Chapter 20

Zu An was delighted when he heard this. He had been worried for half a day, only to find out that this girl had a soft and gentle personality, making things much easier to handle.

"Alright." He readily agreed.

Hearing the sound of water from the other side, he couldn't help but wonder. Now there was a problem at hand: should he sneak a peek? Should he be a beast, or worse than a beast?

The image of the girl's white, jade-like body in the water floated in his mind, and Zu An felt a warmth in his nose. He reached up to touch it and found a patch of bright red.

Damn, he actually had a nosebleed!

Zu An couldn't help but marvel that after taking a few bone-washing pills, his previously weak body seemed to have gained a lot of yang energy.

"Ah~"

Suddenly, the girl let out a scream. Zu An maliciously speculated that it couldn't be a cliché scenario like being bitten by a venomous snake. If that were the case, he wouldn't mind sacrificing himself to suck out the poison with his mouth.

However, his face changed the next moment because he felt the ground shake as if a train was rushing towards them.

"Run quickly~"

A cool, soft little hand grabbed his arm and pulled him quickly towards the center of the water. The next moment, the large black rock where they had been standing was shattered, and a massive body appeared, roaring at the two in the water.

"Is this a rhinoceros?" Zu An was shocked. This rhinoceros was as big as an elephant. Were the animals in this world fed with gold granules? And its eyes were so red; it must have rabies.

"It's called a Red-Eyed Frenzied Rhino, a fourth-rank fierce beast. Its sense of smell is very poor, and its temper is extremely volatile. It often attacks any target it sees for no reason," a delicate voice explained.

Zu An turned his head and finally saw the girl's appearance. She had a straight fringe on her forehead, with two strands of hair hanging down beside her face, making her small, delicate face even more charming. Her clear, peach-like eyes and the collagen on her face exuded a youthful aura.

However, the more critical issue was that she seemed to be not fully dressed.

Noticing his gaze, the girl instinctively looked down and let out a scream, which made the frenzied rhinoceros on the shore even more agitated.

"Turn around quickly~" The girl's voice was tinged with a sob.

"Don't cry, I'll turn around," Zu An turned, not knowing why, but the girl's soft and gentle voice made him unable to have any evil thoughts—of course, with his current physical condition, it would be a miracle if he could even think of anything evil.

The girl tightly covered her chest with her hands and said softly, "Thank you~"

Zu An asked, "Where are your clothes?"

"They're... on the shore."

A slender arm pointed towards the large rock, and the girl's timid voice sounded.

"What about that frenzied rhinoceros? Should we go and drive it away?" Zu An asked, testing her to see her cultivation level.

However, if a fourth-rank rhinoceros could scare her so much, her cultivation must be limited.

"The skin of the Red-Eyed Frenzied Rhino is very thick. Even a fourth-rank cultivator would find it hard to hurt it," the girl shook her head slightly.

"I can give it a try," Zu An said. With the dagger that could kill with a touch, dealing with this high-defense, low-attack monster should be effective. He could use this opportunity to pretend to be an expert and intimidate her, so she wouldn't investigate what happened earlier.

"No... no need, it will be fine soon," the girl replied.

"???"

Zu An was puzzled when he suddenly noticed the Red-Eyed Frenzied Rhino on the shore shaking its head as if drunk, its steps becoming unsteady. After a while, it collapsed with a thud.

"Did you do that?" Zu An felt his throat dry and swallowed. This girl couldn't be pretending to be weak, right?

The girl nodded, "I put some medicine on the large black rock. When it charged and shattered the rock, it inhaled the powder."

"What kind of medicine is so powerful that it can knock out such a large creature?" Zu An was amazed, then suddenly realized something was off, "Why did you put medicine on the large black rock?"

"I... I... was worried..." The girl stammered, her voice getting lower, "worried that you... would peek, but don't worry, it's just a sedative, not poisonous."

Zu An took a deep breath. If such a large creature could be knocked out, if he had been a bit more restless earlier, he would have been asleep for a month.

"Can you close your eyes now? I need to get dressed," the girl's timid voice sounded, as if she was making an unreasonable request.

"Of course." Zu An was amused. There was no cursing or shouting, only gentleness and embarrassment. Were the women in this world so cute?

But thinking of Xue'er's sharp tongue, he immediately dismissed the idea.

Seeing that he had closed his eyes, the girl swam towards the shore.

Hearing the sound of water, Zu An's tightly closed eyes opened a narrow slit. After all, these eyes had worked hard for so many years; he couldn't let them miss this opportunity.

He saw the girl, like a mermaid, her slender and graceful body faintly visible in the water.

When she reached the shore, Zu An was filled with anticipation: she was about to get dressed!

But suddenly, the girl waved her hand, and a water curtain rose, blocking her beautiful figure.

Zu An was furious: "Who are you hiding from? Am I that kind of person?"

After a while, the water curtain dissipated, and the girl, now dressed, waved from the riverbank, "I'm dressed, you can open your eyes now."

"Okay~" Zu An responded, secretly thinking this girl was a bit naive.

Swimming to the shore, Zu An's eyes lit up. The girl was wearing a light blue dress, with a white silk belt around her slender waist, making her look even more delicate and graceful.

Her big eyes blinked, and for a moment, Zu An was dazed, thinking he saw Saito Fubuki.

But Zu An quickly realized an awkward situation: his clothes were not there!

"Why don't you get up?" The girl glanced at the man in the water, her face slightly red, and quickly turned away.

"I told you I was knocked out and washed here, I don't know where my clothes are," Zu An thought, this girl was so shy.

The girl thought for a moment, "Since you were washed here by the current, your clothes should be upstream."

"Can you accompany me to look for them? I'm a bit scared alone," the relationship between people is like a spring; when one side is weak, the other becomes strong. Initially, he was worried about being hunted, but now that he realized this girl was shy and gentle, he couldn't help but feel a bit mischievous.

The girl hesitated but nodded, "Sure, actually, you don't need to worry so much. There aren't many fierce beasts around this river. Of course, many wild animals come to drink in the evening, but as long as you don't provoke the fierce black wolves of the Wolf Valley, there shouldn't be any problems."

"What about that thing?" Zu An observed the sleeping Red-Eyed Frenzied Rhino up close and couldn't help but be amazed at its size.

The girl's face turned red, "Actually, it followed me out from the Dragon Hidden Mountain."

Zu An was surprised, "You went deep into the Dragon Hidden Mountain?" He knew the deep parts of the Dragon Hidden Mountain were full of powerful beasts, and he had heard countless warnings not to enter. Yet this girl had gone in alone? Was she that strong?

Zu An felt a bit regretful. He had just thought of bullying her, but was he being too reckless?

"Yes, some herbs are only found deep in the Dragon Hidden Mountain," the girl picked up a medicine basket, her smile bright and pure, "Let's go, I'll help you find your clothes."

"Thank you, miss," Zu An swam in the water, "By the way, I'm Zu An, what's your name?" Knowing her strength, he wanted to get closer to her.

"Zu An? What a strange name," the girl repeated it a few times before answering, "I'm Ji Xiaoxi."

Zu An laughed, "Your name sounds much better."

The girl's face turned red, clearly embarrassed.

Noticing this, Zu An confirmed that she was indeed a gentle and weak girl, and his confidence grew, "Xiaoxi, since you went deep into the Dragon Hidden Mountain to gather herbs, your level must be very high, right?"

Ji Xiaoxi shook her head, completely without suspicion, "I'm just a third-rank cultivator. I can go deep into the mountains because my father gave me this."

She took out a transparent bottle and shook it, revealing some green powder inside.

Zu An was taken aback, "What is that?"

Ji Xiaoxi answered, "It's made from dried dragon droppings, naturally carrying the aura of the dragon clan. So, the fierce beasts deep in the mountains avoid the smell."

Zu An was secretly shocked. Dragons really existed in this world.

Ji Xiaoxi put the bottle away and pouted, "Unfortunately, it's quite smelly, so I couldn't resist taking a bath and changing clothes after coming out of the mountains. I didn't expect... to meet you."

"This is fate," Zu An laughed, seeing the girl's slight annoyance, he quickly changed the topic, "But why did the Red-Eyed Frenzied Rhino attack you?"

"Because it's stupid," Ji Xiaoxi explained, "The Red-Eyed Frenzied Rhino has a poor sense of smell, so it couldn't detect the smell of the dragon droppings and wasn't afraid. Plus, it's very vengeful. I accidentally provoked it when I passed through its territory, and it didn't give up until it chased me here."

"I see." Zu An understood. Thinking of the size of the Red-Eyed Frenzied Rhino, he suddenly had an idea.

The two chatted as they walked upstream and soon returned to where Zu An had first entered the water. His clothes were still there, neatly arranged.

"Xiaoxi, can you turn around?" Zu An wasn't really worried about being seen, but he didn't want to be mistaken for a pervert.

Ji Xiaoxi blushed and moved to the side behind a large tree. Zu An quickly got out of the water, put on his clothes, and checked that his dog treasure and the silver pieces he had taken from Mei Hua Shier were still there, feeling relieved.

"I'm dressed," Zu An called out.

Ji Xiaoxi came out from behind the tree and, upon seeing his appearance, was momentarily stunned.

Zu An subconsciously touched his face, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"

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