There was still some time before the end of the trial. After unanimous discussion, everyone decided to split up after dawn tomorrow to find other foxes in the secret realm and take them to the outside world for recuperation.

Qiao Yan took Yan Qing and other members of the same clan into the room to heal their wounds, and then she stayed indoors.

As the only conscious descendant of the fox clan, she must have felt bad after learning the truth and thinking about the past few years. He Zhizhou, who was the most straightforward, also knew this and did not bother them.

It was getting late, and everyone found a room to rest temporarily.

Pei Ji specially selected a quiet room for Ning Ning. After cleaning it carefully with dust removal and a broom, he took out a quilt from the storage bag and spread it on the bed.

When he picked her up from the wooden chair next to him and carefully put her on the bed, Pei Ji subconsciously lowered his head.

Ning Ning was very light.

He had few impressions of other people's bodies before. Whether it was the fights during his childhood wanderings or the provocations of his fellow disciples after he became a disciple, the people he met were always hard. Even if he punched them hard, Pei Ji would not feel any pity.

But when he held Ningning in his arms, he didn't dare to use even a little extra strength. The palms on her shoulders were soft and hot, making him feel at a loss as never before.

The little girl in his arms was very sleepy, and her body was so soft that it seemed that you couldn't touch her bones. When Pei Ji stood still, he could hear her shallow and regular breathing.

He didn't feel it before next to the noisy waterfall, but now the sound seemed to have a little heat, and when it passed by his ears lightly, he felt a little dry for no reason.

... So strange.

Pei Ji pursed his lips and moved his eyes away from her face, laid Ningning flat on the bed, and tucked her in unskilledly.

He was first-rate in fighting and swordsmanship, but it was his first time doing this for someone else, so he looked very clumsy. His cautious look even made Chengying laugh out loud.

"Hey, Pei Xiaoji, you are just tucking in the quilt, there is no need to be so formal, right? People who don't know would think you are serving the emperor."

Chengying never stopped laughing: "Why, so reserved, you don't dare to touch her?"

When it said this, Pei Ji was flattening the quilt near Ningning's neck. Hearing this, he responded coldly: "What's the emperor?"

"Yo yo yo! You are so courageous, amazing!"

Its laughter sinks a little, and becomes a little scheming and malicious: "I know, I know, no one can compare to Ningning. If you think she is important, just say it directly. What is the relationship between us two brothers, do you need to be so roundabout?"

It seems that Chengying will do everything he can to build relationships. Before, he called himself "old lady", and now we are brother. I wonder what other names he will call me in the future. Every word is really irritating to the ears and destroys one's worldview.

Pei Ji turned a deaf ear to it, his long eyelashes casting a shadow under his eyes, and he lowered his eyes to look at Ning Ning again.

He had deliberately turned his eyes away from her not long ago, and he felt that he was really weak-minded.

When she lay on the bed, her whole head was slightly sunken in the pillow, and her scattered long hair gathered on both sides of her cheeks, making her white skin look like a beautiful jade.

With a rough scan of his eyes, he could see the long eyelashes like a small fan, the delicate bridge of the nose and the rosy lips one by one. Ning Ning was a person completely opposite to him. Whether awake or asleep, she exuded an approachable and gentle aura from the inside out, which made people want to get closer.

Unlike him, who is always cold and dry, doesn't know how to socialize with others, doesn't understand any fun, and only has two things in life: "living" and "practicing swordsmanship". It's simply boring.

Pei Ji has thought seriously many times about why Ning Ning is willing to approach him again and again.

It's obvious that he can't give her anything and has no value to use, while she always has many friends around her, so she doesn't need him anyway. Even so, Ning Ning would still go to the yard to find him every now and then, standing at the door and smiling and waving: "Junior brother!"

Later, Pei Ji thought, maybe the reason why Ning Ning is nice to him is because she is nice to everyone.

——But he doesn't want her to be so nice to everyone.

Pei Ji was startled by this weird idea and frowned in confusion. At the moment when he frowned, Ning Ning, who was lying on the bed, also frowned and shook her head lightly.

It turned out that a few strands of hair fell on her face, and they were blown by the night wind, shaking randomly as if they were itchy.

Pei Ji's fingertips moved slightly.

His right hand fell down quickly and lightly, and when his fingertips just touched Ning Ning's cheek, the whole back paused obviously for a moment.

When the fingers brushed away the hair, they also stroked the delicate skin on the girl's face at the same time.

... Touched it.

Ning Ning's cheek was incredibly soft, and with just a light brush, the fingers would slide down quickly along with the force. Even if he quickly moved his hand away, that vague, gentle and soft touch still remained on his fingertips.

Pei Ji always hated being touched by others, but for some reason, he didn't hate this feeling.

Even...even if there were more, it wouldn't be a bother.

He suddenly felt a little confused.

"Does this count as," Cheng Ying didn't notice Pei Ji's abnormality and tried to choose his words, "quietly touching Ningning's face?"

Pei Ji finally responded to it this time, his tone full of impatience: "Shut up."

Cheng Ying didn't understand why this young master suddenly became in a bad mood. He watched him walk out of the room with a sullen face and close the door as quietly as possible.

Until she caught a glimpse of his thumb tightly pressed against his index finger, she suddenly burst into laughter: "No way, Pei Xiaoji! Ningning is still asleep now, and you can embarrass yourself. What will you do when she wakes up?"

Pei Ji paused for every word, with a murderous look in his eyes: "Shut up."

=====

Perhaps because she thought of Qin Niang, Ningning dreamed of her parents in another world.

She was spoiled since she was a child, and later she fell seriously ill, and her parents were even more worried. It's a pity that they gave so much for her, but in the end they didn't enjoy the little bit of filial piety that a daughter should have, and they parted ways early.

The more Ning Ning thought about it, the sadder she felt. When she woke up, her face was covered with tears and her eye sockets were swollen like walnuts. She couldn't fall asleep again no matter what

. She didn't know how long she had slept. She could only see through the window that it was still late at night -

wait, the window.

Hadn't she been staying by the waterfall with Pei Ji before? Did he move to another location? Oh, by the way, when they were by the waterfall...

wasn't she picked up by Pei Ji and slept with her head resting on his shoulder?

No, no, that action of resting her head on his shoulder seemed to be initiated by Pei Ji himself...right?

She was unconscious, half asleep and half awake at the time, and had no idea which was reality and which was a dream. However, no matter whether the rest of the memories were true or false, that indisputable hug was definitely real.

If Pei Ji really put her head on his shoulder -

ah ah ah, that would be too, too ambiguous!

The more Ning Ning thought about it, the more panicked she became. She simply huddled herself in the quilt, rolled around on the bed with her eyes closed, and wrapped herself up like a silkworm.

She was beautiful and had a good personality. She had received many confessions since she was a child, but she had never been in love. Not only because her family was strict, but more importantly, it seemed that Ning Ning had a hard time developing feelings for those boys. She

didn't like too close contact between the opposite sex, and she also resisted strong purposeful teasing and overtures. She was immune to all the sweet talk and bombardment. She was invulnerable to both soft and hard tactics.

However, when she thought of what happened with Pei Ji by the waterfall, unexpectedly, she didn't seem to be disgusted.

Ning Ning poked her head out from under the quilt and stared at the ceiling in a daze.

There must be a reasonable explanation.

Maybe her life was at stake at the time, so all these actions could be forgotten. Maybe she and Pei Ji had a life-or-death friendship. Maybe the customs in the world of cultivation are open, and between men and women -

bah.

No matter how open the world of cultivation is, can it compare to the 21st century?

The more Ning Ning thought about it, the more upset she became. Seeing that sleep had become a luxury, she climbed out of bed with messy black hair.

The water mirror array was broken by her. Now the two secret realms should have merged into one, and the place where this house is located must be the village where the foxes once lived together.

The village had been abandoned for a long time, and it should be dusty and dirty, but it was clean and tidy here, and there was not a trace of dust on the bed; the shoes were placed neatly on the ground, which was completely different from her usual habit of kicking them away.

Until then, Ning Ning tried to think very seriously: Pei Ji should have brought her here, and the person who cleaned the house, took off her shoes and tucked in the quilt for her...

couldn't he be the one?

Probably not.

Ning Ning tried to imagine the scene at that time, but she always felt it was very awkward. Pei Ji did his own thing in the original book, and he was a killer god who proved his truth with a sword. How could he be the kind of person who would be patient enough to do such a thing.

But... there was indeed his scent on the quilt, Ning Ning smelled it when she wrapped herself in it.

She couldn't figure out why, because the dream made her particularly depressed, and with nothing to do, she decided to go out for a walk alone.

When she opened the door, she saw a courtyard. The courtyard was square, surrounded by several other houses, and in the center grew a dead tree, and next to the trunk -

Ning Ning was slightly stunned.

There was a tall and straight figure standing next to the trunk, it was Pei Ji.

It should be very late now.

The sky was completely dark, even the moon had disappeared, only a long-burning lamp at the door was still on, which made the scenery even more eerie, as if a will-o'-the-wisp was lit in the abyss, and blood-red devilish energy was wandering around.

She never expected to see Pei Ji at this moment, and called out hesitantly: "Pei Ji, are you still awake?"

After that, she smiled softly and asked in a joking tone: "Are you waiting for me to wake up?"

Ningning was indeed joking, and Pei Ji was not different from what she expected. He held the sword and replied indifferently: "No."

After a pause, he added in a deep voice: "I can't sleep, so I came out for a walk."

"Bah! It's still 'no'! You don't even blink when you lie!"

A middle-aged male's masculine voice rang in his ears, full of bitterness and indignation, as if he was telling a tale: "Ningning, listen to me! This guy is obviously worried that you will suddenly wake up in the middle of the night, and either he doesn't know the current situation, or your spiritual energy is exhausted and something goes wrong, so he has been guarding here - he even doesn't dare to enter your room, saying something like 'men and women shouldn't touch each other', bah!"

Unfortunately, Ningning couldn't hear a word.

Pei Ji had no expression on his face, listening to Cheng Ying continue to shout angrily: "Did you see the sword in his hand? This kid is afraid of the dark, he has to hold it to stay outside alone! Damn it! It makes me unable to sleep. How many hours have you been waiting? The old man also needs to rest, okay!"

"You can't sleep either?"

Ning Ning smiled: "How about we go out for a walk together?"

Pei Ji was silent for a moment, and seemed a little reluctant: "Yeah."

Cheng Ying: Hehe.

=====

The real secret realm is much more gloomy than the previous one. It is dim all around like a horror movie set, with only a few long-burning lamps hanging in front of the courtyard gate emitting light.

Walking side by side in this atmosphere, there is not much romance to speak of, but it is more like the couple in a horror movie who are about to get a box lunch and die.

Pei Ji held the sword in his hand all the time, occasionally looking at her inconspicuously with his eyes down.

Before, they were far apart, and it was dark all around, so he couldn't see Ning Ning's appearance clearly. Now that they were walking side by side, he realized that she might have cried, and her eyes were slightly red.

He was not good at comforting people, and he could not figure out why the little girl beside him was crying. Although he thought about how to start the conversation for a long time, he finally told her coldly: "If someone makes you unhappy, you can tell me."

Ning Ning looked at him in shock, and listened to Pei Ji's calm explanation, as if he didn't care much: "I can fight."

She originally felt a little depressed, but after hearing this, she burst out laughing and asked him with narrowed eyes: "Junior brother, do you usually use this trick to deal with people?"

Ning Ning rarely called him "Junior brother", but now she pronounced these two words very clearly, more or less with a little teasing.

Pei Ji was unusually strong in character. No matter what kind of danger he encountered or how serious the injury was, he could always bear it silently. However, in terms of dealing with people, he is sometimes as childish as a child.

He can't speak, let alone please others. He beats people when something goes wrong, and keeps silent the rest of the time. He is also stupid when it comes to comforting others.

Pei Ji frowned and for the first time showed dissatisfaction with this title: "I'm older than you."

"Okay, okay."

She put her hands behind her back, used the light to see the road ahead clearly, pursed her lips and smiled: "Actually, I thought of my father and mother. I haven't seen them for a long time."

People who practice cultivation are beyond the mundane world, and their lifespan is much longer than that of ordinary people. Therefore, they often cut off worldly ties and do not deliberately contact their parents.

Pei Ji didn't hear anything wrong, and hummed softly, then hesitantly said: "If you are thinking about your parents, when you have some free time--"

He paused for a while, turned his gaze to the other side opposite to Ning Ning, and said casually: "I can barely find time to accompany you down the mountain."

"Oh, you still say 'barely find time', then you are really reluctant enough, you are already very happy in your heart."

Cheng Ying sneered and said coldly: "I can't tell that you are so anxious to meet your parents-in-law, Pei Xiaoji, we still have to be a little reserved."

"Actually it's not a question of going down the mountain or not..."

Ning Ning sighed softly and changed the subject: "Qiao Yan knows the truth?"

"Well." Pei Ji said, "But the fox tribe can still be saved. We have discussed that we will take them all out when the secret realm is opened."

Qiao Yan has lived for her people for many years. When she found out that the people she thought were her people were all demons, she must have been in great pain. Fortunately, the lineage of the spirit fox has not been extinct, allowing her to regain some of her lost hope.

The village was not big, and the two of them quickly reached the end. They wanted to go home, but unexpectedly, a thunder suddenly came from the sky.

Ning Ning looked up blankly, and as soon as she raised her face, she was hit by crackling raindrops.

"...It's raining?"

She was still staring at the raindrops in a daze, and her sleeves were pulled unexpectedly, and a thin layer of cloth suddenly covered her head.

It turned out that Pei Ji took out a coat from the storage bag, put it on her head, grabbed Ning Ning's sleeve, and led her straight to the nearest house.

This place is remote and there is no light. The house is only left with ruins due to the war, and the only remaining eaves are so narrow that they can only cover less than five people.

The night flows slowly like water. When Ning Ning looked forward, she saw the vague shadow of the young man.

I don't know if it was an illusion, when the surroundings were completely shrouded in darkness, Pei Ji's fingers holding her sleeve tightened slightly, leading Ning Ning to take another step forward.

"What's wrong?"

After a long while, Pei Ji's voice came from the darkness, as dull as the night: "Nothing."

After entering the ruined house, he let go of Ning Ning's sleeve, walked to the corner with the sword in his arms, and leaned against the wall; Ning Ning was carefree and stood not far away to look at the scenery outside the house.

It must have been a long time since it rained in the secret realm. The ground was cracked with fine scratches, and transparent small bubbles emerged under the nourishment of rain. A lamp was on in the distance, and only a very vague light was transmitted, dyeing the rain into a turbid white.

"It seems to have cooled down."

The house collapsed to only half, without doors, windows and most of the walls. Raindrops were flying in from the front. Ning Ning's eyes were sore from the night wind. She pulled her coat and turned to look at Pei Ji: "Are you cold?"

When she turned her head, a flash of lightning happened to pass through the sky.

The dazzling white light illuminated the boy's stern face. Ning Ning was a little surprised to find that Pei Ji was biting his lips tightly, and his face was abnormally pale.

The remnants of the demons are wandering everywhere here... Is he affected by this, and the demonic energy has taken effect again?

But there was no black air beside Pei Ji, which was different from the previous few times.

Ning Ning just took a quick look, and the situation in front of her became dark again. She was confused, and suddenly remembered the description that was briefly mentioned in the original book.

When Pei Ji was a child, he was locked up in a cellar by his mother. The dark room was cramped and dark, and he had wounds all over his body from being tortured...

By the way, the original text did say that he would often turn on a light when he slept.

When Ning Ning saw this, she was puzzled by this action. Now that she thought about it carefully, Pei Ji would not be afraid of the dark, right?

Another flash of lightning flashed, and the young man in black standing in the corner noticed her gaze and turned his head to the other side with a stern face.

His black hair was soaked by the rain that flew in diagonally, and his body was indeed stretched straight, with the sword tightly held in his hand.

Ning Ning guessed roughly, and after a brief hesitation, she took a few steps forward and slowly approached him.

Pei Ji quietly moved towards the corner, his voice was very stiff: "What's wrong?"

"I'm afraid of the dark."

She said with a little smile, and walked to his side like a gust of wind, bringing the soft fragrance of gardenia: "I want to talk to you."

"Ningning is afraid of the dark? Why didn't I notice it before-she also said that she couldn't sleep because of the shaking of the spirit mushroom."

Cheng Ying whispered to him stealthily, and suddenly laughed out loud in the middle of the conversation: "Pei Xiaoji, she didn't see that you are afraid of the dark, but didn't want to say it directly to embarrass you, so she used such an excuse!"

Pei Ji just wanted to punch it in the face.

"I'm not afraid of the dark."

He moved another step towards the corner, this time there was no way to retreat, and came to the cold corner: "I just don't like it."

Ningning was slightly stunned.

This man's train of thought is really strange. She had thought of a foolproof excuse to get close to Pei Ji without scaring him. Unexpectedly, he not only saw through her intention, but also exploded on the spot, which was too awkward.

She glanced sideways and saw the angular outline of Pei Ji's profile. He probably felt embarrassed, and lowered his head and stared at the ground in the corner.

Ning Ning suppressed her laughter and asked him in a brisk voice: "You don't like the dark, and you go out alone when you can't sleep at night?"

She just said it casually before, but now she really doubted that the reason why he was standing alone in the dark yard was to wait for her to wake up.

"Hahahaha Ningning is worthy of you!"

Chengying was so happy that his mind was rolling, and his body twisted like a worm: "Pei Ji, this stinky boy, not only waited for you to wake up outside the door, he also poked your face quietly when you were asleep!"

Pei Ji closed his eyes and took a deep breath, holding the sword tighter.

The heavy rain diluted all the light, and the room was filled with dust and sultry air. A thunder sounded unexpectedly, Ningning's heart moved, and she looked at Pei Ji again.

He frowned subconsciously, and the long sword in his hand swayed slowly.

If their relationship was closer, maybe they could hug each other like the hero and heroine in a romance movie, but she couldn't just go up to him without saying anything -

the dark night with muffled thunder, violent storms, an empty old house and a woman who suddenly approached, this was clearly a horror movie or a legal documentary, the kind that would give one nightmares if one recalled it in the middle of the night.

The atmosphere froze for a moment.

Suddenly Pei Ji heard her voice, like a cat's paw gently touching his ear: "Pei Ji."

He looked up suddenly and saw Ning Ning's bright eyes.

She seemed to hook her finger at him, mysteriously: "Come closer."

Seeing his confused look, Ning Ning chuckled: "I'm not going to eat you, what are you afraid of?"

So Pei Ji stiffened his back and took a step closer to her.

The familiar fresh fragrance enveloped his nose again. He was caught off guard and felt something covering his head.

Ning Ning put the coat back on him.

Pei Ji couldn't understand her intention. He shook his head in a daze in the fabric. He was caught off guard and suddenly realized that the coat was lifted up and another small head was poking out from the side.

Ning Ning and he stood under the coat together. The thin cloth swayed and fell, blocking the slanting raindrops and enclosing an extremely small space around the two of them.

There was only room for the two of them.

Pei Ji hated darkness and narrowness, but at this moment, he had both, which made him feel unprecedented peace of mind.

Maybe it was because there were not only them, but also Ning Ning, and for the first time, someone was with him.

Although they did not touch, they were very close, and this small space was filled with the warmth and breath of a girl, which completely enveloped him.

"This way I won't be afraid."

Ning Ning smiled softly: "I can know you are next to me."

She paused for a while, and suddenly asked: "Pei Ji, what kind of girls do you like?"

Cheng Ying, who was originally chattering and rolling around, suddenly stopped, and did not make a sound.

"Don't think too much, I just asked casually, I don't mean anything else."

Her voice became smaller and smaller, almost swallowed by the sound of the pattering rain: "Because you seem to seldom interact with the girls in the sect, I'm a little curious..."

The last word "奇" got stuck in her throat, and Ning Ning couldn't continue.

No, no, even if Pei Ji was a bachelor for his whole life like in the original book, it had nothing to do with her. What was she curious about? This explanation made it even more strange.

Ning Ning didn't know why she asked that question in a daze. For a moment, she was a little embarrassed and her ears turned red. She subconsciously wrapped her coat tighter, pursed her lips and raised her eyes.

When she saw this, she couldn't help but be stunned.

Pei Ji's eyes were dark and deep, and he was staring at her without blinking.