Chapter Ninety-Five: Peerless Beauty

But that was impossible.

Chu Bing knew she looked a wreck now, covered in grime and without the slightest trace of beauty. There was no way Li Yuxi could have taken a liking to her unless he was blind.

Or perhaps... this was another of Li Yuxi’s schemes?

Yes.

He must have wanted to lower her guard, then use her to force Ren Changfeng and Li Mohan out. After all, one represented the imperial court and the other represented the Li family. If Li Yuxi could seize them both, the benefit would be extraordinary.

And both of them had shown obvious concern for her before...

What a brilliant calculation.

Seeing through it, Chu Bing’s gaze toward Li Yuxi sharpened with understanding, and she said angrily, “Who I care about has nothing to do with you! In any case, it won’t be you!”

“Stop pretending. I’m not falling for it!”

How shameless, trying to appeal to her emotions.

Too bad she was not that kind of fool.

She stuck out her tongue at Li Yuxi, then gathered her inner force, sprang to the window, and vaulted out. Li Yuxi’s expression changed at once, and he followed immediately.

Chu Bing ran as fast as she could, not daring to look back.

She fled from the residence, using lightness skill and instant movement again and again.

Yet the wind behind her howled furiously, clearly showing that Li Yuxi was in relentless pursuit.

“System! Why is this lunatic still chasing me?” Chu Bing was nearly in tears.

She had finally shown kindness for once and saved someone, exhausting herself half to death, and yet the other party behaved like a madman. Fine if he didn’t repay her kindness, but now he wanted to scheme against her too?

The system was already too weary to complain about her train of thought. Still, in order to complete the mission as quickly as possible, it did not approve of Chu Bing falling in love with anyone unrelated to the task.

So it said righteously, “Host, run! Li Yuxi definitely wants to catch you and use you to rise again!”

Even the system said so, and Chu Bing became all the more certain of her guess, her speed increasing with every step.

When Li Yuxi saw Chu Bing growing smaller and smaller in the distance, a flash of anger crossed his eyes. He was just about to speed up and pursue her when a sharp pain suddenly seized his heart.

He stopped abruptly. It felt as though a giant hand had clenched his heart so tightly that he could not breathe.

Leaning against a tree trunk, Li Yuxi panted hard. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. By the time he finally managed to ease the pain a little, Chu Bing had already vanished without a trace.

Chu Bing ran for more than ten miles without daring to look back. Only when she finally saw the outline of a town did she rush straight inside.

Seeing the bustling crowd in the streets, Chu Bing finally felt a little more at ease. No matter how powerful Li Yuxi was, he surely would not dare to seize her in broad daylight before so many people.

“Move along, beggar, don’t block the way!” A woman shoved Chu Bing aside and led her child away.

Chu Bing froze, then lowered her head to look at herself. Only then did she realize that the clothes on her body had been torn long ago when she fell off the cliff. She was covered in dirt, her original appearance completely obscured. Who else could she be but a little beggar?

She really did need to tidy herself up.

Chu Bing touched her chin, took out a silver ingot from her robes, and curled her lips in satisfaction.

Half an hour later.

Chu Bing sat in the bath in the inn, feeling utterly refreshed.

“This is what life is supposed to be like! My life before was so miserable!” Chu Bing washed her face with water, then suddenly remembered that she had not seen her own face in a long time. If this went on, she would forget what she looked like!

She hurriedly removed the mask from her face and washed away the remaining makeup with clean water. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a face in the water that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

The girl reflected on the water had jet-black hair falling over her shoulders, snow-white skin like fine jade, lips slightly parted, and an expression full of astonishment. Her round, almond-shaped eyes were seductive and soul-stealing, purity and beauty perfectly combined in one face.

They were clearly still her features, yet as if they had been enhanced a hundredfold.

“This, this, this is... me?” Chu Bing was so shocked she could barely speak clearly.

When had she become this beautiful?

This face was stunning beyond words. If it were not her own, she would have fallen in love with it.

And fallen hard.

She could not help but gently stroke the smooth, jade-like skin, her heart trembling with both shock and excitement. What in the world was going on? Or was there some secret in the water?

The system said quietly, “Does the host remember the fruit you ate before? It had the effect of cleansing the marrow and purging the impurities from your body, while also refining you toward perfection.”

So this was the reason she had become prettier?

Chu Bing’s eyes brightened, the corners of her mouth lifting as she inwardly marveled at how her skin truly felt like cream and jade beneath her fingers...

She gazed at her reflection, a dreamy smile appearing on her face...

Wait.

Li Yuxi had eaten that fruit too!

“System, what about Li Yuxi? What changed for him?”

His face didn’t seem to have changed at all.

The system snorted. “That’s because he was already naturally handsome. You should know, he is the most beautiful man in this world, so there was no room for improvement. What was enhanced instead was his martial skill. His current strength is dozens of times greater than before.”

Chu Bing froze, then panic instantly spread across her face. “What? No way. I already couldn’t beat him before, and now he’s even stronger. Where am I supposed to find a way to survive?”

She curled up in the bath, showing only half her face, and thought bitterly: she absolutely could not let that lunatic catch her. Otherwise... she might never escape again.

That man was like a lingering ghost; who knew when he would appear again? It seemed she needed to find somewhere to hide for a while.

Chu Bing soaked in the water until her legs went numb before getting out.

Since she was alone in the room, she wore only a water-red undershirt and underpants. She dried her hair, leaned against the bed, and thought it over before speaking to the system.

“It looks like I still have to go back to the Li manor and find Li Mohan.”

The others were simply too hard to win over. It was far too difficult to get news of Li Haoran from them. Even if Li Mohan might not tell her, he certainly would not torment her like that pervert Li Yuxi!

This was already the only possible solution, and the system could only agree.

Chu Bing dried her hair. Before long, sleepiness washed over her. She had been outside these past few days and had not had a single proper night’s rest. Now she was exhausted and fell asleep not long after.

Once her breathing became steady, a black shadow suddenly appeared in the room.

He stood quietly beside the bed, looking at the sleeping Chu Bing. Reaching out, he brushed the hair from her face and revealed a breathtaking visage, causing a trace of surprise to flicker in his eyes.

“So she is this beautiful after all. As expected...”

His perfectly formed lips curved slightly. Then he bent down and gently pressed a kiss to Chu Bing’s red lips.

The kiss touched and parted in an instant, carrying a fullness of cherished tenderness.

“Be good. I’ll be watching over you. I won’t let anyone have you.”

With that, he leaped lightly onto the bed, his movements so deft that not even the slightest tremor stirred. Once he lay down, a satisfied smile played at his lips. He wrapped one arm around Chu Bing and drew her into his embrace, not daring to hold her too tightly for fear of waking her.

The wind stirred outside the window. On the bed, Chu Bing turned uneasily in her sleep. The man patted her back gently, coaxing her as if she were a child.

Everything fell back into stillness, as though nothing had happened at all.

The system, having witnessed all of this, silently looked at the deeply sleeping Chu Bing.

This foolish girl probably would not even know if she had been sold.