Chapter 3 : Take Off Your Clothes

“Wait for me a moment.”

Seeing the confusion and fear in the young girl’s eyes, Xu Ping’an softly reassured her.

He didn’t know why he cared so much about this girl—could it really be the legendary love at first sight?

Wasn’t it said that love at first sight was just lust at first glance?

So, by that logic, was he just smitten by her appearance?

While rummaging through the medicine cabinet for the needed herbs, Xu Ping’an occasionally stole glances at the girl sitting at the table.

The faint moonlight spilled from outside onto the floor of the main hall, illuminating half of her exquisite face, like a beauty half-hidden behind a pipa, so captivating it was almost dizzying.

Hiss!

It seemed he really was smitten by her looks.

Just one glance, and he could barely contain himself.

Where did this woman come from? How could she be so beautiful?

Could she be an assassin trained by some faction in the Great Qi Kingdom?

She didn’t seem like one—her palms didn’t even have the slightest callus, nor did they look like they often gripped a sword.

But that sword earlier… it had appeared out of nowhere.

Could she be… a legendary immortal?

“Darling… are you done yet?”

“Oh! Yes, yes, I’m coming!”

Xu Ping’an hurriedly responded, glancing at the herbs in his hand.

Ten-thousand-year dragon bone, thousand-year snow ginseng, five-colored three-step lotus, and the most crucial medicinal catalyst in his medicine box.

He nodded.

These were about right.

He wasn’t sure if they could save this beautiful girl, though.

Come to think of it, he didn’t even know her name.

Was it really worth using so many precious herbs on her?

No, no, he couldn’t think like that.

He was a healer.

Though he had failed to achieve immortality and was deemed the least talented of all, ever since he acquired the system and learned medicine, he might not be a saint, but he could at least get by.

As the saying goes, “Better to let medicine gather dust on the shelves than to see the world plagued by suffering.”

Though he didn’t consider himself a good person, Xu Ping’an still held himself to high professional standards.

“How are you feeling now?”

Returning to the girl’s side, Xu Ping’an immediately studied her complexion.

As he had suspected, her face was gradually turning pale.

This meant the energy sustaining her last thread of life was fading.

It made sense—her qi and blood were surging in reverse, only flowing out and not replenishing.

No matter how vast her energy reserves were, they would eventually run dry.

Yet, perhaps because of her slightly pallid appearance, she now exuded a delicate, fragile beauty.

“Darling… I… I feel a bit cold.”

“It’s alright. You’ll feel better soon.”

As for her calling him “darling,” he didn’t have time to correct her.

Saving her life came first.

“Come.”

Xu Ping’an took the girl’s hand and led her to the side room, pointing to a large wooden tub.

“Get in there first. Oh, right—take off your clothes first.”

“Hm? Take off my clothes?”

The girl raised her head with a bewildered expression, her clear eyes revealing a deep, innocent charm.

“Uh~ Okay, take off my clothes.”

There was no other way.

To save the girl’s life, he first needed to stabilize her vital energy.

At this moment, her internal organs were displaced, and she couldn’t absorb any medicine or food even if it was forced into her mouth.

It seemed the simplest method was the only option: steaming.

This would allow the medicinal properties to seep into her body through her skin.

Xu Ping’an didn’t dare look at the girl.

He was a doctor now, and he had to uphold medical ethics!

Forcing himself to calm his restless thoughts, he grabbed the mortar nearby and tossed in the rare herbs—treasures that would drive countless people to fight over them if they were seen outside.

Then, from behind him came a rustling sound that sent his blood racing.

Accompanied by the girl’s occasional soft whimpers, the sound made his pulse surge, and his whole body began to feel feverish.

Xu Ping’an took a deep breath and focused on grinding the herbs.

But then, a timid, pleading voice called out from behind.

“Dar… Darling.”

“What is it?!”

He had just managed to quell the restlessness in his heart, and now his pent-up frustration had nowhere to go.

He turned around instinctively.

What met his eyes was a pair of deep, glistening eyes filled with a hint of timidity.

More importantly… the girl’s top was already half undone.

Her fair skin peeked out like a snowy mountain, with a faint blush standing out like a plum blossom in the cold.

“Darling~ I… I don’t know how to undress…”

Was this a test of his resolve?

What kind of man could withstand such a trial?!

“No…”

“Darling, why… why is your nose bleeding?”

“Huh?”

Feeling a warm trickle at his lips, he hurriedly wiped it away.

“It’s nothing, nothing.”

Good grief, he was a hot-blooded man in his twenties, after all!

Did they really think he was some saintly figure like Liu Xiahui?

In a moment of clarity, a string of words suddenly flashed through Xu Ping’an’s mind.

“I, a commoner, tilled the fields in Nanyang, seeking only to survive in chaotic times, not to gain fame among the lords…”

The Memorial on the Deployment of Troops by Zhuge Liang, which had once given him endless headaches in school, now became his lifeline.

Reciting it three times finally helped him preserve his professional integrity.

There was no helping it.

In the Great Qi Kingdom, the boundaries between men and women were as strict as guarding against a flood.

Though he had treated female patients before, in his years of practicing medicine, no woman had ever bared herself so openly before him!

He hurried forward, ignoring the proprieties between men and women.

After a quick glance, he immediately understood—the silly girl had forgotten to untie her waistband and was tugging at her top directly.

It was a miracle the fabric hadn’t torn completely.

“That’s not how you take off clothes. Come here… I’ll show you.”

“Mm.”

The girl nodded earnestly, but Xu Ping’an couldn’t shake the feeling that something about his words sounded off.

Why did this feel like a line from some risqué story?

After much effort, he helped her remove her clothes, only to notice a longevity locket around her neck.

Taking it off, Xu Ping’an learned the girl’s name for the first time.

Her name was… Pei Qingxuan.

How did he know?

Naturally, because her name was written on the back of the locket.

Who would wear a locket with someone else’s name around their neck?

“Qingxuan?”

“Hm?”

“Uh… nothing. Get into the tub first.”

“Oh…”

Pei Qingxuan nodded obediently and stepped into the tub without any hesitation, completely unconcerned by Xu Ping’an’s presence.

The fleeting glimpse of her figure was, of course, breathtaking—evident from the way Xu Ping’an wiped his nose again.

“Good grief, and she’s a white tiger… This is gonna be the death of me!”

Muttering to himself, Xu Ping’an quickly turned and went to the water valve nearby.

With a turn of the switch, warm water poured from the pipe above directly into the tub.

As a transmigrator, Xu Ping’an wasn’t the type to lack ambition—otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent eight years pursuing immortality.

When he learned he lacked the aptitude for cultivation, he naturally decided to live a simple, peaceful life.

But living was one thing—living well was another.

Without at least that much aspiration, what was the point of transmigrating?