After chasing for so long, Li Xiaoya looked around and realized he was already a good half kilometer from where he had jumped into the water. He did not give it much thought and began washing himself right there. His long swim had already rinsed him almost clean. After a little haphazard scrubbing, he suddenly realized he had lost all his clothes while swimming. By now, who knew where the current had carried them? He was thoroughly frustrated. Fortunately, it was nighttime. After a moment's hesitation, he decided to climb ashore here and walk back. Swimming upstream was simply too slow, and the other disciples generally did not wander about at night anyway.
Having made up his mind, he carefully avoided the little stones and brambles on the ground and slowly climbed ashore, stark naked. He crept along the path toward his quarters, terrified that someone might suddenly appear. If that happened, he would make an utter spectacle of himself.
Before long, Li Xiaoya realized he was almost there and breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, a white shadow darted past him and vanished in a flash, giving him a terrible fright.
"Whew! That scared me to death. What was that?" Li Xiaoya said, patting his chest as he looked in the direction the white shadow had gone.
"Ah!!!" A woman's voice suddenly rang out. Startled, Li Xiaoya turned and saw a young woman in red standing beside him, crying out in alarm.
Without even getting a clear look at her face, Li Xiaoya hurriedly ducked behind a tree. A thick patch of brambles grew behind it, scratching him until he yelped and howled!
"Argh! What are you doing out here in the dead of night, woman?" Li Xiaoya shouted in exasperation.
"Pfft! So you're just a little boy!" Seeing