Chapter 110

His movements were silent, and even his breath was concealed in the darkness of the night. Where his gaze fell was the slender figure of a girl.

He had never scrutinized Ning Ning so carefully before, and even when he mustered the courage to sneak a glance, it could only be when she had her back turned.

Having washed up in the inn, the girl carried a delicate fragrance of gardenia. Her black hair cascaded down, like ink spreading leisurely, covering her slender neck and back, revealing only a light purple thin skirt.

She appeared delicate, like a willow branch that could easily snap with a little force.

…So, she was like this?

[Ahem.]

Cheng Ying coughed lightly. [Pei Xiaoji, secretly peeking is not the behavior of a gentleman.]

Pei Ji responded expressionlessly, “I wasn’t.”

[…You dare to openly stare at someone while they’re asleep, you brat!]

Having followed this kid for so many years, Cheng Ying had already figured out most of Pei Ji’s thoughts. Unable to help it, it snorted disdainfully, [How come you’re usually indifferent, but now you’re sneaking glances? Pei Xiaoji, oh Pei Xiaoji, I hate that you’re as thick as a block of wood.]

“Not…not like that,” Pei Ji quickly replied. “I just can’t—”

Before he could finish his sentence, he heard an extremely faint rustling noise.

—Ning Ning, who should have been sound asleep, suddenly turned around in an instant, her almond-shaped eyes wide open, staring directly at him without any pretense.

And Pei Ji, maintaining the posture of looking at her with his head turned, met Ning Ning’s gaze.

Pei Ji’s ears suddenly turned red, and his breathing stagnated:…

Cheng Ying let out a frantic bray, utterly losing its dignity. [Pei Ji, close your eyes quickly—!]

And then it struggled desperately in his mind, shouting until its voice cracked. [Ah ah ah!!! Dead, dead!!! Will she find out you’re peeking!!!]

Pei Ji was momentarily stunned, obediently closing his eyes under Ning Ning’s gaze.

Cheng Ying:…

[Are you sent by heaven specifically to torment me?]

Old Cheng Ying wept bitterly, its words filled with a sob. [Closing your eyes to pretend to sleep at this time—what’s the use, huh? Are you an idiot?]

So, Pei Ji, with a blank face, opened his eyes again.

One person and one sword were seemingly calm on the surface, but turmoil raged within their hearts. Pei Ji felt the heat rise behind his ears, spreading to his temples and face, igniting a fiery restlessness.

What Pei Ji didn’t know was that Ning Ning was also feeling flustered.

Unable to sleep, she decided to count the leaves on the vines with her eyes wide open. Bored with that, she suddenly had the idea to turn her head and see how Pei Ji looked asleep. After all, many novels described how the usually solemn-faced male protagonists would appear harmless and peaceful when asleep. Unable to imagine what Pei Ji would look like with his eyes closed, she decided to take a look herself.

But it was just a sudden whim. Little did she know that Pei Ji wasn’t asleep at all. Just as she turned, she met his pitch-black eyes—

Help! Wasn’t this getting caught red-handed in the act?

The atmosphere became awkward in an instant.

Both felt as if their sneakiness had been discovered by the other. After a brief moment of eye contact, they quickly looked away.

Ning Ning stared fixedly at a small stone on the ground, trying to seize the initiative. “Those mushrooms are too distracting, I can’t sleep.”

Then, she cleared her throat seriously and awkwardly stammered out, “You you you… Did I wake you up?”

This time, Pei Ji lay flat on his back, staring straight at the ceiling, his ears burning red under his black hair. “It’s okay; I wasn’t sleeping anyway.”

The first three words clearly indicated his intention to dismiss the fact that he had been caught peeking. The reason he turned his head was because he heard Ning Ning shifting.

Cheng Ying felt a mix of emotions: [Tsk tsk, deceiving an innocent girl, quite ruthless and cunning].

“You can’t sleep either?”

Seeing him nonchalant with a cold expression, Ning Ning finally felt relieved. After a moment of silence, she suggested, “Why don’t we talk then?”

This time, Ning Ning could clearly see Pei Ji’s face.

In the ink-dark night, his slender eyes, high nose bridge, and soft black hair were outlined bit by bit. His lips had a rosy hue, forming a thin curve downward.

Although he had a stern and youthful appearance, there was still a hint of innocence in his eyes. The coldness in his eyes was greatly diluted. His eyes had a hint of crimson at the corners, complementing the beauty mole with a soft touch of color.

Ning Ning never hesitated to praise, and Pei Ji did look quite handsome.

“Those injuries you suffered before,” she said, putting one hand on her face, and when she raised her eyes to look at him, she could smell the refreshing pine around the boy. “Are they all healed now?”

Pei Ji responded with a simple “Hmm.”

Not good with words, he knew that a simple “Hmm” would lead to an awkward silence. So, he awkwardly added, “Thanks for the Yinshan Ghost Pearl and the medicine, Sister.”

Ning Ning, being a simple-minded girl at heart, felt a bit embarrassed receiving thanks face-to-face. She shifted her gaze away from his face and said, “They’re just material possessions, so… there’s really nothing to thank me for.”

Then, remembering the Yinshan Ghost Pearl, she quickly added, “Is the demonic energy still flaring up inside you?”

Pei Ji hesitated before responding, “Occasionally, but it won’t harm you, Sister.”

“Don’t underestimate me!”

She widened her eyes defiantly. “Even if your demonic energy flares up, I won’t be harmed by you. That’s not what I’m worried about—it’s clearly—”

She stopped halfway, seeming hesitant to say the next sentence.

Cheng Ying understood the meaning behind her words and couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly, occasionally braying like a donkey or crowing like a rooster.

Pei Ji furrowed his brows slightly, looking at her with confusion.

“It’s just,” Ning Ning said, touching her nose and lowering her voice several degrees. “Isn’t it very uncomfortable when the demonic energy flares up? If it could be alleviated somewhat, it would be better.”

She was actually worried about him.

Since the war between immortals and demons, the demon race has become the street rats to be killed on sight. As a remnant of the demon cultivators, tainted blood flowed through his veins, and he had long grown accustomed to the cold stares and deliberate ostracization from others. Now, hearing Ning Ning say these words, he felt at a loss, almost helpless.

Pei Ji remained silent, pursing his lips. It felt as if his heart had been lightly brushed by a fuzzy tail, inexplicably ticklish.

It was a strange feeling indeed, but unexpectedly, he didn’t feel repulsed by it.

Cheng Ying was radiating maternal glow, freely wandering in his sea of consciousness, occasionally emitting clucking laughter like a mother hen.

Ning Ning was a chatterbox. Once she got going, she could talk for half the night, from swordsmanship insights to gossip within the sect, and finally even brought up her own past, leaning in to him and saying:

“I once had a serious illness, couldn’t get out of bed, and could breathe my last breath at any moment. During that time, I couldn’t do anything at home, just lying in bed reading or playing with my family’s Bo.”

Pausing for a moment, she added, “Bo was the rabbit we had at home, chubby and white, very cute—have you ever had pets?”

Pei Ji nodded. “I also had a pet rabbit, but it died after three days.”

Ning Ning was momentarily stunned. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know… You must have been very sad at that time.”

“It’s alright.”

Pei Ji reassured her solemnly, “Rabbit meat is very tasty when roasted.”

So you ate it! That’s not ‘adopting’ at all; you basically just grabbed it and used it as an ingredient for cooking!

Ning Ning choked on her words, inwardly cursing Pei Ji. Later, she rambled on about many things, gradually becoming more and more incoherent as sleepiness set in and the topics became increasingly whimsical.

Such as “A little mermaid falling in love with a prince but being rejected because of her fish tail” and “The feasibility of using a lightning rod to pass through tribulations.”.

Eventually, it turned into: “Why aren’t you using the headband I bought for you? Don’t you like it?”

Pei Ji fell silent for a moment before responding softly, “No.”

On the contrary, it was precisely because he cherished it too much that he was reluctant to use it. With his numerous killings, he didn’t want to let the cloud-patterned headband be stained with blood, ruining its appearance.

But he would never say such words to her face.

Ning Ning grew tired from talking and drifted off to sleep, mumbling in her semi-conscious state, “Goodnight, Pei Ji.”

Her voice was filled with thick weariness, soft and gentle against the eardrums, carrying a hint of childishness: “Saying goodnight to each other is a custom from my hometown; it means wishing you… sweet dreams tonight.”

The black-haired youth lowered his gaze to her peacefully sleeping face, outlined faintly by the dim light, showcasing Ning Ning’s lovely and obedient features. After a while, a muffled chuckle escaped his chest.

His movements were light as he rose and took out a piece of clothing from his storage bag, tossing it gently onto the luminous mushrooms nearby.

With that, there was no more intrusive light to disturb her dreams, only the encroaching darkness, gradually rising like a gentle tide, engulfing his line of sight.

In the quiet night, a clear and gentle voice sounded, intentionally kept low, unsure if Ning Ning heard it or not.

Pei Ji’s voice was awkward yet soft as he gently said to her, “Goodnight.”