Chapter 34 Soulful Disturbance "You, you, hmph..."

"You, you should be grateful that you've met someone as kind and easy to talk to as me. Although you're corrupted by resentment, I might not have been able to save you if it were someone else. But resentment... I'm not afraid of it at all."

"Don't underestimate me, I'm very capable. Don't worry, I'll make sure you're healed perfectly. You just need to get some rest and don't refuse me. Also, are your meridians very narrow? I've cleansed them with my spiritual energy so many times, why are they still so blocked? That shouldn't be the case, you're so powerful... Never mind, you're not as powerful as me right now, so just be a good girl and listen to me, okay?" Her eyes shone brightly: "I can save you."

Qin Wenxue stopped moving. He seemed to have been persuaded, or perhaps he was too weak to do so. But this suited Shi Wenzhe's wishes perfectly. Qin Wenxue was now as obedient as a doll.

"Ah..." Shi Wenzhe sighed inwardly, "It's really beautiful."

"Did you... treat other people this well before?"

Shi Wen tilted her head, wondering if she had misheard again.

"It must be a hallucination." She blinked but didn't respond, but Qin Wenxue became stubborn again. She repeated, as if throwing a tantrum, "Have you ever been this nice to other people before?"

His tone became a little stronger, and Shi Wenzhe detected a stubborn and arrogant undertone in his voice.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she realized she was probably having a fit of hysteria.

Her hand was touched, like a cat scratching her. She stammered, "N-no, I didn't know anyone before..."

Since her parents passed away, she has always been alone. As a child, she was mute. She would not speak when bullied, and would only smile foolishly when praised. As a result, she had few friends and grew up alone. Now that she is grown up, she is still alone. Who can she be kind to?

However, she was indeed quite kind to the little white dog and her own pigs. Shi Wenzhe blinked in confusion: "Qin Wenxue... shouldn't be compared to them, right?"

Qin Wenxue didn't say anything after listening, but Shi Wenzhe felt that the other party was in a very good mood and was extremely obedient. The black mist in the sky seemed to have become obedient, restraining its claws and teeth that were attacking people, and slowly dissipating. However, there were some things that Shi Wenzhe wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him: "Why is there still some malevolent energy entering Qin Wenxue's body? It's like coming home?"

She tugged at the black mist, and it dispersed at the slightest touch. Just as she was about to ask what was going on, she heard Qin Wenxue's gentle voice say, "From now on, don't tell everyone everything."

Shi Wenzhe retorted, "I didn't say anything!"

"You said you are the Spirit-Crossing Flower."

Knowing she was in the wrong, she understood the sensitivity of her identity and had secretly vowed to protect this secret, but...

“But…” Shi Wenzhe said frankly, “But you are not just anyone.”

"You are Qin Wenxue. Qin Wenxue is so kind, she would never let me put myself in danger. Even if you know, you just know, right?"

"Why aren't you answering?" Shi Wenzhe subconsciously rubbed against the other person. Qin Wenxue sat obediently, like a large hamster: "Are you shocked by my shamelessness?" She smiled, her body leaning to one side, and Qin Wenxue grabbed her.

The touch on her hand was a little sticky. Shi Wenzhe looked at it in confusion and saw that her hand was covered in blood. Her eyes widened in disbelief. She turned to look at Qin Wenxue and saw that Qin Wenxue's body was limp and about to fall to the ground, but the hand on her waist did not let go.

Shi Wenzhe grabbed the other person, but felt a handful of dripping blood on Qin Wenxue's back. He was like a butterfly with broken wings, about to shatter.

Shi Wenzhe was in a daze and couldn't say anything. Even though everything was getting better, why was Qin Wenxue even more seriously injured?

"Why..." she murmured, her face pale.

Qin Wenxue suddenly spoke up: "I know you are very capable..." His voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible.

"But don't waste your spiritual power on me." Blood dripped from Qin Wenxue's seven orifices. Shi Wenzhe was in a panic and hurriedly tried to wipe the blood off his face, but the more he wiped, the more blood appeared. He smeared the blood all over Qin Wenxue's face and coughed up a mouthful of blood. His breathing was weak and the rise and fall of his chest was about to disappear.

Qin Wenxue's body was ice-cold, but the blood flowing out was so hot that it made her hands tremble uncontrollably. She shook Qin Wenxue's body and called out in a trembling voice, "Qin Wenxue... Qin Wenxue?" She didn't understand, her eyes were blank and pitiful, and finally she kept shouting, "Don't die, don't die!"

The voice was pitiful and mournful, calling out again and again, irrationally intruding into Qin Wenxue's eardrums and even her soul, finally causing her heart, which had been frozen for a thousand years, to beat again.

Qin Wenxue laughed amidst the pleading, even though his body was in great pain and his smile was forced, but the corners of his eyes curved slightly.

Qin Wenxue gently comforted her, "I won't die, don't be afraid."

Shi Wenzhe looked bewildered, as if to say, "I'll believe whatever you say, but don't lie to me." She sobbed and asked, "Really?"

The tears were warm, as was the blood. Qin Wenxue's pupils were unfocused, unable to distinguish whether the wet marks on his face were his or Shi Wenzhe's.

But it was too hot, hotter than a pounding heart.

"Really." He smiled, his voice almost fading away, and murmured, "But you're really stupid."

Shi Wenzhe ignored her: "Why are you calling me stupid again?" Her voice trembled: "But so be it, whatever you say goes." She couldn't rest easy and insisted on a definite answer: "Are you really not going to die?"

"Um."

Shi Wenzhe asked again, "Won't it hurt?"

Qin Wenxue chuckled, but she was too weak to say anything more: "What do you think?"

"I think so." Shi Wenzhe realized she was being silly for asking such a silly question. But she really thought she was going to lose him forever, and she was really scared.

"Um."

Her hands were already busy, and blood pooled beneath Qin Wenxue. Shi Wenzhe was somewhat angry, unsure whether she was angry at herself for being useless or at Qin Wenxue for being useless. She slapped her hands in frustration to stop the person beneath her from moving around: "Don't move! And don't talk anymore. Why are you so disobedient? Is your body made of a honeycomb? You're bleeding so much. What happened to the spiritual energy I fed you? Not a single drop has been left."

Shi Wen was in the middle of her excitement when she heard the light laughter of the person beneath her, who seemed not to care at all. She had nowhere to vent her anger, so she lowered her head and glared fiercely at the instigator, only to see Qin Wenxue give a faint smile.

That smile was so gentle and innocent; it was the first time Shi Wenzhe had ever seen Qin Wenxue smile like that. She thought, "So Qin Wenxue can smile like that? This is too unreal. Is she dreaming? Is she hallucinating because she's about to die? Otherwise, how could she see such a beautiful woman with a smile that could topple cities?"

Her soul floated up uncontrollably, about to pass through the nine heavens and go to the moon.

Qin Wenxue's eyes were half-closed, her lips were pale, and her eyebrows and eyes looked fragile and innocent. Her eyelashes trembled, and Shi Wenzhe's heart softened instantly. He wished he could snatch all the beautiful things in the world from her and give them to her.

"But he must be in so much pain that he's gone mad, otherwise why would he be laughing so happily?"

"Never mind...you...you must be out of your mind." She paused, took a deep breath, and then said, "I forgive you."

Qin Wenxue seemed to have heard something funny and couldn't stop laughing. Ignoring his bloody wounds and the indiscriminate attacks of the malevolent energy, he opened his eyes and stared blankly at the woman in front of him. She was disheveled and trembling, her clothes were dirty and tattered, with not a single intact spot. Shi Wenzhe's face was pale and her pupils were red, but the flame in her eyes burned stubbornly.

And so it ignited in his heart.

"How incredibly stupid..." He seemed helpless against the person in front of him and could only sigh in despair.

"You laugh at me, fine, but you even insult me..." Shi Wenzhe echoed the other's reply, her voice barely audible: "Fine... I won't argue with you, whatever you say goes." She was almost at her breaking point, her expression dazed, her strength slowly fading away.

A burst of white light erupted suddenly from the center of the black mist, then subsided, the malevolent aura gradually dissipated, and the surroundings fell silent. Fine sand rustled down onto their clothes, and Shi Wenzhe, feeling utterly powerless, finally collapsed into Qin Wenxue's slender neck.

A long sigh dissipated in the air, and tears slid down her cheeks, falling into her tightly sealed red dress—cold, hot, and scalding.

Qin Wenxue hugged her tightly, letting her lie in his arms, and then quietly closed her eyes in the silent world.

The swirling sandstorm nearly obliterated the two intertwined figures, one in red and one in white.

"Hmph—" A weak dog bark came from under the red dress, a soft and feeble whimper.

The little white dog nudged its head, pulled aside its red coat, and crawled out. Its ears drooped, and its whole body was covered in dust. It splayed its legs, shook off the sand and dust clinging to its fur, and then shakily rushed into Qin Wenxue's arms.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Ming Shu cried out anxiously, his claws almost sparking as he scratched at Qin Wenxue's sleeve.

Perhaps he used too much force, for he watched helplessly as the two people who were leaning on each other fell down. The little white dog was stunned for a moment, then raised its paws, looking bewildered and lost, its watery eyes innocent and sad.

Shi Wenzhe was as light and airy as a piece of paper, and just like that, she lay in Qin Wenxue's arms.

The desert was lifeless and deserted, with only a lone puppy howling mournfully.

A faint golden light burst forth from its body, completely obscuring the little white dog. From within the golden light came the rustling sound of clothes rubbing together, and a slender, jade-like hand rested quietly on the sand.

The golden light dissipated, revealing Ming Shu's blank and bewildered face. He had a platinum flower ornament on his forehead, which upon closer inspection resembled a nine-petaled blooming flower. There were two golden marks on either side of his eyes, slanting upwards and piercing straight into his temples.

Ming Shu was dressed in a platinum-gold coat, with a long golden shawl hanging from his shoulder. The shawl was made of gauze, and it fluttered in the wind, making Ming Shu look like an immortal descended from heaven, untouched by the mortal world.

The immortal looked foolish, raising his palm in disbelief and saying, "You've even brought out your true form. Your Highness's cold poison must be terminal."

This place is deserted for miles around, and there's nowhere to shelter from the sandstorm. Besides, his spiritual power hasn't recovered yet, so he can't take them with him. He glanced at the two unconscious people, lowered his head, and sighed, "Oh, this is really worrying me to death."

Ming Shu tore off his long shawl, which could actually be used as a blanket when unfolded. He covered Qin Wenxue and Qin with it, and carefully pinched the four corners to prevent drafts. Finally, he sat down beside them, idly keeping watch.