Chapter 84 The Demonic Body is Stained.

Ren returned safely with a handful of bright red fruit.

At first, Shen Mi felt a little guilty about asking him, someone whose injuries had just healed, to go out and find food. But then she thought, if Ren Bu couldn't go, then she would have to go herself. Considering her own strength, Shen Mi immediately and decisively changed her mind:

Blade, you'll have to work hard.

The fruit in Ren's hand was crystal clear and bright red. Shen Mi stared at it for a long time and thought it looked a bit like a cherry in the real world.

As for the taste... she was secretly curious, wondering what it would taste like.

Ren handed the fruit to her, his tone as indifferent as ever: "Eat it. Although it can't compare to the delicacies you ate in Shence Prefecture, this is the best thing to eat here."

Listening to what he said, Shen Mi's heart was in her throat, feeling like he was about to say something terrifying...

Shen Mi took it; the fruit was slightly cool in his palm, its skin so thin it seemed as if it would break with the slightest touch.

Thinking about the taste of cherries, Shen Mi hesitated for a moment, then decisively took a bite.

The juice burst open instantly, carrying a sweet and sour flavor with a hint of wild forest fullness, and slid down my throat in a cool, refreshing way.

"Hmm..." She was stunned. She didn't expect the taste to be so special. It was sweet like cherries, but with a richer texture and an unfamiliar aroma.

"It's delicious!" Shen Mi exclaimed, then popped another one into her mouth.

Ren glanced at her indifferently, said nothing, and poured all the fruit he had just picked from the branch into her hand. Then he turned around and stuffed the branches and leaves in his hand into the corner where the firewood was piled up.

Shen Mi looked down at the handful of fruit in her palm. It was so clean that not a single broken leaf could be seen; he had clearly cleaned it carefully. She counted them; there were more than twenty. Thinking of how he had silently picked, sorted, and washed them all the way to her, and then handed them to her, she suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable emotion.

In this unfamiliar and perilous forest, this small sweetness felt like a long-lost warmth and comfort.

After Ren finished tidying up the firewood, he turned around and saw Shen Mi with his head slightly lowered, hurriedly wiping his face with the back of his hand without saying a word.

edge:?

"Why are you crying? Is the fruit too sour?" Blade was completely oblivious to Shen Mi's current emotions and, quite inconsiderately, exposed Shen Mi's act of wiping away tears.

"Ah, I didn't cry." A subconscious attempt to deny it.

Shen Mi quickened her pace, still keeping her head down and refusing to look at him, stuffing fruit into her mouth as if trying to mask her sobs with the sound of her swallowing.

Why are you eating so much sour food? Are you afraid I'll take it from her?

Ren frowned, staring at her "I'm trying to hide something" look, and said in a deep voice, "If it's sour, don't eat it. Give it back to me."

"No. And when did I say it was sour?" Shen Mi immediately clutched the fruit to her chest, as if guarding some rare treasure, and glared at him warily.

"Why are you crying if it's not sour?"

I thought the conversation would end there, but Ren pressed on relentlessly, changing the subject and circling back to the original point.

Speechless, Shen Mi thought to herself that this person was like a persistent ghost, and in a fit of pique, she raised her voice: "Ren, do you know that you really, really have no sense of romance?"

"Why are you bringing up being clueless about romance again? What do I need to understand about romance with a kid like you?"

Shen Mi was speechless, completely taken aback by Ren's thought process; her earlier emotion vanished instantly. She spread her hands, almost blurting out, "I cried because I was moved—"

"I was moved that you held off the Jin soldiers so I could escape first; I was moved that you dragged me so far despite your injured leg; I was moved that you took care of me all night; I was moved that you gave me the fruit to eat..."

Shen Mi, with his head down, rattled off a whole bunch of things without paying attention to anything else, completely oblivious to Ren's face turning red and then white, then white and then red again.

Ren stood frozen in place, his eyes glazed over, unable to utter a single word.

Shen Mi's words struck a soft, tender spot deep within his heart like a sharp blade, as if she had unintentionally ignited those delicate yet precious emotions within him. He listened with a pounding heart, as if she were speaking of a complete stranger, someone unrelated to him, and the "blade" Shen Mi spoke of was not him.

A feeling of disorientation and disorientation instantly filled his mind, like a sharp sword piercing his chest precisely and silently, completely bringing out the emotions he had been hiding in his heart.

The wind whispered outside the cave, accompanied by the clear calls of birds high in the sky. The air seemed to stand still, and time seemed to stretch out. Only silence and heartbeats echoed in the air.

The immense psychological shock left his mind blank, as if the entire world had lost its center of gravity in an instant, the world spinning, and everything before his eyes blurry. He felt as if he had been deprived of gravity, his body and mind suspended in an invisible vortex, even his breathing became heavy and erratic, and his heartbeat seemed to pound in his chest.

Blade's breathing gradually became rapid, his chest felt heavy as if it were being pressed down by a heavy object, and his face began to turn bluish.

Looking at Chen Mi spinning in front of him, he subconsciously frowned, his voice carrying a hint of impatience and confusion: "Why...why are you spinning around like this?"

Shen Mi was stunned for a moment, then shook his head in confusion: "I...I didn't?"

Blade stood frozen, his eyes glazing over, his fingers trembling slightly, as if grasping at thin air wouldn't sway him. His vision blurred for a few seconds, and a hazy feeling washed over him again—that familiar yet terrifying sensation.

In an instant, he realized that it wasn't Shen Mi making any strange movements at all, but rather the demonic energy within him activating. The long-dormant dark power surged forth like a flood bursting its banks, causing his entire body to tremble uncontrollably, his heart feeling as if it were tightly bound by invisible chains, making it difficult for him to breathe.

The thought flashed through his mind, and his knees seemed to lose their support, almost causing him to fall to the ground. Shen Mi reacted quickly and caught him.

She felt his shoulders burning hot and stiff, his face ashen, cold sweat beading on his forehead and trickling down his temples. Shen Mi's heart tightened, and she asked urgently, "Ren, what's wrong?"

Blade's thoughts were in chaos, his emotions began to spiral out of control, and the scene before him—the cave and the forest—seemed distorted and swirling, a jumble of unreal images. The dark power not only devoured his reason but also stirred up the most primal and violent emotions within him—anger, pain, and hatred.

He felt his fingers stiffen, and when he tried to hold Shen Mi back, he couldn't get a firm grip. Every tremor in his body felt like he was being pulled by the will of the demonic spirit.

Seeing his pale face and the taut muscles beneath his clothes, Shen Mi's heart tightened. She reached out her other hand to barely support his body as he was about to fall: "Ren—what's wrong with you?"

Ren barely managed to lift his head, his eyes filled with worry as he looked at her. His voice was low and hoarse, yet trembling uncontrollably: "...I...I...couldn't control myself..."

"Quickly..." he murmured softly.

Shen Mi leaned closer, his brows furrowed, his voice filled with worry and anxiety: "Ren, what are you saying? I can't hear you!"

Blade's breathing became heavy, as if someone were strangling him, his chest heaving violently, and the veins on his forehead bulging. The dark power lurking deep within his bloodline was breaking through the dam of reason with overwhelming force.

"Go...get away from me! I, the Demon Yin Body, unleash..." he growled, like a roar before his reason crumbled, both an order and a plea.

Shen Mi was stunned by his gaze. Those eyes no longer held their usual cold indifference, but instead a mixture of danger, pain, and suppressed despair. She froze, seeing his anguish, and desperately wanted to help him, her feet rooted to the spot: "I—"

As if possessed, Ren's eyes glazed over. Suddenly, he took a step forward and shoved her forcefully. Shen Mi staggered back a few steps, almost falling, her back against the tree wall, a chill running through her.

The bladed fingertips reached for her neck, but Shen Mi pushed hard, and he stood firm like a mountain.

Just as that finger, carrying a chilling killing intent, was about to touch the side of her neck, Chen Mi's breath caught in her throat, and a chill ran down her spine.

Suddenly, Ren's pupils contracted sharply, as if he had been jolted awake from a nightmare. His hand stopped abruptly less than half an inch from her, his fingertips trembling slightly.

The next moment, he jerked his hand back as if burned, his breathing so rapid it felt like his chest was being torn apart. In that instant, his expression showed not only pain but also a deep fear—the fear that he would hurt the person in front of him.

"Go...go quickly!" His voice was low and broken, carrying an urgent command.

Shen Mi gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with resentment and worry, but seeing the buds constantly sprouting around him, he was still frightened and retreated step by step.

Ren lowered his head, gripping his wrists tightly with both hands, as if trying to lock himself in place with intense pain. The dark power surged within him, almost threatening to engulf him completely.

Despite the clear, bright sky, his figure resembled a solitary peak eroded by wind and rain, isolated and precarious, yet stubbornly holding onto the last line of defense.

Blade's breathing remained heavy, his hair on his forehead was soaked with cold sweat and stuck to his temples, as if it would collapse completely at any moment.

Shen Mi felt a tightness in her chest—the oppressive and powerless feeling made her want to reach out and support him, but she knew that getting close at this moment would only become a burden to him.

Although the crisis has been temporarily suppressed, she knows in her heart that staying here will only cause the situation to spiral out of control again.

She bit her lip, gave him one last deep look, then turned around, decisively slipped out of the tree hole, and her footsteps quickly disappeared in the dappled sunlight filtering through the trees.

Inside the cave, only Ren remained, desperately suppressing the restless darkness within him. His knuckles turned white from the effort, and golden branches were continuously gushing out from his body. The pain of his bones and blood being parasitized and devoured by foreign objects was like countless ants gnawing at his body.

Inside the tree hollow, Blade's suppressed, agonizing roars echoed endlessly. Hidden in the grass dozens of meters away, surrounded by silence, Chen Mi silently watched the direction of the tree hollow, nervously biting her nails, completely unaware that a pair of scarlet mechanical eyes were fixed intently on her not far away…

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Author's Note: I'm late!!! [doge][doge][doge][doge]