Chapter 9: An Accidental Encounter in the Bathhouse

‘A girl! And naked?’ Lu Yuan’s mind reeled. ‘Had I stumbled into a women’s bathhouse?’

After hearing her piercing shriek, Lu Yuan hastily spoke up. “Young lady! Please, let me explain! It’s not what you imagine!”

Daelothys saw the man opposite her extend his hands, seemingly wanting to approach. Her face instantly drained of color.

“G-get away from me! You pervert! Beast! Filthy scoundrel!”

She clutched one hand over her budding chest. With the other, she splashed water, attempting to drive away the pervert who was drawing near.

The steaming water struck Lu Yuan, leaving him thoroughly disheveled.

Lu Yuan grew desperate. He had never imagined such a cliché situation would befall him. “Young lady! I truly am not that kind of person! Please, just listen to my explanation!”

“Ahhh! Pervert! Don’t come any closer!”

Seeing Lu Yuan approach, Daelothys thrashed wildly in the water.

Lu Yuan felt a terrible headache coming on. When the young girl had been still, it hadn’t been so bad; she could at least try to block his view with her arms, however futilely.

But now, thrashing in the water, his keen eyesight allowed him to see everything on her body with unobstructed clarity.

The ancient sages once said: ‘Look not at what is improper, listen not to what is improper, speak not what is improper, move not in an improper way.’

The current predicament left Lu Yuan, who had been deeply influenced by the teachings of the sages, in an extremely awkward position.

Outside the room, a clamor of voices began to rise.

Daelothys suddenly came to her senses. She immediately snatched a bath towel from the edge of the pool, wrapped it around herself, and scrambled ashore.

She then dashed straight for the door.

“Tong Ya! Save me! There’s a bad man!”

Lu Yuan watched the young girl’s fleeing back, momentarily stunned. Then, he reacted swiftly.

He couldn’t allow her to run out like that. Otherwise, the accusations of him being a lecher and a scoundrel would be impossible to clear.

In his desperation, Lu Yuan invoked his True Essence. He lightly stepped on the water’s surface, lunged forward in a single stride, and with one swift motion, seized the young girl wrapped in the towel.

He pulled her into his embrace, clamping a hand over her mouth.

Daelothys was terrified. She struggled desperately, but Lu Yuan’s two rough, hot hands held her firmly against him, rendering her immobile.

Lu Yuan held the young girl tightly. The soft, smooth sensation beneath the towel in his arms sent a ripple through his mind.

He leaned close to her ear, whispering softly, “Shhh! Don’t make a sound.”

Daelothys grew even more frightened. The unfamiliar masculine scent, the warm breath caressing her cheek, and the tingling sensation of his rough stubble brushing against her skin filled her with overwhelming panic.

“Just be a good girl and listen, and I won’t do anything to you,” Lu Yuan whispered again.

A wry smile, however, played on his lips; he never thought he’d see the day he would threaten a young girl like this.

“Mm… mm…” Daelothys whimpered miserably, attempting another struggle. But then, she suddenly caught a familiar scent.

From the man’s rough hands emanated a faint, yet deeply rich, medicinal fragrance. This comforting aroma instinctively calmed Daelothys.

This man was a master herbalist, and a genuinely experienced one at that. Only a master herbalist, after years of constant contact with various herbs, would develop such a rich, persistent medicinal aroma on their hands.