The Arch-Enemy Must Not Become a Wife

Chapter 223: Chapter 131: Haitang, Let Me Explain_2

Chu Xuan felt an incessant headache; what should he do next?

He absolutely wouldn’t take advantage of someone when they’re down, and this didn’t align with his plan to "clear the air" either. Doing so would only deepen the relationship between them.

Thinking it over, Chu Xuan glanced at the underground river. Should he jump in with her?

It seemed that a soak in the icy cold water could help Pei Shurou regain her clarity, but this was merely a temporary fix.

If the potion had just been consumed, he could expel it from her body using Magical Power. However, judging by Pei Shurou’s current state, the potion’s effects had probably already diffused throughout her body.

Originally, they could both just feign ignorance, part amicably, and act as if nothing had ever happened, each going their separate ways in peace.

But unexpectedly, such a small bottle of potion disrupted Chu Xuan’s entire plan.

If he forcibly awakened Pei Shurou, she would surely die of shame and anger.

At that point, if he said he "didn’t remember anything," would she believe him? Not to mention he had so smoothly called her "baby" several times.

Her sense of shame, her pride, would no longer allow her to seek anything from Chu Xuan, only forcing herself to endure.

Chu Xuan could almost imagine Pei Shurou, once awake, crumbling into sobs in his arms.

So, what should be done to achieve a win-win situation?

How to resolve the long-suppressed desire within her while allowing her to comfortably continue pretending, without disrupting the tacit understanding they shared?

Thinking of this, Chu Xuan softly spoke to the beauty in his arms, "Be good, listen to me, close your eyes first, I’ll help you."

Pei Shurou’s gaze was somewhat dazed, but she closed her eyes, nestled against him out of trust.

Chu Xuan lowered his head to kiss her soft lips, reaching out with his right hand.

...

After a long while, Pei Shurou lay on the spread-out old clothes with closed eyes and neat clothing.

Her breathing was still slightly hurried, but the flush on her face had faded considerably, and her expression was serene once again, with a hint of satisfaction.

Chu Xuan whispered in her ear, "Be good, sleep now, pretend it was just a dream, that nothing happened."

Then he went to the riverbank, cleaned his somewhat wrinkled fingers, and finally returned to his original position to sit in meditation.

Pei Shurou slept quietly, as if nothing had happened earlier; she had merely grown tired after ingesting the potion and exercising, and had unknowingly laid down to sleep.

During this time, she even dreamt—a beautiful dream...

The next morning, Pei Shurou woke up again, a blush appearing on her face.

Did something happen last night?

She vaguely remembered, after consuming the "Purple Ginseng Nourishing Essence Liquid," feeling that the Spirit Medicine unique to Cyan Lotus Daoist Palace was quite effective for replenishing vitality, so she drank two more bottles in one go. ƒreewebɳovel.com

But the last bottle, she didn’t know whether it had gone bad from being stored too long, tasted odd, somewhat sweet.

Feeling the dispersal of medicine inside her, Pei Shurou didn’t think much and immediately exercised to digest the medicinal power.

This balanced and gentle Spiritual Liquid, even if stored long, would at most see a decline in efficacy, generally wouldn’t cause poisoning.

Afterwards... the more Pei Shurou recalled, the redder her face became, until she couldn’t help but turn aside, her heart pounding, not daring to look at Chu Xuan.

Why did he have such a potion on him?! Did he do it on purpose??

But thinking again, Pei Shurou was uncertain; that memory was fuzzy, feeling like a dream, her entire self light as if floating above the clouds.

Could it be that she drank the deteriorated potion, causing mild hallucinations in her mind?

Yes, that must be it. Chu Xuan was now a core disciple of a respected sect, the chief’s pupil; how could he possibly carry such a potion with him?

But... it might be better to ask anyway?

With this thought, Pei Shurou fought her shame, sat up facing away from Chu Xuan and pretending nonchalance asked:

"Did anything unexpected happen last night?"

Chu Xuan had a look of confusion. "No, it was very quiet last night. The Blood Robe Old Monster didn’t pursue us, and no other danger occurred either."

His tone was quite natural; these words should be believable, and Pei Shurou breathed a sigh of relief, though a trace of loss lingered in her heart...

"Why does Fairy Pei ask? Did you sense something last night?"

Pei Shurou immediately lowered her head, "No, nothing."

Then Chu Xuan timely shifted the topic, "Dare I ask, Fairy, how is your injury recovering?"

Pei Shurou checked internally, then said, "I’m essentially fine; I just need good rest upon return, currently able to exert seventy percent of my normal strength."

"That’s great," Chu Xuan joyfully stood up, "Surely Li Zhenren and Haitang have been searching for us, so why not go up to the surface and actively rendezvous with them?"

Pei Shurou originally wanted to say it wasn’t urgent, but lacking a suitable reason, she finally nodded in agreement.

Then she stood up and went to the underground river to wash her face.

Seeing this, Chu Xuan immediately went up to tidy up those bottles and jars on the ground, along with his clothes.

But Pei Shurou’s gaze suddenly focused, her strong Divine Sense sensing a peculiar detail.

Generally speaking, large sect cultivators wouldn’t, like Loose Cultivators, lick bottles clean when taking medicine; there would always be a drop or two of medicinal liquid remaining in bottles.

But among the three empty bottles, one was sparkling clean, as if it had been washed.