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“Who’s concerned about you? I’m just reminding you on Miss Chu’s behalf! I’m feeling unwell now, so I shan’t talk to you anymore,” spat Qiao Xueying coldly.
After saying her piece, she flipped her body over and directed her back toward him, as if she had gone to sleep.
Ji Xiaoxi also tugged Zu An’s sleeves and said softly, “Miss Qiao is severely injured. It’s beneficial to her recovery to rest more, so 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, we shall head to the side to talk then. Let’s not disturb her rest.” It just so happened that Zu An had something to talk to her about.
Listening to the departing footsteps of the duo, Qiao Xueying, who was indeed feigning sleep, gnashed her teeth in frustration. 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!
Zu An was amused to see the inflow of Rage points
“Big brother Zu, what are you laughing at?” Ji Xiaoxi looked 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 address.
“Thanks for your clothes earlier on,” said Zu An. Looking at the innocent lady before him, Zu An really couldn’t raise any thoughts of besmirching her. “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 water, carrying not a hint of other thoughts at all. “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 those words aloud.
Zu An nodded and said, “I did manage to find the Evanescent Lotus. Speaking of which, I really have to thank your father’s pill for this.”
He chose not to mention that the Evanescent Lotus had been consumed by Chu Chuyan, or else it would be hard to explain to Ji Xiaoxi how he managed to break free of his seal. After all, she was well-versed in medicine, so it would be hard to fool her with typical excuses. However, he couldn’t say 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.
“I didn’t expect the pill to actually be effective. I was still worried that things might go wrong,” Ji Xiaoxi patted her chest and heaved a deep sigh of relief.
“???” Zu An.
Wait a moment, there’s something really weird about this reaction.
The embarrassed Ji Xiaoxi explained meekly, “It was the first time my father was making the unsealing medicine from some of the ancient medicine manuals. He was only 50% confident of success, and it was so as to not make you worry that he kept it from you.”
She didn’t want to lie to him if possible, thinking that a physician should always inform his patient the truth. However, her father told him that the psychological state of the patient was also important to the treatment. Thinking that it did make sense, she reluctantly went along with her father.
Thinking that it made sense, she reluctantly kept the matter from Zu An, only revealing it now that the treatment was over.
“
” Zu An.
Ji Dengtu, that damned scammer!
It was lucky that I encountered another fortuitous encounter, or else if I failed to recover after consuming the Evanescent Lotus, I might just lose all hope in life and end my misery there!
Damn it, I’ll make sure to settle the score with him!
However, thinking about Ji Dengtu’s unfathomably powerful cultivation, those thoughts swiftly evaporated from his mind. Forget it, I’ll settle the score in some other way.
“Speaking of which, Xiaoxi, how is your leg doing?” asked Zu An. He remembered Bai Susu saying something along the lines that she had accidentally sprained her leg while looking for help. Feeling touched, he stretched his hand forth as he asked, “Shall I help you massage it?”
“Don’t worry, I’m already feeling much better.” Ji Xiaoxi’s face reddened as she retracted her leg and subconsciously pulled her skirt down a little.
It was due to her knowledge that Zu An wasn’t a real man that she didn’t mind those physical contact with him previously, but now that he had recover, she couldn’t help but feel a little shy around him.
On the other hand, Zu An was taken aback for a moment before realizing that he had accidentally went too far. Somehow, toward this incredibly kind and adorable little lady, he found himself unable to tease her without feeling guilt-ridden. So, he quickly put on a solemn expression and replied, “Xiaoxi, I’m sorry. It was due to me that you ended up wasting your time in the dungeon and wasn’t 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 met with something as thrilling as this in my entire life. The experience in the mountain valley was definitely far more than anything I could wish for! As for the treasures, that means nothing much to me. My father has plenty of precious medicinal herbs anyway, so I’m not lacking in ingredients.”
“
” Zu An.
Wow, rich people do think with 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 that was emanating a blood-red glow from his robe and stuffed it into her hands, saying, “Here, I’ll give this to you.”
Mi Li’s clothes back at the underground palace were donned with many precious ki stones, be it her coronet, empress gown, or waist belt. While her clothes later disintegrated from age, these ki stones remained perfectly intact. While Mi Li was changing her clothes, he secretly picked them up and stowed them away.
The largest ki stone of all was the one embedded at the center of her coronet. Considering the possibility that it might have some significance to Mi Li, he decided to keep it for the time being so as to construct another coronet with it for her. Instead, he chose to take out the second largest, the one that was embedded on 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, only for her face to warp in astonishment. Her mouth grew so big that one could stuff an entire egg in. “Heaven grade ki stone!”
Just like diamonds in his previous world, the ki stones in this world had different grades too. The ones that were commonly seen in the market and distributed by Brightmoon Academy were ordinary grade ki stones.
A tier above that would be the earth grade ki stones. In terms of the quantity and concentration of ki, it was far superior to the ordinary grade ki stones. It was often used by major clans to nurture their core members.”
Beyond that would be the heaven grade ki stone. It was said to be a resource monopolized fully by the imperial family, and it was said to be extremely rare. Only the emperor, empress, crown prince, and favored princes were qualified to use it. Most other princes, unless with a 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 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 and accept it.” Even though Zu An knew that this ki stone was precious too, he still unhesitatingly insisted for Ji Xiaoxi to accept it.
He recalled the turmoil he had been through ever since transmigrating into this world, especially the suffering he had suffered from Qiao Xueying. With such thoughts in mind, he directed a vicious glare at the culprit.
However, Ji Xiaoxi’s presence brought warmth to his life. When she became cognizant of his affliction, she quickly thought up of ways to help him. Even in this dungeon, she also desperately tried to garner help in order to save him from the zombie soldiers too.
“It’s simply too precious. I can’t accept it!” Ji Xiaoxi shook her head vehemently. Due to how anxious she was, her fair complexion ended up turning a little 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 found her heart beating furiously as she wondered
 Is he confessing to me?
“If it wasn’t for you, I would have already died numerous times by now. On top of that, I wouldn’t have recovered from my affliction either,” said Zu An solemnly. “Does my life not mean as much as this ki stone in your eyes?”
“Of course not
” Ji Xiaoxi heaved a sigh of relief upon realizing that she was overthinking things. Yet, at the same time, she felt a profound emotion that she couldn’t really put her finger on in her heart.
“Since that’s the case, you should just accept it. I might just have more requests to ask for you in the future, and I shan’t be paying the consultation fee then, alright?” 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 fee anyway
 though I can’t say the same for my father.”
Thinking about the greedy and lustful Ji Dengtu, Zu An couldn’t help but chuckle in response. “Indeed, hahaha.”
The two of them continued chatting for a while as they shared 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, bringing a gentle spotlight to her fair complexion.
Zu An found himself feeling a little touched. She must have hardly slept a wink out of worry of my safety over the last few days. Now that she finally knows that I’m safe, her body finally succumbs to her exhaustion.
“Cough!”
Zu An turned to look at Qiao Xueying, only to see that she was seated with her back facing him. Her slender body had an alluring curvature to it, from the narrowing of her waist to the expansion toward her bum and thighs.
“That woman sure is beautiful when she finally sits still,” evaluated Zu An.
Seeing that she wasn’t reacting at all, he thought that she was simply murmuring in her dreams, so he turned his attention back to Ji Xiaoxi and tucked the strands of hair fluttering loosely on her face to the back of her ears.
“Cough cough!”
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 cough over there to catch my attention.”
“I just wanted to see if you would do anything despicable to that young lady like a beast.” Qiao Xueying finally turned her body around and rolled her eyes at him. She descended from the lineage of the elves after all, so her life force was far more plentiful compared to most other people. After having undergone Ji Xioaxi’s treatment, she was in a much better state than before.
“Does this show that I’m a gentleman then?” asked Zu An with a smile.
“No, it only shows that you’re a pervert without any guts. In other words, you’re less than a beast.” Qiao Xueying harrumphed.
“
” Zu An.
He never thought that he would ever receive this evaluation.
Qiao Xueying stretched her hand forth and asked, “Where’s mine?”
Zu An was confused. “What do you mean?”
Qiao Xueying harrumphed coldly and said, “I braved through death with you in the underground palace, even using my most precious Half Life’s Fate on you. I don’t see you gifting me anything in compensation, but you seem to be oddly generous with that young lady over there, hm?”
You have successfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +256 Rage!
Zu An’s face heated up. It did seem like he was really a bit biased here. So, he quickly took out another ki stone that was previously embedded on Mi Li’s gown and handed it over.
Unexpectedly, Qiao Xueying tossed it right back at him and sneered, “You gave her with such a big one, only to present me with this small pea? No thanks!”
You have successfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +512 Rage!
Zu An hurriedly handed over all of the remaining ki stones to her and said, “This is all I have left; you can take it all. It should add up to be larger than hers.”
“That won’t do!” Qiao Xueying wasn’t going to compromise at all. “I want a complete one that’s not any smaller than hers.”
Zu An was immediately put in a 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?
Considering that Qiao Xueying had saved his life and handed over half of her lifespan to him, he did feel that his actions were a little unreasonable. 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 woman?”
You have successfully trolled Mi Li for +999 Rage!