For safety, over these past few days, Lu Qing’an had stayed almost inseparable from Ji Zhixing.
With a sword at her side, she felt confident, running outside at a rapid pace.
Perhaps because animals sensed the aura attached to the sword, Ji Zhixing had walked for a long time without encountering any wildlife.
She looked around vigilantly. The surroundings were still filled with lush, green trees, some as thick as her waist and others as thin as her wrist, intertwined with one another.
The area was completely quiet, silent on all four sides.
Lu Qing’an had thought this trip would yield nothing. Just as she lowered her head to head back, a gray rabbit suddenly darted past right in front of her eyes.
Her eyes widened. Moving her feet, her body quickly gave chase after that rabbit.
The wild rabbit moved so fast it almost turned into a gray line.
Fortunately, wild grass in the mountains was abundant. Wherever the grass moved, Lu Qing’an headed in that direction.
Following it all the way to a mountain cave, she looked inside with doubt.
Viewing it from the outside, the sunlight could only barely illuminate a few feet into the cave entrance. The further one looked inside, the darker it became.
It appeared to be a bottomless cave.
Lu Qing’an looked toward the cave entrance, where a nest of rabbits happened to be resting right in a small corner.
Her heart stirred. She quickly took out a burlap sack and captured all five little rabbits together.
However, as she looked into the darkness winding inward, she kept this cave in mind.
She would have to come and explore it eventually.
Today it was already so late. If she did not return soon, Ji Zhixing would certainly worry about her.
Carrying her plentiful spoils, Lu Qing’an happily hurried back toward the house.
When she arrived back, Ji Zhixing was already sitting in meditation, practicing her mental cultivation method.
Lu Qing’an chopped some more wood to make a fence, placing the freshly caught little rabbits inside.
Only after preparing dinner did she walk softly over to Ji Zhixing, eagerly tapping her shoulder.
“Senior Sister, it is time for dinner.”
As soon as Ji Zhixing opened her eyes, she saw a pair of bright eyes curved like crescent moons appear in her field of vision.
There was not a single impurity in them, like a pool of clear water where one could distinctly see the small pebbles hidden at the bottom.
She could likewise see what Lu Qing’an was thinking at this moment.
For instance, right now, she simply wanted her dear Senior Sister to finish eating dinner so she could show Ji Zhixing the small wild rabbits she had just caught.
Ji Zhixing showed her a gentle and pleasant smile, answering with an agreement.
Gathering her thoughts, she first tucked the stray hair at her temples behind her ears, then smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes. Her movements were soft, slow, and meticulous, not letting a single patch of fabric go untouched.
At the moment she got off the bed preparing to put on her shoes, Lu Qing’an beat her to it and squatted down.
Holding the boots embroidered with patterns on her palm, Lu Qing’an lowered her head: “Senior Sister, let me help you put them on. It will be faster this way.”
She encircled one ankle, not daring to exert force, only holding it lightly.
Just as she was about to guide the tip of the foot into the shoe, that foot suddenly pulled back.
Lu Qing’an was taken aback, looking at Ji Zhixing in confusion.
Ji Zhixing had a faint blush on her face. Turning her head away, her movement was so broad that the ends of her hair traced a semicircle in the air. She said with quite a bit of fluster, “I think I saw something running away outside the door.”
Lu Qing’an’s heart skipped a beat because of Ji Zhixing’s words.
Within the radius of a few miles surrounding the small cottage, apart from Lu Qing’an and Ji Zhixing, no other living creature had appeared.
It could only be the little rabbit she had captured just now.
“Senior Sister, I will go outside to check first,” she said hurriedly, her feet already running outward.
When she went out to look, the fence gate had opened, and one wild rabbit had escaped. Fortunately, four were still huddled in the corner.
Lu Qing’an closed the gate with quick hands and sharp eyes.
She stared at the latch with doubt in her mind. She remembered that she had latched it.
Ji Zhixing suddenly appeared at her side. The faint blush on her face had already faded, her expression returning to normal.
Lu Qing’an hurriedly pointed at the little rabbits: “Senior Sister, look at the ones I caught. Do they look good?”
“Every one of them is chubby. They will definitely taste delicious.”
Lu Qing’an was not exaggerating either.
These four rabbits appeared much larger than the ones they had caught previously, with round legs, fat bodies, and strong builds.
One could not tell what they had fed on to grow like this.
Ji Zhixing praised her in response. Taking advantage of a moment when Lu Qing’an was not paying attention, she retracted the remnant spiritual energy left on the fence.
Lying on the bed, Lu Qing’an kept thinking about the cave she had seen during the day. She had wanted to tell Ji Zhixing about it.
Turning her head, she saw Ji Zhixing lying on the bed, but with her back turned toward her.
Lu Qing’an looked at her several times, seeing no movement from the person on the bed.
She must have fallen asleep, Lu Qing’an speculated in her mind, and extinguished her intention to chat with Ji Zhixing.
Closing her eyes, she met the God of Dreams in the next second.
Listening to her breathing gradually become steady, Ji Zhixing, who had been paying attention to her all along, moved her body. Lying flat, she turned her head to look at her.
Lu Qing’an’s actions today had truly given her a fright.
Especially since she had not been wearing socks. When their skin touched, the warmth of Lu Qing’an’s palm was felt by the most delicate skin on the sole of her foot.
A place that normally went unseen by others had been held in another person’s hand.
Her foot was extremely sensitive. At that moment, an itch had spread from the center of her sole, dispersing in all directions.
In her mind, she pictured Lu Qing’an’s clear and pure face, which happened to be overly clean.
If Lu Qing’an had displayed even the slightest motive, Ji Zhixing would have been able to perceive it.
Yet she was simply too straightforward.
She let out a sigh, clearing the clutter from her mind.
The next day, Lu Qing’an held Siliu, standing at the entrance of the cave.
She swallowed her saliva. Yesterday, that rabbit had stayed at the entrance, so she had not stepped inside.
Looking carefully today, Lu Qing’an could deeply feel the chilling coldness emanating from within the cave.
Lu Qing’an pulled the sharp sword from its scabbard, held the hilt, and held her breath as she charged inside.
Upon first entering, she could still barely see the path using the sunlight from outside. The further she walked inward, the darker it became.
Lu Qing’an squinted her eyes, doing her best to look down at the path beneath her feet.
Until her vision went completely dark, Lu Qing’an stopped her steps, gripping the sword hilt tightly.
She knit her brows. She had not brought lighting items such as candles or torches today, making it truly impossible to see how to walk the path ahead.
Lu Qing’an took a step back, intending to turn around and go back, when a sharp arrow suddenly shot out from the darkness.
Without being controlled by Lu Qing’an, Siliu moved on its own, swiftly splitting the entire arrow in two starting from its tip.
Lu Qing’an was startled. In the darkness, because she could see nothing, she could only rely on her senses to walk toward the rear.
Siliu, however, because Lu Qing’an did not know how to control it, felt somewhat ineffective against the incoming arrows.
Lu Qing’an only felt a pain on her cheek. Reaching out to touch it, she felt a sticky and warm sensation.
It was blood.
She knit her brows tightly, but her backward exploratory steps came to a sudden halt.
Her back pressed against a wall.
What was going on?
Relying on her senses, Lu Qing’an moved left and right to feel around, but there was no other path.
Yet she had clearly walked according to her memory.
The arrows chopped down by Siliu fell to the ground.
Listening to the noise, Lu Qing’an felt that the arrows shooting toward her were becoming more and more numerous.
An arrow tip grazed her ear, cutting off a few strands of hair, and pinned itself into the wall behind her.
“Qing’an?”
While Lu Qing’an was still moving left and right, trying to find another path, she suddenly heard someone seemingly calling her name.
Startled, she pressed her ear against the wall and listened closely. Indeed, someone was calling her.
“Senior Sister, Senior Sister, I am here!” she shouted anxiously and loudly.
Ji Zhixing looked at the wall before her with furrowed brows. She had just used her spiritual energy to attack it, only to discover that her spiritual energy hit the wall with zero response.
Hearing Lu Qing’an’s voice, her movements became quite hurried. She mobilized the spiritual energy throughout her entire body to strike against the wall.
Yet like mud entering the sea, there was not the slightest reaction. Ji Zhixing felt the spiritual energy within her body rapidly draining away.
She had wanted to retract her hand, only to discover that the spiritual energy was no longer under her control.
She mobilized all her strength to contend with it, yet she could only helplessly feel her body’s entire spiritual energy flowing toward the stone wall.
Lu Qing’an felt that the arrows shooting toward her were growing more and more numerous. She struggled to control her body movements, dodging left and right in distress.
Yet the blood marks on her body grew more and more numerous.
Feeling her blood rapidly draining away, Lu Qing’an gradually lost her strength, leaning against the wall.
Another massive wave of arrows flew toward her.
Outside, Ji Zhixing had her body’s entire spiritual energy drained completely by the stone wall.
Only then did she feel she had regained control of her body. Before she even had time to adjust, she entered a dark environment.
Her body sensed danger. With a movement of her hand, Siliu automatically returned to her grasp.
Without using spiritual energy, relying solely on her agility, Ji Zhixing made the sword in her hand whirl into silver blossoms.
The arrows that had appeared like an unshakeable mountain before Lu Qing’an were soon chopped into broken shafts, piling up at Ji Zhixing’s feet.
The arrows grew fewer, gradually weakening, until they vanished completely.
Ji Zhixing took out a fire striker, barely illuminating the area.
Lu Qing’an looked at Ji Zhixing with a pale face.
“Senior Sister, fortunately you came, or else you would not have seen me again.”
When she spoke, she had wanted to smile, but it pulled at the wound on her cheek, making her whole body wince in pain.
Ji Zhixing hurriedly went up to support her, seating her on the ground against the wall.
A total of two arrows had pierced her body, one in her abdomen and one in her knee.
Looking at Lu Qing’an’s sweating forehead, Ji Zhixing said consolingly, “Endure it a little.”
Ji Zhixing gripped the tail of the arrow. She steeled her heart repeatedly, yet still did not dare to pull it out.
Lu Qing’an closed her eyes and waited for a long time, yet felt no pain.
By the faint light, she saw the hesitation on Ji Zhixing’s face, then looked down at the arrow again.
Seeing that Ji Zhixing could not bring herself to do it, Lu Qing’an raised her hand to grip the tail of the arrow as well, gritting her teeth.
After a moment of stalemate, she let her hand fall.
“Senior Sister, can we choose not to pull it out? We can find a way after we go outside.”
Lu Qing’an spoke to Ji Zhixing, pleading for help.
Ji Zhixing shook her head, looking at the black blood soaking into the fabric at the injured area.
“I fear this arrow was smeared with poison. The longer it remains in your body, the greater the harm to you.”
Lu Qing’an lowered her head to glance at the wound.
She lifted Ji Zhixing’s hand, placing it on the tail of the arrow.
She then held Ji Zhixing’s hand again.
“Since Senior Sister does not dare and I do not dare either, perhaps if the two of us combine our efforts, we will have the courage.”
Cold sweat broke out on Lu Qing’an’s forehead. She squeezed Ji Zhixing’s hand tightly.
“Senior Sister, I will count to three.”
Her gaze firmly fixed on the wound, she counted down aloud. As the final number fell, she closed her eyes and exerted force with her hand.
The arrow was pulled out from the wound, bringing out a spray of blood into the air.
Lu Qing’an trembled all over from the pain, yet lacked even the strength to groan or cry out.
She rested her head against the wall, enduring the pain radiating from the wound on her own.
Ji Zhixing hurriedly pulled out medicine. She wanted to apply it, only to find it blocked by clothing.
The injured location happened to be the abdomen, unlike the wrist or neck which were exposed on the outside and convenient for applying medicine.
Ji Zhixing called out Lu Qing’an’s name, intending to let her apply the medicine herself.
Lu Qing’an sat leaning against the wall with a pale face, trembling lips, and closed eyes, having clearly fainted.
Lowering her gaze, Ji Zhixing pursed her lips: “I am only applying medicine for you. I will not look anywhere else.”
As she spoke, her hand reached out to undo Lu Qing’an’s belt.