Cloudpool Cliff lay beneath the hazy night.
Fine snow fluttered down.
Inside a secluded chamber of the Wood-Nurturing Dao Palace.
"Thank you for your trouble, Daoist Master Jiang."
Song Susu sat beside the Hundred Flowers Bed, her face flushed and her head lowered as she straightened her somewhat disheveled clothes.
"No matter. We each got what we needed."
Jiang Jingnian climbed off the Hundred Flowers Bed, took several Treasure Medicines from his ring, and put them into his mouth, swallowing slowly.
He stood nearby and regulated his breathing for a moment before saying, "Elder Song, a few more healing sessions like this should almost completely remove the contamination."
"Don't refine pills for the time being. Apart from resting, focus on recovering from your injuries. You can pay me what you owe later."
Song Susu's pretty face froze at his words, and her hands stopped moving.
She raised her head to look at Jiang Jingnian. "What arrangements do you intend to make next, Daoist Master Jiang?"
Jiang Jingnian narrowed his eyes slightly, carefully studying this beautiful woman whose mature charms remained undiminished.
His gaze slowly swept downward, from her slightly disheveled hair bun to her flushed face, finally settling on the hands clutching her lapels.
That surveying gaze left Song Susu somewhat displeased, and a little nervous.
She instinctively tugged at her neckline, her gaze tightening as a note of wariness entered her voice. "Daoist Master Jiang...?"
Jiang Jingnian withdrew his gaze. "Elder Song, I have no idea how you reached this position. Was it purely through martial talent?"
Song Susu blinked uncomprehendingly, bewilderment and confusion filling her eyes.
She fell silent for a moment, then said softly, "When I was young, I wasn't good at fighting people. I only ranked in the top thirty of the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking."
"But