Ye Ran’s heart eased slightly, but she kept her eyes fixed on Lu Li, not daring to look away for even a moment, afraid something might happen to him.
“Junior sister, Senior Brother Lu will be fine. You should rest for a while.”
Before long, Meng Xuan came over and placed a stool in front of her.
“No need, thank you. The demon lord is still on the loose, and Senior Brother Lu is injured. This is no time to let our guard down. I feel better staying by his side.”
In truth, Ye Ran simply didn’t want to engage with Meng Xuan.
The last time she had been near him, her constitution had acted up, leaving a lingering shadow. Now that Lu Li was injured, she certainly wasn’t going to risk too much contact with Meng Xuan.
Otherwise, given his nature, he would cling to her and try to chat. If that triggered her constitution again, she would be done for.
“You’re right. This is indeed not the time to relax. But don’t be too nervous, junior sister. I will protect you and Senior Brother Lu.”
Ye Ran’s words had made Meng Xuan uncomfortable. Silently putting away the stool, he drew his sword and began patrolling the area.
Only when he stopped hovering around her did Ye Ran relax a little. She turned her attention back to Lu Li.
Though his complexion was still poor, the wound on his back had stopped bleeding, and his breathing was steady.
It seemed he would expel the toxins soon.
But no sooner had this thought crossed her mind than Lu Li’s aura suddenly became chaotic.
Before Ye Ran could approach, Lu Li’s eyes snapped open and he spat out blood.
“Senior Brother Lu!”
As he began to slump, Ye Ran rushed forward to catch him.
“Senior Brother Lu, how are you?”
Hearing the commotion, Meng Xuan also hurried over.
“The vine’s poison is too strong. I can’t expel it all.” Lu Li’s voice grew even weaker than before. “This place isn’t safe. I need to find somewhere secure to continue.”
At the mention of finding a safe place, a gleam lit up Meng Xuan’s eyes.
But before Lu Li or Ye Ran could notice, he suppressed his excitement and volunteered, “Why don’t you rest here for a moment, Senior Brother Lu? I’ll go look for a suitable place to heal.”
“I’ll leave that to you, junior brother.”
With every word Lu Li spoke, his face grew paler, as if he might collapse at any moment.
Terrified, Ye Ran held him tighter.
Just then, Lu Li suddenly clutched his chest and coughed, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
“Senior Brother Lu, are you alright?”
Ye Ran quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from his lips and gently rubbed his back.
“Come a little closer, junior sister.”
“Alright.”
Ye Ran was utterly obedient. The moment Lu Li spoke, she immediately sat closer. Lu Li promptly leaned into her arms.
The fluid motion caught Ye Ran off guard. Her hands, which had been reaching out to steady him, froze in midair.
“Senior Brother Lu, you—”
“This is more comfortable.”
As if remembering something, Lu Li then added, “You don’t mind, do you, junior sister?”
His voice grew even weaker as he spoke, followed by another cough.
Ye Ran found herself unable to refuse. She even wondered if Lu Li was doing this on purpose, but his weakened state seemed genuine. In the end, she agreed.
“Of course not. Lie down as you like.”
Lu Li wasted no time. The moment she finished speaking, he shifted into an even more comfortable position and guided her hand to rest on his waist.
Only then did he close his eyes, looking thoroughly content.
Ye Ran felt helpless, but considering he was injured, she let him lie in her arms.
Still, one thing puzzled her.
In an unfamiliar place, badly wounded, Lu Li should have been on high alert.
Yet here he was, lounging in her arms as if he hadn’t a care in the world—unworried that the demon lord might appear at any moment.
Did he truly trust her strength that much, or did he already have another plan?
After some thought, Ye Ran decided the latter was more likely.
She looked down, intending to wake Lu Li and ask what he was planning.
But the moment she looked down, she realized that from this angle, Lu Li was especially captivating.
His face was extraordinarily pale, almost whiter than his silver hair. Yet that very pallor gave him a fragile beauty that stirred an involuntary tenderness in anyone who saw him.
Ye Ran found herself staring, utterly entranced.
By the time she snapped out of it, her hand had already found its way to Lu Li’s brow, tracing slowly down the bridge of his nose.
“What is junior sister doing?”
Guiltily, Ye Ran tried to pull her hand back, but Lu Li opened his eyes and caught her in the act.
“N-nothing. There was something on your face. I was just about to wipe it off.”
Ye Ran quickly made up an excuse and withdrew her hand.
But Lu Li grabbed it and pressed it back against his cheek.
“Then junior sister should give me a thorough examination. See if there’s anything else on my face.”
With that, Lu Li guided her hand back to where she had left off, slowly trailing down his nose until it reached his lips.
Though Ye Ran had tasted those lips many times, she had rarely touched them with her fingers.
The softness made her fingertips tremble. She desperately wanted to pull away.
But Lu Li, who showed no sign of being injured at all, was still incredibly strong, giving her no room to escape.
Just as doubt crept into Ye Ran’s mind, a warm, damp sensation touched her fingertip.
She looked closely and saw that Lu Li had taken her fingertip into his mouth.
And when their eyes met, he even gave it a gentle nibble.
A tingling sensation shot up from her fingertip, making her heart flutter.
“Senior Brother Lu…”
Ye Ran couldn’t understand his behavior. Badly wounded, yet still in the mood to tease her.
She even began to suspect that his earlier display of weakness had all been an act.
The sensation on her fingertip persisted. She struggled harder and finally managed to pull her hand free.
“My wound hurt terribly just now, and I accidentally bit you. Did I hurt you, junior sister?”
Lu Li’s weak voice came again, instantly filling Ye Ran with guilt. She quickly shook her head.
“Of course not.”
But no sooner had she said that than she realized something was off.
The bite had been essentially force-free. It wasn’t really a bite at all—more like a caress. It didn’t seem like the involuntary action of someone in pain.
Ye Ran eyed Lu Li with renewed suspicion, but just then he started coughing again.
The coughs made her set aside her doubts. She quickly helped Lu Li sit up.
“Senior Brother Lu, how are you?”
“My wound hurts again. It’s nothing.”
Though he said it was nothing, his weak tone made Ye Ran’s heart clench.
“Do you have any medicine, or is there any way to ease the pain?”
“No medicine, but there is one way.”
“What way?”
Ye Ran’s voice grew urgent. Lu Li’s gaze drifted downward to her lips.
“Just give me a kiss, junior sister.”
“Senior brother, this is no time for jokes.”
Ye Ran thought he was teasing her and refused without a second thought.
“I’m not joking. This will distract me and make the pain more bearable.”
Lu Li said it with utter seriousness, and Ye Ran began to waver.
On second thought, what he said did make some sense.
And it wasn’t as if they hadn’t kissed many times before. One more wouldn’t hurt.
Having made up her mind, Ye Ran stopped hesitating. She leaned on Lu Li’s shoulder and lifted her head to kiss him.
But just as their lips were a mere finger’s width apart, Meng Xuan’s voice rang out from nearby.
“Senior Brother Lu! Junior sister! I found a place!”
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