Xiao Yi Xian: There Obviously Was...

"Master Yun, stop covering yourself up. It's not like I haven't seen it before."

He bent down toward the beauty on the bluestone, his gaze falling on the way she desperately tried to hide herself, a faint smile lingering on his lips.

"Be good. I'll help you get dressed."

His warm breath brushed against Yun Yun's flushed ear. She shuddered all over, so embarrassed she wished she could disappear.

Yun Yun squeezed her eyes shut, her long lashes trembling violently.

Shame swept through her body. She lowered her head, her voice as faint as a mosquito's, carrying a trace of grievance.

"Y-You... hurry up. Stop teasing me!"

Seeing her crimson ears and slightly curled-up body, Xuan Qing's amusement deepened.

He stopped teasing her and picked up the clean, plain-colored robe beside them. His fingertips were slightly cool, and his movements became exceptionally gentle and slow.

At such close range, their breaths tangled tightly together.

Xuan Qing lowered his eyes and carefully arranged Yun Yun's clothes. Even the occasional inadvertent touch made the beauty beneath him tremble.

Yun Yun bit her lip hard, not daring to open her eyes. Her chest rose and fell in shallow disorder, and her entire face burned as though it were about to catch fire.

"Hiss... don't... don't touch..."

Her voice was soft and light, tinged with flustered shyness and an uncontrollable tremble. It held no threat at all; instead, it sounded like a tender, spoiled complaint.

She bit her lip tightly, her eyelids trembling even more fiercely, her burning cheeks nearly burying themselves against her shoulder.

Weak all over and unable to dodge, she could only passively endure his touch. Every tiny contact left her unbearably hot.

Xuan Qing watched her shy, fleeing expression, laughter welling in his eyes.

"I'm only helping you get dressed. Is Master Yun that ticklish?"

Yun Yun was both embarrassed and angry at his words. Though annoyance and shame churned in her heart, her body was so weak and limp that she had no strength at all, leaving her to his mercy.

She gave a muffled hum, forcing a note of pride into her soft voice as she pouted and snapped lightly.

"Hmph. Keep teasing me like this, and when I recover my strength, I'll definitely teach you a proper lesson!"

They were clearly harsh words, yet her voice was soft and weak at the moment, paired with her flushed face and shyly lowered eyes.

Not only did they carry no intimidation whatsoever, they instead sounded like the adorable accusation of someone embarrassed into anger.

Seeing her put on a tough front while looking utterly delicate, Xuan Qing could not help laughing aloud.

"Fine, I'll wait."

"Once Master Yun recovers her strength, you can punish me however you like."

A few days later.

"Master Yun, we have plenty of time ahead of us. Remember, you still owe me a bottle of pills, a life, and a favor."

"Until we meet again!"

Looking at the note Xuan Qing had left behind, Yun Yun felt both angry and stifled, and she could not help lightly stamping her jade-like foot.

"Hmph, you said you'd let me teach you a lesson, but you ran away first."

Her willow brows furrowed slightly, frustration building in her heart with nowhere to vent it.

Her embarrassing experience by the mountain stream a few days ago, along with his wanton teasing, remained vivid in her mind.

Yet that man had simply left without saying a word.

"You jerk..."

She gently bit her lower lip, her soft voice carrying a touch of grievance and resentment.

"You could at least have told me where you lived. Otherwise, how am I supposed to repay the favor?"

Though her words were reproachful, there was not the slightest anger in them.

There was no resentment. Instead, she sounded like a woman deeply in love, complaining that the man in her heart had left without farewell and without leaving a single trace.

A clear breeze swept over the paper, making it flutter gently.

Yun Yun's fingertips lightly brushed over the writing. The irritation in her heart slowly faded, leaving behind an indescribable tenderness and longing.

She murmured softly, "Until we meet again... Then I'll wait. The next time we meet, I'll definitely make you pay for this properly."

Magical Beast Mountain Range,

Valley.

"Master, you're back!"

Xiao Yi Xian, who had been sitting on the ground cultivating, brightened immediately. Her pretty little face was filled with delighted smiles, her curved brows and eyes lively beyond measure.

Once Xuan Qing had steadied himself, Xiao Yi Xian tilted her head and looked him over curiously, asking softly.

"Master, where did you go these past few days? Why did you disappear for so long?"

A sweet smile hung on Xuan Qing's lips as he said,

"I went to see a friend."

Xiao Yi Xian froze slightly at that. Her delicate nose twitched softly as she sniffed carefully.

Having spent all year among medicinal herbs and poisons, the girl's sense of smell far surpassed that of ordinary people.

She keenly caught an extremely faint, elegant, gentle feminine fragrance mixed among the scents of mountain plants and Xuan Qing himself. It lingered faintly around him, impossible to disperse.

The bright smile she had worn moments ago faded slightly.

She lowered her long lashes, her voice quiet and faintly sour with an almost imperceptible jealousy as she tested him softly.

"Master... you smell like another girl."

"Master, did you go see a girl these past few days?" Xiao Yi Xian asked quietly.

Xuan Qing thought to himself that this should not have been possible.

After leaving Yun Yun's side, he had traveled through the Magical Beast Mountain Range for quite a while. The scent that belonged to Yun Yun should have been blown away by then.

Xuan Qing still maintained a calm, gentle expression as he lightly tapped Xiao Yi Xian on the head.

The force was gentle, though his manner carried a hint of sternness.

"You smelled wrong."

Xiao Yi Xian tilted her head back slightly from the tap, and her delicate little face immediately fell. Her long lashes drooped like those of a wronged kitten.

A breeze passed through the valley, stirring the girl's hair. She lowered her head and muttered quietly,

"There obviously was..."

Having dealt with countless herbs and poisonous plants for years, there was no way her sense of smell could be wrong.

That faint, elegant fragrance still clearly lingered among Xuan Qing's robes. It was definitely not the scent of mountain flowers and grass.

But since her master refused to admit it, she did not dare continue pestering him with questions.

Xiao Yi Xian secretly glanced at Xuan Qing, a faint layer of disappointment clouding her eyes. Her fingertips anxiously twisted the hem of her clothes as waves of sour bitterness rose in her heart.

Could it be that he went to see someone very important? she thought silently.

Xuan Qing took in her dejected appearance, feeling slightly helpless.

Not wanting to dwell on the matter, he changed the subject.

"Alright, enough about that. While I was away these past few days, did your cultivation fall behind?"

The moment cultivation was mentioned, Xiao Yi Xian's eyes abruptly lit up. Most of the gloom that had filled her moments before vanished at once.

She hurriedly straightened up, her eyes filled with the eager sparkle of wanting praise.

She lightly clenched her small fists, her voice brimming with unconcealed excitement and joy.

"Master! I'm already a Two-Star Dou Zhe!"

A faint radiance shone over the girl's face. Her aura was much denser than it had been a few days ago, and the faint Dou Qi flowing around her clearly proved her advancement.

During these days in the valley, she had cultivated diligently day and night without relaxing for even a moment, hoping that when her master returned, he would see her progress.

After saying that,

she raised her lovely face, her clear eyes sparkling as she looked at Xuan Qing, eagerly awaiting her master's praise.