Zu An fell into a daze. She was simply too beautiful that he forgot to avert his gaze.
Qiao Xueying pulled her arms before her, one to cover her chest and the other to cover her legs. However, how much could her small hands possibly be able to cover?
“C-clothes…”
Seeing that Zu An wasn’t moving at all, Qiao Xueying raised her eyes, only to be met with his searing gaze. That made her feeling of embarrassment even more intense.
It was only then that Zu An finally snapped out of his daze. He quickly grabbed her clothes and wrapped them around her.
In order to alleviate the awkwardness, he said, “How are you feeling? You were still fine earlier on, but you suddenly seem so weak now.”
Qiao Xueying glared at him sharply before responding, “I was struck by the poisonous mist of the Crimsonscale Python…”
“Poisonous mist? Are you fine? I’ll get someone to treat you right now!” Zu An was horrified. His Primordial Origin Sutra had only reached the second rank, so he couldn’t use it to treat others yet. If she was afflicted with some sort of rare poison, he would really be put in a spot.
“There’s no need for that…” Qiao Xueying pulled his sleeves and shook her head. “The Crimsonscale Python’s poison isn’t lethal. It’s just that the snake is lustful in nature, so its poison has a strong… aphrodisiac effect…”
After saying those words, she quickly lowered her head. Her face was so red that it looked as if it was going to seep out blood.
“This…” Zu An was also left awkward. He never thought that he would encounter this sort of event. So, he coughed a little before replying, “It should be fine once the effect fades.”
He couldn’t understand why characters who had fallen for aphrodisiac desperately needed to have sex in order to treat their condition. Wouldn’t it be fine to just give it some time and let the effects fade? The human body was extremely good at detoxification, after all!
Qiao Xueying shook her head and replied, “The Crimsonscale Python isn’t a powerful beast. Its body doesn’t have any inner cores, and its skin and flesh serve no purpose at all. Despite so, it’s still an incredibly valuable beast. Do you know why?”
“Is it due to its poison?” asked Zu An.
Qiao Xueying nodded. “Its poison has the effect of inducing a person’s lust while rendering her completely powerless to resist. Thus, it’s one of the items which those officials and nobles fancied a lot. Due to the excessive hunting, it’s extremely rare to spot a Crimsonscale Python in the outside world anymore. I didn’t expect to encounter one here in this dungeon.”
Zu An fell silent. It looks like regardless of which world one is in, it’s those who possess power and affluence that tend to play the wildest.
“If it only evokes one’s lust, it wouldn’t have been so popular amongst the officials and nobles,” explained Qiao Xueying. “The key thing is that if the poisoned individual doesn’t… get an amalgamation of yin and yang with another man, the poison would start to erode one’s ki meridians, possibly leading to death. Thus, the officials and nobles often use this in order to dominate a woman whom they can’t easily win over.”
“Ah, you should have said that earlier. We’re already so close to one another, so there’s no way I would hesitate to treat your poison. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely give it all I got. I won’t stop until I finally eradicate the poison completely from your body!” said Zu An determinedly.
As he said those words, he began taking off his clothes.
“…” Qiao Xueying.
It was then that a gentle voice sounded from behind, “What are… you all doing?”
Zu An turned around, only to see Ji Xiaoxi standing not too far away, looking at them with large innocent eyes filled with curiosity.
“Miss Qiao has been poisoned, so I’m intending to treat her.” Her innocent gaze somehow made Zu An’s face heat up in embarrassment.
Meanwhile, Qiao Xueying buried herself in his embrace and feigned unconsciousness. It was simply too embarrassing.
Ji Xiaoxi blinked her eyes and said, “Is it the poison of the Crimsonscale Python? That’s easy to treat. I’ve got a Heartcalming Pill here.”
“…” Zu An.
If it was possible for him to collect his own Rage points, that would surely have been a ‘+1024 Rage’ there!
“The Crimsonscale Python’s poison seems to be quite formidable. Can it really be cured with such a simple pill?” Zu An accepted the pill Ji Xiaoxi was offering him reluctantly.
“Of course. Back then, my father heard that a maiden has been taken advantage of by scion using the Crimsonscale Python’s poison, so he specially concocted this medicine for me so that I can fend against… the toxicity of that horrible poison.”
“…” Zu An.
He never thought that the perverted Ji Dengtu would actually protect his daughter so well, taking every single possible threat into account! But again, it was probably because he was a pervert himself that he knew what sort of things other perverts would do, allowing him to make better precautions.
Ji Xiaoxi’s face reddened as the same thoughts arose in her mind too.
I know that my father has an erotica hidden in his bed, under his blanket. I saw it while I was cleaning up his room!
Out of curiosity, she had flipped it open to take a look back then, but the content she saw was so horrifying that she tossed it away instantly. She finally understood why her father’s complexion had been so pale during that period of time.
Hmph! If I ever find out the person who gave my father that kind of book, I’ll make sure to give him a harsh scolding he’ll never forget!
It was then that she suddenly remembered yet another incident, where she saw her father rushing to his room excitedly with a woman’s dudou in hand, only to be caught red-handed by her little aunt, who happened to visit at the moment. Her little aunt immediately confiscated it with an awful look on her face and berated him harshly.
My father is really ridiculous…
Ji Xiaoxi sighed deeply.
Zu An was also cursing Ji Dengtu in his mind for concocting such medicine for no reason, causing him to lose such a golden opportunity with Snow.
“Give it to me…” Qiao Xueying could hear their conversation loud and clear. She noticed that Zu An was holding onto the Heartcalming Pill intently, not feeding it to her at all, so she could only ask for it herself.
Zu An had no choice but to feed the pill to her. Still unwilling to give up, he said, “If it’s not enough to treat the poison, you can feel free to call me anytime.”
Qiao Xueying’s face heated up. This fellow is really thick-skinned!
After swallowing the Heartcalming Pill, she felt a cold surge of energy gradually diffusing throughout her body, dispelling the heat that had previously enveloped her. Overjoyed, she turned to Ji Xiaoxi and said, “Your father is truly an incredible physician!”
“You’re flattering him,” replied Ji Xiaoxi with a shy smile.
Zu An couldn’t help but feel even more disappointed. He could only change the topic and try not to think about it. “Ah, I didn’t see the traces of any beasts in the river earlier. Why would such a huge python appear out of nowhere?”
After all, there were quite a few male students who headed over earlier to wash their eyes, but none of them got attacked.
Qiao Xueying pondered for a moment before replying, “It could be the smell of blood on me.”
“Smell of blood?” Zu An had a bizarre look on his face. “You’re having your period?”
“…” Qiao Xueying.
“…” Ji Xiaoxi.
“It’s the blood from the injuries I suffered earlier on! Just what the hell is your head filled with?!” Qiao Xueying glared at Zu An furiously.
You have successfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +250 Rage!
Zu An replied with a sheepish smile, “Hahaha, I’m just concerned about you, that’s all.”
At the same time, he couldn’t help but notice the feeling of guilt welling up in his heart as he earned Qiao Xueying’s Rage points. It had felt much more exhilarating when she was an enemy.
“You should hurry up and leave. I’m going to change my clothes.” Qiao Xueying gradually regained her strength and pushed him off. “It’ll be enough to have Miss Ji here with me.”
“Alright, I’ll head over to the side. Call me if anything happens.” Zu An carefully put her down by the side before walking away. His intent would be too obvious if he insisted on staying here under such circumstances.
After he left, Qiao Xueying quickly began putting on her clothes as she murmured softly, “Miss Ji, about what happened earlier on…”
Ji Xiaoxi smiled softly and replied, “Big Sister Qiao, don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”
“Thanks…” Qiao Xueying wasn’t sure whether she was referring to her getting poisoned or her baring her body before Zu An earlier on, but in any case, she didn’t dare to ask.
After quickly putting on her clothes, she began engaging Ji Xiaoxi in a conversation, completely ignoring Zu An. It made him completely confused as he wondered how had he offended her.
Some time later, Chu Chuyan finally returned. In truth, she hadn’t walked too far away; she simply didn’t know how to face Zu An for a moment there.
Upon hearing that there was a battle here, she quickly rushed back out of fear that something had happened. When she saw the Crimsonscale Python’s corpse, she heaved a sigh of relief.
She quickly asked about what had happened earlier, but both Zu An and Qiao Xueying gave really vague explanations. Even Ji Xiaoxi had a weird look on her face, which really rose doubts in her mind. However, she wasn’t too interested in getting to the bottom of this matter since she had never been one to meddle in the affairs of another.
They spent the next two days recuperating from their injuries and cultivating. Soon, it was the day that the dungeon exploration came to an end.
Zu An thought that they would have to return back to the starting point, and he was confused why the other students weren’t heading back to gather. However, Chu Chuyan informed him that the dungeon would automatically send them out once time was up, and there was no need for them to return through the same gate.
Soon, the surroundings began to distort slightly as a familiar feeling of weightlessness enveloped them. Zu An couldn’t help but find this sensation familiar as he had experienced this multiple times when he entered the Soul Suppression Seal. Is that considered a dungeon inside a dungeon then?
By the time he finally regained his consciousness, he realized that he was already back at the mountain behind the academy. Chu Chuyan, Qiao Xueying, and Ji Xiaoxi were standing by his side. Those from the other academies were also gradually being teleported out one after another.
Zu An took a look at the surroundings, and he suddenly spotted Shi Kun’s silhouette. Recalling all he had been through, hatred gushed into his head as he whipped out his Tai’e Sword and charged at him. “Die, Shi Kun!”
The other students were all in the midst of looking through their gains in the dungeon, and the other teachers were also busy taking a headcount to determine the casualties. No one expected Zu An to suddenly make such a move.
Shi Kun was feeling quite crestfallen when he was teleported out, and the realization that Zu An was alive horrified him. He instinctively drew his weapon to protect himself.
Clang!
To everyone’s disbelief, Shi Kun’s sword was actually slashed into two halves right away!
How could this be?
This was implausible to them as Shi Kun’s weapon was an earth grade weapon. Besides, even if he was only wielding a wooden stick, he should have been able to easily crush Zu An with his fifth rank cultivation.
There was no way they could imagine that Zu An’s sheer strength and speed were already comparable to a fifth rank cultivator, and the Tai’e Sword was a legendary ancient weapon. Even with its sword spirit damaged, it was definitely a heaven grade at the very least.
Not to mention, there was a huge vast in their mental states too. One was charging forward angrily with hatred whereas the other feeling deeply guilt-ridden. Given such conditions, it was only normal for Shi Kun’s weapon to be broken so easily.
Shi Kun didn’t expect such a turn of events either. He watched helplessly as Zu An’s sword swiftly closed in toward his chest. His body was completely stiffened, unable to react on time at all.
“How dare you!”
But a bellow echoed all of a sudden, and a figure carrying immense pressure rushed forward to attack Zu An.
