Although this gasp of amazement was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, it clearly pierced through the barrier and reached the ears of the person outside the temple.
The monster's body had only been half-devoured by the ley line's Gu bugs.
Wu Li's hand, suspended in mid-air as he controlled them, suddenly froze.
The dark, sinister aura surrounding his entire body vanished in an instant, like a wisp of wind.
He prayed silently in his heart: Please don't let it be her voice... please don't let her see him like this...
But who else could it be, other than her?
As if pulled by an invisible thread, the young man slowly turned his face.
His cold, heterochromatic eyes no longer held their previous viciousness and arrogance; instead, they were laced with a frantic, humble timidity.
Then, with his heart in his throat, he met her gaze.
It wasn't the fear, disgust, or panic he had expected.
Those round, bright eyes shone with a clear light—like relief, like joy, like the thrill of recovering something lost. Her gaze, gentle as spring water, rippled softly and gradually misted over with tears.
"Lili!"
The moment she saw him standing there perfectly fine, Chai Xiaomi couldn't care about anything else. He was the only thing in her eyes. She just wanted to throw herself into his arms. In her excitement, she even forgot she was standing on a high platform.
She stepped into empty space.
The very next second, she was caught securely in the young man's arms.
She didn't even let out a cry of alarm.
Because she knew that Wu Li would always find a way to catch her.
Even when his own body was enduring immense pain, he would never let her fall or be tainted by a single speck of dust.
"Lili."
Chai Xiaomi cupped his face and softly called out to him again.
Those dark totem patterns spread beneath his collar, winding up his pale skin over his collarbones and neck, reaching all the way to the edge of his jaw... The lines were eerie yet exquisite, like some forbidden brand, or a silent seduction.
Such... such intense sexual tension.
"Mhm."
The young man's feathery eyelashes drooped, his gaze dodging slightly, but he still obediently answered her.
His Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he spoke, faintly shifting the winding totems upon it.
"That's wonderful. You're okay, that's really wonderful." Tears of joy gathered at the corners of her eyes. Her gaze lingered with novelty on those captivating, symmetrical totems. "Is this your ultimate combat gear?"
Under her burning, unabashed stare, for the first time, he felt a sense of fear.
Afraid that she wouldn't like it...
Chai Xiaomi used terms he didn't understand. He quickly ran them through his mind, racking his brain but unable to guess whether it was a compliment or an insult. This made him even more bewildered, and he actually stuttered, "Wh-what do you mean?"
"I mean, how can you be so handsome!"
Chai Xiaomi wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tiptoes.
As if driven by some mysterious force, she planted a kiss on his protruding Adam's apple.
Her lips brushed against the totem. She deliberately puckered her lips, making a soft kissing sound.
Like a butterfly touching a petal, it was fleeting.
Then, like a little kitten that had successfully stolen a treat, she buried her face in his chest with a mix of secret delight and shyness.
Wu Li's heart stopped.
Astonishment and helplessness intertwined in his eyes. His lips parted slightly and remained open for a long time.
After a brief silence, his heart began to race wildly in his chest; he could almost hear its roaring echo.
"What are you spacing out for?" a muffled complaint came from his arms, sounding rather bossy. "Hug me, I'm so cold."
Her voice filtered through the fabric, softly scratching at his heart.
His palms were slightly sweaty and still stained with some of the monster's foul fluids. He quietly wiped them clean on the hem of his clothes before slowly wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace.
He was as careful as if he were holding a fleeting ray of warm sunlight.
Cherishing it beyond measure.
But when his palms pressed against her slender back, his Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably. The gentle, fleeting touch of that kiss from just a moment ago lingered, as if it had taken root in his veins.
Thread by thread, it spread through his coursing blood to every limb and bone.
Unconsciously, he hugged her tighter and tighter, unable to stop a greedy desire from sprouting within him.
He actually wanted to knead this ray of sunlight into his own body.
To use his skeleton as a cage, to use his flesh and blood as an offering, and to imprison his deity.
He wanted to devour her, locking her inside his body for all eternity.
He was stunned by his own horrifying thoughts.
He didn't know how many times this thought had popped up—
The urge to eat her.
This desire grew stronger each time, becoming almost impossible to suppress.
He rubbed his cheek against the soft crown of her head.
It seemed... he couldn't bear to do it, either.
He could only let himself remain in this state of contradiction.
It felt like a saw was dragging back and forth across a string in his nerves.
The string was about to snap, vibrating endlessly.
What was it that was stirring so restlessly?
Amidst his tangled thoughts, Wu Li suddenly remembered something. He slightly raised his eyelids and shot a glance at Hongjiao.
Hongjiao immediately understood its master's intention.
Resigned to its fate, it slithered out to the devastated exterior of the temple and began cleaning up the battlefield.
Its serpentine body expanded to several times its normal size, swallowing the scattered remains of the monster into its belly, while simultaneously devouring the evil aura that had already been battered to near nothingness by its master.
Ever since eating the fragrant rabbit meat fed by Xiaomi, these foul, sticky abominations were practically impossible to swallow.
But there was no helping it. The master's order couldn't be clearer: not a single trace could be left behind, nor could the person in his arms be allowed to see it again.
They hugged for a while.
Suddenly, the embrace loosened.
Just a second ago, he had been holding her so tightly.
This abrupt withdrawal caught Chai Xiaomi off guard.
She watched in astonishment as the young man, his face as cold as ice, reached out to unfasten the front of her clothes.
His lips were pressed tightly together, his brows furrowed deeply.
He had almost forgotten.
This eyesore of a rag was still wrapped around her.
Wu Li's movements as he undid the garment were practically tearing at it; he wished he could just rip it to shreds.
Earlier, inside the Qiankun bag, he had noticed it at first glance—it was Ouyang Rui's outer robe. She had been crying then, so he held himself back.
When he saved her from the monster's clutches, she was unconscious. Afraid of waking her, he held back again.
But now, holding her, that trace of someone else's scent mixed with her sweet fragrance, lingering stubbornly.
He couldn't endure it for another second.
The moment he grabbed and pulled the lapels open.
Wu Li suddenly froze.
Three seconds later, he abruptly pulled the lapels tightly shut again.
His eyes darted around in a panic, and his face flushed so red it looked ready to explode, making even those seductive totems seem somewhat cute.
He wrapped her up tightly, his fingers gripping so hard they turned white.
"Did he see?"
After a long pause, he finally asked this single question.
A dark, oppressive gloom clouded his brows and eyes.
The words seemed to be ground out from between his teeth.
His gaze, as dark as a poisoned blade, stabbed toward the unconscious Ouyang Rui on the ground.
Only then did Chai Xiaomi notice her teammate lying not far away, next to a pile of ashes, which she knew without a doubt were the remains of the plantain spirit.
Her teammate didn't look dead, just passed out.
She secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
This subtle change in her expression instantly ignited a dark fire in the depths of Wu Li's eyes.
He cupped her face and forced her to look back at him, refusing to let her look anywhere else.
"Answer me right now. Did he see?"
Every word suppressed a surging violence.
Chai Xiaomi felt embarrassed by the question. Although her light green dress was slightly see-through after being soaked by the rain, it was covered by layers of an inner skirt and a dudou, so she wasn't in that much of a compromising state.
The soaked fabric had merely clung to her skin, outlining the delicate curves of her figure.
"We had just entered the Falling Star Plains when a sudden rainstorm hit. I couldn't find shelter in time and got completely drenched. Ouyang Rui must have accidentally caught a glimpse, because he immediately turned his back."
Weighing her words carefully, she explained in a soft murmur, "That is why he lent me his outer robe to cover up. I certainly didn't wear his clothes on purpose."
