"Relax Lord Owner, I'll be right back."
After reassuring him while shooting him a soft, calm smile, Wu Jun Qiao wordlessly watched her leave the room with graceful and even steps, his eyes staying glued to her back and Fan Zhu Xia who just went out, completely missed the small yet affectionate smile on Wu Jun Qiao's face.
At this time, she was busy talking to Yi Ting Zhe who had just gotten back.
"Princess, this servant has brought all the herbs on the list... Please check if it's correct and if it is still insufficient, this servant would go and get some more..."
Upon checking the contents of the space ring that Yi Ting Zhe handed over to her, Fan Zhu Xia's eyes couldn't help but widen in surprise before a smile filled with appreciation and approval showed on her expression.
"This is fine. It's more than enough to last for at least a month and a half... This will do for now and if we still need to extend the duration required for Young Master Wu to take medicinal baths, there should still be enough time to gather more herbs in the future..."
"Then is there anything else that I should prepare?" Yi Ting Zhe asked.
"Yes there is... Please have someone prepare a soaking tub filled with hot water and bring it into the room. I'll prepare the medicinal bath there."
"Right away Princess..." with a quick nod, Yi Ting Zhe excused himself.
Fan Zhu Xia on the other hand just turned to Chun Tao and once again reiterated to her not to let anyone disturb her and only let the servants that Yi Ting Zhe will bring inside to prepare the medicinal bath before disappearing back inside the room.
"You're back..." Wu Jun Qiao stated as soon as Fan Zhu Xia entered the door, making the corners of her lips tilt upwards slightly.
"En..."
Silence settled between them as the two stared at each other before Fan Zhu Xia decided to open her mouth and speak.
"So how should This Princess refer to you? As Lord Owner or Young Master Wu?"
"How about Jun Qiao?"
Hearing his ambiguous reply, Fan Zhu Xia couldn't help but laugh before saying, "I don't think that's appropriate, too casual..."
"Why not? I dare say that we have been through a life and death situation and I think that's enough to be a little casual."
"Be that as it may, we are still not that familiar..."
"On the contrary, I think we are quite familiar with each other..." Wu Jun Qiao retorted playfully as he held her gaze as she neared the bed.
Seeing him act all energetic despite still looking a bit pale, Fan Zhu Xia shook her head in amusement before going along with his antics.
"But I don't think we're familiar enough... What do you think we should do to change that?" Fan Zhu Xia asked teasingly while at the same time reaching out her hand and slowly trailing her fingers across his cheeks frivolously before heading down to his cheek and continuing on to his neck and collarbone, making Wu Jun Qiao's eyes widen in surprise.
Catching her wandering hand, Wu Jun Qiao let out a deep chuckle and held her hand tightly making Fan Zhu Xia raise a questioning eyebrow coquettishly.
"I believe we have a lot of time to get to know and familiarize ourselves with each other, don't you think so?"
Just as she was about to reply, a knock sounded on the door and Yi Ting Zhe called out from the other side, asking if they may enter.
After sending an amused look towards Wu Jun Qiao, Fan Zhu Xia responded and gave them permission to enter, leaving Wu Jun Qiao no choice but to let her go.
Yi Ting Zhe who just entered didn't notice anything out of the ordinary but when he saw Wu Jun Qiao with his eyes open, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Young Master, you're awake!"
"En... It's all thanks to Zhu Xia's efforts that I was able to wake up, now she owns my life."
Hearing the familiarity amidst his brazen words, Yi Ting Zhe was left speechless as his eyes darted between them, back and forth while Fan Zhu Xia who was the subject of such shamelessness was left tongue-tied before bursting out with helpless laughter but seeing Yi Ting Zhe's confusion, she could only ignore it and direct them to set up soaking tub to one side and wait for them to finish pouring the hot water in before telling them to go out first.
The moment they were alone, Fan Zhu Xia turned to Wu Jun Qiao and uttered one word filled with amusement and curiosity.
"Really?"
"Really..." Wu Jun Qiao affirmed with a serious look in his eyes, startling Fan Zhu Xia.
"But why?" Fan Zhu Xia asked with a no-nonsense gaze, losing her playful atmosphere when she felt the change in his demeanor and making her realize that he wasn't joking around.
"Would you believe me if I said we were fated?"
Hearing that, Fan Zhu Xia couldn't stop the wry smile from appearing on her lips.
"Would you be offended if I said no?"
"Not really..." Wu Jun Qiao replied as he chuckled lightly.
"Then why?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you right now... Although I promise to explain everything to you in the future."
Falling silent, Fan Zhu Xia looked at him with a measuring gaze as she pursed her lips.
"Fine... I'll wait for the day you'll explain everything to me."
As soon as she said those words, Fan Zhu Xia felt a bit complicated inside but despite feeling unbalanced, something was telling her that it was okay to trust him which also added to her confusion. Pushing her thoughts away, Fan Zhu Xia turned to the tub filled with hot water that still emitted steam and proceeded to bring out several herbs from the space ring that Yi Ting Zhe gave her earlier in succession.
After her some preparations, Fan Zhu Xia manifested her alchemic flame and then one by one, she threw the herbs into it, letting the vermilion-red flames envelop it and remove any impurities it may have just like when she was refining pills but this time she didn't stop at the purification process but also proceeded to extract the herbs essence and let it drip down into the hot water and any remains from the herb was crushed and grinded into a fine powder using her qi before it was also added into the water.
She processed all the herbs the same way and as the room's temperature heated up due to her alchemic flames, it was also filled with a strong medicinal scent.
The original clear water in the soaking tub turned into an opaque, pale jade green color.
Turning back to face Wu Jun Qiao, Fan Zhu Xia said, "I'll have Yi Ting Zhe help you get into the bath first and then I'll come back and give you some acupuncture when you're done. Remember, you have to soak in the water until it turns completely clear and try to circulate your qi while you're at it."
"Alright, I understand..."
With a nod, Fan Zhu Xia checked the medicinal bath one last time and after making sure that everything is in order, she went out without another word.