chapter 48

"Underwear Worn Backwards"

Under the night sky, the surface of the water was covered in a blanket of white pear blossoms.

The spirit of the land crumbled, and the entire Taoyuan Village vanished without a trace. Zhan Yunwei wasn't sure how long she had been falling, but she felt herself plunge into the water at last.

The spring of this secret realm still held a trace of chill. Even though she was held protectively in someone's embrace, she was caught off guard and inhaled a mouthful of water.

The water was icy cold, piercing her organs with pain the moment it entered. Blood tinged the water faintly, and Zhan Yunwei noticed the grip restraining her had been loosened by the current.

Yue Zhiheng had lost consciousness during the descent and was still sinking.

Ignoring the choking water and the biting cold, Zhan Yunwei dove deeper, chasing the faint trace of darkness that was his figure.

Half an hour later, she pushed Yue Zhiheng onto the shore, gasping for air herself. Exhausted, her limbs trembled as she clumsily climbed onto land after him.

The struggle had left her in a sorry state—her clothes were soaked through, her hair disheveled. Pear blossoms swirled in the night breeze, drifting down to settle on her clothes and hair.

Zhan Yunwei raised her head to a pitch-black sky. Heavy clouds covered the heavens, with not a single star in sight. She found herself in a valley, with a still and shadowy lake below.

This was still the secret realm. Seeing the signs of an impending storm, she didn't dare linger. After catching her breath, she hurried to check Yue Zhiheng's condition.

He was in a dire state.

The land spirit, which had existed for countless years, was akin to an ancient demon clan's self-destruction—a force that could flatten several green mountains in an instant. Yet Zhan Yunwei herself bore no significant injuries.

Yue Zhiheng, however, was covered in cuts and bruises. Jagged pieces of stone had embedded themselves in his body, with one particularly deep shard nearly piercing through his shoulder.

One glance was enough to know how painful it must have been.

The scent of icy lotus lingered faintly around him. Looking at him, Zhan Yunwei felt a sudden, inexplicable ache in her chest.

Fortunately, her spiritual power was usable again. She carefully avoided his meridians as she used her power to extract the stone fragments from his body. Tearing strips from her inner robe, she bandaged his wounds with care.

Not being a healer, she couldn't stop the bleeding or heal his injuries entirely. Instead, she found a healing pill in her belongings and fed it to Yue Zhiheng.

The robust recovery ability of spiritual practitioners was life-saving. Soon, his bleeding stopped, and his body no longer felt as cold as frozen iron.

Relieved, Zhan Yunwei finally dared to move him to find a place to rest for the night.

The battle with the land spirit had left her utterly drained, but there was no time to rest. Yue Zhiheng's life depended on her, and the secret realm was fraught with danger. The earlier spring rain had already served as a warning. She had to find shelter before the storm hit that night.

Using her spiritual power like threads, she wove a net midair and placed Yue Zhiheng upon it.

Few spirit masters would use their power in such an unorthodox manner, but it worked. Without this method, she wouldn't have been able to move Yue Zhiheng, who was both tall and heavy.

Her white spiritual energy unfurled soundlessly, guiding them through the night.

Perhaps due to the cold, Yue Zhiheng lacked the strength to tend to his wounded artifact spirit. Zhan Yunwei felt a small, pitiful presence brushing against her cheek and turned to see a shrunken figure.

For a moment, she didn't recognize it.

The first time Yue Zhiheng had entrusted her with his artifact spirit, it had been the size of a large cauldron, capable of enveloping a pleasure boat. Now, it was pitifully small.

She extended her hand, and the artifact spirit landed in her palm—no larger than her hand.

It was light and cold to the touch.

"Master Artifact Spirit?"

The spirit gently nudged her fingertip in greeting.

She had no experience handling artifact spirits and couldn't return it to Yue Zhiheng in its current state. Seeing it shivering, she tucked it into her robes.

After some time, perhaps because her warmth was far more comforting than Yue Zhiheng's, the artifact spirit finally stopped trembling.

Just before the rain began to fall, Zhan Yunwei found a cave.

The luminous pearl she had carried had been lost during the earlier battle, leaving her no choice but to light a fire for warmth.

Thankfully, the cave was dry and scattered with dry branches blown in by the wind.

Once the artifact spirit had recovered somewhat, it floated out of her robes and began to gather firewood. It even skillfully tended the flames.

If Zhan Shujing were here, he'd probably die of envy—he wasn't half as caring as this speechless artifact spirit.

Seeing its adept movements lifted Zhan Yunwei's spirits. With her worries eased, she turned her attention to Yue Zhiheng's clothing.

At the lakeside earlier, she had treated his wounds, but she hadn't been able to thoroughly assess the extent of his injuries.

This was likely the first time she had consciously undone Yue Zhiheng's robes.

As the firelight flickered, the artifact spirit curled up beside the flames, watching the girl who often provoked its master as she diligently worked to save him.

When Zhan Yunwei began untying Yue Zhiheng's sash, her hands paused briefly before she steadied herself, her gaze calm. Soon, she was using her spiritual energy to carefully examine suspected internal injuries.

The artifact spirit, seeing that she hadn't continued undressing him, offered a helpful reminder: Don't forget the undergarments.

Zhan Yunwei hesitated for a moment, her expression conflicted. The artifact spirit tilted its head in confusion.

Zhan Yunwei thought to herself, Apologies, Lord Yue. It's your artifact spirit insisting—I mean no offense.

This was her first time doing something like this. While her mind was clear given the circumstances, it was undeniably awkward.

Truth be told, during their one moment of intimacy, she had been too overwhelmed to take in much. Now, even as she tried to avoid lingering on anything, the process of treating his injuries inevitably gave her fleeting glimpses.

Under the flickering firelight, she felt as though the heat would melt her entirely. When she finally finished tending to his wounds and hastily redressed him, she let out a deep sigh of relief.

The artifact spirit, watching from the side, tilted its head, sensing something amiss. Though not particularly intelligent, it had been with Yue Zhiheng long enough to develop a sense of familiarity.

Was his undergarment on backward?

Uncertain, it refrained from alerting Zhan Yunwei and simply perched on her shoulder, waiting for Yue Zhiheng to heal.

Outside the valley, the storm raged on. She hugged her knees, her gaze unwavering as she watched Yue Zhiheng.

Fate works in peculiar ways. If someone had told her in a previous life that one day she would sit quietly beside Yue Zhiheng without a trace of malice or contempt, she wouldn't have believed it—even if her life depended on it.

Yue Zhiheng rarely found himself in such a vulnerable state, utterly defenseless.

His injuries were severe—each one fatal if they had been hers. Any one of them would have killed her outright.

There had been occasions in her past life when she was close enough to observe Yue Zhiheng, yet she had only ever seen him as cruel and ruthless, his words laced with biting sarcasm. However she looked at him, she could only see loathsome features.

But that clearly wasn't the case.

Even battered and scarred, his face marred with cuts, his sharp and handsome features still shone through. His presence was commanding, his appearance undeniably striking.

In fact, Lord Yue was exceptionally attractive, rivaling the finest of men.

Unbidden, her thoughts wandered back to the earlier moment when she had undressed him. She hadn't seen the body of another man before, but as a woman, she couldn't deny his impressive physique.

Unlike the frailty of talisman or formation cultivators, or the roughness of blade cultivators, Yue Zhiheng possessed the poised strength of an artifact cultivator—broad shoulders, a tapered waist, and a well-defined musculature.

His allure was entirely different from hers, one that naturally drew attention, making it impossible to look away.

When Zhan Yunwei realized the wayward path her thoughts had taken, she froze. She pressed her chin to her knees, her face growing hot.

She bit her lip, forcing herself to forget the glimpse she'd accidentally stolen.

The storm outside rumbled on, its echoes filling the valley, while pear blossoms swirled and floated into the lake.

The firelight was warm, and she had expended so much energy saving him that her head bobbed as sleep claimed her. She finally dozed off against the cold stone wall of the cave, her breathing soft and even.

The artifact spirit, noticing her precarious position, circled her anxiously.

It knew she was fragile. The last time its master's divine flame touched her, it had taken days for her to recover.

Seeing the red mark forming on her forehead from the hard stone, it nudged her gently until she slumped against Yue Zhiheng instead.

Yes, this is better. Much softer than a stone wall.

To the spirit, Yue Zhiheng's survival wasn't a concern. Its understanding was simple: its master wouldn't die so easily.

Yue Zhiheng woke in the middle of the night, cold pain radiating from his abdomen where an unexpected weight pressed down. His eyes flickered open, and he immediately met the spirit's expectant gaze.

Murderous thoughts crossed his mind.

What was this?

He glanced down and saw Zhan Yunwei asleep in his arms, her breathing steady and serene.

For a moment, silence filled the cave, broken only by the crackling fire and the storm outside. The warmth of the fire contrasted sharply with his searing pain.

Memories trickled back slowly. He recalled why he was here.

At that moment, he hadn't planned to save Zhan Yunwei. With Pei Yujing present—a nine-tiered spirit cultivator protected by a divine sword—there had been no reason for him to act.

He didn't do unnecessary things.

After all, the decision he made in the alleyway back then was final. There was no room for second-guessing.

She had chosen Pei Yujing. If he saved her now, even he would find himself despicable.

Miss Zhan could never leave the immortal sect, and he would never abandon the dynasty.

Once the nectar was secured, their paths would never cross again. But no matter how meticulous Yue Zhiheng's plans, he hadn't foreseen Mingxiu clinging tightly to Pei Yujing—or Pei Yujing's complete disregard for Zhan Yunwei.

He vividly remembered the collapse of the earth spirit and how she was left in the corner, unnoticed and unprotected. The surge of fury that overwhelmed him in that moment still burned.

This is the sword immortal you chose!

Yet beneath his anger was a deeper instinct: fear. He had been only a moment too late to reach her, barely shielding her from the earth spirit's collapse.

The last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was her desperate embrace around his waist.

In that instant, Yue Zhiheng's mind buzzed, countless possibilities flashing through his thoughts.

She had held him so tightly—so tightly that no other explanation but trust came to mind.

Even the crushing weight of a thousand stones couldn't suppress the absurdity of the thought lingering in his mind.

It was as though a faint light he'd never seen before pierced through, rendering him motionless, unwilling to disturb Zhan Yunwei.

As stone spikes pierced his shoulder, pain flared, grounding him in a harsh reality: some things were best left untouched.

Before he arrived, she had clung to her head, protecting herself. If her embrace had only been a mistake, thinking he was Pei Yujing…

He closed his eyes bitterly, a mix of sorrow and anger bubbling within him.

Both aimed at Zhan Yunwei and himself.

Opening his eyes again, he met the artifact spirit's gaze and suppressed an urge to tell it to leave.

Awake and acutely aware of his pain, Yue Zhiheng glanced at the girl draped over him, a trace of sarcastic amusement curling his lips.

Twice, she had resolutely chosen Pei Yujing. Did he protect you this time?

He grabbed the collar of her robe, intending to lift her away.

Sensing his displeasure, the spirit scurried to the fire, retreating cautiously.

As Yue Zhiheng shifted, something felt off. Glancing down, he immediately noticed the backward undergarment.

"…"

The cave was silent for a long time. His expression darkened as he looked at the sleeping Zhan Yunwei.

The hand supporting her neck hesitated before finally adjusting her position. He moved her gently, letting her rest against his chest, avoiding his injuries.

Miss Zhan, you'd better not tell me later that you mistook me for someone else.

Otherwise, if she hadn't died at the hands of the earth spirit, she'd surely be strangled to death by him.