"No more, meow~! Master meow~! My body... probably just needs a bit more rest and I'll be fine, meow~! No need to trouble Master for me, a mere servant, meow~!"
Xiao Ye Xuan wanted to treat Tang San's illness, but no matter what, Tang San would never agree.
These past few days were honestly the happiest days Tang San had spent here.
When Xiao Ye Xuan wasn't around, Tang San not only avoided any punishments but was free to sneak around the herb garden looking for medicinal herbs.
Although, she hadn't yet found that legendary Poison King.
Still, Tang San was able to secretly practice making poisons.
She believed it wouldn't be long before she could turn the tables on Xiao Ye Xuan and escape this damn place.
How could she let Xiao Ye Xuan cure her?
If cured, who knew if Xiao Ye Xuan would drag her back outside again.
That plan would be ruined.
Xiao Ye Xuan frowned. Without even thinking, he knew Tang San was deliberately keeping herself weak.
How on earth did she keep up that feeble act?
Xiao Ye Xuan wasn't stupid; he figured she must be taking some herbs that made her feel unwell.
After a long silence, wanting to trouble Tang San and gain some system rewards, Xiao Ye Xuan wasn't about to give up so easily.
He first reached out and touched Tang San's forehead — it was burning hot. Tang San really did have a fever around 38 or 39 degrees Celsius.
He said:
"Little San, this won't do. Look at how weak you are — dragging me around is even tiring! I don't want to see such a good toy like you broken, hehe, let me cure you properly."
Tang San panicked. She knew all the "kindness" from Xiao Ye Xuan was just a trap — once cured, endless torment would follow.
In these few days, Xiao Ye Xuan hadn't been too harsh, so Tang San's fear of him had lessened considerably.
She even started daring to resist him.
So again, Tang San shook her head hard and refused:
"No, no, no, Master meow~! I'm just a little sick, meow~! A few days' rest and I'll be fine, meow~! No need to bother Master, meow~!"
"Master meow~! You've been busy for a long time and must be tired, meow~! I want to take good care of Master meow~! If I'm busy treating myself here, who'll take care of Master meow~?"
Listen to that! This little Tang San sure knows how to sweet-talk.
It actually made Xiao Ye Xuan reluctant to cure her.
Well, if he didn't cure her, then fine — but whatever trouble Tang San caused, she'd have to bear the consequences herself.
Then Xiao Ye Xuan gently nodded and said:
"Alright, Little San, if you insist, then I won't treat you."
Hearing this, Tang San felt proud.
Finally, she could have a few more days of freedom, since she said just resting a few days was enough.
But "a few days" could mean two days, two months, or forever!
And that was definitely not up to Tang San.
"But! Tang San, you've got some nerve!"
Just as Tang San was feeling pleased, Xiao Ye Xuan suddenly shouted sharply, making her nerves tense.
Tang San quickly reviewed everything she had done these days in her mind.
She had been very bold, doing all sorts of things.
What worried her was: what exactly had Xiao Ye Xuan discovered?
Had he found out she was meddling, practicing medicine, or... something else?
After a quick mental sweep, Tang San wasn't sure, but she immediately knelt down, acting scared, and stubbornly said:
"Master meow~! I... I'm loyal to Master, I haven't done anything wrong... Master, please just tell me, I'll change, meow~!"
Tang San was clever — Xiao Ye Xuan hadn't explicitly said what mistake she'd made.
Maybe he really didn't know and was just making a fuss.
If Tang San confessed everything, wouldn't that just let Xiao Ye Xuan win?
No way would she do something that stupid!
How could her secret poisoning practice escape Xiao Ye Xuan's eyes?
He wasn't afraid of whatever medicine she was making.
If he wanted to, he could have crushed her hopes of escape right then and there.
However, the "handy" thing Tang San kept doing — sneaking into the bathroom — really did keep Xiao Ye Xuan in the dark.
But what Xiao Ye Xuan brought up wasn't either of those.
It was something else.
"Hmph! Stubborn mouth, huh!"Xiao Ye Xuan snorted disdainfully, then grabbed the large blue fox tail behind Tang San.
Tang San's face instantly panicked.
She had indeed tampered with that fox tail.
You could say it wasn't the same big fox tail as before.
When Xiao Ye Xuan left last time, Tang San was terrified just looking at that huge tail.
So she got a similar one, had Xiao Wu recolor it, and even trimmed the fox tail's attachment point to make it less painful to wear.
She had been so proud of her cleverness for several days.
But who would've thought it would be found out so quickly by Xiao Ye Xuan?
The evidence was ironclad, and Tang San had no way to explain.
Her body trembled — the punishment coming was going to be severe.
Xiao Ye Xuan loved punishing Tang San, especially when she deserved it herself.
Such punishments made Tang San regretful and hurt even more.
The harsher the punishment, the greater the benefits earned.
"Master! Master meow~! This... this isn't Third Sister's fault, it's mine! I saw Third Sister wearing the fox tail was uncomfortable, so I took the initiative to replace it with a smaller one! It's... all my fault, meow~! Master meow~! If there's punishment... punish me! It's not Third Sister's fault! It's all my fault, meow~!"
Xiao Wu didn't want to see Tang San suffer any more at Xiao Ye Xuan's hands, so she quickly threw herself in front of him, hugging his leg and taking responsibility for the crime.
Xiao Ye Xuan could tell what was going on.
Tang San raised an eyebrow, shifting all the blame onto Xiao Wu so her own punishment would be light or even none at all.
So Tang San quickly put on an angry face and said:
"Alright, you little Xiao Wu! I treat you as my sister, and you do this to me? I thought the big fox tail got smaller because Master changed it for me! Turns out you did it on purpose to get me punished by Master, secretly replacing it! So evil, meow~! I... I don't have a sister like you!"
Tang San's words stunned Xiao Wu, and tears instantly streamed from her eyes.
Women are often emotional.
Xiao Wu had done so much for Tang San, endured so much suffering from Xiao Ye Xuan.
But to be treated like this by Tang San, her heart chilled halfway.
Tang San's words were too painful.
Especially since Tang San said she didn't want to treat Xiao Wu as her sister anymore...
That was a brutal blow, almost breaking Xiao Wu down...
(End of Chapter)