The soft and delicate voice fell into his ears like a hook. Yin Ruobai lowered his eyes to look at Yuan Shu.
That stunningly beautiful little face carried a charming smile, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.
Like a seductive fox.
Yin Ruobai's Adam's apple rolled, and he replied in a hoarse voice, "Yes, I miss you, I miss you very much."
He had always felt that men and women expressing their longing for each other was cheesy, something he could absolutely never say.
But looking at the smile on Yuan Shu's face, the words slipped out naturally.
He really missed her!
If it weren't for the mission, if it weren't for his sudden advancement, how could he possibly have gone so long without looking for her?
Back in the Xiushe cave...
At first, he was delirious, but later, the snake venom in his body had already been cured. It was he who had immersed himself in her tender embrace, unwilling to wake up time and time again.
Perhaps, during their first meeting in the forest, when Yuan Shu fluttered through the woods in her red dress, his heart had already been moved.
Yuan Shu tilted her head up, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Looking into Yin Ruobai's affectionate gaze, her tender white fingertips gently stroked his eyes and brows.
Like a kitten scratching at one's heart, she rubbed against him bit by bit, her tone delicate and charming, dragging out the last syllable, "Do you... really miss me that much?"
Yin Ruobai suddenly tightened his grip on her waist, pressing her firmly against him, and said hoarsely.
"Shushu, I can prove it. I really do miss you."
Yuan Shu's eyes trembled.
Mmm... she could feel it.
He really, really missed her!
Yuan Shu didn't speak; the hand caressing her cheek just slowly slid down and landed on his chest.
She pressed down lightly a few times.
"Mmh."
A muffled groan escaped Yin Ruobai's lips, and the blood in his entire body began to boil uncontrollably.
But upon seeing the wicked smile on Yuan Shu's lips, he could no longer suppress the longing in his chest and grabbed the back of her head.
He lowered his head and kissed her full, tempting lips.
Yuan Shu narrowed her eyes, a few soft gasps escaping her lips before her breath was impatiently snatched away by him.
Inside her body, the Divine Acacia Tree trembled violently.
It sensed the scent of a supreme Metal Spirit Root, and a familiar scent at that!
Very fragrant, very nourishing, very delicious!
"Ring, ring, ring, ring..."
It eagerly swayed its branches, urging Yuan Shu.
While enjoying Yin Ruobai's kiss, Yuan Shu took a moment to give the divine tree a mental flick on the head with her divine sense to make it quiet down.
Yin Ruobai's hand had already familiarly brushed away the sash on Yuan Shu's shoulder.
The scorching kiss, not satisfied with just tasting the breath between her lips, trailed all the way down her fair, slender swan neck.
Yuan Shu was teased until her whole body burned hot. As her eyelashes fluttered lightly, the hands that had been wrapping around his head pressed against his forehead.
"Over there... there's a hidden cave."
Yin Ruobai immediately understood. Carrying Yuan Shu, he leaped a few times and swiftly swept toward that direction.
...
At the moment the Divine Acacia Tree trembled violently, Yuan Shu relaxed her body, completely immersing herself in a world of water waves.
In her sea of consciousness, beneath the Divine Acacia Tree that she hadn't noticed, a flash of light passed over a clump of snake shadow enveloped in the tree's fluorescent glow.
Having not paid attention for months, the Xiushe divine sense, which relied on the Divine Acacia Tree to retain a sliver of life, had unknowingly grown a size larger.
Although it was still transparent and coiled into a ball, the dark blue scales covering its entire body seemed to have become more lustrous.
The fine, fragmented scales were like pearls and jade, emitting a faint, ghostly light.
As if sensing the excitement of the Divine Acacia Tree, which shared the same spiritual source, the tail of the Xiushe moved almost imperceptibly.
...
Two hours later, Yuan Shu returned to the meeting point.
Most of the disciples from the other peaks of the Luoxian Sect had already set off for the small pond.
The only ones remaining were a few who had to return to the Luoxian Sect for various reasons.
Yuan Shu and Zhai Shuo were just among them.
Some had been injured in the fight with the demons and could no longer explore the secret realm.
Some needed to escort spiritual herbs and treasures that couldn't be stored in Qiankun bags back to the sect.
And some had sudden emergencies within the sect that they needed to go back and handle.
By the time Yuan Shu returned, those people had already left one after another.
Beside the large stone stele at the meeting point, there was only one taller figure, sitting stubbornly with lowered eyes.
He looked like an abandoned large dog.
Hearing footsteps, Zhai Shuo suddenly raised his head. The moment he saw Yuan Shu appear, his eyes lit up, and he immediately came forward to greet her.
"Seventh Junior Sister!"
His tone carried a hint of excitement.
Just now, a fellow disciple had said that since Yuan Shu hadn't returned for so long, she had probably left first.
He didn't believe it. He had already agreed with Yuan Shu earlier that they would return to the sect together, which was why he stubbornly waited in place!
As expected, Yuan Shu had no intention of abandoning him; she had returned!
"Cough, have... they all left?"
Meeting Zhai Shuo's burning gaze, Yuan Shu covered her mouth and coughed somewhat awkwardly.
Just now...
She had been too absorbed in being with Yin Ruobai and had forgotten the time for a moment.
In the end, that guy Yin Ruobai had also summoned his natal flying sword and went at an extremely fast speed to catch up with the disciples of his peak.
Who knew when he would be able to catch up.
"They had matters to attend to and returned to the sect first. I waited for you so we could go back together."
Although Zhai Shuo didn't know what Yuan Shu went to do, seeing her return was enough for him.
He knew it; Yuan Shu had promised to leave together, so how could she leave him behind and depart without saying a word?
Yuan Shu smiled at him, her expression normal. "Let's go."
...
The Luoxian Sect's meeting point was right on the outskirts of the Death Demon Forest. The demons had already left, so this place was no longer that dangerous for Yuan Shu and him.
The two traveled at a leisurely pace, occasionally exchanging a few words, which was quite relaxing.
The Divine Acacia Tree was now full and very quiet, emitting a faint divine tree power that wrapped around her divine sense, making her whole body feel warm and cozy.
Yuan Shu lazily stretched her back, feeling a bit like lying down.
However, looking around, there were only her and Zhai Shuo on the small path. There were no spirit mounts or spirit beasts.
She frowned in slight distress.
"Seventh Junior Sister, what's wrong?"
Zhai Shuo had been paying attention to her expression, and seeing her frown, he couldn't help but ask.
"I'm a little tired and want to find a mount to ride."
Yuan Shu peered around, wanting to see if there were any spirit beasts passing by.
Robbing one wouldn't be out of the question either.
But her luck was clearly not good enough; after walking for half the day, she hadn't seen anything that could be used as a mount.
Zhai Shuo's expression went blank for a moment. He thought something troublesome had happened to her, but he didn't expect it to be this!
"There aren't many demonic beasts in the Death Demon Forest that can be tamed. I'm afraid we won't be able to find a suitable mount anytime soon."
"Exactly, we've walked for so long and haven't seen a single demonic beast!" Yuan Shu spread her hands speechlessly.
She had plenty of methods to make demonic beasts obedient, but if she didn't encounter a suitable one, even the cleverest housewife couldn't cook without rice!
She had no other way.
Zhai Shuo's gaze fell on Yuan Shu's pretty little face, and suddenly a thought stirred in his mind.
If Seventh Junior Sister was just tired, then he actually...
"Seventh Junior Sister, if you don't mind, I can carry you as we walk, is that okay?"
