Wu Li's blood must be useful; he was so eager for her to drink it just now.
This thought sustained her, giving her the strength to aim for the slightly bleeding spot and suckle gently a few times, like an infant nursing.
Moist, warm, and soft.
Her tongue, like a nimble yet panicked little fish, wrapped around his fingertip and brushed against the sensitive pad of his finger.
A faint yet distinct shudder suddenly exploded from that spot, shooting straight up his spine along his veins.
Wu Li stared blankly as she held his finger between her lips, watching her originally cherry-pink lips become dyed a gorgeous, decadent red by his blood.
It felt as if something invisible had slammed hard into his chest, leaving a dull ache accompanied by an indescribable numbness.
That hasty, clumsy kiss unexpectedly crashed into his mind without warning!
At that time, her lips had merely pressed against his clumsily, rubbing gently.
But what if... what if right now, that nimble, fish-like tongue wasn't wrapping around his finger, but his...
Damn it!
What was he thinking!?
The tips of Wu Li's ears suddenly burned, and an unfamiliar wave of heat rushed to his head, making him dizzy.
He hurriedly and forcefully pulled his finger from her mouth, his voice a few pitches hoarser:
"Enough! One drop is enough. Are you a leech?"
The lingering warm, moist sensation on his fingertip seared into his skin like fire.
Curling his fingers, Wu Li almost frantically lifted the young woman out of his arms and turned his face away.
A visible flush of crimson rapidly spread from the tips of his ears down to the side of his neck.
On the other side, Yan Xingxiao was still roaring with laughter. Laughing was one thing, but he was also dancing wildly while running in circles around the room.
Jiang Zhiyu and Song Yueyao each held one of his arms, using all their strength, but they couldn't make him stop.
"Think of something! Do these useless talismans of yours even work, Jiang Zhiyu?" Song Yueyao scolded, sweating from exhaustion. "Where are all those skills you learned from Alchemist Ji? Did you give them all back to the old man?!"
"It's not the doing of that little imp..." Jiang Zhiyu said with a bitter face, looking at the useless talismans scattered on the floor and panting. "I've checked. Escort Leader Yan has no trace of evil aura on him. How could this happen so suddenly?"
The only explanation was probably that he had some hidden illness, like epilepsy?
After drinking a few mouthfuls of Wu Li's blood, Chai Xiaomi didn't know if it was just a psychological effect, but she felt her mental state go from half-dead to full of vitality.
Seeing that Jiang Zhiyu and Song Yueyao were about to lose their grip on Yan Xingxiao, she hurriedly ran over to help.
"Escort Leader Yan, your dancing is great, but please don't do it next time!"
Since both of his arms were already grabbed, Chai Xiaomi had no choice but to bend down and hug one of Yan Xingxiao's legs.
The instant her hands clamped around his calf.
Yan Xingxiao suddenly froze. His laughter and movements came to a screeching halt.
Jiang Zhiyu was stunned too. So all they had to do was hug his leg?
Unnoticed by anyone, the poisonous scorpion tattoo on the back of Chai Xiaomi's hand flashed with an imperceptible dark glint for a brief moment.
The moment the glow faded, Yan Xingxiao's laughter completely ceased.
He stood blankly in place, blinking.
It seemed... it didn't itch anymore?
"Mother of god! I'm exhausted!" He let out a heavy breath, wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes, and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Just now, it felt like tens of thousands of bugs were burrowing into my body! It itched so much I couldn't say a single word, I just wanted to laugh!"
Chai Xiaomi quietly let go, took two steps back, and pinched her nose, asking softly, "Escort Leader Yan, have you... not bathed for a few days?"
When she hugged his leg just now, she seemed to smell a faint sour, stale odor.
Truth be told, before this, she had assumed ancient people were quite particular about hygiene.
Setting aside how little Wu Li was like a dirty little beggar in his childhood, the present him was exceptionally clean. Whenever they encountered a clear mountain spring on the road, he would always wash up. Occasionally, there were hot springs in the ravines, though he seemed to dislike the wooden tubs in inns, preferring running water outdoors.
Not to mention the two main characters, who were raised in the palace; their personal hygiene was naturally impeccable.
Yan Xingxiao obviously didn't expect this young girl to ask so bluntly. His face immediately turned bright red with embarrassment. Scratching the back of his head, he stammered, "It's... it's been two days..."
Now he was even more embarrassed to mention the itching, wishing he could instantly change his story and say he had purely wanted to dance to liven things up.
Now that Yan Xingxiao's abnormal behavior was finally under control, Jiang Zhiyu immediately shifted his gaze back to Xiaomi's face. Seeing that the dark aura on her glabella had completely dissipated, returning to a clear state, he breathed a sigh of relief. "That's great, Xiaomi! The ghostly aura on your body has faded!"
"It's really gone?" Chai Xiaomi looked down and touched her lower abdomen, almost weeping with joy. "Are you saying... the ghost baby in my belly is gone?"
Hearing this, Jiang Zhiyu's expression turned serious, and he said sternly, "What ghost baby? Don't talk nonsense. You were merely invaded by evil energy just now, which frightened away a part of your soul. Now that the evil aura is removed, your soul has naturally returned to its place."
He paused, his tone becoming even more earnest. "The child in your womb is clearly your own flesh and blood. How could it be a ghost?"
The joy on Chai Xiaomi's face froze bit by bit, then completely sank.
This time, it wasn't her glabella turning dark; she was purely furious.
"What's wrong, Xiaomi?" Jiang Zhiyu asked with concern, noticing her expression was off.
"No-thing," Chai Xiaomi squeezed out through her teeth, each syllable sounding like it had been scraped across a whetstone.
Damn it... she had been played by him again!
What was even more infuriating was that she had actually fallen for it again.
She narrowed her eyes, glaring fiercely at the instigator.
Unfortunately, the young man wasn't looking at her at all.
Wu Li merely kept his eyes lowered, unconsciously rubbing his fingertips together, his gaze fixed on thin air as his mind wandered to who knows where.
Only then did Jiang Zhiyu ask again about what had happened under the covers earlier.
Hearing the description, everyone finally realized that all the commotion the ghost boy had caused in the room was nothing but a diversion.
Its true form had long since slipped under the covers silently while no one was paying attention, hiding right beside Chai Xiaomi.
Regarding why the little ghost had called out her name and later called her an idiot, Jiang Zhiyu also provided an explanation.
"The ghost didn't know you when it was alive, so naturally, it wouldn't know your name. It just lurked in the shadows, listening to how the people around you addressed you, and secretly memorized it."
"For example, Escort Leader Yan always calls his wife Lady Yue, so the ghost boy followed suit and called out Lady Yue." Jiang Zhiyu said, turning to Chai Xiaomi with a serious tone. "As for why it called you an idiot—"
Before he could finish his sentence, he received a moderate smack on the back of his head.
Jiang Zhiyu clutched his head, looking completely bewildered. "...What did I say wrong this time?"
"Xiaomi is just Xiaomi." Song Yueyao curved her eyes into a smile, though she shot him a chilly glare. "It was just that ignorant little ghost spouting nonsense."
She really wanted to crack open his thick skull to see if it was filled with solid wood.
Day after day, he only said unpleasant things, never giving her a moment of peace!
Upon hearing this, Chai Xiaomi immediately understood; that little ghost must have been mimicking Wu Li.
She pressed on, "Now that it has escaped, will it ever come back?"
"That depends on whoever laid down this Soul-Locking Array," Jiang Zhiyu said after a brief moment of thought. "Only the one who formed the array possesses the method to summon it back."
Just as the group was at a complete loss for what to do, the faint sound of a door opening suddenly drifted up from downstairs.
Immediately after, the shop assistant's hushed yet unmistakably excited voice rang out: "Boss, you have finally returned!"
