Come Have a Drink to Soothe Your Throat

Bang!!!

The wooden table let out a dull thud.

Bibi Dong slammed her palm onto the table and shot to her feet like a thoroughly enraged little beast. Her beautiful eyes were wide as she glared furiously at Zhao Linchuan, her chest heaving violently. "Zhao! Lin! Chuan!" Her voice restrained volcanic fury.

That bastard!

He still dared to make sarcastic remarks here!

"Huh? Why are you getting angry?" Zhao Linchuan looked utterly surprised, as if he had suffered a tremendous injustice. "I was complimenting you~ A sincere, heartfelt compliment~"

"You! You... you!!!" Bibi Dong was so infuriated by his shameless manner that her chest rose and fell wildly. Even the hand pointing at him was trembling, and for a moment, she could not form a complete sentence.

"Look how angry you are." Zhao Linchuan shook his head as though looking at an unruly child. "With that temper of yours, when you get married someday, won't you anger your mother-in-law half to death?"

"You!! Cough, cough, cough..." Bibi Dong was choked by that "curse" and broke into a violent coughing fit, patting her chest hard.

"Oh my, who upset you so badly?" Zhao Linchuan asked "concernedly," casually grabbing an exquisite jade pot from the table and filling a cup with "water." "Come, come, have some water and calm yourself down."

"Cough, cough... cough..." Bibi Dong was coughing so badly that she instinctively took the cup. Without even looking, she tipped her head back and gulped it down.

"Urgh! Pfft—cough, cough, cough...!!!" The spicy liquid burned down her throat like fire, making tears well up in her eyes!

She slammed the cup onto the table and fiercely wiped her wine-stained lips with the back of her hand, trembling with rage. "You gave me alcohol to soothe my throat?!!"

"Oh?" Zhao Linchuan looked as if he had suddenly realized something and spread his hands innocently. "So it was alcohol? I didn't know."

"I thought the pot looked rather elegant, so I assumed it was water."

"You!!" Bibi Dong pointed at him, her finger shaking. She felt that if she said one more word, he would anger her to death on the spot. Losing ten years off her life would be the least of it!

"Oh, enough, enough. Don't be angry anymore. It's not worth harming your health." As if his conscience had suddenly awakened, Zhao Linchuan slowly took a lush green bamboo flask from his Storage Soul Tool and held it out to Bibi Dong. "Here, drink this. This is good."

He shook the bamboo flask. "There's top-quality Bamboo Sap inside. It's sweet and soothing for the throat. Drink it, and your throat will feel better. Your anger will fade too."

Bibi Dong eyed him suspiciously, then looked at the Emerald Green bamboo flask. After the earlier "water" incident, she did not dare trust him so easily.

"You don't believe me? Then I'll drink it myself. I only have this one flask, and I treasure it." Zhao Linchuan made as if to take it back.

"Hmph!" Bibi Dong snorted coldly and snatched the bamboo flask away.

This time, she had learned her lesson. She carefully pulled out the bamboo stopper first, then held it to her nose and sniffed it closely.

A fresh, subtle scent with the distinctive sweet fragrance of bamboo drifted into her nostrils. It really did not smell like alcohol.

Only after confirming it was safe did she raise the flask to her lips and take small sips.

The cool, sweet Bamboo Sap slid down her throat, and sure enough, her burning throat felt much better.

"Miss Bibi Dong," Zhao Linchuan said leisurely as he watched her sip the Bamboo Sap. A faintly sincere smile touched his voice. "When you're angry... you're actually rather cute."

"Hmph!" Holding the bamboo flask, Bibi Dong took another big gulp and expressed her disdain with a cold snort.

Did she need him to tell her whether she was cute or not?

As if she did!

Wait... this guy wasn't plotting some trick again, was he?

"Oh, right." Zhao Linchuan seemed to recall something and added, "I forgot to tell you, I usually drink straight from the mouth of that bamboo flask."

"When you give it back to me later, remember to wipe the mouth of the flask." His tone was casual, as if he were mentioning something utterly ordinary.

"Urgh! Cough, cough, cough..." Upon hearing that, Bibi Dong was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

She abruptly pulled the bamboo flask away from her lips and began coughing violently again. Embarrassed and enraged, her pretty face instantly flushed crimson as she pointed at Zhao Linchuan. "Zhao! Lin! Chuan!!!"

However, before she could fully erupt, Zhao Linchuan had already sprung from his stool like a gust of wind. His figure was as swift as Ghost Charm, and in the blink of an eye, he had slipped to the tavern entrance.

"Keep the flask for me for now! Give it back next time we meet!" His amused voice drifted in from the doorway, but he had already vanished into the night at the street corner.

Bibi Dong was left standing stiffly in place, tightly gripping the smooth, green bamboo flask in her hand.

Her entire body trembled faintly with anger. Her cheeks were burning hot, her chest rose and fell violently, and a helpless mixture of shame and anger was bottled up inside her, making her want to chase after him and chop that bastard into eight pieces.

"Zhao Linchuan, you bastard!" She gritted her teeth, forcing the words through clenched teeth with intense killing intent. "The next time we meet, this Miss will skin you alive and devour you!!!"

Burning with rage, she raised the bamboo flask high, about to smash it viciously onto the ground to vent her anger.

Yet just before she let go, her movement strangely halted.

Her fingertips brushed over the smooth, cool surface of the bamboo flask as that man's teasing smile flashed through her mind.

Her spiritual sense moved as if possessed, and she carefully put the bamboo flask away in her own Storage Soul Tool.

After doing so, even she froze for a moment, then stamped her foot in even greater embarrassment and anger.

In the corner, everyone from Spirit Hall had their heads lowered even more than quails.

They wished they could burrow into the cracks in the ground, not daring to breathe too loudly.

They feared that if they so much as glanced again at the Saintess's spectacular expression, this highness—who was in an exceptionally foul mood—would drag them to the Spirit Arena tomorrow for "special attention" until they were stripped of a layer of skin.

"Miss..." An ill-timed voice approached again.

Seeing Zhao Linchuan leave, Yu Xiaogang thought his chance had returned and stepped closer once more. "We haven't finished our conversation from earlier, regarding the key reason for your defeat..."

How could Bibi Dong possibly be in the mood to listen to this now?

She impatiently waved a hand, not even sparing Yu Xiaogang a glance, and called out directly, "Zhang Huan! Li Lang!"

"Miss!" The two, who had been desperately trying to blend into the background, hurried forward and bowed to await her orders.

"When Mister Ju returns, tell him I've gone back to my residence first." Bibi Dong's tone was icy, still carrying lingering anger.

"But, Miss," Li Lang cautiously advised, "you haven't had a proper meal all day. Why not eat something before going back?"

"This Miss is already 'full'! Full of anger!" Bibi Dong snorted irritably. Ignoring the two of them, she strode straight toward the tavern exit.

That furious figure looked as though she were about to tear down a house.

Zhang Huan and Li Lang looked at each other in bewilderment. Full of anger? That could fill someone up? I'll have to try it sometime...

"Ah, Miss... about you..." Yu Xiaogang still refused to give up and lifted a foot to chase after her.