Chapter 195 - 175: He Likes You

The moment their gazes met, Su Mo couldn’t hide the shock in her eyes.

She stared at the red mark on Xuan Qing’s wrist, her mind going blank for a moment.

Xuan Qing calmly lowered his wrist. His gaze, as placid as still water, fell upon her, his tone as distant and indifferent as ever. "My blood allows the medicine to achieve its maximum effect."

Su Mo’s lips trembled. She wanted to say something, but for a moment, she was at a loss for words.

After a brief silence, Xuan Qing strode toward her.

Su Mo instinctively stumbled back in a fluster, but he merely strode past her and headed outside.

"Xuan Qing!"

She finally stopped him.

"You didn’t have to do that... I’ll get better eventually just by taking the medicine."

His voice remained as cool as water, showing no hint of emotion. "I’m the one who wanted it to work faster."

Su Mo stood there, momentarily unsure how to respond.

In the twilight, his silver hair was like frost, shimmering with a cold light under the moon. Even the sight of his back exuded an otherworldly aloofness.

His cool, detached voice drifted over again. "Miss Su, you protected the myriad people of the Tiger Clan and later freed me from my predicament. What I’ve done is nothing; you needn’t take it to heart. This is a critical time in our fight against Jiang Wu. My blood will only help you, not harm you."

Su Mo clenched her fists, the furrow between her brows deepening.

In her mind, Little Nine was ranting furiously: ’Why is he being so stubborn? Every word is about other people, every sentence is about the greater good. He just won’t mention his own feelings. What’s so hard about just saying ’I like you’?!’

After a long pause, Su Mo spoke. "Don’t do this again. I don’t like people getting hurt for me, even if it’s... for my own good."

Xuan Qing whirled around, the hand at his side clenching into a fist.

His gaze on her remained as placid as still water, but his tone was no longer completely devoid of emotion. "Miss Su, do you dislike it when anyone does this, or... is it just that you dislike *me* doing it!"

Su Mo’s gaze darkened, her tone firm. "Anyone. I don’t want to see anyone get hurt for my sake."

Xuan Qing’s icy eyes stared at her. For a moment, a torrent of emotions seemed to surge in his chest, yet what he said was, "This doesn’t count as an injury. A wound like this is insignificant to me. At most, you could call it..."

He closed his eyes, suppressing the tempest of emotions in his heart before speaking in a detached voice. "Mutual benefit. Right now, Miss Su... you are the best person to defeat Jiang Wu. Only after she is defeated can our Tiger Clan live in peace. Isn’t that so?"

With that, he lowered his gaze to hide the turmoil in his eyes, forcefully suppressing his surging emotions. "Even if it weren’t you, I would do the same for anyone else. So, there’s no need for you to be troubled by this."

’Because I know she doesn’t like me, I can’t reveal any personal feelings. Otherwise, she’ll feel guilty and blame herself. I don’t need her guilt, and I especially don’t want to see her filled with self-reproach. I... I just want her to be safe.’

"I’ve said all I have to say. Miss Su, you should understand my intentions."

Su Mo’s brow was furrowed tightly. Before she could figure out what to say, the man before her had vanished.

She turned and looked at the bowl of medicine on the kitchen counter, her thoughts a tangled mess.

Little Nine sighed, then said through gritted teeth, "Host, he’s not being honest with himself. He likes you."

Su Mo just stared at the bowl of medicine, silent for a long time.

Little Nine raised its voice. "Host, I’m telling you, the third young master likes you!"

’Since that stubborn man refuses to say it himself, then it’s up to me, the system, to say it for him.’

Su Mo’s eyes narrowed slightly. She picked up the cooled bowl of medicine, downed it in one gulp, and then turned to walk out.

"Host, are you even listening to me..." Little Nine was so anxious it felt like it was having a rave in her head. ’He likes you so much, why not just win him over? Your power might even increase!’

Su Mo frowned. "Shut up."

"But he’s a Level Nine Beastman..."

"This has nothing to do with his Level! His feelings and his power should not become a weapon for me to use against my enemies."

Little Nine went quiet for a moment, seemingly understanding. In a sincere tone, it said, "I’m sorry~"

That evening, Su Mo only cooked one dish. The rest of the meal had been prepared by Xuan Qing earlier.

Her spicy rabbit meat dish, at first glance, seemed to contain more chili peppers than rabbit.

Ye Yuan took a single bite and felt like he was about to breathe fire.

Cang Lan and Yue Ying weren’t faring much better.

And yet, she kept piling more food onto their plates. "Come on, eat up! Finish every last bite. It’s rare for me to cook, so no wasting food!"

Yue Ying shot a quiet glance at Fei Yan and Mo Xiao, communicating silently: ’Is our wife trying to murder her husbands today?’

Without a change in expression, Mo Xiao finished the rabbit meat Su Mo had placed in his bowl.

Even though it was so spicy he felt like he was on fire, he endured it.

’Wife is in a mood today. I’m not sure why she’s angry yet, but it’s better to let her vent.’