Chapter 124: Closing the Eyes

Bubbles gurgled up inside the wooden tub, and a warm mist carrying a strange, delicate fragrance spread throughout the room.

“Can you not bury half your face in there?” Jiang Huai slumped weakly on the soft couch beside the tub, feeling utterly drained as if his entire body had been hollowed out.

He didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger.

This time, the toll was just too great.

Even with the Hehuan Sect’s secret medicines constantly “replenishing his ammo,” it was still the amount of a whole tub.

He still felt dizzy and lightheaded, his spirit utterly exhausted.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.

Tang Zhaoxue suddenly lifted her head from the thick, warm Spiritual Liquid, half her cheek flushed a tempting shade of pink.

Her lips and skin were slick and shiny in the mist, glowing with an unusual luster.

She softly smacked her lips, her tongue unconsciously grazing the corner of her mouth, as if savoring a lingering taste.

“This is really yours, huh.” Her voice held a trace of curiosity and something subtly indescribable.

The feeling was too strange—soaking in his…

The wooden tub beneath her was itself a Spiritual Treasure, capable of maintaining the temperature and spiritual essence of the liquid inside.

It contained many rare Immortal Materials, emitting a refreshing and intoxicating fragrance.

“Of course it is,” Jiang Huai said dully, not even bothering to lift his eyelids, his voice muffled from the couch.

Tang Zhaoxue’s soft tongue slid over her red lips, clicking lightly as the slickness swirled on her tongue:

“I feel… it’s not as tasty as I imagined.” She paused, then her eyes suddenly lit up with a spark of eagerness.

“But if you added other spiritual fruits or Immortal brews, maybe it could be used for mixing drinks or brewing wine?”

“Maybe it would have a unique flavor…”

“Cough, cough, cough…”

Jiang Huai was abruptly choked by saliva, struggling to sit up with a horrified expression:

“Stop! Erase that thought from your mind immediately! Don’t even think about it, let alone mention it!”

“Especially, don’t you dare say it in front of Qin Qingyue!”

At the mention of Qin Qingyue’s name, Tang Zhaoxue’s eyes darkened slightly, and she fell silent.

Her delicate hand unconsciously stirred the warm Spiritual Liquid, letting that strange enveloping sensation soak through her entire body.

“Are you going back to the Five Provinces Continent next?”

“Yeah, I’m going back,” Jiang Huai said, lying back down and staring at the ceiling.

Tang Zhaoxue’s voice softened, and after a moment, she spoke again, with a faint hint of hope:

“Oh, what about me?”

“You?” Jiang Huai turned his head to look at her soaking in the tub.

“With your condition, you won’t be able to get out of this tub anytime soon. So, I have to take you with me.”

“Pack you and the tub together.”

White Dew had diagnosed her condition clearly.

Tang Zhaoxue’s primordial source was too depleted; she needed prolonged immersion in his Spiritual Liquid to continuously absorb the Innate Primordial Qi contained within.

She also required regular replenishment of the ingredients to fully recover.

Tang Zhaoxue closed her eyes to look inward, sensing the slow but definite revival of vitality within her body and the gradual reconnection of her meridians.

She knew Jiang Huai’s words were not empty.

Her body was indeed too broken to be healed in a short time, not even by WJL.

A faint smile curved her lips as she glanced at Jiang Huai.

If that was the case, going to the Five Provinces Continent would indeed make many things much easier.

Her cheeks flushed from the heat steam, and her voice grew soft and tender:

“Then will you continue to help me heal?”

Jiang Huai glanced at her and lay back down.

“No.”

The healing Tang Zhaoxue referred to was naturally the treatment of her Yin-Yang imbalance.

Even now, she only felt psychological excitement—her body was still dry and difficult to nourish.

Although treatment would continue, he still felt some resentment when recalling how she had almost broken her promise and tried to force herself in front of Zhu Siyao.

He couldn’t let her think this was something so easily done.

“That won’t do! What am I supposed to do without you…” Tang Zhaoxue said anxiously, causing ripples in the Spiritual Liquid.

Without him, her hidden ailment would probably never heal in her lifetime.

The air was thick with tension.

Jiang Huai deliberately remained silent, closing his eyes to rest, letting the silence linger.

Tang Zhaoxue sat back in the tub somewhat dejected, then after a while, slowly buried her face in the warm Spiritual Liquid again, leaving only the sound of bubbling.

Seeing her so still for a long time, Jiang Huai couldn’t help but turn his head:

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

From beneath the liquid came her muffled, regretful voice:

“I’m sorry. That day, I was wrong. I didn’t keep my promise.”

“Please, don’t give up on me.”

“I won’t do that again. Please, just give me one more chance.”

“I won’t force you anymore, I beg you.”

Jiang Huai burst out laughing and asked,

“You say it as if you have the ability to touch me anyway.”

At his words, Tang Zhaoxue’s face turned even redder, feeling somewhat humiliated—both embarrassed and angry—but she could only stay silent, her gaze full of grievance.

In her worldview, when a man laughs and says a woman can’t do something, it’s a form of humiliation.

“Let’s talk about this again when we’re back on the Five Provinces Continent.” Jiang Huai squinted, still refusing to give her a definite answer.

“Oh… then we’ll talk after we get back.”

At that moment, the door was gently pushed open.

A slender, elegant figure silently appeared at the doorway.

The newcomer wore a simple white dress, her face cold and aloof, her aura ethereal—it was White Dew.

Her clear, ice-like dragon eyes briefly scanned the room before finally resting on the wooden tub.

“White Clan Leader,” Jiang Huai greeted as he rose.

White Dew simply nodded lightly at him, then slowly walked to the tub and extended a slender jade-like finger to gently probe the Spiritual Liquid, sensing the circulating essence for a moment.

She withdrew her hand and took out a piece of pure white silk cloth, carefully wiping her fingertip as if it had touched something impure.

Her tone was calm and steady as she spoke to Jiang Huai: “Add ingredients. Not too much, just twice.”

After a pause, she added two words clearly and coldly,

“While it’s hot.”

Without another glance at Tang Zhaoxue in the tub or Jiang Huai on the couch, she turned and walked away, the hem of her skirt tracing a chilly arc as she disappeared beyond the door.

Cold and distant, a girl whose true age was impossible to discern.

Jiang Huai stared at the closing door and sighed deeply.

Resigned, he pulled out two pills and popped them into his mouth, starting to undress.

“I’m not some breeding stallion…”

He fetched a small stool and stood beside the tub, looking down at Tang Zhaoxue’s flushed cheeks and evasive eyes.

“Close your eyes.”

Tang Zhaoxue leaned on the tub’s edge, looking up with moist eyes blinking in a pleading manner:

“Can’t I keep them open?”

“No.” Jiang Huai’s tone was firm and unyielding.

“Don’t be like that.” Her voice softened, carrying a coquettish tone.

“I’m already soaking in your—inside this.”

“I, I can help you, using…” She parted her cherry lips slightly.

Jiang Huai deliberately put on a stern face, feigning seriousness:

“Nope, my wife might get upset. You better just close your eyes.”

At his words, Tang Zhaoxue’s eyes instantly dimmed, her lips pressing into a disappointed line before obediently closing her eyes.

No choice—whose wife wasn’t formidable?

The boundless black flames and sword light were still unforgettable to her, an overwhelming force.

Jiang Huai’s hands began to move.