94: tigress

High noon, warm sunlight spilled into the room through the window lattice.

On the bed, Ji Ruxue's long eyelashes fluttered a few times before she slowly opened her eyes. After a brief moment of confusion, a splitting headache and aching soreness throughout her body snapped her into full consciousness!

An unfamiliar environment! An unfamiliar bed!

Alarm bells rang in her mind. Subconsciously, she tried to roll over and reach for her dagger, but the movement pulled at her wounds, causing her to gasp in pain. What made her heart sink even further was that her clothes had been changed into a clean, plain-colored sleeping robe, and her wounds had been carefully bandaged.

"You're awake?"

A familiar male voice, tinged with a hint of playfulness, drifted over. Ji Ruxue snapped her head around to see Qin Feng sitting by the table. He was leisurely playing with her black short blade, his fingers nimbly spinning the dagger between his fingertips.

"You...!" Ji Ruxue's gaze turned cold. She struggled to sit up, but failed once again due to weakness and pain.

"The dagger is right here, don't be in a hurry." Qin Feng stopped his movements and pressed the dagger onto the table with a 'clack,' smiling. "Rest assured, it's very safe here; this is a branch of the Hundred Flowers Tower. I was the one who fished you out of that patch of overgrown weeds."

Hearing this, Ji Ruxue's tense nerves relaxed slightly, but her gaze remained wary and cold. "...Thank you."

Then, as if remembering something, a trace of an unnatural flush appeared on her pale cheeks. Her voice carried a faint, imperceptible tremble: "My clothes... did you change them?"

Seeing her look of shame and anger while trying to maintain her composure, Qin Feng's mischievous side emerged. He deliberately drawled his words and gave a wicked grin, "That's right—of course I changed them. You were covered in blood back then; someone had to clean you up, right?"

"I'll kill you!!"

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Ji Ruxue somehow found a burst of strength and lunged from the bed. Unfortunately, her injuries were too severe; as soon as she left the mattress, her legs gave way, and she tumbled forward.

Qin Feng was quick. He caught her to prevent her from hitting the floor, but clicked his tongue. "Hey, hey, hey, are you being reasonable? I saved you and treated your wounds, yet you wake up wanting to fight and kill? Is this how you repay kindness with enmity?"

Being held by him, Ji Ruxue felt the warmth from the man's palms, making her even more mortified. She gritted her teeth and said, "One thing has nothing to do with the other! You... you saw my body. For the sake of my purity, I must kill you! And then... then I will commit suicide to repay the favor of saving my life!" She spoke with such resolve that a mist of humiliation actually welled up in her eyes.

"Oho! I didn't expect you to be such a chaste and fierce woman!" Qin Feng pressed her back onto the bed, deliberately provoking her. "But in your current state, where a gust of wind could knock you over, you want to run wild in the Hundred Flowers Tower? Give it a rest."

"You...!" Ji Ruxue's chest heaved with anger, which agitated her internal injuries, sending her into another fit of coughing.

Xiao Chun, who was nearby organizing medicinal herbs, couldn't bear to watch any longer. She hurried over and explained softly, "Sister, don't misunderstand. Big Brother Qin is just teasing you. Your clothes were changed by me; Big Brother Qin stayed outside the door the whole time and didn't come in at all."

Ji Ruxue was stunned. She looked at Xiao Chun and saw that the girl's eyes were clear and devoid of deceit. She also recalled vaguely hearing a girl's voice before she lost consciousness... "Really?" she asked Xiao Chun, seeking confirmation.

"Mm-hmm!" Xiao Chun nodded vigorously.

Having confirmed the truth, a heavy weight lifted from Ji Ruxue's heart. But immediately after, a surge of anger at being toyed with rushed into her mind. She glared at Qin Feng, teeth gritted. "You bastard! You played me!"

"Hehe, just a joke. Who told you to look like you were ready to drag me down with you?" Qin Feng rubbed his nose and smiled without a shred of sincerity.

"You..." Ji Ruxue was rendered speechless by his roguish behavior. However, knowing her purity was intact, her murderous intent mostly dissipated, though she still glared at him fiercely.

"Sister, don't be angry anymore. Be careful with your wounds," Xiao Chun quickly stepped in to mediate, carefully tucking in the corners of her quilt.

Ji Ruxue looked at the innocent-looking Qin Feng, then at the gentle and considerate Xiao Chun. Finally, she just gave a cold snort and turned her head away, ignoring Qin Feng, though her tense body clearly relaxed.

After a moment of silence, she said in a low voice, "...Regardless, thank you for saving my life. I, Ji Ruxue, will remember this debt of gratitude and will surely repay it in the future."

"Alright, Tigress, just focus on recovering from your injuries. We'll talk about repaying the debt later." Qin Feng waved his hand dismissively, his tone casual, and stopped teasing her.

"Who are you calling a Tigress!" Ji Ruxue snapped her head back, eyes blazing with anger.

"Sister, it's time for your medicine..." Xiao Chun timely brought over a bowl of decoction, successfully diverting her attention... By evening, Qin Feng personally brought a meal to the room.

After a day of rest and the effects of the herbal medicine, Ji Ruxue's complexion had improved significantly. She was now able to barely lean against the headboard.

Qin Feng placed the food on the small table by the bed and pulled up a chair. He asked seemingly casually, "So, tell me, what happened? You ended up in such a pathetic state. I only happened to be passing by there last night on business and picked you up on a whim."

Naturally, he couldn't say he had specifically gone to save her based on intelligence.

Ji Ruxue's hand holding the chopsticks paused. Her eyes flickered as if she were weighing something. After a long while, she put down her chopsticks, looked up, and gazed at Qin Feng with a complex expression, whispering, "I... was looking for clues to a mysterious Treasure Map."

She paused and emphasized, "This is my personal matter and has nothing to do with the Blood-Filled Tower."

Qin Feng's heart stirred. As expected, it was for the "west lake treasure"! He kept a calm face and continued to ask, "A Treasure Map? What kind of Treasure Map is worth a Gold Medal Assassin like you personally taking action and nearly losing your life?"

Ji Ruxue pursed her lips, seemingly reluctant to say more. But considering he was her savior, she still revealed a bit: "Rumor has it that it's related to a Former Dynasty's Underwater Palace beneath the West Lake. It might contain... something extremely important to us Cultivators. The clues I was tracking pointed to the City Lord's Manor's Second Young Master."

A Former Dynasty's Underwater Palace! Qin Feng's eyes narrowed slightly. This seemed to correspond with the "former dynasty" information he had learned earlier. It appeared this west lake treasure was even more extraordinary than he had imagined.

"The City Lord's Manor's Second Young Master... No wonder you were hunted by Martial King Guards." Qin Feng realized. Then he asked, "So what do you plan to do next? Has the clue gone cold?"

A flash of frustration appeared in Ji Ruxue's eyes as she shook her head. "The clue hasn't gone cold, but I need time to recover. Besides, the grass has been startled; the other party will definitely be more vigilant now."

She looked at Qin Feng with a hint of testing in her eyes. "Are you... interested in this Treasure Trove?"

Meeting her gaze, Qin Feng smiled slightly, neither admitting nor denying it. "Interest? Naturally, I have a bit. After all, something that can tempt both a Gold Medal Assassin from the Blood-Filled Tower and a City Lord's Young Master is surely no ordinary item. However..."

He changed the subject. "The most important thing right now is for you to recover. As for cooperation, we can discuss it in detail once you've recovered, how about it?"

Ji Ruxue gave Qin Feng a deep look and nodded. "Fine."

She knew that with her injuries unhealed, acting alone was too risky. And this Qin Feng, who had saved her, possessed decent strength and had the Hundred Flowers Palace as his background; he seemed like someone she could temporarily cooperate with. As for how to divide the Treasure Trove once it was found... that was a matter for later.

The two of them reached a preliminary, unspoken understanding.