Pei Mianman was sharp-witted, and there was no way she could believe that someone of Zu Anâs character would bother to send a drunk friend home, and even be willing to stay the night.
Zu Anâs face went rigid. âI was looking for something too,â he admitted.
Pei Mianman probed further. âWhat were you looking for?â
Zu An shook his head while putting on his clothes. âI canât tell you. It involves too many other things.â
Pei Mianman snorted. âI have my own reasons for not telling you as well.â
Zu An chuckled. âLetâs not talk about such unpleasant things then. Letâs talk about some happier things. For example, why donât you take off your clothesâ¦â
Pei Mianman was given a fright. She immediately took a few steps back. âWhat are you trying to do?â
Zu An said, âDonât misunderstand, thatâs not what I mean. Your entire body is soaked, and youâre injured as well. Youâll easily fall sick if you keep those clothes on.â
âThatâs an easy problem to fix.â Pei Mianman was just about to summon her black flame to evaporate the water from her clothes. Thankfully, she recalled that using elemental power here might alarm the Wei clanâs guards.
Besides, her injuries were severe, and even drying off her clothes with the black flame was most likely impossible.
âYou suffered a direct hit earlier, and thereâs no way for you to escape right now. I think itâs better for you to stay here and recover.â Zu An unfolded a side of the blanket. âYou can jump straight into bed after you take off all of your clothes. I wonât peek at you.â
Pei Mianman grunted. âI donât think you have the guts to do it anyway. You know Iâll tell Chuyan if you try.â Â Something Zu An said tickled her mind. âHow did you know that I was attacked?â
Zu An forced a smile. âI was there too. How else could I have saved you so promptly?â
Pei Mianman was shocked. âYou werenât discovered?!â
Zu An smiled. âItâs probably because Iâm a man with integrity.â
Pei Mianman just couldnât figure out how sheâd been discovered while someone with a much lower level of cultivation could remain hidden. Perhaps she was just unlucky enough to have taken the bullet for him. âThe person in that room has a level of cultivation that is just too terrifying. Even such a long-ranged attack almost took my life on the spot.â
She had never suffered injuries so severe ever since sheâd begun her journey of cultivation.
That strike had practically destroyed all of her ki in one go.
âThatâs why you need to heal up quickly! Iâll do what I can to dry out your clothes.â Zu An didnât mention anything about helping her treat her injuries. This world was different from the wuxia novels heâd read beforeâexternal ki couldnât be used to treat injuries the way internal qi could. He couldnât do anything to help even if he wanted to lend a hand.
Of course, if they made the most intimate of connections through the Primordial Origin Sutra, he could treat her injuries directly. However, there was no way Pei Mianman would take him seriously if he suggested this.
âHow are you going to dry them here? Donât tell me you have some fire-element abilities?â Pei Mianman probed curiously.
âWho says you need to control fire to dry clothes?â Zu An responded in a cocky manner.
Pei Mianman hesitated a while before saying, âFine, turn around then.â
She knew that she couldnât just keep wearing these wet clothes.
There was no way she would have agreed if another man had suggested this, no matter how wet her clothes were. However, since it was Zu An, she was still willing to tolerate it.
The two of them had a strange relationship that fluctuated between friendship and hostility. In a strange way, under certain circumstances, they were more willing to rely on each other than anyone else.
When Zu An turned around, Pei Mianman slid out of her soaked outfit, revealing her flawless and perfect body. âYou had better not look!â
âDonât worry. If I really wanted to look, then I would do it openly and honorably. Why would I resort to peeping?â Zu An said helplessly.
Pei Mianmanâs face turned red. This guy always spoke in such a roguish manner, but he was clearly much more interesting than all the other upright gentlemen sheâd met before.
She wiggled her way into the blankets, then said, âIâm done.â
Zu An now turned around. Seeing how tightly she wrapped the blankets around herself, he couldnât help but laugh. âAre you really that scared of me peeking at you?â
Pei Mianman snorted. âHavenât you seen enough already?â
Her words made both their hearts tremble slightly.
Pei Mianmanâs expression grew somewhat unnatural. She coughed a few times and said, âHand me the medicine from inside my clothes.â
Zu An fished out a bottle of restorative medicine from her clothes and handed it over to her.
It was probably a good idea for him to prepare something like this as well. Unfortunately, he didnât have a single bottle of Faith in Brother Spring on hand.
The only alternative was to try to get some from Ji Dengtu. However, what heâd done to Ji Xiaoxi was still fresh in his mind. There was no way he was getting any medicine from her dad if he ever found out about it. In fact, getting skinned alive would be getting off lightly.
Pei Mianman reached out a hand to take the bottle, but quickly pulled her hand back under the covers when she remembered that she wasnât wearing anything right now.
âI find myself in a slightly⦠inconvenient situation. Could⦠could you take out a pill and fe-⦠feed it to me?â Pei Mianman said in embarrassment.
Zu An was momentarily stunned, but recovered his wits quickly. âNo problem!â
He fished out a pill. Even though he couldnât recognize what sort of medicine this was, the smell of it alone let him know that this was a high-level restorative medicine.
He supported Pei Mianman with one hand while feeling her with the other.
Pei Mianman lowered her head slightly and swallowed the pill.
When her lips touched his hand and he felt the warmth of her tongue, Zu Anâs heart skipped a few beats.
His eyes couldnât help but look further down. Pei Mianmanâs movements had inadvertently exposed a large amount of soft, white skin.
âDo you want me to pull it down a little more for you to have a better view?â
Zu An instantly replied, âI would never refuse such an offer, if youâre so willing.â
âPull it down my ass!â Pei Mianman hadnât expected this guy to really be that thick-skinned. She pulled up her blanket at once and kicked him away. âPiss off. Dry my clothes for me! If my clothes arenât dry, Iâm going to leave with your clothes! Hmph!â
âSure, sure,â Zu An laughed. He sat down in a corner to sort out her wet clothes, glancing in her direction from time to time.
Even though only her head was exposed, he still had to admit that this woman was beautiful.
He always saw her flirtatious and graceful side. This natural and refreshing side she showed today was completely different.
As if she could sense his gaze on her, her cheeks grew even more red. However, she didnât say anything.
Just like that, a few hours passed. Pei Mianman sighed and slowly opened her eyes.
Zu An asked, âSo? Have your injuries healed?â
Pei Mianman rolled her eyes. âI wish it were that fast. I was only able to temporarily stabilize my condition and recover some freedom of movement. By the way, how are my clothes doing?â
âTheyâre already done.â Zu An brought her a neatly-folded set of clothes.
âHuh? I saw you cover them in a layer of ice just now. How did you dry them so quickly?â Pei Mianman was extremely confused.
âThis is called sublimation! You donât understand physics, so I canât really explain it to you either. Right now, whatâs most important is getting you out of here,â said Zu An.
It would be even harder for her to get away once the sky brightened.
Moreover, if she tried to leave then, there wouldnât be anyone to help her escape.
It was unfortunate that he hadnât come in a carriage. If he had, he could just bring her out with him.
âYou should put on your clothes first.â Zu An said while looking out the window. He noticed the glow of brightly-lit torches dotting the estate grounds. Clearly the Wei clan guards were still hunting for the intruder. The security was extremely tight.