Thud….
Dongfang Qingwei tossed Chu Fan onto her bed as carelessly as one might throw a rag.
“Cough… argh!”
Chu Fan couldn’t stop himself from coughing up a mouthful of fresh blood.
It landed squarely and precisely on Dongfang Qingwei’s pillow.
“Hey, I was kind enough to put you on my bed, and this is how you repay me?”
Dongfang Qingwei stood with her hands on her hips, looking down at Chu Fan with a mocking glint in her eyes.
“You… bastard…”
Chu Fan lay on the bed, his stubborn words coming out weakly.
Seeing this, Dongfang Qingwei crouched down.
She cupped her face in her hands, watching his pale face from inches away as she shook her head playfully.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk — your strength hasn’t improved, but your mouth is as stubborn as ever.”
“Go… die…”
With a light hum, Dongfang Qingwei pulled a pitch-black pill from her sleeve and held it to Chu Fan’s lips.
“Open up, say ‘ah’ — “
Chu Fan turned his head away with a cold expression.
“Oh? You still have the nerve to throw a tantrum with me?”
Dongfang Qingwei grinned.
With one hand holding the pill, she used the other to forcibly pinch Chu Fan’s face and turn it back toward her.
With a slight squeeze, she forced his mouth open.
“Down the hatch.”
The moment the pill entered his throat, a surge of rich life force exploded.
It traveled through every meridian, spreading into Chu Fan’s four limbs and hundred bones.
Gradually, Chu Fan’s body began to glow.
He could clearly feel that the numerous ribs that had just been shattered were now fully restored.
They were even sturdier than before, and his damaged internal organs were being reconstructed along with his flesh.
“A Nirvana Pill…?”
Chu Fan asked weakly, turning his head.
“That’s right,” Dongfang Qingwei replied, propping her head up nonchalantly.
“You gorilla… what a waste of such a treasure… It was only a minor injury… why use a Nirvana Pill… That’s a Grade 10 pill… that can fully restore anyone… as long as they have a breath left…”
“You’ve already eaten it, so why all the talk?”
Dongfang Qingwei rolled her eyes at him.
Despite her harsh words, a trace of warmth welled up in the depths of Chu Fan’s heart — though it was unclear if it was the effect of the pill or something else.
“Besides, no one said you were eating it for free,” Dongfang Qingwei said matter-of-factly.
“What?”
Chu Fan turned to look at her, the warmth in his heart instantly turning into a cold chill.
Dongfang Qingwei held out her hand, palm up, and said as if it were the most natural thing in the world: “I said, pay up. Based on the market price, I’ll give you a 20% discount as a friendship price. Let’s call it 8,000 taels.”
“What…!? 8,000… do you think I’m an Emperor…?”
Chu Fan cursed weakly.
“I don’t care if you’re an Emperor or an emerald, just hand over the money. Otherwise, don’t think about leaving. Stay here and wash my dishes and teach my disciples to pay off the debt,” Dongfang Qingwei said decisively.
“You’re full of… shit…!”
Chu Fan slammed the bed in a rage, but the gesture was pathetic and weak.
‘8,000 taels? I haven’t seen that much money in my life, let alone been able to take it out. And she actually wants me to wash her dishes and teach her disciples? My own disciple is still outside! Besides, I never asked her for such an expensive pill; this is a total shakedown!’
She had no use for the Nirvana Pill herself, so she had used it to fleece Chu Fan.
Although the Nirvana Pill was indeed a rare treasure in this world, Chu Fan certainly didn’t need one to recover; he only needed to take a Grade 7 pill from his storage ring.
“Well, how about you give me that scroll of yours instead? That works too,” Dongfang Qingwei suggested with a smile.
“Impossible… That is the World Harmony Scroll… a Saint-grade artifact… It’s worth far more… than your shitty Nirvana Pill…”
“So, what you’re saying is, your life isn’t worth much?”
“You…”
Suddenly, Dongfang Qingwei raised her hands to her eyes and feigned wiping away tears, acting with exaggerated sorrow.
“Woooaaaah — I was so kindhearted — I even gave you the only Grade 10 pill in the entire sect — and yet you still bully me like this — “
“Dongfang Qingwei…”
Chu Fan looked at her familiar antics and couldn’t help but ask, “It’s been three years. Why do you still have it out for me? What did I ever do to provoke you? I sacrificed everything back then to help you secure the position of Celestial Master, and this is how you repay me?”
Hearing this, Dongfang Qingwei lowered her hands.
A flash of something unusual flickered in her eyes for a split second, but her expression remained irreverent.
She hopped onto the bed, lying on her side and propping her head up as she looked down at Chu Fan.
With a wicked smirk, she began tracing circles on Chu Fan’s chest with her finger.
“Tell me — since you can’t move right now — should I go find a few little beauties — to come and romp around with you — ?”
“You wouldn’t dare…”
“I certainly would. I just wonder what kind of expression Xiao Xue would have if she saw it, hee hee hee hee hee hee hee~~~”
Dongfang Qingwei covered her mouth and giggled incessantly.
“I would rather bite my tongue and kill myself… than let you succeed…”
Seeing Chu Fan’s serious expression, Dongfang Qingwei lost interest.
She waved her hand dismissively.
“Oh, alright, alright. It was just a joke. Why do you have to be so serious? You’re no fun.”
Dongfang Qingwei let go and flopped onto her back next to Chu Fan, spreading her arms out.
She lay spread-eagle on the bed, but her left forearm landed squarely across Chu Fan’s face.
The atmosphere remained silent until Chu Fan spoke again.
“Now that you’re the Celestial Master, how does it feel?”
“Not great! Not great at all!”
Dongfang Qingwei complained, kicking her legs up and down on the bed.
“Then… do you want to come with me?”
Hearing those words, Dongfang Qingwei’s beautiful, ruby-like eyes lit up instantly.
She flipped over, pinning Chu Fan beneath her, and stared straight down at him.
After a long moment, she asked with a trembling voice: “Have you finally come to your senses?”
Her pupils were quivering slightly.
“Huh?”
Chu Fan had no idea what she was talking about.
“If you elope with me, what about Xiao Xue?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Maybe she can be a concubine? I’m very generous.”
“Get lost! I’m asking if you want to be my enforcer and help me train my disciple!”
At that, Dongfang Qingwei laughed.
Her laughter was wicked and mischievous, revealing her two canines.
Clearly, she had been teasing Chu Fan again.
“Hee hee~”
Seeing her return to normal, Chu Fan breathed a sigh of relief.
“So? Are you coming or not?”
“I’m coming! Of course I am! This Celestial Master Mansion is boring as hell. It was way more fun back before I was the Celestial Master, messing around with you and Xiao Xue!”
“In that case, get up first.”
But instead of getting up, Dongfang Qingwei lunged onto Chu Fan’s chest.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and began using him like a body pillow, twisting and turning while holding him tight.
“Oh, I don’t want to~ I’ve missed you so much, my Great Master Artificer~”.
“Cough, cough, cough!!!”
Chu Fan coughed as she squeezed the air out of him.
“Ever since you left — no one drinks with me anymore — even the hem of my Blazing Heavens robe has a hole in it — I’ve asked so many artificers, and they all said it can’t be fixed — “
Dongfang Qingwei stopped her tossing and turning and looked up at Chu Fan’s chin.
As he looked down at her, she gave a mischievous grin.
“How about you sew it for me in a bit?”
Chu Fan rolled his eyes weakly.
“Fine… get up first…”
“Roger!”
Dongfang Qingwei hopped off the bed in a flash and stood perfectly straight.
Once she stood up, Chu Fan turned his head and saw that there was indeed a hole in the hem of her blood-red robe.
Slowly sitting up on the bed, Chu Fan took out his sewing needle and thread and reached out to Dongfang Qingwei.
“Give it here. I’ll sew it for you.”
“Oh.”
Dongfang Qingwei very naturally shed her robe.
In the next moment, Chu Fan’s eyes widened, becoming bloodshot as he instantly whipped his head to the side.
“Wh-Why aren’t you wearing clothes underneath!?”
The sight Chu Fan had just glimpsed after she shed the blood-red robe was Dongfang Qingwei wearing nothing but a bright red silk bodice.
In that single instant, the bare, fair skin, the striking scars, and the proud contours had been burned into his vision.
Even though he hadn’t wanted to look, he couldn’t help but see everything.
“Didn’t you tell me to take it off?”
“Don’t make it sound so weird!”
Dongfang Qingwei raised an eyebrow in confusion, seemingly oblivious to what had happened.
That was until she caught a glimpse of Chu Fan’s profile and his ears, which were now completely flushed red.
The corners of Dongfang Qingwei’s mouth began to curl into an evil smirk.