Naked Sword Art

Chapter 452: Matriarch’s Awkward Encounter

Matriarch Shi Lan finally arrived just outside the Nameless Guild’s guildhouse—only to be greeted by the sight of scorched, crumbling walls.

"More!?" she muttered, eyes narrowing. "What the hell has gotten into that girl..."

It didn’t take much to recognize the cause. The blackened stone, the cracked support beams, the scent of burnt wood still thick in the air—it all bore Li Lian’s signature.

She shook her head.

Sweeping her spiritual sense through the building. The faint pulse of her tracking inscription confirmed it.

"She’s here," Shi Lan said to herself.

And without hesitation, she unlocked the door then stepped inside to find her.

Navigating through the halls with practiced grace, she followed the tracking talisman bound to Li Lian’s Qi until she stood before a closed chamber door. She slid it open—and her eyes softened.

Li Lian lay sleeping peacefully on the bed, wrapped in a blanket, her expression calm as if nothing in the world had happened.

Matriarch Shi exhaled a quiet sigh of relief. But confusion followed quickly.

’Whose room was this?’ she thought.

Before she could think much further, her gaze shifted to the nearby bathroom door—partially open. The sound of running water echoed faintly behind it, like a bath in use.

Her brows furrowed.

’Someone’s here... the owner of this chamber perhaps?’

She stepped closer to the door, hesitating for just a moment before speaking politely.

"Hello? May I ask who’s in there?"

No answer came. Only the gentle splash of water. Then—heavy footsteps approaching the door.

Matriarch Shi’s expression tightened.

’Those are a man’s footsteps...’

They stopped at the door.

Then came the voice—deep, smooth, and unmistakably male.

"My name... is Long Wang. May I ask who you are?"

The Matriarch froze.

That voice. That name.

Long Wang.

Da Long.

Her eyes widened in realization—he was right there, mere inches from her, separated only by a sliding wooden door.

Her body stiffened as heat rushed to her cheeks.

"Da Long... ah—I mean—!"

’Shit. Why did I say that out loud?’ she cursed inwardly.

Li Lian had been right. She was terrible around men. And who could blame her? She hardly ever interacted with them.

Inside, Xiao Fang frowned in confusion.

’Da Long?’

That was the alias he used when he was still in the Outer Court. But... now that he thought about it, some of his former clients had come from the Inner Court. So... was that what this was? Xiao Fang thought about it for a few moments, then finally came to the conclusion that it was the case.

With a slightly amused smirk, he pulled the door open.

He was still naked.

The moment she saw skin, Matriarch Shi whipped around so fast her robes fluttered behind her like startled birds.

Her heart pounded violently in her chest.

Eyes wide.

Mind blank.

Body locked in panic.

Is this really happening?!

Behind her, Xiao Fang looked at her back... and kept looking.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall her face.

That was odd. He usually remembered every woman he’d ever been with.

"Elder..." he finally said, voice laced with curiosity. "Have we met before?"

Xiao Fang raised an eyebrow at her reaction. Her back was stiff, her hands tightly clenched, and her face a shade too red to ignore.

"We haven’t met... right?" he asked again, his towel now loosely hanging over his shoulder.

Matriarch Shi shook her head, refusing to look at him.

She was the Matriarch of the sect, but a mere disciple had already put her into such a state. This was completely backwards, she didn’t know what to think of it.

She finally cleared her throat, trying to gather some composure.

"We have not. Please, put some clothes on."

As much as she wanted to turn around to see him, she already felt as if her head was going to overheat. Just the thought of seeing his dripping wet sculpted naked body was already too much for her. She never imagined herself to feel this way the first time they met, but this situation was way too unexpected.

Xiao Fang was confused.

"Elder, this is my room... who are you?"

"Ah... I’m... I’m..." She was too embarrassed to be acting this way and say she was the Matriarch of the sect, so she made something up. "I’m Elder Shi, from the Core Court."

’Elder Shi?’ Xiao Fang thought.

He had been told that the Matriarch’s name was Shi Lan, but the person in front of him now was claiming to share the same surname as her.

’Could she be related to the Matriarch?’ Xiao Fang thought.

But looking at Li Lian then back at the Matriarch, it didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on.

Truthfully, Xiao Fang was quite amused, he never expected the Matriarch of the Black Paradise sect to be such an awkward person.

What Xiao Fang didn’t know was that the Matriarch was only somewhat like this around men, but Xiao Fang wasn’t just any type of man. He was the infamous Da Long, the man that had stripped and fucked several of the beauties in the Black Paradise sect, each one telling incredible stories about the experiences they had with him.

Xiao Fang smirked. Since an opportunity like this had presented itself, he was not going to waste it.

"Elder Shi, is there a reason you came into my room?"

"Huh? Ah..." Matriarch Shi was taken aback by him calling her by that title, a title she hadn’t heard in years. "Pardon my intrusion. I... only came to retrieve disciple Lian. The Matriarch wants her to return to the Core Court."

"I see. Well, Elder Shi, as you can see, she’s resting peacefully just right over there. I don’t think she’d be too pleased if you woke her up," he said with a smooth voice as he stepped closer—still damp, steam faintly rising from his body. "But since you’re close to the Matriarch, I have a favor to ask you."

She nervously kept her back turned to him. "A... favor?"