The chill of the blade raised Zu An’s goosebumps immediately. "Venerable hero, do you want money, or do you want… me? We can talk it out! Please don’t let your hand slip!”

As he said this, he secretly prepared Grandgale in order to teleport away.

A snicker sounded from behind him. “Money is something I can understand, but as for the latter… is that really something I would want?”

A woman? Zu An sighed in relief when he heard the timbre of his attacker’s voice. He might have been slightly worried if a man had come to assassinate him, but women were his specialty!

“Venerable heroine, this is where I’ll have to disagree. You can insult my integrity, but you cannot insult my handsome face!” Zu An said with a firm expression.

“Pah, what a slick tongue you have. No wonder that slut Qiu Honglei fell for you.” With a whisper of sound, the blade which was resting against his neck disappeared.

Only then did Zu An turn around carefully. A masked woman limped over to his bed, then slowly sat down.

As she sat down, a great wave rippled across her chest.

Zu An swallowed. “Big…” he couldn’t help but blurt out automatically.

Even though there probably was a screw loose inside his head, there was usually no way he would so easily lose his composure like this.

But her stealthy bodysuit was just too tight, and her enchanting figure was just too much for him to handle!

He knew that he was in trouble as soon as these words came out of his mouth. Sure enough, the masked woman’s eyes grew cold. “What did you say?”

“I was just saying that I detected some… big jealousy from Miss Pei’s words.” Zu An reacted quickly, immediately turning things around. He could instantly tell who she was by her peach-blossom eyes and massive chest, even if she was masked.

“Me? Jealous?” Pei Mianman removed her mask, casually tossing it to the side. A mischievous smile appeared on her face. “Perhaps I seem a little... too nice to you?”

Zu An immediately felt a great weight lift off his shoulders as she changed the topic. “Forget it. I seemed to have forgotten that, sometimes, those who are too outstanding will always be too easily misunderstood.”

Pei Mianman gave a disdainful sniff. “I don’t know how in the world Chuyan puts up with you.”

“You went to Chuyan’s room?” Zu An immediately panicked. He had been busy with administering her treatment, so there was no way he could have paid attention to the activity outside. The security outside was tight, however, so unless she had an instant movement skill like his, she shouldn’t have escaped their detection.

“I didn’t.” Pei Mianman’s expression grew strange. She didn’t visit her close friend and instead went looking for her husband… “I heard that she hasn’t been feeling that well, so I didn’t want to bother her tonight,” she hurriedly added.

After saying this, she suddenly frowned, twisting her body unnaturally.

“You’re wounded?” Zu An noticed that her movements had been a little stiff. It finally struck him as to what was going on.

“Hmph! I came all the way to save you, but you just ran off with that vixen! You left me to deal with that sixth rank Chen Xuan and all those Blackwind Stockade subordinates of his alone! How could you have the nerve to ask me this right now?” Pei Mianman immediately erupted in fury, angry at Qiu Honglei, and angry at Zu An for actually fleeing with her.

You have successfully trolled Pei Mianman for 66… 66… 66…

Zu An was immediately ashamed. “I really didn’t expect Qiu Honglei to drag me into the water with her back then! Everything happened so quickly… by the time I could react, I was already choking on water! She guided me to the riverbank. When I finally had a chance to turn around, I saw that the two of you seemed evenly-matched. Besides, The City Defense Army was on their way as well. I didn’t want to go back only to cause more trouble for you.”

He naturally left out the part when Qiu Honglei had given him oxygen. He had already pissed off his wife—he didn’t want to piss off a second woman.

Thank heaven he had wiped the lipstick off before he returned. Today might really have been the day of his funeral otherwise.

“Hmph, at least you had a bit of a conscience.” Hearing that he at least paid some attention to her situation, Pei Mianman’s expression relaxed a little. “Bandit or not, Chen Xuan is still a sixth rank cultivator. Against someone like him, you’ll be fortunate to get out alive. A small injury is nothing.”

Zu An’s eyes widened. “Where are you hurt? I have medicine.”

That damned Phoenix Nirvana Sutra always left him on the brink of death. After he had made some money, the first thing he’d done was to stock up on healing medicine, most of which was Ji Dengtu’s best stuff.

“You’re asking me where I got hurt, but why do you keep staring at my chest?” Pei Mianman’s smile carried with it a dangerous glint.

Zu An flushed red. “I just wanted to know where you were injured out of concern!” he replied in a rush.

“Stop trying to guess. It’s not where you think it is.” A puzzled expression lingered in Pei Mianman’s eyes. “Just how did Chuyan end up liking a scoundrel like you? I really just can’t understand it! Not only her, but that vixen Qiu Honglei seems quite fond of you as well. I don’t see a single exceptional thing about you.”

Zu An smiled bashfully. “I am someone with more introverted qualities. You’ll have to be around me more if you want to find out my strengths.”

“You? Introverted qualities?” Pei Mianman immediately burst out laughing, then winced in pain as her injuries flared up. Her beautiful brows drew together.

“You’ve hurt your back?” Zu An had already figured out that she’d been injured. After all, in the area of getting hurt, he was already a true professional.

“Mm,” Pei Mianman grunted in confirmation. When she saw that he was about to examine her himself, however, she immediately raised her sword. “It’s none of your business. A small wound like this isn’t an issue at all.”

Zu An was startled and amused. This woman was always behaving so flirtatiously, but she was actually this conservative inside!

“It’ll leave a scar if we don’t treat it quickly,” Zu An warned.

Pei Mianman sneered. “Do you think I’m like one of those dainty little girls? Cultivators are different from ordinary people, and I’ve always recovered quickly. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been injured since I was a child. Do you see any scars from those wounds?”

“I’d originally assumed you were a precious daughter who’d been doted on by a great family, but it seems like you’ve had it quite hard.” Zu An was shocked when he heard that she suffered so many injuries during her childhood. It really was hard for him to reconcile this with her usually cheerful and flirtatious bearing.

Pei Mianman’s smile instantly vanished. “I don’t need your sympathy!”

Zu An didn’t seem to mind her sudden change in attitude. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Chuyan about this.”

“Why do I care if you mention this to her or not?” Pei Mianman turned away, but her expression relaxed slightly.

“We still have to take care of the wound as soon as possible.” Zu An rummaged through his various drawers and trunks. “We can’t underestimate a wound from a sixth rank expert. Chuyan is the best example. Because of her negligence, she’s still suffering from some hidden injuries she received in her fight against that Wu Di.”

“Chuyan’s condition is actually that serious?” Pei Mianman’s expression immediately grew complicated.

“It’s not too bad. With a divine physician like yours truly, it’s not a big deal at all!” replied Zu An.

“You?” Pei Mianman sneered. “It was clearly Divine Physician Ji who paid her a visit.”

“Life is truly lonesome and desolate as a snow-covered field… no one believes me when I speak the truth.” Zu An picked out several different medicines. “Turn around and let me have a look at your injury.”

With a slight hesitation, Pei Mianman turned around. “You better not be thinking of taking advantage of me. I won’t let you off that easy even if you’re Chuyan’s husband!” she said coyly.

“Look at how innocent my eyes are! Do I really seem like that type of person?” Zu An was beyond disgruntled.

“Hmph!”

…

After a quick examination, Zu An discovered a three-inch long wound on her back, the clothing around it already soaked with blood. It wasn’t obvious at first, only because her bodysuit was black. “That son of a dog Chen Xuan! How could he be so vicious?!”

“Hmph, he isn’t anything special.” Pei Mianman raised her chin arrogantly. She clearly didn’t want to be underestimated.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know you’re really strong and awesome.” Zu An gently tore the fabric around her wound.

“What are you doing!” Pei Mianman’s entire body went rigid. She tightened her grip on her sword.

“Relax! How can I apply the medicine if I don’t clean up the area around the wound?” Zu An replied. “Don’t worry, I won’t go so far as to take advantage of my own wife’s close friend in her very own house.”

“Heh, I knew you wouldn’t have the guts to do something like that.” Pei Mianman relaxed as she noticed that he wasn’t going any further.

Zu An dabbed some medicine on the wound, cleaning it up gently. “Does it hurt?”

“It’s fine. Keep going.” Pei Mianman frowned, clearly enduring the pain.

The room quickly became quiet. Only the sounds of Zu An treating her wound could be heard.

Pei Mianman blushed. This was the first time her skin was being touched like this by a man. However, acting shy really wasn’t her style. After a moment, she laughed proudly and asked, “Who’s skin is better—mine or Chuyan’s?”

Zu An smiled and said, “Do you want me to tell you that your skin is better than my wife’s, or that my wife’s skin is more perfect than yours?”

When she saw Zu An kick the ball right back at her, Pei Mianman snorted. “Hmph, you really are as sly as a fox. If I wasn’t so sure that you grew up in Brightmoon City, I really would have wondered if you came out of some old monster.”

Zu An was slightly taken aback by her words. I did kinda possess this body like an old monster… no, I’m a small monster, at least. I was still young in my past world.

When the treatment was completed, Zu An said, “All done. However, you’ve lost a lot of blood, so your body is extremely weak right now. Don’t go too crazy tonight, just stay here. Otherwise, if you end up getting attacked by some scoundrel, my heart really wouldn’t be able to take it.”

Pei Mianman’s eyes flickered with a teasing light. “Why do I feel like I’ll be in more danger if I stay here?”

“Even if you don’t trust my integrity, you should trust Chuyan’s judgment in picking her husband. I’m going to sleep next door, so you’re on your own. You can leave whenever you want.”

After a bit of hesitation, she said, “Don’t tell Chuyan about what happened today… don’t tell any of her family members either.”

Zu An couldn’t help but laugh. “This is just a normal occurrence. Why do you suddenly make it seem like some scandal? Don’t worry, it’ll remain a secret between us.”

“I never should have expected any good words to come out of the mouth of a scoundrel!” Pei Mianman spat, shutting the door in his face.

Zu An’s heart sank. Couldn’t this woman at least let him grab some blankets?

However, for someone with his current constitution, blankets didn’t really make a difference anymore. In any case, he didn’t feel like knocking on the door again.

He went next door and dragged some stools together. Just as he was about to lie down to sleep, his heart jumped. Someone had suddenly appeared beside him.