It took quite some time before the effects of the medicine finally receded, and Qiao Xueying’s eyes finally regained her clarity. 

Looking at the man on top of her, she bit her lips tightly as she wondered how Chu Chuyan was able to endure him back then. Even when her body was stimulated by the medicine, she was still almost unable to recover from the impact.

Back then, Chu Chuyan had her ki meridians tattered and her cultivation crippled, which meant that she was taking him in with just her weak body. Just the thought of it filled Qiao Xueying with respect for her.

“What in the world am I thinking about?!”

The embarrassed Qiao Xueying lowered her head and leaned in to hug the man in front of her. She felt so embarrassed that she dared not to meet her eye.

… 

The following day, Zu An woke up refreshed. He subconsciously reached out to the person beside him to hug her, but his hands fell empty. The soft sensation he had experienced last night wasn’t there. 

Shocked, he quickly sat upward, only to find that the woman who was beside him had disappeared without a trace. It was only the lingering fragrance in the blanket that proved that the events last night weren’t just a dream.

“Snow!” Zu An quickly began searching the area.

“Don’t bother wasting your strength. She’s already gone,” a cold voice sounded. He saw Mi Li’s soul lying casually on the wooden bed at the opposite end of the bed, vaguely revealing her fair, smooth legs through her robe. However, her beautiful face was currently cloaked in frosty anger.

You have successfully trolled Mi Li for +233 Rage!

Zu An was stunned.

She left? Just like that? But more importantly, why are you getting mad here?

“Big sis empress, what’s wrong?” asked Zu An.

“You still dare to ask!” Mi Li immediately lurched up and got into a proper sitting position. “You licentious bastard dared to show me such a hideous scene for an entire night!”

You have successfully trolled Mi Li for +513 Rage!

Zu An felt goosebumps upon hearing those words. “W-wait a moment, who told you to watch us? You could have just closed your eyes! Not to mention, you watched for the entire night? Gosh, I feel like I’ve just been taken advantage of.”

He quickly picked up the blanket and wrapped it tightly around his body, as if guarding against a lecher.

“…” Mi Li.

“You said that I was taking advantage of you?” Mi Li darted straight to the side of his bed and stomped a foot onto the bed frame. She gazed down on him coldly as a dangerous glint flashed in her eyes.

Zu An couldn’t help but notice how Mi Li’s clothes were much more revealing this time around, exposing the humps of her chest. “Do those of the Qin Dynasty dress so boldly?”

One must know that Mi Li’s clothes were made out of her consciousness, so it was entirely based on her preferences and habits.

Wow, she’s actually wearing a low collared dress. It looks like big sis empress is quite the frisky one.

“What are you looking at?” Mi Li was furious to see Zu An staring at her instead of answering her question.

You have successfully trolled Mi Li for +256 Rage!

“You’re exposing your cleavage right in front of me. What choice do I have other than to look at it?” Zu An wondered why Mi Li was still so hot-tempered despite already being reduced to a soul. “Besides, aren’t you wearing such clothes so that others can see it? You should be glad that I’m appreciating your fashion sense.”

“…” Mi Li.

“You sure have a glib tongue. It’s no wonder why you can dupe those little girls into falling for you.” Even though Mi Li’s words were still biting, her complexion clearly improved a little. She straightened her body and tugged on her dress a little, seemingly feeling a little uncomfortable under his stare.

This man really is a queer one. In the past, no matter what I wore, no one would dare to look at me with such fearless eyes.

Even now, after the Great Qin Dynasty was destroyed and she was no longer an empress anymore, she would still have ripped off the eyes of anyone who dared to gawk at her.

It was just a pity that her life was currently bound to this fellow, such that she couldn’t afford to kill him or even punish him. It was incredibly frustrating for her to see that nothing worked on him at all, putting her at a loss.

“You said that Snow has already left earlier? Where did she go?” asked Zu An.

“How am I to know?” Mi Li harrumphed. She pointed to the side and said, “You were sleeping like a dead log that she even had time to write a letter for you.”

“Letter!” Zu An noticed the presence of a letter on the table, and he quickly rushed over to pick it up.

The sudden exposure of Zu An’s naked body made Mi Li blush slightly. She quickly turned her head aside as she said, “Can’t you at least put on some clothes first?”

“You already saw everything for a night anyway. It doesn’t make any difference whether I wear any clothes now or not.” Zu An rolled his eyes.

“…” Mi Li.

This fellow really is infuriating!

She turned back around to say something to him when she suddenly noticed a certain part of his body that made her heart skip a beat. It was so overwhelming that it actually stifled her words.

However, Zu An didn’t pay her any heed. He picked up the letter Qiao Xueying left behind and began reading it carefully.

‘I’m leaving now. Now that I’ve fallen out with the Shi clan, I need to relocate my people before the Shi clan finally comes to and make a move. For the matter last night… thank you. Also, don’t tell Miss Chu about it. If you aren’t happy with staying in the Chu clan, you can look for me at the capital.’

… 

The words on the letter looked a little messy, seemingly reflecting the hesitation in her heart when she wrote them out.

“She’s really gone…” Thinking about the warmth they shared last night, he suddenly felt incredibly empty inside.

He stowed the letter away before turning to look at Mi Li. He couldn’t help but grumble grudgingly, “Since you were around, why didn’t you try to stop her? You should have at least woken me up so that I can bid her farewell.”

“Why should I do that?” replied Mi Li.

“…” Zu An.

Wow. That was such a good point that I can’t even find a single word to refute it.

However, the more Mi Li thought about it, the more infuriated she became. “Do you know how much trouble you put me through last night?”

“Trouble?” Zu An was astonished. 

What did you even do for me at all?

“Hmph! You caused a huge commotion last night. I would have never imagined that lass’ small body would be capable of producing such a loud scream. If I hadn’t set up a barrier around the house, your affair would have been known by the whole Chu clan by now!” 

The thought that an empress like her actually had to lower herself to clean up after him as if she was a eunuch or maidservant made her feel incredibly stifled. 

You have successfully trolled Mi Li for +627 Rage!

Zu An felt a gush of cold sweat upon hearing those words. He was so engrossed in the act last night that he didn’t pay any heed to the details.

“T-thank you…” Zu An wasn’t sure what he should say at a moment like this.

“You better not make me clean up after you once more. I won’t be so patient the next time.” Mi Li was still angry from the unwelcomed performance last night.

Zu An laughed sheepishly before changing the topic. “Since you’re awake, why didn’t you respond to my calls last night?”

“Aren’t you still alive and kicking now?” Mi Li rolled her eyes.

“I nearly died!” exclaimed Zu An. “I had to use all of my trump cards in order to survive. If not for Old Mi, the two of us would have been dead by now.”

“Do you know why I didn’t come out?” asked Mi Li coldly.

“Is it because you can’t defeat Shi Lezhi?” Zu An tried making a guess.

“…” Mi Li.

You have successfully trolled Mi Li for +314 Rage!

This fellow’s mouth really is… Argh!

With a cold harrumph, she said, “A mere early eighth rank can’t possibly be a match for me. I didn’t make an appearance because I didn't want you to become dependent on me. You’ll never become strong once you form a dependence on another person. Also, if you adopt the mentality that I’d always clean up after you, you might just start foolishly leaping into danger at every opportunity you get.

“So that I can at least live a few more years, I think it’s wiser for me to take some risks at the start. If you can’t even survive such a trivial ordeal, I might as well end things here so as to not prolong my suffering.”

Those words struck Zu An’s heart like the loud chimes of a bell. He had indeed gotten much bolder than before due to Mi Li’s presence, thinking that there was no way she would be able to turn a blind eye to him if he were to get in danger.

A long time later, he bowed deeply toward her and said, “I’ve been enlightened. I won’t rely on you anymore and try my best to resolve my problems on my own.”

“You can’t try your best; you have to be able to do it. In the future, unless it’s an opponent of Master rank and above, you shouldn’t even dream of making me save you. I hope that you can at least understand that much,” said Mi Li. “Also, can you at least wear your clothes properly before speaking to me in the future? Stop flinging your thing around!”