"Sorry. I'm a little worried about getting lost in the fog, and I'm afraid we might run into danger along the way, so I can only trouble you to accompany me..."
"You don't need to apologize. I'm happy to help. Besides, you asked me for help of your own accord, which means you trust me, doesn't it?"
"Actually, it's not because I trust you."
Tang Qi looked up and met Catherine's frank gaze.
Her wine-red hair fell over the shoulders of the graceful young woman. She sat quietly on a square stone on the other side of the clear stream, only a few meters away from him.
She had taken off her leather boots and set them aside.
She lifted the hem of her nightdress. The pure moonlight spilled over her slender calves, making them look like smooth blue chalcedony—a milky-white, tender jade.
She touched the icy surface of the water with her feet. After only a brief moment, she recoiled as if startled, her arches curving as she splashed up a few ripples.
Then she slowly relaxed, letting her crystal-clear toes sink into the "glass." Her rosy soles followed, then her heels, until the flowing water covered her slender ankles and sent out several lingering ripples.
"Brr..."
The young woman gradually got used to the cold water. With a sigh of relief, she replied,
"I just don't mind."
Tang Qi knew she hadn't meant to seduce anyone.
Still, it was hard for a traveler who'd been parched in the desert for ages to restrain his thirst upon spotting an oasis nearby.
He could only pretend he hadn't noticed.
"Why?"
"To be honest, I'm a little bothered by the way you often look at my legs or my chest—
"You know, it's hard not to notice that kind of look.