The blood from her face dripped onto his neck. Ji Tongzhou’s hand trembled slightly, then suddenly pushed her away forcefully. He stood up and turned his back, his voice hoarse: “Your face looks like a ghost’s. Heal it quickly.”
Li Fei glared at him warily. Since emerging from the illusion, Ji Tongzhou seemed like a completely different person. She had no idea how to interact with him now. Suddenly, she raised her hand and erected five earthen walls, trapping him inside. Only then did she angrily say, “Sit down obediently and tend to your wounds. I dare you to move again.”
He didn’t respond, only slowly sat down. The recent exertion had caused his wounds to reopen, and blood dripped steadily onto the ground. Li Fei hurriedly approached to continue infusing spiritual energy into the healing web. She noticed he remained motionless, sitting with his back to her, his breathing rapid and heavy, his entire body still shaking slightly.
She wondered what he had experienced in the illusion that he still couldn’t shake off. Compared to this Ji Tongzhou who seemed possessed by an evil spirit, found herself missing the former arrogant and domineering young prince.
Li Fei sighed and said softly, “Ji Tongzhou, the illusions were false. If you keep dwelling on them, you’ll lose yourself.”
He let out a cold laugh but didn’t speak.
Li Fei continued, “The things that angered you never actually happened. There’s no reason for you to go mad over them.”
Ji Tongzhou suddenly turned his head, glaring at her fiercely: “You understand nothing. Shut up.”
His obsession ran deep. Li Fei shook her head: “Actually if you think about it differently, this could be a good thing. In the illusion, you learn what you fear most. Now that you’re back in reality, you can prevent those things from happening. At least you won’t be as helpless as you were in the illusion. I don’t know what you saw in there, but if you act against the Dragon Seat Clan now, you’ll only cause enmity to escalate prematurely. You’ll create problems where there were none before.”
Ji Tongzhou listened to her voice in a daze, feeling as if it came from an extremely distant place. He could no longer distinguish whether he hated her to the bone or loved her to the bone. Those experiences may have been false, but the rampant emotions they stirred were real. They gnawed at his body and soul.
She was right beside him, innocent and unknowing.
Ji Tongzhou suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist, then bit down hard. Li Fei kicked at him in pain, desperately trying to pull her arm free, but couldn’t budge it. He yanked her towards him and, just as he had done countless times in the illusion, held her struggling body tightly in his arms.
Here, she didn’t belong to him.
Li Fei’s palm glowed green as she prepared to summon vines to pull him away when she suddenly felt hot tears fall on her neck. He said softly, “Give me a chance.”
Before he finished speaking, he had already collapsed onto her, fainting just like that.
Li Fei quickly pushed him away, seeing his eyes tightly shut, his long eyelashes wet with tears and clinging to the skin beneath.
What had happened to him?
She carefully laid him down properly, then looked at her wrist. He had bitten quite hard; the skin was broken, leaving two deep rows of teeth marks. Just as she was about to apply a healing web to herself, she heard a whistling wind overhead. The group that had gone to patrol the island earlier had returned. Seeing Ji Tongzhou sleeping soundly, everyone immediately lightened their footsteps.
“We searched the entire island but couldn’t find any demon. The demonic aura gradually dispersed—it seems the creature suddenly left,” Ye Ye said with a puzzled expression. “This is the first time I’ve encountered something like this.”
Li Fei gave a dry laugh. Needless to say, this was the result of her great feat.
The group had just been through a battle and all had suffered minor injuries. Now that they could finally gather safely, Li Fei applied healing webs to each of them. Just as she sat down to catch her breath, Lei Xiuyuan grabbed her wrist. He looked at the teeth marks on her wrist, his face expressionless and silent.
Li Fei quickly pulled her hand back, discreetly applying a healing web and covering it with her sleeve.
Everyone was exhausted, and no one noticed their small interaction. Seeing Ji Tongzhou sound asleep and the others looking better than yesterday, Ye Ye lowered his voice and said with a smile, “I’ve been thinking, that fierce beast from yesterday must have been a Shen. It creates illusions to confuse people and absorb their essence. If we hadn’t been awakened, we might all have died over there. But after waking up, we didn’t see the Shen—I wonder who got rid of it.”
Lu Li pondered, “I’ve heard rumors about the Shen too. This fierce beast isn’t difficult to kill. As long as you can break free from the illusion, even the most basic immortal techniques can defeat it.”
Ye Ye looked at Li Fei, “Li Fei, you were the one who woke us up. Did you kill the Shen?”
Just as Li Fei was about to speak, Lei Xiuyuan suddenly said, “I killed it. I didn’t see any illusions.”
Didn’t see any illusions? Not just Li Fei, but everyone else stared at him. Ye Ye looked at him, then at Li Fei, suddenly smiling mischievously, “I don’t believe that. Lu Xiong, do you?”
Lu Li was momentarily taken aback but quickly understood what he meant. He couldn’t help but smile and shake his head, “I don’t believe it either.”
Bai Li Gelin saw the two of them smiling with a hint of impropriety and asked curiously, “Why are you smiling like that? What does it mean? Hey, what does it mean? Why don’t you believe him?”
Ye Ye flicked her forehead, “What’s a little kid asking so many questions for? Go eat your dried food.”
Bai Li Gelin turned and grabbed Lu Li’s sleeve, “Senior Brother Lu, tell me.”
Lu Li immediately pulled his sleeve away and moved far from her. Bai Li Gelin suddenly remembered how she had begged him to hold her earlier and felt embarrassed. She knew her bad habit and felt somewhat guilty, deciding she would have to apologize to him properly later.
The demonic aura gradually dispersed, and the gloomy clouds and mist were slowly blown away by the sea breeze. Li Fei hadn’t eaten since waking up and hadn’t even had a chance to freshen up. She stood up to search for a clear stream on the island. After flying on her cloud for a while, she suddenly heard the sound of flowing water nearby. Sure enough, a winding brook gurgled down from the rocks, and beside it was a small grove of trees bearing many bright red fruits.
She picked one and took a small bite. It was slightly sour but edible. She picked three or four fruits and soaked them in the water, then rolled up her sleeves and crouched by the stream to wash her hands and face. She then untied her long hair and carefully combed it with a wooden comb. Halfway through combing, she heard footsteps approaching from behind. Without turning around, she could guess who it was and said flatly, “I’m freshening up. Go away.”
He seemed not to hear and walked right up to her side, sitting down. Li Fei immediately stood up, but he grabbed her sleeve. Lei Xiuyuan said softly, “Why are you angry with me?”
Li Fei tried hard to pull her sleeve free, but he held on too tightly. She had to give up and turned to face him directly, meeting his gaze. His brows were slightly furrowed, his eyes gloomy. After a long while, he spoke again: “Answer me.”
Li Fei took a deep breath: “I’m not angry.”
He chuckled softly: “Is that so? Then come here.”
He pulled her, forcing Li Fei to stumble and sit in front of him. Lei Xiuyuan looked at her face expressionlessly, his gaze sliding from her shoulders to her arms, finally settling on her wrist. The two rows of teeth marks were gone.
Noticing him looking at her wrist, Li Fei quickly covered it with her sleeve.
He chuckled again and said softly, “Right, I haven’t told you about that illusion yet. Later…”
“I don’t want to know anymore,” Li Fei interrupted him.
Lei Xiuyuan narrowed his eyes, staring at her for a long time before asking, “What are you angry about, if not the illusion? Tell me the truth.”
Li Fei remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: “I’m hungry. Let go. I want to eat.”
Lei Xiuyuan looked at her for a while longer, then slowly released his grip. Li Fei didn’t know whether to feel disappointed or relieved. She stood up and walked to the stream, picking up the soaked fruits. Just as she was about to leave on her cloud, she heard him call her name again: “Li Fei.”
She didn’t want to turn around and merely responded with a “Mm.” Suddenly, a pair of hands reached from behind and held her tightly. She felt like she was being crushed. His hot breath fell on her ear as he said in a low voice: “I’m sorry.”
Sorry? Li Fei was stunned. What was he apologizing for?
“I’ve already apologized, so don’t blame me later.”
What? Li Fei was bewildered again. Lei Xiuyuan suddenly turned her around forcefully, his burning lips landing on hers.
She froze completely, experiencing such shock for only the second time in her life. She forgot even to dodge, her mind buzzing in chaos, unable to react for a long time. When she finally came to her senses, she stepped back repeatedly, using both hands to push against his chest. She was still somewhat dazed and even forgot to scold him, only stammering, “W-wait…”
Wait? Lei Xiuyuan grabbed her other wrist, the one that hadn’t been bitten before, and bit down hard at her lips. He bit much harder than Ji Tongzhou had, causing Li Fei to cry out in pain. Without thinking, she raised her hand to slap him, but this time she couldn’t land the hit. He had already caught her hand and used the momentum to pull her. Li Fei stumbled and crashed into him. He took advantage of this to pull her down, her forehead hitting his chest hard, causing her head to spin.
He suddenly flipped her over, pinning her beneath him. In her great shock, Li Fei immediately tried to form hand seals, but he gripped both her wrists and held them above her head. With her acupoints restrained, she could no longer use immortal techniques.
Lei Xiuyuan pulled over the hand he had just bitten severely. Indeed, the bite on her wrist was very deep, with spots of blood staining her sleeve red. He gripped the ring of wounds tightly and suddenly laughed coldly: “I have always belonged to you alone.”
What? Did he belong to her alone? Li Fei was so shocked she forgot to resist.
He lowered his head and kissed her for the second time, but this kiss was much more intense. His lips pressed hard against hers, urgent and heated yet clumsy. His hands grasped her, sliding down her arms to cradle the back of her head, forcing her closer to him.
She even felt as if she might suffocate, her heart about to leap out of her throat. All the blood in her body seemed to be rushing to her head, leaving her body weak and powerless, as if she might fall. Lei Xiuyuan held her, embraced her, caressed her, and she felt as if she might crumble into pieces, truly about to melt into a puddle.
He gently bit her lip, then pulled away a few inches, panting. The mist in his pitch-black eyes grew even thicker, concealing a burning, scorching gold. He looked at her for a long time before saying softly, “You must also belong to me alone.”