"I'm talking to you about pumpkins, and you're rambling about watermelons!"
She grew angry, jumping up and grabbing the front of his robes, ready to give him a full-body inspection. "If you won't tell me, I'll find out myself."
Wu Li was startled and hurriedly tried to lock her wrists. However, his movements accidentally aggravated the internal injury in his chest. A sudden, intense pain struck him, causing his face to instantly turn pale.
This subtle change was immediately caught by Chai Xiaomi.
"It's right here, isn't it," she said with absolute certainty.
"No," he flatly denied.
Being injured by the demonic power of the Nine-Tailed clone was no big deal; the truly troublesome part was the internal injury caused by the backlash of the Gu poison, which would take a long time to heal.
During this time, he could no longer use his Gu arts.
He didn't want anyone to notice.
Doing so would undoubtedly expose his weakness, leaving him at the mercy of others.
He hated being manipulated by others more than anything in this life.
Yet at this very moment, he was easily being manipulated by the young girl in front of him.
His waistband was deftly untied by her.
Simply because when he grabbed her wrist, her eyes turned red and she cried out "It hurts" in a wronged tone, making him fall for her trick once again!
Fortunately, he wore more than one layer of clothing; beneath his black robes, there was still an inner shirt.
Wu Li's eyes darkened. He grabbed the other end of the belt while simultaneously clamping down on both of her arms. Taking a few steps forward, he pinned her firmly against the cold rock wall.
He leaned in, looking down at her from above. His breath brushed past the loose hair on her forehead, and his voice was kept low and hoarse, even inexplicably carrying a trace of lingering tenderness:
"While I'm still in a good mood, don't push your luck. Otherwise, I really won't hold back against you."
With those two thin arms of hers, he could snap them with just a little effort.
If he hadn't repeatedly yielded to her, she wouldn't have even been able to touch a corner of his clothes.
Although they were words of warning, his tone was exceptionally gentle.
He still remembered how he had just scolded her to tears. If his tone was even slightly heavier right now, he feared she would put on that pitiful look again, which would inexplicably frustrate him.
He could only try his best to make his voice sound less fierce.
Therefore, in the eyes of others, these words seemed like the ambiguous whispers between lovers.
What exactly did "won't hold back" refer to...?
Seeing the young man's slightly open black robes, his ink-black hair falling somewhat messily to his waist, and the belt that should have been tied around his waist now held between their hands...
Fortunately, his inner shirt was still smooth and intact, meaning things hadn't escalated too seriously.
The crowd's faces flushed red.
They had gone through untold hardships to break the barrier and rush in, who would have thought they would stumble upon such a scene!?
Finally, the older Escort Leader Yan coughed lightly a few times:
"Could it be... we came at a bad time?"
If it weren't for the residual traces of a battle all around them, he would have suspected that the two of them had set up this barrier themselves.
Hearing the voice, Chai Xiaomi looked toward the crowd and was instantly startled.
It wasn't that she was frightened by their sudden appearance, but rather that each of them was injured, with wounds on their faces and bodies.
The most miserable was Zhu Yu, with a bruised face and two trails of a nosebleed.
In contrast, Wu Li only appeared to have slightly dirty clothes.
Those who didn't know better would think they were the ones who had just fought the Nine-Tailed demonic beast.
"You came at the perfect time!" Chai Xiaomi hurriedly greeted them and started to show off. "Lili just beat away a demonic beast! Left hook, right hook, sweep kick, roundhouse kick—he looked incredibly cool!"
Although she hadn't seen anything, she was a master at bragging.
Wu Li: "......"
Chai Xiaomi turned her gaze back to him and blinked. "Everyone is watching, can you let go now?"
In fact, long before Yan Xingxiao spoke up, Wu Li had heard the footsteps of the group arriving.
As for why he hadn't let go, needlessly provoking misunderstandings...
That was because—
Wu Li suddenly released her.
He snatched the belt from her hand, adjusted his robes to wrap around his waist with a few quick movements, and swiftly tied the belt tight.
As he looked back, he cast a faint glance at Jiang Zhiyu's worry-filled expression.
He hadn't expected Jiang Zhiyu to go to such lengths.
Judging from the injuries of the four people, they must have forcibly broken through the barrier.
Among them, only Jiang Zhiyu knew magic arts, so the final gap to break the barrier must have been opened by him personally.
Therefore, among the four, Jiang Zhiyu's internal injuries must be the most severe, perhaps even damaging his cultivation.
What made him willing to discard his years of hard-earned cultivation and risk severe injury just to rush into the barrier?
Who it was for was obvious.
He and Jiang Zhiyu hadn't spoken more than a few words along the way; there was no friendship to speak of.
But Chai Xiaomi was different. She and Jiang Zhiyu had become increasingly familiar with each other through their interactions.
He couldn't help but recall how Chai Xiaomi had previously dragged him into absurd claims about being "husband and wife" or "pregnant." It was precisely because she claimed Jiang Zhiyu had feelings for her and wanted to use this to cut off his thoughts.
He had even mocked her at the time, saying that any fool could see Jiang Zhiyu liked Song Yueyao.
But, right at this moment.
When he saw Jiang Zhiyu leading these people to appear here.
An indescribable sense of unease suddenly crept up from the deepest parts of his heart.
Could it be... Jiang Zhiyu really had feelings for her?
It made sense.
Although she was a bit slow-witted.
But her cheeks were soft to pinch, her almond eyes were bright when looking at people, her brows and eyes curved when she smiled, her voice was as sweet and soft as freshly steamed rice cakes when begging, and she was as warm as a small stove when nestled in his arms. As for those cherry-pink lips...
His Adam's apple bobbed unconsciously.
They were even sweeter.
The more he thought about it, the more chaotic his thoughts became.
It seemed that it wasn't entirely impossible for Jiang Zhiyu to fall for her.
She was obviously more likable than Song Yueyao.
Unacceptable!
The moment this thought arose, he ruthlessly snuffed it out.
Jiang Zhiyu absolutely could not like her!
If Jiang Zhiyu truly loved her, then the Twin Love Gu he had spent years painstakingly cultivating would have to be entirely planted inside Chai Xiaomi's body.
This was supposed to be a grand gift meticulously prepared for his revenge, originally intended to be planted in Song Yueyao, and then through Song Yueyao...
But now, half of the Gu catalyst was already inside Chai Xiaomi. If Jiang Zhiyu was infatuated with Chai Xiaomi, wouldn't things become much simpler?
Why should he worry about removing the Gu anymore? He could even skip the originally planned trip to Youquan Town.
He could just change course directly to Lingyu Province.
Just running this thought through his mind caused his breathing to suddenly stagnate.
He endured it again and again, his hands involuntarily clenching into fists. His knuckles turned white, trembling slightly from exerting too much force.
He couldn't even bear to think about it.
As long as he thought about Chai Xiaomi turning into a chess piece, reduced to the most vicious pawn in his revenge scheme, and that the price she would pay was her body and mind belonging to someone else, her mind bewitched, willingly submitting...
A burst of violent energy violently struck his chest, almost bursting out of his body to destroy everything in sight.
He suppressed it desperately, pushing the surging killing intent back into the depths of his bloodline, bit by bit.
No.
She was the medicine human he was raising.
In the future, she had to test Gu and refine Gu for him. Even the promise to be buried with him was made by her own mouth.
How could he easily allow someone else to lay a finger on her?
Thinking of this, the heavy gloom in his heart suddenly dissipated.
He would not give Jiang Zhiyu any chances.
Since Song Yueyao is the one he likes, he ought to focus his heart entirely on her alone.
