Chapter 19: Soft and Cute

**Volume One: First Entry into a Different World**

Zu An was amused to hear that. He had been worried for half a day, but it turned out the girl had a soft, compliant personality, which made things much easier.

"Alright," he readily agreed.

Hearing the sound of water on the other side, he couldn't help but wonder if he should sneak a peek. The question before him was whether to act like a beast or be worse than one.

The image of the young woman's jade-like body in the water flashed through his mind. Zu An felt his nose warming up. He touched it and found it covered in bright red blood.

Damn, a nosebleed!

Zu An had to admit that after taking a few Marrow Cleansing Pills, his previously weak body seemed to be much more invigorated with vital energy.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, the young woman screamed. Zu An maliciously speculated that it couldn't be some cliché scenario where she was bitten by a poisonous snake, could it? In that case, he wouldn't mind sacrificing himself to suck the venom out with his mouth.

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

"Run!"

A cool, soft hand grabbed his arm, pulling him quickly towards the center of the water. The next moment, the large black rock where they had just been was shattered into pieces. Immediately after, a massive creature appeared there, roaring at the two people in the water.

"Is that a rhino?" Zu An was stunned. This rhino was as big as an elephant. Did the animals in this world grow up on magical fertilizer? And its eyes were so red; he hoped it didn't have mad cow disease.

"It's called a Red-Eyed Mad Rhino, a fourth-grade ferocious beast. Its sense of smell is very poor, its temper is extremely violent, and it often attacks any target it sees without reason," a delicate voice explained.

Zu An turned his head and finally got a clear look at the young woman. She had straight bangs on her forehead, and two strands of hair framed her face, further emphasizing her small, exquisite, palm-sized features. Her clear, peach-blossom eyes, combined with the collagen in her cheeks, exuded an unbeatable aura of youthful vitality.

More importantly, she didn't seem to be fully dressed.

Noticing his gaze, the young woman instinctively lowered her head. A gasp from her made the violent Mad Rhino on the shore even more agitated.

"Turn away quickly!" The young woman's voice was almost a sob.

"Don't cry, I'll turn around." Zu An turned his back. For some reason, the young woman's delicate and soft voice made it impossible for him to harbor any impure thoughts—though, given his current physical condition, it would be a miracle if he could even have impure thoughts.

The young woman held her hands tightly over her chest, lowered her head, and whispered, "Thank you."

"Where are your clothes?" Zu An asked.

"They're... on the bank."

A slender arm stretched out behind her, pointing towards the vicinity of the large rock. The young woman's timid voice sounded.

"What do we do about that Mad Rhino staying there? Should we go chase it away together?" Zu An asked. He was testing her, trying to gauge her cultivation level.

However, if a fourth-grade rhino scared her this much, it seemed her cultivation, no matter how high, was still limited.

"The Red-Eyed Mad Rhino's hide is very thick. Even a fourth-grade cultivator would find it hard to injure it," the young woman shook her head slightly.

"I could try," Zu An said. With that dagger, which brought instant death upon contact, it seemed to be remarkably effective against monsters with high defense and low attack. He could use this opportunity to act like a master and impress her, preventing her from asking about what just happened.

"N-no, it's fine. It'll be over soon," the young woman replied.

Just as Zu An was bewildered, he suddenly noticed the Red-Eyed Mad Rhino on the shore shaking its head constantly, as if drunk. Its movements became erratic, and after a moment, it collapsed onto the ground with a thud.

"You did that?" Zu An felt his throat dry and couldn't help but swallow. Could this young lady be playing innocent while actually being formidable?

The young woman hummed in affirmation. "I put some medicine near that large black rock just now. When it charged and smashed the rock, it naturally inhaled the powder."

"What kind of medicine is that powerful, to knock out such a huge creature?" Zu An was astonished. He suddenly felt something was amiss. "Why were you putting medicine on that large black rock?"

"I... I... was worried..." The young woman stammered, her voice growing softer and softer. "Worried you'd... peek. But don't worry, it's just a tranquilizer, not poison."

Zu An drew a sharp breath. If such a huge creature had collapsed, wouldn't he have been unconscious for a month if he hadn't behaved?

"Can you close your eyes now? I need to get dressed," the young woman's timid voice came, as if she were making an unreasonable request.

"Of course," Zu An immediately cheered up. There was no furious shouting about perverts, no calls for violence, just gentleness and a lot of embarrassment. Were all the women in this world so lovely?

However, thinking of Xue'er's sharp wit, he instantly dismissed that notion.

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

Hearing the sound of water parting, Zu An's tightly closed eyes subtly opened a slit. His eyes had been so diligently used for so many years; how could he shortchange them when an opportunity arose?

He saw the young woman, like a mermaid, her slender and graceful body appearing and disappearing in the water.

As she swam to the shore, Zu An couldn't help but feel excited: She was about to get dressed!

Who knew the young woman would suddenly wave her hand, causing a curtain of water to rise from the surface, concealing her graceful figure?

Zu An was instantly annoyed: "Who is that for? Am I that kind of person?"

After a moment, the water curtain finally dispersed, and the young woman was dressed. She waved to the center of the river: "I'm dressed now, you can open your eyes."

"Alright," Zu An replied, secretly thinking that the girl was truly a bit naive.

Swimming to the shore, Zu An's eyes lit up. She was wearing a sky-blue dress, with a white silk ribbon tied around her slender waist, making her appear even more delicate and petite.

Her large eyes blinked charmingly, like a talking doll standing there. For a moment, Zu An felt a daze, almost thinking he saw Asuka Saito.

However, Zu An immediately realized an awkward situation: his clothes weren't there!

"Why aren't you getting out?" The young woman glanced at the man in the water, her small face flushing slightly as she quickly averted her gaze.

"Didn't I just say I fainted and was washed here by the water? I don't know where my clothes are either," Zu An thought, amused by her shyness.

The young woman tilted her head and pondered for a moment. "Since you were washed here by the current, your clothes should be upstream."

"Could you come with me to look for them? I'm a bit scared alone." Human relationships were like springs: if one side was weaker, the other would become stronger. He had initially been worried about being hunted, but upon discovering the young woman's shy and timid nature, he couldn't help but feel an urge to tease her.

The young woman hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. Actually, you don't need to worry so much; there aren't many ferocious beasts around this river. Of course, many wild beasts come to drink water here in the evening, but as long as you don't provoke the fierce Black Jackals of Jackal Valley, there shouldn't be much of a problem."

"Then what's with this thing?" Zu An observed the sleeping Red-Eyed Mad Rhino up close, secretly marveling at its sheer size. "It's really goddamn huge!"

The young woman's face flushed. "Actually, it followed me out of Dragon Concealment Mountain."

Zu An was startled. "You went deep into Dragon Concealment Mountain?" He knew, even without thinking, that the depths of the Dragon Concealment Mountain Range must contain many incredibly powerful ferocious beasts. He had heard countless warnings not to enter the deep mountains, yet this young woman dared to go in alone? Didn't that mean her strength was extraordinary?

Zu An felt a bit of regret. Had he been too reckless just now, thinking of teasing her?

"Yes, some herbs can only be found deep in Dragon Concealment Mountain," the young woman said, picking up a herb basket. Her smile was bright and pure. "Let's go, I'll accompany you to get your clothes."

"Thank you, young lady," Zu An said, still swimming in the water. "By the way, my name is Zu An. May I know your name?" Knowing the other party was powerful, he naturally wanted to get closer.

"Zu An? That's a strange name," the young woman murmured a few times before replying, "My name is Ji Xiaoxi."

Zu An chuckled, "Your name sounds much better than mine."

The young woman's face flushed slightly, clearly embarrassed.

Noticing this, Zu An confirmed that she was indeed a soft-natured young woman. His courage grew a little. "Xiaoxi, since you went deep into Dragon Concealment Mountain to gather herbs, isn't your cultivation level very high?"

Ji Xiaoxi shook her head and said, without any guard, "I'm only a third-grade cultivator. The reason I could go deep into the mountains is because my father gave me this."

As she spoke, she took out a transparent bottle and shook it. Inside were some greenish, powdery substances.

Zu An paused. "What's that?"

Ji Xiaoxi replied, "These are dried dragon droppings. They naturally carry the dragon race's imposing aura, so the ferocious beasts deep in the mountains avoid the scent from afar."

Zu An was secretly astonished. Dragons truly existed in this world.

After putting the glass bottle away, Ji Xiaoxi couldn't help but grumble, "It's just a pity this stuff is a bit too smelly. That's why I couldn't resist taking a bath and changing clothes after coming out of the mountains. I didn't expect... I didn't expect to run into you."

"That's fate, then!" Zu An chuckled. Seeing a hint of annoyance in the young woman's brows, he quickly changed the subject. "Wait, if that's the case, why did that Red-Eyed Mad Rhino attack you earlier?"

"Because it's stupid," Ji Xiaoxi explained. "Red-Eyed Mad Rhinos have a very poor sense of smell, so they can't detect the dragon droppings' scent and naturally aren't afraid. Plus, it's very vengeful. I accidentally provoked it when I passed through its territory, and I didn't expect it to relentlessly chase me all the way here."

"I see," Zu An realized. Thinking of the Red-Eyed Mad Rhino's size, he suddenly had an idea.

The two walked upstream while chatting, and soon returned to the spot where Zu An had first entered the water. His clothes were still neatly laid out there.

"Xiaoxi, could you please turn around?" Zu An didn't actually mind being seen, but he was afraid of being labeled a pervert by the girl.

Ji Xiaoxi, her face red, hummed in acknowledgment and walked directly behind a nearby large tree. Zu An quickly got out of the water, put on his clothes, checked that his valuables were still there, and that the silver fragments he had pilfered from Plum Blossom Twelve's pocket were also still there. He let out a sigh of relief.

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

Ji Xiaoxi then emerged from behind the large tree. When she clearly saw his appearance, she couldn't help but be a little dazed.

Zu An instinctively touched his face. "What? Is something wrong?"

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