Inside Ruan Ning’s cave.
Xuan Ling sat on a stone stool beside the bed.
The air was thick with the heavy scent of flowers and herbs, a fragrance so cloying it made him wrinkle his nose.
His gaze swept over Ruan Ning’s injured leg, which was wrapped in Moonlight Vine, and he handed her the medicine bottle he had brought specifically for her.
“This is Dragon Marrow Frost.
Apply it for three days, and your wound will heal.”
Ruan Ning accepted it with delight.
She gripped the bottle tightly with both hands, her eyes sweeping bashfully across Xuan Ling’s face.
“You’re so good to me.”
Xuan Ling reached up and rubbed his nose, offering no reply.
Instead, he picked up a cup from the table and downed its contents in one gulp.
Ruan Ning tucked the medicine bottle away.
Her eyes darted around before she casually mentioned, “Did you see Ruan Fu when you were coming over just now?
To think she actually made it back completely unscathed.”
At the mention of Ruan Fu’s name, a fleeting look of unnatural stiffness crossed Xuan Ling’s face.
He recalled the figure standing on the high ground earlier.
The wind had fluttered through her loose, flowing hair, making her look just as fragile as she did when they first met.
What a pity…
the large hand wrapped around her waist, along with the familiar male silhouette keeping her company, involuntarily made his throat go dry.
His fingertips subconsciously tightened around the cup until his knuckles turned white.
“Oh?”
Ruan Ning seemed utterly oblivious to his reaction and continued talking to herself.
“She is incredibly lucky.
The place where she fell happened to be the forbidden grounds of the White Tiger Clan.
The hot springs there have healing properties, so she managed to come back without a single scratch.”
The forbidden grounds of the White Tiger Clan.
No wonder he and Mo Ran couldn’t catch a single whiff of her scent, no matter how hard they searched.
So she had been in the forbidden area all along.
Xuan Ling set down his cup and feigned nonchalance as he asked, “Is she on good terms with your Shaman Clan?”
“I haven’t seen them interact before, but they’ve been spending a lot of time together lately,” Ruan Ning said, suddenly looking up at him.
“You…”
Xuan Ling raised his eyes.
His cyan pupils seemed covered in a layer of frost, chilling to the bone.
“I just happened to bump into them after I dropped you off last time.” He turned his head to check the sky outside, then stood up.
“It’s getting late.
I should head back.”
“Wait.” Ruan Ning called out to stop him.
Grabbing the freshly made walking stick leaning against the bed, she carefully got up.
Once she steadied herself and stood firm, she looked up and forced a smile.
“Let me walk you out.”
“There’s no need.
You should just focus on recovering.” Dropping those words, Xuan Ling turned and prepared to leave, but Ruan Ning’s calls continued to echo from behind him.
“Xuan Ling, Xuan Ling…”
AH!
As the scream rang out, Xuan Ling frowned and turned around in resignation.
Ruan Ning didn’t feel the anticipated pain of crashing into the ground.
A thick dragon’s tail had already wrapped securely around her waist.
The moment she opened her eyes, she was safely set down.
Clutching her walking stick tightly, her face remained rather pale, and the corners of her eyes were tinged with a reddish hue from fear.
“Xuan Ling, I…”
“Don’t try to walk before your leg is fully healed.” Xuan Ling’s attitude was as aloof as ever.
Just as he was about to step away, someone tugged at the corner of his clothes.
He turned back, his gaze meeting Ruan Ning’s tear-filled eyes.
For some inexplicable reason, those eyes overlapped with another pair from his memory.
Staring at that similar face, he found himself entirely unable to utter a word of refusal.
Sensing his hesitation, Ruan Ning took the opportunity to loop her arms around his.
“As long as I hold onto you, I’ll be fine.”
Xuan Ling pressed his thin lips together.
After hesitating for a long moment, he finally squeezed out a single word, “Alright.”
Thoroughly satisfied, Ruan Ning clung to Xuan Ling’s arm and followed him slowly toward the exit.
The scent radiating from his body made her feel incomparably secure.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Ruan Fu and An Bei walking along an adjacent path.
Just as she raised her hand to call out a greeting, Ruan Fu turned to look at her, almost as if through telepathy.
The four of them locked eyes.
Ruan Ning curled her lips into a smile.
“What a coincidence.
I truly didn’t expect us to run into each other.”
“Indeed,” Ruan Fu played along, though her gaze landed on their linked arms.
“Ruan Ning, you and your mate seem very close.”
At the implication that they were mates, Xuan Ling furrowed his brows and cast his gaze downward at her.
However, he saw An Bei suddenly wrap an arm around Ruan Fu’s shoulders, pulling her against his chest.
An Bei’s broad, thick hand covered her shoulder completely, shielding her from view.
Xuan Ling clenched his hanging hand so hard his knuckles turned white.
He subconsciously lowered his eyes to look at Ruan Fu again, but unfortunately, her attention wasn’t on him at all.
Hearing Ruan Fu’s words, Ruan Ning’s smile deepened.
She hugged Xuan Ling’s arm even tighter and shot Ruan Fu a provocative glare before feigning nonchalance.
“You two are very close as well.
Otherwise, Ruan Fu, you wouldn’t have just returned yesterday with your body covered in…”
She suddenly covered her mouth, acting perfectly flustered and panicked.
“Oh my, I forgot that An Bei wasn’t here yesterday.
Ruan Fu, did you…”
Watching Ruan Ning’s meticulously crafted performance, Ruan Fu only found it incredibly cheap and laughable.
Seeing everyone’s eyes land on her, she fluttered her eyelashes and looked at An Bei with a slight raise of her eyebrows.
An Bei chuckled softly.
The way she looked so certain that he would play along and help her was simply far too adorable.
He tightened his grip on her shoulder, his long, narrow eyes colored with amusement.
“Who said I wasn’t here?
I come to see her every single night.
I absolutely cannot bear to be apart from her.”
He pronounced those last few words with exceptional lightness and lingering affection.
Ruan Ning hadn’t anticipated this turn of events.
Her expression turned ugly, and just as she was rendered speechless, Ruan Fu spoke up for herself.
“Ruan Ning, you don’t need to worry about our relationship,” Ruan Fu said, her eyes curving into a bright smile.
“By the way, I’m heading over to his tribe.
If I don’t make it back tonight, please do me a favor and let Father know.”
As soon as her voice faded, she docilely walked away by An Bei’s side.
From start to finish, she hadn’t spared Xuan Ling a single glance.
Even so, she could constantly feel that frigid gaze lingering on her back.
It wasn’t until they walked out of the village entrance that she couldn’t help but turn her head to look.
But the moment she glanced back, she felt the grip on her shoulder tighten.
“Ouch!” she blurted out, abruptly halting her steps and refusing to walk any further.
Seeing this, An Bei let out an exasperated laugh.
He bent down slightly until his eyes were perfectly level with hers.
“Don’t tell me Xuan Ling is another one of the men you’ve been messing with.”
Ruan Fu simply fluttered her eyelashes and said nothing.
Meanwhile, after watching Ruan Fu and An Bei completely fade from his line of sight, Xuan Ling cleared his throat and said coldly, “This is far enough.
Go back.”
Ruan Ning tightened her grip on his arm.
“It’s just a little bit further.
Can’t you let me walk you all the way out?”
Xuan Ling did not answer.
His face was stern and frigid, and his eyes seemed as though they could see right through her.
A heavy silence fell over their surroundings.
Then, Ruan Ning heard Xuan Ling enunciate every word, “No matter what, she was the one who saved you back then.
You shouldn’t have spoken to her like that.”
Ruan Ning bit her lip.
She hadn’t wanted Ruan Fu to save her in the first place, yet now it had somehow turned into her owing Ruan Fu a massive favor.
However, she didn’t dare throw a tantrum in front of Xuan Ling for fear of ruining her image.
Forcing down her rising anger, she squeezed out a pathetic excuse.
“I was only showing concern for her.”
“You know exactly what your intentions were.” Dropping those words, Xuan Ling pulled his arm free and turned to leave.
Ruan Ning was left standing there all alone.
An overwhelming sense of humiliation instantly swallowed her whole, and it was all because of Ruan Fu.