“Let’s go.”
Lei Xiuyuan merely gripped her arm, his voice soft yet resolute.
Li Fei froze for a moment, then suddenly broke free from his grasp, turning to fly away on a cloud, leaving behind a group of confused people. Why had the two of them suddenly run off?
Deng Xiguang was about to chase after them, but Hu Jiaping held him back with an ambiguous smile. “Interrupting at a time like this could bring divine retribution.”
Divine retribution?! Deng Xiguang was immediately frightened by his words.
Su Wan snickered, “Indeed, it would bring divine retribution. Let the two of them be alone. The competition is almost over anyway.”
The unconscious Qin Yanglin was carried behind the earth-element wall by two disciples. His previous wounds had already been healed by his healing net, and the Tickling Technique hadn’t caused him any injury. Fortunately, he had passed out. Unfortunately, it was unknown how he would face everything when he woke up, but that was no longer their concern.
Everyone was eagerly discussing the intense and thrilling duel they had just witnessed. It had been many years since such an exciting match had been seen. Even the elders were somewhat excited, with many coming over to congratulate True Person Guang Wei. His disciple could only be described as a prodigy. This battle would likely alarm even the reclusive immortals in the upper echelons and the sect leader. This disciple would undoubtedly receive extreme attention. Given time, Wu Yue Ting might produce another formidable immortal like True Person Qing Cheng. This was truly a cause for great celebration.
True Person Guang Wei was both delighted and secretly worried. As a master, he was more concerned about Lei Xiuyuan’s physical condition. The way he had suddenly broken free from the Yin Yang Calamity Mirror’s restraint at the end looked quite strange. This child had always been competitive and strong-willed. In that humiliating situation, he had likely pushed his potential beyond its limits, and would undoubtedly be in extreme pain afterward. He wondered if that little girl, Jiang Li Fei, could take good care of him.
At this moment, Li Fei was using all her strength to support Lei Xiuyuan. His entire body was leaning on her, with large pools of blood falling on her shoulders and body, alarmingly hot. She was trembling uncontrollably with fear, yet gradually calming down.
With a wave of her hand, a massive healing net enveloped Lei Xiuyuan’s entire body. Li Fei saw that he was neither fully conscious nor unconscious, merely holding on by sheer will to avoid falling from the clouds. She immediately carried him on her back, not knowing where to take him, and could only rush back to Zhui Yu Peak at lightning speed.
Ri Yan was forced to follow behind. His sharp, large nose kept sniffing Lei Xiuyuan’s body, his ghastly green eyes fixed on him, not saying a word, his thoughts unknown.
Li Fei gently laid Lei Xiuyuan on her bed, tearing open his clothes. She saw fresh, unhealed bloody gashes all over his body as if cut by invisible blades. Even with the healing net in place, those wounds hadn’t healed. They were deep and long, with large amounts of fresh blood still oozing out.
Was this Qin Yanglin’s doing? It didn’t seem like it. The skin and flesh around the wounds were turned outward as if torn from the inside. Li Fei steadied herself and began to infuse spiritual energy into the healing net. However, for some reason, the healing net could only heal those wounds at an extremely slow pace, far from its usual effectiveness. Li Fei was so anxious that she broke out in a sweat, pouring all her strength into the healing net, yet the effect remained minimal.
“This is caused by an outburst of power, tearing the flesh that couldn’t withstand it. The healing net is too slow; you should use the water-element healing technique, Jade Snow Technique,” Ri Yan suddenly spoke. “Listen carefully: four parts water-element spiritual energy, three parts wood-element spiritual energy, and three parts metal-element spiritual energy.”
Li Fei reacted quickly, silently calculating the spiritual energy ratio. Soon, a soft white light appeared in her palm, shimmering like falling snow onto his body. Li Fei felt as if her perception was also attached to these scattered white lights, following them deep into his blood and marrow, repairing his injuries bit by bit.
Besides the severe injuries he had just sustained, there were countless old, hidden wounds deep within his body. For some reason, her perception, scattered with the Jade Snow Technique, could instantly tell when each injury had occurred. Those hidden wounds were densely packed, some from five years ago, and even some from ten years ago. Were these all unhealed old wounds left behind after unleashing his potential?
Li Fei concentrated all her mental energy and gathered all her spiritual energy, healing those hidden wounds bit by bit. Before long, she felt extreme fatigue. The Jade Snow Technique had depleted her spiritual energy surprisingly quickly.
“If you’re going to use Spirit Absorption, do it farther away from him,” Ri Yan calmly reminded her.
Li Fei, pale-faced and weak, pushed open the door and walked outside to use Spirit Absorption. In just one breath’s time, abundant spiritual energy once again filled her spiritual furnace. She immediately returned and continued using the Jade Snow Technique to heal his body.
She couldn’t remember how many times she had used Spirit Absorption, nor when Ri Yan had gone to sleep. He had been silently squatting nearby earlier, his gaze fixed intently on Lei Xiuyuan. He seemed to have said something at the end, but she had no recollection of it. After healing the last hidden wound in Lei Xiuyuan’s body, Li Fei’s mind and body were exhausted to the extreme. She collapsed at the foot of the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
After sleeping for an unknown length of time, she woke up to find herself on the bed. It seemed the sky had already brightened. The bed curtains were drawn, with faint light penetrating through. Li Fei stirred, instinctively covering her head with the blanket. In her hazy state, she felt someone embracing her, a hand gently stroking and caressing her hair. She hadn’t slept enough, her eyelids kept drooping, and she squirmed, wanting to turn over. Lei Xiuyuan stroked her face and said something in a low voice, but she still couldn’t hear clearly. She mumbled a response, extremely tired.
Burning lips gently fell on her face, pecking her forehead, eyebrows, and eyelids one by one. Li Fei’s mind was in a daze. She opened her eyes in confusion, meeting his pitch-black eyes. She stared at him silently for a long time, instinctively raising her arms to embrace his neck, murmuring, “Xiuyuan…”
Lei Xiuyuan held her soft body tightly, his hand moving up and down her slender back, comforting her. Li Fei’s confused thoughts gradually cleared. Sunlight penetrated the drawn bed curtains; it was a rare clear day. She moved again, suddenly realizing that Lei Xiuyuan’s upper body was bare. Sunlight scattered on his naked skin, every inch of his muscles looking strong and lean.
Right, it seemed she had torn his upper clothes to check his wounds. Li Fei suddenly felt an odd embarrassment. But perhaps because she had just woken up, her mind was strangely relaxed, and contrary to her usual behavior, she didn’t shy away. With a lazy nasal tone, she asked softly, “Does it still hurt?”
Lei Xiuyuan brushed her messy long hair behind her ear, suddenly lowering his head to kiss her ear lobe. His voice was hoarse: “It hurts.”
Li Fei’s eyes widened. She lowered her head to carefully examine him. The wounds on his body had all healed, without even a small cut left. She looked for a long time, then released spiritual energy to probe his extraordinary meridians. Finally, she frowned and said, “Where does it still hurt? There are no wounds left. Even the old injuries from years ago are gone.”
“My whole body hurts,” he smiled, burying his head in the crook of her neck. “Hold me tight.”
Li Fei raised her hand to punch him lightly, wanting to bite him, yet also wanting to hold him tightly and never let go. Her fingers ran through his thick, soft hair, combing through it bit by bit. She felt a patch of dried blood below his ear and carefully scraped it off with her fingertip.
The young man enjoying her touch like a cat suddenly raised his head, leaning in close. His hot breath fell on her lips: “Where’s my reward?”
Li Fei’s face instantly turned red, almost burning. But for some reason, she didn’t shy away as usual. Instead, she asked softly, “What do you want?”
“Guess.”
This extremely annoying catchphrase.
Li Fei chuckled, pinching his chin and shaking it: “No reward if you don’t say it.”
Lei Xiuyuan opened his mouth and gently bit her finger, as if he hated her, not letting go. Li Fei felt both ticklish and slightly painful, unable to help but laugh. Lei Xiuyuan rolled up her sleeve. On her slender, snow-white wrist, there were still faint scars. He brought it to his lips and kissed it, his burning lips gradually moving upward, biting and kissing along the inside of her wrist to her elbow.
Li Fei laughed uncontrollably from the tickling sensation, twisting her arm and body to dodge. The arms encircling her suddenly tightened, as if suffocating her in his embrace. She could hardly breathe, and amid the pain, she felt an indescribable excitement.
The next moment, her lips were firmly kissed. Lei Xiuyuan seemed to want to devour her, biting and sucking almost violently, then suddenly prying open her lips and teeth, invading like a conquering army, his tongue entwining with her slightly trembling one, savoring every minute secret in her mouth. His moist, hot lips slowly pecked along the shape of her lips, then invaded her weakly open mouth again. The intoxicating fragrance in her mouth and on her tongue was maddening.
Li Fei involuntarily let out a low, trembling moan, instinctively struggling, but how could she break free from this terrifying strength? Once again, she felt as if she was about to shatter. Her lips and tongue seemed to have fierce flames leaping and burning, gradually spreading throughout her body. An unnamed fire raged within her, and she began to shiver uncontrollably, curling up in his arms as if frightened of something.
Lei Xiuyuan suddenly propped himself up, gazing at her breathlessly. His pitch-black eyes were misty, his heart pounding like a drum, his breathing rapid and heavy, his heated breath like flames.
“Not enough, give me more,” his voice was hoarse.
The world spun, and Li Fei suddenly found herself heavily pressed into the soft bedding. His lips trailed from her chin down to her neck, sometimes licking, sometimes sucking, biting, truly as if he wanted to eat her.
Li Fei felt herself slowly sinking again. Her clothes suddenly felt extremely thick and heavy. She even had an impulse to tear them off. Something in the depths of her heart was yearning, an endless emptiness seizing her. Unable to articulate what she was craving, she could only hold him tightly, weakly clinging to him. She never knew she could be so fragile. In his palm, in his embrace, she was so fragile she felt she might break.
Lei Xiuyuan was saying something in a low voice by her ear, perhaps asking something. Li Fei’s mind was a complete mess, unable to process anything. She vaguely felt that something was amiss, but she no longer could rely on these thoughts.
His hand slowly slid down, gently untying her waistband. His arms slipped under her outer garment, holding her tight. Skin rubbed against the skin, separated only by a thin, soft undergarment. Li Fei let out a trembling moan. She could no longer tell if she was falling or spinning. He was a raging flame, about to melt her, burn her to ashes.
Lei Xiuyuan roughly kneaded that layer of undergarment. From somewhere, he had pulled open a gap. His palm immediately explored inside, rubbing against the bare skin of her back. She jolted, suddenly coming to her senses, hurriedly curling her body tightly and turning to hide to one side.