Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 446 432: Pei Yuhang, How Could You Be So Bad

Jiu's hut had been reduced to a pile of rubble during Pang Xiaoming's rampage.

Fortunately, Pei Yuhang's place was still safe and sound.

Eventually, Jiu found her way back to Pei Yuhang's house.

As she pushed the door open, Jiu's fingertips trembled slightly. She kept her head down and deliberately lightened her steps, as if that could diminish her presence.

Inside the room, the familiar, clean scent that belonged to Pei Yuhang lingered in the air. It allowed her taut nerves to relax for a moment, only for them to tighten again with the anxiety in her heart.

Pei Yuhang followed her inside, then went behind a wooden screen embroidered with a scene of mountains and flowing water to change his clothes.

Jiu, meanwhile, sat on a chair in the corner, unconsciously wringing the hem of her clothes, her knuckles turning white from the force.

Her gaze drifted about uncertainly. She glanced toward Pei Yuhang as he changed, hesitated for a moment, then pulled her hair down to hide the unmasked half of her pretty face. A single strand fell just so, perfectly concealing the faint blush on the tip of her ear.

'He must have seen it.'

'But why hasn't he said anything to me?'

'Is he... not curious about my identity? Or has he not guessed anything at all...? If he can't even figure this out, he's a real blockhead!

So dense, and he still wants to find Fan Xuan. I hope he never finds her in his entire life!'

Jiu lowered her head, staring at the tips of her feet wrapped in black silk socks. Without realizing it, she bit down harder on her lower lip.

She suddenly felt her throat go dry. But when she looked around, the porcelain cup Pei Yuhang had prepared for her earlier was gone. Now, only a small teacup sat on the table—his cup.

She swallowed, her eyes fixed on the water inside it as she licked her lips, but ultimately, she didn't touch it.

"Are you thirsty? Go get a cup from the cabinet."

After changing out of the clothes that had gotten dirty during the battle, Pei Yuhang emerged from behind the wooden screen.

He was still in a simple white robe, just a more casual style.

'Does Pei Yuhang like white this much?'

Jiu stood up to get a cup, and as she did, she secretly raised her eyes to peek at Pei Yuhang through the gaps in her hair.

In the sunlight streaming through the window, his profile looked exceptionally serene, with no hint of emotion in his expression.

Jiu subconsciously recalled her past days in the Saintess Hall.

—The Holy Daughter's favorite thing to do was to tear Pei Yuhang's white robes, forcing him to change into a new one for her to tear every day.

'Perhaps for women, those white robes are more likely to stir their destructive desires.'

'A desire to rip apart the reserved Sword Immortal's disguise, a desire to defile those white robes.'

"The Holy Daughter... is really quite wicked."

Jiu murmured with downcast eyes, then snapped back to her senses in alarm.

Her pretty face instantly turned deathly pale.

'What was I just saying!'

'How could I think such bad things about the Holy Daughter?!'

'As a Red Lotus Guard, I should be serving the Holy Daughter with all my heart!'

'Even if the Holy Daughter likes to bully Pei Yuhang... he's hers to bully!'

Jiu's heart tightened. Her fingertips clenched unconsciously, and she crushed the teacup in her hand.

Immediately, Pei Yuhang's gaze swept over.

"...Ah, sorry, I broke your cup," she said, her voice trembling. Even her breathing became cautious.

If this were before, when her mask was still intact, she probably would have just said to Pei Yuhang arrogantly, "What's the big deal about breaking one of your cups? Is the great Sword Immortal really so petty?"

But now, without the mask to hide behind.

Jiu found herself timid and sensitive, barely daring to breathe loudly in front of Pei Yuhang.

"It's fine."

Pei Yuhang closed his book, his sleeve brushing across the tabletop and stirring up a faint scent of sandalwood. "Just get another one."

"Mm..."

Jiu nodded lightly, took a new cup, and poured herself some water.

After that, silence fell upon the room.

Pei Yuhang was reading his book, while she sat on a chair like a statue, at a complete loss for what to do.

Listening to the rustling sound of pages turning, Jiu sat stiffly on her chair as if on pins and needles. With her mask broken, every inch of her pretty face exposed to the air felt scorching hot.

The hair falling over her face hid her flickering gaze, but it couldn't hide the suspicious flush on the tips of her ears.

She sipped her tea in small mouthfuls, staring at her own feet. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, as restless as a rabbit in a strange new place.

"Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

Pei Yuhang suddenly spoke.

His voice made Jiu's legs, clad in their black silk socks, tense up instinctively. The tips of her feet pressed against the floor, making a soft scraping sound.

"I'm not unwell."

"Let me check you over. That Vortex Daoist's Divine Abilities are very strange. Your Cultivation is too low, so it's normal if you can't sense any lingering tricks he might have left behind."

Pei Yuhang stood up, came to Jiu's side, and extended his fingertips toward her.

As he suddenly drew close, Jiu felt the warmth of his body brush against her cheek. She flinched back as if scalded.

But Pei Yuhang grabbed her by the shoulder, holding her in place.

"Don't move."

"I'm examining you."

His voice was gentle yet unyielding, draining the strength to resist from Jiu's body.

'Damn it... Why are you being so forceful?'

Jiu felt a little wronged. She turned her head away, hiding the unmasked half of her face. Even though her body had gone weak, her words were still stubborn.

"There's nothing on me that needs examining!"

"Is that so?"

Pei Yuhang flicked a finger.

Jiu instantly let out a whimper and curled up in the chair, her long legs clamping together and trembling in the air.

"What did you do to me!"

"I didn't do anything to you. It's just that a large amount of the Sword Qi I infused into you remains in your body. You thought you used it all, but a good deal of it is still lying dormant throughout your limbs and bones.

Do you know what that means?"

Pei Yuhang looked at Jiu with a calm expression, sending a shiver through her body.

"It means that with a single thought, I can make you collapse to the ground, helpless."

"How can you be so mean!"

She crossed her arms over her chest and shrank back warily.

THWACK—

Pei Yuhang rapped her on the forehead.

"What crazy things are you thinking?

I just wanted to tell you that I mean you no harm. If I can leave a trick like that in your body, how can you be sure the Vortex Daoist didn't do something similar?"

Hearing Pei Yuhang's words, an image of the Vortex Daoist's twisted, swirling body flashed through Jiu's mind. A wave of revulsion washed over her, and she nearly threw up.

She would rather die than turn into that monstrous thing.

"Then... Pei Sword Immortal, please help me check my body."

Jiu finally lowered her head as if accepting her fate, submissively ceasing her resistance.

Pei Yuhang placed his fingertips on her Dantian and said softly, "I'm going to retrieve all the Sword Qi from your body first. It's going to hurt a little, so bear with it..."

"Mm."

Jiu had just let out a soft grunt when she felt a sharp pain radiate from her lower abdomen. Fortunately, as a specially trained assassin, she had an extremely high tolerance for pain and managed not to cry out.

But even so, the pain made her break out in a sweat that soaked her clothes.

Pei Yuhang looked at her furrowed brow, a flash of tenderness in his eyes. He unconsciously eased the pressure of his fingertips and simultaneously transferred a gentle stream of Pure Yang True Qi into her to ease her pain.