Chapter 15: Purification

“Nothing much.Just measuring.
Didn’t expect them to actually bounce… No wonder I always felt a strange fire in my chest whenever I saw Xia Yubing walk past me before.”
Ou Zhiqing muttered as her hand mischievously gave two more squeezes.

“Ah! I’m not Xia Yubing! What’s the point of measuring me?!”
My face burned, my heart pounding.
This feeling was just way too strange.

“That’s hard to say…”
Ou Zhiqing lowered her voice so much that I couldn’t quite catch what she said after.
I had to ask, “What did you just say? Can you repeat it?”

“Nothing.
Did you learn the purification method yet?
If you did, try it on yourself.”
She forcefully steered the conversation elsewhere.

“Uh… I think I picked up a little.”
I admitted.
Just now, I had deliberately watched her technique—using both hands, maintaining mirrored gestures, almost like massage movements.

I rubbed my thigh with the same motion.
Sure enough, faint wisps of black qi dispersed into the air.
I hadn’t expected it to be this easy.
I thought mystical techniques needed years of practice before they worked.

“Yes, just like that.A bit harder.
Your hand shape’s off—make sure to keep your hands wet at all times.”

Ou Zhiqing guided me from the side, and before I noticed, she had come over, giving me another full view of her body.

“Mmhm! I’ll start cleansing myself too.You keep practicing.”

She quickly realized where my gaze had drifted, slipped to the other side, and turned her back to me.
The two of us quietly scrubbed, backs facing each other.
The room fell into a strange, silent stillness.

With my ability to see qi, cleansing was straightforward.
I just had to scrub where the black aura lingered until it was gone.

By contrast, Ou Zhiqing seemed to be scrubbing blindly.
Relying only on touch and intuition, she had to cover every inch of her body just in case.

I wasn’t trying to peek at her.
I only wanted to compare our methods.
But from the way she often scrubbed perfectly clean spots, it was obvious—she couldn’t see a thing.

And then there was another problem.
Not just her—just cleansing this body of Xia Yubing’s was pressure enough.
Her figure was simply too flawless.
Her skin, smooth and delicate beyond reason.
Every touch sent a ripple of heat through me.

After hastily finishing my own cleanse, I turned to check on Ou Zhiqing.
She was just standing up when I noticed faint traces of black aura clinging to her back.
I reminded her, “Your back isn’t fully clean yet.”

“Uh… purification requires both hands together.I can’t reach my own back, so it’s inevitable.”

Ou Zhiqing’s face flushed red.

“Want me to help scrub for you?”
I blurted out.
I’d only cleansed myself so far, and suddenly I wanted to test if the method worked on someone else too.

“No need!
If I soak a while longer, the leftover filth will disperse!”
She protested, flustered, and immediately sank into the tub.

I froze, only then realizing—she’s still a girl.
Even if circumstances forced us to bathe together, letting me scrub her back was simply too much.

The atmosphere grew awkward again.
Ou Zhiqing sank into the steaming bath, using the shower head to rinse herself while continuing her purification.
But as for me, the filth clinging to my body was still heavy.
It would take a while before I finished cleansing.

That was when Ou Zhiqing suddenly spoke up.
“You should get in too.”

“Eh?”
I glanced over in confusion.

Ou Zhiqing urged,
“Come into the tub too.”

“B-But… you’re already inside.”
I stammered.
The tub at her house was big enough, but only for one person to lie down comfortably.

If I got in, we’d either have to lie tangled together chest-to-back, or curl up with our legs awkwardly crossed.
Neither option sounded good at all.

And really, was there any reason I had to get in?
A rinse with the shower should’ve been enough.
No need for the tub.

“Stop wasting time and get in.
This spiritual water only works for a short while, and it’s just enough for the two of us to soak together.”
Ou Zhiqing pulled out a little bottle from the bathroom shelf, looking more like perfume than medicine.

I knew this had to be part of the process—either for dealing with the Skin-Painting Ghost or for cleansing filth.
So I didn’t argue further and slid into the tub.

In the end, we settled on a rather awkward posture.
The two of us lay side by side, backs pressed together.
It was cramped, but oddly comfortable.

Still, my back pressed to hers, my hips brushing against hers…
Her soft scent lingered in the steam, her warmth sinking into my skin.
I had to keep silently reminding myself to calm down.

She uncorked the bottle and poured the liquid into the bathwater.
At once, the water filled with a fresh, vibrant aura.
The filth clinging to me began to melt away rapidly.

“This spiritual water works that well?
Then why didn’t we just use it from the start instead of all that scrubbing?”
I asked, feeling the cleansing flow soak into me.
My nerves loosened, tension dissolving with it.

“I only have this one small bottle.
How much filth do you think it can purify?
If you use it up right away, that’s it.
Even the disciples of the great sects who cultivate near spiritual springs must first scrub their bodies before soaking—otherwise they’d pollute the source.”
Ou Zhiqing explained.

She was right.
I could feel it clearly: as the filth was driven out of me, the refreshing aura in the water thinned too, as though they were cancelling each other out.
In just a short while, both were gone.

“You mean those great sects—like the ones in novels?
With immortal masters and eminent monks?”
I asked.
Normally, I wouldn’t believe any of it.
It’s the twenty-first century.
All those so-called ancient temples were just tourist traps to me.

But the talisman from earlier had changed my outlook.
If talismans were real, then there had to be true Daoist priests to draw them.
And if priests existed, then sects and lineages had to as well.

“Mm. Of course they exist.
Why else would so many people flock to those sacred mountains and ancient temples every year?
This bottle of spiritual water was actually a gift from a friend who once went to Dragon-Tiger Mountain.”
Ou Zhiqing said.

“Uh… I should get out now.”
I stood up quickly.
Sharing a bath with her was far too awkward.
The filth had already been cleansed anyway—no point staying.

“Eh?
You can soak a little longer.
The more thoroughly you cleanse the filth, the better prepared you’ll be for what comes next.”
Ou Zhiqing’s voice was low, her tone carrying a faint nuance I couldn’t quite place.

“The water’s aura is already gone, and most of our filth is cleansed.
Staying longer won’t help.
We should get out.”
I stepped out and reached for a bathrobe to dry myself.

“Ah?”
Ou Zhiqing let out a soft cry of surprise.
Only then did she realize the aura in the water had already faded completely.
Sure enough, her heart had been distracted—her intentions not quite what they seemed.