"Brother Xiao, Senior Yao, I won't waste any more time. I'll be on my way. You two continue your training!"
Yan Qingshan didn't bother with any more pleasantries. After a slight nod, he leaped into the nearby forest, his figure quickly disappearing from view.
"That Yan kid is quite the sly and shameless one. If I had his kind of shamelessness back in my day, why would I have ever... "
Yao Lao stroked his beard and sighed, seemingly reminiscing about his lost youth. He recalled his younger days when he had interacted with noble ladies from major factions. They had admired his talent, but his pride at the time led him to refuse to be a "kept man."
Thinking about it now, can pride be eaten? He had remained a virgin all these years, and if he died unexpectedly, he wouldn't even leave behind a bloodline. It seemed like quite a regrettable thing!
Yao Lao smiled at Xiao Yan and instructed, "Xiao Yanzi, learn from him. When it's time to be shameless, don't be so coy..."
"That's strange. How did he know I went to Xun'er's room when I was little..."
Xiao Yan didn't pay attention to Yao Lao's words. Instead, he was puzzled by something else. The time he had secretly entered Xun'er's room as a child—Yao Lao should not have been awake yet. By all accounts, only he and Xun'er knew about it. Could it be…
"Maybe someone saw you. How old were you back then? It would be a miracle if you could hide your tracks. Once or twice is one thing, but so many times? Do you really think the adults in your family are idiots?"
Yao Lao was disdainful of Xiao Yan's doubt. At this moment, the roars of the magical beasts in the forest were getting closer. He quickly released a burst of soul power to grab Xiao Yan. "Now is not the time to talk about this. We need to leave this area. This is the Amethyst Winged Lion King's territory, and it's trying to turn the ground over to find someone. If you get caught, you'll just be attracting attention for that Yan kid."
…
In another direction of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, a towering cliff face appeared ahead. At the base of the cliff was a hidden cave, and a young man holding a beauty appeared in the open space outside.
Having fallen into the river earlier, the woman was soaked from head to toe, highlighting her graceful figure. Yan Qingshan's hands were wrapped around her calves and the back of her head. The delicate and smooth touch of her skin, like warm jade, was wonderful.
Yan Qingshan carried the soaking-wet beauty into the cave. Inside, there was a large, flat stone bed covered with a thick fur blanket. He gently laid the beauty down, then started a fire before returning to the stone bed.
"She truly is a rare and breathtaking beauty!"
Yan Qingshan's gaze lingered on the sleeping beauty: a flawless face, a pale swan-like neck, and a slightly torn, wet dress that accentuated her exquisite and alluring figure.
"This build is a bit bigger than Ya Fei's, a little smaller than Yue Mei's, and her temperament and figure are about the same as the Queen's. It should be pretty good!"
Yan Qingshan extended his hand and gestured at the area below the beauty's pale neck, seemingly pondering some unhealthy thoughts.
The beauty, still unconscious, frowned slightly. A hint of pain was etched on her face. While it didn't quite match her noble aura, it made her appear particularly vulnerable and moving.
"Hehe... The beauty is injured and needs treatment. The conditions here in the Magical Beast Mountain Range are not ideal, and it seems impossible to find a woman to help her. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I have no choice!"
Yan Qingshan took out a pile of jade bottles and placed them nearby. Shaking his head, he made some excuses for himself. He rubbed his hands and was about to undo the woman's clothes. But just as his hand touched the garment, the mysterious woman, who had her eyes tightly closed, suddenly opened them.
Her eyes were filled with a hint of coldness and indignation. She stared intently at Yan Qingshan. He did not withdraw his hand immediately, and the atmosphere became oddly awkward.
"I said I was going to help you with your injuries. Do you believe me?"
Yan Qingshan didn't back away. Instead, he lowered his head and met her gaze, his eyes filled with appreciation and a touch of heat.
"I... I can do it myself."
The beauty showed no gratitude whatsoever. She stared at Yan Qingshan coldly, already branding him as a lustful scoundrel taking advantage of her.
"Alright! Do it yourself!"
Yan Qingshan looked at her for a long moment, smiled faintly, and turned away. He began to tend to the bonfire. The woman secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and the coldness in her gaze lessened slightly. But when she tried to do it herself, she discovered that her entire body was in a numb state.
"I noticed when I saved you. Your entire body's Dou Qi is sealed, and some of your acupuncture points and meridians are blocked. Without someone to unblock them, you probably won't be able to get up. And if this is delayed for too long, there could be some serious side effects."
Yan Qingshan's voice came at just the right time. The bonfire, which he had been tending to, now burned even brighter. The woman struggled slightly, biting her lip. "That wretched beast! I'm under its seal."
Yan Qingshan continued to tend to the fire, his back to her, but in her peripheral vision, she saw nothing amiss. However, his slightly trembling body, along with his previous words, made it easy for her to believe he was secretly smiling.
As she struggled, the thought that her current actions were being secretly watched made her face flush red.
After struggling to no avail, the woman could only turn her head. She looked at Yan Qingshan, who was sitting on a stone, using a smoky stick to draw circles in the dirt. Biting her lip, she said softly, "Please... come and help me with the medicine."
Her voice was beautiful and pleasant, but it trembled, seemingly a mix of nervousness and fear, afraid that the seemingly ill-intentioned Yan Qingshan would turn into a beast.
"No, I won't. Who told me to leave just now? I have a temper too, you know!"
Yan Qingshan's answer was blunt. He picked up more wood and threw it into the fire. He wasn't some bootlicking character like Xiao Yan. He had to show his masculinity. He had just been rejected, so he couldn't just eagerly run over the moment she asked.
"I... I'm sorry. I misunderstood you just now. Please... help me."
The woman felt both annoyed and amused by his somewhat childish behavior, which also made her drop her guard a little. She suddenly thought about how it had been years since anyone dared to speak to her like this. Now that she truly needed his help, she apologized to Yan Qingshan.
"That's... barely acceptable sincerity! But you know, I'm a big man. I'm bound to be a bit clumsy. And to treat the injuries, I have to examine the wounds. What I might see, or touch... well, that's hard to say!"
Yan Qingshan stood up with a laugh, clapped his hands, and approached with an expectant look on his face. His words were filled with obvious innuendo.
The woman was not a three-year-old child. She understood that this man was definitely not an honest person. But desperate times called for desperate measures. She couldn't find a second person, so she could only meet his words with silence, secretly deciding that if Yan Qingshan went too far, she would have no choice but to betray his kindness.
Yan Qingshan came close to the woman's side and his hands once again reached for her clothes. The woman slowly closed her eyes, her trembling eyelids showing her unease.
Amidst the rustling sounds, she felt a cool sensation on her skin. Her outer garment had been unbuttoned and peeled back. Yan Qingshan's voice sounded again. "It seems the practice I got with the girls at the Joyful Spring House wasn't wasted. I even managed to undo such complicated buttons. What a genius..."
The woman had been wondering why the flirtatious Yan Qingshan hadn't taken advantage of her just now. After all, even without such intentions, her clothing was a hassle, and even if she did it herself, her skin would inevitably be touched.
But upon hearing Yan Qingshan's smug words, she felt relieved but also embarrassed. She didn't know what the Joyful Spring House was, but the implications in Yan Qingshan's words were all too clear.
She couldn't believe this seemingly young boy was likely an old hand at such places, so skilled at undressing women. The fact that he was bragging about it to her stirred a strange ripple in her heart.
"You have many wounds on your body. You should take off this form-fitting undergarment too."
Before the woman could think further, she felt a cool sensation on her chest. The form-fitting pale blue undergarment was pulled away from her body. The thought of her upper body being completely exposed made her instinctively let out a cry and open her eyes.
Yan Qingshan had just turned to get the medicine. He didn't look back but his voice carried over. "Don't scream. I'm about to apply the medicine. If you keep screaming, it might distract me."
The thought of her upper body being naked in front of a strange man, even for a female Dou Emperor expert, made a faint blush creep up her pale skin, and her delicate body trembled slightly.
The woman's body trembled as she issued a warning. "You... you had better control your hands and your eyes. Don't make me repay your kindness with hostility."
"What? My eyes were covered long ago, weren't they?"
Yan Qingshan turned around and asked in a strange tone. Only then did the woman notice that at some point, Yan Qingshan had tied a black blindfold over his eyes. In other words, he probably hadn't seen anything just now.
In her shock, the woman couldn't help but blurt out, "When did you..."
"Just now, of course! I took off your clothes with my eyes closed. That's why I said my skills hadn't gotten rusty, right? After being trained by so many older sisters, I'm quite the expert at taking off clothes, you know!"
Yan Qingshan said matter-of-factly, "You didn't think I peeked, did you? Even though you're good-looking, you have so many wounds right now. You don't think your bloody body is very attractive, do you? I'm worried that if I saw it, it would affect my appreciation of the floating dancers at the Jade Pavilion in the future!"
Yan Qingshan's words, and his righteous demeanor, truly made the woman both angry and anxious. To think that she, who had always been so graceful and dignified, was being found unappealing.
"The Eighteen Touches, oh the Eighteen Touches... first touch the hair by her temples, where dark clouds fly across the sky. Next, touch her forehead, a noble forehead, so enchanting..."
Although Yan Qingshan was blindfolded, his movements were completely unhindered. After draping a robe over the beauty, he turned her over again and began to apply the medicine, singing an unknown tune.