Pei Ji stood alone in the bathtub.

Under the steam, the boy's pale and thin skin gradually turned a light pink. He raised his hand and touched the warm water beside him.

His mother hated dirty things and ordered him to take a bath every day.

Washing required a lot of water, and she naturally didn't want to waste time heating it up, so Pei Ji was mostly exposed to cool water directly from the river.

Compared with the scars, the cold was nothing.

Pei Ji shivered at first, and gradually became accustomed to it. He was used to cold water, and when he suddenly found himself here, he felt a little restrained and uncomfortable.

No longer was it the bone-chilling torture, now every corner of his body was filled with heat, the warmth swept through his limbs, and it was so comfortable that it seemed unreal.

His body had become very strange.

The bloody wounds were nowhere to be seen, but many dark brown scars had inexplicably appeared - no matter what they looked like, they didn't look pleasing.

"Haven't you touched hot water for a long time?"

Chengying's voice rang in his ears, and Pei Ji looked up at the black long sword on the table.

Ningning said that he had lost some of his memory. During those forgotten days, Chengying, who was a sword spirit, had left his body and transformed into the most authentic long sword form.

She didn't lie to him, and when he grew up, he would really be able to use a sword like Ningning.

"Alas, I haven't seen you like this for a long time, I still miss you a little - no, I miss you very much."

Chengying's appearance changed, but he was still enthusiastic about chattering: "Come on, Pei Xiaoji, call Chengying brother!"

Pei Ji made an agreement with Ningning last night, and he has been smiling secretly since he returned home.

He saw through the boy's thoughts at a glance, and couldn't help but tease him. When he was talking happily, Pei Ji put him into the sword box.

If Ningning hadn't let him out later and let him talk to Pei Ji, Chengying really wouldn't have seen the boy so innocent and ignorant.

It was in high spirits and was about to continue to joke around, when it suddenly heard Ningning outside the house calling, "Pei Ji, are you done washing? If you stay any longer, the water will get cold."

The dazed boy blinked and tried to turn up the volume so that she could hear, "... Yeah."

*

The pajamas Pei Ji was wearing were bought for him by Ningning at the foot of the mountain.

At that time, his body had shrunk suddenly, and it was impossible for a child to wear an adult's wide robe, so before looking for a master, Ningning went down the mountain to buy some necessities suitable for children.

For example, shoes, snacks and various clothes.

This pajamas is made of silk and down cotton, which has the effect of containing heat. It feels soft and fluffy, and you can feel the delicate little balls of fluff.

When the skin touches it, it feels warm as if it is wrapped in clouds.

Ningning waited outside the house for a long time. When she saw Pei Ji pushing the door and coming out, she lowered her eyes and was stunned by his cute appearance.

Compared with the later teenager, the boy's facial features are not as cold and gorgeous as his. More characteristics on his face are the ignorance and immaturity that belong only to children.

He is frail, with a thin face. Wrapped in that white and soft pajamas, he inexplicably looks like a cat with its claws retracted.

His overly white skin looked as if washed by snow, and his long eyelashes were still wet with water. Further down, there were clear black pupils without impurities, and thin lips that were tightly pursed.

Feeling her gaze, Pei Ji lowered his head awkwardly, and a hint of red was faintly visible on his earlobe through his scattered black hair.

So cute!

Ning Ning almost reached out to rub his face, but for fear of scaring the children, she had to restrain her right hand.

She couldn't resist the urge to tease him, so she took a few steps forward to approach him, and chuckled, "I played with you all day today. Pei Ji, shouldn't I express my gratitude?"

The boy was stunned for a moment, and replied hesitantly, "Thank...thank you."

Apart from this "thank you", he had nothing else to give her.

This fact made him a little sad, and his heart ached. Sure enough, not long after, he heard Ning Ning's response: "One thank you is not enough."

The panic-stricken loss surged in an instant, but before this emotion spread, Ning Ning stretched out her right hand to wipe away the remaining water drop at the end of his eye.

She looked into Pei Ji's eyes, and when she smiled, her pupils were like rippling springs: "You should say, 'Thank you, sister'."

How strange.

Everyone he met today rushed to be called "brother and sister".

Chengying couldn't help but yelling, "Ningning! You're taking advantage of him! Pei Xiaoji, don't yell, Mommy won't allow it! No! Allow! It!"

The boy's long eyelashes trembled, and his thin lips, which were dyed light pink by the water vapor, opened slightly.

Even if he really would be taken advantage of... but once the target was her, there seemed to be no reason to refuse.

Or rather, Pei Ji didn't mind the fact of "being taken advantage of by Ningning".

"Thank you--"

Ningning listened attentively, watching Pei Ji's face flushed red, and he called her in a very light and slow voice: "Sister."

Chengying howled in extreme resentment, Ningning was very proud and touched the child's wet black hair.

Ah.

Ning Ning is happy and she only hopes that after Pei Ji recovers his memory, he will treat this incident as if it had never happened.

Ning Ning took Pei Ji to see the mountains and snow today, and later accompanied him to the foot of the mountain for a walk. After eating and drinking, it was late at night, and when he finished washing up, it was time to go to bed.

"Remember not to kick the quilt. You are afraid of the dark, so the candle in the corner will not be blown out."

Ning Ning watched the child go to bed obediently, and reached out to carefully press the quilt for him: "Are you afraid to be here alone?"

She thought Pei Ji would shake his head.

But the boy on the bed looked at her quietly, his eyes looked round and big on his small cheeks. He was silent for a while, seemed a little hesitant, and nodded silently.

There was a faint hope in his eyes.

Pei Ji had lost his memory. To him, the little girl in front of him was just a strange sister he had just met for less than a day. Ning Ning thought that if she asked to sleep with him, Pei Ji would probably feel uncomfortable.

She knew how to control the situation, and lowered her head and said, "Then you sleep on the bed, and I'll sit at the table to rest, okay?"

Pei Ji was silent for a moment, and replied with a dark "yes".

The candlelight in the corner was blocked by the screen, and only a thin and faint light like a gauze could be seen. Pei Ji was very well behaved when he slept, lying quietly on the bed without making any sound.

Today's changes were too big, Ning Ning couldn't fall asleep for a while, lying on the table in a daze, and suddenly, without warning, she sensed a very weak demonic energy.

... That's right.

Because of his bloodline, Pei Ji would be disturbed by demonic energy.

The sleepiness that had been brewing for a long time disappeared in an instant, and Ning Ning looked up at the bed not far away: "Pei Ji?"

No one answered.

She was anxious and walked forward, only to find that Pei Ji had shrunk into the quilt, curling up into a small ball like he did in the morning.

In the light of the candle, there was a dark aura wrapped around his long hair, faintly overflowing from the quilt.

The evil spirit surged up, and the meridians of the whole body were tortured. Even Pei Ji had to grit his teeth and try his best to endure it when he was a teenager, not to mention the child who couldn't even control his qi now.

Ning Ning reached out to lift the quilt, but found that there was another force holding the quilt -

Pei Ji held the quilt tightly, not letting her lift it.

"Pei Ji."

There was no impatience in her tone. She coaxed him softly from a very close distance through a layer of quilt: "Be good, come out."

The voice was like a snake, and the boy, who was tortured by the severe pain, was in a trance and almost lifted the quilt obediently.

But he didn't want Ning Ning to see him like this.

Nowadays, everyone hates the demons and wants to kill them as soon as possible, not to mention that his current appearance is so hideous that if others see it, it will only increase their disgust.

Pei Ji didn't want to scare her, and he didn't want to be disliked by her.

The surging demonic energy rushed forward, sweeping through his internal organs, and wherever it passed was full of knife-like pain. Pei Ji didn't know how to relieve it, so he could only grit his teeth and endure it.

He clearly... clearly tried very hard not to make any sound, why did she still find something wrong.

The quilt was filled with pain and darkness, and the pain intensified, and the boy began to tremble uncontrollably.

Suddenly, something quietly reached under the quilt beside him.

Without humiliating or scolding him like her mother did, Ning Ning's hand explored clumsily in the bed, from his shoulder down, and finally held Pei Ji's palm.

A breath he had never felt before was slowly transmitted into his body.

She was touching him.

The spiritual power was gentle and clear, silently brushing away the surging demonic energy in his body. Pei Ji was stunned to feel the warmth from her, and forgot to tremble for a moment.

When the pain subsided a little, he heard Ning Ning whisper: "Come out?"

This was an irresistible tone.

The beige quilt moved slightly, the boy bit his lower lip secretly, lowered his head and lifted the quilt, exposing his curled up body.

Pei Ji didn't dare to look at him.

But Ning Ning got closer and closer.

Passing through the terrifying layers of black mist, Ning Ning held him in her arms.

"I'm... I'm sorry."

Pei Ji trembled all over, and his voice couldn't stop shaking: "I am..."

He is the descendant of the demon clan.

He must look very ugly now, with bloodshot eyes, black air entangled, blue veins bulging, and he looks fierce and terrifying.

When he was in the cellar, the demonic energy would break out every now and then. Every time that happened, his mother would be furious, watching him in agony while spewing out ruthless sarcasm and curses.

Demon, evil son, monster, and many more unbearable words.

Finally, someone was willing to smile at him and hug him carefully.

He didn't want Ning Ning to be like his mother, who even felt disgusted when she touched him.

The force that was holding him gradually increased.

The candlelight flickered, and she could hear his wolfish panting and whimpering, as well as Ning Ning's sigh: "What's the point of apologizing? That's not how you use 'sorry'."

"It's just demonic energy, it's no big deal."

She stroked Pei Ji's back again and again until his trembling became lighter and lighter: "Like sword energy, Taoist energy, and all other messed up energy, demonic energy itself is neither good nor bad. The ones who should really be hated are those who use it to go astray - even sword energy, once it falls into the hands of a bad person, it is also a disgusting thing."

How could Ning Ning not understand what he was thinking.

When Chengying lost his memory of being an ancient sword, he was no different from an ordinary middle-aged uncle and knew nothing about demonic energy. When the demonic energy was surging, it could not offer any useful suggestions except to comfort Pei Ji.

Therefore, Pei Ji's only source of knowledge about the demonic energy was his mother.

How could that woman say anything good?

She felt sour and bitter in her heart, and her tone was more serious than ever before: "You are not a bad person... I don't dislike everything about you."

Pei Ji's back stiffened.

The endless spiritual power flowed like flowing water, rising from the spine, along the meridians and blood vessels, and gradually flowed through the whole body.

Ningning said to him: "I'm here, nothing will happen to me, don't be afraid."

The soft and warm torrent swept up and enveloped the boy. Pei Ji was still young at this time, but he had already learned to pretend to be a cold and hard shell. It should have been indestructible, but now it was easily shattered, revealing his heart huddled in the corner.

Those humble and cowardly wishes that only appeared in dreams suddenly came true. His eyes were hot, and his long eyelashes blinked suddenly, sweeping away a drop of water.

Pei Ji had experienced countless beatings and scoldings and the entanglement of evil spirits. He had long been accustomed to pain. No matter how difficult it was, he could grit his teeth and endure it. He would not cry out in pain even if he fainted.

Only this time, Pei Ji shed tears.

Tenderness is always more powerful than pain.

When the evil spirit receded, Pei Ji was exhausted and had little strength left.

Ningning wiped away the tears from his eyes: "Are you sleepy?"

This time he didn't shake his head or nod.

The frail and pale boy was breathing heavily, with cold sweat on his forehead from the pain. He stared into her eyes with wet eyes, and suddenly stretched out his hand to grab Ning Ning's sleeve.

Pei Ji was still shy and didn't say anything, but Ning Ning quickly understood what he meant: "You want me to stay... with you?"

He wanted to nod.

However, before he could make any reaction, the thin boy was hugged into his arms again, and in a blink of an eye, he was lying on the bed.

Ning Ning's body was filled with the elegant fragrance after bathing, which was sweet. Pei Ji was used to the smell of blood in the cellar and rarely smelled sweet fragrance.

It was incredible that her body was softer than the quilt.

Pei Ji subconsciously leaned closer to Ning Ning, and heard her chuckle: "Go to sleep."

She said: "Pei Ji, have a good dream."

The boy closed his eyes and leaned against her closely.

Pei Ji did not tell her that all the dreams he had had were not as beautiful as today.

*

Ning Ning slept lightly, and was suddenly awakened by a slight movement in the middle of the night.

The candlelight went out at some point, and through the moonlight, she saw Pei Ji's face.

She was more familiar with the handsome face of a young man.

He lowered his voice and apologized: "Did I wake you up?"

Ningning was hugged by him, sleepy: "When did you wake up?"

Like she did before, Pei Ji touched her head: "Not long ago."

Compared with his body, Pei Ji's memory had to be recovered first.

Ningning fell asleep at that time. Although he closed his eyes and lost his memory, he did not fall asleep -

he had never been held to sleep in his childhood, not to mention her lingering voice lingering in his ears, every moment was precious, how could Pei Ji bear to fall asleep.

Then his memory recovered, he felt the spiritual power flowing in his body, quietly got out of bed, took off his clothes, and put on his original pajamas.

Everything that happened today was clearly retained in his mind.

He carefully hid the petal in the cabinet, and couldn't help stroking it for a long time, thinking about what life would be like if he had met her earlier.

But fortunately, he met Ning Ning when he was a teenager.

When he was a child, he had only endless sufferings and could not give her anything. Pei Ji didn't want to live under protection, he wanted to protect the girl in his heart.

On the Moon-Watching Peak, Ning Ning was only half right.

Even if he had the power to ride on mountains, rivers, lakes and seas, he would always be willing to succumb to her tenderness.

"Ningning."

His voice still had the hoarse cry from not long ago. Originally, his voice was clear and crisp, but now it was a little soft and coquettish: "I like you so much."

"I knew it a long time ago."

Pei Ji's chest shook slightly when he spoke, and even the slightest tremor could be clearly felt by Ningning.

She became more and more sleepy, and whispered jokingly: "Why, did you find that you like me especially today?"

"No."

Pei Ji lowered his head and stepped back a little so that he could see Ningning's face.

In the long and silent night, her eyes seemed to be shining.

"I like you every day."

He put his lips on her forehead and moved down gently and slowly. The winter night was cold and dark, and the warmth from his thin lips passing through her skin made the touch seem particularly real and intense.

The heat finally covered the girl's lips.

Pei Ji's strength was very light, he touched intentionally and then moved away, like the lingering drizzle in spring, pattering and itching.

In his tone, there was an unspeakable desire at some point: "Tonight is different."

The spring rain fell heavily.

The chaotic breaths intertwined with each other, and it was hard to tell which side it came from. Pei Ji heard the long breaths echoing in the night, and Ning Ning in his arms clutched his clothes tightly.

He was almost unable to contain the surging thoughts.

He wanted to get close to her, to kiss her, to tell her about his joy. There were so many thoughts like these that they were about to overflow from his chest.

After the kiss, Ning Ning's face was already flushed.

She had gradually gotten used to kissing, and although her heart would still beat faster, she would never be as nervous as before and dare not move. She was secretly adjusting her breathing and wanted to ask him what was different tonight when she suddenly heard Pei Ji panting slightly and calling "Ning Ning".

He liked to call her name, two simple overlapping sounds, which always sounded a little gentle and nasal.

Pei Ji kissed her forehead again and again. Perhaps he felt that the next words in his heart were so straightforward that they were almost frivolous, so he used the serious and solemn tone that was unique to sword cultivators: "Tonight... I can't help myself."

He didn't know what he remembered, and his movements suddenly stopped.

Under the moonlight, the boy's cheeks were beautifully red.

Pei Ji curled the corners of his mouth, and a low, smiling sound came out from his throat. His thin lips rubbed her lips, and he spoke hoarsely.

Like a whisper, but also like a tease, he recited the two words in a deep voice, and the ending tone rose: "Sister."

This was clearly a small revenge, and it was unclear who was taking advantage of whom.

Ningning's ears and blood exploded heavily, and she curled up her toes spinelessly, almost melted by the heat on her face.