“What?” Zu An was startled. Oddly enough, he was a little uncomfortable with this.

“Don’t move.” Qiu Honglei mumbled indistinctly, at the same time tucking the strands of hair that had fallen down onto her cheeks back behind her ears.

Zu An subconsciously straightened. The surroundings were quiet, so quiet that only the gentle breathing of the two of them could be heard.

He could vaguely smell the scent of her hair, as well as the delicate fragrance that had to belong to a young lady. Of course, the things he sensed most intimately were her soft lips and her flexible tongue…

Ahem, ahem, get your head out of the gutter! Be calm, be calm!

Just like that, the two of them sat quietly, leaning against each other as Qiu Honglei sucked out the poisoned blood and spat it out one mouthful at a time.

After what seemed like an eternity, Qiu Honglei finally heaved a sigh of relief. The color of his wounds had finally returned to a normal red. “I’ve already sucked out most of the poisoned blood. Fortunately, the poison in Mosquito Daoist’s fingernails wasn’t too strong.”

As she spoke, Qiu Honglei took out a bottle of medicine and gave him a pill to swallow. She ripped off a clean potion of her skirt and bandaged him up.

Zu An handed her a container. “This will help to detoxify some of the poison. Swirl some around in your mouth, and then take some of it. Don’t let the poison affect you as well.”

Qiu Honglei didn’t refuse, and drank the antitoxin that he offered.

She was surprised that he had somehow produced this bottle out of thin air, but soon reasoned that he probably had a spatial artifact with him. She didn’t ask about it further, since these were often closely-guarded secrets that their bearers did not wish to talk about.

“Thank you,” Zu An said sincerely.

“What are you thanking me for? It was clearly you who saved my life.” Qiu Honglei smiled. Compared to the perfectly practiced smile she showed others, her expression right now was much warmer.

“You saved my life too.” Zu An also smiled. “If you hadn’t sucked out the poison from my wounds, it would have spread quickly and killed me.”

Qiu Honglei gave him a blank look. This man was usually so indecent, but he actually had such a soft and gentle side. He was worried that I would feel as though I had let him down, and said these things to comfort me.

But how could he equate the two deeds? Even without her, the poison would have only caused him to suffer for a while, and would not have really cost him his life.

While she was looking at Zu An, Zu An was also looking at her—more specifically, at her moist red lips. He thought about how she had used her mouth to treat his wounds. Each time she brushed his wounds with her mouth, it felt as though little electric currents were sent through his body. The tingling feeling was incredible, as though every single cell in his body had been excited by her touch.

If her sucking on a wound already felt that good, I wonder what it would feel like if she did that somewhere else…

He stared at her tender and beautiful red lips, and swallowed. It was a small motion, but the sound of it was amplified by the utter silence of their surroundings.

Zu An subconsciously raised his head to look at Qiu Honglei, and their eyes soon met.

Qiu Honglei’s face turned red. “Pervert!”

She turned away in embarrassment.

Zu An could not believe it.

He immediately cried out in injustice, “Am I a pervert just because I swallowed my saliva? I think you’re the one who misunderstood me.”

Qiu Honglei snorted. “You’re well aware of what kind of nonsense goes through your own head.”

Zu An stared at her, speechless.

This woman had spent quite some time in the Immortal Abode, after all, and was much more knowledgeable than the ordinary young lady.

So what if you’re angry—where are my Rage points?

“Heh heh heh…”

At that instant, a low and terrifying laugh drifted over to them.

Both of them grew alarmed. The ambiguous atmosphere between them dissipated in an instant as they both put up their guards.

“Oh look at how innocent the two of you are! You’re supposed to be running for your lives, yet here you are, muttering sweet nothings to each other.”

The familiar voice of Mosquito Daoist echoed around the clearing. It seemed like it was coming from far away at first, but by the time she finished speaking, she sounded as though she was right next to them.

The two of them suddenly raised their heads, and noticed a woman in apricot-yellow daoist robes standing on a nearby treetop, perched on a relatively thin branch. It shouldn’t have been able to support the weight of a human, not even a petite woman.

However, it seemed as though Mosquito Daoist didn’t weigh anything at all. Her feet rested gracefully on top of the branch, her figure swaying naturally with the wind. 

Qiu Honglei was shocked. “What about my companions? Did you kill them all?”

Mosquito Daoist snorted. “I’ve never had a habit of leaving my enemies unsilenced.”

She felt heat rush towards her face. Even though those Devil Sect cultivators were individually weaker than her, they all had their unique skills. When they teamed up against her, it became quite difficult for her to take them out. She had been in a rush to capture Zu An and Qiu Honglei as well, so she didn’t actually face them directly, but left behind some clones to distract them instead. Meanwhile, she had pursued the two of them here.

Her original form was a Blackblood Mosquito, which naturally excelled in flight. In terms of raw speed, she was much faster than humans of the same rank, let alone those who were much weaker than her, like Zu An and Qiu Honglei.

She was also extremely sensitive towards the scent of blood. Even though the trail of blood they had left behind was faint, it did not escape her notice.

That was why she had easily caught up with them, even though the two of them had run a fair distance away.

“Honglei,” Zu An said quietly, “I’ll do my best to stall her. Use this chance to get away. It’s best if you can find your way back to your martial uncle, Lu Sanyuan. He should be able to ensure your safety.”

Qiu Honglei shook her head, and gently held his hands. “I’ll face her together with you.”

Zu An grew agitated. “You’re being foolish! She wants my Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, so she won’t kill me, but she won’t be so polite to you.”

Qiu Honglei still refused to leave. “I won’t leave you! If worse comes to worst, I’ll wait for you in the afterlife.”

She gave a slight smile as she said these words, her expression poignant yet determined. She was clearly ready to die.

Mosquito Daoist laughed cruelly from atop the tree. “What a moving performance! I’ve heard that spouses should face everything together, but your affection for each other seems to go even deeper than that of husband and wife.”

Qiu Honglei’s cheeks, which had turned completely pale from nervousness and fear, reddened slightly.

Noting her bashful appearance, even Mosquito Daoist had to admit that this woman was truly beautiful, no matter how picky she tried to be.

This only made her grow more jealous, which further fueled her rage. “What a pity—I love to tear lovebirds apart!”

She swooped down at the two of them.

She already knew that Zu An was as slippery as a loach, and that she wouldn’t be able to snag him quickly. Rather than wasting time, it seemed expedient to deal with Qiu Honglei first.

The two of them had stepped in to save one another earlier, so she knew that Zu An would definitely jump in if she attacked Qiu Honglei. This would greatly reduce the effectiveness of his blasted movement technique.

Sure enough, when he saw her attacking Qiu Honglei, Zu An gritted his teeth and ran over to help her.

Mosquito Daoist sniffed disdainfully and took a step forward. She moved so quickly that even Zu An had no time to react.

She suddenly appeared right in front of Zu An and smashed a palm into his chest. She knew what he was thinking—that she would restrain herself in order not to kill him.

Even though she wasn’t out to kill him, crippling him by taking away his movement ability was no trouble at all.

Forget about someone of the fifth rank—even someone at the peak of the sixth rank would be completely stripped of their ability to fight after being struck by her palm.

Blood spurted out crazily from Zu An’s mouth as multiple ribs snapped. However, the Primordial Origin Sutra quickly did its job and repaired his injuries.

Mosquito Daoist didn’t spare him another look, and pressed her attack against Qiu Honglei.

“Ah Zu!” Qiu Honglei screamed in horror. However, she couldn’t afford to be distracted right now. She quickly took out the Empress Lantern. The pale yellow light surrounded Mosquito Daoist and substantially slowed her movements.

Mosquito Daoist didn’t panic. “Hmph, your cultivation is too low. You cannot harness the lantern’s full power.”

The lantern had been most effective the first time she used it. At this time, the power of the lantern seemed to have weakened greatly. It wasn’t able to completely immobilize Mosquito Daoist, but only slowed her movements.

In this way, Qiu Honglei was just barely able to keep up with her speed, and the two of them exchanged several blows. Even though that lantern had slowed her movements, it couldn’t weaken her keen vision or dull her combat experience. In a matter of seconds, Mosquito Daoist seized an opening and struck her shoulder with her palm.

Qiu Honglei shrieked in agony as she was sent flying. Mosquito Daoist was just about to take her life when Zu An’s voice came from off to the side. “Did you ask for my permission before touching my woman?”