There is a river winding through the dense forest not far from the top of the cliff.

Pei Ji stood in the middle of the river, letting the spreading demonic energy soak around him. The river flows very slowly, bringing the sound of water like the sound of a piano and the faint sound of beasts crying.

Compared with the other people, his luck is really bad. As soon as he opened his eyes, he was in the beast tide raging with demonic breath.

The demon beasts trapped in the Demon Refining Tower have always been of high cultivation. Once they gather together, they are even more difficult to deal with. He broke out of the siege with the help of a sword, and when his consciousness was about to fade, he met Bai Ye and Yong Gui.

They said that they had seen Ning Ning not long ago.

She went to the top of the cliff with Senior Brother Meng Ju and has not returned yet.

Pei Ji has the blood of the demon clan and can perceive the demonic energy around him more clearly than the orthodox cultivators.

The place is filled with dark mist, and ordinary people cannot see the cat's grease, but he can clearly sense that the higher he goes, the stronger the death aura is.

He is worried that Ning Ning will be in danger, so he refuses the suggestion of returning to heal his wounds first and insists on going to the top of the cliff to meet her.

When the young man thought of this, the shadows in his black eyes gradually darkened, and a self-deprecating laugh came from his throat.

As a result, he saw Ning Ning ignore her own safety and push Meng Ju away. The handsome senior brother protected her behind him and wiped the blood off the girl's face.

"Ning Ning, you don't have to sacrifice yourself to save me. Brother will protect you for the rest of your life."

... Ha.

For the rest of your life.

The river water that reached up to his waist was icy cold, and occasionally it rose with the waves, licking the wounds torn by sharp claws, causing a sharp pain that pierced his heart and bones.

Pei Ji was indifferent to this, and drooped his eyelashes slightly. He reached out to scoop up a handful of clear water from the river and pressed it fiercely on the bloodstain on his lower abdomen.

He took off his shirt, and the blood and water mixed and flowed down, dyeing the river water beside him dark red, as if cinnabar was spreading layer by layer.

At this moment, he pressed his palm on the wound. Although it was called "cleansing", he exerted force without hesitation. The skin became more bloody and the blood kept gushing out.

Only such severe pain could make him regain some clarity of mind from his almost chaotic mind.

What's more, he had long been accustomed to this. No one would care whether it was Pei Ji or someone else.

"Pei Xiaoji, are you crazy?"

Chengying's heart was beating wildly in his sea of ​​consciousness, and there was a rare hint of anger in his tone: "If you are jealous, then be jealous. Is it necessary to torture yourself like this? Stop it now!"

The young man in the twilight pursed his thin lips and responded in a dark voice: "I didn't--"

He stopped talking halfway.

He didn't have the confidence to deny it.

When he saw Meng Ju approaching her step by step, and his fingers brushed across Ning Ning's cheek, he could clearly feel the emotions surging in his heart.

His chest felt stuffy and sour, and he felt a lot of grievances and anger for no reason. He just wanted to look away in panic, as if standing there was a kind of torture.

Even if he was unwilling to admit it, it was clearly naked jealousy, like a flame that ate away his bones and burned his heart, burning him to the point of going crazy.

Pei Ji took a deep breath of foul air slowly, and his palm passed over the bloody crack on his shoulder. He unconsciously exerted more force, and his eyes became darker.

The eldest senior brother was as calm as an ice pot and an autumn moon. His character, swordsmanship and status were all first-class. Even when he expressed his feelings so intimately, there was no fear on his face.

Therefore, Meng Ju could tell Ning Ning frankly and protect her for the rest of her life.

But could he?

Not long ago, someone replaced the immortal spring water he used for healing with poisonous water, which even hurt Ning Ning and left bloody marks on her calves.

His identity was so lowly, and he would never be able to get rid of the title of "monster". Even if no one deliberately targeted him in public, it was difficult to hide the contempt and rejection underneath.

In addition to swordsmanship, Pei Ji had never pursued anything else.

In addition to swordsmanship, the young man who had been hated since birth knew that he was not worthy of anything else.

Not to mention Ning Ning who was so bright and warm.

He was really useless.

A hero is paired with a beauty, it's written like this in all stories, and if Ningning is really with her senior brother, it's reasonable.

However, whenever Pei Ji thought of this ending, his heart felt empty and painful.

He came to her with injuries all over his body, but she didn't say a word, just stood beside Senior Brother Meng, not caring about him at all...

not caring about him at all.

He was upset, and had no way to vent his grievances and frustrations. He could only wipe the blood stains on his body again and again, but because he used too much force, the wounds burst more seriously.

Chengying shouted and screamed, and was so angry that his panting sound continued for a long time. Somehow, it suddenly stopped at a certain moment.

Pei Ji felt something in his heart, and raised his eyelashes calmly.

The girl in a plain gauze dress stood on the shore, her eyes fixed on him, frowning unhappily: "Is this how you clean wounds?"

It was Ning Ning.

Shouldn't she be with Senior Brother Meng at this time?

Pei Ji was a little confused, and glanced lightly in the direction of her sight.

It happened to be his chest.

The gloomy boy paused for a moment, then lowered his whole body, submerging his chest completely in the water, leaving only his slender neck and pale face exposed.

Pei Ji made his voice very cold, and a layer of thin ice quickly covered his peach blossom eyes: "What are you doing here?"

Chengying snorted disdainfully.

Let this kid ignore it, now it's good, the nemesis is here, it's time to watch the show.

Look at his disgusting pretentious look, he seems to be quite arrogant in front of Ning Ning.

I don't know who is so wronged that he almost explodes, thinking over and over again in his heart, why didn't she come.

"You haven't answered my question yet."

Pei Ji's body is covered with scratches and bite marks. Ning Ning frowned and wanted to teach him a lesson with a righteous speech, but when the words came to her lips, she softened: "You go ashore first, I will help you."

Pei Ji's eyes flickered for a moment, and soon disappeared: "...No. I can do it myself."

He would never say such words in a stiff tone before.

It seems like he is being angry and awkward.

Ning Ning looked at him from afar through the misty black fog without saying a word.

Pei Ji's extremely white, snow-like skin was particularly obvious in the twilight. Because the headband was removed, his black hair scattered like a waterfall, pouring onto the flowing river.

Looking down again, you can see a thin red mark on his neck, climbing up from the collarbone, mostly covered by wet hair.

No matter how fierce and cold Pei Ji's eyes were, it was difficult to hide this strange beauty, not to mention that the boy's eyes were faintly red for some reason, and there was nowhere to hide against the cold white skin.

Ning Ning felt a little dry in her heart, and subconsciously pursed her lips.

She could see that Pei Ji was unhappy.

Why was he unhappy? Wasn't Pei Ji fine in Xie Yu's Buddha Realm before? As for what happened after that...

Ning Ning thought half-jokingly, could it be because of the quarrel between her and Meng Di?

She originally had this thought in her mind with a bit of sarcasm, but as she thought about it, she gradually felt something was wrong.

According to the narration of Junior Master Yonggui and Bai Ye, since Pei Ji was able to come up the mountain to find her with wounds, it means that he was not angry before reaching the top of the cliff. If

there is any possible trigger, it seems that the only thing left is the interaction between her and Meng Di.

Could it be that Pei Ji was unhappy because she risked her life to save Meng Di and the latter wiped off the blood at close range?

...No way.

This assumption seems a little too bold.

What kind of emotion it implies is so self-evident.

Ningning thought, she must have blushed.

Just because of a wild idea, how useless.

She looked at the young man with red eyes in front of her, and felt flustered without warning. Thinking of the bloodstains on Pei Ji's body, she had to speak again in a shrill voice: "You... go ashore first."

Ningning paused after she finished speaking, and seeing that he didn't respond, she raised her voice a little: "If you don't come up, I'll go down."

This sentence really worked.

The river water was as cold as ice chips. Pei Ji would certainly not let her be in the rolling water. After a short pause, he suddenly stood up and waded slowly to the shore in the river -

even in this situation, he still had no way to deal with her and could only obey.

With the sound of his legs stepping apart in the water, Ning Ning finally saw what he looked like at this moment.

The mist outlined the tall figure of the young man, his black hair was soaked by the river water, and it stuck wetly to his naked arms and waist.

The broad neck and shoulders had smooth lines, and down to the chest and abdomen that were bleeding. The waist was extremely thin and too pale.

Pei Ji felt her gaze, and his body suddenly stiffened obviously. He lowered his eyelashes and stared at the river.

Why is he so shy!

This should have been a normal scene, but Pei Ji's evasive action gave it a vague atmosphere of ambiguity.

Ning Ning was already a little nervous, and now she felt a heat rushing to her head, her whole body stiffened and she couldn't move.

The way he did it... made her look like a villain who was plotting against her beauty.

Ning Ning pursed her lips without saying a word.

Although she was indeed tempted.

When Pei Ji got ashore, the initial awkward feeling dissipated a lot quietly.

The injured boy reeked of blood, and Ning Ning asked him to sit by the river and took a handkerchief from the storage bag.

"I heard from Bai Ye and the others that you were worried and insisted on coming to the top of the cliff to find me and my senior brother."

Ning Ning lowered her head and gently wiped his neck with a wet handkerchief. Pei Ji lowered his head and could see her long black eyelashes.

Like a fan, she only needed to move lightly to blow away all the anger in his heart, leaving only a few bitterness.

She was really cunning. She knew that he was determined to be alone, but she would always get closer step by step at this time, making it impossible for him to even get angry.

"But then, won't all the wounds on your body get worse?"

Ning Ning wiped the blood with full concentration, and tapped the side of her neck next to the wound with her fingertips: "Does it hurt a lot?"

Pei Ji shook his head and asked her in a muffled voice: "Where is Senior Brother Meng Ju?"

After asking, he felt regretful. Why did he say such a nonsensical question.

"Why?"

Ning Ning smiled: "Do you want to see him more than me?"

She raised her head while speaking, following the boy's strong jawline, and looking up at his dark pupils.

Pei Ji's eye sockets were still a little red, and his pupils were stained with spider-web-like bloodshot, reflecting the small mole at the end of his eyes that looked like tears, showing a completely different confusion and arrogance than usual.

He spoke in a dry tone, his pale pink lips faded and were as thin as paper: "No." He

paused for a moment and then said hoarsely: "I just want to see--"

He clearly only wanted to see her.

This secret was deeply buried in his heart, and Ningning would never know.

Pei Ji heard her chuckle.

Ning Ning did not ask about the word he had hidden. While continuing to wipe the blood, she asked slowly, "Why are you unhappy?"

She used a tone of pretending to be puzzled and smiling, without looking up at him, "Is it because of me?"

Pei Ji answered without thinking too much, "No."

"Really?"

Ning Ning whispered, "I thought you hated me."

Through a thin handkerchief, Pei Ji could feel the soft touch of her fingertips, which itched and numbed when they crossed the wound, causing sharp pain.

Pain should have been an unbearable feeling, but because of her touch, he was almost addicted.

Pei Ji calmed down for a moment and took a deep breath: "I won't hate you."

He was clumsy in speaking, but he tried to say a few more words to her. He shuddered slightly at the chill on his wound, and his voice became even hoarse: "No matter what, I won't hate you."

Ning Ning didn't respond immediately.

She seemed to have considered her words for a long time, and her voice rang as clear as a bell: "Then... do you like talking to me?"

As she spoke, she applied force with her fingertips, gently circling the teeth marks on his lower abdomen.

The pain spread like a flame, and Pei Ji subconsciously gritted his teeth to prevent himself from making any shameful sound.

A strange question.

He answered helplessly, as if he had surrendered: "...I like it."

These two words were pronounced extremely stiffly, leaving the boy's ears stained with a striking pink, like a pool of spreading water, silently spreading to his neck and cheeks.

Ningning was so close, she must have seen everything. When she saw him blushing, would she... find it ridiculous?

His chest ached at this thought, and Ningning's voice rang in his ears again: "How about holding hands? Do you like it too?"

Her fingers slowly moved down and had reached his lower abdomen.

Pei Jihun tensed up, stiff as a sculpture.

His voice was equally hard and hoarse, as if his ears were hot: "Yeah."

"Oh."

She lowered her head and asked: "What about a hug?"

She pressed on step by step, asking more and more ambiguous questions, and every word she uttered weighed on his heart.

Pei Ji had no way to retreat, and his voice trembled unconsciously while pretending to be calm: "...I like it."

Ningning paused for a long time.

She seemed to understand everything about why Pei Ji was unhappy and the secrets he had hidden in his heart.

The girl sitting by the river suddenly raised her head, and her eyes quickly crossed with his.

Her face flushed red, but she had a smile on her lips: "Really?"

The upturned ending tone was like a cat's wagging tail. When it brushed past his eardrum, a slight itch suddenly exploded in his blood.

With only the last string hanging in the balance in his head, Pei Ji looked into her eyes, his mind as if bewitched, and could only answer according to his heart: "Yes."

The little girl in front of him blinked at him.

Then, without saying a word, she stretched out her left hand and grasped Pei Ji's protruding wrist bone.

In the spreading mist, he saw Ning Ning lower her head again.

The old scar on the knuckle of the middle finger was suddenly covered with a warm and unfamiliar touch.

It was the girl's soft lips.

All the sounds around seemed to disappear because of her action.

In the silence, there was only the sound of his heart beating wildly.

His mind was in unprecedented panic.

Something in his heart exploded with a rumble, and Pei Ji felt as if he was in a dream.

Ning Ning hung her head, her expression could not be seen, and she still asked in an unrecognizable tone: "What about this?"

He had no way to retreat, and he was defeated.

His throat rolled up and down unconsciously, and Pei Ji could only say in a daze in his muddled thoughts: "Blood, dirt..."

These two words were not finished, and hung on the tip of his tongue.

—— Ning Ning came forward, with the scent of gardenia, and kissed his earlobe without saying anything.

Her voice was close to his ear, like a warm breeze blowing gently.

The unstoppable tremor was like an electric current, spreading rapidly from the earlobes, sweeping through every drop of blood and every bone marrow in the body.

He heard the girl murmur like a whisper: "So... do you like it this way?"

Pei Ji's ears turned red visibly.

It was so red that it seemed that if it was just a little more teasing, it would drip bright red blood.

When her lips touched it, she could feel the heat surging from the boy's body, soaked in the river breeze.

So cute that it was unfair. "Pei Ji."

Ning Ning smiled more deeply, stepped back a little and stared into his eyes.

When she opened her mouth, two shallow ripples appeared on her cheeks, and her voice seemed to be soaked in the sweetness of gardenias, which made him involuntarily confused and unable to resist.

His heart was beating hard to suppress.

Ningning's voice and violent heartbeat rang out, and Pei Ji heard a very light laugh: "Do you like me?"