Her sweet voice touched something inside him, like a cat playfully scratching at his heart. Zu An took in the blushing woman on the bed, and it made his throat go dry. He remarked hoarsely, “Actually… I’m a gentleman.”

Normally, Qiao Xueying would have gotten mad upon hearing those words, but this time, she ignored his words entirely. She continued to grab his hand tightly and said, “Don’t leave me. I’m afraid…”

“Yes, I won’t leave your side.” Zu An took a seat by the side and tidied up her hair, which had been messed up a little by the sweat drenching her forehead. 

He wasn’t so foolish as to leave at this moment. He had watched far too many television drama serials to know that another man would likely slip in and take advantage of her if he were to leave to look for an antidote right now.

Qiao Xueying moaned softly then leaped forward to hug him tightly. She was a maiden after all, so she had no idea how to initiate an intimate encounter. She could only cling to his body instinctively, as though it was the only way for her to vent the heat in her body.

“Help… help me…” mumbled Qiao Xueying indistinctively.

Zu An even scorned himself a little. He had been so traumatized by Ji Xiaoxi’s intervention the previous time that he’d forgotten the most primitive method to alleviate the effects of an aphrodisiac.

Entranced by the woman’s plump lips, Zu An swallowed a mouthful of saliva and began to lean forward.

Just as their lips were about to touch, however, Chu Huanzhao’s voice suddenly came from the doorway of his room. “Brother-in-law, brother-in-law!”

Zu An immediately jolted in horror. Shit, there would be hell to pay if that little lass sees this!

Qiao Xueying had betrayed the Chu clan before, and Chu Huanzhao was a member of the Chu clan. If they were to cross paths, there was no way Huanzhao would let her off easily.

On top of that, Qiao Xueying’s current state made the situation even more complicated. There would be no way to explain what Huanzhao saw.

He quickly searched the area, but his room was just too barren to hide anyone in.

As the footsteps grew closer, a thought suddenly popped into his head. He thought about a trick used by the protagonist of the Deer and the Cauldron, Wei Xiaobao, and he immediately wrapped Qiao Xueying up in a blanket before placing her horizontally along one corner of the bed. Then, he drew the curtains to cover her up. 

When that was done, he sat in front of the bed in order to prevent her from rolling outward. 

“Don’t make a noise, all right?” warned Zu An. If Qiao Xueying were to let out even a single moan, he would likely suffer a terrible whipping from Chu Huanzhao.

“Brother-in-law~ Brother-in-law?” The footsteps grew closer before Chu Huanzhao suddenly barged through the door.

Zu An’s eyelids twitched. That lass sure is violent. I clearly locked my door earlier, but she still barged in without any hesitation anyway.

“Hello, Huanzhao.” Zu An forced a smile, though he knew that his smile probably looked incredibly awful at the moment.

“Hm? You’re actually in your room. Why didn’t you respond to my calls?” asked Chu Huanzhao suspiciously.

“You called me?” Zu An feigned ignorance. “I didn’t hear you. Ah, what brings you here? Weren’t you looking after your older sister?”

“My mother is taking care of my big sister now. I heard that you crossed blows with an expert, and I… My elder sister was worried that something might have happened to you, so she sent me here to check on you,” said Chu Huanzhao.

Despite her nagging, her voice was gentle and carried a youthful quality, which made it pleasing to the ear. Unfortunately, Zu An was in no mood to enjoy it right now.

“Is your older sister really worried about me?” asked Zu An in astonishment.

“She might not have said it aloud, but I could still tell as much. She hinted very strongly to me to come check on you,” replied Chu Huanzhao. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Did something happen between the two of you in the dungeon? Why does it feel like the two of you have gotten much closer than before?”

Zu An laughed it off. “Did we? Hahaha, I guess I’m just a very likable person. Your older sister’s impression of me probably improved after spending several days together with me.” 

“Oh yeah, how did you save my big sister? Her complexion looks much better than before, so it seems like your method is quite effective,” asked Chu Huanzhao curiously.

“Why don’t you ask your older sister instead?” Zu An could sense that Qiao Xueying was burning furiously, so he was in no mood to explain anything to Chu Huanzhao at the moment.

“I asked her, but she wouldn’t tell me!” Chu Huanzhao pouted. She took a seat beside the bed before continuing. “I feel like the two of you have changed after returning from the dungeon, and that I’ve become the outsider now.”

Zu An was slightly taken aback.

I’m a couple with your older sister. Isn’t it obvious that you’re the outsider here?

However, he could still understand where Chu Huanzhao was coming from. After all, she and Chu Chuyan had been close as sisters all this while, and now that he had come into the picture, she probably felt as if she had lost her older sister.

On top of that, he used to hang out with Chu Huanzhao often, since she was the only one who didn’t discriminate against him. From such a perspective, Chu Chuyan could have been considered an outsider as well.

The advancement of his relationship with Chu Chuyan resulted in Chu Huanzhao being excluded, so it was inevitable that she would feel a little crestfallen.

“So, are you injured from the earlier fight?” Chu Huanzhao suddenly remembered her purpose here and began examining his body with her hands, checking for any wounds.

Zu An was shocked by her actions. After all, she was so near that she could literally reach out and touch Qiao Xueying. Just a single careless movement could lead to her discovering Qiao Xueying.

So, he quickly shifted a little to the side and grabbed Chu Huanzhao’s arms, saying, “Don’t worry, I’m fine. How could a mere intruder possibly pose a threat to me, given my skills?”

“I heard that you used the Six Pulse Divine Sword or something?” asked Chu Huanzhao with a sharp sniff.

“What’s wrong?” asked Zu An indignantly, hearing the scorn in Chu Huanzhao’s voice.

“Heh! You might be able to fool others, but how could you possibly fool me? How could I not know your current level?” Chu Huanzhao thought about how she had whipped Zu An previously, which brought a gleeful smile to her lips.

Zu An could also guess what she was thinking, and his face immediately darkened. “You only managed to get your way because I was gentlemanly enough not to hold it against you. Besides, I’ve grown a lot since then! Isn’t it perfectly normal for a prodigy like me to advance my cultivation quickly?”

“Alright alright, you’re a prodigy.” Chu Huanzhao was still smiling a moment ago when her face suddenly turned grim. She sniffed around a bit before remarking, “Hm? Why is there the scent of a woman here?”

Zu An could hardly believe it.

Are you a dog? How can you smell that?

Qiao Xueying’s scent was usually extremely subtle, but now that she was suffering from the effects of the drug, her body was emanating a sweet, musky smell. Considering how close Chu Huanzhao was to her, it would have been weirder if she wasn’t smelling anything instead.

“Are you hiding a woman in here?!” Chu Huanzhao leaped to her feet in agitation. “No wonder you didn’t respond to me earlier. You must be messing around with some woman! Who is it? Come out!”

She began searching the room, hollering all the while.

“Why are you shouting? I’ve been keeping myself chaste for your older sister… Am I that kind of person?” asked Zu An, a guilty look on his face.

“Yes, you’re that kind of person!” exclaimed Chu Huanzhao. She knelt on the floor and began searching under the bed. 

The curves of her youthful body were incredibly attractive to men, especially when she was crouching down, although there was no way she could have known that.

Zu An quickly averted his gaze as he rubbed his nose. Damn it, why does this keep happening today? It’s only a matter of time before these women lead me to my demise.

After checking that there was no one on the bed, Chu Huanzhao proceeded to search the other places in the room. She opened the cupboard and looked behind the screens.

However, even though this room wasn’t too big, she was unable to find anything at all.

“Speak! Where did you hide her?” Chu Huanzhao was starting to lose her temper.

Zu An shrugged helplessly. “Which woman could possibly be here? Didn’t you already search the place? There’s no one here!” 

Chu Huanzhao’s voice suddenly took on a suspicious tone. “Speaking of which, you have been sitting there for some time now.”

As she said those words, she began making her way over toward his side to check the area behind him.

Zu An was so nervous that he felt that his heart was going to leap out of his chest. He quickly grabbed her and exclaimed, “Huanzhao, I didn’t know that you care about me so much. Are you jealous?”

“W-w-w-what? How could I possibly be jealous? I-I’m just keeping an eye on you for my older sister!” roared Chu Huanzhao in response. “Also, let go of my hands now!”

Chu Huanzhao struggled to free herself from Zu An’s grip, and she instinctively stretched her hand forward to push him away. However, she unexpectedly touched a certain part of his body instead, and both of them stiffened right away.

Chu Huanzhao’s face immediately flushed red and she shook herself free of Zu An’s grip. “Y-you pervert of a brother-in-law! You actually had… had such thoughts about me! I’m going to tell my older sister!!!”

Stomping her feet, she rushed out of the room in embarrassment.

Zu An felt deeply frustrated. He wasn’t a pervert—it was simply his natural reaction to Qiao Xueying’s provocations earlier on. It just so happened that Chu Huanzhao happened to brush against it, and came to the conclusion that it was directed toward her… 

In any case, he was still more than happy that he had chased her away, since he wouldn’t have to bother trying to explain things to her.

He quickly locked the doors of the room, only to see that the latch had been completely broken. It made his eyelids twitch a little. She really is a dinosaur.

Worried that someone else would barge in, he quickly used the Tai’e Sword as the door latch instead.

Meanwhile, Qiao Xueying, who was rolled up in a blanket, was fumbling about. She was just about to fall to the floor when Zu An quickly rushed back to catch her and placed her back onto the bed.

“It looks like the Second Miss…” Qiao Xueying reached out to catch his chin, leaving the rest of her words unsaid. Then, she leaned forward with her warm lips.

A soft, burning body and an alluring fragrance; Zu An felt mini explosions going off in his head. How could any man possibly resist such temptation?

“Why does your body smell so fragrant?” asked Zu An.

Qiao Xueying’s eyes stared at Zu An with groggy, semi-closed eyes as she murmured in response, “Isn’t it normal for a wood elf like me to give off the scent of flowers?”

“But why didn’t I smell it before?” asked Zu An curiously. She was giving off a unique scent that was unlike anything Zu An had smelled before. The two of them had hugged each other many times in the past—they had even bared their bodies before one another at one point in time—but she had never smelled this way before.

“… Because… only when I’m feeling… feeling excited will I… give off such a scent.” Qiao Xueying closed her eyes, but her long eyelashes continued to flicker. Her heaving chest betrayed just how nervous she was at the moment.

Only a dense blockhead of a man would fail to reciprocate after hearing those words.

With his heart pounding hard in his chest, Zu An leaned in to kiss her.

Unknowingly, Qiao Xueying’s robe had already slipped down, revealing a body that was even more slender than that of ordinary women. Under the effects of the drug, her fair skin had taken on a slight reddish hue, making her even more captivating than usual.

When the two of them finally became one, a hint of pain flashed across Qiao Xueying’s face. She leaned in and bit hard on Zu An’s shoulders.

“Ssss!” Zu An hissed in pain. “Why did you bite me?”

“I’m giving you a taste of what I’m feeling.” Qiao Xueying looked at him with eyes full of tears, which were enough to melt the heart of even the most unsentimental man.

Zu An felt a rush of emotions as he held her even more tenderly…