Chapter 259: Golden House Concealing a Beauty

The cold from the sword instantly made goosebumps appear on Zu An's skin. He hurriedly said, "Sir, are you here for money or for my person? Let's discuss this properly, and please don't let your hand slip."

As he spoke, he secretly prepared to summon a strong wind, ready to teleport away if things went south.

A soft chuckle came from behind him. "I can understand robbing for money, but for *that*... do you even have it?"

"A woman?" Hearing the deliberately altered voice from his side, Zu An's mind was put at ease. He would have been truly worried if it were a male assassin, but dealing with women was his specialty.

"My lady, I must disagree with you on that. You can insult my character, but you cannot insult my handsome face," Zu An said seriously.

"Hmph, so glib-tongued. No wonder that vixen Qiu Honglei took a liking to you." A light snort came from behind him, and the sword at his neck was withdrawn.

Only then did Zu An cautiously turn his head. He saw a masked woman leaning against the wall, slowly sitting down on his bed.

As she sat down, a ripple-like movement spread across her chest.

"So big..." Zu An swallowed, saying it involuntarily.

Logically speaking, though his brain was somewhat unconventional, he would never be so brainless or impulsive.

But the woman's night attire was too tight, accentuating her figure's assets exceptionally well.

It was a completely instinctive exclamation, blurted out without thinking.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he was in trouble. Sure enough, the masked woman's eyes turned cold. "What did you say?"

"I meant to say, Miss Pei, your words sound very jealous." Zu An reacted quickly, immediately trying to smooth things over. Her naturally smiling "peach blossom" eyes, especially the obvious features of her chest, made her instantly recognizable even with her face covered.

"I'm jealous?" Pei Mianman removed her face covering and casually tossed it aside. A playful smile played on her lips. "Your self-perception is a bit *too* good, isn't it?"

Seeing the topic diverted, Zu An secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "It can't be helped; when you're too outstanding, these kinds of illusions naturally arise."

Pei Mianman snorted. "I really can't understand how someone with Chu Yan's personality could put up with you."

"Were you just at Chu Yan's place?" Zu An felt a bit guilty. The two of them had been recuperating there just now and hadn't paid much attention to the outside.

However, the surrounding guards were so vigilant. Unless she also had teleportation or stealth abilities, it would be difficult to escape the notice of the Chu family guards.

"No," Pei Mianman's expression was a little unnatural. Coming to see her best friend's husband in the middle of the night instead of her best friend felt strange. So she quickly added, "I heard her health isn't so good, so I didn't want to disturb her rest at this late hour."

After speaking, she suddenly frowned and unnaturally shifted her body.

"Are you injured?" Zu An remembered her slightly sluggish movements earlier and finally realized.

"Hmph, I came to save you, but you and that vixen just ran off, leaving me alone to deal with the sixth-rank master Chen Xuan and all those Black Wind Stronghold subordinates. And now you have the nerve to ask about it?" Talking about it made Pei Mianman angry, partly at Qiu Honglei and partly at Zu An for actually leaving with her.

Rage value from Pei Mianman: 666666...

Zu An said awkwardly, "At the time, I didn't expect Qiu Honglei to suddenly pull me into the water. It happened so suddenly; by the time I reacted, I'd already swallowed a lot of water. Then she pulled me and swam to the shore. I looked back at the ship and saw you and Chen Xuan were evenly matched, and the city guards were also arriving. So I didn't come back for you, to avoid causing more trouble."

He naturally omitted the part where Qiu Honglei had given him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He had just angered one person and didn't want to anger a second so soon.

The only thing to be grateful for was that he had wiped off the lipstick mark from his mouth on the way back. Otherwise, it would be truly hard to explain now.

"Hmph, at least you have some conscience." Hearing that he was still concerned about her battle, Pei Mianman's expression softened slightly. "But Chen Xuan is a high-ranking sixth-grade master after all. It's good enough that I survived; a few injuries are nothing."

Zu An's eyes lit up. "Where are you injured? I have medicine here."

Because of the self-destructive cultivation method of the "Phoenix Nirvana Scripture," he had specifically prepared a large stock of healing medicine after acquiring money. Among them were many excellent remedies obtained from Ji Dengtu.

"You ask where I'm injured, but why are you staring at my chest?" The smile in Pei Mianman's eyes was laced with a dangerous glint.

Zu An's face flushed, and he quickly said, "I'm just concerned about where you're injured."

"Don't bother thinking about it; it's not *that* place you're imagining." Pei Mianman's eyes were full of amusement. "I still can't figure out how Chu Yan, with her personality, could have fallen for someone as rogue as you. Not to mention her, even that seductive vixen Qiu Honglei seems to favor you. But no matter how I look at you, I can't see anything special about you."

Zu An smiled shyly. "I'm a person of hidden qualities; you need to interact with me more to truly understand my strengths and merits."

"You, hidden qualities?" Pei Mianman couldn't help but laugh. But before she could laugh much, her injury was triggered, and her delicate brows instantly furrowed.

"You're injured on your back?" After observing just now, Zu An had generally pinpointed the injured area. After all, when it came to injuries, he was a professional!

"Mm-hmm." Seeing him about to come closer to check, Pei Mianman raised the sword in her hand. "You don't need to worry about it. It's just a small injury, nothing serious."

Zu An was immediately amused. It seemed that despite her usual alluring and flirtatious demeanor, this woman was quite conservative deep down.

"If you don't treat it promptly, it will scar," Zu An reminded her.

Pei Mianman chuckled charmingly. "Are you trying to humor me like those little girls? Cultivators are different from ordinary people; our self-regeneration capabilities are strong. I've suffered countless injuries since childhood; when have I ever been scarred?"

"I thought you were a pampered young lady from a prestigious family; I didn't expect you to have such a hard life." Hearing her say she'd suffered many injuries since childhood, Zu An was somewhat shocked. Given her sweet appearance and usually cheerful, charming disposition, it was hard to imagine her having such a childhood.

The smile on Pei Mianman's face instantly vanished. "I don't need your sympathy!"

Seeing her attitude suddenly change, Zu An didn't mind at all. "Don't worry, I won't mention this to Chu Yan."

"Whether you say it or not is none of my business." Pei Mianman turned her face away, though her expression softened slightly.

"It's best to treat injuries early," Zu An said, rummaging through boxes and cabinets to find a pile of medicine. "Wounds inflicted by a sixth-rank master aren't easy to heal. Look at how I was injured by Wu Di during the family competition; I didn't pay attention back then, and now there are still lingering issues."

"Is Chu Yan's condition very serious?" Pei Mianman's eyes became a little more complex.

"She's fine; with a divine physician like me around, it's nothing serious," Zu An replied.

"You?" Pei Mianman snorted. "I heard it was clearly Dr. Ji who did it."

"Life is truly lonely as snow; no one believes me when I tell the truth." Zu An took out several kinds of medicine. "Turn around, let me look at your wound."

Pei Mianman hesitated for a moment, then turned around. She said in a charming voice, "Don't you dare take advantage of me, or else, even if you are Chu Yan's husband, I won't be polite."

"Look at my innocent eyes; do I look like that kind of person?" Zu An said, feigning indignation.

"Heh heh."

Zu An found a wound on her back, about three inches long. Blood had already soaked the surrounding clothes, but it wasn't very noticeable because of the black night attire. "That son of a bitch Chen Xuan, he struck too hard."

"Hmph, he's not doing any better either." Pei Mianman proudly lifted her chin, clearly unwilling to be underestimated.

"Alright, alright, I know you're impressive." Zu An gently pulled, tearing open the clothes near her wound.

"What are you doing?" Pei Mianman's body stiffened, and she tightened her grip on her sword.

"Relax. How can I apply medicine if I don't clean the area around the wound?" Zu An replied. "Don't worry, I'm not bold enough to bully my wife's best friend in her family home."

"Heh heh, I suppose you wouldn't dare." Seeing that he made no further moves, Pei Mianman relaxed a little.

Zu An applied medicinal alcohol with cotton and gently wiped the area around her wound. "Does it hurt?"

"It's fine, continue." Pei Mianman frowned, clearly trying to endure the pain.

Silence quickly fell in the room. Only the sound of Zu An diligently treating her wound and applying medicine remained.

Her skin was touched intimately by a man for the first time. A faint blush flashed across Pei Mianman's face. But shyness wasn't in her nature, and she soon chuckled charmingly. "So, how is it? Whose skin is better, mine or your wife's?"

Zu An said with a smile, "Do you want me to say yours is better than my wife's, or that my wife's is better than yours?"

Seeing him turn the tables, Pei Mianman snorted. "Hmph, you're as cunning as a fox. If I weren't sure you grew up in Brightmoon City, I'd think you were possessed by some old demon."

Hearing her words, Zu An was inexplicably lost in thought. In a way, his current situation could indeed be considered possession by an old demon—no, at most a small demon. He was still a young man in his previous life.

After treating her wound, Zu An said, "It's bandaged now. But you've lost a lot of blood and are very weak. You shouldn't wander around late at night; just rest here. Otherwise, if you fall into the hands of some rogue, I'd be truly heartbroken."

Pei Mianman's eyes sparkled, and her brows conveyed infinite charm. "I wonder if staying here is the most dangerous option."

"Even if you don't trust my character, you should trust Chu Yan's judgment in choosing a husband. I'll go sleep next door in a while. Once you've regained your strength, you can leave whenever you wish."

Pei Mianman hesitated for a moment, then finally said, "Don't tell Chu Yan about this... or anyone else in the Chu family."

Zu An couldn't help but laugh. "It was perfectly normal originally, but you make it sound like an affair. Don't worry, this will be our little secret."

"Nothing good ever comes out of your mouth!" Pei Mianman spat, and slammed the door shut.

Zu An looked dejected. "Couldn't she have at least told me to get a blanket?"

However, with his current physique, it didn't matter whether he had a blanket or not. So he couldn't be bothered to knock on the door again.

He went to the next room, stacked a few stools together. Just as he lay down, intending to sleep, his heart suddenly skipped a beat, because, at some point, another person had appeared beside him.