The two disciples brought four pots of hot water and put them under the feet of the four maidens. Alex grabbed a small bench and sat in front of them.
They took off their shoes one by one and let their feet soak in the water.
First, Alex washed Celeste's feet. Her feet were as smooth as porcelain, and the blue veins were clearly visible. They were light and delicate in his hands.
Alex felt his pulse increase suddenly with nerves. He paused momentarily, giving himself a moment to calm down. Then he slowly poured the water on Celeste's feet, and carefully washed them.
Celeste felt shy, but she liked seeing Alex bow his head and wash her feet so seriously. She felt the pain leaving the soles of her feet, and let herself be happy for a moment.
After that, he washed the other ladies' feet: first Selene, then Callisto, and finally Luna. As he attended to each of them, he noted how different all of the maidens were. Selene's feet were the smallest, while Callisto's feet were the palest. Luna's feet were the most delicate and slender.
When he was finished, Alex wiped the water off their feet with a cloth. The maidens sat on the bed, each of them feeling too shy and relaxed to break the pleasant silence between them.
"All right, all four of you must rest now!" Alex ordered as he poured the water out.
The four girls obediently lay on the bed. Their feet, white as jade, dried over the edge of the bed.
Alex noticed Celeste's symmetrical face, how Selene was the smallest of the four maidens, and that Callisto was paler than the others. Luna was the tallest, her long arms and legs giving her the appearance of a model. All four of them were beautiful and seemed even more so after eating the porridge.
Alex shook his head. All he needed to focus on was taking care of the maidens. The four of them had taken good care of him and everyone else. Now he had an opportunity to repay them.
"I'm going to massage you. If it hurts, let me know." He began to massage the four girls. First, he pressed the soles of their feet, then the shoulders, back, waist, thighs, and calves.
He used a little force in his massages, which helped their sore muscles and made the women feel more comfortable. After two hours, he had finally finished massaging all the maidens.
Massaging was a tiring thing. He hadn't realized how much hard work the ladies had to endure when they had to massage him.
"How was that?" he asked as he rested on the bench.
They sat up. They were so happy to be massaged by Alex. They felt as if they had been bestowed a great honor.
As the Lord, Alex had the right to be cold and aloof, and unfriendly, but he chose to be kind and make sure they were looked after well. All four maidens truly believed that the right person had been picked to rule the Moon Palace.
"Very comfortable. It seems that all of our fatigue has been driven away!" they gushed.
"Yes, as soon as Mr. Alex pressed my foot, I felt the energy from Mr. Alex's hand, like an electric current. Very comfortable!", exclaimed Celeste.
"Mr. Alex, I think your martial arts have made you a fine masseuse!" said Selene.
Alex left their room, feeling pleased that he had managed to help them recover from the stress of the battle.
After helping the maidens, Alex remembered that Xavier's body was still in the pine forest.
He left the women, allowing them to have a good rest in the palace. He gathered a few disciples to venture out to the forest with him to retrieve the body and give him a proper burial.
When they returned to the Moon Palace, many of the guild leaders from the outer sects were waiting at the front gate with their disciples.
They were ready to say their goodbyes. After all, the palace had only been built to accommodate seven hundred disciples. It would be impossible for five thousand people to all stay there at once. Besides, the Moon Palace was home to all the Moon society's female disciples. They all agreed it would be improper for the outsiders to stay. It was time for them to return to their own homes.
"Mr. Alex, we will always remember what you said last night about all of our gangs belonging to the same alliance. If our gang is in trouble in the future, please help us. And in return, we shall all be loyal to the Moon Palace. If there is anything you need from us, we will not disobey you."
Before he left, Rocky Dalton, the leader of the Grizzlies, reminded Alex that he still had a lot of authority in various gangs in the area.
"You seem to have been reading my mind, Mr. Dalton," Alex said with a faint smile.
"Mr. Alex, my members and I shall take your leave now." They shook hands, and Rocky left the Moon Palace with hundreds of the Grizzlies' disciples.
The rest of the gangs also bid farewell to Alex. By two o'clock that afternoon, all of the outer sects had left.
Alex immediately went to Debbie's ward to find Celeste with the doctor, who was examining Debbie's pulse.
"My lord, the poison is now under control, and only a little remains in her system. It's safe to say that she will be better soon," the doctor reported.
"Really? That's great!" He was elated. "So, when will Debbie recover?"
"It will be impossible to quickly remove the remaining toxin. Her metabolism will have to increase so it can be excreted naturally. That will take about a month. During this time, you must pay attention to her nutrition and strength," said the doctor earnestly.
"One month, that's not too bad. Thank you, Doctor. As long as Debbie recovers, I don't care how long it takes. Celeste, give the doctor one hundred fifty thousand dollars as a reward."
"Yes, my lord." The doctor could have thanked Alex a thousand times, expressing his gratitude continuously as he followed Celeste out to collect his payment.
Alex sat by the bed and stared at Debbie while she slept. Now, he felt very relieved.
After a few weeks, Debbie's condition had greatly improved. No one could have ever suspected that she had almost died. She appeared as healthy as she did before as if the events from a few weeks prior had not occurred at all.
Over the past few days, Alex accompanied Debbie on walks through the Moon Palace. As they passed by, they were always happily greeted by the disciples.
"Good morning, my lord. Good morning, Madam."
Alex and Debbie had not only taken many walks together but had also been managing the affairs of the palace.
Alex had approved and commissioned the repair of the cemetery for one and a half million dollars. He had also managed some external requests for assassinations that needed his approval.
Although the palace disciples took this kind of work from time to time, to Alex's satisfaction, they were not reckless or bloodthirsty. His disciples only killed truly bad people, those who had committed various crimes. He also kept his promise to the other nearby gangs and ordered hits on criminals that were being targeted by their allies as well. In this way, the palace was not only able to make money but rid the world of more evildoers. They had the best of both worlds.
Alex also spent time teaching martial arts to the disciples of the Moon Palace. More than six hundred disciples would watch and follow Alex, and he would have to singlehandedly take charge of their training. It was hard work, but enjoyable.
One day, on another walk with Debbie, they decided to go to the mountain behind the Moon Palace, where they came across a training ground. In the past, many female disciples from Moon Palace had been invited there to practice sword fighting.
It hit them how amazing life was here. The traditional clothes, beautiful people, clear springs, cool breezes, blue skies, white clouds, and green pines please them both greatly. The Moon Palace felt like a fairyland.
"It's all so wonderful, Alex. We're so lucky that we get to stay here for the rest of our lives!" Debbie couldn't help but exclaim, looking at all the beauty around her.