Chapter 26: Take It Off

“Mmm…”

With a soft moan, the young girl’s emerald eyes slowly opened.

Unfortunately, the prolonged darkness made it difficult for her to adjust to the sudden light.

She could only squint, struggling to make out her surroundings.

“You’re awake.”

“Mmm… Master?” the girl murmured, calling out his title.

“It’s me.”

Beneath the eaves, Nan Xi leaned lazily back in a grand armchair.

He warmed himself by the fire while observing the newly awakened girl with interest.

“Taking ten days to absorb the medicinal power… that speed…”

Nan Xi counted on his fingers.

“It’s actually quite slow.”

He didn’t hold back his words at all.

Of course, despite his bluntness, Nan Xi was actually quite satisfied with Xia Xia’s talent.

After all, it was trashy enough.

Heaven-grade Elixirs were precious, but even a disciple with average talent would have fully absorbed one in seven days at most.

Xia Xia had taken ten. What a glorious trash bin!

“Ugh, so cold.”

As her consciousness cleared, Xia Xia finally realized her situation.

The snow-white robe she used for warmth was gone. Now, she wore only thin undergarments, sitting alone amidst the swirling snow.

Although a canopy overhead shielded her from the falling snow, it couldn’t block the elements from the sides.

The howling wind gusted around her, making Xia Xia shiver uncontrollably.

Xia Xia was so cold.

Facing the weak, pitiful, and helpless Xia Xia, Nan Xi rubbed his hands by the stove for warmth and offered his “considerate” care—

“Take them off.”

“Huh?”

“I told you to take off your clothes.”

Xia Xia froze. Half a second later, a piercing scream erupted within the small courtyard.

“Eeeek!!!!!!!!!”

“Seriously, stop screaming. Any more and you’ll trigger an avalanche. You’d have to pay for my house,” Nan Xi grumbled, covering his ears.

“B-But…”

Xia Xia hugged her thin frame, looking at Nan Xi helplessly.

It was midwinter, and the weather was far colder than when the snow had first started falling.

The cold wind made Xia Xia tremble. In this weather, Nan Xi wasn’t just forbidding her from wearing more; he was telling her to strip.

Ugh— She was only at the Qi Condensation Stage, not the Golden Core Stage!

And…

“D-Do I really have to?”

“Yes.”

“No, no, no! Mas-mas-master, men and women shouldn’t be so improper…”

The girl waved her hands frantically, trying to escape Nan Xi’s clutches.

“Strip.”

“No, no! This kind of thing… at least wait until after marriage… ><“

Sigh.

Nan Xi let out a long breath and raised a hand to form a spell sign.

“Just do it. A little girl who hasn’t even grown her feathers shouldn’t be overthinking. I’ll turn around, alright?”

With that, his fingertips glowed slightly as he prepared to cast a spell to remove the girl’s final layer of thin clothing.

But in the next second, Nan Xi’s fingers froze in place.

“Ugh…”

Before Nan Xi could even turn, the girl had already pulled off her last thin garment herself.

Her pretty little face was flushed so red it looked ready to bleed.

She could only cover her budding chest with one hand, letting the thin silk robe fall to her knees.

Amidst the ice and snow, she looked as pure as a winter snow elf.

Unfortunately, this snow elf was about to freeze to death.

“M-Master, it’s so cold.”

Xia Xia spoke tremulously, her knees shaking uncontrollably, yet there was a hint of determination in her emerald eyes.

“Eh? Master?”

Just as Xia Xia was pleading, a piece of White Silk about three feet long fluttered down, perfectly blocking Nan Xi’s line of sight.

Watching the snow elf vanish from his view, Nan Xi had only one thought: ‘She really hasn’t grown her feathers.’

…Wait, where did this White Silk come from?

Nan Xi blinked and reached out, wanting to pull away the silk obscuring his vision.

“You are not allowed to look.”

A cold, clear voice suddenly sounded from beside him. From that crisp, pleasant tone, he knew instantly it was Lord Tiansi.

“Wait, Lord Tiansi, I’m doing important work here.”

Nan Xi tried to argue, but he was met with the same firm denial.

“You are not allowed to look.”

Uh…

A layer of awkwardness tugged at the corners of Nan Xi’s mouth.

What now? He was effectively blind. Was he really supposed to work while blindfolded?

“Ugh—”

In the snow, Xia Xia let out a pitiful whimper.

She had watched her master prepare for the next step, only for that beautiful but slightly scary Supreme Elder to appear.

Now the two of them seemed to be bickering.

What was she supposed to do? She wasn’t wearing anything right now.

Xia Xia was so cold.

Just as Xia Xia was shaking like a leaf, Tiansi’s gaze shifted briefly from Nan Xi to her.

‘What is the Supreme Elder doing?’

Then, before Xia Xia could react, an invisible force lifted her straight up and tossed her high into the air.

“Ahhhh!”

Xia Xia screamed in terror. She wanted to learn Sword Flight, but not like this!

Splash!!!

With a crisp sound of water, Xia Xia was plunged into warm, cozy water.

Glub, glub, glub…

After splashing around, Xia Xia popped her head out of the water, staring in shock at where she was.

Is this… a bathtub?

Yes, Xia Xia was currently soaking in a massive bathtub. The warm water completely shielded her from the winter chill, and the cold she had felt just moments ago vanished instantly.

Furthermore.

Xia Xia reached out and pulled a withered branch from the water.

‘Could it be…?’

Well, Xia Xia couldn’t recognize it. But she wasn’t stupid; anything placed in a bathtub like this had to be some kind of precious medicinal herb.

Besides that withered branch, various other herbs she couldn’t name floated in the water.

One might even think they were trying to cook her if the temperature weren’t so perfect.

Hm!?

Xia Xia’s oblivious eyes suddenly lit up as she looked down to sense her own body.

‘It feels so good.’

At first, she only felt warm, but as time passed, she felt the exhaustion in her limbs and bones gradually fading.

Inside her body, something indescribable was racing through her.

It really felt wonderful.

Xia Xia blinked and leaned out from the edge of the tub, looking toward the two still bickering under the eaves.

‘So Master told me to take off my clothes because he wanted me to take a medicinal bath? I thought…’

Hummm…

Whether it was from soaking too long or something else, a crimson flush returned to the girl’s face, and a faint wisp of steam rose from the top of her head.

‘I misunderstood Master.’

Besides, watching the two bickering under the eaves, who would have thought — if it weren’t pointed out — that one was the currently unrivaled Peak Master and the other was the profound and mysterious Supreme Elder of the Tianhe Sect?

‘Master and the Supreme Elder have such a good relationship.’

Xia Xia sighed with heartfelt emotion, then silently dove back into the water, blowing bubbles.

Glub, glub, glub…