Chapter 47: Moon Dew Spring and Straight Man's Heartbeat Synchrony
Moon Dew Spring synchronizes with straight men's heartbeats
Light from the sky filtered through the cascading, glowing leaves of the Emerald Forest, tinting the vine house a hazy emerald-gold. Jiang Xuelan opened his eyes as the first glimmer of dawn pierced them. His icy blue eyes were clear, as if they had never slept. Only the thin layer of frost on the Frost Silence Sword on his knees quietly melted, dripping onto the vine-covered floor.
However, the next second, his body suddenly froze.
He had sat cross-legged all night, yet now he felt... **crowded**? A scorching heat source, like a small stove placed against his back, continuously radiated astonishing warmth, even penetrating his icy robes.
Jiang Xuelan slowly turned his head, and a rare crack appeared on his ice-sculpture-like face.
Li Jiuyou's crimson-gold head had, at some point, fallen to its side, resting squarely on the outside of his crossed-legged thigh. His breathing was even (even a faint snore), and he slept defenselessly. The collar of his ragged fur coat was wide open, revealing his toned, wheat-colored chest, which rose and fell slightly with his breathing. A strand of his crimson hair playfully brushed against Jiang Xuelan's ice-blue robe, leaving a few suspicious indentations.
Even more outrageous was the fact that the "Chu River and Han River" vine, charred and broken by the demonic fire and cold last night, had now quietly repaired itself under the nourishment of the Moonlight Vine! Several new, flexible, emerald green vines, like nimble little snakes, not only patched up the damage on their own but also stealthily wrapped around the two men's bodies!
One vine went around Jiang Xuelan's waist, and the other one wrapped around Li Jiuyou's forearm affectionately. The most excessive vine even tried to tie a beautiful bow between the two people's arms!
Jiang Xuelan: "..."
The veins on his forehead began to throb secretly. He tried to move his legs very slightly.
The head resting on his legs grumbled in dissatisfaction, rubbing its red-golden hair, and even unconsciously stretched out its hand, accurately grabbing Jiang Xuelan's wrist hanging by her side! The hot palm was like a branding iron, instantly ironing the cold skin!
"!!!" Jiang Xuelan's hair stood on end, and a tingling sensation like an electric current shot up his wrist and up to his head! The icy plains of his sea of consciousness seemed to have been thrown into a red-hot iron, sizzling! Without a second thought, his icy immortal power surged towards his wrist like a stress response -
“Ouch!”
Li Jiuyou shuddered from the cold and suddenly sat up! His red-gold eyes still held the confusion and fury of a newly awakened person: "Who the hell attacked me?!" He shook his red, frozen palms and looked around fiercely. His eyes swept over the place where he had just rested his head - the clear indentation on Jiang Xuelan's ice-blue robe, and the several red marks on her wrists where he had scratched her...
The air froze instantly.
Li Jiuyou's face turned from wheat color to liver color at a speed visible to the naked eye. He pointed at the vines wrapped around them and said angrily: "Fuck! This broken vine! I'll burn it!" The red-gold demonic fire rose.
"Burn it, and you'll compensate Qingluo with a bed?" Jiang Xuelan said coldly, emotionless in his voice, but his movements were lightning-fast. With a flash of cold light from his fingertips, he silently and precisely severed the vines that had entangled them. His movements were clean and sharp, as if he were slicing something highly poisonous. He quickly stood up and stepped back three steps. The snow-white handkerchief reappeared, and he vigorously wiped the spot on his wrist where Li Jiuyou had grabbed it.
Li Jiuyou was so angry at his disdainful gesture that smoke billowed from his head. The demonic fire in his palm flickered, neither burning nor not burning. He angrily kicked away the young vine that was trying to wrap itself around him again. "This damn place is so weird! The vines are fucking spirits!"
"Puchi!" An uncontrollable laugh came from outside the window.
The two men turned their heads sharply.
I saw a few little tree spirit children clinging to the huge moon vine leaves hanging outside the window of the vine house. They had furry braids, their little faces were flushed, and their amber eyes were shining as they watched the "morning show" in the house.
"Look, look! Big Firework and Little Ice Cube are really sleeping together!"
"They're even holding hands!"
"The little ice cube is even wiping the big firework's hands!"
The children's innocent comments were like sharp arrows, accurately hitting the knees of the two straight men.
Li Jiuyou: "...I'm going to burn this forest down!"
Jiang Xuelan: "...Shut up and pack your things."
In the end, in the low pressure where Li Jiuyou was almost about to explode on the spot and the coldness around Jiang Xuelan was enough to freeze flying insects to death, the two of them (as well as A Che who was protected by Man Gu and Xuan Jia) were taken deep into the forest by Qing Luo who was trying not to laugh.
The deeper they went, the richer the scent of life. Towering trees, their branches twisted like dragons, shone like emeralds. Giant, luminous flowers drooped, emitting a refreshing, intoxicating fragrance. Finally, they stopped at a natural spring pool surrounded by a massive cluster of crystals.
The spring waters are a dreamy, moon-white color, shrouded by a soft, silvery mist, exuding a pure, refreshing aroma. In the center, a unique plant, resembling a water lily, grows on the crystal floor. Its petals resemble flowing moonlight, and silver dewdrops continuously drip from the tips of its petals, merging into the spring water. This is the Moon Dew Spring.
"Mother-in-law!" Qingluo shouted towards a smooth emerald rock beside the spring.
An old woman sat cross-legged on the rocks. She wore a robe woven from dark green vines. Her long, dark green hair, streaked with silver, was meticulously combed and secured with a hairpin shaped like a dead branch. Her face was old, wrinkled like bark, but her eyes were like amber steeped in time, deep and serene. In her hand, she leaned on a gnarled wooden staff, the tip of which was inlaid with a charred, yet faintly vibrant, leaf—a scent that faintly echoed the gravekeeper's final intention of merging with the altar.
Grandma Qingteng slowly opened her eyes, swept her gaze over everyone, pausing for a moment on Jiang Xuelan and Li Jiuyou, especially on the faintly visible blood pact vine seal on their wrists, and a hint of understanding flashed in her eyes.
"The Breath of Desolation, the remnant of the evil god." Her voice was old and hoarse, like the wind blowing through an ancient forest. "The Moon Dew Spring can cleanse filth and suppress erosion. But whether it can be eradicated," she looked at Li Jiuyou, "depends on your will and... the depth of the contract."
Li Jiuyou felt a little uncomfortable under that gaze, stiffening his neck: "My will is as strong as a rock! I don't care about this crappy contract!"
Grandma Qingteng ignored his stubbornness and turned her gaze to Jiang Xuelan: "Frozen Guardian, your power is the key to suppressing this evil thought, and it is also... the trigger for awakening the dormant things." She stroked the charred leaves on the top of the wooden stick meaningfully.
Jiang Xuelan's icy blue eyes narrowed slightly as she nodded, "Thank you, mother-in-law."
"Take off your outer clothes and enter the spring." Granny Qingteng said succinctly, pointing to the Moon Dew Spring. "Sit with your backs to each other, circulate your original power, and guide the Moon Dew into your body. Little kid, you," she looked at A Che, "go to the spring, dip your hand in the water, and use your pure wood spirit energy to guide the essence of the Moon Dew." She glanced at Man Gu and Xuan Jia again, "You two, protect the law."
Li Jiuyou looked at the misty spring water, then at Jiang Xuelan, who had a frosty face beside him, and his face twitched: "...must we go together?"
"With the symbiotic vine by our side, the breath-sharing barrier is the strongest." Grandma Qingteng didn't even raise her eyelids.
Li Jiuyou cursed resignedly, roughly ripping off his tattered fur coat and outer robe, revealing a torso of sleek, muscular build. Near the wound on his back, torn and then healed by the Soul-Sinking Mist, dark red threads loomed beneath his skin, wriggling like a living being, exuding an uncanny aura. With a sullen face, he was the first to step into the Moon Dew Spring. His scalding body met the icy water, stirring up a puff of white mist. He walked to the Moon Dew Lotus at the center of the spring and sat cross-legged with his back to the shore, leaving only his back, radiating a "stay away from me" aura.
Jiang Xuelan's movements were as precise as if measured with a ruler. He removed his icy blue robe, revealing a plain white lining, and then slowly stepped into the spring. The clear water flowed over his slender waistline, and his icy immortal energy automatically circulated, coating the water close to him with a thin layer of frost. He sat down about three feet behind Li Jiuyou, also facing away.
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