Chapter 59: Scoundrel or Scholar?

"Wh... what do you mean?"

Xu An looked at Mu Qingqing in utter bewilderment. He simply could not understand why she would suddenly ask such a question.

"Just answer honestly! Did you touch me or not?"

Mu Qingqing's gaze was as sharp and piercing as a drawn blade.

"The last time you were injured and passed out, I carried you back on my back. Physical contact was inevitable during the process, so strictly speaking, I suppose I did... touch you?"

Xu An replied cautiously, trying his best to be precise.

He could sense that this woman was in a completely different state than just moments ago. While she had been angry earlier, there had been no murderous intent in her eyes. But right now, genuine killing intent lingered within them.

This meant Mu Qingqing had murder on her mind; if he gave even a slightly wrong answer, she might actually kill him on the spot!

Even so, Xu An knew he had to speak the truth—playing dumb was out of the question.

"Uh... perhaps I phrased the question incorrectly."

Mu Qingqing quickly reorganized her thoughts, then said, "Let me ask again. Did you... did you deliberately touch me?"

Xu An: "???"

"Miss Mu, is there any fundamental difference between the question you're asking now and the one you just asked?"

Mu Qingqing pondered for a moment. "That's true. Let me rephrase it."

Xu An: "..."

Mu Qingqing's expression turned somewhat unnatural. After hesitating for a long time, she finally managed to blurt out, "Did you secretly touch my breasts?"

"Huh?"

Xu An stared at her with wide eyes.

"Stop... stop talking nonsense and answer me quickly! Did you secretly touch them or not?"

Her face flushing under Xu An's intense stare, Mu Qingqing found it hard to even maintain her killing intent. She turned her head away to avoid his gaze.

"Of course not!"

Xu An looked utterly righteous. "I consider myself a scholar; how could I ever stoop to doing something so shameless?"

With a theatrical sigh of heartache, he looked at her reproachfully.

"Miss Mu, I never expected that in your eyes, I would be someone so utterly devoid of principles. No wonder you always snap at me—it turns out you've harbored suspicions against me all along. I am your savior! Without me, you'd be dead by now. Instead of feeling any gratitude, you actually think this of me? Truly, it's hard being a good person. Had I known I'd be met with such vile misunderstandings, I never would have meddled in your affairs."

Seeing Xu An's expression of such sincere grievance, doubt began to creep into her heart. She could not detect a single flaw on his face. Could she truly have been judging a noble heart with a petty mind?

Yet, if he hadn't carefully touched her, how could he possibly know her exact size?

At this thought, she glared back at him. "You... didn't you buy me a bodice... and it fit as perfectly as if you had meticulously measured me? If you never secretly touched me, how on earth did you know my size?"

As these words left her mouth, her face flushed crimson. No matter how free-spirited, unconstrained, or bold she usually was, she was still a woman at heart, and discussing such topics inevitably brought out a deep-seated shyness.

"When you speak, it's as if you've swallowed gunpowder! So this is why you've been doubting me all this time!"

Xu An countered with an indignant tone. "To suspect your own savior like this—aren't you being a bit ungrateful?"

"You... stop rambling and give me a straight answer! If you can convince me, I'll apologize to you!" Mu Qingqing said, her expression quite unnatural.

Fair is fair: acting this way was indeed going too far, teetering on the edge of ingratitude. But regardless of anything else, this concerned whether she had been violated—and more importantly, it concerned the true character of the man who had saved her life.

If his character was vile, such a person would undoubtedly have seized the opportunity to violate her. In that case, no matter how terribly she treated him, it wouldn't be excessive. Therefore, no matter what, she had to get to the bottom of this.

"An apology won't be necessary. In this world, apologies are the cheapest commodity of all," Xu An shook his head. "You owe me a favor instead!"

"Wh... what kind of favor?"

Mu Qingqing felt she needed to clarify this first. What if this scoundrel demanded that she offer her body to him?

Xu An emphasized, "A massive favor! If I ever need your help in the future, you cannot refuse, and you must act immediately!"

"As long as it doesn't break the law, violate morality, or defy justice—agreed!"

Mu Qingqing thought it over and nodded in consent. Then, she added with a hint of disdain, "Sometimes I realize how thoroughly you double-standard this. When it's convenient, you're a scholar; when it's not, you're a complete rogue. How do you manage to seamlessly switch between a scholar and a scoundrel?"

"That's called being thoroughly enlightened!"

Xu An put on a solemn face. "Besides, let alone a mere scholar, even a saint cannot escape the calculus of self-interest. I break no laws, nor do I harm others for my own benefit. Why is it wrong to reasonably advocate for my own interests? No one has the qualification to stand on a moral pedestal and look down on me!"

"You..."

Knowing he was subtly jabbing at her, Mu Qingqing let out a cold snort. "A bunch of specious sophistry! I am magnanimous, so I won't lower myself to argue with you."

Yet, upon deeper reflection, she had to admit that a part of her actually agreed with his logic. Naturally, she couldn't show it on her face, lest this fellow's ego swell straight up to the heavens.

Xu An smiled, then let his gaze drift toward Mu Qingqing's chest. He had to admit, the scenery was truly magnificent and deeply captivating. No matter how many times he looked, it still delivered a heavy impact, and he never grew tired of it.

"Didn't you want to know how I figured out your size?"

Xu An asked with a deadpan, serious expression. "My eyes are a measuring tape; I can tell your size at a single glance. It's really not that difficult for me!"

"You... if you keep staring like that, I'll gouge your eyes out!"

Seeing Xu An shamelessly locking his eyes onto her, Mu Qingqing felt a sudden surge of shame and fury. She snapped, "You wretched scoundrel! Do you take me for a three-year-old child, so easily fooled? Your eyes are a measuring tape? Who on earth would believe such utter rubbish? Can you come up with a more pathetic lie? I know for a fact you secretly touched me and you're just refusing to admit it! Tell me, how do you want to die?"

A murderous aura radiated from Mu Qingqing as she advanced step by step toward Xu An. The surging energy around her flared up, whipping the loose hem of her purple skirt into the air and revealing a slender, snow-white stretch of leg.

Xu An swallowed hard—this woman was actually playing for keeps!

He quickly stammered, "Everything I said is the absolute truth! If you refuse to believe me, what can I do? Besides, your accusation that I secretly touched you is nothing more than your own guess. Do you have any evidence? I am your savior! Are you really going to unleash violence on your benefactor based purely on a gut feeling? Isn't that a bit too ungrateful?"

"Hmph, save your useless breath! Do you really think I don't know what goes on in a man's mind?" Mu Qingqing stepped closer, her voice ice-cold. "With assets as impressive as mine, how could you not be tempted? I was unconscious, and such a golden opportunity was right in front of you—would you really have let it pass?"

"Miss Mu, you are indeed well-endowed and breathtaking, and you possess a fatal attraction to ordinary men. But do you take me for an ordinary man?"

Xu An tried to reason with her. "I think that whatever issues we have should be discussed calmly and peacefully, rather than resorting to violence at every turn. That will only deepen the misunderstandings. I am a scholar, with a bright moon residing in my heart; how could I ever commit such a heaven-defying, deeply despicable act?"

"Right on cue, you're a scholar again," Mu Qingqing mocked through gritted teeth.

"If... if you won't trust my eyes, you should at least trust yourself! With a scale like yours, very few women in the entire world possess it. Naturally, when I bought it, I had to purchase the absolute largest size available! I refuse to believe there are women in this world with anything larger than yours. Even if there were, their undergarments would surely have to be custom-made. Am I not right?"

"Hmph... fine! I suppose your logic holds up."

After pondering for a moment, Mu Qingqing finally reined in her overwhelming aura.

Seeing this, Xu An let out a long breath of relief. When this woman lost her temper, she was truly terrifying; an invisible, suffocating pressure radiated from her body, making it hard to breathe.

In truth, Mu Qingqing had only meant to scare Xu An, hoping to frighten the truth out of him—she hadn't genuinely planned to kill him. As a chief constable, she believed in evidence above all else; without proof, she would never resort to actual bloodshed.

She simply hadn't expected that, even under such intense intimidation, she couldn't catch him slipping. On the contrary, his reasoning had sounded completely airtight.

Perhaps she really had wronged him.

Realizing this, a trace of embarrassment washed over her. She gave a dry cough and said, "Well... consider that I owe you a favor. If you ever genuinely need help in the future, you can come find me anytime!"

"You know martial arts, right?" Xu An asked.

"I do, but my martial arts are practiced exclusively by women and aren't suited for you," Mu Qingqing replied, before adding thoughtfully, "Though, if you're willing to pay a certain price, it's not entirely un-practicable."

"What price?"

"To master this technique, a man must first castrate himself, otherwise he will suffer a deviation in his Qi and die," Mu Qingqing said casually.

"Forget it then."

Mu Qingqing instantly killed any lingering thoughts Xu An might have had.

After a brief pause, Xu An asked another question. "The young woman named Tao Qianqian who came to my house a couple of days ago—you must know her. She knows martial arts too. How does her skill compare to yours?"

Mu Qingqing wore an expression of absolute arrogance. "I am the youngest martial arts grandmaster in the entire Great Wei! A little girl like her? I could take a hundred of them by myself!"

"You... you're that formidable? Really or are you just exaggerating?" Xu An found it hard to believe.

Based on the strength Tao Qianqian had displayed, taking on dozens of burly men at once should have been a breeze for her. Yet Mu Qingqing was now boasting that a single one of her could defeat a hundred Tao Qianqians. Didn't that mean she alone possessed the might of an entire army?

"Believe it or not, it's up to you," Mu Qingqing muttered, too lazy to explain further—after all, Xu An wouldn't understand a word of it anyway.

She then added, "Still, that little girl has exceptional talent and a remarkably pure mind. If she maintains her original resolve and keeps practicing, ten years from now, she has a strong chance of reaching the absolute pinnacle of spear mastery. Moreover, although she's still growing, she has already crossed the threshold of martial arts. Teaching you would be more than enough. You might want to court her favor—I can tell she holds quite a favorable impression of you."

"By the way... thank... thank you."

With those final words, Mu Qingqing turned around and strode back into the courtyard.