Ji Zhaoxi choked back a sob. “If you die, who’s going to teach me after that?”
“You could have refused to sign the life-and-death contract. Senior Brother, why did you sign it? Don’t you want to live?”
The moment Ji Zhaoxi thought of how sinister everyone said Triangular Eyes was, she began imagining Wen Shubai being killed by one of his underhanded tricks.
At the thought of Wen Shubai never being able to accompany her again, tears began streaming down Ji Zhaoxi’s face.
Why couldn’t good people live a little longer? She was so sad.
From now on, she would have to burn incense for Senior Brother every year. She didn’t want to burn incense for Senior Brother…
The Heaven-Severing Sect would never have anyone else as kind to her as Senior Brother.
Looking at Ji Zhaoxi, who was crying her eyes out, Wen Shubai sighed. He slowly wiped the tears from her face, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Is Junior Sister worried about me?”
Ji Zhaoxi was completely lost in her grief, crying uncontrollably.
Perhaps she would even have to carry Senior Brother’s corpse herself when the time came.
She didn’t want that!
Wen Shubai’s warm hand gently cupped her face, and his fingertip wiped away the last tear on her cheek. His voice was so gentle it seemed to drip with tenderness as he teased her, “Looks like Junior Sister has already started rehearsing for my failure in the grand examination.”
Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes were red. Hearing him say that, she punched him in a fit of anger.
Wen Shubai took advantage of the momentum and pulled her into his arms, coaxing her softly. “Don’t cry, Junior Sister. Your eyes will hurt again.”
“The grand examination hasn’t even begun yet. How can Junior Sister be so sure I’ll lose?”
Looking at Ji Zhaoxi’s red-rimmed eyes in his arms, his heart softened completely.
“But you have an inner demon, Senior Brother. What if it attacks you when the time comes?” Ji Zhaoxi asked worriedly.
She was beginning to realize that Senior Brother seemed even more overconfident than she was…
Although she was prone to getting carried away, she cherished her life. She certainly would never sign a life-and-death contract.
Wen Shubai took Ji Zhaoxi’s hand. Unlike usual, he didn’t stop at the doorway. Instead, he opened the door to his courtyard.
Wen Shubai’s room was no longer as bare as it had been before. It was filled with all sorts of little things, most of them gifts Ji Zhaoxi had given him bit by bit.
There were also many things she had forgotten to take back. Wen Shubai had simply left them in his room.
“Can you take back a life-and-death contract, Senior Brother? Is your skin thick enough?”
If Senior Brother’s skin was thick enough, perhaps he could just pretend nothing had happened.
There was always a smile in Wen Shubai’s eyes. He gently slipped an arm around her waist and let her sit directly on his lap.
He liked the way Junior Sister cared about him.
“Junior Sister, I don’t think my skin is quite that thick.”
Ji Zhaoxi sighed again.
She actually knew Wen Shubai was formidable. She was just afraid that if Triangular Eyes couldn’t beat him and knelt down to beg for mercy, Wen Shubai would simply let him go.
After all, he was such a good-natured person.
Ji Zhaoxi leaned listlessly against him, absentmindedly fiddling with the sash of his outer robe. Wen Shubai lowered his eyes and let her undo the sash, tie it back up, and undo it again and again.
His Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily. As he breathed in her scent, heat began spreading through his body.
His junior sister was sitting in his arms, worrying about his grand examination, while his heart harbored such filthy thoughts.
He didn’t want to make Junior Sister sad, but seeing her like this made his heart tremble uncontrollably…
“Junior Sister, if I’m about to die when the time comes, go find the Second Elder and ask him to help me,” Wen Shubai coaxed her softly despite himself.
Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes lit up at once. “The Second Elder can make the decision?”
Wen Shubai gave a quiet hum. “He can.”
Ji Zhaoxi immediately brightened. “Then I’ll be sure to keep an eye on the Second Elder.”
Wen Shubai leaned gently into the hollow of Ji Zhaoxi’s neck and closed his eyes. His hand unconsciously stroked hers as she sank completely into his embrace, just like in his dreams.
The Second Elder had only been something he made up. He had merely said it to stop her from worrying.
Wen Shubai’s consciousness was already beginning to grow hazy. His breathing became heavier, and his face flushed deeply, the redness spreading all the way to the base of his neck. Listening to her voice, his breathing grew faster and faster.
“Senior Brother, I never liked that Triangular Eyes anyway. I never asked him to save me.” Ji Zhaoxi gave a small huff.
Wen Shubai’s chest heaved violently, and the veins at his temples quivered faintly. He buried his face against her shoulder, allowing the desire surging through his body to run rampant.
“Senior Brother, when I said that no one would teach me if you weren’t around, I only said it because I was embarrassed. I’m not actually that heartless.” Ji Zhaoxi lowered her head and played with his fingers.
Little cuts and scrapes often appeared on Senior Brother’s hands.
“Senior Brother, what exactly is your inner demon? Why is it so powerful?” Ji Zhaoxi asked curiously. “What if I can’t defeat my inner demon someday either?”
The arm around her waist tightened and tightened. Wen Shubai’s scorching breath brushed against the root of her ear, sending a shiver through her.
Ji Zhaoxi finally realized something was wrong. “Senior Brother?”
Wen Shubai desperately suppressed the inner demon in his sea of consciousness. The demon was frantically tugging at his spiritual awareness, laughing viciously all the while.
“Hold her tighter… You need her… Kiss her. Kiss her!”
The wind outside had already died down, leaving the bamboo grove utterly silent. Inside the room, the atmosphere grew increasingly thick and cloying.
Wen Shubai raised his head. His usually cool, clear eyes now held a bewitching, fallen allure.
“Junior Sister.” He looked at her, the corners of his eyes tinged red.
“You’ve always been curious about what my inner demon is, haven’t you?” His voice held a hint of temptation, and his breathing grew heavier and heavier.
An alarm went off in Ji Zhaoxi’s mind. After a moment of silence, she said, “Senior Brother, I just remembered that I still have pigs to feed. I’m going to feed them now!”
Before Wen Shubai could react, Ji Zhaoxi shoved him away. Her movements were so forceful that she nearly knocked over the table beside them. She ran off faster than a rabbit.
She would satisfy her curiosity another time!
The room fell silent once more. Wen Shubai remained frozen in the same position, the sensation of her lower back still lingering in his palms.
He clenched both hands into fists, his fingertips digging deeply into his flesh.
He forcibly circulated the Ruthless Dao, using his spiritual energy to suppress the inner demon.
“Get out!” he roared despite himself.
“She ran away… She’s afraid of you now.” The inner demon laughed inside his sea of consciousness. “Do you really think you’re some kind of righteous gentleman? Do you dare tell her what you were thinking just now?”
“How disgusting. She treats you as her Senior Brother, yet you harbor such filthy thoughts about her…”
Wen Shubai’s heart spasmed. He tightly shut his eyes, gathering the sword intent that had nearly been exhausted and driving it viciously into the dark mass roiling within his sea of consciousness.
“Urgh…”
He spat out a large mouthful of blood onto the floor, the sight horrifyingly stark. Supporting himself with one arm, Wen Shubai let the blood drip from the corner of his lips.
Only after he vomited his heart’s blood did the dark red in his pupils gradually fade.
Wen Shubai slumped weakly against the bedpost, his eyes filled with self-mockery and remorse.
He had actually… nearly hurt her…
