partially visible silhouette and the expanse of snow-white, delicate skin—

shimmering under the interplay of water and moonlight, exuded a fatal temptation that would drive any man in the world to madness.

"Sir... Sir, what are you doing?"

Zhuge Jinyu gave Su Chen no time to react.

She reached out her arms, pulled the tall Su Chen tightly into her embrace, and stepped into the hot spring water together.

However, the moment the water rose above his waist, Su Chen gasped sharply.

"Hiss—it's boiling!"

What kind of hot spring was this?

This was nothing but a pot of boiling water!