Chapter 35 035 Can you help me tear my undergarments?

Saying anything now is pointless; venting verbally is just a way to ease the tightness in my chest.

Lu Yuanyuan angrily rubbed her lips with the knuckles of her index finger, as if she wanted to rub off a layer of skin. After a while, she realized that Yin Xiaozhu did not respond.

The cave fell silent, and the atmosphere became somewhat stagnant.

Lu Yuanyuan was puzzled and looked up.

Yin Xiaozhu sat opposite the fire, head down, unwrapping the silk cloth from her palm, her expression cold and indifferent.

Lu Yuanyuan paused, realizing something was amiss.

Yin Xiaozhu's hand wound was caused by a magical artifact from the alchemy room. Even with her mid-stage Golden Core cultivation, the wound couldn't heal instantly. When she came out this time, her hand was still wrapped in silk. She had just been soaked in cold water, carried from the water's edge to the cave, and gathered firewood to start a fire... The silk was already dirty, with clumps of blood mixed with mud and sand seeping out, drying into brown stains.

Although Yin Xiaozhu might not be a good person, he did save her after all, and besides, she still has that damned Bone-Piercing Blue in her body, and for the next few months, she will be dependent on Yin Xiaozhu. Constantly complaining about her own troubles and completely ignoring her teammates seems rather unkind.

Lu Yuanyuan rolled her eyes, walked around the campfire, climbed to Yin Xiaozhu's side, and affectionately held his hand. She blinked and said, "Yuanjun, it's inconvenient for you to use one hand, let me bandage it for you."

She used a little force to pry open the other person's hand.

Yin Xiaozhu did not resist her, but opened his palm. The loose silk cloth was gently torn off by Lu Yuanyuan. The previous wound had mostly healed, but the unhealed part had come into contact with cold water. Perhaps because of the force of gripping the sword, the skin and flesh were torn, and bright red blood seeped into the lines of his palm.

Lu Yuanyuan frowned and said seriously, "This is too dirty, it needs to be rinsed off. Yuanjun, where did you get the water from? Should we go outside?"

Yin Xiaozhu paused for a moment, then raised her chin, gesturing towards a direction within the cave.

"I'll go pick it up, you wait for me."

Lu Yuanyuan picked up a thick branch, started a fire, and used it as a torch to light her way as she stood up. A cold wind blew through her skirt. The campfire flickered, and the shadows of the two figures on the rough cave walls trembled, bringing a touch of life to the otherwise stagnant space.

They were in the most spacious part of the cave, with a barrier at the entrance and numerous narrow paths inside. The further they got from the campfire behind them, the quieter it became, and the narrower the paths grew, requiring them to duck to pass. The only sounds were their own breathing and footsteps.

Fortunately, the path led straight through without any forks, so she wouldn't get lost. Gradually, Lu Yuanyuan felt the air become more humid, and the sound of rushing water approached from ahead. She raised her torch and saw a small waterfall, with narrow stalagmites lining the mountainside. Lu Yuanyuan stuck the torch beside her, took out a leaf, rolled it into a funnel shape, filled it with water, and carefully cupped it in her hands, rubbing it against the cave wall before returning the way she came.

"Yuanjun, I'm back!"

Yin Xiaozhu was still by the campfire, her eyes closed. Hearing the sound, she opened her eyes, and her hands, which were resting on her lap, were taken. Lu Yuanyuan squatted down in front of her, grasped her wrist, and carefully poured water from a leaf funnel into her palm.

The water in the cave was perpetually dark and bitterly cold. Lu Yuanyuan clearly felt Yin Xiaozhu's hand stiffen slightly, and quickly said, "It'll be ready soon."

It sounded like a coaxing tone.

After quickly washing his hands clean, Lu Yuanyuan uncorked the small porcelain bottle of medicine and sprinkled a thick layer of powder on Yin Xiaozhu. The two of them had fallen on hard times together, but fortunately, the contents of their storage bags were enough to last them for a while.

However, there was no clean silk cloth left inside.

In TV dramas, in situations like this, the protagonist would tear a corner of their own clothes to bandage their companion. However, Lu Yuanyuan glanced at her clothes. They had been rolled in water, slept on the cave floor, and rubbed against the ground while fetching water; they were filthy, like pickled vegetables. Giving these clothes to Yin Xiaozhu would render the cleaning and medication she had just applied useless.

Glancing at Yin Xiaozhu again, her clothes weren't so wrinkled, but they weren't clean either.

Yin Xiaozhu withdrew her hand and said casually, "If you don't have it, then forget it. Let's leave it at that."

"Isn't this a bit inappropriate? Leaving the wound exposed..." Lu Yuanyuan hesitated for a moment, then suddenly thought of something: "I've got it, I still have a piece of clothing on me, it should be clean."

Yin Xiaozhu looked up.

He saw the girl in front of him begin to undress without any suspicion.

Because it was a bit cold, she didn't take off all her clothes, but rather unbuttoned them layer by layer until her clean undergarment was revealed. Her snow-white skin was dazzling. At first glance, it was impossible to tell whether the delicate sheen came from her undergarment or her skin.

“Yuanjun, use this first. I took a bath last night, and this undergarment is newly changed. Although it was soaked in water, there are several layers of clothing between it, so it is not dirty. It is the cleanest clothes I have on.”

As Lu Yuanyuan spoke, she began to tear at the lower half of her undergarments.

For people in ancient times, stripping someone of their undergarments would be somewhat offensive. So, let her use her own. As a modern person, she doesn't care. The tank top is just shortened, essentially becoming a crop top.

Unfortunately, she simply couldn't tear a tear in her clothes. With no other option, Lu Yuanyuan turned to the person in front of her for help: "Yuanjun, I'm not strong enough, could you help me tear my undergarments?"

Yin Xiaozhu was leaning against the cave wall with her eyes closed. Upon hearing this, she suddenly opened her eyes, and a corner of her small garment was stuffed into her uninjured hand.

Silk should be cool to the touch. But now, warmed by the girl's body heat, it felt strangely cozy. And, just as Lu Yuanyuan had said, this must be her new undergarment, still carrying a faint scent of soapberry.

Lu Yuanyuan instructed, "You exert force over there, and I'll exert force over this side."

"..."

Sizzle—

A long, narrow piece of fabric was torn from under the garment. Lu Yuanyuan bandaged the wound and tied a bow: "Mission accomplished."

Yin Xiaozhu stared silently at the bow. Lu Yuanyuan thought she was moved by her sisterly affection and was about to say something. However, Yin Xiaozhu simply withdrew her hand and changed the subject: "It's late, let's rest."

If they wanted to keep warm, they should sleep together. However, Yin Xiaozhu said she wasn't used to sleeping with someone, and Lu Yuanyuan, remembering what happened on the white crane boat, also had reservations, so she naturally agreed.

A campfire stood between them, with each sleeping at one end. Lu Yuanyuan curled up and closed her eyes. The firelight warmed her cheeks and made her hands and feet feel cozy. In such a bright place, it should have been difficult to fall asleep, but she couldn't resist her exhaustion and quickly drifted off.

I didn't sleep until dawn because the rocky ground was really too hard.

At night, Lu Yuanyuan's body ached, and she groggily turned over, finding it much darker around her. The campfire had almost burned out. Perhaps the thick fog had dissipated, as silvery moonlight shone in from the cave entrance, making some outlines visible.

However, Yin Xiaozhu, who was on the other side, had disappeared without a trace.

Did the other person wake up from the cold and go out to collect firewood at this hour?

Lu Yuanyuan rubbed her eyes, about to get up and go to the cave entrance, when she suddenly heard footsteps. She paused, then lay back down. And then she saw a familiar figure walk in from outside.

Yin Xiaozhu wasn't carrying any firewood. Not only that, her steps were slow and unsteady. She covered one eye with one hand, as if she were unwell. Suddenly, she seemed to lose her balance, her shoulder slumping against the cave wall.

Lu Yuanyuan was stunned for a moment, thinking of giving up the pretense and going over to help the other person. But then, she was so shocked by what she saw next that she froze on the spot.

Yin Xiaozhu slowly lowered her hand. In the dim shadows, beneath the corners of her beautiful, long eyes, a faint, eerie green hue appeared.

Lu Yuanyuan was surprised. She closed her eyes tightly, then opened them again to look.

The other person's eyes were clearly brown.

Was it because it was too dark around her and she was seeing things?

Why... did she feel a strange sense of familiarity with that turquoise color?

Just then, Yin Xiaozhu suddenly seemed to sense the gaze and looked up. Fortunately, Lu Yuanyuan reacted quickly, closing her eyes first and pretending to be fast asleep, but she was secretly sweating.

She wasn't sure if she was seeing things. If she was, that would be fine; if not… she really didn't want to know any more of the other person's secrets. For an NPC like her, the more secrets she knew, the faster she would die.

Lu Yuanyuan closed her eyes and strained her ears, but she heard neither the other person approaching nor falling asleep. Anxious, she dared not act rashly, and ultimately, she simply drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up the next day, the fire had gone out. Light streamed in from outside the cave. Lu Yuanyuan sat up, her first reaction was to touch her heart, then she looked across the fire.

Yin Xiaozhu was still not awake.

Lu Yuanyuan walked over and gently touched the other person, realizing that something was wrong.

Yin Xiaozhu's body was very cold, as cold as a dead person, and her breathing was very weak.

Lu Yuanyuan opened her eyes wide and shook the other person a few times: "Yuanjun? Hey, Yuanjun, don't scare me!"

She rubbed the other person's hand, but there was no reaction. Thinking of what she had witnessed last night, she had an unknown but ominous premonition. If Yin Xiaozhu was dead, she would have no chance of leaving this place.

Lu Yuanyuan turned around and saw the extinguished campfire, so she decided to go and rekindle it.

It was already daylight outside, and although there was no direct sunlight, it was much brighter than last night. You could see quite a few withered bushes outside the cave entrance.

Lu Yuanyuan held her breath and observed for a while, but saw no movement. She picked up a stone, weighed it in her hand, and quickly walked out. She gathered firewood as fast as she could, and as she held a bundle, she suddenly heard a hissing sound and a dark shadow fell from above.

From the moment she emerged from the cave, Lu Yuanyuan remained on high alert. Upon hearing the noise, she abruptly threw the stone in her hand behind her. Looking back, she saw a snake.

This snake is relatively small, only as thick as an arm, with rings all over its body and a triangular head. It is highly venomous.

At that moment, its tail was injured by a stone, and it was hissing and flicking its tongue, suddenly lunging at her. Lu Yuanyuan scrambled to her feet and ran wildly towards the cave entrance.

The snake slithered across the grass, making a rustling sound. Suddenly, something brushed against Lu Yuanyuan's ankle, causing her to fall flat on her face. Just then, she felt something warm splash onto her calf. Turning around, she saw that the snake had been sliced ​​in two by a flash of sword light.

Still shaken, Lu Yuanyuan braced herself against the ground, looked up, saw the person who had arrived, and blurted out, "It's you, Duan Lansheng?!"