Chapter 211: Even Worse Than Beasts

Qiao Xueying spat, "Who cares about you? I was just reminding you for Miss Chu's sake. I don't feel well, so I'm not talking to you anymore. I'm going to rest now."

After saying that, she turned over, facing away from him, and stopped speaking, as if she had fallen asleep.

Ji Xiaoxi tugged at Zu An's sleeve at this moment and whispered, "Miss Qiao is badly injured. More rest will help her recover, so we shouldn't disturb her."

Zu An couldn't help but chuckle. This girl was always so kind-hearted, always thinking the best of people. Qiao Xueying was clearly just pretending to be asleep.

"Alright, let's go over there and talk so we don't disturb her rest," Zu An said, as he had something he wanted to discuss with her.

Hearing their footsteps moving away, Qiao Xueying, who was pretending to sleep with her eyes closed, secretly gritted her teeth. *What on earth does he need to say that he has to hide it from me?*

Rage points from Qiao Xueying +233!

Zu An chuckled silently at the rage points displayed in the background.

"What are you laughing at, Big Brother Zu?" Ji Xiaoxi asked, looking at him with her large, sparkling eyes.

"Nothing," Zu An quickly corrected her. "Why are you calling me Big Brother Zu again? Call me Ah Zu from now on."

"Oh," Ji Xiaoxi replied, not understanding why he was so particular about that title.

"Thank you for the clothes earlier." Looking at the pure, innocent girl before him, Zu An had no impious thoughts. "I caused you to be misunderstood just now. Maybe I should go explain it to them later."

"It's fine, the clear will clear themselves," Ji Xiaoxi shook her head, her eyes as pure as water, without a trace of impurity. "By the way, did you find the Traceless Illusory Lotus?"

Zu An was startled. "How did you know?"

Ji Xiaoxi's face flushed slightly, and she lowered her head, a little embarrassed. "When I took your pulse and examined you just now, I found that not only had your injuries fully healed, but even... even the area below your Qi Sea was no different from a normal person's."

In truth, her examination had revealed that the pulse in that area was much steadier and stronger than an ordinary person's, but as a young girl, she couldn't possibly say that out loud.

Zu An said, "I did find the Traceless Illusory Lotus. And speaking of it, I have your father's Unsealing Pill to thank."

He didn't mention that Chu Chuyan had consumed the Traceless Illusory Lotus, as explaining how she unsealed it would be difficult. After all, she was skilled in medicine, and common excuses wouldn't easily fool her. Moreover, he had promised Mi Li not to disclose anything about the Primordial Chaos Sutra.

"I can't believe the Unsealing Pill actually worked. I was worried there might be a problem," Ji Xiaoxi said, patting her chest and letting out a long sigh of relief.

Zu An: "???"

Her reaction felt a bit off.

Ji Xiaoxi seemed a little embarrassed and explained in a low voice, "My father had never made an Unsealing Pill before. This prescription was something he deduced from ancient medical texts. Whether it would succeed or not was actually only a fifty-fifty chance for him. He didn't tell you so you wouldn't worry."

Originally, she hadn't wanted to lie, believing that doctors should be honest with their patients. But her father had told her that sometimes a placebo effect was important and could even work wonders.

She thought it made sense, so she hadn't said anything until now, after he had fully recovered.

Zu An: "..."

Ji Dengtu truly was a scoundrel!

Fortunately, I was lucky enough to have another fortuitous encounter this time. Otherwise, if I had taken the Traceless Illusory Lotus and still couldn't recover, wouldn't I have been utterly despondent, even to the point of suicide?

I definitely need to settle this score with him!

However, thinking of Ji Dengtu's unfathomable strength, he deflated. *Forget it*, he thought, *I'll find another way to get back at him in the future.*

"By the way, Xiaoxi, how's your foot?" Zu An remembered hearing Bai Susu mention earlier that Ji Xiaoxi had twisted her ankle while desperately running to get help. Moved, he extended his hand. "Do you want me to rub it for you?"

"It's nothing, it's almost completely healed," Ji Xiaoxi replied, her face slightly flushed. She instinctively pulled her leg back and secretly tugged at her skirt.

Previously, she hadn't minded some physical contact with him because he wasn't truly a man in the full sense. But now that he had recovered, her maidenly modesty made her feel shy.

Zu An was taken aback, realizing his imprudence. He couldn't bring himself to tease this extremely kind and gentle girl. His expression grew serious as he lamented, "Xiaoxi, because of me, your experience in the secret realm was basically wasted, and you gained nothing. I really feel bad about it."

"No, I feel very fulfilled," Ji Xiaoxi said, a hint of excitement flashing across her face. "I've never encountered anything so dangerous and astonishing in all these years. For me, what happened in the valley was more useful than any other trial."

"As for any rare treasures in the secret realm, they don't mean much to me. My father has many spirit herbs, so I don't lack those."

Zu An: "..."

A true *baifumei* indeed; her confidence when speaking was certainly unlike that of ordinary people.

Although she said that, Zu An still felt apologetic and pondered what he could give her to make up for it.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He pulled out a blood-red glowing primordial stone from his pocket and placed it in her hand. "This is for you."

Earlier, in the underground palace, Mi Li lay in a crystal coffin, dressed in an empress's ceremonial robes. Her phoenix coronet and belt were adorned with many precious gems.

Although her clothes had decayed later, these primordial stones remained intact. He had quietly picked them up and kept them when Mi Li changed her attire.

The largest of these was at the center of her phoenix coronet, which Zu An had considered too important to Mi Li to take, planning to have a new crown made for her in the future. The one he had just given was the second largest, which had been set in her belt.

*When Mi Li wakes up and realizes how thoughtful I was of her, she'll probably be very grateful, right?*

"What is this?" Ji Xiaoxi picked it up curiously, and her pretty face instantly changed. Her mouth dropped open wide enough to fit an egg. "A Heaven-grade primordial stone!"

Just like diamonds in his previous life, primordial stones in this world also had grades. The most common ones circulating in the market were Mortal-grade primordial stones, which were also what Brightmoon Academy distributed.

The next grade up was Earth-grade primordial stones, which far surpassed Mortal-grade ones in both energy content and purity. They were often used by prominent families to cultivate their core disciples.

Above that was Heaven-grade primordial stones, said to be exclusive to the royal family and extremely rare. Only the Emperor, Empress, Crown Prince, and favored princes were qualified to use them; ordinary princes couldn't even touch them.

Zu An was stunned, not expecting this to be a Heaven-grade primordial stone. These basic concepts had been taught in the academy, but he had never seen one with his own eyes, so he hadn't recognized it at all.

"I can't accept something so important," Ji Xiaoxi said, hastily offering the glowing red primordial stone back to him.

"Once a gift is given, there's no reason to take it back." Even though he now knew how valuable it was, Zu An didn't hesitate. Since arriving in this world, he had been subjected to a series of malicious acts, especially by people like Xue'er.

As Zu An thought this, he couldn't help but glare fiercely at Qiao Xueying in the distance.

However, Ji Xiaoxi's appearance brought a ray of hope into his world. She was kind and gentle, and after learning of his condition, she tried every possible way to help him. This time, she had even risked her life to save him in the secret realm...

"It's really too valuable, I can't take it," Ji Xiaoxi said, shaking her head like a rattle drum. Her fair, tender cheeks turned a bit crimson from agitation.

Zu An gently held her hand. "Xiaoxi, no matter how important this is, it can't compare to how important you are to me."

Ji Xiaoxi's heart pounded wildly, and her chest heaved rapidly. *Is he... is he confessing to me?* she wondered.

"If it weren't for you, I would have died countless times already, and I certainly wouldn't have recovered my health," Zu An said seriously. "Do you mean to say that my life is worth less than this primordial stone in your eyes?"

"Of course not..." Ji Xiaoxi breathed a sigh of relief. So she had misunderstood. Yet, for some reason, an inexplicable feeling arose in her heart.

"Since that's the case, then keep it safe. Perhaps I'll need your help with many things in the future, and then I won't have to pay you for your services," Zu An said unequivocally.

"In that case, I'll accept it." Feeling the warm heat of his palm, Ji Xiaoxi's hand neither pulled away nor stayed put. "Actually, if you come to me, you don't need to pay any consultation fees, whether you have this or not. But if you go to my father, well, that's another story."

Thinking of Ji Dengtu's greedy and lecherous appearance, Zu An couldn't help but laugh. "That's true."

The two continued chatting for a while, discussing what had happened to each of them since they parted ways. Before long, Ji Xiaoxi leaned against his shoulder and fell into a deep sleep.

Her brows were delicate and youthful, her long eyelashes trembled gently in the breeze. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting the faint shadow of her fluttering lashes onto her fair face.

Zu An felt a surge of tenderness. He thought, *She probably hasn't slept much these past few days, worrying about my safety. Now that she knows I'm safe, her body can no longer fight off the exhaustion.*

"Ahem~"

Zu An glanced at Qiao Xueying nearby. She was lying on her side on the grass, her back to him. Her slender, delicate body possessed captivating curves, with a narrow waist that could be clasped by a hand and taut buttocks and legs seamlessly joining together.

*This woman is quite beautiful when she's quiet,* Zu An mused to himself.

Seeing no movement from her, he assumed it was just a murmur in her sleep. Zu An then lowered his head to brush away the strands of hair that had blown onto Ji Xiaoxi's face.

"Ahem, ahem~"

This time, the cough carried a clearer note of displeasure.

Zu An chuckled. "Since you're awake, just say something. Why are you coughing?"

"I just wanted to see if you'd do anything beastly to her," Qiao Xueying retorted, turning over and giving him an annoyed look. After all, as an elf, her vitality was much stronger than that of ordinary people, and with Ji Xiaoxi's spirit medicine and timely treatment, she felt much better than before.

"So, does that prove I'm a proper gentleman?" Zu An chuckled.

"You have the heart of a thief but no guts; you're worse than a beast," Qiao Xueying snorted.

Zu An: "..."

He never thought he'd receive such a description one day.

Qiao Xueying held out a hand, extending her fair, slender fingers. "Where's mine?"

Zu An was confused. "Mine... what?"

Qiao Xueying scoffed, "I went through life and death with you in the underground palace, and I even gave you my most precious Half-Life Bond, yet I didn't see you give me anything. But then you meet that little girl, and you're so generous."

Rage points from Qiao Xueying +256!

Zu An's face flushed. He felt he had indeed been a bit unfair. He quickly pulled out another primordial stone from his pocket and handed it to her; these were all formerly set on Mi Li's phoenix robe.

To his surprise, Qiao Xueying threw it right back. "You gave her such a big one, but you're only giving me this tiny one? No way!"

Rage points from Qiao Xueying +512!

Zu An quickly handed her all the remaining primordial stones. "These are all I have left. Take them all; together, they're bigger than hers."

"No!" Qiao Xueying refused to take them. "I want a single, whole one, and it absolutely cannot be smaller than hers."

Zu An immediately felt a headache. The only one larger than Ji Xiaoxi's was the one on Mi Li's phoenix coronet. *Should I give her that one?*

He thought about how Qiao Xueying had also saved his life and even shared half of her life essence with him, sacrificing significantly more than Ji Xiaoxi. His current behavior was indeed very disheartening to her.

Just as he was about to retrieve the largest Heaven-grade primordial stone, a cold voice echoed in his mind:

"Are you using my belongings to woo other women?"

Rage points from Mi Li +999!