Chapter 493: Obsessed Men and Resentful Women

"Huh?" Zuan was startled, feeling that this situation wasn't quite right.

"Don't move," Qiu Honglei mumbled, head bowed, as she tucked a strand of hair that had fallen onto her cheek back behind her ear.

Zuan instinctively sat up straight. The surroundings were so quiet that he could only hear their faint breathing.

He could faintly smell her hair and the subtle fragrance of a young woman emanating from her. Of course, what he felt most profoundly were her soft lips and agile tongue...

*Cough cough*, where did my mind go? Calm down, calm down!

The two remained silently close, Qiu Honglei spitting out the venomous blood she extracted, mouthful after mouthful, to the side.

After an unknown amount of time, noticing that the color around the wound had completely returned to a normal red, Qiu Honglei finally let out a sigh of relief. "The venom has been mostly drawn out. Fortunately, the poison on Mosquitoman's nails wasn't too potent."

As she spoke, Qiu Honglei took a bottle of wound medicine from her pocket and applied it to him. Then, she tore off a clean piece of her skirt's lining to bandage the wound.

Zuan took out a flask of water and offered it to her. "Here's an antidote powder. Dissolve it in water to rinse your mouth and then drink some, so the poison doesn't affect you."

Qiu Honglei didn't refuse, drinking the antidote powder without hesitation.

She was slightly surprised by the flask he conjured out of thin air but quickly realized he likely possessed a spatial artifact. She didn't ask about it, understanding that such items were personal secrets.

"Thank you," Zuan said sincerely.

"Thank me for what? You were the one who saved my life," Qiu Honglei said with a slight smile. Compared to her usual practiced and formal smile, her expression now was much softer.

"You just saved my life too," Zuan chuckled. "If you hadn't helped me suck out the venom, I probably would have succumbed to the poison soon."

Qiu Honglei gazed at him blankly. This man, who usually didn't behave seriously, was unexpectedly gentle and considerate at heart. He was even worried she might feel indebted, so he deliberately said that to even the score.

Yet, how could what she did be considered life-saving? Even without her, the toxins in the wound would at most torment him for a while; they wouldn't have been fatal.

As she looked at Zuan, he also looked at her, his eyes drawn to her moist red lips. He suddenly recalled the moment she had sucked the wound for him—that sensation of a faint current flowing through his entire body, a tingling numbness that truly made every cell in him rejoice.

If just sucking a wound felt this good, what about other places...?

Gazing at her luscious red lips, he couldn't help but swallow. Because of the profound silence, the gulp, though not loud, was distinctly audible.

Zuan instinctively looked up at her, and their eyes quickly met.

Qiu Honglei's cheeks suddenly flushed. She spat, "Lewd!"

Then she turned away, embarrassed.

Zuan: "..."

He cried out in protest, "Am I 'lewd' just for swallowing? Do you have some kind of misunderstanding?"

Qiu Honglei scoffed softly, "You know perfectly well what kind of lewd thoughts you were having."

Zuan: "..."

This woman truly lived up to her time at the "Immortal Abode"; she knew far more than an average young lady.

Though he was annoyed, how could he not have gained some anger value?

"Hehehe~"

Just then, an eerie laugh drifted from the distance.

Both were startled. The ambiguous atmosphere that had lingered between them instantly vanished, replaced by tense, vigilant postures.

"What a devoted pair, still finding time for romance while fleeing for your lives."

Mosquitoman's familiar voice emerged, seemingly distant at first, but by the last word, she was already close.

They looked up abruptly to see a woman in an apricot-yellow Daoist robe standing on a treetop. The branch was not thick and could barely support a person's weight, even that of a small woman.

But Mosquitoman seemed to weigh nothing at all, her toes barely touching the branch tip. The branch swayed gently up and down, as if moved by the wind, yet she stood completely unaffected.

Qiu Honglei was horrified. "My companions, have you killed them all?"

Mosquitoman scoffed. "This Daoist never leaves survivors."

As she said this, her face burned slightly. Although those loose cultivators of the Demonic Cult were not as powerful as her, they each had unique skills. A group of them together would be difficult for her to kill quickly. Moreover, she was eager to capture the two, so she hadn't entangled herself in a fight with them. Instead, she left some disciples and subordinates to deal with them while she seized the opportunity to pursue Zuan and Qiu Honglei.

Her true form was that of a blood-winged black mosquito, naturally adept at flight and significantly faster than humans of the same cultivation level, let alone Zuan and Qiu Honglei, who were far inferior to her.

Furthermore, she was extremely sensitive to the smell of blood. Although the scent of blood in the air was faint when the two fled, it couldn't escape her nose.

Thus, even though they had run a considerable distance, they were still easily caught.

Zuan whispered, "Honglei, I'll do my best to hold her off. You take the opportunity to run, preferably back to your Martial Uncle Lu Sanyuan. He should be able to protect you."

Qiu Honglei shook her head, gently gripping his hand. "I'll face her with you."

Zuan grew anxious. "Are you crazy? She wants the 'Phoenix Nirvana Sutra' from me, so she won't kill me quickly, but she won't be so lenient with you."

Qiu Honglei still didn't leave. "I won't abandon you. At worst, I'll wait for you on the path to the underworld."

As she spoke, she smiled faintly, her expression poignant yet resolute, clearly having prepared herself for death.

At this, Mosquitoman on the tree cackled. "What a touching scene! People say a husband and wife are like birds from the same forest, each flying their own way when disaster strikes. Yet, your feelings for each other are even deeper than those of a married couple."

Hearing her description, Qiu Honglei's previously pale cheeks, caused by tension and fear, now gained a slight blush.

Seeing her shy expression, even the fastidious Mosquitoman had to admit that this woman was truly a peerless beauty.

Unfortunately, the more beautiful she was, the more jealous and enraged Mosquitoman became. "What a pity this Daoist loves nothing more than to tear apart devoted lovers!"

The moment her words fell, she lunged toward the two.

Learning from her previous encounter, she knew Zuan was as slippery as an eel and hard to catch quickly. Rather than wasting time, it was better to deal with Qiu Honglei first.

Knowing the rescue dynamic between them, she understood that if she attacked Qiu Honglei, Zuan would certainly come to her aid, which would at least halve the effectiveness of his ghostly movement technique.

As expected, seeing her attack Qiu Honglei, Zuan gritted his teeth and stepped forward to help block her.

Mosquitoman scoffed and took a step forward, moving too fast for Zuan to react.

She suddenly appeared beside Zuan and struck his ribs with her palm. She had seen through his intentions: he was using her reluctance to kill him to restrict her actions.

While she couldn't kill him, there was no harm in crippling his mobility first, right?

The force of this palm strike was enough to completely incapacitate even a peak sixth-grade cultivator, let alone a fifth-grade one.

Zuan spat blood violently and fell to the side. He felt several ribs had broken, but the *Primal Chaos Sutra* circulated rapidly, continuously mending his injuries.

Mosquitoman didn't look at him again, continuing her attack on Qiu Honglei.

"A'Zu!" Qiu Honglei cried out in alarm, but with no time to spare to check on him, she quickly summoned the Everlasting Faith Palace Lantern. Its pale yellow light spread out, engulfing Mosquitoman, and her movements significantly slowed.

Mosquitoman remained unperturbed. "Hmph, your cultivation is too low to unleash the full power of this lantern."

The first use always yielded the best effect. Now, the lantern's energy seemed much weaker, unable to bind Mosquitoman's form, only capable of slowing her movements.

This allowed Qiu Honglei to barely keep pace with her. The two exchanged several blows in an instant. However, while Mosquitoman's physical movements could be restricted, a Grandmaster's vision and experience could not. She quickly seized an opening and struck Qiu Honglei's shoulder with her palm.

Qiu Honglei cried out in agony and was sent flying backward. As Mosquitoman was about to finish her off, Zuan's voice came from the side: "Trying to lay a hand on my woman? Did you ask me first?"