The Martial God who started at Mantuo Manor

Page 45

Li Qingluo's body went from stiff to trembling, then to uncontrollably going limp, and finally, like a vine that had lost all its support, she helplessly and completely collapsed into Wang Meng's steel-like, solid embrace.

Her hands, which had instinctively wanted to push him away from her chest, unconsciously and helplessly climbed up his neck, her fingertips digging deep into his damp hair, as if grasping at a last straw. Mei, are you free? Lin, are you free...?

She began to respond to the kiss, albeit awkwardly.

Their lips and teeth intertwined, and their saliva was exchanged.

In the warm spring water, they seemed to forget everything around them, forgetting the two maids who were still kneeling outside the pavilion, but who had already buried their heads in their arms in fear.

Wang Meng's large hand, which had been wrapped around her waist, began to wander, tracing down her smooth back and finally covering her pert breasts.

The spring water formed a smooth film between his palm and her skin, making each kneading experience an indescribable, blissful sensation.

Its amazing roundness and elasticity made him love it so much.

Under his tender caresses, Li Qingluo let out soft moans, her body writhing in his arms like a water snake.

At this moment, she was no longer the fearful lord of the manor, and Wang Meng was no longer a cold and invisible attacker.

They were just a man and a woman, indulging in desire and a strange tenderness, comforting and taking from each other in the most primal way in this secluded hot spring.

She leaned softly against Wang Meng's chest, her usually fearful eyes tightly closed, a few drops of water clinging to her long eyelashes—whether from spring water or tears, it was hard to tell.

Wang Meng lowered his head and pressed his lips to her earlobe; the warm, moist breath sent a shiver down her spine.

He could feel the slight trembling of the mature body in his arms; it was fear, surrender, and a long-suppressed desire for reliance.

His voice was deep and husky, with a strange, reassuring magic, as it rang in her ears.

"From now on, let me help you, okay?"

These words, like a gentle spell, instantly struck the softest and most weary corner of Li Qingluo's heart.

Over the years, she has single-handedly supported such a large family business, dealing with wolves on the outside and calming the restless hearts of the people on the inside, which has left her exhausted.

She had longed for a broad shoulder to lean on, so that she could unload all her burdens.

At this moment, this shoulder was right behind her, strong and powerful.

A single, scalding tear finally slid down from the corner of her tightly closed eye, quickly dissolving into the warm spring water.

She buried her face deeply into Wang Meng's broad chest, as if trying to merge her whole being into it.

After a long while, she finally managed to utter a barely audible yet incredibly clear response from deep within her throat.

"it is good!"

This single word seemed to have exhausted all her strength, and it also seemed to have removed the heaviest shackles from her heart.

This was the complete collapse of her last bit of pride as the mistress of Mantuo Manor, and also her most primal and complete submission to the strong as a woman.

Wang Meng smiled.

It was a smile of triumph and a sense of control.

At the same time, new text finally appeared above the pupils—[Mission Objective: Before the countdown ends, become the master of "Mantuo Manor" and completely control the ultimate secret of "Langhuan Jade Cave".]

Become the master of "Mantuo Manor" (50% completion)

To completely seize control of the ultimate secrets of the "Langhuan Jade Cave." (Incomplete!)

Wang Meng narrowed his eyes, but did not study the newly appeared characters.

Because at this time, he needs to respond to her desire to return with actions.

The large hand that had been kneading her body suddenly lifted her up from the water with ease.

Li Qingluo exclaimed in surprise, and her legs instinctively wrapped around his firm, iron-like waist and abdomen.

This posture was both extremely shameful and extremely intimate.

With a violent jolt in the pool, Wang Meng's pent-up desire, hard as iron, no longer hesitated. He aimed at the already muddy valley and, like a red-hot iron pestle, pierced deep into it in one fell swoop!

"Ah—!" Li Qingluo tilted her head back, her beautiful neck forming a poignant yet desperate arc.

The extreme pain of being forcibly pierced and the unprecedented sense of fulfillment that filled her instantly mixed together into a raging torrent that was enough to burn away her reason!

The spring water was warm, but the core of his body was burning hot, like a branding iron.

Each heavy impact felt like it was hitting her heart, shattering all her resistance, all her reserve, and all her pretense.

They stirred the pool water, making it surge and the rushing sound was particularly loud in the quiet night.

The two maids kneeling outside the pavilion were so frightened that they lowered themselves even further, wishing they could turn into two motionless and deaf stones.

But the suppressed, high-pitched yet melodious moans still pierced their ears like demonic sounds, causing their bodies to tremble involuntarily.

Under this storm of attacks, Li Qingluo completely lost her way.

She forgot who she was and where she was, only knowing to cling tightly to the man on her body. This man, who gave her endless humiliation but also gave her an unprecedented, illusory sense of security and ultimate pleasure, rose and fell in the ocean of desire with his expansive movements until she was completely lost.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: How adorable—those little feet!

As night deepened, the bustling activity of Mantuo Manor, which had been lively all day, did not fall silent, but instead transitioned into a more peculiar and tense atmosphere.

One could see a group of beautiful maids dressed in uniform green dresses, each carrying a thick brocade book in their hands, moving lightly and silently between the various independent courtyards of the manor like a group of green butterflies.

Their expressions were solemn, their eyes fixed straight ahead, as if they were holding not a book filled with the goods, but a martial arts manual weighing over a thousand pounds.

This is the unique rule of the Mantuo Villa auction – “blind bidding in a continuous stream”.

All the martial arts heroes and wealthy merchants who came to participate in the bidding were respectfully invited into their own private courtyards, where they were served fragrant tea and fruit, and kept separate from each other.

The auction was conducted in turn, following the order of the items listed in the catalog.

When the bidding for the first item begins, the maids will simultaneously arrive at the gate of their respective courtyards and announce in a loud voice, for example, "First item: a thousand-year-old snow lotus from the snowy mountains of the Western Regions, starting price one hundred taels of gold. Distinguished guests may place their bids."

After that, they would stand quietly outside the door, waiting for the guests inside the courtyard to summon them.

If a guest is interested, they will write their bid on a specially made piece of paper, place it on a tray, and have a maid deliver it back to the manor's manager.

The person in charge will summarize the first round of bids and inform all the maids of the highest bid, who will then inform their respective guests to begin the second round. Those with higher bids can continue to raise their bids, while those with lower bids can choose to give up.

This process continues until no one raises the price anymore.

While this method ensures a clear and fair bidding process, it is also extremely cumbersome and lengthy.

From the start to the final decision, it often takes the maids a lot of time to run back and forth between the various courtyards to auction an item.

But once the auction is over, whether the item is successfully sold or fails to sell due to lack of interest, the ancient bell in the center of the villa will ring once.

The bell's sound was melodious and clear, able to resonate clearly throughout every corner of the mountain villa.

It signifies that the previous treasure has been settled, and the competition for the next one is about to begin.

These rules, which are long and tedious, like an old woman's foot binding cloth, may seem incomprehensible to newcomers, but they are already established conventions in the martial arts world, and no one dares to complain.

Everyone understood the deeper meaning behind this.

The world of martial arts is a mixed bag, containing both upright heroes and ruthless villains.

If the bidding is made in public, it will be immediately clear who will win this rare and precious treasure.

That would be tantamount to handing a death warrant to the treasure hunter. "A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime." It's likely that the buyer will become the target of countless hidden and open attacks the moment he leaves Mantuo Manor.

In a fit of rage, killing and robbing, or even wiping out an entire family, is not uncommon in the martial arts world.

However, this method of "secret bidding in flowing water" can shroud everything in a fog.

Apart from Li Qingluo and a few other key figures in the manor, no one knew whether the snow lotus was bought by the Sword King of Hebei or ended up in the hands of a wealthy merchant in Jiangnan.

While this cannot completely eliminate covetousness, it does make potential criminals hesitant to act rashly.

Therefore, all the guests patiently waited in their own courtyards, listening to the long intervals between the chimes of the bells, and calculating the price of their desired items.

As the melodious chimes rang out again, announcing the start of a new round of bidding, Wang Meng, dressed in a sharp black outfit, appeared in the inner hall of Mantuo Manor, which was used to coordinate the auction.

At this moment, the inner hall was in complete chaos.

Several veteran accountants from the mountain resort sat around a huge octagonal table, piled high with bid slips from various courtyards, the abacus beads clicking and clattering.

Even so, mistakes were still made and things were chaotic.

The root of this chaos lies in the wide variety of quoted currencies.

The guests attending the auction came from all over the world, and the coins they used were naturally different.

There are silver and copper coins issued by the Song Dynasty government in the Central Plains, round gold coins from merchants from the Western Xia and Western Regions, square silver coins minted by the Dali Kingdom in Yunnan, and even old coins left over from the Tang and Qin dynasties.

The gold, silver, and copper coins of the Tang Dynasty differed from the three unique dagger-shaped coins of the Qin Dynasty in terms of purity, weight, and value.

Upon receiving each quote, the accountants would first verify its origin and then, based on the extremely complex exchange rate set by the resort, convert it into a uniform gold or silver unit of account.

This process was extremely tedious.

Even the most experienced accountants often find themselves overwhelmed by a pile of metal coins of varying purity and weight, frequently arguing heatedly over the smallest oversight.

Li Qingluo stood to the side, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed, her expression anxious, but she was also helpless.

This is the biggest drawback of the "blind bidding" system: while it maintains secrecy, its efficiency is shockingly low.

Wang Meng glanced at it, then walked straight to the wall, tore off a large piece of white cloth used to draw the "Camellia Manual," and nailed it firmly to the wall.

"All of you, stop."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority. The inner hall fell silent instantly, everyone staring at him in astonishment.

Wang Meng ignored everyone and said to Li Qingluo, "Bring me pen and ink, and also give me your exchange rate."

Soon, he stood in front of the huge white cloth.

With a flick of his wrist, he dipped his wolf-hair brush into the inkstone and then, with a flourish, drew a huge, orderly table on the white cloth.

Then, amidst the bewildered gazes of the crowd, he began to write strange symbols on the form, symbols they had never seen before, resembling "scribbles."

Before he died in his previous life, he was a programmer.

Although he was still recovering from his injuries and found it inconvenient to use force, seeing the primitive and inefficient chaos before him, he couldn't help but volunteer to take on the task of coordinating all the auction data.

There were no computers here, only broken pens, but such a small matter was no challenge for him at all.

He first listed the numbers of all the lots on the far left of the table using his distinctive Arabic numerals.

Then, at the top of the table, the codes for each courtyard were written, along with a unified "standard unit" based on the weight of gold.

"Item number thirty-seven, 'Black Gold Soft Armor,' starting price is two hundred standard units."