Chapter 11: Saving Nanjiang’s Most Beautiful Married Woman!

Startled, the man released the woman, grabbed a handbag from the ground, and fled deeper into the reeds.

Qin Dong picked up a pebble and flicked it at him. It struck his left leg like a bullet. The man cried out and fell face-first, sending the bag flying. He scrambled up and disappeared into the reeds without stopping to retrieve it.

Qin Dong didn’t pursue him. He went to the woman instead. “Are you all right?”

Up close, he saw that she was beautiful, dressed in a fitted business suit. Two buttons had come undone on her blouse during the struggle. Her legs were long, straight, and pale.

She looked up, her lovely face still pale with fright. “I… I’m all right.”

Qin Dong froze. Song Hongyan! Only two hours earlier, Zheng Youwei had given him her client file. He hadn’t expected to meet her here.

She recognized him too. “Qin Dong?”

He was a senior at Nanjiang University and had often sat in on her classes while preparing for the College English Test Band Six, so she remembered him.

“Professor Song, you know me?”

“Yes. You attended my class before.” She looked at him gratefully. “Thank you so much. If you hadn’t come along and saved me, I can’t imagine what might have happened.”

He retrieved her handbag and gave it back. When he asked what had happened, she explained that she usually drove home, but her car had broken down at the university. Unable to find a taxi and living fairly close by, she had decided to walk. On the way, the man had covered her mouth from behind and dragged her into the reeds.

She was still shaken. Qin Dong thought that she certainly deserved her reputation for beauty; despite having a son like Zhao Kuo, she had maintained a striking figure. He looked away.

“Professor Song, he probably targeted you because you were alone. Try not to walk this road at night.”

“I will.” She braced her hands on the ground and tried to stand, but stumbled, wincing. Qin Dong caught her arm.

“Are you hurt?”

She looked down at her right foot. “I think I sprained my ankle.”

He helped her sit on a large rock and crouched to examine it. After gently removing the torn stocking from her foot, he saw that the ankle was badly swollen and red.

“That’s quite a swelling. You may have injured the bone. Should I call an ambulance?”

“No!” She glanced at her disheveled blouse and muddy clothes, her face warming. “I don’t want anyone to see me like this.”

She looked at him pleadingly. “I have medicinal liniment at home. Could you take me there so I can apply some?”

He considered it, then nodded. “All right. I’ll help you.”

Supporting her around the waist, he helped her limp to the road. They waited more than ten minutes before flagging down a passing taxi. A little over ten minutes later, it stopped outside an upscale residential complex near the university district.

Qin Dong helped her upstairs and opened the door with her key. Inside, he paused. The apartment was a little over a hundred square meters, well located and nicely furnished, but it hardly seemed to suit her status.

Her husband, Zhao Youting, was chairman of the Zhao Group and worth hundreds of millions. Qin Dong would have expected a woman in her position to live in a grand villa and travel in luxury cars, not rent an ordinary apartment near campus. Still, it was her private business, and he didn’t ask.

He settled her on the sofa. “Where’s the liniment?”

“In the drawer under the television cabinet.”

He found a bottle of safflower oil and brought it to her. Instead of taking it, she gave him a look. “Qin Dong, do you think I can bend down and apply it myself with my ankle like this?”

He coughed awkwardly. “Should I do it?”

Blushing, she nodded. He pulled up a small stool, gently lifted her right foot, and rested it on his knee. Her skin felt remarkably smooth and youthful, hardly like that of a woman in her thirties.

Suddenly, knowledge surfaced in his mind:

The Phoenix Marrow Physique was one of the ten rare physiques, a natural cultivation vessel. Uniting with its possessor could accelerate cultivation. A woman with this physique had an excess of yin energy and might seem cool outwardly while passionate within; ordinary men could not easily handle her.

Qin Dong’s eyes widened. Another rare physique?

Song Hongyan shivered slightly when he held her ankle. No man other than her husband had touched her so intimately before, and the experience stirred an unfamiliar feeling.

Seeing him stare at her foot, she grew uncomfortable. “What are you looking at?”

“Your foot,” he blurted.

Her cheeks warmed. “I didn’t know you could be so improper!”

Realizing how abrupt he sounded, he cleared his throat. “You misunderstand, Professor Song. As the saying goes, a graceful lady attracts a gentleman. Men naturally admire beautiful things. If anyone’s to blame, it’s you for being so beautiful.”

Embarrassed and annoyed, she shot him a glare, her toes curling. “Smooth talker! Be quiet and put the medicine on.”