...
As Xuan Hao described the chaotic yet lively scene, Bibi Dong's eyes twitched slightly.
This atmosphere was something she could never have imagined in her twenty years of living in the cold, impersonal Papal Palace.
"Hearing you say that..."
Bibi Dong sneered, her tone carrying a subtle complexity, "Your little harem is living quite the life, isn't it?
All that chaos, and you haven't even torn down the rooftop of the Tiandou Hotel?"
"That's because Na'er is there."
Xuan Hao explained, "If it weren't for Na'er mediating and acting as a peacemaker every day, these ladies would have been fighting in the suite long ago, given Ning Rongrong and Dugu Yan's fiery tempers.
We wouldn't have the peaceful life we have now."
Upon hearing this, Bibi Dong frowned slightly.
"That child, Na'er…"
"What is she thinking?
She just stands by and watches you bring home one woman after another, not only without getting angry, but also willingly helping you stabilize the home front and manage this mess?"
"What's so strange about that?"
Xuan Hao looked up at her. "To be honest, sometimes I don't quite understand what she's thinking either. But one thing I'm sure of is that she seems to really like this atmosphere."
After massaging one foot, Xuanhao switched to the other and continued to knead it slowly and deliberately.
"In Na'er's eyes, as long as I don't abandon her and as long as I can be with her every day, nothing else matters.
She hopes that everyone can be happy, live a simple life, and not have to think too much every day."
"With Rongrong and the others keeping me company and making a ruckus, the suite was lively every day, and she actually thought it was pretty good.
More than anyone else, she hoped that I could live a more enjoyable life in this cold world."
Xuan Hao's hands, warm with blood and energy, rhythmically kneaded the acupoints on the soles of Bibi Dong's feet.
This extreme physical relaxation quickly transforms into mental tranquility.
Listening to Xuan Hao's even breathing and smelling the faint fragrance of grass and trees in the air, Bibi Dong's eyelids grew heavier and heavier until she finally leaned against the sofa and fell into a deep sleep again.
After pressing the last few acupoints, Xuanhao looked at the woman who was now completely asleep and smiled helplessly.
He stood up quietly and lifted Bibi Dong's slender body into his arms.
This time, Bibi Dong only unconsciously grabbed his clothes in her sleep, without the slightest resistance.
Xuan Hao carefully placed her on the large bed in the palace, pulled the thin quilt over her, and then lay down on his side as well.
He propped his head up with one hand and quietly watched her unguarded sleeping face until a wave of drowsiness washed over him, and he slowly closed his eyes.
...
The next morning.
When the first ray of sunlight shone through the gap in the curtains onto the bed, Xuan Hao opened his eyes.
The space beside her was empty; Bibi Dong, who had been lying there, was nowhere to be seen.
Xuan Hao reached out and touched the bed sheet; it was ice-cold, indicating that the person had been gone for a long time.
However, he himself was completely covered up.
"What a workaholic."
Xuan Hao sat up and stretched, his bones cracking and popping.
I slept very soundly, and the fatigue from traveling all night was completely gone.
After a quick wash, Xuan Hao, using a familiar route, slipped away easily towards the government office in front of the Papal Palace.
As soon as I pushed open the side door and went inside, sure enough, Bibi Dong, dressed in her finest attire and wearing a nine-curved purple-gold crown, was already sitting behind the large, dark red desk, just as she always had.
She held a quill pen in her hand, intently reviewing a mountain of files, her beautiful face filled with coldness and authority.
Every morning is her fixed work time.
After finishing her work, she would engage in intensive secluded cultivation. Bibi Dong's schedule was almost completely packed, and the word "rest" simply did not exist in her world.
Xuan Hao strode over and went straight to the desk, looking at her with some heartache:
"I'm saying, Your Holiness, can't you take a few days off and rest?"
Bibi Dong didn't even raise her head; the quill in her hand spun rapidly, her tone cold and efficient:
"I'm extremely busy. It just so happens to be during the All-Continent Elite Soul Master Tournament, and the amount of intelligence and emergencies from the two empires, various sects, and the Spirit Hall has increased exponentially.
I have to personally review and handle a lot of things.
I can occasionally find time to rest, but during this period, I really don't have any free time."
Seemingly finding Xuan Hao's presence somewhat obstructive, Bibi Dong paused, then finally raised her head and glanced at him:
"If you're really bored, go find Nana in the back mountain.
She just finished her previous period of seclusion and is free now, so she can keep you company for a while."
"But I want you to play with me for a while."
Xuan Hao put his hands on the table, leaned forward, and stared at her with a somewhat roguish look.
Bibi Dong frowned slightly and glared at him irritably:
"How old are you?
All you do is play all day. Besides, what can I play with you?
Go shopping and see the scenery in the city?
This Martial Soul City is full of dogma and rules, there's no scenery for you to see."
"Leaving the city would be too troublesome. If my identity changes, the eyes and ears of the Hall of Worship and the major sects will follow.
If I really want to go out, I'll wait until this period is over and the competition is completely finished."
"You don't have to go out." Xuan Hao's lips curled into a wicked smile.
Before Bibi Dong could understand the meaning behind his words, Xuan Hao suddenly lowered his body and, under Bibi Dong's astonished gaze, slid like an eel under the wide mahogany table with thick tassels.
He sat cross-legged under the dark table, in a spacious room.
The next second, before Bibi Dong could even close her legs, Xuan Hao had already reached out with lightning speed and grabbed her ankles, pulling off the crystal high heels that symbolized the Pope's majesty.
With a "whoosh," Bibi Dong's pretty face instantly turned bright red.
Feeling the familiar, hot palm coming from her toes, even if she thought about it with her toes, she instantly understood what this little rascal was up to down there!
"Xuanhao! Get out of here!"
Bibi Dong gripped the edge of the table tightly, trying her best to keep her voice from carrying outside the hall. With her head down, she gritted her teeth and growled at the bottom of the table, "I'm doing serious business!
I don't have time to play your nonsense! Get out here right now!"
"As long as you don't move around or resist, I can handle it myself."
Xuan Hao's somewhat muffled voice came from under the table, "You can approve your documents up here, and I'll do mine down here. We won't interfere with each other."
"You shameless person! Let go... Ugh!"
Just as Bibi Dong was about to raise her leg and use her soul power to blast him away, Xuan Hao's voice came again, carrying a hint of underhanded threat:
"Teacher, I've gone to great lengths to please you last night and this morning. Please be understanding and let me relax today. You don't need to exert yourself."
"If you don't agree, then I'll reveal my identity right now and go to the back mountain to ask Senior Sister Nana for help, okay?"
Upon hearing this, Bibi Dong's quill pen suddenly stopped, and she even paused for a moment.
A strange, inexplicable surge of irritability and anger, which even she found somewhat absurd, instantly welled up from the deepest part of her heart.
The thought of that bastard who had been causing trouble in his bed this late at night, who had just been hugging and cuddling him, and who was now about to run off to the back mountain to do those absurd things with his most beloved disciple...
Bibi Dong's body trembled violently, and she gritted her teeth, almost squeezing out a few words:
"You're not allowed to go!"
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