Steeling her heart, she put on a look of utmost devotion and declared solemnly, "If I ever break this vow in the future, let me be struck by lightning and suffer a terrible—"
Her tone was resolute, but inside she was screaming frantically, "Nope, nope, nope!"
But before she could utter the final word "death," her lips were once again pressed by his fingertips. He playfully scraped his nail against her lip. "Struck by lightning? No way."
Just as a wave of emotion welled up in Chai Xiaomi, she heard him continue, "For someone who passes out from a single whip strike, wouldn't a bolt of lightning just be granting you a quick end? You wouldn't taste even a fraction of the pain. That's letting you off too easy."
The young man's lips curled up, the end of his sentence seeping with a bewitching undertone.
His indiscernible voice echoed by her ear, cold yet soft, unhurried, as if he were casting some ancient and mysterious curse:
"If you break your vow, you will endure millions of times more pain. I will have countless Gu insects gnaw away your flesh and bones, corrode your soul, defile you, destroy you, and devour you."
He tilted his head, his breath brushing against the tip of her ear. "How does that sound?"
Chai Xiaomi's heartbeat froze bit by bit, cold sweat drenching her back. The fresh, dry dress she had just changed into was now sticking clammily to her skin.
Wasn't what he just described the exact fate of her, the cannon fodder supporting female character!?
She really wanted to reply with a simple "No."
But given the current situation, she could only feign compliance and repeatedly agree, "Good, good, good. Exceptionally good."
The smile on Wu Li's lips deepened, revealing a pair of cute canine teeth. Only then did he contentedly take her wrist and gently place her hand on the uninjured right side of his chest.
"Here, touch this clean spot. I will count to one hundred. When I'm done, take your paws off me, understand?"
"One, two..."
"Wait, wait!" Chai Xiaomi hurriedly pulled her hand back and looked down, rummaging through her clothes. "Wait for me a second!"
"What is it now?" He raised an eyebrow slightly. "Don't waste time. I don't have as much patience as you think. If you keep dawdling, I'll only count to ten."
"Just a second, wait just a little longer, Lili."
Her voice unconsciously took on a coquettish tone, soft and sweet, like a spilled bowl of thick honey. It was sticky and syrupy, almost wrapping a person from head to toe, making one's knees go weak and causing their heart to sink in indulgence.
Wu Li slightly froze.
His gaze lingered on her for a long time.
When she acted coquettishly, her waist would always give a slight, unconscious twist, as if relying on that bit of deliberate shamelessness and pampering to force people into yielding to her.
Shameless rascal.
He cursed softly in his heart.
His tone revealed a bit of impatience, but he didn't rush her anymore. Instead, he muttered as if talking to himself, "You're taking forever. Good thing you don't fight people, otherwise you'd be flattened before you could even pull out your weapon. No, wait, it would be mutual destruction, because the other party would die of your stupidity."
Chai Xiaomi ignored his grumbling.
That drop of jade dew was as soft as water; terrified of breaking it, she had been carefully hiding it in the deepest part of her robes.
She searched through several layers before finally taking it out.
Holding it carefully in her palm, she presented it to him. "Look! Lili, this is the treasure I wanted to show you. It's a really good thing."
As she spoke, she placed the small, crystal-clear, water-like orb of light over the pitch-black wound on his left chest.
With her palm pressed against his skin, she rubbed it in extremely lightly and slowly, letting the jade dew seep into the wound bit by bit.
Wu Li did not stop her.
Because he recognized it. It was jade dew, indeed a treasure, a treasure unique to the Jingming Terrace.
Did she go ask Jiang Zhiyu for it?
Or Alchemist Ji?
No matter who it was, since she managed to coax this drop of jade dew from them, she must have played cute and acted clever. Did she act all coquettish with them too? Did she speak softly and twist her waist just like she did a moment ago?
If so, he'd rather die of pain than apply this thing!
At this thought, his gaze suddenly turned cold. "Where did you get this treasure?"
"I traded for it." Chai Xiaomi answered while rubbing gently. "A gentleperson does not accept handouts. I wouldn't just take things for free. I got this through an equal exchange with Alchemist Ji. He really loved the gift I gave him."
When she said the word "equal," a faint trace of guilt flashed in her eyes.
But then again, that cat teaser wand had also cost her time and effort, so she wasn't really taking advantage of him.
"Look, I even scratched my hand trying to sand down a thin bamboo stick."
She held out her index finger to his face. There was a shallow scratch near the edge of her nail. It wasn't bleeding, and if you didn't look closely, you wouldn't even notice it.
It was the kind of injury that would have completely healed if she had shown it any later.
Flaunting this tiny mark was truly making a mountain out of a molehill.
Chai Xiaomi only gave him a quick glance before sheepishly trying to pull her hand back.
But he grabbed it firmly.
Wu Li lowered his eyes, staring for a long time at that tiny scratch, as well as the faint scorch marks on her fingertips burned by the evil aura.
Suddenly, he lowered his head and gently kissed her fingertips.
His slightly cool lips pressed against her skin.
Chai Xiaomi froze.
She watched as the scorch marks on her fingers gradually faded away, returning to their original color. The evil aura seemed to have been silently absorbed back by him.
"How can there be such a clumsy person in this world who can't even sand a thin bamboo stick."
In the end, he offered this critique.
Chai Xiaomi was so annoyed she laughed. "Yes, yes, yes, my existence is purely to highlight the brilliance of someone as smart as you. Happy now?"
She snorted lightly, carrying a small hint of smugness. "Even if I am clumsy, didn't I still massage your wound better?"
Wu Li lowered his eyes.
The pitch-black palm print on his left chest had indeed faded a lot, its color gradually receding.
And her slender, soft fingers were still gently and slowly rubbing in circles over his firm muscles.
A faint itchiness brought about a different kind of flutter in his heart.
The faint, sweet scent of jasmine on her drifted over silently, seamlessly merging with his own scent.
The tips of his ears suddenly turned red.
His Adam's apple bobbed silently.
After his chest heaved a few times, he suddenly pulled his clothes over to cover himself:
"Alright, that's one hundred!"
"Eh? It's not done yet! I didn't even hear you count. There's still a little mark left, let me rub it for a bit longer..."
"I'll do it myself." He looked away, his voice a bit tight. "If I say it's one hundred, it's one hundred."
Chai Xiaomi's hand was already sore from rubbing, so she didn't argue with him anymore.
Her only regret was that she had been so focused on rubbing the wound that she hadn't taken the opportunity to get a good look at his physique.
Truth be told, it was just as eye-catching as in her dreams.
It was rare for this gorgeous male specimen to show some mercy and bless her eyes.
What a pity.
She didn't know if she would ever have the chance to enjoy such a visual feast again in the future.
She sighed quietly.
It was getting late, better go to sleep early.
Tonight was their last night at this inn; tomorrow they would set off for Youquan Town.
