Chief Nian paused his wiping motion, his jade-white fingers hovering half an inch from Ruan Fu’s lips.
He lowered his gaze to conceal the coldness in his eyes.
When he looked up again, his expression had returned to its usual gentle and spring-like warmth.
“Of course you may, as long as it’s what Fufu needs.”
Ruan Fu tilted her face up and smiled at him.
Her brown eyes rippled with a honey-like glow, and the fine fuzz on the tips of her ears trembled slightly with each breath.
Her innocent appearance made Chief Nian’s Adam’s apple bob, but it caused An Bei, who was leaning nearby, to suddenly tighten his grip.
His icy blue, slit-like pupils shrank into thin lines, and dark scale patterns crept from the side of his neck up to his ears.
Suddenly, he clamped down on the young woman’s slender wrist and yanked her into his arms.
“It’s not an outsider’s place to worry about my fiancée’s affairs.”
As An Bei spoke, he increased the pressure of his grip, making Ruan Fu’s wrist ache.
She tried to struggle, but he only squeezed tighter, quickly turning her fair, delicate skin red.
Seeing this, Chief Nian grabbed An Bei’s hand.
“You’re hurting her.
Let go!”
“Mind your own business.
No!”
Chief Nian and An Bei stood in a tense standoff.
Seeing that the other man refused to yield, a pair of rabbit ears instantly materialized on Chief Nian’s head.
The next second, a long wooden sword appeared in his hand.
As the blade sliced through the air, it carried the crisp scent of peach wood.
Chief Nian’s snow-white hair billowed without any wind, and the Shaman totem between his brows shone brilliantly.
An Bei dodged sideways to avoid the wooden sword aimed at his vital points, only to see the blade bloom into a thousand phantoms in midair.
A cloud of poisonous mist violently collided with the scent of peach wood, shaking the animal skin bed curtains until they snapped loudly.
“You really have a death wish.”
As An Bei lifted his gaze, his legs shifted into a massive snake tail that slammed toward Chief Nian.
Chief Nian dodged, and the strike completely shattered the stone table in the center of Ruan Fu’s cave.
Watching the two males scuffle, Ruan Fu sneered and raised her voice.
“If you want to fight, go to the beast arena.
Otherwise, if you break my things, neither of you will have an easy time.”
Hearing this, the peach wood sword in Chief Nian’s palm crumbled into stardust.
However, dark green poisonous veins had already quietly crept up his neck.
In an instant, Chief Nian lost all his strength and dropped to one knee.
Underneath his jade-white skin, his veins bulged, and corrosive black blood seeped through his fingers.
An Bei’s snake venom could actually corrode even the Divine Wood Power.
“Cure him.”
Ruan Fu looked up at An Bei, a wooden hairpin suddenly appearing in her hand.
It was the very same one A Rui had left with her last time.
But now, she was pressing the hairpin against her own neck.
“Otherwise, if I stab myself with this, do you think A Rui will ever forgive you, his brother?”
As she spoke, she gently pushed the wooden hairpin inward, immediately drawing blood from her tender skin.
An Bei’s pupils rapidly constricted.
He never expected Ruan Fu to threaten him like this.
Pressing his lips together, he reluctantly walked over to Chief Nian and lightly waved his hand.
The kneeling Chief Nian instantly coughed up a large mouthful of black blood.
The terrifying poisonous mist on his skin receded like the tide, and his complexion gradually returned to normal.
Ruan Fu breathed a sigh of relief, and the wooden hairpin instantly slipped from her hand.
Before she knew it, An Bei grabbed her by the chin.
Looking up, she met his cold sneer.
“You’ve really grown bolder, haven’t you?
Daring to use A Rui to threaten me?”
Ruan Fu curled her lips.
“Well, you brought this on yourself by caring only about him.”
She paused, then continued to enunciate every word with a young girl’s innocence, “Though perhaps in the future, you might care about me, too.”
An Bei’s eyelashes lowered dangerously, and his slit-like pupils shrank to a mere thread.
He suddenly scoffed, released his grip, and coldly spat out from his throat, “In your dreams.”
He straightened his clothes, then ruthlessly turned on his heel and strode away.
Ruan Fu was already used to his attitude and didn’t mind it at all.
Instead, she pushed aside the animal skins, got out of bed, and walked worriedly over to Chief Nian, helping him up as his face remained somewhat pale.
“How are you?
Are you alright?”
Chief Nian gave a slight nod, but his fingertips brushed against Ruan Fu’s neck.
Just as he feared, the spot where the wooden hairpin had been pressed left behind a red mark.
He lowered his eyes, his tone as gentle as flowing water.
“Does it hurt?
It’s all because I’m not strong enough.
Otherwise…”
Before Chief Nian could finish, Ruan Fu clamped her hand over his mouth.
Furrowing her brows, she feigned anger and said, “You’re just a Wood Attribute.
There’s no way you could beat him anyway.”
Her tone then softened into a murmur like a baby rabbit.
“You’re already very impressive for doing this well.”
Chief Nian blinked, and a layer of moisture actually veiled his red eyes.
Only then did Ruan Fu realize that the corners of his eyes were slightly flushed.
The Shaman Leader Chief Nian—whom others described as untainted by the mortal world, sacred, and inviolable—was actually crying.
Realizing this, Ruan Fu’s body stiffened.
She pulled her hand back and impudently pinched Chief Nian’s cheek.
“Chief Nian, thank you, really.”
This was the second time she had thanked him.
When the Priest’s trembling silver eyelashes inadvertently brushed across her skin, a certain warmth spread from their point of contact straight into her heart—like finally finding a tree hollow filled with buried pinecones.
No matter what, at least in this world, there was now someone who genuinely cared for and pitied her.
For the first time, Ruan Fu felt a rare, fleeting sense of belonging.
She reached out and hugged Chief Nian.
Chief Nian gently rubbed his chin against the curly fuzz in her hair and wrapped his arms around her frail back.
“Don’t worry, Fufu…
I will continue to improve until I can tear out that venomous snake’s heart.”
Ruan Fu burst into laughter.
She didn’t care at all; sooner or later, she would find an even stronger male anyway.
But there was no way she could say that out loud.
Instead, she chuckled softly, released her grip, and sat up straight.
“It’s fine.
You’re already much stronger than me, since I don’t have an attribute.”
It had always been very difficult for females to awaken an attribute.
Even the female lead, Ruan Ning, who possessed a highly fertile physique, only barely held a trace of the Wood Attribute and lacked any ability to control it.
Hearing this, Chief Nian was pondering how to comfort Ruan Fu when he saw her eyes suddenly light up.
She asked curiously, “By the way, I forgot to ask about my sister.
When she and Xuan Ling came back, did she…”
“She sprained her ankle.”
Chief Nian bent down, scooped Ruan Fu up in his arms, and placed her back on the bed.
His warm palms grasped her cold ankles as his fingertips carefully wiped away the dust she had picked up from walking barefoot.
“It looks like she’ll need to rest for at least half a month.”
“Then wasn’t my sister carried back by Xuan Ling?
I remember the Dragon Clan’s wings…”
Ruan Fu spoke excitedly, her tone brimming with irrepressible curiosity, but she didn’t expect Chief Nian to interrupt her.
He knew exactly what Ruan Fu wanted to hear.
So, he told her straightforwardly, “Xuan Ling conjured a Water Dragon to carry her back.”
It seemed Xuan Ling’s feelings for Ruan Ning were nothing special after all.
At the very least, they hadn’t reached the level of devotion described in the original novel.
A hint of joy colored Ruan Fu’s eyes.
Her small foot, which had been resting on Chief Nian’s lap, directly pressed against his chest.
She leaned her entire body forward, playfully lifting his chin with her fingertips as she teased:
“Is the Shaman Leader planning to be my partner in crime?”
Chief Nian remained noncommittal.
His tense chin highlighted a sharp jawline, and those red eyes seemed to brim with spring waters that could easily pull someone into their depths.
Satisfied, Ruan Fu sat up, propping her hands on either side of her body.
Her legs swung back and forth slightly, unable to hide her good mood.
Chief Nian’s lips curved upward.
He stood and straightened his robes, instantly returning to his usual sacred, inviolable demeanor.
However, the gaze he directed at Ruan Fu remained exceptionally tender.
“Remember to find time to visit and console her.
Otherwise, the Clan Leader might…”
“I know,” Ruan Fu said with a smile.
“I’ll definitely give my sister my best regards.”