Su Ling Washes and Dresses Zhang Lexuan

The Contra teacher flapped his wings and ascended rapidly.

As the distance closed, he sensed that familiar, mountain-like aura and caught sight of the disheveled figure, causing him to slam on the brakes in mid-air and silently turn back.

It's Elder Xuan, never mind then.

High above, Xuan Zi cast a faint glance downward without much concern, carrying Su Ling and the others straight toward the Sea God Pavilion.

Looking down from the heights, the Sea God Pavilion was embedded within an ancient, towering tree known as the Golden Ancient Tree.

Ten thousand years ago, before the Tang God King ascended to the God Realm, he had transplanted it from the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest; back then, it was not called the Golden Ancient Tree, but the Life Ancient Tree.

Su Ling knew this was the life core of the Douluo Continent plane. In the future, the Tang God King would have his own mother, the Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin, merge with the Golden Ancient Tree to seize the Douluo plane and gain absolute control over the continent.

But for now, none of that had happened yet; Hao Zi and Ah Yin were likely off on their honeymoon in some remote corner of the world.

They entered the Sea God Pavilion.

Xuan Zi casually set Chen Yangyu and the other four down to the side.

The five of them had sustained the least damage, and the erosion from Ming Lei's baleful aura was not deep; they would recover after resting for a while beside the Golden Ancient Tree.

Zhang Lexuan, however, was different. She was the most severely injured, and although Su Ling had purged the Ming Lei aura in time, her damaged origin still required the power of light to nourish it.

"Little Su, settle Lexuan in that quiet room. It's her usual meditation chamber. I'm going to fetch Elder Mu."

"Understood."

Watching the door Xuan Zi pointed to, Su Ling nodded gently, picked up Zhang Lexuan, and strode inside.

Pushing the door open, he was met with the scent of books mixed with a faint, elegant fragrance. The room was simple: a bed, a meditation cushion, and a desk with some ancient texts placed nearby.

Su Ling carried Zhang Lexuan to the bed and laid her down with the utmost care. Just as he bent over to help her remove her shoes, his gaze was suddenly drawn to a few small blue specks.

He saw that Zhang Lexuan's torn black silk stockings were loosely wrapped around her feet, the tips of the socks pushed into fine pleats by her toes, while her blue-painted toenails shimmered beneath the thin fabric with a hint of... eroticism?

Su Ling's Adam's apple bobbed. He lifted her long, blood-stained legs, straightened them out on the bed, and smoothed back her messy hair.

He walked out, fetched a basin of water, and returned to wipe the grime from her face with a clean cloth, revealing her naturally beautiful features.

Just then, Xuan Zi and Mu En returned.

After Mu En cast a wave of light energy over the five people outside, he pushed his wheelchair in with Xuan Zi, arriving just in time to see Su Ling tenderly wiping Zhang Lexuan's face.

Good, good, good!

Xuan Zi's initially anxious heart instantly turned to joy, the corners of his mouth curling upward wildly.

Mu En's expression remained calm, though he sighed inwardly. Oh well, Bei Bei has that little girl Tang Ya; children and grandchildren have their own fortunes...

Hearing the movement behind him, Su Ling put down the cloth, turned around, and bowed slightly.

"Elder Mu, Elder Xuan."

"Heh heh, I didn't expect it. You are even more outstanding than I imagined, child. Xuan Zi told me the general process of the soul hunt on the way here."

At these words, Su Ling's heart skipped a beat. He looked at Xuan Zi subconsciously, but the old man just gave him a secretive wink.

Alright, it seems this old guy didn't spill the secret of my martial soul.

Su Ling breathed a sigh of relief and bowed to Mu En. "Elder Mu, you flatter me. This junior only did what was expected of him."

"Humility is a fine virtue, but taking it too far can be counterproductive. If you are praised, accept it gracefully and be open-minded."

"Heh heh, there's no need for such formalities in the future. If you don't mind, you may simply call me Grandfather."

"Yes, Grandfather Mu," Su Ling called out obediently.

Mu En was nearly three hundred years old; it was just a form of address, and Su Ling didn't see any harm in it. Besides, this showed that the old man truly accepted him now!

This was a good thing.

"Mm, good. Since that's the case, let me take a look at Lexuan now." Mu En nodded with a smile.

Seeing this, Su Ling took the initiative to push his wheelchair to the bedside.

Mu En glanced at Zhang Lexuan, then channeled his soul power to draw upon the surrounding energy, waving a strand of pure light energy—tinged with the essence of the Golden Ancient Tree—toward her.

This holy golden light flowed slowly from between Zhang Lexuan's brows into her entire body, and in an instant, the room was filled with a sacred aura.

Soon, the color returned to Zhang Lexuan's face, her lips turned rosy, and her eyelashes began to flutter.

Watching the dazzling golden light, Su Ling's brows furrowed slightly, and he stepped back a few paces.

The Dark Evil Qilin Emperor is acting up again...

At this moment, Xuan Zi noticed Su Ling's strange behavior. He walked over, pretending to examine Zhang Lexuan closely, while actually shielding Su Ling behind him.

A warmth spread through Su Ling's heart.

A moment later, Mu En withdrew his soul power and leaned back in his wheelchair, his voice sounding somewhat winded.

"Xuan Zi, push me out. Little Su, you stay here and look after Lexuan until she wakes up. As for the outer courtyard, Xuan Zi, go find Shao Zhe later and tell him to grant Little Su a day off."

"Yes!" Su Ling and Xuan Zi responded in unison.

Following this, Xuan Zi pushed Mu En beneath the Golden Ancient Tree before quickly returning to the quiet room.

"Kid Su, Lexuan won't be waking up anytime soon. She's usually quite fastidious, and since she's acknowledged you as her younger brother, the task of wiping her down and changing her clothes will fall to you."

"Huh??" Su Ling was completely dumbfounded.

Him? Wiping down Zhang Lexuan? Changing her clothes?

The corners of Xuan Zi's mouth curled up as he pointed toward a vertical cabinet in the corner, his tone feigning a sigh.

"Sigh, all the female students are in class right now, and this old man has no other choice. There, that's where Lexuan usually keeps her clothes. You're a meticulous lad, Su; I trust you can handle this well."

With that, Xuan Zi shot him a meaningful look, turned around, and left, pulling the door shut behind him.

Click.

The door to the quiet room was tightly sealed.

Su Ling gazed at Zhang Lexuan, who was breathing steadily on the bed. His eyes swept back and forth over her tattered clothing, and he couldn't help but swallow hard.

How could he not understand Xuan Zi's intentions?

But still, even if that old geezer Xuan Zi wanted to play matchmaker, this wasn't the way to do it! This was just too direct...

And too stimulating...

Su Ling's ears turned slightly red. He walked over to the corner and opened the vertical cabinet. When he saw the clothes inside, his ears burned even brighter, as if they were on fire.

Good grief, Zhang Lexuan looked so gentle and lovely on the surface; who would have thought she was so alluring in private?

In the end, he chose a white nightgown and walked toward the bedside, feeling somewhat uneasy.

It was called a nightgown, but it was actually a sheer dress. Su Ling had no choice, though; it was the most normal thing in the wardrobe.

He set the nightgown aside, gently nudged Zhang Lexuan, and tentatively called out, "Sister Lexuan? Sister Lexuan?"

Seeing that Zhang Lexuan didn't respond, Su Ling couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile and roll up his sleeves.

It was Xuan Zi who told him to do it, so what was he afraid of!

With that thought, Su Ling grew bolder.

He carefully removed Zhang Lexuan's shredded top, unfastened her blood-stained skirt, and, of course, peeled off the black stockings that were riddled with holes...

Looking at her dirt-streaked, blood-stained body, Su Ling suddenly felt his obsessive-compulsive tendencies flare up. Without a shred of impure thought, he took a clean cloth from his Sumeru Ring, picked up the basin of water, and began to meticulously wipe Zhang Lexuan's body clean.

He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he felt as though Zhang Lexuan's body was starting to heat up.