Chapter 211: 连禽兽都不如

"Who cares about you?" Qiao Xueying spat. "I only reminded you out of consideration for Miss Chu. I'm not feeling well, so I won't talk to you anymore. I need to rest."

After saying this, she turned her back to him and stopped speaking, as if she had fallen asleep.

At this moment, Ji Xiaoxi tugged on Zu An's sleeve and whispered, "Miss Qiao is seriously injured. More rest will help her recover, so it's best not to disturb her."

Zu An couldn't help but chuckle. This girl was always so kind, always thinking the best of people. It was clear Qiao Xueying was just pretending to sleep.

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

Hearing their footsteps moving away, Qiao Xueying, who was feigning sleep with her eyes closed, secretly gritted her teeth. *What on earth does he need to say that he has to do it behind my back?*

Rage from Qiao Xueying +233!

Seeing the rage value, Zu An chuckled.

"Brother Zu, what are you laughing about?" Ji Xiaoxi asked, looking at him with her large, blinking eyes.

"Nothing," Zu An quickly corrected. "Why are you calling me 'Brother Zu' again? From now on, just call me 'Ah Zu'."

"Oh," Ji Xiaoxi replied, not understanding his obsession with that particular address.

"Thank you for the clothes earlier," Zu An said, looking at the innocent, flower-like girl before him, feeling no desire to tease her. "I'm sorry you were misunderstood because of me. Should I go explain it to them later?"

"It's fine, the clear will always be clear," Ji Xiaoxi shook her head, her eyes as clear as water, completely pure. "By the way, did you find the Vanishing Mirage Lotus?"

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

Ji Xiaoxi's face flushed slightly as she lowered her head, a little embarrassed. "When I checked your pulse earlier, I not only found that your injuries had completely healed, but also that... even the area below your qi sea was... just like a normal person's."

In truth, she had found that the meridians in that area pulsed much more steadily and powerfully than an ordinary person's, but as a young girl, she couldn't bring herself to say that aloud.

"I did find the Vanishing Mirage Lotus," Zu An said. "And I have to thank your father's Unsealing Pill for it."

He didn't mention that Chu Chuyan had eaten the Vanishing Mirage Lotus. Explaining how it was unsealed would be difficult, as she was knowledgeable in medicine and ordinary excuses would be hard to pass off. Besides, he had promised Mi Li not to reveal anything about the *Grand Primordium Scripture*.

"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 breath.

Zu An: "???"

Her reaction felt a bit off.

Ji Xiaoxi looked a little embarrassed and explained softly, "My father had never made the Unsealing Pill before. He only deduced the formula from some ancient medical texts. He was actually only fifty-fifty on whether it would succeed, but he didn't tell you so you wouldn't worry."

Originally, she was reluctant to lie, believing that doctors should always be truthful with their patients. But her father had told her that sometimes placebo effects were also very important, and could even work wonders.

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

Zu An: "..."

That Ji Dengtu is truly a scammer!

Fortunately, I'm blessed with good fortune and had another fortuitous encounter this time. Otherwise, if I had eaten the Vanishing Mirage Lotus and still couldn't recover, I might have become so disheartened that I would have taken my own life.

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 later."

"Oh, right, Xiaoxi, how's your foot?" Zu An remembered Bai Susu mentioning that she had twisted it while desperately running for help. Moved, he reached out his hand. "Would you like me to rub it for you?"

"It's nothing, it's almost completely healed," Ji Xiaoxi's face flushed slightly, and she instinctively pulled her leg back, simultaneously tugging subtly at her skirt hem.

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

Zu An was startled, realizing he had been thoughtless. He found himself unable to tease this extremely kind and gentle girl. His expression turned serious as he sighed, "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 actually feel quite fulfilled," a hint of excitement flashed across Ji Xiaoxi's face. "In all these years, I've never encountered anything so dangerous and astonishing. To me, the experiences in the valley were more useful than any normal training."

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

Zu An: "..."

A wealthy beauty truly is a wealthy beauty; her confidence when speaking is simply different from ordinary people.

Even though she said that, Zu An still felt apologetic and thought about finding something to compensate her.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He took out a primal stone, glowing with a blood-red light, from his pocket and pressed it into 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. Many precious gems were inlaid on her phoenix coronet and belt.

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

The largest one was from the center of her phoenix coronet. Zu An, considering it might be very important to Mi Li, hadn't taken it out, planning to have a new hat made for her to return it someday. The one he took out now was the second largest, which had been set on her belt.

When Mi Li wakes up and realizes how thoughtful I've been towards her, she should be very grateful, right?

"What is this?" Ji Xiaoxi asked curiously, picking it up. Then her delicate face changed slightly, and her small mouth opened wide enough to fit an egg. "A Heaven-grade primal stone!"

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

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

Above that was Heaven-grade primal stones. It was said that only the royal family possessed them, and they were extremely rare. Only the Emperor, Empress, Crown Prince, and favored princes were qualified to use them; ordinary princes never even got to touch them.

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

"I can't accept something so valuable," Ji Xiaoxi said, hastily trying to return the glowing red primal stone.

"Once a gift is given, there's no taking it back," Zu An said. Even though he now knew how precious it was, he didn't hesitate. Since transmigrating to this world, he had faced a series of malicious acts, especially from that girl Xue'er and her crowd.

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

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

"It's really too valuable; I can't take it," Ji Xiaoxi shook her head like a rattle-drum. Her fair, tender cheeks were flushed crimson from anxiety.

Zu An directly pressed her hand. "Xiaoxi, no matter how important this is, it's not as important as you are to me."

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

"If it weren't for you, I would have died countless times by now, and I certainly wouldn't have recovered my health," Zu An said seriously. "In your heart, is my life worth less than this primal stone?"

"Of course not..." Ji Xiaoxi breathed a sigh of relief. So she had misunderstood. Yet, for some reason, an unidentifiable feeling stirred within her.

"Since that's the case, then keep it safely. Perhaps I'll need your help with many things in the future, and then I won't have to pay you consultation fees," Zu An said, leaving no room for argument.

"In that case, I'll accept it," Ji Xiaoxi said, feeling the warm heat from his palm. Her hand hesitated, neither pulling away nor staying. "Actually, if you seek my help, you don't need to pay any consultation fees, even without this. Of course, if you seek my father's help, that's another story."

Thinking of Ji Dengtu's greedy and lecherous demeanor, 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 fluttered gently in the breeze, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting faint shadows of her fluttering lashes on her fair face.

Zu An felt a surge of tenderness. He thought that she had probably been worrying about his safety these past few days and hadn't gotten much sleep. Now that she knew he was safe, her body could no longer resist the fatigue.

"Cough."

Zu An glanced at Qiao Xueying nearby. She was lying on her side on the grass, her back facing him. Her slender, delicate body possessed captivating curves, with a slender waist that could be spanned by a single hand, perfectly transitioning into taut, shapely hips and legs.

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

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

"Cough, cough."

This time, the cough carried a stronger hint of displeasure.

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

"I just wanted to see if you would do anything beastly to her," Qiao Xueying retorted, rolling over and giving him an annoyed look. After all, she was of the elf race, with a much more vigorous life force than ordinary people. Thanks to Ji Xiaoxi's spirit medicine and timely treatment, she felt much better than before.

"So does this prove I'm a proper gentleman?" Zu An asked with a smile.

"You have the heart of a thief but lack the guts. You're not even as good as a beast," Qiao Xueying snorted.

Zu An: "..."

He never thought he would receive such an evaluation one day.

Qiao Xueying held out her fair, slender hand, palm open. "Where's mine?"

Zu An was taken aback. "Mine what?"

Qiao Xueying snorted coldly. "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 haven't seen you give me anything. But when you saw that little girl, you were quite generous."

Rage from Qiao Xueying +256!

Zu An's face flushed. He felt that he had indeed been a bit unprincipled. He quickly fumbled in his pocket for another primal stone and handed it to her. These were all previously inlaid 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 from Qiao Xueying +512!

Zu An hastily handed her all the remaining primal stones. "These are all I have. Take them all. Together, they're bigger than hers."

"No!" Qiao Xueying refused to take them. "I want a single, whole one, and it must be at least as big as hers."

Zu An suddenly 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?*

Thinking that Qiao Xueying had also saved his life and even shared half of her life force with him—a greater sacrifice than Ji Xiaoxi's—he realized his actions were indeed quite disheartening to her.

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

"Are you giving my belongings to other women?"

Rage from Mi Li +999!