"This matter is complicated and it's inconvenient to discuss it further with you, sir."
"elder sister......"
The icy chill in his eyes transformed into a bottomless darkness as he looked up slightly at her calm and open expression.
She simply sat calmly on his lap, looking at him with a hint of tolerance in her eyes.
Her sadness and grief over Yu Zhao's ordeal seemed to have vanished completely, like fleeting clouds.
Yan Huanyue raised her hand and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with her sleeve, and asked softly, "Why are you crying?"
Pei Xuanzhi let her wipe away her tears, his hands gripping her dress tightly.
Her cool expression held a hint of barely perceptible grievance as she softly said:
“We are Daoist partners. Even if you don’t care about me, you don’t have to keep such a big deal as taking my heart’s blood from me. What am I to you? If you still like Senior Brother Yu, I will naturally not be a burden to you.”
Although he spoke magnanimously, his hands tightened subtly as he watched the subtle expressions on her face intently.
If she shows even the slightest lingering affection for Yu Zhao, he would never let go, even if it meant his death.
Yan Huanyue frowned slightly upon hearing his words. Looking at his moist eyes, she suddenly felt a strong urge to pat his head.
But he looked very serious at the moment, and in broad daylight, she couldn't just mess up his hair, so she could only resist the urge and whisper:
“I don’t like him. We’re from the same sect and were once engaged. If I can save him, I can’t just watch him die. Do you really want your Daoist partner to be a cold-blooded and heartless person?”
Pei Xuanzhi remained silent, his tear-filled eyes like a lake shrouded in morning mist, quietly watching her.
Knowing he wasn't easily fooled, Yan Huanyue continued, "If I'm the kind of person who can watch someone die, what will happen to you if we part ways in the future? Will I still be able to help you?"
Pei Xuanzhi remained silent for a long time before looking up at her with red eyes and saying in a hoarse voice, "He's so badly injured now, what else do you want to give him?"
A faint, cool fragrance lingered around her nose. Yan Huanyue placed her hands on the back of the chair behind him and lowered her head slightly to smell the fragrance on his body.
A few breaths later, she couldn't help but lower her head again, her warm nose gently brushing against his cool cheek.
Pei Xuanzhi turned his face away slightly, but Yan Huanyue leaned forward again, her nose touching his fair neck. He then moved away again.
Yan Huanyue grabbed his chin, forcing him to lean back in his chair and look up at her.
The cold fragrance brought tears welling up in her eyes, and she looked at the stubborn boy who seemed to still want to avoid her hand.
Her hand, which had been holding his chin, slowly moved down to grasp his cool neck. The pulse in his neck throbbed in her palm, and his Adam's apple trembled in her hand.
She lowered her head, her snowy cheek rubbing against his temple, using his coolness and fragrance to soothe the heat in her heart. Her voice was softened by his trickery, but her hands gradually tightened.
"You used your alluring perfume to seduce me, what else do you want to ask?"
The tightening pressure on his neck sent a shiver of extreme pleasure through Pei Xuanzhi.
As for Yu Zhao, she indeed had a secret she hadn't revealed. The fact that she could still subconsciously stop him from asking questions even in her dazed state indicated that she was definitely the one who poisoned Yu Zhao.
Pei Xuanzhi leaned back in his chair, letting the alluring fragrance spread, as she tightened her grip on his hand, which had just been wiping away his tears, making him feel suffocated.
She's not fully conscious right now; he should have stopped her...
However, just like the subtle yet secretly delighted feeling he had when she kicked him on their wedding night and stabbed him to death in the secret realm, he actually found himself enjoying it.
He'll push her away in a little while; he won't let her bear the stigma of killing her husband...
Tears welled up silently from the corners of his eyes, and the golden mist within his body grew increasingly excited.
His hand, gripping her dress, unconsciously pressed her waist towards his chest.
He had already begun to imagine that if he died at her hands, she would never forget him, and perhaps she would grieve for him every night as she tossed and turned.
The thought that she would think of him for the rest of her life sent shivers of excitement through his body...
Suddenly, he felt a warm touch on his lips, a sharp pain on his tongue, and the warm skin that had been rubbing against his temple left him. The tight grip around his neck gradually began to relax.
He pushed her away uncontrollably, taking deep breaths of fresh air. A moment later, "slap!" He felt a sharp pain on his face; he had been slapped hard.
The blush on Yan Huanyue's cheeks faded instantly, and her face turned pale.
She got off his lap and looked at him with extreme fear as he clutched his neck, coughing and crying incessantly.
Her brow furrowed, a chill creeping into her heart, as if she could still feel the veins in his neck throbbing weakly in her palm.
She took a few steps back, asking with a mixture of confusion and anger, "Why didn't you push me away just now?"
Pei Xuanzhi coughed a few times to catch his breath, and said in a hoarse voice as if nothing was wrong, "Sister wants me dead, so why shouldn't I be in the way?"
He spoke such unbelievable words so calmly, as if Yan Huanyue had never known him before.
Her right hand hung limply at her side, almost numb. A chill ran through her, and she took a few steps back, muttering, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Pei Xuanzhi leaned back in his high chair, watching her, casually wiping away his tears with his sleeve, and chuckled softly:
"Am I wrong? I'll give you whatever you want. If you don't want me, I'll help you get rid of this burden. Isn't that better?"
Looking into his increasingly dark and burning eyes, Yan Huanyue felt as if a cold pool had frozen in her heart, entangled by that gaze that carried a hint of madness.
"You were born with great difficulty, you shouldn't give up on yourself like this."
Pei Xuanzhi stood up, walked past the interplay of light and shadow, and slowly approached her, saying softly:
"If I had given up on myself, where would I be today? But the word 'love' haunts my dreams and stirs my soul; when have I ever been able to control myself?"
Yan Huanyue knew what he wanted to say, but she only felt a chill all over her body, as if she were being entangled by a poisonous snake.
Even if he knew she had poisoned Yu Zhao, she wouldn't actually kill him.
But his alluring scent kept urging her to stop him from extracting the truth, causing her to gradually turn her attempt to stop him into murder in her dazed state.
If it weren't for her last shred of willpower surging forth, causing her to bite his tongue and draw blood, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Has he gone mad?
He gazed at her and whispered, "Does Senior Sister care about me?"
Suppressing her anger, Yan Huanyue retorted, "Don't you care?"
Pei Xuanzhi smiled silently, his smile extremely faint, like the fleeting willow catkins that once drifted from her palm when he looked back in the wind.
She cared about him, but only because he was Pei Xuanzhi, Pei Hanzhou's son; it wasn't the kind of care she truly desired.
If she liked him even a little, she wouldn't have done something that would arouse his suspicion. There are always things more important than him.
"Yes, I do care. I shouldn't be so narrow-minded and selfish. I'm also very concerned about Senior Brother Yu's injury..."
His cool hand gently stroked her long hair, and the veins on the back of his hand were particularly prominent beneath her fair and thin skin.
His gaze fell on the bloody wound beneath her half-open dress, and he said gently:
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have tried to use the fragrance to ask you if you liked Senior Brother Yu. Now that I think about it, I'm also very worried about Senior Brother Yu. Since his injuries are so serious, I should give him the medicine my father gave me. I just hope he can recover."
He turned and was about to leave.
Yan Huanyue didn't have time to ponder his hidden madness any longer; she could only quickly grab his sleeve and say in a low voice:
"Didn't you hear what Elder Feng and Senior Brother Ning said? I gave them my heart's blood and the blood from my wrist yesterday, and now that something has happened, they want to blame me. Who knew that they were so worried that they fed Senior Brother Yu some strange things? You shouldn't go out and cause trouble."
Pei Xuanzhi looked hesitant and troubled, his eyes slightly red from crying. He blinked his wet eyes and said with a smile:
“As long as the intention is good, even misunderstandings will be resolved, so sister doesn’t need to worry.”
Yan Huanyue felt a bit overwhelmed; her temples were throbbing.
Is he crazy, or is he just young and inexperienced, which is why he sometimes shows a bit of naivety?
He thinks that having sex with her means he likes her and should give her everything. He thinks that her affair with the Yu family can be explained by a simple misunderstanding.
She has a dark side, she kills people with poison, she deceives others, so what's the point of clearing up misunderstandings?
Pei Xuanzhi solemnly closed her clothes, tied her belt, and then pushed her away to get up and go out to fulfill his promise.
Yan Huanyue grabbed him and pulled him a few steps back, dragging him into a chair and pressing him down with her spiritual power.
Pei Xuanzhi leaned back in his chair, seemingly unable to look directly at her, and could only turn his head to face the golden spring light outside the half-closed gauze window, lowering his eyes as he spoke:
"Although I can't bear to see you give him your heart's blood, I feel extremely worried whenever I think of Senior Brother Yu suffering."
Yan Huanyue said coolly, "Elder Feng just said not to go out for the time being."
Pei Xuanzhi suddenly turned to look at her, his face full of worry for her, "But what if this is the last time you see Senior Brother Yu?"
Yan Huanyue choked for a moment, then said, "That'll have to wait until the current matter is resolved. Junior Brother Pei, you've never been this concerned before..."
Pei Xuanzhi blinked away her remaining tears, smiled faintly, and said, "Does Senior Sister think I'm hypocritical, cold-blooded, and heartless?"
Yan Huanyue just felt that he didn't seem like the type of person who would have much free time to care about Yu Zhao...
But it's hard to say for sure. He had indeed paid attention to Yu Zhao before, and just now, he certainly didn't seem like the kind of person who would willingly let her choke him and wait to die.
Pei Xuanzhi turned to look at him and said in a low voice, "Senior Sister, are you really not sad anymore?"
Yan Huanyue said calmly, "Excessive sadness is meaningless except for being a waste of energy. Life is unpredictable, and people must learn to accept it."
After saying that, he turned around and walked to the other side of the table, and said in a low voice, "Don't even think about going to see Senior Brother Yu. Just stay here. If what happened today happens again, we'll never see each other again."
Pei Xuanzhi looked down at his hands; the spring breeze outside the window was chilly.
He straightened his clothes, his expression calm and serene, looking pure and clean, without any distracting thoughts, completely different from how he was at night.
He simply looked up at her and said softly, "Oh."
Yan Huanyue stood by the table, tidying up the books that Ning Wuyang had just pushed aside.
Pei Xuanzhi took out two bottles of pills from his treasure pouch and pushed them to her side.
In the sunlight, he looked up at her, his shimmering fingertips slowly approaching her hand.
"This was given to me by my father. My senior sister will use it temporarily to heal her injuries and recover her strength. I also have some high-grade spirit stones, and..."
Yan Huanyue picked up a book and flipped through it. "Junior Brother Pei, you should use this. It will probably help you recover much faster. Don't go out for the next few days."
Pei Xuanzhi's lips curved into a barely perceptible smile as he softly replied, "Okay."
.
Inside the secret chamber, beneath an intricate array of runes, a wisp of white smoke hovered silently in mid-air.
A man dressed in a gray robe lit three long incense sticks over a burning candle, placed them in the nearest incense burner, and casually asked:
"Today your soul lamp is about to burn out. Did you encounter a powerful enemy? What exactly happened?"
As white smoke drifted by, someone casually remarked, "This matter is complicated and not convenient to discuss further with you, sir."
The gray-robed man picked up three more incense sticks, lit them near the candle flame, casually extinguished the flames, watched the smoke swirl upwards, and said calmly:
"Even during the reign of Emperor Mingde, you encountered danger?"
Bai Yan said, "The world is unpredictable, and there are no fixed rules."
"Your soul is not as frail as before. What benefits have you received?"
"This matter is complicated and it is not convenient to discuss it further with you, sir."
The gray-robed man couldn't help but chuckle softly, "During the chaotic era of demons, I destroyed many demon souls like yours that were stained with human blood. For such demons, I only kill and do not save them. At that time, your father was just a junior disciple of the Tianyan Sect."
The white smoke seemed to linger for a long time before it whispered, "But I have never eaten a human..."
"Your blood energy is without resentment and will dissipate in a few days. You have naturally never harmed anyone. Besides, with the Crying Spirit Blade in your hands, how could I kill you? But with the Crying Spirit Blade in your hands, why is your soul lamp about to burn out?"
The white smoke drifted silently in the air for a long time before saying, "Sir, do you have anything else to say? If not, I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave."
The gray-robed man inserted the incense stick in his hand into the incense burner. "The Ghost Market will soon reopen. In a few days, the various sects will send disciples to handle this matter. At that time, a thousand-year-old disciple may appear. You'd better avoid the people from the Heavenly Evolution Sect and go there yourself."
Bai Yan replied, "Okay."
.
Pei Xuanzhi leaned against the window frame, his eyes closed, fast asleep without any guard.
Yan Huanyue closed the book in her hand, got up, took the cloak that was hanging on the screen and put it on him, then closed the window.
At this time, the sun was setting in the west, and the sparse sunlight filtering through the leaves outside the window dappled into the room.
His skin was thin and fair, and the red marks from Yan Huanyue pinching his neck at noon and the slap she gave him were now even more distinct against his jade-white skin.
I hit him in a fit of anger, and immediately regretted it after I slapped him.
Looking at his oblivious and unaware appearance, she didn't know how to feel.
He was pinched, beaten, and almost lost his life, yet he could still sleep soundly as if nothing had happened, which made people grit their teeth in hatred.
Yan Huanyue used a hand seal to make him continue sleeping, and then used a magic seal to send him to bed.
He took out a bottle of medicine from his treasure pouch, warmed it in his hand with a magic spell, and then applied the warm ointment to the boy's face and neck.
If someone saw this, she probably wouldn't be able to explain herself at all; people would just think she was taking advantage of his weakness and abusing him.
He must not be allowed to see anyone these next few days, no matter what.
Yan Huanyue sat on the edge of the bed, gently stroking the red marks on his cheek and spreading the ointment. She couldn't help but lightly pinch his cheek, saying helplessly and resignedly:
"If I had known that my heart's blood would be useful, I should have given it to you sooner, so that we wouldn't have ended up like this after we got married. Sigh... As long as you don't act recklessly like you did today, I will never hit you again."
The fragrance of the moonflowers hanging inside the tent was faint. Pei Xuanzhi was fast asleep, but Yan Huanyue still had a headache because of him.
If I looked at him a few more times, I wouldn't be able to resist tearing him apart to see what's inside his head.
She decided to ignore it and get up to close the curtains. She sat down by the window, absorbed two spirit stones, and then took the array diagram he had drawn and began to copy it.
Outside the window, orioles sang sweetly among the leaves. She drew the array twice, and then heard someone call from outside the courtyard: "Yan Huanyue, come with me."
As Yan Huanyue had anticipated, she opened the window and saw Ji Linsong standing outside the barrier, followed by several disciples of the Mingde Sect.
She got up and dispelled the barrier. As soon as Ji Linsong saw her, he said:
"Don't worry, everything about this matter, from the very beginning when we asked you to take blood, was just a coincidence. You couldn't possibly have used this opportunity to poison him. The Yu family has also given Yu Zhao a lot of things, and with the demonic energy invading his body, this matter can't be blamed on you. You just need to come with me to the Hall of Punishments to clarify the facts."
Yan Huanyue said to the window, "Please wait a moment."
After saying that, he closed the window, went to the bedside, lifted the bed curtains, applied some more medicine to Pei Xuanzhi's wounds, and set up a barrier in the room to prevent him from leaving after waking up.
Only then did he leave with Ji Linsong and the others.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-12-27 01:08:24 and 2024-01-02 02:12:02!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the grenade: Chunzhou Budu 1;
Thank you to the little angels who threw landmines: Xiaomanyi (2); Zaoli, Mingmingbaibaimingming, and Shanjianyouqishi (1 each);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Touben Yangguang (30 bottles); Heiyang (25 bottles); Haiguang0420 (24 bottles); Yuming (23 bottles); WrightHuges (22 bottles); Banxiu Xixi and Muji (20 bottles each); 5892043, Ziye Wuge, and 22079889 (16 bottles each); Sixi Zai Dengdai (12 bottles); Manaka and Shuidao Yunqi (11 bottles each); Youmo, whispers, Songni Yizhang Guoche Heireoku, Dulu Lulu, Chacha, and Buda Yang De Roubao. , 做个小富婆, 柒余廿, 小满依10 bottles; 小发7 bottles; 巫幻i, 敏敏6 bottles; 34131078, 二五仔, 停云, 籍籍无名, 半城风月玄乙, 甜滋滋, 霸道淑芬爱上我, 曼株沙华5 bottles; 嘟啦啦啦啦4 bottles; 我耐你, 昭也, 可爱芝士3 bottles; 大大宝, 追光者, 小猫牌冰美式, 422931632 bottles; 25204937, 周满的剑骨, 陈+7, 隔云雲, 桂花马蹄, 胡娜拉, 无语, 30790340, M, 一尾, 白牙笑, 乖巧, shineyale, 囡囡, 呼啦啦噜, 童小玥, kurosakiiji, momo, 精神状态好, 潋墨如眸, 阿汪, 剁剁剁剁, 迷, 作者大大快更新！ Chaoge, 54706782, Ghost Underworld, Qingyun Ladder, -, Cai Cai 1 bottle;
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