Chapter 329: Insert Wings and It's Hard to Fly

Given Pei Mianman's sharp mind, she naturally didn't believe that Zuan, with his personality, would merely bring a drunk friend back and then stay the night.

Zuan's expression stiffened. "I'm also here to look for something," he replied.

"What are you looking for?" Pei Mianman pressed.

Zuan put on his clothes, shaking his head. "Too much is involved; I can't tell you," he said.

Pei Mianman snorted. "I have reasons I can't tell you either."

Zuan offered a slight smile. "Let's not dwell on unhappy things. How about something cheerful, like taking off your clothes...?"

Pei Mianman was startled and quickly stepped back a few paces. "What do you want to do?"

"Don't misunderstand," Zuan quickly clarified. "That's not what I meant. You're completely drenched and injured, and wearing wet clothes could easily make you sick."

"That's simple," Pei Mianman began, about to summon black flames to dry her clothes. But then she paused, realizing that using elemental power now would surely alert the Wei family guards.

Furthermore, she was severely injured. At this point, even attempting to precisely control the black flames to dry her clothes would likely be beyond her current strength.

"You just took a hit from that person," Zuan said. "There's no way you can escape right now. It's best to recuperate here." He unfolded a nearby blanket. "Just get into the covers after you take off your clothes. I won't peek."

"You wouldn't dare, or I'd tell Chu Yan," Pei Mianman scoffed, then suddenly realized. "How did you know I took a hit from that person?"

Zuan gave a wry smile. "I was there too; otherwise, how would I have happened to save you?"

Pei Mianman looked surprised. "You weren't discovered?"

Zuan smiled slightly. "I suppose I just have good karma."

Pei Mianman couldn't understand why she had been detected first, despite her cultivation being clearly superior to his. She simply chalked it up to bad luck, as if she had taken the fall for him. "That person's cultivation in the room was terrifying," she continued. "Just one blow from that distance nearly cost me my life."

She had never been in such a sorry state since mastering her skills.

That terrifying blow almost instantly shattered her protective vital energy.

"So you should heal quickly; I'll dry your clothes for you," Zuan said. He didn't offer to help with her injuries, knowing that this world differed from wuxia novels where vital energy didn't automatically possess healing properties like internal force. Even if he wanted to help, he wouldn't know how.

Of course, he *could* help her heal if it involved the most intimate contact combined with the 'Primordial Chaos Sutra,' but if he suggested that now, Pei Mianman would only suspect ill intentions.

"How will you dry them here?" Pei Mianman asked curiously. "Do you possess fire-elemental cultivation techniques?"

"Who said you need fire elemental power to dry your clothes?" Zuan said confidently.

Pei Mianman hesitated, then said, "Then turn around."

She knew that continuing to wear soaking wet clothes wasn't feasible.

Had any other man made such a request, she would have refused, no matter how uncomfortable she was in wet clothes. But coming from Zuan, it wasn't entirely unacceptable.

Their relationship was peculiar, hovering between friendship and animosity, yet somehow, he was more dependable than anyone else.

Once Zuan had turned away, Pei Mianman slipped out of her wet clothes, revealing her flawless body. "You're absolutely not allowed to peek!" she warned.

"Don't worry," Zuan said with a helpless sigh. "If I truly wanted to see, I'd do it openly; why would I resort to peeking?"

Pei Mianman's face flushed slightly. This man was always so impudent with his words, yet he was surprisingly far more entertaining than the proper gentlemen she had encountered previously.

She quickly slipped under the covers. "I'm ready," she then announced.

Zuan turned back, finding her completely wrapped up, and couldn't help but chuckle. "Are you really that afraid of me seeing you?"

Pei Mianman snorted. "Haven't you seen enough of me already?"

With that remark, a ripple went through both their hearts.

Pei Mianman looked a little flustered and cleared her throat twice. "Oh, by the way, could you get the medicine from my clothes for me?"

Zuan retrieved a bottle of healing medicine from her soaked clothes and brought it to the bedside.

He thought to himself that he should also get some of these healing medicines. It was a shame he hadn't drawn any "health potions" recently.

That meant he'd have to ask Ji Dengtu for some healing medicine. But then he remembered how he'd just handled Ji Xiaoxi; if Ji Dengtu found out, being flayed alive would be a mild punishment. How could he possibly ask him for medicine now?

Just as Pei Mianman reached out, she suddenly remembered her lack of clothing and quickly pulled her arm back.

"I'm a little... indisposed," Pei Mianman said, a hint of embarrassment in her voice. "Could you... could you pour the medicine out and... feed it to me?"

Zuan paused, then quickly understood. "No problem," he said.

He poured a pill into his palm. Though he didn't recognize it, the fragrant scent suggested it was a high-grade healing medicine.

He moved closer, supporting Pei Mianman with one hand and bringing the pill to her lips with the other.

Pei Mianman lowered her head slightly and swallowed the pill from his palm.

The brief brush of her lips against his palm, followed by the warmth of her tongue, made Zuan's heart skip several beats.

His gaze involuntarily shifted. As Pei Mianman had moved, a section of the blanket had slipped down slightly, revealing a patch of smooth, fair skin around her shoulder.

"Would you like me to pull it down further for you to see?" the beauty's teasing voice, laced with a hint of amusement, suddenly echoed in his ear.

Zuan subconsciously replied, "If you really pull it down, I certainly wouldn't mind."

"Go to hell!" Pei Mianman hadn't expected him to be so brazen. She scoffed, quickly pulled up the blanket, and pushed him away. "Go on, dry my clothes! If they're not dry, I'll take yours instead, hmph!"

"Of course, no problem." Zuan smiled, sat down nearby, and began to tend to her damp clothes, occasionally casting a glance her way.

Even though only her head was visible now, he had to admit that she was truly stunning.

He usually saw her graceful and alluring side, but this "lotus emerging from clear water" beauty was something he'd never witnessed before.

As if sensing his gaze, a faint blush appeared on Pei Mianman's fair cheeks, but she didn't say anything.

After more than an hour, Pei Mianman gently exhaled and slowly opened her eyes.

"How is it? Have your injuries recovered?" Zuan hurriedly asked.

"Not that quickly," Pei Mianman retorted, rolling her eyes. "I've only temporarily suppressed the injuries and regained some mobility. By the way, how are my clothes?"

"They're dry," Zuan said, holding up her neatly folded clothes for her to see.

"Huh, I saw you put a thin layer of ice on the clothes earlier. How did they dry so fast?" Pei Mianman asked, utterly confused.

"That's sublimation," Zuan explained. "Ah, you wouldn't understand the physics of it. Our priority now is to get you out of here."

If they waited until dawn, it would be even harder for her to get out.

And by then, he would also need to leave the Wei manor, leaving her with no one else to help.

It was a pity he hadn't arrived by sedan chair or carriage; otherwise, he could have taken her out with him tomorrow morning.

"You should get dressed first," Zuan said, moving to the window to observe. He noted that the Wei family compound was teeming with patrolling guards carrying torches; it would be difficult for even a fly to escape.