The young man's face seemed covered in a layer of ice, as cold as a snow-capped mountain that never melts.
Without a single word, he tore open his robe with one hand.
His movements were somewhat rough, even snapping the sash in the process.
A crystal-clear drop of water abruptly rolled off his collarbone, trailing across the patch of dark skin on his chest tainted by Gu poison, sliding all the way down his taut abdomen before finally disappearing into his waistline.
He clearly felt the girl sitting on his lap stiffen suddenly.
Her clear, dark eyes stared straight at him, the depths of her gaze like thick ink, her emotions indistinguishable.
"Scared?" his voice was low and hoarse. "Is it terrifying?"
The hand gripping her wrist gradually tightened, pulling her forward until she was almost pressed against the hideous wound.
He quietly suppressed the gloom in his eyes, as if desperately trying to hide some highly sensitive vulnerability.
Fearing he hadn't hidden it thoroughly enough, he simply allowed himself to become even more vicious.
As if deliberately trying to make it look more horrifying, he let the evil aura of the Gu poison seep from the wound. Pitch-black mist diffused, weaving between the two of them, slowly circulating with a sinister chill.
The surrounding air suddenly turned freezing, the chill washing over their skin like a tide, almost condensing into frost.
Chai Xiaomi, shivering slightly, silently swallowed.
So...
She quietly swallowed again.
What a mouthwatering sight.
At this moment, the young man was half-naked. His clothes were not entirely taken off, just hanging loosely over his arms, which actually accentuated his smooth and distinct shoulder lines, inexplicably adding an alluring, tantalizing charm.
His high ponytail, tied with a silver ornament, was still damp. A few strands of hair clung to his neck and shoulders, rising and falling slightly with his breathing.
Further down...
It was the classic "slim in clothes, muscular without."
The undulating contours were full of a man's lean strength and tension; his muscle lines were sharp and distinct, having long shed any boyish immaturity.
However, his face was paler than usual, giving him an air of sickly beauty and asceticism.
"Ah... what did you just say?"
Chai Xiaomi belatedly realized he seemed to have been talking to her.
As she spoke, her gaze finally landed on the black wound on his left chest, about the size of her palm.
"Is this where you're hurt?"
Thick black mist was continuously emanating from it.
The chill was eerie, chilling to the bone.
Just brushing past her face from a distance, the black mist stung like an ice blade cutting into flesh.
Holy crap.
Chai Xiaomi cursed inwardly.
Has he just been enduring this all along?
Without a second thought, she reached out and pressed hard against it.
"What's going on? What is this stuff leaking out?"
She looked at him anxiously, deep guilt filling her eyes.
It was all her fault for letting lust cloud her mind, focusing only on admiring other parts of him while ignoring his wound.
"I'm sorry, I was distracted. Lili, does it hurt?"
She tightly covered the wound that was constantly emitting the evil aura, as if completely oblivious to the piercing cold and burning pain in her palm.
Blocked by her hand, the Gu poison began to erode her flesh thread by thread.
Gradually, the edges of her fingernails began to turn black, like thick ink dropped into clear water, slowly seeping in.
Even so, she did not let go.
Wu Li suddenly drew all the evil aura back into his body, letting the piercing chill crash wildly through his meridians.
His eyes were dark, his emotions unreadable. He simply took her hand gently and turned her palm over.
Her originally fair, soft palm was now pitch black, as if heavily smeared with charcoal powder.
Her fingers curled slightly, trembling uncontrollably—a sign of being burned by the evil aura just now.
"Has your hand gone numb?" He casually pinched one of her fingers, applying a little force.
"Hiss—" Chai Xiaomi sharply drew in a breath. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, so you still have feeling," he concluded. "Since you know it hurts, why didn't you let go?"
"I just wanted to make it hurt a little less for you."
When a wound bleeds, you stop the bleeding. When a wound leaked black mist, she subconsciously tried to stop the black mist.
"Aren't you... afraid?" He raised his eyes, looking straight into hers, his gaze so intense it was as if he wanted to capture even the slightest trace of fear or disgust on her face.
"This evil aura naturally exists in my body. Since childhood, my body has been used to cultivate various poisons; it's long been soaked in dark energy. A moment of carelessness, and it will backlash against me. Even those who come near me might be swallowed by this evil aura. Are you truly not afraid?"
"I am afraid."
Their eyes met. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she just looked at him.
Wu Li involuntarily held his breath.
Waiting for her next words.
Or rather...
Her verdict.
It doesn't matter, he told himself in his heart.
If she grew to fear him from now on and dared not approach him again.
Then he would just have another excuse to tease her.
Approach her repeatedly, scare her repeatedly.
Who told her to be afraid?
The more afraid she was, the more he would let the evil aura wrap around her, until he scared her to tears.
"I'm afraid that you are in pain."
Wu Li's breath hitched slightly.
He looked at her, the darkness in his eyes surging for a moment before being submerged by some profound pleasure. The corners of his lips slowly curled up.
"Alright, since that's the case," he whispered, his voice as light as a sigh yet carrying a sickly affection. "From now on, whenever I am in pain, you must be there."
His cold fingertips caressed her cheek, gentle yet possessive.
"Stay by my side, until I don't hurt anymore."
The pad of his finger slowly slid down, his sharp nail brushing lightly over her lips. Like toying with a cherished object, he gently poked the tubercle of her lip—a fleeting touch that left behind a silent claim of possession.
"Use this mouth, and swear it," he said.
Faced with his sudden seriousness, Chai Xiaomi was slightly stunned.
She seriously suspected he was taking revenge for when she made him swear an oath earlier.
Otherwise, what was the point of making such a baffling vow?
She gave him a helpless look and had no choice but to raise her hand:
"I, Chai Xiaomi, swear to the heavens, from this day forward, as long as Lili is in pain—whether it's a headache, toothache, stomachache, or joint pain, wherever it hurts—I will stay by his side until he is no longer in pain."
"Is that good enough?"
As she spoke, Wu Li's gaze remained fixed on her lips, as if examining every word she said to see if it came from the bottom of her heart, to see if it was genuine enough.
But clearly, it was still not enough.
She saw Wu Li shake his head ever so slightly. The movement was so small that if it weren't for his earring swaying gently with it, Chai Xiaomi would hardly have noticed him shaking his head at all.
His eyes were still locked onto her lips, as if waiting for her to continue, waiting until she said the exact words he truly desired.
Chai Xiaomi pursed her lips, secretly racking her brains.
She felt that he was somehow different tonight. A paranoia she couldn't understand was hidden in the depths of his eyes, making her faintly uneasy. It was as if, should this vow fail to satisfy him, no one would be getting through this night peacefully.
He had plenty of ways to torment people.
