Chapter 415: Tense Moment!
"Is this precious thing really for me?" Qing Yu asked, her eyes filled with excitement.
Zhao Dong smiled. "It was refined using your Red Training Grass, so of course, half of it belongs to you."
"Senior... you're so kind!"
Qing Yu's pretty face flushed with excitement as she tremblingly reached out to accept the pill.
"I want to test the pill's effects now. May I use your room?" Zhao Dong asked, unable to wait any longer.
This Fire Spirit Pill was different from other medicinal pills. It was most effective when taken just after being refined, before the residual warmth of the Elixir Fire dissipated.
"Of course, you can!"
Qing Yu led Zhao Dong back into the cave dwelling.
Zhao Dong immediately tossed the pill into his mouth and sat cross-legged to digest its power.
The pill melted the moment it entered his mouth.
A searing medicinal power exploded inside Zhao Dong's body. The energy of the Fire Spirit Pill was incredibly violent. Rich Spiritual Energy surged into his Dantian while the power of fire began to wash the essence and marrow of his being.
Soon, a dark, muddy filth started to cover his entire body. By the time the pill's power was completely absorbed, he was coated in grime. Meanwhile, the Spiritual Energy in his Dantian had become much denser.
Zhao Dong was overjoyed. He threw a punch, and the very air before him rippled from the force.
"Fourth level of Foundation Establishment! A single Fire Spirit Pill allowed me to break through an entire level. This Pill Furnace is truly a treasure!"
Zhao Dong was very satisfied with the improvement. Beside him, Qing Yu's eyes filled with pleasant surprise as she witnessed his increase in strength.
After the excitement subsided, a foul stench invaded Zhao Dong's nostrils.
Zhao Dong asked awkwardly, "Qing Yu, do you have a place to bathe here? I can't really go out looking like this..."
"Ah... a place to bathe?" Qing Yu was stunned for a moment, her pretty face turning scarlet. "Conditions are basic in the mountains. There's only... only a bathing tub..."
"A bathing tub is fine," Zhao Dong said without a second thought.
"Well... okay... I'll go fetch some water for you..." Qing Yu muttered, then ran out with a red face.
A short while later, Qing Yu returned carrying a large wooden tub. Although the tub was large, to a Great Grandmaster like Qing Yu, it weighed nothing. Still, the sight of the petite girl carrying the huge tub was comically incongruous.
"Let me help you," Zhao Dong offered, taking the tub from her. He then helped her fill it with water.
About fifteen minutes later, the tub was full.
"Do you want it heated?" Qing Yu asked with concern.
Zhao Dong shook his head. "No need, this is fine." He then hesitated. "But, bathing in your room... isn't that a bit..."
Qing Yu immediately gave him a light push, urging, "It's fine, it's fine! Just hurry up and wash. You don't need to be so formal with me."
"Well... if you say so..." Zhao Dong nodded, still feeling embarrassed.
Qing Yu pouted shyly. "Then... I'll stand guard outside the door for you..."
"Alright."
After Qing Yu left, Zhao Dong stripped off his clothes and climbed into the wooden tub. Instantly, a layer of black filth floated to the surface of the clear water.
...
Outside the door, listening to the sounds of splashing from within, Qing Yu was so embarrassed she wished a crack in the ground would open up and swallow her.
Senior... you're using my bathtub...
The thought made her heart race, and her face flushed as red as an apple.
Just then, a lithe figure approached from afar. The newcomer had long hair that flowed like a waterfall and a sharply chiseled face. Her cold expression was dominated by a pair of sword-like eyes that seemed to hold the stars and the moon. She was, in a word, a dashing and spirited woman.
"Senior Sister! Why... why is she here?" Qing Yu was shocked.
Senior Sister Dai of the Blood Sect was notoriously averse to men. There were even rumors about her orientation and that she harbored a fondness for Qing Yu. If Senior Sister Dai discovered Zhao Dong bathing in Qing Yu's room, given her personality, she would undoubtedly cleave him in two with a single sword strike.
At this thought, Qing Yu hesitated. After a moment of internal conflict, she grit her teeth and rushed back into the room.
"What are you doing in here?" Zhao Dong, having just finished his bath, was about to stand up. He was completely taken aback when Qing Yu barged in.
Her pretty face flushed, Qing Yu said nervously, "There's no time to explain! My Senior Sister is here, and she absolutely cannot find you!"
"What? Someone's here?" Zhao Dong was equally shocked. "Then I'll leave right now!"
"No! It's too late! You... don't look!"
Qing Yu grit her teeth again, then shockingly slipped off her long dress and leaped into the tub with him, immediately shoving his head under the water.
At that same moment, Senior Sister Dai barged into the room.
"Senior Sister! You... why have you... ah!"
Qing Yu nervously tried to speak, but just then, Zhao Dong's hand, floundering blindly underwater, pressed against her chest. He had been pushed down so suddenly that he instinctively reached out for purchase, and in doing so, his hand found her. The sudden contact made Qing Yu let out a flustered gasp.
Senior Sister Dai frowned as she looked at the tub. "Why is this water so dirty?"
"Oh... I obtained a Fire Spirit Pill in the Provincial City. This is the filth purged from my body after taking it," Qing Yu explained, her face crimson.
Underwater, Zhao Dong realized his mistake and quickly withdrew his hand. But when he opened his eyes, the exquisite sight before him made them widen. In their haste to get into the tub, Qing Yu's delicate feet had landed right on top of him. She, however, seemed oblivious to what she was standing on. In her nervousness, her little feet kept unconsciously rubbing against him.
This movement ignited a fire of desire within Zhao Dong. Acting on primal instinct, he couldn't stop himself from reaching out again toward the proud peaks before him...
"Mmm..."
Above the water, Zhao Dong's actions caused Qing Yu to let out a flustered moan, her face flushing as her body trembled involuntarily.
"What's wrong with you?" Senior Sister Dai's cold eyes showed a flicker of concern. She hurried over, about to support Qing Yu.
"It's nothing, it's nothing!" Qing Yu said quickly. "The heat from the pill just hasn't subsided yet. It will be fine soon!" As she explained, she pressed her hand down into the water.
However, in her haste, she missed his hand and pressed down on his head instead. With a sudden burst of force, she shoved his head directly between her thighs.
Zhao Dong was stunned.
Qing Yu was also stunned.
But instinctive shyness made her clamp her legs together, bringing them into shockingly intimate contact...
Outside the tub, Senior Sister Dai knitted her brows at Qing Yu's strange behavior and sighed helplessly. "No wonder I smelled the fragrance of a pill in here. So it was a Fire Spirit Pill."
She continued, "I came to notify you about the martial competition. The sect's competition is in a few days. You should prepare well and strive for a good result."
"Y-yes... I... I definitely will..." Qing Yu managed, gritting her teeth. Her face was still crimson, and her body was trembling.
Seeing this, Senior Sister Dai sighed again. "Don't just take any old pill you find in the future," she advised. "Finish your bath. I'm leaving."
Senior Sister Dai was as decisive in her departure as she was in her arrival—her words brief, her actions swift.
Seeing her Senior Sister leave, Qing Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief. She instinctively wanted to leap out of the tub, but just as she started to rise, she hesitated...