304: Chapter 304 The Former Aloof Sect Leader, Today a Pretty Back-Scrubbing Maid

Before long, Xiao Nianyin walked out, her voice flat and waveless: "The water is ready."

"Mn."

Xu Ruyu acknowledged her, but did not rise immediately, instead remaining sprawled out, and added: "When I bathe later, come in and scrub my back and massage my feet."

"I fought someone today, and some places on my body are quite sore."

At these words, Xiao Nianyin suddenly looked up, her icy gaze shooting toward Xu Ruyu like tangible ice awls, and her voice finally carried an irrepressible chill: "Xu Ruyu! Don't go too far!"

Letting her prepare bathwater was already her limit; now he wanted her to go in and serve him by scrubbing his back and massaging his feet? This was simply naked humiliation!

Xu Ruyu, however, acted as if he did not see her anger, and said unhurriedly: "Too far? Is this considered going too far?"

"Grand Sect Master Xiao, have you forgotten your current status and situation?"

"Don't forget, who helped you stabilize your Origin, preventing your cultivation from completely dissipating, your appearance from withering, and even prevented your Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering?"

"And who provided you with this sanctuary on Tianyin Mountain, so you don't have to be hunted down outside by those enemies from the Meiying Sect and Jile Sect?"

He paused, his gaze filled with a hint of playfulness as he watched Xiao Nianyin's chest heaving slightly from anger: "Besides, it's just scrubbing a back and massaging feet; it's not like we haven't touched before."

"Back in Ningyin Hall... the places you touched on me were far more numerous and much deeper than this."

"You—!"

Xiao Nianyin's incredibly beautiful face instantly flushed red, all the way to the tips of her ears.

Xu Ruyu's words were like a knife, precisely exposing the facts she least wanted to recall yet could not deny.

Those nights, those intimate contacts for healing or other reasons, were a "stain" in her arrogant life that she could not erase, and also one of the roots of why she had to bow her head to Xu Ruyu at this moment.

She glared at Xu Ruyu, her chest heaving violently, and in her ice-blue eyes, flames seemed to be burning, yet they were forcibly suppressed by a layer of icy frost.

In the end, faced with the reality of "who helped you stabilize your Origin," all her anger and pride faded into powerless paleness.

She truly needed Xu Ruyu; she needed his special Physique and that bizarre Dual Cultivation Cultivation Technique to maintain her vitality, and even more so, she needed his help to find a way to truly restore her cultivation.

She bit her lower lip tightly, almost drawing blood, then turned abruptly and walked back into the bathroom. Although she did not explicitly agree, her back clearly signaled tacit consent.

Xu Ruyu smiled, then slowly got up, took off his outer robe, wearing only his undergarments, and walked into the mist-filled bathroom.

In the white jade bath, the water temperature was just right, and Spiritual Qi swirled around.

Xu Ruyu lay down comfortably, the warm water enveloping his body, and the sense of fatigue dissipated by more than half.

He closed his eyes and heard extremely faint, distinctly stiff footsteps coming from behind him.

Xiao Nianyin had rolled up her sleeves at some point, revealing two wrists as fair as frost and snow.

She picked up a soft spiritual silk towel from the edge of the pool, dipped it in water, and then... with extremely unfamiliar, even somewhat clumsy movements, began to wipe Xu Ruyu's back.

Her fingers inevitably touched Xu Ruyu's skin. The sensation was cool and delicate, carrying an almost imperceptible tremor.

Her movements were very light, as if she were wiping some fragile piece of porcelain; rather than scrubbing his back, it was more like caressing it.

Xu Ruyu could feel her body's tension and that sense of suppressed resistance.

He did not speak, nor did he urge her, simply enjoying this rare "back-scrubbing service" provided personally by a former Saint Realm Expert.

Must say, although her movements were stiff, the cool sensation of her fingertips and the faint, elusive fragrance, combined with the warmth of the hot spring, actually had a unique appeal.

After a while, perhaps because she grew numb, or perhaps because she decided to just give up and let it be, Xiao Nianyin's movements became slightly more natural, and the pressure increased a little, truly having a bit of the feel of "scrubbing."

Some of the sore muscles on Xu Ruyu's back, under her pressing, actually relaxed quite a bit.

"Feet."

Xu Ruyu said, eyes closed, lazily spitting out the two words.

Xiao Nianyin's movements stiffened again.

After a few moments of silence, she still obediently turned to the side of the pool, crouched down, lifted Xu Ruyu's feet from the water, and placed them on her joined knees. She wrapped Xu Ruyu's feet with the towel and began to knead and press them.

This time, her movements were even more awkward. Massaging feet? For someone who was once high and mighty, this was simply an unimaginable scene.

She could feel her cheeks burning hot, her ears on fire, and she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

But some Acupoints on Xu Ruyu's feet were indeed stiff due to today's battle, and relying on her knowledge of human Meridians, she tried pressing them a few times.

Xu Ruyu felt so comfortable he almost hummed aloud.

It must be said that being massaged by a former Saint Realm Expert who was well-versed in the mysteries of the human body (even if combat-oriented), even without any experience, the effect was far better than an ordinary technician.

That just-right pressure and precise Acupoint massage quickly relieved the fatigue in the soles of his feet.

Throughout the whole process, there was only the sound of splashing water and subtle friction in the bathroom; neither of them spoke again. The atmosphere was strange and ambiguous.

After a long time, Xu Ruyu felt he had soaked enough, feeling completely at ease.

He stood up, splashing a wave of water. Xiao Nianyin had long since turned her face away, refusing to look at anything improper.

Xu Ruyu dried his body, changed into clean sleeping clothes, walked out of the bathroom, and returned to the bedroom.

Xiao Nianyin also followed, standing at the door, her face still flushed, eyes darting away, asking in a low voice: "Is there anything else?"