Chapter 224

The strength of a cultivator far surpasses that of ordinary people. Ning Ning effortlessly and smoothly lifted Pei Ji, feeling his extreme rigidity as she stood up and placed him on the nearby bed.

Then, taking advantage of his stunned state, she swiftly pulled off the thin layer of his clothing.

This bold action left even Cheng Ying standing in shock, watching the little girl close by with a stern face, sitting on the edge of the bed with her head lowered.

“If you want to be difficult, wait until I’ve bandaged your wounds.”

The blood-stained old bandages had scattered when he fell, and Ning Ning carefully removed them bit by bit, her mouth never stopping: “If you don’t stop the bleeding, you’ll be the one suffering. Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival in Luan City. Do you still want to go out with me—with us?”

She spoke earnestly, watching the bandages fall layer by layer, frowning and not saying another word.

Luo Yuanming’s vicious formation was like countless flying knives piercing his body with immense force, leaving his flesh and blood mangled. Due to Pei Ji’s earlier movements, the wounds had reopened, oozing crimson blood.

In addition to these ghastly fresh wounds, his body was also covered with numerous old scars.

Some resembled whip marks, others burns, crisscrossing his pale skin in no particular order, like hideous cracks on a piece of jade.

Ning Ning’s expression indeed changed.

Pei Ji’s eyes darkened further, deepening with self-loathing that stained his pupils a dark ebony. He felt an inexplicable irritability rising within him, deliberately avoiding her gaze.

Maybe Ning Ning would show pity, seeing him as a pitiful creature covered in scars; or perhaps she would be frightened by these ugly marks, displaying disgust and rejection.

Either possibility made his heart feel heavy and stifled.

“…And you always say, ‘I can do it myself.’ What about the wounds on your back?”

However, Ning Ning did not show any signs of disgust or sympathy. Instead, she earnestly approached him, cupping his face with both hands and gently shaking it side to side:

“Do you have eyes on your back, or can your head turn 180 degrees? Let me see—looks like neither.”

Pei Ji, already drained of most of his strength, could only allow her to handle him as she pleased.

After shaking his face lightly a couple of times, Ning Ning maintained her hold, leaning a bit closer to him.

Their faces were close, and so were their eyes.

The face cupped between her hands was very warm, the skin touched by her breath felt very warm, and the eyes meeting her gaze were also slightly heating up.

Pei Ji, speechless and dazed, heard her clear, bell-like voice: “So, do you want me to help stop the bleeding and apply medicine?”

Pei Ji: …

Pei Ji: “Yes.”

Wonderful, just wonderful.

Cheng Ying clicked its tongue in amazement. Pei Xiaoji was truly being tamed by Ning Ning. After all these years, someone could finally handle his bad temper. He couldn’t escape this natural nemesis.

Ning Ning removed the blood-soaked bandages and picked up the clean cloth that Pei Ji had prepared on the wooden table.

Pei Ji was almost a bloodied figure; she had to wipe off the obstructive bloodstains first.

Ignoring the deep and shallow scars, his body was actually quite beautiful.

He had a slender and tall build, not overly frail. Years of sword practice had given him well-defined muscles on his arms and abdomen, combining a youthful slenderness with latent strength, like a beast lurking in the night.

The cloth, dampened with water, was first placed on his collarbone, then gradually moved downwards with a chilling touch, reaching the most severely injured area on his chest.

Every inch of his skin was laid bare under her gaze, which, though gentle, felt as substantial as a knife, silently spreading to every hidden corner of his body.

Pei Ji held his breath, fingers clenching the wrinkled bedsheet tightly.

“If it hurts, you must tell me.”

Ning Ning looked at his wounds, feeling an inexplicable pain in the same spots on her own body. As her gaze traced the dark brown old scars, she began to understand why Pei Ji insisted she leave.

He was always proud, even stubbornly denying his fear of the dark, hiding it from everyone.

These wounds were far from pretty, and Pei Ji surely didn’t want others to see them. Now that she had seen everything, it must be hard for him.

Ning Ning decided to praise him.

“Has anyone ever told you? Your collarbone is very beautiful.”

She carefully wiped away a spot of dried blood, fully focused on avoiding the wounds, and continued, “The shape of your muscles is also very nice. You must practice swordsmanship every day, right? And your fingers and neck are also very attractive, just the kind I like—”

Pei Ji’s body noticeably stiffened.

Ning Ning’s mind went blank.

The air in the room seemed to freeze.

Ah.

She shouldn’t have let her mind wander while saying such things.

——Why did she suddenly speak out the truth? This is too deadly! How will Pei Ji look at her after hearing this? ! !

It’s over. It’s completely over.

Ning Ning gave up thinking, completely surrendering to the situation. The cloth circled gently around his chest and moved down to his waist and abdomen.

Pei Ji’s waist was slim, his muscles flowing smoothly inward, yet with a touch of softness and slenderness, making it very attractive.

It was the kind of beauty that made one want to touch it.

This area had particularly severe wounds, with dried blood covering the cracked scars. To avoid the wounds, Ning Ning had to lean in closer while wiping.

As the cloth softly brushed over him, the girl’s gentle breath also silently spread across his skin, like a warm feather brushing his waist.

The sensation was more electrifying than a current, unseen and ungraspable.

Pei Ji’s breath hitched, his body trembling.

Ning Ning looked up at him, her hands pausing, “Does it hurt?”

He met her gaze blankly, a hoarse voice escaping his throat, “…It tickles.”

“Are you ticklish?”

Her worry eased slightly, a playful smile forming on her lips, “Then when you get treated at the clinic, it must be quite a challenge for the doctor.”

That’s not true.

Pei Ji silently retorted in his mind.

When others treated his wounds, no matter how severe, he never made a sound. Even when the pain was unbearable, he would only grit his teeth and endure.

Even the elder of the clinic once said he looked like a corpse, unmoving and silent. If it really hurt, making a sound would be fine.

But encountering her this time, his body reacted differently than usual.

…This was too strange.

Naturally, he couldn’t tell her this. Pei Ji remained silent, hurriedly lowering his gaze, sneaking a look at the girl in front of him.

Ning Ning had her head down, from his angle, he could only see her smooth forehead and delicate, straight nose. In the dim, silent room, her long, dark eyelashes fluttered gently like butterfly wings.

She had never suffered hardships, her skin was fair and soft, without a single blemish, like a piece of tender white jade cake.

He wondered how it would feel to touch it.

Pei Ji was slightly dazed by this sudden thought, and at that moment, a cool breeze brushed his side waist.

The breeze came unexpectedly, landing right on his most sensitive and painful spot.

Like parched land receiving long-awaited rain, the piercing pain dispersed into a ticklish itch, spreading through his body in an instant.

Pei Ji almost used all his remaining willpower to suppress the urge to cry out, his grip on the bedsheet tightening, his knuckles turning white.

Ning Ning gently blew on the most severely injured part of his waist.

“Pei… Pei Xiaoji.”

Cheng Ying trembled, cautiously observing his reaction, “Can you hold on? Endure it, think of your sword manual, your storage pouch, and your goals and aspirations… Don’t act on impulse!”

He had enough self-control; he wouldn’t act impulsively.

The spiritual energy in his body flowed like a stream, dispelling the intense heat in his heart. Pei Ji remained silent, looking up to see Ning Ning smiling at him again.

“I see your wound here is the deepest; it must hurt a lot—blowing on it like this, does it feel better?”

It did feel somewhat better.

But in another sense, it was getting worse.

This innocent teasing was the most tormenting. Pei Ji’s throat moved slightly, and after a long pause, he replied hoarsely, “…Yes. Thank you.”

“You should be thanking yourself.”

Ning Ning smiled, her round almond eyes curving slightly, her voice sweet, “Actually, last time when you transferred some spiritual energy to my hand, it felt quite nice.”

She was referring to the time in the secret realm when she was injured, and Pei Ji, under Cheng Ying’s instruction, gently blew on her wound.

The cool breath still lingered around his waist, evoking waves of contrasting heat. Pei Ji didn’t even have the strength to respond, lowering his head even further.

Ning Ning’s gaze continued to move downward, a gaze that, although gentle and pure, made his heart tremble slightly.

He felt like he was going crazy.

Ning Ning, engrossed in her task, hadn’t noticed the slight redness at the corners of his eyes and his trembling breaths.

She meticulously wiped away the semi-dry blood and was about to reach for the medicine on the table when she heard a clear chime in her ear.

A sense of foreboding washed over Ning Ning.

It was the familiar system notification sound, and it suddenly appearing now could only mean trouble.