When Ningning opened her eyes, she saw endless darkness.

The severe pain caused by the Lingshu Immortal Grass disappeared at this moment, and her whole body was too light.

She looked around blankly, and when her eyes gradually became familiar with the current scene, she vaguely saw a small, curled up figure in a corner not far away.

Ningning stabilized her scattered consciousness and moved forward step by step.

As she got closer, the blurry shadow finally became clear, and the outline was roughly outlined by the dark color.

It turned out to be a skinny boy, holding his knees tightly with his hands, curling up his body like a dying beast.

She smelled a strong smell of blood and the damp dust underground.

A dark space, a basement, and blood.

Ning Ning seemed to understand where she was now.

Pei Ji was attacked by the evil spirit and had to fall into his inner demons. Her fragile mind made it difficult for her to resist the evil spirits.

This should be his inner demon.

The boy curled up on the ground moved slightly, and Ning Ning leaned over and looked down at him.

This cellar was closed on all sides, and no light could penetrate. Fortunately, the five senses of the cultivators were sensitive, so she was able to take in the scene in front of her.

It turned out that Pei Ji was so thin when he was a child.

He doesn't have much flesh on his body now. When he hugged her before, she could clearly feel the bony bones on his back. Fortunately, he had three meals a day and abundant spiritual energy, so he didn't look too thin.

But this tiny boy is different.

He was barely covered by a tattered and thin robe, and his body exposed outside the cloth was incredibly thin, as if a layer of pale skin was wrapped around the bones.

What's more, there are so many long scars on his skin, one after another, dark purple and bright red.

How painful it must be.

This is his memory of childhood, Pei Ji can't see her.

But Ningning can see his appearance, his face is swollen as if he was slapped, his long eyelashes trembled slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes.

Pei Ji must be very scared.

Even she would feel scared unconsciously in such a gloomy scene, not to mention him who was covered in scars and still young.

That's why Pei Ji was so afraid of the dark after that.

A stream of blood flowed silently down the boy's arm. Ning Ning felt stuffy in her heart and subconsciously wanted to reach out to wipe it for him, but her fingertips went straight through his body.

The memory of the past cannot be changed. In this dark cellar, no one can help him.

At this moment, there was a creaking sound behind him. Ning Ning turned around and saw a white light from top to bottom.

——The entrance to the cellar was opened by someone, and the person who came in was an emaciated woman.

Pei Ji's mother is rarely mentioned in the original novel. In other people's memories, this almost insane woman has also left no trace. Thinking carefully, it seems that only Pei Ji can remember her.

Ning Ning squinted her eyes due to the sudden light, and raised her eyes to look at the woman who was gradually approaching here.

Her skin was bloodless, so pale that it could be called "weird", her long hair was scattered on her shoulders and back, her pair of bloodshot eyes were deeply sunken, surrounded by gloomy gray-black.

But even so, she still looked a bit like a once-gorgeous lady.

"Why are you pretending to be dead? Get up!"

She stood with her back to the light, her eyes full of undisguised disgust. As she spoke, she took a step forward and kicked the boy's thin waist and abdomen with her right foot.

Pei Ji was in great pain, and his body reflexively shrank back, but he gritted his teeth and did not cry out in pain or beg for mercy. His long eyelashes quickly closed and moved up and down, and a broken sob came out of his throat.

It was at this moment that Ning Ning finally saw his eyes clearly.

As a child, Pei Ji had not yet learned to wrap himself up in hostility. His dark and round pupils were filled with a dazed mist, and there was no light under his long eyelashes, only extreme pain and numbness.

He was trying to maintain his little self-esteem.

However, the more indifferent he was, the more the woman felt uncontrollable anger.

"What does that look mean - do you look down on me too!"

She was like a madman, with hatred overflowing from her eyes. While gritting her teeth, she bent over and grabbed the boy's black hair that was soaked in blood, and pulled him up without saying a word: "Xie Yu... You are the same as Xie Yu, right! You all deserve to die, the remnants of the demon clan!"

Then there was the crisp sound of a slap in the face.

Pei Ji was forced to turn his head under the huge force, and his already swollen cheeks were red and almost bleeding.

Ning Ning's eyes were hot and her heart was about to break, but she could only stand aside stiffly and could do nothing.

"It's all your fault!"

Her voice was hoarse, her whole back was shaking violently, and she spat out extremely vicious words to the child who was related to her by blood: "Do you hate me? You should be thankful that I kept you... Do you know what the situation of the demons is like now? Everyone can kill them, and I wish I could grind them to ashes!"

Her voice echoed in the empty and narrow cellar.

Like a ghost from the abyss, it filled every corner without a trace and did not dissipate for a long time.

"With such blood, you will never have a good life. I am the only one who is willing to take you in. Where can you go outside this house?"

She dug her nails deep into Pei Ji's neck. The boy frowned with a pale face. In his ears was his biological mother's crazy voice soaked with hatred: "The evil demon should be killed... Who will care about you, who will approach you... disgusting thing!"

Until the end, she had regarded him as Xie Yu.

The city defense was breached, he was displaced, his family was broken up, even if this woman wanted revenge, the opponent was the high and mighty Demon Lord, how could she do it easily.

Fortunately, she still had that man's flesh and blood.

-The boy who looked more and more like Xie Yu day by day.

This was her revenge, just to satisfy her own resentment that had nowhere to vent, how ridiculous, how stupid and incompetent.

Ning Ning didn't dare to look at it anymore, but the young Pei Ji kept staring at the woman without saying a

word. There was ignorance in the boy's eyes, but more of it was panic and pain. Something shattered silently, turning into a broken shadow, scattered deep in his pupils.

He was so young, locked in the cellar for many years, and knew very little about the outside world. The only source of information he had access to was what his mother said every day.

Pei Ji endured such deep malice day after day.

Those vicious curses and insults were deeply engraved in his heart. How could he not feel that he was a monster that was not tolerated by the world.

It turned out that compared to this woman, what he hated most was himself.

Ning Ning half closed her eyes, unwilling to look at the increasing number of bloodstains and scars on Pei Ji's body, but she couldn't help but let her eyes linger on him, and her heart couldn't stop feeling sour.

She knew what was going to happen next.

Later, when his mother died of a serious illness, Pei Ji was free from shackles and began to wander around in a daze. He knew nothing about the outside world and walked with a stumbling pace. Sometimes the evil spirit in his body could not be controlled, and he was often woken up in the middle of the night with cold sweat on his forehead.

Hunger, cold eyes, ridicule, and old injuries brought him severe pain day and night.

Until, by some strange coincidence, he joined the Xuanxu Sword Sect.

From then on, the boy learned to stay out of things and not get involved with anyone. He used cold and violent temper as an unbreakable cocoon, wrapping himself up layer by layer.

That's why Pei Ji always looks so cold and fierce.

The cowardice and self-loathing that occupied his heart since he was a child imprisoned him tightly. Pei Ji did not know how to get along with others, and he didn't think anyone would be willing to approach him.

This is Pei Ji's inner demon.

The hysterical curses were still echoing in her ears. Without any warning, the scene in front of her eyes suddenly darkened.

The woman and the boy disappeared in an instant. Ningning didn't understand what happened. She opened her eyes blankly and looked around.

The surroundings became dark again. The darkness was boundless and spread wantonly in the entire space, making her almost breathless.

It was at this moment that Ningning saw a slender and straight figure.

Pei Ji stood not far away, staring at her with a cold expression. When he met Ningning's line of sight, he frowned.

So strange.

This was completely the look he gave a stranger, and there was even a hint of slight disgust, which was completely different from his usual look.

Ning Ning took a step forward: "... Pei Ji?"

His eyes were darker than the darkness around him. When he spoke in a calm voice, there was a mocking sneer in his tone: "This trick doesn't work, you don't have to go to great lengths."

What doesn't work, what do you have to go to great lengths?

Ning Ning didn't react, and heard him continue: "Illusions and people... are different after all."

Oh, so he thought she was an illusion created by the inner demon.

——But she is obviously the real person! Pei Ji, this idiot! How is she different from herself!

He looked indifferent and serious, Ning Ning was angry and amused, and a teasing thought surged in her heart. She followed Pei Ji's meaning and asked: "What's the difference?"

The black-clothed boy pursed his lips, his eyes were like an ancient well without ripples, and he looked at her with frowns.

"She..."

His Adam's apple moved slightly, and it was impossible to tell the emotion hidden in his tone: "She won't come here."

This place is the deepest place of his inner demons, and Pei Ji knows it very well.

Before losing consciousness, he saw Ning Ning leave without looking back, and ran straight to a spiritual plant on the top of the cliff. Although he couldn't recognize what it was, with the black dragon protecting it nearby, it must be of very high grade.

When he was fighting with the black dragon, he had a perfect opportunity to pick the spiritual plant.

It's hard to tell what he felt in his heart when he saw Ning Ning turn around and leave. Bitterness, pain and loss, it seems that they are not enough to describe it.

Although he was reluctant to admit it, he was so sad and wronged that he was about to explode.

Pei Ji thought... she would be different from others.

But Ning Ning didn't even look at him in the end.

"Why do you think she won't come here?"

Ning Ning raised her chin, put her hands behind her back, and walked briskly towards him, her gaze falling on Pei Ji's eyes, staring into his dark pupils.

So fierce, so impatient, as if talking to her one more word would be a waste of time.

Is this always Pei Ji's attitude when facing others?

"This place is dangerous," fortunately, although he had no patience, he whispered because of her face that was the same as "Ning Ning", "No one will dare to break into other people's inner demons when their spiritual power is exhausted."

He used a very firm tone, and because he was not used to being too close to others, he took a step back expressionlessly.

"You can't say that. How do you know what she's thinking?"

Ning Ning wanted to stand up for herself. She took a step forward and walked straight to him: "What if there is?"

She raised her head when she spoke, and looked at him with her almond-shaped eyes without blinking, with a little dissatisfaction, but more of an unstoppable smile.

The breath flowing around suddenly stagnated.

Pei Ji stared at her in a daze, and the hostility in his eyes like thin ice suddenly faded away.

The boy's dark pupils were filled with dark clouds, and because of the layer of soft mist, the emotions suppressed in his heart could not be seen clearly.

But the emotion was so strong that even without any movement or sound, it could flow out of his eyes uncontrollably.

He used an uncertain tone, his voice suddenly became hoarse, and he spoke word by word.

"... Ningning?"

Ningning wanted to keep a straight face, but she couldn't help laughing with her eyes crooked.

Pei Ji understood everything after she laughed.

Ningning was really possessed by the devil, when her spiritual power was almost gone and her consciousness was extremely fragile.

But how did she break the thick devilish aura around him? She clearly -

Pei Ji's figure suddenly stopped.

Some distant but tangible memories quietly emerged in the chaotic sea of ​​consciousness. He remembered the bright red blood on the girl's lips, and the white light that broke through the black mist.

When he was trapped in the endless purgatory, someone used a sword to split the layers of demonic energy. Although covered in blood and extremely weak, he approached him step by step with great determination.

The corners of the boy's eyes, which were always indifferent, suddenly turned red.

It turned out that Ning Ning did not abandon him, but risked her life to save him.

He was afraid of darkness since he was a child.

Only she brings endless brightness.

...How can he be worthy?

His heart began to beat violently, and Pei Ji stared into the girl's smiling eyes.

They were so close that he could touch them with his hand.

The desire buried deep in his heart clamored to break free, and the thick clouds in his eyes gathered and dispersed, condensing into a raging inner demon.

All the secular norms, humbleness and cowardice, just because of her eyes, they fell apart in an instant and no longer existed.

Pei Ji only wanted her.

The boy's throat rolled unconsciously, and he suddenly called her name: "Ningning."

"Huh?"

She looked up curiously.

Immediately, the tip of his nose was filled with an extremely close fragrance of wood plants, and in front of him was a black shadow that suddenly approached, and the fresh breath belonging to the young man.

Something touched her lips lightly, and Ning Ning suddenly widened her eyes.

In just a moment, all the sounds in the world disappeared.

Pei Ji's lips were thin and soft, and he pressed them down very lightly, like soft and fluffy jelly with a few dry cracks, tightly against her.

He had no skills at all, and could only rely on the most primitive instinct to touch her a little bit, lowering his eyes almost devoutly, and even holding his breath deliberately.

His thin lips slowly pressed down, and then gently moved away when she was caught off guard, and then landed in another place like a dragonfly touching the water.

He kissed her earnestly, his face just a millimeter away from her, and he spoke in a deep voice, almost uncomfortably: "Is this... okay?"

Ningning's mind was originally blank, and when he asked her this, the heat quickly spread from her ears to her whole body.

What does "is this okay?" mean?

He was clearly acting like a pretentious move.

She did not dodge, nor did she show disgust.

That meant she didn't dislike

him. Ningning didn't dislike him.

Pei Ji's smile deepened, and with a light blush on his face, he put his lips against hers again.

Their lips rubbed against each other silently, and everywhere they touched was soft.

Ning Ning raised her eyes and saw his smiling pupils, which were like a bottomless whirlpool, with a tear-jerking mole at the end of his eye, which made her unable to resist and willing to sink into it.

His movements were cautious, and he took great courage every time he touched her. Occasionally, he raised his long eyelashes and looked at her, and even his voice was tense: "Do you like... like this?"

The same words she said before.

Ning Ning couldn't tell whether this was a serious inquiry or a small revenge on her, but she finally understood one thing.

Pei Ji didn't know how to kiss, and thought that the touch of lips like this was all there was to kissing.

He was really an elementary school egg shell.

She laughed a few times in her heart, glanced at the black eyes that were so close, and suddenly had an idea for a prank.

He was the one who was initiating the kiss, but the girl curled her lips slightly and stood on tiptoe.

Then she extended her tongue and touched his lower lip.

Due to the boy's blood loss and exhaustion, she touched a dry crack, and the taste of blood came from the tip of her tongue.

Ningning blinked her eyes, and used all the courage in her body to lick it lightly as if teasing.

His movements really paused instantly, and his body became even hotter. The wet touch spread between his lips, like a fish out of water, with the tip of its tail moving, drawing out an endless current.

Pei Ji froze obviously, with a moment of surprise and confusion in his pupils. He blushed and asked her in a hoarse voice: "...Should it be like this?"

Ning Ning: ...

He asked seriously, as if he felt that he had not done it well, and there was a bit of guilt and grievance in his tone.

As the one who took the initiative to tease, she felt her whole heart softened because of this sentence.

They were in the depths of their inner demons, so Cheng Ying did not appear in Pei Ji's mind as usual.

If it saw this scene, it would cover its eyes with its hands in hatred. It was

really unbearable to watch.

Good-for-nothing, he had to let a girl teach him how to kiss, how embarrassing.

Fortunately, Pei Ji did not dwell on this. There is a long way to go, and he has plenty of time to learn slowly.

As for now——

the young man put his hand on her soft lower back, his lips slowly moved to the side, and finally stopped holding his breath, but greedily sucked the fragrance from her body.

The places he kissed were all hot, but after a moment, Pei Ji pressed his thin lips on Ningning's earlobe as she had done before.

As if he liked it very much, he bit it forcefully.

His breath was warm, and it all flowed into his ears.

Pei Ji murmured to her in an inaudible voice: "I like you."

Ningning only felt that her body had no strength, and slowly turned into a pool of mud.

——She has never believed this description.

But the wind from Pei Ji blew gently, and the magnetic hoarse voice of a young boy reverberated in her eardrums. All her consciousness seemed to be pulled out of her mind at that moment, making her dizzy and powerless.

But her body was held down by Pei Ji, unable to move.

The palm of his hand behind her slowly moved upwards.

Through a thin layer of gauze, Ning Ning could clearly feel the temperature and trajectory of his palm, spreading upwards like a ball of fire, and his thumb pressed vaguely, causing restlessness wherever it passed.

The five fingers finally stopped at the spine, and Pei Ji used his whole hand to press her into his arms; and her chest was pressed against it without any distance, and she could feel the other's violent heartbeat, thumping.

His lips have reached the girl's neck, his face buried in her neck, and when he speaks and breathes, it causes an itchy feeling in her heart and lungs.

Pei Ji's voice is trembling slightly.

His voice is dry, like a child who is at a loss. He opens his lips in her ear ignorantly but firmly: "I like Ningning."

Ningning's heart starts pounding again.

The boy who buried his head in her neck smiled softly, his hair rubbing against her chin, stirring her heartstrings.

Pei Ji's kiss is soft and delicate, but it also hides an irresistible persistence, locking her to his side, making it difficult for her to escape.

Pei Ji exhaled a puff of hot air on her neck, and pressed his thin lips against the girl's red collarbone.

Ning Ning heard him say, "...I like it the most."