Chapter 1098: Invitation

Mi Li raised a brow, her expression becoming somewhat dangerous as she replied, “What kind of request are you thinking of?”

Zu An laughed in embarrassment and said, “I haven’t thought of it yet… Ahem, isn’t it right and proper to treat your own master’s injuries? Talking about this makes us seem like strangers, doesn’t it?”

Mi Li’s expression finally eased somewhat. She said, “At least you have some filial piety. But this empress never owes favors. If I said I’ll agree to something, I’ll agree to it. If you haven’t thought it through yet, you can bring it up in the future when you’ve decided on it. As long as this empress can do it, I’ll definitely give my consent.”

Zu An’s expression turned strange. How can you make a promise like this? Don’t you know that there are some people whose filial piety is completely warped…

Mi Li opened up the jade bottle and brought it to her lips. She then licked the contents with her small tongue. Afterward, she closed her eyes to adjust her breathing and transfer her ki.

Zu An was a bit puzzled, asking, “Why aren’t you directly ingesting the Milk of Purple Frost?”

Even though there was only a single drop, just licking a bit of it would make him feel like a penny-pincher not willing to eat the meat he had bought.

Mi Li harrumphed and replied, “What do you know? The Milk of Purple Frost is a divine substance that contains the essence of heaven and earth. If I directly ingest the drop, in my current state, a large amount of the essence will be wasted. That’s why I need to repair my soul bit by bit using it.”

“Then doesn’t that mean the process will take a long time?” Zu An replied with a frown.

“What, is that too inconvenient for you?” Mi Li shot back, looking completely calm.

Zu An laughed and replied, “What is master saying? Why would I find that inconvenient? I just wanted you to heal up faster.”

“That’s more like it.” Mi Li nodded in satisfaction. “But I was almost gone for good, so a quick recovery isn’t too likely. I need some time to rest and recover. It will take three months at the earliest, and half a year at the latest. I should be able to return to my former state by then.”

“It’s actually going to take that long?” Zu An exclaimed. Even though Mi Li had already given him a heads up ahead of time, he still hadn’t expected it to take that long.

Mi Li said with a serious expression, “An injury to one’s soul is no small matter. Furthermore, I was almost completely killed from my wounds. Just the fact that I’ll be able to recover within a few months is already proof of the power of the Milk of Purple Frost.”

“Alright then. You should focus on your recovery. I’m about to wrap up the Cloudcenter Commandery situation on my own too,” Zu An added. He suddenly recalled that Yun Jianyue’s soul had also been injured by the emperor’s attack. Even though she had been able to recover a bit from the Imperial Hospital’s medicines, judging from what Mi Li was saying, she probably hadn’t fully recovered yet.

Mi Li gave him a look. A hint of praise appeared in her eyes and she remarked, “Even though you look all sloppy and lustful, you’re pretty good at taking care of things. You haven’t let down the title of my disciple.”

Zu An was speechless. This woman always has to give me a pinch in the balls whenever she compliments me. I guess that’s just how she is…

Mi Li reached out her hand and checked his pulse. Then, she nodded and said, “Not bad; you haven’t been so obsessed with women you forgot to cultivate. Your soul is already taking shape from practicing what I told you before. It isn’t far from fully forming now. Tsk, brat, your cultivation speed is pretty ridiculous, as expected of my disciple.”

Zu An sighed and replied, “Cultivation hasn’t been easy these days.”

“Oh? How do you cultivate every day?” Mi Li asked, immediately taking an interest. She had been focused on her recovery to prevent her soul’s collapse, and obviously didn’t know what Zu An had been doing.

“I meditate for an hour when I wake up, and I meditate for an hour before I sleep no matter how tired I am,” Zu An replied. He thought about the times when even though he had just had an intimate session with Big Manman, leaving him completely exhausted, he had still forced himself to cultivate. Of course, he didn’t dare to share that pain with Mi Li, or else she’d immediately make fun of him.

“And then?” Mi Li replied with a frown.

“And then?” Zu An repeated, stunned. He thought for a bit and added, “Oh, I meditate a bit if I have some free time. There’s just been too many things that have happened recently in Cloudcenter Commandery. I’ve been so caught up in things, and yet I still remembered to cultivate. I’ve worked hard, right?”

“That’s it?” Mi Li remarked with a strange expression.

“Were you expecting anything else?” Zu An asked, confused. “Master, don’t tell me you worked even harder than me when you tempered your soul in the past?”

“I…” Mi Li felt as if she were going to vomit blood. However, she said unnaturally with a rigid expression, “Of course I didn’t work that hard back then. Your master was an incredible genius; I didn’t need to spend time meditating at all! Just sleeping was enough.”

“Ah! Master, hurry and teach me how you did it!” Zu An exclaimed excitedly. He really did care about that, because which man wanted to still cultivate after they had just embraced their girl? That was supposed to be the most relaxing and comfortable time, after all.

Mi Li’s face heated up. Like hell she knew how to meditate while she was sleeping. Her talent might have been good, but when she had tempered her soul in the past, even with endless resources, she had still spent an entire year of time.

Yet this guy had only spent so little time, an amount that was completely negligible in her opinion. He had actually reached such a level of soul cultivation in just a month or two! The worst part was that he still acted as if he were extremely hard-working. It really was infuriating.

There was no way the usually prideful Mi Li would admit the truth. She could only come up with a lie to fumble her way through, saying, “If your mind is clear and without distracting thoughts, then you can enter meditation when you sleep.”

“Okay, I’ll give it a try,” Zu An said, a look of longing on his face.

Mi Li thought to herself, Knowing this guy, don’t tell me he’ll really manage to figure out sleep meditation? But she immediately threw that thought away as soon as it appeared in her head. That’s impossible!

After thinking for a bit, she tapped Zu An’s body, and Zu An immediately felt a wave of powerful energy surging within him.

“This is…” Zu An was shocked as the wave of familiar energy passed through him.

“These are Old Mi’s past cultivation and the soul fragments that were previously sealed inside you. Use this chance to completely digest everything. It should be enough for your soul to fully condense,” Mi Li said.

Zu An exclaimed in surprise, “Huh? I thought I was going to use this cultivation to help me break through into the master rank!”

Mi Li shook her head and said, “Your cultivation methods are strange. Whether in terms of quality or quantity, they’re far above that of others at the same level. That’s why you were able to face master ranks while only being at the ninth rank.

“That’s also why you need a tremendous amount of ki to break through the master rank bottleneck. I’ve already unsealed a large amount of Old Mi’s cultivation; there’s only about half of it left. This amount isn’t enough for you to break through. However, because some of his soul fragments still remain, it’s perfect for the construction of your soul.”

Zu An knew that with her cultivation and knowledge, Mi Li wouldn’t make the wrong decision. He said, “Thank you for your guidance, master.”

Mi Li smiled and said, “I can’t have you calling me master for nothing. Teaching you is what I should do. Right, even though Old Mi’s soul has already dispersed and there’s no risk of being possessed, he was still a master rank cultivator in the end. His soul fragments carry some pieces of fragmented will. Be careful and don’t let your mind become corrupted.”

Zu An nodded and became much more cautious. After all, the subject of the soul was no small matter. He didn’t dare to show any carelessness.

Seeing that Zu An didn’t underestimate the matter, Mi Li praised him inwardly. She said in consolation, “However, you don’t need to be too worried. As long as you’re careful, they’ll only become nourishment for your own soul.”

Then, she taught him how to construct his soul before once again disappearing into the Tai’e Sword to focus on her own recovery.

Zu An put his room in order, then secretly left again. Before leaving, he visited Pei You and fooled him with the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer again.

Good bros have to be loyal to each other. Who else would I look for to do this kind of thing but you?

…

When Zu An returned to the Duke Manor, Yu Yanluo sighed in relief, her eyes red as she said, “You are finally back.”

“Did anything happen?” Zu An asked, surprised.

“No, but I was worried that something might have happened to you outside.” Yu Yanluo sorted out her somewhat messy hair and continued, “I just cannot feel at ease without you at my side.”

She immediately realized that those words were unsuitable when she said them. Her face reddened and she quickly added, “I was scared that the people outside might insist on barging in. We would have been exposed if you had still not returned.”

Zu An smiled and said, “I’ve made madam worry. But I’m already back. Madam has already worked all day, and you’re still seriously injured. You should take the chance to get some rest for now.”

Yu Yanluo felt a wave of fatigue overtake her when Zu An reminded her how tired she was. Her injuries had been quite severe to begin with, and she had just spent a long time focusing on the scenes in the recording stone. Indeed, she couldn't hold on for much longer, and she rocked back and forth.

Zu An quickly moved to support her, picking her up and placing her on the bed. Yu Yanluo’s body froze up a bit when she felt his touch, but she didn’t say anything. Only when he helped her cover up did she feel a bit relieved. I really am overthinking things. He is a gentleman.

When he saw her pale complexion, Zu An asked in a concerned tone, “Madam, do you need me to treat your injuries?”

Yu Yanluo trembled from deep within. She immediately pulled her covers closer and exclaimed, “I do not!”

Zu An couldn't help but chuckle when he saw how alarmed she was. He replied, “Then madam should rest well.”

“Where are you going?” Yu Yanluo asked as soon as she saw him turn around.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll just be meditating here,” Zu An replied.

Yu Yanluo bit her lips when she saw how worn out Zu An was. She had a conflicted expression, but in the end, she still quietly said, “You should sleep in the bed too.”