Chapter 229: Prodigy

Her sweet voice felt like a cat playfully scratching at his heart. He looked at the blushing woman on the bed, and it made his throat go dry. He remarked hoarsely, “Actually… I am a gentleman.”

Qiao Xueying would have usually gotten mad upon hearing those words, but she ignored his words entirely. She continued grabbing 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 wouldn’t be 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 right now to look for an antidote.

Qiao Xueying moaned softly before rushing forth to hug him tightly. She was a maiden after all, so she had no idea how to do that kind of stuff. She could only instinctively hug onto his body, as if this 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 traumatized by Ji Xiaoxi blocking his goal that he forgot the most primitive method to alleviate the effects of an aphrodisiac.

Looking at the woman’s plump lips, Zu An gulped down a mouthful of saliva as he began to lean forward.

But just as their lips were about to touch, Chu Huanzhao’s voice suddenly sounded by the doorstep, “Brother-in-law, brother-in-law!”

Zu An immediately jolted in horror. Shit, there would be hell if that little lass encounters this sight!

Qiao Xueying had already betrayed the Chu clan, and Chu Huanzhao was a member of the Chu clan. If they were to meet one another, 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. He wouldn’t be able to explain this matter if she were to see this.

He quickly searched the area, but his room was simply too simple to hide anyone in here.

Hearing 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 by the corner of the bed. Then, he drew the curtains to cover her up. 

After all of it was done, he sat in front of the bed in order to prevent her from rolling outward. 

“Don’t make a noise, alright?” warned Zu An. If Qiao Xueying were to let out even a moan here, 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 a violent one. I clearly locked my door up earlier, but she still barged in without any hesitation anyway.

“It’s you, Huanzhao.” Zu An forced a smile on, 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 then?” asked Chu Huanzhao doubtfully.

“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 big 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, making it pleasurable to the ear. It was just that 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 can still tell as much. She hinted very strongly for me to head over to take a look,” replied Chu Huanzhao. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion and asked, “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?”

“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,” Zu An laughed it off.

“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 up 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 by the bed before continuing on, “I feel like the two of you have changed after returning from the dungeon, such that I have become the outsider now.”

“…” Zu An.

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 were close sisters all this while, so him coming into the picture probably left her feeling as if she had lost her older sister.

On top of that, he used to hang out often with Chu Huanzhao since she was the only one who didn’t discriminate against him here. From such a perspective, Chu Chuyan was kind of like an outsider here too.

So, the advancement of his relationship with Chu Chuyan ended up resulting in Chu Huanzhao’s exclusion, 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 touching his body so as to check if he had any wounds.

Zu An was shocked by her action. One must know that she was literally only a reach away from Qiao Xueying at the moment. Just a single careless movement could lead to her touching Qiao Xueying.

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

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

“What’s wrong?” asked Zu An indignantly as he noticed the scorn in Chu Huanzhao’s voice.

“Heh! You might be able to fool others, but how can you possibly fool me? How could I not know what kind of level you’re at?” Chu Huanzhao thought about how she had whipped Zu An back then, and it 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.

Are you a dog? How can you smell it?

Qiao Xueying’s scent was usually extremely subtle, but under the effects of the medicine, her body ended up emanating a sweet musky smell. Considering how close Chu Huanzhao was to her, it would be weird if she didn’t smell it instead.

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

She began searching the room while hollering.

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

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

She couldn’t have imagined how attractive the curves of a youthful lady like her was when crouching over to a man. 

Zu An quickly averted his gaze while fondling his nose. Damn it, why does this keep happening today? It’s only a matter of time before I die in the hands of these women.

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

But 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.

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

Chu Huanzhao suddenly remarked in intrigue, “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 onto 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, such that she stretched her hand forth to push him. However, she unexpectedly touched a certain part of his body instead, and both of their bodies stiffened up right away.

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

With a stomp of her feet, she rushed out of the room in embarrassment.

Zu An felt deeply frustrated. It wasn’t that he was perverted, but this was simply a natural reaction after he was provoked by Qiao Xueying. It just so happened that Chu Huanzhao happened to touch it and think that it was directed toward her… 

In any case, he was still more than happy to chase her away, so he wouldn’t 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 like a dinosaur.

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

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

“It looks like the Second Miss…” Qiao Xueying stopped her words halfway through as she reached out to hook his chin. Then, she leaned in with her warm lips.

A soft, burning body and an alluring fragrance; Zu An felt like mini explosions were occurring 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 previously?” asked Zu An curiously. This was a special 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 he had never smelled this scent 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 on. Her huffing chest showed just how nervous she was at the moment.

Any man who didn’t reciprocate after hearing those words would really be a dense blockhead.

Zu An’s pounded hard in his chest as he 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 normal women. Due to the effects of the medicine, her fair skin was covered in a reddish glow, 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 how I’m feeling.” Qiao Xueying looked at him with tearful eyes that were enough to melt even the most unsentimental man.

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