A Fragrant and Sensual Healing

Wei Xuanfeng carried the girl and swiftly left the battlefield, returning to the stream where they had rested earlier.

He then laid her flat beside the campfire.

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The girl was gravely injured, blood soaking through her entire collar.

She lay there without a trace of color in her face, pale enough to be frightening.

Ignoring the distinction between men and women, Wei Xuanfeng swiftly stripped off the clothing covering her upper body.

"You're a qin girl, huh..." he sighed.

The Xuanlan Wolf Demon's blow had torn apart the binding around her chest, leaving those demonic beasts free of restraint...

Fortunately, that ample mass of flesh had absorbed most of the impact.

That was the fundamental reason the girl had survived until now.

Looking at her alluring body, Wei Xuanfeng had no mind to admire it. He had noticed that purple blood was seeping from her wounds, while her face had turned an ashen blue.

The Xuanlan Wolf Demon was poisonous too?

Wei Xuanfeng frowned. Poisoning would be troublesome.

He hurried into the nearby woods and randomly gathered an armful of dry branches, feeding them into the fire to make it burn hotter.

He then thrust his embroidered spring saber into the flames. After giving it a rudimentary sterilization, Wei Xuanfeng carefully used the blade to cut open the girl's wounds along the claw marks.

Then came a bout of ancient healing...

Whether this method could detoxify her would depend on fate.

After doing so, Wei Xuanfeng hurried to the lake to rinse his mouth.

He had no inner force and could not resist the lingering poison. After sucking the poisoned blood from the girl's wounds, his head was already beginning to spin.

Forcing himself to endure the dizziness, he returned to the girl's side, took out a salt brick, and scraped off some salt crystals.

Then he cut the sole remaining Strength Pill in half, mixing one half with the salt crystals.

Finally, he scattered it all over the girl's wounds.

The intense pain instantly made the girl's body tremble, and a sickly flush appeared on her deathly pale face.

"Whew... I've done everything I can. Whether you live or die is up to Heaven."

For Wei Xuanfeng, that string of delicate work was no less exhausting than another fierce battle.

Coupled with the side effects of the Strength Pill beginning to show...

After draping her clothes over her, he lay ramrod straight beside the campfire, his face the picture of a man thoroughly drained dry.

This rescue could no longer be described as titillating. Fortunately, the girl had been unconscious the entire time; otherwise, it would have been truly troublesome.

When the wind rose at night, Wei Xuanfeng worried that the girl would catch a chill. He pulled her into his arms and used his own body to keep her warm.

The night passed without incident...

The next morning, Wei Xuanfeng rose early and checked on the girl's condition.

Her breathing was steady, and color had returned to her cheeks.

"A medical miracle..."

Wei Xuanfeng glanced at her wounds. They had only been simply treated, without even being stitched closed.

Yet they were already showing faint signs of healing.

He had no idea whether it was the effect of the Strength Pill or simply the girl's vigorous vitality.

Only after feeling her forehead and confirming that she had no fever did he rise and head into the woods.

When he returned, he was carrying two Soft-Boned Rabbit Demons.

After simply preparing them, he skewered the rabbit meat beside the campfire to smoke-roast.

Wei Xuanfeng then took out the secret manual he had obtained from the girl.

One Reed Crossing River

There was no pointless chatter in the manual. The opening page was covered in countless footprints, marked with terms such as "Celestial Pivot" and "Celestial Mechanism," while the pages after that depicted the positions of the Big Dipper's seven stars.

"Martial artists are really interesting. Every technique they make has to be tied to the heavenly stems and earthly branches," Wei Xuanfeng mocked as he read the manual.

The footprints in the manual were packed densely together, numbering who knew how many thousands. Green lines ran from one footprint to the next, with arrows drawn along them.

At the end was a line of text: "Water cannot bear a reed, yet the wind supports it of itself. When enemies come like the tide, I sway like a reed. Before a single breath is spent, my body has already crossed the river."

Wei Xuanfeng read through it from beginning to end. With nothing else to do, he picked up the manual and began practicing beside the campfire.

The manual both illustrated the footwork and carefully annotated the positions of the Big Dipper's seven stars, so it was not difficult to learn.

Yet sometimes the footwork illustrated on the scroll was exceedingly strange. After taking one step, he could not connect it to the next—until he realized that he had to spin around in midair, whereupon the movements linked together with remarkable ingenuity and natural ease.

At times, he had to leap forward and spring back, dart left and weave right, before he could match the footwork described in the manual.

The difficulty of it was hard to put into words.

How was he supposed to know that any lightness skill was a childhood discipline? One had to begin young, standing on plum blossom stakes and carving the footwork into one's bones.

Otherwise, when facing an enemy in battle, if he still had to think about where to step, splitting his attention between two tasks, death would not be far away.

Just as Wei Xuanfeng was getting nowhere, unable to find his way in.

Wen Shihan slowly woke up.

The wound on her chest made cold sweat pour down her face with the slightest movement, yet she did not groan. Even her expression remained unchanged.

Still as cold as ever.

Her gaze fell on Wei Xuanfeng, and with one look, she could tell that he was practicing her family's inherited lightness skill.

This man was so competitive...

Wen Shihan clearly remembered his battle with the Xuanlan Wolf Demon. Every move and stance had far surpassed her own.

But...

Her mother had said that her talent for martial arts was one in ten thousand.

It was only those years spent hiding and fleeing that had delayed her cultivation.

But it was all right. Once she entered the Demon Suppression Directorate, she would no longer need to fear them!

With that thought, Wen Shihan spoke to Wei Xuanfeng.

"Great skill appears clumsy; great speed seems slow. Haste makes waste. Slow down."

Just as Wei Xuanfeng was desperately unable to find the trick to it, a clear voice reached his ears.

That voice struck him like a cleansing revelation.

Calming himself, he no longer pursued speed. Instead, he followed the manual strictly, taking one step at a time...

Half an hour passed just like that, and Wei Xuanfeng's eyes lit up.

He had done it!

[Martial Arts: Black Dragon Grappling Hand (Minor Mastery) Grand Ancestor Saber Technique (Minor Mastery) One Reed Crossing River (Beginner's Insight)]

After finishing his practice, Wei Xuanfeng went to the stream. He wet a piece of cloth, then returned to the girl's side.

"Thanks for the guidance just now. Wipe your face, then have something to eat."

Wen Shihan took the cloth, and her face immediately flushed crimson.

Because that cloth was clearly her chest binding.

Yet she said nothing. She merely accepted it and silently wiped her face clean.

Wei Xuanfeng sat beside the roasting rabbit, admiring the girl's beauty from the corner of his eye.

He could not help but marvel inwardly, What a stunning beauty!

When he had first seen her, her face had been covered in dust, yet it had still failed to conceal the captivating charm in her bones.

Now that the grime was gone, she revealed her true beauty, enough to topple kingdoms and cities.

As a martial artist who trained every day, her skin was full and taut, glowing with the rosy health of physical fitness.

And her bosom was so magnificent, smooth as congealed fat to the touch.

Unfortunately, the wound on her chest was bound to leave a scar. It was undoubtedly a desecration of a perfect work of art.

He picked up the roasted rabbit and handed it to her.

"It's a little burnt. Make do with it."

"Your talent is very good. I started practicing this lightness skill when I was five, yet I only barely entered the door by the time I was eight."

Wen Shihan took the rabbit without putting on airs and began tearing off small bites.

High talent?

Perhaps it was because his Comprehension attribute was as high as 14.

After thinking it over, Wei Xuanfeng felt that Comprehension probably corresponded to learning ability.

"Looks like this is an inherited family technique. This manual must be important to you. Here, take it back."

Wei Xuanfeng placed the manual beside the girl and began taking large bites of rabbit meat himself.

Now that he had entered the door, all he needed to do next was practice diligently.

This manual no longer meant much to him.

When he had demanded payment from the girl earlier, the first thing she had thought of was her body, and only afterward the manual.

That showed how important this manual was to her.

Since it was so important, Wei Xuanfeng did not mind granting her wish.

"I thought you'd be like other men..." The girl recalled what had happened then, her pretty face flushing crimson. "My name is Wen Shihan. To me, my life is worth far more than this secret manual. You saved my life. If you ever face trouble in the future, I'll definitely come to your aid."

Wei Xuanfeng scoffed at such empty pleasantries.

Repayment...

He had seen far too many cases of kindness repaid with enmity.

Yet in Wen Shihan's eyes, he saw a familiar look.

That look—he had it too.

An extreme yearning to survive.

Perhaps because they were cut from the same cloth, he felt a little fondness for the girl.

Of course, that had something to do with her looks and her bust, too...

"Since your life is so valuable, don't stupidly charge to the very front the next time you run into danger," Wei Xuanfeng reminded her.

"Without being driven to the brink of death, how can one be reborn?"

"Rigid." Wei Xuanfeng said disdainfully. "Only those who can't run say that. If you can run, then run when it's time to run."

"Run..."

"Right. Like your companion, Fox Murong."

"Sister Murong? She... she isn't dead?"

"Mm. Not only is she alive, before she ran off, she even stole your pouch." Wei Xuanfeng was more than happy to stir the pot.

With his reminder, Wen Shihan gradually recalled the details of that day.

The murderous aura around her little face grew heavier and heavier.

"She... how could she do this..." Wen Shihan said indignantly.

"Enough. Settle your grudges later. As for the two of us..." Seeing that he had successfully fanned the flames, Wei Xuanfeng rose with a smile. "You taught me qinggong, and I saved your life. As I see it, neither of us owes the other anything. But when I saved you, your upper body, I... you understand, right?"

"A doctor does not shy away from illness. I don't mind." Wen Shihan did not raise her head.

Sure enough, she was his kind of person. As long as she could survive, even kneeling to kowtow or selling her body was a price she would pay without hesitation.

Seeing her be so straightforward, Wei Xuanfeng nodded in satisfaction.

"Mm. Since you don't mind, our deal is over, and it's time for me to leave." Wei Xuanfeng turned and walked away.

He might be lustful, but he knew how to distinguish the proper time from the improper one.

Right now, some things mattered more than making his lower half feel good.

"Hey, what's your name?"

"Wei Xuanfeng."

"When we return to the Northern Pacification Bureau, spar with me. I'll agree to any condition!"

"Pass the assessment first..."

Wei Xuanfeng did not believe that, with her severe injuries, she could still defeat the Soft-Boned Rabbit Demon, so his tone was thoroughly perfunctory.

Watching his departing back, Wen Shihan said nothing.

Only, her gaze was incomparably resolute.

She tied and twisted her ruined chest binding into a strip of rag, then took off her outer robe.

With a powerful tug, she bound her ample chest flat once more.

To grow stronger, she could endure any hardship and pay any price.

And she would seize every opportunity!

The binding was instantly dyed red by her wounds, yet she did not so much as frown. She put her outer robe back on and picked up her embroidered spring saber.

After briefly moving her body around, she too strode into the forest.