Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

Chapter 1021 Fern

"You saved me?" The man's voice was hoarse, as if rubbed with sandpaper. Each word was laced with pain, yet shone with an undeniable clarity. Su Yue's mind went blank. She forgot what to say, what to do. She felt a certain enchantment in those eyes, unable to look away. It wasn't until the water bag slipped from her hand, clattering to the ground with a clang, splashing spring water across her straw sandals, that she snapped back to reality. "I... I wasn't..." Su Yue babbled incoherently, her body honestly retreating, wanting to escape this unsettling place immediately. She turned and ran, her skirt trailing long trails on the grass, startling fireflies and scattering like shattered stars. But after only two steps, a warm force gripped her wrist. The man's palm was large, and the ripples of spiritual energy in his palm, like the warm spring sun, caressing her cold skin. Su Yue could feel the calluses on his fingertips, the marks of years of wielding a sword. She tried to break free, but found the opponent's strength astonishing. Even having just awakened, she, a Jade Rabbit Spirit with only a few cultivation skills, was no match for him. "Don't be afraid, young lady." The man's voice softened, a hint of apology in his voice. "My name is Xuanqing. Thank you for your help, young lady." Xuanqing... Su Yue silently repeated the name in her mind. She remembered what the old turtle had said: disciples of the Kunlun Immortal Sect all had Dharma names, and those with the surname Qing were the best in the sect. Her heart beat faster, and the hair behind her ears almost stood up. She could feel her demonic aura stirring restlessly under the opponent's spiritual power. "I... I didn't do anything." Su Yue lowered her head, staring at her wrist, which was already beginning to feel hot. The sunlight grew stronger, filtering through the gaps in the leaves onto Xuanqing's white clothes, illuminating the bloodstains with a particularly glaring light. She suddenly remembered the three deep wounds that reached the bone, the strange dark blue lines, and couldn't help but ask, "You... your wound..." Xuan Qing followed her gaze to his left arm, his brows furrowed slightly. "It's nothing, an injury from the bone demon, it's fine now." He paused, his gaze resting on Su Yue's face again, questioning, "Young lady, do you know where this place is? Why... am I here?" Su Yue opened her mouth, unsure how to respond. Lingyun Valley is a secret place on the edge of the Three Realms, little known to the outside world. She couldn't claim to be a Jade Rabbit spirit living in this old locust tree cave. She struggled to pull her hand back, her cheeks burning like they could fry an egg. "This is... Lingyun Valley. You... you fainted here." Xuan Qing nodded thoughtfully, slowly releasing his hand. As his fingertips left her wrist, Su Yue felt like a brand had been left on it, the warmth lingering for a long time. She immediately stepped back, distanced herself, her hands nervously twisting the hem of her skirt, her knuckles turning white. "Thank you for telling me, young lady." Xuan Qing tried to sit up, but the pain ripped through his wound, causing him to groan in pain. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He looked at Su Yue, a subtle pleading in his eyes. "Could you... do me another favor?" Su Yue looked at his pale face, saw his tightly bitten lower lip, and her heart suddenly softened. She remembered the past three days of care, the coolness of the snow lotus seeds, the morning dew on his eyelashes. Although he was a disciple of Kunlun, although he might view spirits as alien, at least at this moment, he was just a wounded person in need of help. "You... tell me," Su Yue's voice was soft as a mosquito's hum, but it reached Xuan Qing's ears clearly. Xuan Qing's lips curled into a faint smile, like ice and snow just beginning to melt. "My sword... may have fallen nearby. Could you please help me find it?" Su Yue followed his gaze, looking deep into the grass. There, a hilt was indeed half exposed, gleaming with a cold light. She nodded, turned and walked over there, her skirt sweeping across the moss again, startling a few late-rising fireflies, which drew graceful arcs in the morning light. She didn't see that the moment she turned around, Xuanqing's gaze fell on the silvery fur behind her ear. A flash of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then turned into deep thought. His right hand, hidden in his sleeve, was tightly clutching a jade pendant. The cloud pattern on the jade pendant glowed strangely in the sunlight. The mornings in Lingyun Valley are always so peaceful and warm. But Su Yue didn't know what earth-shaking changes this man named Xuanqing would bring to her three hundred years of peaceful life. She only knew that the sun was shining brightly, the grass and trees were fragrant, and her heartbeat would no longer be as steady as before. Su Yue murmured to herself, her fingertips gently brushing the skin around the wound, which was as cold as a piece of cold jade. She took crushed hemostatic herbs from the bamboo basket and mixed them with morning dew to form a paste. Just as she was about to apply it, the man suddenly frowned, a stifled groan of pain escaping his throat. Su Yue was so startled that she nearly dropped the medicine bowl. She hastily withdrew her hand, her heart pounding. It took her a moment to realize he hadn't woken up. The sun gradually rose higher, filtering through the gaps in the locust leaves onto the man's face, illuminating the cinnabar mole between his eyebrows—a tiny mole, like a speck of rouge on rice paper, jarringly at his cool demeanor. "Who are you?" Su Yue crouched beside him, her chin resting on her hand, her fingers unconsciously twirling the ends of her hair. She had seen squirrel couples in the valley lick each other's wounds, and fawns clean their young with their tongues, but this man, she felt nervous even to touch. Finally, biting her lip, she used a clean cloth dipped in stream water to slowly wipe the blood from his face. The man's eyelashes were very long, casting a faint shadow under his eyelids when they fell. Su Yue couldn't help but reach out her fingertips, wanting to touch those thick eyelashes, but she abruptly pulled her hand back just as she was about to touch them. She remembered what the old turtle had said: the aura of mortals is different from that of spirits. If he were to detect demonic aura, the consequences would be disastrous. The next morning, Su Yue brought freshly picked moonflowers. The petals shone translucently in the sunlight. She crushed them into juice, mixing it with honey to make a decoction. This time, she learned her lesson, finding a hollow reed and carefully applying it to the man's lips. As the decoction touched his chapped lips, he suddenly tilted his head, his breathing quickening, a fine layer of cold sweat oozing from his forehead. "Don't move!" Su Yue's cheeks flushed with anxiety. She could sense the two forces colliding within the man—one his own pure spiritual energy, the other a cold demonic aura, gnawing at his meridians like a venomous snake. She suddenly remembered the three snow lotus seeds hidden in the old locust tree's hole. They were a thank-you gift from the Snow Mountain Flying Fox a hundred years ago, said to suppress evil spirits. As Su Yue ran back to the tree hole to retrieve the snow lotus seeds, her sandals were snagged on a branch. She didn't bother to clean them up, using her spiritual power to boost her speed. Her skirt swept through a patch of ferns, and the spores stuck to the hem of her skirt, like a sprinkle of gold dust.