And moreover, Lu Li was the ruthless great villain. There was even less reason for him to risk his life for her for no cause.
Ye Ran suddenly didn’t want to know the answer. She leaned in to kiss Lu Li, to stop him from speaking.
But just as she drew close, Lu Li raised a hand and pressed his finger against her lips instead.
“I would. It’s instinct. I can’t fight it, and I don’t want to.”
The unexpected words made Ye Ran freeze. Only after a moment did she realize what Lu Li had said.
She looked at him in surprise, her heartbeat racing uncontrollably, accompanied by a warm current sweeping through her.
Only one thought remained in her mind.
She wanted to kiss Lu Li’s lips and claim him as her own.
The moment the thought arose, Ye Ran pushed Lu Li’s hand aside and kissed him.
She kissed him urgently, matching his usual intensity.
But this time, Lu Li didn’t kiss her back. He let her nibble at his lips until her hand traveled downward, nearing a forbidden zone. Only then did he catch her hand and gently push her back a little.
“Junior sister, restrain yourself. Junior brother is still outside.”
The words finally brought Ye Ran back to her senses. Meeting Lu Li’s teasing gaze, she realized what she had just done.
Her cheeks suddenly felt hot. She pulled her hand away and guiltily put some distance between them.
“Senior brother, focus on your meditation.”
But Lu Li just looked at her without moving.
Just as Ye Ran leaned in to ask if he was feeling unwell, Lu Li grabbed her wrist, pulled her into his arms, and gave her a quick kiss.
“Then junior sister be careful.”
With that, he lingered for a moment, hooking her finger with his.
“I will.”
Ye Ran quickly broke free from his embrace. Only when she saw that Lu Li had finally begun to meditate did she look away and go to the other side of the cave to sit down and rest.
“Junior sister! Good news!”
Before long, Meng Xuan’s excited voice came from outside.
He hurried into the cave, barely able to contain his joy.
“Junior sister, I found a Phoenix Feather Flower nearby. Its fruit can help Senior Brother Lu expel the poison.”
“Really?”
Ye Ran grew excited too. Instinctively, she stood and walked toward Meng Xuan.
“Of course. But this flower has developed intelligence. Its fruit is difficult to obtain. I’ll need junior sister’s cooperation.”
“Then take me there quickly, Senior Brother Meng.”
Without a second thought, Ye Ran headed out of the cave.
A triumphant smile appeared on Meng Xuan’s face. After glancing back at Lu Li, who was still meditating, he turned and left the cave.
“Senior Brother Meng, where exactly is the Phoenix Feather Flower? How much farther?”
Ye Ran had followed Meng Xuan for a long time and still hadn’t seen the flower he mentioned. Finally unable to hold back, she stopped to ask.
It was then that Meng Xuan curled his lips into a smile. His gaze at Ye Ran grew undisguised.
“We’re here.”
The moment he spoke, a barrier surrounded them, trapping them inside.
Then vines appeared from all around, quickly extending toward Ye Ran and binding her completely, leaving her unable to move.
“What are you doing, Senior Brother Meng?”
Ye Ran looked at Meng Xuan warily and tried to struggle. But with just one move, the vines tightened, making her wrists ache.
“Don’t bother struggling, junior sister. It’s useless.”
Meng Xuan walked toward her step by step, his expression full of confidence.
“You were the one in the Guixu Diagram that day, Senior Brother Meng.”
When Meng Xuan was halfway to her, Ye Ran spoke.
Her tone was certain.
She had already suspected him the day she ran into Meng Xuan outside Tianyuan Hall. His strange behavior today only deepened her suspicions.
Now that Meng Xuan had deliberately lured her out, she was completely sure—he was Jing Xing’s accomplice.
The reason she hadn’t been certain before was that Meng Xuan was the male lead. In her preconceived notion, the male lead would never do such a thing.
But as it turned out, Meng Xuan was even more despicable and shameless than how he was portrayed in the book.
She even suspected that the Meng Xuan in the book had known all along about the female lead’s cauldron constitution, deliberately gotten close to her, made her fall for him, and then openly used her as his cauldron.
“So junior sister figured it out. But so what? From now on, you’ll be nothing but my cauldron, for me to harvest.”
Meng Xuan was only momentarily startled before revealing his true nature.
He stared at Ye Ran like a hungry wolf. “What a pity. Junior sister’s primordial yin was wasted on Senior Brother Lu. But he really is foolish—to have such a fine cauldron and not use it. If he had used it even a few times, he wouldn’t be where he is today.”
“What did you do to Senior Brother Lu?”
Hearing Meng Xuan mention Lu Li, Ye Ran immediately grew anxious.
Though reason told her that Lu Li, being cautious, would be fine, she still felt a twinge of worry.
“I didn’t do much. I just added something to the ointment that reacts with the poison already in Senior Brother Lu’s system. The more he circulates his spiritual energy, the faster the poison will attack his organs, until he’s beyond saving.”
Perhaps confident in his plan, Meng Xuan walked unhurriedly toward Ye Ran and spoke with a smug air.
But his words actually made Ye Ran quietly breathe a sigh of relief. She didn’t show it, however, maintaining a worried look.
This only made Meng Xuan more pleased.
“Junior sister was the one who applied that ointment with her own hands.”
He sighed and shook his head. “Junior sister really has poor taste. Why did you choose Senior Brother Lu? Don’t let his current glory fool you—he’s nothing but a pawn our master plans to use against the demon lord. He was going to die sooner or later anyway. I’m just sending him off early, so he doesn’t suffer too much later.”
Ye Ran was somewhat surprised by this revelation.
She had thought the sect leader gave Lu Li so much authority because he trusted him. Never did she imagine he saw Lu Li as nothing but a pawn.
No wonder Lu Li had pretended to be injured in front of the sect leader last time in the illusion. He must have already seen the sect leader’s true colors.
“So today’s events were all orchestrated by you, Senior Brother Meng?”
Pulling herself together, Ye Ran looked at Meng Xuan again.
Seeing that the situation was already in his favor, Meng Xuan was no longer as impatient as he had been in the Guixu Diagram. He seemed willing to answer her questions.
“Exactly. I recognized junior sister as a top-grade cauldron the moment you entered the sect. I wanted to use gentle methods to make you fall for me. But you were ungrateful. So I had no choice but to resort to this.”
His gaze toward Ye Ran grew lecherous. “Don’t worry, junior sister. I’ll harvest you well and make sure you reach your full potential.”
He reached out to grab Ye Ran’s chin, but before he could touch her, a crimson curved blade suddenly appeared in her hand.
The blade grew larger in her grip, swiftly cutting through the vines binding her, then returned to her hand.
She slashed at Meng Xuan, severing one of his fingers.
His face changed. He quickly pulled back and snatched the severed finger before it hit the ground.
He tried to reattach it, but the remaining stump blackened and rapidly withered before his eyes, accompanied by an intense burning sensation.
Meng Xuan stared at the blade in Ye Ran’s hand, disbelief written all over his face.
“How do you have such a powerful magical artifact?”
“Specially prepared for you, Senior Brother Meng.”
This was what Lu Li had secretly slipped into her hand when he kissed her.
That was why she had dared to go with Meng Xuan, knowing full well his intentions.
“You plotted against me!”
Realizing he had fallen into a trap, Meng Xuan’s face darkened. His gaze at Ye Ran turned fierce.
He immediately drew his sword, intending to take Ye Ran hostage before Lu Li arrived.
But before he could get close, an overwhelming pressure struck him, knocking him back.
The next moment, Lu Li’s figure appeared beside Ye Ran.
“When it comes to plotting, how could we ever surpass you, junior brother?”
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