Playboy: Medical and Martial Master

”Sister-in-law, my condolences.”

Sun Zhe gave Bai Ran a deep look. After saying this, he grabbed Han Xinyue’s arm and pulled her away.

”Hey, Sun Zhe, what are you doing? Don’t be so rough.”

”I’m an injured person, you know! Can’t you be a little gentler?”

Sun Zhe suddenly let go of her and asked, ”Where are you hurt?”

Han Xinyue pouted, grumbling, ”You’re being so harsh with me, you’ve hurt my feelings.”

Sun Zhe was growing impatient. ”Can you stop being so dramatic? Just speak normally!”

At that moment, Han Xinyue noticed his expression was off. Her heart skipped a beat with worry. ”Is the Ice and Fire True Qi in your body acting up again?”

”Cut the nonsense. Do you want your injuries treated or not?”

Han Xinyue looked aggrieved. ”You’re really... why are you so fierce? I didn’t even do anything to you.”

”Come with me. We’ll find a place first, and I’ll help you suppress the Ice and Fire True Qi. My injuries are just superficial; they’re nothing serious.”

With that, she grabbed Sun Zhe’s hand and pulled him toward a small grove of trees.

Watching Han Xinyue’s retreating back, Sun Zhe’s gaze gradually became complicated. He opened his mouth as if to speak but then stopped himself.

Truthfully, he could feel that Han Xinyue was genuinely worried about him. But as soon as he thought about the things she had done, his stomach churned with fire. He wished he could just go up and strangle the woman.

「A long time later.」

Sun Zhe and Han Xinyue walked out of the small grove, one after the other.

After Han Xinyue helped him suppress the flaring Ice and Fire True Qi, Sun Zhe’s complexion had improved significantly. Han Xinyue followed behind him with her head lowered. A seductive flush had yet to fade from her face and neck, and she walked with a slightly odd gait, stumbling as if an injury prevented her from bringing her legs together properly.

A moment later, when Sun Zhe found Bai Ran at their campsite, he saw that she had already placed Huang Qianggang’s body on a pyre of dry wood. To his surprise, Yao Rao was also nearby, helping gather more firewood.

Han Xinyue looked at Yao Rao’s figure and whispered to Sun Zhe, ”My master is actually a very good person, especially to the disciples of the Jade Fox Sect.”

”It’s just that she’s spent her entire life focused on cultivation, with very little contact with other people. Her mind was filled with nothing but cultivation knowledge and various sect rules. As a result, she doesn’t understand much about human relationships, and sometimes she can seem rigid and strict.”

”But really, her heart is truly pure.”

Sun Zhe glanced at her. ”Are you trying to redeem her in my eyes?”

Han Xinyue snorted softly and said no more.

Sun Zhe said coolly, ”You should be glad I can’t defeat her. Otherwise, it would be uncertain whether you two would be dead or alive right now.”

Hearing this, Han Xinyue lifted her head and puffed out her chest. ”I don’t believe you would kill me. Sun Zhe, you’re not that kind of person.”

Sun Zhe shot her a look. ”Do you remember what happened the first night we met?”

At his words, Han Xinyue’s pretty face flushed red. She would never forget the experience of that night for the rest of her life.

A small smile played on Sun Zhe’s lips. ”If your master ever falls into my hands...”

”You dare! If you dare to treat my master like that, I’ll fight you to the death!”

”...”

As the great fire blazed, Bai Ran slowly sat on the ground. She watched the body in the pyre as it was gradually consumed by the flames, silent tears streaming down her face.

Sun Zhe walked over and sat down beside her. ”Sister-in-law...”

”Ah Zhe, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so harsh with you earlier.”

Sun Zhe shook his head. ”It’s fine.”

Bai Ran reached up to wipe her tears, her voice choked with sobs. ”Actually, I was angry with myself... I hate that I’m weak, that I’m useless, that I’m always second-guessing myself and being so indecisive.”

Sun Zhe said nothing. Instead, he suddenly reached out and jabbed a pressure point on her neck, causing her to faint. Then, he yelled out, ”Han Bitch!”

On the other side, Han Xinyue gritted her teeth, her displeasure obvious. ”Who gave you permission to call me that?”

”Fine, what do you want?”

”Help me find the first-aid kit.”

”...”

「An unknown amount of time passed.」

When Bai Ran groggily awoke, she found herself lying in a tent. Her many wounds had all been treated and bandaged. Turning her head, she saw a mineral water bottle filled with ashes.

”Husband...”

Looking at the bottle of ashes, she couldn’t help but tear up, her mind filled with Huang Qianggang’s carefree image. She bit her pale lips and hugged the bottle, crying silently for a long while before slowly pushing herself up. She carefully tucked the bottle of ashes into her backpack.

Then she took out a small mirror, wiped away her tears, and forced a smile at her reflection, composing herself and setting her grief aside.

By now, it was late at night.

When Bai Ran crawled out of the tent, she immediately saw Sun Zhe sitting before a campfire, roasting meat. It looked like a bird, a rather plump one, sizzling with rendered fat as it cooked. The tantalizing, charred aroma filled the air, making one’s mouth water.

”Ah Zhe, what are you roasting?”

Bai Ran walked over with a smile and sat next to Sun Zhe, acting as if nothing had happened, as if she were still her old self.

Sun Zhe glanced at her red-rimmed eyes and asked, ”Are you feeling better?”

Bai Ran just smiled and shook her head, saying nothing. Although she hadn’t moved past her grief, she didn’t want to constantly burden those around her with her negative emotions.

Sun Zhe smiled. ”It’s a bamboo partridge. I caught it earlier.”

Bai Ran suddenly grabbed his arm and squinted with a smile. ”Then I want the leg, and a wing too.”

”Alright.”

Bai Ran turned her head, looking around. ”By the way, where are those two from the Jade Fox Sect?”

Sun Zhe pointed to a tent about a hundred meters away. ”Don’t worry about them. We’ll eat our food.”

Bai Ran gave a soft ”mhm,” then asked, ”By the way, Ah Zhe, what happened with that red snake?”

Sun Zhe said, ”To be honest, that Jade Fox Sect Leader is seriously strong. The two of us teamed up and finished off that red snake in just a short while.”

Hearing this, Bai Ran’s beautiful eyes flickered, and she said urgently, ”Then you can’t let yourself get the short end of the stick!”

Sun Zhe laughed. ”I took a few hits, but I didn’t really lose out.”

”I’m not talking about that.”

”Then what are you talking about?”

Bai Ran stared into his eyes and said seriously, ”If that red snake has five hundred years of cultivation, it’s equivalent to a human Nascent Soul Realm Martial Artist. It will definitely have formed an Inner Core.”

”This Inner Core is a precious treasure. If it’s absorbed, it will greatly increase one’s cultivation.”

”And it’s not just the Inner Core. Almost the entire body of a Flood Snake like that is a treasure.”

”Since the two of you killed it together, you should get your share. When I said you can’t get the short end of the stick, this is what I meant.”

Hearing this, Sun Zhe’s face lit up with understanding. ”Then I’d better go have a look right now,” he said quickly, ”before those two women take the treasure and sneak off while I’m not looking.”

”Sister-in-law, it’s a good thing you know about this stuff. Otherwise, I would have suffered a huge loss this time, and those hits would’ve been for nothing.”

Bai Ran gave him a strange look. ”I’m really curious, how on earth did you cultivate to your current level?”

Sun Zhe looked baffled. ”What do you mean?”

Bai Ran snorted. ”You know even less than me, a mere Qi Refining Realm practitioner. You’re like a total greenhorn just starting out, not even knowing that a Jiao Beast has an Inner Core.”

Hearing this, Sun Zhe decisively changed the subject. ”Why don’t we go over and take a look together?”

But Bai Ran shook her head, snatching the roasted bamboo partridge from his hand. ”I’m in a lot of pain right now and don’t feel like trekking through the woods. Besides, I don’t want to see a snake. You should go by yourself.”

Sun Zhe gave her a peculiar look. ”So after all that, you just wanted to send me away so you could have this chicken all to yourself.”

Bai Ran rolled her eyes. ”I did not.”

Sun Zhe chuckled. ”I’ve long seen through these little tricks women play.”

”Oh, just hurry up and go check on your snake!” Bai Ran gave him a push. ”Don’t interrupt my roasted chicken.”

Sun Zhe shrugged. ”Fine. You enjoy your meal. I’ll cut off a piece of snake meat and bring it back to roast later. Try not to get too jealous.”

”That’s disgusting, eating snake meat.”

Sun Zhe said, ”The meat of a Flood Snake that has cultivated for five hundred years is definitely highly nourishing.”