“Who’s concerned about you? I’m just reminding you about this on Miss Chu’s behalf! I’m not feeling that great now, so I won’t talk to you anymore,” spat Qiao Xueying coldly.

With that, she turned her body the other way, facing her back towards him, as if she had gone to sleep.

Ji Xiaoxi also tugged on Zu An’s sleeves and said softly, “Miss Qiao is severely injured. More rest will be beneficial for her recovery. You shouldn’t interrupt her.”

Zu An burst into laughter. This lass is as kind as ever, always assuming the best of a person. Isn’t it obvious that Qiao Xueying is just feigning sleep?

“Very well. Let’s go over there and talk, then, without disturbing her rest.” It just so happened that Zu An had something to talk to her about.

Qiao Xueying, who was indeed feigning sleep, gnashed her teeth in frustration as she  listened to their departing footsteps. Just what does that fellow intend to say that he needs to do it behind my back?

You have successfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 233 Rage points!

Zu An was amused to see the inflow of Rage points

“Big brother Zu, what are you laughing at?” Ji Xiaoxi asked, peering at him with her large, innocent eyes.

“Nothing much,” replied Zu An. “Why are you calling me big brother Zu again? Call me Ah Zu instead.”

“Oh…” Ji Xiaoxi couldn’t understand why Zu An was so fixated on this manner of addressing him.

“Thanks for the clothes you gave me earlier on,” said Zu An. As he looked at her, Zu An really couldn’t think of actually besmirching her innocence. “I apologize for causing the misunderstanding earlier. I’ll explain it to them later on.”

“It’s fine. We know that we’re innocent, and that’s all that matters,” replied Ji Xiaoxi with a shake of her head. Her eyes were as clear as spring water, carrying no trace of any other thoughts. “Ah, you managed to find the Evanescent Lotus, right?”

Zu An was taken aback. “How did you know?”

Ji Xiaoxi’s face reddened a little as she lowered her head in embarrassment. “While I was checking your pulse earlier, I noticed that your injuries have fully recovered, and the area under your ki core has become… normal.”

In fact, she noticed that the pulsation from that area was far more powerful even when compared to other cultivators. But of course, a young lady like her couldn’t possibly say such a thing aloud.

Zu An nodded and said, “I did manage to find the Evanescent Lotus. Speaking of which, I’m extremely grateful for your father’s pill.”

He chose not to mention that the Evanescent Lotus had been consumed by Chu Chuyan. It would be hard to explain to Ji Xiaoxi how he managed to break free of his seal otherwise. After all, she was well-versed in medicine, so it would be hard to fool her with typical excuses. However, he couldn’t mention the truth to her either, as he had already promised Mi Li not to reveal the existence of the Primordial Origin Sutra to anyone else.

Ji Xiaoxi patted her chest and heaved a deep sigh of relief. “I didn’t expect the pill to actually be effective. I was worried that things might go wrong” 

Zu An was taken aback.

Wait a moment, there’s something really weird about this reaction.

Clearly embarrassed, Ji Xiaoxi explained meekly, “It was the first time my father made this unsealing medicine, using some of the ancient medicine manuals. He was only fifty percent confident of success, and he kept this from you so that you wouldn’t worry.”

She hadn’t wanted to lie to Zu An, believing that a physician should always inform their patients of the truth. However, her father had told her that the psychological state of the patient was also important to the treatment. Since his argument made sense, she reluctantly went along with her father.

Because of this, she reluctantly kept the matter from Zu An, and had only revealed it now that the treatment was over.

Zu An could hardly believe his ears.

Ji Dengtu, that damned scammer!

I was lucky enough to encounter another fortuitous encounter. If I failed to recover after consuming the Evanescent Lotus, I might have just lost all hope in life and ended my misery then and there!

Damn it, I’ll make sure to settle the score with him!

However, the thought of Ji Dengtu’s unfathomably powerful cultivation put a swift end to any dreams of retaliation. Forget it. I’ll settle the score in some other way.

“Speaking of which, Xiaoxi, how’s your leg?” asked Zu An. He remembered Bai Susu mentioning that she had accidentally sprained her ankle while looking for help. Moved by her actions, he stretched his hand forth and asked, “Shall I help you massage it?”

“Don’t worry, it’s already feeling much better.” Ji Xiaoxi’s face reddened as she retracted her leg and subconsciously pulled her skirt down a little.

She hadn’t minded physical contact with him before, because she knew that Zu An hadn’t been, at the time, a real man. Now that he had recovered, though, she couldn’t help but feel a little shy around him.

On the other hand, Zu An was taken aback for a moment, then realized that he had accidentally gone too far. Somehow, he never managed to tease this incredibly kind and adorable little maiden without feeling guilt-ridden. So, he quickly put on a solemn expression and replied, “Xiaoxi, I’m sorry. I’m the reason you ended up wasting your time in this dungeon without being able to harvest anything good.”

“That’s not it. I think that the time I spent with you was quite fruitful!” replied Ji Xiaoxi excitedly. “I’ve never had such a thrilling encounter in my entire life. The experience in the mountain valley was definitely far more than anything I could wish for! As for the treasures, they don’t mean much to me. My father has plenty of precious medicinal herbs anyway, so I’m not lacking ingredients.”

Zu An was slightly stunned by her reply.

Wow, rich people really do have a different mindset compared to us ordinary folks.

Despite what Ji Xiaoxi said, Zu An still couldn’t shrug off the guilt he felt. He felt that he should make up for it somehow.

All of a sudden, a thought surfaced in his mind, and he took out a ki stone, which was emanating a blood-red glow, from his robe. He stuffed it into her hands, saying, “Here, this is for you.”

Many precious ki stones had been embedded within the clothes Mi Li had been wearing in the underground palace—in her coronet, empress gown, and even her waist belt. While her clothes later disintegrated from age, these ki stones remained perfectly intact. While Mi Li had been changing, he’d secretly picked them up and stowed them away.

The largest ki stone of all was the one embedded at the center of her coronet. Believing that it could have some significance to Mi Li, he decided to keep it for the time being, so that he could use it to fashion another coronet for her. Instead, he chose to take out the second-largest stone, the one that had been embedded in her waist belt.

Mi Li would probably be thankful when she finds out that I actually showed so much concern for her, right?

“What’s this?” Ji Xiaoxi took a closer look at the ki stone, and her expression warped in astonishment. Her mouth grew so big that one could stuff an entire egg in. “A heaven grade ki stone!”

Just like the diamonds in his previous world, ki stones in this world had different grades. The ones that were commonly seen in the market and distributed by Brightmoon Academy were ordinary grade ki stones.

The earth grade ki stones were in the tier above that. They were far superior to the ordinary grade ki stones in terms of the quantity and concentration of ki, and were often used by major clans to nurture their core members.

Above them were the heaven grade ki stones These were said to be a resource monopolized fully by the imperial family, and were extremely rare. Only the emperor, empress, crown prince, and favored princes were qualified to use them. Most other princes, unless with special exception, wouldn’t even be able to come into contact with it.

Zu An was taken aback, not expecting it to be a heaven grade ki stone. He had learned about the classification of ki stones from the academy, but he had never seen one in person, so he couldn’t recognize it.

“I can’t accept something as valuable as this!” exclaimed Ji Xiaoxi as she handed the crimson ki stone back to Zu An.

“How can I possibly take back a gift? Don’t worry. Just accept it.” Even though Zu An knew that this ki stone was precious as well, he still did not hesitate to insist that Ji Xiaoxi accept it.  

He recalled the turmoil he had been put through ever since transmigrating into this world, especially the suffering at the hands of Qiao Xueying. These sudden thoughts cause him to direct a vicious glare at the culprit.

However, Ji Xiaoxi’s presence had brought warmth to his life. When she became aware of his affliction, she quickly thought of ways to help him. Even in this dungeon, she had also desperately tried to drum up help in order to save him from the zombie soldiers.

“It’s simply too precious. I can’t accept it!” Ji Xiaoxi shook her head vehemently. Her anxiousness caused her face to turn slightly red.

Zu An grabbed her hands and said, “Xiaoxi, no matter how important this ki stone is, it can’t possibly be more important than you.”

Ji Xiaoxi felt her heart beating furiously. Is he confessing to me?

“If not for you, I would have already died numerous times by now. Not only that, I wouldn’t have recovered from my affliction either,” said Zu An solemnly. “Are you saying that my life doesn’t mean as much as this ki stone in your eyes?”

“Of course not…” Ji Xiaoxi heaved a sigh of relief, realizing that she was overthinking things. At the same time, though, she felt a profound emotion welling up within her heart that she couldn’t quite explain.

“Since that’s the case, just accept it. I might have more requests to ask of you in the future, and I shan’t be paying the consultation fee then, all right?” said Zu An.

“Since that’s the case… I’ll accept it then.” Feeling the burning warmth of Zu An’s hands, Ji Xiaoxi found herself at a loss as to whether she should retract her hands or not. “Actually, if you look for me, you wouldn’t have to pay consultation fees anyway… though I can’t say the same for my father.”

Zu An thought about the greedy and lustful Ji Dengtu, and he couldn’t help but chuckle in response. “Hahaha, indeed.”

The two of them continued chatting for a while, sharing what they had encountered over the last few days. Soon, Ji Xiaoxi caved in to her exhaustion and dozed off on his shoulder.

Her eyelashes quivered slightly in the wind. Sunlight shone through the cracks of the tree leaves above them, gently highlighting her fair complexion.

Zu An found himself feeling a little touched. She must have hardly slept a wink these past few days, out of worry for my safety. Now that she finally knows that I’m safe, her body has finally succumbed to exhaustion.

“Ahem!”

Zu An turned to look at Qiao Xueying, but saw that she was seated with her back facing him. Her slender body had an alluring curvature to it, narrowing towards her waist and then curving outwards again towards her bum and thighs.

“That woman sure is beautiful when she finally sits still,” said Zu An, evaluating her.

From the lack of a reaction, he assumed that she was simply murmuring in her dreams, so he turned his attention back to Ji Xiaoxi, tucking the loose strands of hair fluttering about her face behind her ears.

“Ahem, ahem!”

The coughing sounded a little more discontented this time around.

Zu An burst into soft laughter. “Why don’t you just get to the point if you’re already awake? There’s no need to keep coughing to catch my attention.”

Qiao Xueying finally turned her body around and rolled her eyes at him. “I just wanted to see if you would do anything despicable to that young lady, like a beast.” She shared an ancestry with elves, after all, so her life force was far more plentiful compared to most other people. With Ji Xiaoxi’s treatment, she was now in a much better state than before.

“Does this show that I’m a gentleman then?” asked Zu An with a smile.

Qiao Xueying snorted. “No, it only shows that you’re a pervert without any guts. In other words, you’re less than a beast.”

Zu An was stunned speechless.

He never thought that he would ever be judged in such a manner.

Qiao Xueying stretched her hand forth and asked, “Where’s mine?”

Zu An was confused. “What do you mean?”

Qiao Xueying gave a cold snort and said, “I braved death with you in the underground palace, and even used my most precious Half Life’s Fate on you. I don’t see you giving me anything in compensation, but you seem to be oddly generous with that young lady over there. Hmm?”

You have successfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 256 Rage points!

Zu An’s face heated up. It did seem like he was being a little biased. So, he quickly took out another ki stone that had previously been embedded on Mi Li’s gown and handed it over.

Unexpectedly, Qiao Xueying tossed it right back at him and sneered, “You gave her such a big one, but present me with this small pea? No thanks!”

You have successfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 512 Rage points!

Zu An hurriedly handed over all of the remaining ki stones to her and said, “This is all I have left; you can take them all. They should add up to be larger than hers.”

“That won’t do!” Qiao Xueying was hardly in a mood to compromise. “I want a complete one that isn’t any smaller than hers.”

Zu An immediately found himself in a tight spot. The only one larger than Ji Xiaoxi’s was the ki stone embedded on Mi Li’s coronet. Should I give it to her?

His actions did seem a little unreasonable. After all, Qiao Xueying had saved his life and handed over half of her lifespan to him. However, just as he was about to take out the largest heaven grade ki stone, a cold voice suddenly sounded in his mind. “Are you using my items to flirt with other women?”

You have successfully trolled Mi Li for 999 Rage points!