Chapter 281 It’s cold outside, but the fire is warm
The twilight flowed behind Li Yuan, gently lifting his long, wavy, seaweed-like hair.
He stared intently at the rosewood, his gaze as complex as a vine that had been entangled for centuries.
There is a chilling resentment honed by long imprisonment, and a deep-seated grievance accumulated over centuries of solitude.
He approached step by step, much to Huali's surprise.
In comparison—
Hua Li, however, did not see the complex and unfathomable look in his eyes. Instead, with a hint of surprise, her gaze swept over Li Yuan's tightly pursed lips, then down to his gaunt jaw, and finally settled back into those unfathomable black eyes.
At first glance, she almost didn't recognize her.
Since their parting at Cangminghai, this was the first time Huali had seen Liyuan outside of the Dream Realm.
Compared to the little mermaid in her memory, who huddled behind the coral reef with eyes as timid as a young beast, the tall, slender young man in front of her felt vaguely unfamiliar.
Memories surfaced, and she nodded to the other person, "Li Yuan."
Beside him, Fu Yan's eyes silently fell on this uninvited guest.
Lord of the Vast Sea, Li Yuan.
He had seen this person several times while he was with Ranran.
Compared to Zhan Li and Wen Tingyun, Li Yuan left a deeper impression on him.
Every time she saw him, this deep-sea merman was surrounded by a cold and twisted aura. Like a venomous dragon lurking in Ranran's shadow, trying to drag any living thing that came near her into the icy seabed.
But to call it love would be too obsessive and terrifying.
It's more like a... distorted form of solace.
Fu Yan and Ran Ran met while exorcising demons in the Cangming Sea.
At that time, Ranran had stepped forward to save him from danger on several occasions. The most dangerous time was when he had just finished eliminating a monster and had not yet left when he was trapped in place by some force.
Of the group, only Ranran found him, and she was injured in the process.
As the chief disciple of the Fu Sect, and due to his personality, few people took the initiative to talk to him. Fu Yan was naturally grateful that Ranran had done so much for him.
Therefore, out of concern, he once mentioned to Ranran that this person was not a good person.
But Ranran just frowned and told him with pity in her eyes, "Ayan, you don't know his past. Liyuan was imprisoned in the Black Abyss for hundreds of years. He was very pitiful."
He was not one to engage in idle gossip, so he refrained from further comment.
But now, looking at Li Yuan's gaze towards Hua Li, he saw a gaze that was even more obsessive and dangerous than when he was with Ran Ran.
Fu Yan frowned, and slowly brought his two fingers together inside his sleeve.
at the same time--
Li Yuan finally struggled out of his memories from the past few hundred years, and spoke in a low, hoarse voice: "...Huali."
After exchanging greetings, they remained silent.
Huali: Don't ask, it's just embarrassing.
At the time, Cangminghai and the other person actually had a rather unpleasant argument because of their efforts to save the little bird.
She was prepared for Li Yuan to turn around and leave as soon as he saw her, but she didn't expect him to come over on his own initiative.
Seeing the clear aloofness in the girl's eyes, Li Yuan's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty.
"...I was imprisoned in the abyss for three hundred years..."
Karin looked up: "Hmm?"
Have you ever...thought of me, even just once?
Karin was captivated by the unreadable emotions on his face, and alarm bells immediately went off in her mind!
The Pear King's stubbornness was forcibly pried open by the four imperial concubines of the harem, and now... grass! wood! all! soldiers!
"Bye-bye-bye-bye!! Am I just imagining things? I have a feeling this topic is heading in a dangerous direction."
"Didn't we become opposing sides the moment I chose the bird? Why is he asking me this?"
Steward Ao had no time to respond. He squinted at Li Yuan and, after confirming several times, said, "I knew his aura was strange! He's a prodigy! He's a prodigy!"
Huali immediately realized: "Qi Yunzi? Ranran's?"
Ao Bai nodded and confessed, "Back then, the host was so busy saving the little bird that he didn't hear me. But I heard this guy say with my own ears that he must find someone who can stay with him forever."
"Huh? Is that so?"
Huali immediately breathed a sigh of relief, "Congratulations, congratulations."
Ao Bai: "......"
Li Yuan, who was standing to the side, did not miss a single expression of Hua Li's. When he saw the surprise in the girl's eyes, he already knew the answer in his heart.
Even so, the intense resentment and bitterness still made him stubbornly ask, "Is he really that good?"
Relieved, Karin casually accepted the answer, "Hmm? Which one are you talking about?"
Li Yuan: "..."
Fu Yan: "?"
"Oh, oh, a little bird." Karin realized and nodded without hesitation, "Yes, little birds are so nice."
She's a pearl manufacturer, a stringing craftswoman, and a master at stopping fights. She's the first to object to anyone who dares to say anything bad about birds.
"Oh."
After a moment of silence, Li Yuan suddenly chuckled softly.
When she looked up again, her eyes were already bloodshot.
His laughter carried a self-deprecating sadness and a subtle distortion. "Rosewood... hundreds of years have passed, yet I still can't understand it..."
"I was the one who met you first, so why... did you have to give me up?"
"Do you know how I spent my time in the Black Abyss? In the darkness, not a day went by that I didn't think of you... But what about you? You never, not even once, took the initiative to find me."
"If it weren't for Ranran... even now, I would still be trapped in the Black Abyss, living a life worse than death."
Li Yuan's last few words were almost a growl: "Do you have a heart?"
"Karin, tell me, do you have a heart?!"
The heart-wrenching questions completely stunned Huali.
This is starting to veer towards a melodramatic soap opera.
Before she could answer, Fu Yan, who had been silent all along, suddenly stepped forward.
He was facing Li Yuan, but his words were meant for Hua Li to hear: "It's getting late, I'll take you home."
Little did he know that it was precisely his protective stance that ignited the powder keg right in front of him!
"Who do you think you are? How dare you speak to her like that?!"
Before he finished speaking, the water arrow in Li Yuan's hand shot straight at Fu Yan, striking the golden light screen that was shielded by talismans.
A cold glint flashed in Fu Yan's eyes. He made a hand seal, and several talismans shot out like sharp swords, colliding violently with the half-foot-high wave of water surging behind Li Yuan!
It stirred up a sky full of water vapor and golden light.
"Hey, hey, hey, if you want to fight, go outside and fight! Don't smash up Wanbao Street!"
However, neither of them listened. Not only that, the splashes from the colliding spiritual energy created a localized downpour right above them.
The vendors behind them, used to seeing such fierce competition, were fully equipped and immediately grabbed their umbrellas.
Only the unprepared Huali was completely soaked.
Seeing that the expensive scarlet gauze shirt that Wanwan had prepared for her was soaked through, and that her shoes and socks were also filled with water, Huali was completely enraged by the bone-chilling cold!
"Fuck you!" She wiped the water off her face and pulled out all the cards in her hand!
"The regenerating soil, rise!"
After securing the surroundings with a barrier, Karin drew a water-type card, "Abyssal Echo—"
Before the word "empty" could be uttered, a sudden change occurred!
Seeing that Huali was soaked by the water, Li Yuan's eyes flashed with even more ferocity. He roared at Fu Yan, "You're asking for death!"
Before the words were even finished, the blue water surged and twisted into a roaring, dark water dragon!
Fu Yan's face was ashen, and he slashed head-on without giving an inch. Unexpectedly, the broken vortex of spiritual energy directly pressed down on Hua Li who was rushing over!
Fu Yan exclaimed in alarm, "Get out of the way!"
Li Yuan: "Huali!!"
Hua Li made a decisive move: "Regenerate the Breath of Life—"
A sudden, distorted wave appeared in the air.
The next second, the embrace, carrying the cool, damp scent of cedar wood, completely enveloped her from behind, like a solid fortress.
The vortex of spiritual energy was also instantly annihilated.
The danger vanished without a trace, as quickly as an illusion.
Hua Li looked up and asked, "Wen Jin, what brings you here?"
"I'll take you back." Wen Jin's arms wrapped around Hua Li, and he naturally placed them on her shoulders.
The pure, domineering, and exceptionally soothing power is transmitted through the palm, like the warm sun baking, instantly making the rosewood dry and soft from the ends of its hair to its fingertips, from its outer garment to its inner garment, and even its shoes and socks.
"Are you injured?" Wen Jin lowered his head, his cold breath brushing against her ear.
Those pale golden eyes scanned Huali's entire body, and only after confirming that there was no trace of water or any wound did the taut lines of her jaw relax slightly.
The deep sea water was cold and damp, and even after it dried, it still felt a bit chilly. Karin unconsciously stamped her foot, then shook her head with a laugh, "Hehe, not at all!"
Wen Jin's gaze followed her movements, his thin lips pursed slightly, and suddenly, without warning, he knelt down on one knee.
"Wen Jin, what are you doing... huh?"
"Hold my shoulder and steady yourself."
The next moment, his large, well-defined hand firmly supported Huali's ankle.
The terrifying Nine Spirits Flame ignited in the Demon Lord's palm, transforming into a warm current that wrapped around Huali's ankles and soles.
The chill from just moments ago vanished without a trace. Karin even couldn't help but curl her toes in comfort.
Seeing this, Li Yuan stared at Wen Jin with a sinister look.
Wen Jin never glanced at the other party, focusing solely on controlling the Netherfire.
In the crimson sunset, his pale face was half chillingly sinister, and half almost devoutly gentle.
After confirming that Huali's body had fully warmed up, Wen Jin naturally lowered his hand that had been supporting her ankle.
The moment she stood still and turned around, her eyes, which had been filled with tenderness and focus, instantly turned into an abyss that would never fade!
The Nine Spirits Netherfire shot towards Li Yuan without warning, centered on him!
Before the jealousy in Li Yuan's eyes had disappeared, he was struck head-on by an invisible giant hammer, his body slamming against the stone wall, spitting out a mouthful of blood!
Wen Jin's gaze swept over him indifferently, as if brushing away a wisp of insignificant dust.
The cold, flat, monotone, weary voice carried a murderous intent capable of freezing the soul.
"roll."
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