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Zu An was delighted to hear those words. After worrying about this all this while, it turned out that this young woman was a fairly agreeable person. This would make it much easier for him to handle this situation.
“I understand,” Zu An replied.
He heard the sound of someone rising from the water, and his thoughts began flying around the place. There was a problem that was sitting right before him right now—should he take a peek? It was a choice of either becoming a beast or becoming less than a beast.
Just imagining the young woman’s smooth jadelike body rising from the water left his nose feeling a little warm. When he reached out to touch his nose, he realized that it was red.
Holy shit, I’m bleeding!
It seemed like the Marrow Cleansing Pills had really boosted the yang energy in his feeble body considerably.
“Ahh~”
The young woman suddenly shouted in horror, alarming Zu An. He wondered if it was the kind of plot where she got bitten by a venomous snake or something. If so, he didn’t mind sacrificing himself to suck the venom out for her.
In the next moment, however, his face warped in horror too. He felt the ground around him tremoring, as if a train was heading in his direction.
“Run!”
A cold but soft hand grabbed Zu An’s arm and pulled him toward the center of the river. Shortly after, the massive boulder Zu An was hiding behind shattered into innumerable pieces. A humongous beast came into appearance, and it bellowed at the duo inside the water.
“Is that a rhinoceros?” Zu An was astonished. The rhinoceros was almost as big as an elephant! Did the animals in this world grow up eating steroids or something? Besides, why were its eyes so red? It was almost as if it was afflicted with mad cow disease or something!
“Its name is Red-Eyes Crazy Rhino, a fourth rank beast. It has a poor sense of smell and a horrible temper. It has the habit of attacking any living beings in sight,” a tender voice explained beside him.
Zu An turned his head over and saw the young woman’s appearance. She had straight bangs that covered her forehead, and there were a few strands of hair hanging loosely by the sides of her face, which further highlighted her small face. She had clear peach blossom eyes that went well with her fair complexion. On the whole, she gave off an air of youthfulness.
However, what was more important was that she hadn’t worn her clothes yet.
Noticing Zu An’s gaze, the young woman lowered her head before exclaiming with a loud ‘Ah!’, which only seemed to further infuriate the Red-Eyes Crazy Rhino standing by the river bank.
“Turn over, turn over!” the young woman exclaimed tearfully.
“Don’t cry, I’ll turn over right now!” Zu An quickly turned his head over. For some reason, the young woman’s soft and gentle voice left him unable to form any sinful thoughts about her… But of course, considering the current state his body was in, it would be weird if he could carry any sinful thoughts toward her.
The young woman quickly placed her arms around her chests before muttering softly, “Thank you.”
Zu An asked, “Where are your clothes?”
“T-they are still by the shore.”
The young woman spoke shyly as she raised her slender arm and pointed to the area near the shattered boulder.
“What if the Crazy Rhino doesn’t leave the area? Shall we try knocking it down?” Zu An asked with the intention of probing out the young woman’s cultivation.
However, considering that a fourth rank rhinoceros was able to scare her to such an extent, it didn’t seem like she was very strong.
“Red-Eyes Crazy Rhino has extremely thick skin. Even cultivators of the fourth rank will find it hard to hurt it,” the young woman replied with a shake of her head.
“I think that we can still give it a try,” Zu An said. The Poisonous Prick should be particularly effective against enemies who boasted high defense but low attack power and speed. He could make use of this opportunity to feign as an expert and intimidate her, so that she wouldn’t pursue the earlier matter anymore.
“T-there’s no need for it. It’ll be fine very soon,” the young woman replied.
“???”
While Zu An was trying to figure out what the young woman meant, the Red-Eyes Crazy Rhino suddenly swayed from side to side, as if intoxicated. Its footsteps grew a little erratic, and a short moment later, it suddenly collapsed to the floor.
“You were the one who did it?” Zu An felt his throat drying up, and he swallowed his saliva. Was this young woman just feigning weakness?
The young woman replied with a nod, “I put some medicine on the boulder earlier. The rhino rammed into it earlier, which led to it breathing in the medicine.”
“What medicine is so potent as to even knock out such a huge rhino?” Zu An was rendered speechless. However, he soon noticed that there was something else amiss too. “Why did you put medicine on the boulder?”
“I… I was worried…” the young woman stuttered as her voice grew softer and softer. “I was worried that… you would peek. However, you don’t need to worry. It’s just sedatives! It isn’t dangerous!”
Zu An took a sharp intake of breath. If that medicine was potent enough to even knock out that huge rhino so quickly, if he had tried to peek earlier, there was a good chance that he would have slept for a month straight!
“Can you close your eyes now? I’m going to get dressed…” the young woman said timidly, as if she was making an overboard request out of him.
“Of course,” Zu An replied. Unlike in dramas, there were neither infuriated insults of ‘You lecher’ nor attempts on his life. There was just embarrassment lingering in the air. Were young women in this world all so adorable?
However, when he thought about the sharp-tongued Snow, he quickly dispelled his thoughts.
Meanwhile, seeing that Zu An had really closed his eyes, the young woman began swimming toward the shore.
Hearing the splashing of water, a small crack opened in Zu An’s tightly shut eyes. His eyes had suffered so much for so many years, and it was finally time to reward them a little.
He watched as the young woman swam beautifully like a mermaid, her figure vaguely visible through the water.
When she finally got to the shore, Zu An’s heart suddenly began beating in anticipation. She was going to wear her clothes now!
Unexpectedly, the young woman suddenly raised her hand, and a wall of water rose into the sky, concealing her body.
Zu An immediately flew into a state of rage, “Who are you guarding against? Am I that kind of person?!”
A short moment later, the wall of water finally fell back down. The young woman had finally finished dressing herself up. She turned to the center of the river and waved her hand, saying, “I have finished wearing my clothes. You may open your eyes now.”
“Alright,” Zu An replied as he thought that this young woman really had a lack of awareness.
He swam toward the shore, and when he finally got a good look at the young woman, his eyes lit up. She was wearing a blue dress with a white lace tied around her waist, which accentuated her slender figure.
She looked at Zu An with blinking large eyes, almost as if a doll. For a moment there, Zu An felt a little dazed. He thought that he was looking at Asuka Saito!
However, Zu An swiftly noticed yet another awkward situation—his clothes weren’t with him!
“Why aren’t you getting up?” The young woman shot a look at the guy in the water before quickly averting his gaze with reddened cheeks.
“Didn’t I tell you earlier that I was knocked out and ended up being washed here? I also don’t know where my clothes are,” Zu An said.
The young woman pondered for a while before saying, “Since you were washed downstream by the river, it’s likely that your clothes are up there.”
“Can you accompany me there? I’m a little afraid to go on my own.” Human relationships were like a rubber band. If one side loosened up, the other side would tighten up. Initially, Zu An was worried about getting killed by her, but after seeing her shy personality, he couldn’t help but feel an urge to bully her.
The young woman pondered for a moment before finally nodding in agreement. “Alright. Actually, you don’t need to worry about it. There aren’t many wild beasts near the river. Of course, when evening comes, there would still be quite a few wild beasts coming down here to have a sip of water. However, as long as you don’t provoke the Fiery Wolves from the Wolf Valley, there shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”
“Then what’s with this rhino?” Zu An examined the Red-Eyes Crazy Rhino from close proximity, and he was deeply awed by just how huge it was.
The young woman’s face reddened. “Actually, it followed me down from the Hidden Dragon Mountain.”
Zu An was shocked. “You entered the Hidden Dragon Mountain?” Even by thinking with his toes, he knew that there were many powerful beasts hiding there. He had heard countless warnings from all sorts of people to never enter the mountain. Yet, this young woman entered the mountain all alone? Didn’t that mean that she was actually very powerful?
Zu An was starting to regret his decision. Was he actually courting his own death here?
“Indeed. There are some herbs that can only be found in the depths of the Hidden Dragon Mountain.” The young woman put her hands into the straps of the basket containing medicine and lifted it up. With a pure smile, she said, “Let’s go. I’ll retrieve your clothes with you.”
“Thank you, miss.” Zu An swam in the water. “Right! My name is Zu An. May I know what your name is?” Upon learning that the young woman was actually a powerful expert, he thought of getting in close relations with her.
“Zu An? What a peculiar name,” the young woman muttered to herself before answering his question. “My name is Ji Xiaoxi.”
Zu An chuckled. “Your name sounds much nicer than mine.”
The young woman’s face reddened in embarrassment.
Seeing this, Zu An verified that she did have a weak personality, and that emboldened him a little. “Xiaoxi, if you’re harvesting medicine in the Hidden Dragon Mountain, doesn’t that mean that you’re quite a powerful expert?”
Ji Xiaoxi shook her head, replying unguardedly, “I’m only at the third rank. The only reason why I can enter the mountain is due to the item my father gave me.”
As she spoke, she took out a transparent bottle containing bits of green powder.
Zu An was perplexed. “What’s that?”
Ji Xiaoxi replied, “It is a medicine made out of dried dragon feces. It carries the natural pressure that dragons command, thus keeping the wild beasts in the mountain at bay.”
Zu An was astonished. To think the dragons really existed in this world!
Ji Xiaoxi kept her bottle properly before muttering with a pout, “It’s just that this thing is too smelly, so I would usually bathe and change my clothes after getting out of the mountain. I didn’t expect to… bump into you.”
“This is just how fate works.” Zu An chuckled. Seeing the hint of frustration on the young woman’s forehead, he quickly changed the topic. “Wait a moment. If that’s the case, why did the Red-Eyes Crazy Rhino attack you earlier then?”
“That’s because its senses are lacking,” Ji Xiaoxi explained. “The Red-Eyes Crazy Rhino cannot smell the dragon feces, so it doesn’t fear it. Furthermore, it’s an extremely vindictive creature. I accidentally provoked it while I was passing by its territory, so it chased me all the way down here.”
“I see.” Zu An nodded in realization. Recalling the physique of the Red-Eyes Crazy Rhino, an idea suddenly came to his mind.
The two of them continued chatting while heading upstream, and soon, they returned back to where Zu An was at the start. His clothes were still folded neatly on the spot.
“Xiaoxi, can you turn around?” In truth, Zu An didn’t mind being seen, but he didn’t want to be viewed as a pervert.
Ji Xiaoxi replied with a “Mm’ as she ran all the way behind a tree. Zu An quickly got on shore and wore his clothes. He confirmed that his goubao and the silver taels he obtained from Plum Blossom Twelve was still around before heaving a sigh of relief.
“Alright, I’m done changing,” Zu An shouted over.
Ji Xiaoxi finally walked out of the tree. Upon taking a closer look at Zu An, she fell into a daze.
Surprised by her reaction, Zu An touched his own face and asked, “What’s wrong? Is there something weird about me?”