A Kindred Spirit’s Concern

“So, you fought three battles today?”

As the sun dipped below the horizon, shrouding the land in twilight, a weary Chi Qiu returned to her residence. The first person she encountered was Su Hanxing, who had been patiently waiting for her at the entrance. Upon learning that Chi Qiu had fought three consecutive battles that day, Su Hanxing’s voice was tinged with irritation as he questioned her.

“Indeed,” Chi Qiu replied, glancing at Su Hanxing with a hint of bewilderment. “Otherwise, why would I be returning so late?” With that, she stepped into the residence.

Su Hanxing quickly followed her, pressing, “Little Chi, were you injured?”

Chi Qiu nodded. “Yes, I sustained a minor injury.”

“Is it serious? Where are you hurt?” Hearing of her injury, a note of palpable anxiety entered Su Hanxing’s voice.

“Just a small wound, nothing to worry about,” Chi Qiu replied. She entered the main hall and settled onto a wooden chair upholstered with soft animal fur, her posture slightly languid. “I got it during my second match,” she explained. “I even took some time to recover before starting the third, otherwise I would have been back even earlier.”

Chi Qiu’s injuries were burns inflicted by the flames spewed from Qiao Shan’s crimson gourd. In her haste to close the distance to Qiao Shan, she had only protected herself with scales, using her Blood Lotus to repel the fire. While her scales could ward off the direct flames, the scorching winds accompanying them could not be entirely blocked, leaving Chi Qiu with numerous burns, both large and small, after the battle.

To Chi Qiu, such minor injuries were naturally inconsequential. In her younger days, during her travels across the land, she had endured far more severe wounds. Thus, she had simply suppressed the pain with her true qi and continued to defend her position on the arena.

“They’re just some minor burns, truly nothing serious,” Chi Qiu reiterated. With a thought, the scales covering her body automatically retracted, transforming into a streak of black light that vanished into her storage artifact.

Then, dressed in only a white inner garment, Chi Qiu rolled up her sleeves, revealing the bloody red marks on her arms to Su Hanxing. “See? Just superficial wounds. They’ll heal in a few days.”

These burns were caused by the spiritual fire from the crimson gourd, leaving residual spiritual energy within them. Otherwise, with Chi Qiu’s rapid recovery rate, they would have healed much sooner.

“Little Chi, you… Sigh. If you were injured, why did you insist on fighting that third match?” Su Hanxing approached Chi Qiu, his tone filled with a gentle reproach.

“Today, for some reason, many spectators cheered for me, a rogue cultivator,” Chi Qiu explained, a slight hint of self-reproach in her voice. “My emotions got the better of me, so I fought one more match.”

Despite the subtle censure in her tone, Chi Qiu was not annoyed; she knew Su Hanxing was simply worried about her, so she offered a reassuring smile.

“Ah, so that’s how it was…” Su Hanxing murmured. As he watched Chi Qiu’s smile, a strange bitterness welled up in his heart. Whenever he had stepped onto the stage for a match, his junior disciples would invariably cheer for him in unison. With their enthusiastic lead, most of the audience would join in the applause. What was commonplace for him had, for Chi Qiu, become an exceedingly rare occurrence.

“I have an ointment for burns. Would you like me to apply it for you?” Su Hanxing leaned closer to Chi Qiu, meticulously examining her wounds before asking, his concern evident.

“No… I should wash up first,” Chi Qiu began to refuse. However, upon seeing Su Hanxing’s slightly pained expression, she inexplicably found herself unable to decline further.

“Very well, go quickly. I’ve already instructed the servants to prepare hot water.”

After washing up, Chi Qiu changed into a light, airy gauze dress and returned to the main hall. Upon seeing her, Su Hanxing’s eyes immediately brightened, and he rose to greet her.

“Let’s go to the back room,” he suggested. “There’s a Spirit Gathering Array there. I can use the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to heal your wounds.”

The back room was specially constructed for cultivators to meditate in seclusion. Its serene environment, rich with spiritual energy, made it an excellent place for cultivation. Chi Qiu nodded, murmuring a soft “Alright,” before following Su Hanxing into the back room.

In the back room, Su Hanxing and Chi Qiu sat facing each other, cross-legged. Su Hanxing took out the ointment and asked Chi Qiu, “How were your battles today? Did you encounter any troublesome opponents?”

“No one overly troublesome,” Chi Qiu replied. “The one who burned me was a bit difficult, but far from truly formidable.” She then lifted the sleeve of her gauze dress, revealing an arm as fair as a pristine lotus root, and extended it towards Su Hanxing.

“Does it hurt?” Su Hanxing asked softly, taking hold of Chi Qiu’s hand. He applied the white ointment, then activated it with his true qi, allowing its spiritual energy to disperse.

Chi Qiu felt a wave of coolness emanate from the wound, and the fiery burning sensation, along with the tingling of residual spiritual energy, vanished instantly. “This ointment is truly remarkable; the pain is already gone,” Chi Qiu remarked. She gazed at the wound on her arm, observing the red marks rapidly fading and even the faint bloodstains becoming significantly lighter.

“Are there any other wounds?” Su Hanxing asked, nodding with satisfaction at the ointment’s efficacy.

“Quite a few more,” Chi Qiu admitted, her earlobes faintly reddening. “It will probably use up a lot of your ointment.”

“Mere external possessions are hardly worth mentioning,” Su Hanxing said, shaking his head, completely unconcerned.

“Where are the remaining wounds?” Su Hanxing asked, breaking the silence after Chi Qiu inexplicably paused her movements.

“On my back…” Chi Qiu stammered. Finally, she seemed to make up her mind. Turning away, she gently slid half of her gauze dress down, revealing a stretch of her fair back, smooth as warm, fine jade.

In that instant, Chi Qiu seemed to hear Su Hanxing swallow. This made the blush on her face deepen considerably. “Can you see them?” Chi Qiu asked, forcing herself to remain calm, her tone as cool as ever, though a faint tremor laced her words.

“I see them,” Su Hanxing replied. Before he could admire the elegant curves of her back further, his gaze was drawn to the large patches of burns marring Chi Qiu’s skin. “Such severe burns, and you call them minor injuries?” Su Hanxing exclaimed. He gently touched Chi Qiu’s back, the scorched flesh causing his heart to ache with sorrow.

“They didn’t damage my internal organs, nor did they deplete my soul,” Chi Qiu questioned, genuinely puzzled. “How can they not be considered minor injuries?” In her view, these burns caused nothing more than some superficial pain, thus they were hardly significant.

Su Hanxing remained silent. Dipping his finger into the ointment, he gently applied it to the wounds on Chi Qiu’s back, then nurtured them with his true qi. He inhaled the complex floral fragrance emanating from Chi Qiu’s body, feeling the smooth touch beneath his fingertips. In that moment, he wished time would stop forever.

“Is it feeling better?” After a short while, Su Hanxing finally set down the ointment bottle and asked softly.

Chi Qiu nodded, then pulled her gauze dress back into place, covering her back. She turned to face Su Hanxing.

“Rest well and recover these next few days. Don’t go guarding the arena again.” Su Hanxing nodded, then moved to put away the ointment bottle.

“Wait,” Chi Qiu suddenly spoke, stopping him. “Could I borrow some of that ointment?”

“Do you still have wounds, Little Chi? I can help you with them,” Su Hanxing said, raising his hand and shaking the bottle.

“I’ll handle the rest myself,” Chi Qiu insisted, reaching out for the bottle.

“Since I’ve already treated so many spots, are there still a couple more? I’ll continue helping you,” Su Hanxing said with a smile, withdrawing his hand.

Seeing that she couldn’t get the bottle, Chi Qiu became somewhat exasperated. “There are still some burns on my chest and thighs,” she declared. “Would you like to help me with those too?”

Su Hanxing froze instantly. His gaze slowly drifted to Chi Qiu’s exceedingly large, ample bosom, and he immediately swallowed, feeling his mouth go dry.

Seizing the opportunity, Chi Qiu reached out and lightly snatched the bottle. A strange pulling force made Su Hanxing involuntarily release his grip, and the ointment bottle fell from mid-air, landing in Chi Qiu’s hand.

“Letting you apply ointment to my back was already a generous concession,” Chi Qiu said, rising nimbly. She turned and jogged towards the door, a playful smile on her face, her words laced with teasing. “Are you perhaps hoping to go even further?”

“Little Chi, I didn’t mean it like that!” Su Hanxing quickly stood up as well.

“Thank you for today,” Chi Qiu called out, already having exited the door. Hearing Su Hanxing’s words, she leaned back, revealing half her body and her small head as she looked at him. “I’ll return the ointment to you tomorrow.”