"Pah, who wants to scrub your back in return for you scrubbing mine..."

The moment Miao Xiaomiao spoke, she immediately felt she had said the wrong thing, and quickly added, "What do you mean you don't mind? Who wants to bathe with you? I mind very much!"

"If I don't mind, and you still do, fine! I'll scrub your back first, that should be acceptable!"

Young Master Jun seemed addicted to teasing!

"Dream on, you great idiot! I have to wash alone. How can you be in the same place as me, I..."

Miao Xiaomiao was temporarily speechless. It seemed Young Master Jun was also covered in muck, and refusing him a wash didn't seem justifiable, but still...

"Alright..."

Seeing how truly anxious the eldest Miss Miao was, Jun Moxie’s eyes darted around. He said, "How about this: since you're shy, I'll set up a wooden frame in this cave later, hang your clothes on it to block the view, and only once you're done washing will I... Will this work?"

"But how can you guarantee... you won't peek?"

Miao Xiaomiao twisted her fingers, feeling deeply conflicted.

"I guarantee it with my integrity that I absolutely will not peek! Even if you might peek later, I won't!"

Jun Moxie swore to the heavens, while secretly asking himself: Integrity? Do I even possess such a thing?

No sooner said than done, Jun Moxie nimbly moved a few stones and broke off several branches, casually setting up a makeshift wooden rack. Then, he removed his long outer robe and draped it across it. Once a few pieces of clothing were added, it actually managed to completely separate the inside from the outside...

Miao Xiaomiao felt slightly reassured, yet she remained intensely shy.

What if this fellow did peek... she was completely helpless against that possibility. If he peeked, well, she was destined to be his sooner or later. No, I won't allow it. Jun Ye was a truly refined, talented, and upright gentleman; he shouldn't stoop to such things, Miao Xiaomiao comforted herself. It had to be said, the impression this person gave Miao Xiaomiao was far too good—only heaven knew the reality... This fellow wasn't just not a gentleman; describing him as a scoundrel would actually be an improvement...

"You... don't you dare peek! If you peek, you're a beast!"

Miao Xiaomiao hesitated, slowly approaching the water’s edge. She scooped up water to gently wash her arm while secretly glancing with the corner of her eye towards the mountain cave above. Seeing that the white robe, darkened by grime, hadn't moved an inch, it seemed Jun Moxie was actually keeping his word and not peeking. Only then did she relax her guard.

However, along with her relief, a strange thought arose: Hmph, why isn't he peeking? Am I... not attractive enough?

And so, she actually felt a touch of melancholy. "You are too much of a gentleman, you are simply—simply worse than a beast..." Miao Xiaomiao thought resentfully, grinding her teeth.

Women seemed to be creatures of contradiction. First, they would use every means possible to prevent you from sneaking a look, but if you truly refrained, they would be dissatisfied instead; yet, if you did peek... she would be even more unhappy... perhaps even fly into a rage and threaten to end things... Contradiction... Complexity... Miao Xiaomiao was lost in thought when she heard Young Master Jun's voice drift from behind the clothes rack: "Hurry up and take off your clothes to wash them. Wash them clean and toss them up here, and I’ll dry them for you, otherwise we won't be able to leave soon... While the clothes are drying, you can wash your body..."

As Jun Moxie spoke, a strange smirk played on his lips... Young Master Jun had an abundance of clothing in the Hongjun Pagoda, of course... but at a moment like this, he certainly wouldn't produce any of it. What man wouldn't want to appreciate a delightful spectacle?

"Oh..."

Miao Xiaomiao agreed, feeling that the suggestion made by the great talent Mo (Jun) made perfect sense. Biting her lip, she glanced at the unmoving long robe hanging there, then reached to undo the buttons of her own dress. After undoing just one, she suddenly seemed to remember something, her face flushing instantly. She quickly slipped her entire delicate body into the water, revealing only her head, where she removed her clothes underwater, washed them, and then, with a quick toss, sent them accurately into the space behind the cloth screen...

Hearing a startled cry from within, Miao Xiaomiao pursed her lips and smiled. Suddenly, she froze: the clothes were thrown over, but... what was she supposed to do after she finished washing?

This scoundrel! To use this trick to take advantage of her...

In an instant, Miao Xiaomiao submerged herself, falling into utter panic. Am I supposed to walk out and put on clothes naked later?

It had to be said that Young Master Jun's impression on Miao Xiaomiao was far too good; she hadn't doubted his words at all, never imagining that this fellow could harbor such wicked intentions... Now, without clothes, and naked in the water... she was truly at a loss.

Miao Xiaomiao unconsciously washed her body, frowning as she tried to think of a solution. No matter how long she washed, her body was thoroughly clean, yet she remained stumped.

Unconsciously, she glanced toward the other side, and suddenly her mouth dropped open, her eyes nearly popping out...

On the bank, a youth sat on a stone, wearing only a loincloth, stretching out his two bare legs. His eyes were fixed intently on her, and his mouth wore a glistening... that thing. "You—you—how did you get down here? What are you looking at! Quickly close your eyes!"

Miao Xiaomiao was near tears. Clutching her chest, her entire body instantly sank deep into the water, almost burying her head. Only her eyes remained above the surface. She felt both deeply ashamed and anxious, her heart racing, yet amidst the panic, there was a faint, inexplicable, strange sensation...

"Didn't you say you absolutely wouldn't peek? You—how can you go back on your word? Why did you take off your clothes, you—" Miao Xiaomiao chided, her face red. She couldn't stomp her feet in the water, otherwise, the eldest Miss Miao would certainly have bruised her tiny feet...

"Hm?... Where did I peek? I was clearly watching in broad daylight!"

Jun Moxie shamelessly gaped at the perfect delicate figure in the water, chuckling, "What kind of eyesight do you have, girl? How could I have taken off my clothes? Don't I still have pants on?"

"You—you—" Miao Xiaomiao retorted with indignation, utterly mortified. She slowly moved her body in the water, inching away toward the distance.

But then came a splash. Miao Xiaomiao cried out in alarm and turned back to see that shameless man had already jumped into the water and was swimming vigorously towards her. As he swam, he called out, "Aiya, I'm filthy! I'll come down and wash too. Actually, this pool has been here so long... forget two people, it’s big enough for ten! I see you’ve almost finished washing; you don't mind now, do you?"

Mind? I mind very much! Extremely! Miao Xiaomiao stared dumbfounded at this shameless wretch, rendered utterly speechless!

"You—you... Don't come over! Don't come over!" Miao Xiaomiao retreated in panic, for a moment completely forgetting that her strength was several times greater than this insolent fellow's...

"What did you say? Speak up, I can't hear you... Never mind, I'll get closer, then I should be able to hear..." Jun Moxie said with mock confusion, seemingly unable to hear anything. "Are you calling me? What do you want me to come over for?"

As he spoke, he glided closer like a fish...

The nerve of this guy! They were barely twenty feet apart, yet he pretended not to hear anything. He could probably hear clearly even from two thousand feet away... And he was still asking what she wanted him for! You've touched and you've looked, what else could you possibly want?

Miao Xiaomiao felt so mortified her whole body was burning. As an unmarried maiden, she had never experienced such an awkward situation! Frantically, she kept retreating backward, but unfortunately, she tripped over a submerged rock and immediately fell in the water... Caught completely off guard and flustered, the dignified Second-Level Venerable actually choked on a mouthful of water...

"Ah? Girl, are you alright? Miss Miao, don't worry, I'll save you!"

Young Master Jun cried out with 'concern' and 'urgency,' immediately accelerating. With a whoosh, he reached Miao Xiaomiao's side and instantly pulled her perfectly delicate body tightly into his embrace. His hands immediately became restless, while he shouted, "What's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt anywhere? Let me check... Here..." Luckily, no injury here either... and here... let me see...

At this moment, Miao Xiaomiao felt weak all over, staring with her beautiful, wide-open eyes at the shameless fellow who was in zero-distance contact with her, unable to utter a single word. There is such a paragon of nerve in this world! And he was still shouting about 'saving' her... This man's thick skin was unparalleled...

"Girl, why aren't you speaking? What's wrong?"

It was a credit to him that he was still calling out with feigned astonishment and worry: "Did you swallow water and pass out? Bad, bad! That requires artificial respiration. No problem, I learned how..." He didn't care if Miao Xiaomiao understood the term 'artificial respiration'; after finding a 'perfectly legitimate' excuse, his large mouth immediately covered her small, red lips...

Miao Xiaomiao was only momentarily panicked; she was perfectly fine and needed no artificial respiration! This was just the fellow seizing an opportunity to take advantage... Even if something were truly wrong, sending a strand of Xuan Qi into her body would have sufficed... Besides, what did he mean by 'passed out'? Her eyes were wide open! Miao Xiaomiao's delicate eyes widened to their absolute limit. She wildly pushed him a few times, but their bodies were pressed tightly together now, and she couldn't exert any force to move him. The eldest Miss Miao instantly felt the intense, fiery warmth emanating from his body, along with a rich masculine aura, and her limbs grew softer and softer...

Suddenly, she remembered the words she had spoken earlier: Jun, after we get through this trial, I will be your woman...

(Sigh, I won't write plots like this anymore... after several rounds of review, this resulted in only two updates today... (To be continued. For future developments, find more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!)