Dawn seeped through the cracks in the curtains, painting the bedchamber in soft hues of amber and rose. Wei Shuyin blinked, the heaviness of her eyelids slowly yielding to the light. A comforting warmth enveloped her, a stark contrast to the usual cold of her imperial bed. Her fingers clung to the soft fabric beneath her cheek, the familiar texture of Wei Feng's robe. A sigh escaped her lips as she recognized the slow, steady rhythm of his breath against her back. She was no longer the distant Empress, the ruler of steel; in this moment, she was simply Shuyin, a woman who had found refuge in these arms.
A vibrant pang shot through her dantian, a tingle that intensified into a powerful wave of Qi. Unconsciously, her mind explored her core, and her spiritual senses revealed an astonishing transformation. Her eyes snapped open, her golden orbs shining with a new light, her heart pounding with a mixture of disbelief and euphoria.
"Wei Feng…" she whispered, her voice barely audible, breaking with emotion. "I've done it."
He shifted slightly, his grip around her waist tightening possessively. His warm breath grazed the nape of her neck. "Have you, my Queen?" he asked, his voice hoarse with sleep but laced with anticipation.
She turned carefully to face him. Her golden eyes were blazing. "I… I am in the Sovereign Domain. How…?" The question hung in the air, laden with wonder.
He smiled, his dark eyes twinkling with a palpable satisfaction. He pulled her closer and kissed her forehead tenderly. "I'm proud of you, Shuyin," he murmured against her skin, his voice deep and full of affection. "I always knew you had this strength inside you. You just needed the right key."
Wei Shuyin frowned slightly, wonder giving way to curiosity. "The key?" she repeated, running her fingers over his bare chest, feeling the firmness of his muscles beneath their tips.
Wei Feng sighed softly, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand. "Remember what I told you about the Soul Realms and Personal Decrees, Shuyin."
"Of course," she replied, a little impatient. "The cultivator's engine and weapons. I know."
He nodded. "Exactly. You've always had a powerful engine, a natural talent many would envy. But your 'weapons,' your Decrees, were limited by expectations, by what was considered 'proper' for an Empress."
She propped herself up on an elbow. "And you? Your Decrees… the world despises them."
Wei Feng let out a soft chuckle, his eyes shining with mischief. "And isn't that interesting? The world sees my Decrees as frivolities, the whims of a hedonist. But don't you think there's more to them than meets the eye?"
With an agility that betrayed the clumsiness he often feigned, Wei Feng rose from the bed. His body, now free from loose robes, displayed a muscular definition that had previously been hidden. He swept her into his arms with startling ease, his gaze locked on hers.
"Come, my Queen," he said, an enigmatic smile playing on his lips. "Such an… intimate… lesson requires a proper setting, don't you think?"
He carried her to the vanity, his steps light and sure. He set her down gently before the large, polished bronze mirror, and her reflection showed her an image that made her blush—a strange and almost forgotten sensation. Her skin was a map of the previous night's passion: dark bites on her shoulders, reddish marks on her breasts and buttocks. She felt exposed, as if the mirror revealed a part of herself she had always kept hidden. A beast has claimed me, she thought, a mixture of shame and a strange pride blooming within her.
She felt his presence behind her before she saw him in the reflection. Wei Feng positioned himself just behind her, his naked body and imposing image almost completely obscuring hers. She saw the toned muscles of his back, the way his shoulders had broadened. He no longer looked like the malnourished "Drunken Prince"; there was a palpable strength in every line of his body.
His warm breath caressed her ear as he leaned in, his deep voice resonating near her temple. "The world believes my decrees are whims," he whispered, his words laden with hidden meaning. "But my Decree of Resonant Touch isn't just about pleasure, Shuyin. It is the harmony of the soul, physical connection… the study of the Dao through the purest essence."
His hand rested on her shoulder, his touch surprisingly gentle, almost reverent. It slid slowly down her arm, stopping at the curve of her waist. "When a soul surrenders to total pleasure," he continued, his index finger tracing the outline of her lips, which moistened involuntarily, "a 'Harmonic Resonance' is created."
She watched him in the mirror, her gaze fixed on how his dark eyes studied her, analyzing her every reaction. "Barriers fall," he went on, his finger now dancing over her collarbone. "Qi flows without obstruction. Blockages… are revealed."
His hand moved up, circling her areolas with deliberate slowness, his fingers gently pinching her nipples until they hardened instantly. Wei Shuyin gasped, her ragged breath fogging the bronze. As he touched her, she saw something astonishing: faint, golden veins, like stardust, pulsed beneath her skin. Her Qi channels, always present but rarely so visible, now blazed with clarity.
"In this state," he murmured, his voice a low, thrilling purr, "you can feel your Qi resonate. My 'touches' don't just give you pleasure, Shuyin. They harmonize your Qi, purify your energy, and dissolve the small obstructions that have kept you from reaching your true potential."
Wei Shuyin looked at him through the mirror, her eyes filled with a growing understanding. She felt an astonishing ease in guiding the Qi through her body, a freedom she had never experienced before. It was as if the floodgates that had held her back for so long had been thrown wide open.
Wei Feng lifted her again, his grip firm but gentle. He carried her back to the bed and sat her on his bare lap, facing him. The direct contact of her skin against his sent a jolt of electricity through her body, and an involuntary moan escaped her lips. His member, erect and firm, brushed against her folds, intensifying the sensation. He leaned in, biting her earlobe lightly.
"So, Shuyin," he whispered, his voice now a mixture of mockery and profound seriousness, his eyes locked on hers, "do you still believe my Decrees are trash?"
Wei Shuyin didn't answer immediately. Her mind, still dazed from the night of revelation and pleasure, processed Wei Feng's last words. She watched him, her golden eyes fixed on his, searching for any sign of the mockery that had always characterized him, but she found only a deep, almost ancient seriousness. There was an undeniable truth in what he said, a truth her body and her newly freed Qi confirmed with every pulse. "No… they're not trash," she admitted, her voice barely a whisper, heavy with the weight of years of disproven assumptions. A wave of shame washed over her. "They are… something more. Something no one else understands."
A soft, genuine smile spread across Wei Feng's lips, one he rarely showed the world. It was not the smile of the hedonist or the drunkard, but that of a man who had finally been seen. "Understanding, my Queen, is the foundation of all power. And the world, with its obsession for what 'should be,' rarely stops to understand what is."
He leaned her back onto the bed, their bodies sliding over the dark silk. The brush of his skin against hers was a constant reminder of the connection they shared. He settled between her legs, his hardness pulsing against her, but he did not enter her. Instead, his hand rested gently on her chest, right over her heart. "This, my Decree of Resonant Touch, isn't just for physical pleasure," he continued, his voice dropping to an almost hypnotic tone. "It's a door. A tool to dismantle the soul's barriers, to allow your Qi to flow freely, like the river it was always meant to be."
She felt the wave of his Qi, immensely pure and potent, enter her meridian system like a warm, golden tide spreading to every corner of her being. The small knots of stagnant energy that had existed for years, those that his induced pleasure had begun to erode, now dissolved completely under the gentle yet relentless influence of his power. It was a feeling of release so profound it stole her breath.
"The pain… the resentment you harbored," he murmured, his fingers tracing slow patterns on her skin, "had petrified, creating a dam in your heart that kept you from reaching the Sovereign Domain. But pleasure, surrender… that dissolves the hardest steel."
Wei Feng's words resonated in her mind, bringing repressed memories to the surface. Her father's fury upon learning of her pregnancy, his contempt for her being "soiled," the indifference with which he had treated her, all while he immersed himself in his own quest for "purity." The resentment for that empty life, the longing for what she never had with her husband… it had all become the knot of energy that had held her back. And now, he had broken it.
A single tear slid down her temple. It wasn't a tear of pain, but of catharsis. "You… you knew," she whispered, her voice breaking. "You knew what was wrong with me." He nodded, his dark eyes fixed on hers. "I felt it. Your Qi is a vast and pure river, Shuyin. But the dam… it was unmistakable. An ancient wound, transformed into a spiritual tether."
His hand descended, caressing the soft skin of her belly. "And that is why my Decrees are not frivolous," he continued. "The Decree of the Divine Palate is not just for wine; it's for deconstructing the very essence of things. And the Decree of Harmony and Flow… it doesn't just find places to meditate, it seeks the perfect balance in everything, even in a soul."
She closed her eyes, absorbing the magnitude of his words. He was not a useless hedonist, but a cultivator whose path was based on the deepest understanding of existence through the pursuit of pleasure and harmony. A path that, to the world, was a mockery, but for her, had been the key to her liberation. "You… you are the true master," she admitted, the truth slipping from her lips without resistance.
He smiled, a subtle expression of triumph. "I always have been. But you, my Queen, were always my best student."
His hand slid lower, his fingers brushing the wet, sensitive entrance. Wei Shuyin's breath hitched. The release of her Qi and the understanding had not diminished her desire but had amplified it, like a fire that, once lit, burned with even greater intensity. "And the most important lesson, Shuyin," he whispered, his voice laced with a possessiveness that made her tremble, "is that pleasure and power are not enemies. They are two sides of the same coin. By completely surrendering to pleasure, you surrendered to the harmony of your own Dao. You made yourself stronger."
She felt the tip of his member, hot and throbbing, brush against her folds. The contact was a promise, a reminder of what her body craved. Her hips rose instinctively, seeking the connection. "Do you remember what you whispered to me last night?" Wei Feng asked, his deep murmur vibrating through her. "You said you wanted me to fuck you until you forgot your own name and remembered only mine."
She nodded, her face flushed, her eyes clouded with desire. "Yes," she panted. "I want that." "Your wish, my Queen, is my command," he answered, his voice almost a roar. And with a slow, deliberate thrust, he slid inside her, filling her completely.
"Ah… Wei Feng!" Her cry was smothered by the pillow, turning into a torn gasp as her body arched to receive him. The sensation was pure ecstasy, an avalanche that surpassed even the release of her bottleneck. It was the perfect union of power and pleasure.
He moved within her with torturous slowness, each thrust a deep caress. He watched her in the mirror, his dark eyes fixed on her reflection: her face contorted in pleasure, eyes closed, mouth half-open. It was the image of the Empress undone, and he had never seen her more beautiful, more powerful. "This is how it was always meant to be," he whispered against her ear. "True power does not lie in rigidity, Shuyin, but in fluidity. In harmony. In surrender."
She could only moan in response, her body convulsing, her nails digging into his skin. The sensations were overwhelming. The pain of the past, the resentment, the loneliness… it all vanished, replaced by the searing reality of their union. He quickened the pace, his thrusts growing wilder, deeper, striking a sensitive spot inside her that made her scream his name, again and again.
"Master! Yes! More!" Her voice was unrecognizable, raw, desperate. There was no trace of the cold Empress left, only the liberated woman.
When the climax finally took her, it was an explosion. Her body arched violently, her muscles contracting around him, absorbing him. A heart-wrenching cry escaped her lips, a sound of pure release. Tears, this time of bliss, streamed down her face. Wei Feng felt her orgasm, the release of her power, and with a guttural groan, he emptied himself inside her.
They lay there, entwined, their bodies trembling, their ragged breaths the only sounds in the room. He held her tenderly, kissing her forehead, wiping the tears from her cheeks. The air was thick with the scent of wine, sweat, sex, and the subtle perfume of released Qi. "Do you understand now, my Queen?" he whispered, his voice hoarse but filled with deep satisfaction. "I was never 'lost' in hedonism. I was always cultivating. It's just that my path… is one that few can understand."
She snuggled against him. "I understand," she murmured. "And I will never doubt you again." Silence returned, but this time, it was a silence of peace, of understanding, of a tacit promise of a future that, until now, had seemed unattainable. The hedonist god had revealed his true Dao, and his Queen, now freed, was ready to walk beside him.

The sun was already rising above the horizon when Wei Feng finally got up. Wei Shuyin watched him dress, noticing how the man she had abandoned twenty years ago had returned, transformed.
"I have to go," he said, his voice regaining its usual lazy tone. "The Emperor must be frothing at the mouth. I don't want to miss the show."
She laughed, a soft, genuine laugh. "I know. You always loved to ruin his days."
He turned, his gaze meeting hers. In his dark eyes, she saw a spark of mischief. "Take care, Shuyin. And remember… you are a Queen. Act like one."
He approached the bed, and for a moment, Wei Shuyin thought he would kiss her. But instead, he reached out a hand and, with his fingertip, gently touched the inside of her thigh, right where the night's moisture was still fresh. "And remember there are more lessons to be learned," he whispered, his eyes shining with a promise that made her shiver. "Many more."
Then, with the same fluidity with which he had arrived, he vanished into the shadows of the hallway, leaving the Empress alone in her bed. The sun bathed the room, revealing the black silk sheets, now stained with the scandalous proof of her release.
Wei Shuyin touched her lips, which still burned from the memory of his kisses. She slid out of bed, her body feeling light, vibrant with power. She was no longer the Empress trapped in a golden cage. She was a Queen, reborn. She walked to her vanity and looked at her reflection. The woman looking back was not the same. Her golden eyes shone with a new strength, her pale skin seemed to radiate, her bearing unbreakable.
I am a Queen, she thought, the conviction vibrating in every cell of her being. And the King has returned.