Zu An was currently seated in front of a desk, reading through some documents on a tortoise shell. A civilization without paper meant that daily life was terribly inconvenient.  He had to carry bones around with him day after day. Aside from tortoise shells, he had to lug around cow bones, sheep bones… It seemed as though any sort of bone that could be carved on was used.

“Even bamboo slips would be better than this,” Zu An complained. At least it was his soul that had entered this trial, which meant that he could understand these oracle script and converse normally with the people of this world. Not being able to read or write while in this trial would have been truly terrible.

A shadow fell across him, and the scent of a young lady gently filled his senses. Zu An raised his head to look at the maid in front of him. “Xiao Tuo, why are you here?”

In truth, Zu An had already made a rough guess, given the nervousness in her expression and the tension in her body.

Xiao Tuo bit her lip. “My king, it’s already so late. Why aren’t you resting yet?” she said with a gentle voice.

Zu An looked outside the window. Using the way time was measured in his previous world, it wasn’t past eight in the evening yet. In his previous life, sleeping before midnight would have been early for him. There was no way this could be considered late.

But for the ancient people, there was no electricity, and even lighting a fire was costly. It was already quite late for them.

He raised the bone in his hand. “I still have some documents to take care of.”

Xiao Tuo was surprised. This good-for-nothing king was surprisingly diligent.

Despite this she remained focused on her mission. She walked behind Zu An and gently leaned against his shoulder. “Should I help my king release some stress?”

Zu An chuckled. “Xiao Tuo, I wish you’d been this accommodating earlier on!”

Xiao Tuo scoffed in her heart. She wanted to strangle this man in front of her to death! However, she knew that there was nothing she could do. Forcing herself to smile, she began to massage him, at the same time keeping an eye on the documents in his hands to see if she could obtain any important information.

She never expected Zu An to lean backwards all the way, almost burying his entire head into her chest! He let out a relaxed sigh. “Ah, that’s more like it. Your massage techniques are pretty good!”

Xiao Tuo’s body went rigid. All thoughts of reading the documents in front of him fled from her mind, and she almost subconsciously pushed him away.

However, she quickly remembered the reason she was here. Gritting her teeth, she forcefully held herself back.

Zu An was obviously able to read her body language. A strange smile appeared on his face. He’d deliberately fallen into a sensitive part of her to feel out her true motives. She had clearly been against this sort of behavior before, yet there was surprisingly little reaction this time around.

It seems like she’s really here to seduce me today.

But what made her change so noticeably all of a sudden?

Hatred? Or perhaps… love?

He’d taken note of the high priest Lian earlier on during the ceremony. Such a tall and well-built figure did seem like something girls would fall for.

He had already asked Fu Shuo to look into this maid’s background a few days ago. The document he’d been reading was the file he’d compiled about her. She did come from the Tuo State, but there was something else interesting: she seemed to have grown up together with Lian.

Are they childhood sweethearts? I’m surprised Lian is willing to do such a thing.

A mocking smile spread across Zu An’s lips.

In that case, I’ll let you have a taste of an amazing double loss! But how am I going to make this spy unwittingly become my spy…

“My king, what are you smiling at?” Xiao Tuo asked as she gently massaged his temples. With this fellow lying on her chest this way, she felt extremely flustered. She was desperate for a change of topic in order to get rid of the awkwardness.

“Why wouldn’t I be smiling? Xiao Tuo is making me feel so good.” Zu An had to admit that this trial was just way too realistic. Although only his soul had been transferred into it, everything felt just like reality.

His fun with Pei Mianman was one thing, since she was also a participant in the trial.

But this maid was just an NPC, yet she could totally pass off as an ordinary, real-life person! He could feel the softness of her chest, and the heat from her supple skin. He could even smell the special fragrance that only a young lady carried.

Isn’t everything way too realistic? Wait, there’s still something else I need to test…

“Thank you for your praise, my king.” An embarrassed smile graced Xiao Tuo’s lips, but she was secretly cursing him inside. He was a perverted and useless king after all!

At this moment, though, she was in a dilemma. Just how was she supposed to go on from here?

If she threw herself straight at him, she would seem a bit too cheap. Who cared if he wasn’t interested in the end? Even she wasn’t willing to let herself go so low.

Fortunately, Zu An spoke up. “I’ve been feeling rather tired these days. Please accompany me to the bath.”

He had already gone over every nook and cranny of the palace over the last few days. He did not want to miss any vital information or clues within it which could prove crucial to the completion of this trial.

In his investigation, he had come across a hot spring in the palace that had been modified into the king’s personal bath.

All this while, he’d been busy with his investigations and had not had the time to rest. Now that he’d built up a decent understanding of this trial, he could finally take it a little easier.

Xiao Tuo stiffened for a moment, but she quickly lowered her head in acceptance. “Okay.”

She obviously knew that it was easier for things to happen in a place like a hot spring. This is fine…

Carrying a fresh set of clothes, she followed him to the bath. Zu An removed his clothes and walked straight into the hot spring.

Xiao Tuo’s face flushed red. She quickly turned her head to the side, secretly cursing him. This man really is a scoundrel! Even though she’d turned away, however, his strong and sturdy body continued to surface in her thoughts from time to time.

Especially that elongated object that had prodded her repeatedly that night.

Just recalling the events of that night were enough to make her cheeks go bright red.

Zu An felt the heat of the hot spring seep into his body, and sighed blissfully.

If he wasn’t being hunted down by humans, then he was being hunted down by ghosts. He really was exhausted. Now, he finally had a chance to completely relax! It was a pity that Manman wasn’t given the same chance to rest, even now. He wondered how things were going for her.

While he was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly felt a pair of trembling hands rest on his shoulders, then begin to massage him gently.

Zu An turned around and saw that Xiao Tuo was kneeling at the edge of the hot spring. Her posture was quite strange because of the difference in height.

“You should come in. You look quite uncomfortable up there,” Zu An said with a chuckle. Since this girl wanted to seduce him, he’d give her that chance! Meanwhile, he could enjoy these benefits that came with being a king. Why would he give up such a perfect opportunity?

Xiao Tuo bit her lip. There was a conflicted look on her face.

Zu An didn’t continue to pressure her, and closed his eyes restfully instead. He wasn’t going to fall so low as to force a girl into pleasuring him. He wouldn’t make her do anything she didn’t want to do herself.

A few moments passed, and a soft voice called out to him as a pair of hands pushed him forward. “My king, please move forward a little so that I can massage you properly.”

Zu An opened his eyes. The scene before him almost made blood gush out of his nose! This young lady’s golden skin shimmered, reflecting the clear spring water just as well as the water reflected her gorgeous image. Most of her body was obscured underwater, but the mystery only made it harder for any man to resist.

Zu An had a strange look on his face. “You didn’t have to take off your clothes, you know.”

Xiao Tuo was momentarily at a loss for words.

Bloody hell, why didn’t you say so then!

This useless king was definitely trying to make a fool out of her!

You have successfully trolled Xiao Tuo for 233… 233… 233…

Of course, there was no way she would put her clothes on again, now that they were in this situation.

She took a deep breath to calm her flustered mind, and then she hid behind Zu An to continue massaging him, as if this would somehow make her feel a little better.

He knew that she was deliberately hiding from his line of sight, so Zu An didn’t turn around to look at her again. This little girl looked like she was already about to cry!

Sigh, even the female spies of this age are so adorably innocent… I feel embarrassed just teasing her.

He continued to relax with his eyes closed. He already had so many female friends, so it wasn’t too hard for him to resist temptation. Rather than going further, he was more than content with just enjoying this hot spring while having a pretty young lady massage him.

His mind was at peace, but the maid’s was definitely not. Never in her entire life had she ever been so intimate with another man.

Her face slowly grew redder and redder, although she didn’t know if it was because of the heat of the hot spring or from being so close to the body of such a strong man. Her heart began to beat faster and faster.

She sighed. Since she’d already made it this far, she might as well follow through with her mission.

She reminded herself of her sweetheart’s dream, and a flash of decisiveness flickered across her eyes, accompanied by a trace of sorry. She wrapped her arms around Zu An, then pressed herself gently against his back.