Little White stood beside the hot spring, turning its head slightly this way and that to avoid catching a glimpse of Ling Chuxi taking off her clothes. It squatted low to the ground, looking as if it were gently sighing helplessly. As Ling Chuxi was so engrossed in her happiness of being able to enjoy a dip in a hot spring, she totally did not notice Little White’s behavior.
“Little White, Little White, come join me. Let’s sit here together.” Ling Chuxi stood up and waved Little White over without feeling that facing Little White whilst stark naked was any problem at all.
Little White stood up and quietly walked to the other side slowly, then jumped into another hot spring.
“How dare you disdain me! Hmph! You know what? If you don’t want to share the same hot spring with me—fine!” mumbled Ling Chuxi irritatedly, indicating her annoyance. Seeing as how Little White went off to a different hot spring, she shrunk back in dissatisfaction.
After dipping in the hot spring for a while until she felt a little lightheaded, she slowly climbed back out, dried herself and put on her clothes.
“Little White. Little White?” Ling Chuxi called out twice. Though Little White did not respond, she heard a rustle of light movement nearby. Ling Chuxi thought it was Little White and thus walked over slowly towards the source of the sound. As white steam was surrounding the entire area, she could not see clearly. Only when Ling Chuxi was near, did she realize that there was an unfamiliar man in the hot spring!
Ling Chuxi softly yelped and was just about to turn around and leave, but she suddenly felt as though something was not right! So, she immediately turned back around and noticed that the man had not taken off his clothes, he had directly stepped into the hot spring fully clothed. However, his handsome face was white.
“Hey, what’s happened to you? Are you all right?” asked Ling Chuxi with a frown. Yet, the man remained unresponsive. He had obviously fainted.
“Seriously! What kind of luck is this,” grumbled Ling Chuxi as she walked forward, knelt beside the hot spring and reached for the man’s hand. Once she checked his pulse, her expression turned ugly. This man had been poisoned. And by a potent poison at that! Only then did Ling Chuxi lower her gaze to take a good look at this man.
He had long black hair which was in a mess, beautiful furrowed brows, a tall nose bridge and tightly pursed lips. His face was scrunched up, but one could see that he was good looking. It was just that his face was so deathly pale that it caused chills in one’s heart. Although his clothes were simple, they were exquisite. No matter whether it was the needlework or the simple embroidery, they were all of top-notch quality. One could see that this man’s identity was not that of an ordinary person.
“Consider yourself lucky that you met me here. I’ll just take ten thousand gold taels in exchange for saving your life. If you don’t respond, that means you agree. This price isn’t too bad at all. It’s fair enough!” said Ling Chuxi in a sing-song manner. She dug out her golden needles and stabbed a few into a number of the man’s important acupoints. If someone who had medical skills saw what Ling Chuxi had just done, they would be scared out of their wits. These few acupoints would result in death if stabbed, no?
However, after Ling Chuxi conducted the acupuncture, the man slowly awoke. When he opened his eyes, the sight of Ling Chuxi was the first thing he saw. He was stunned for a brief moment. “I… Am I dead?”
“Ah, so you want to die? How can that be such an easy thing! You still owe me ten thousand gold taels!” barked Ling Chuxi as she breathed out cold air through her nostrils and looked at the handsome man before her in annoyance. “I saved your life. Before you pay me in kind, don’t even think of dying.”
“Ten thousand gold taels?” repeated the dazed man in a stunned tone.
“Why? Do you feel your life isn’t worth that much? Or is it simply that you do not wish to fork out this amount of money? If you can’t fork it out now, you can always write an IOU. Anyways, you have to pay me! Don’t even think of reneging on your debt,” said Ling Chuxi as she narrowed her eyes slightly, her tone leaving no room for negotiation.
“No. No. That’s not what I meant at all…” said the man as he finally regained his senses and came to an understanding of the current situation. He looked at Ling Chuxi with a slightly astonished expression. “Was it you who saved me?”