Ji…Ji Lin!
Ji Lin’s name escaped Xiao Yun’s lips in a trembling voice.
The moment she saw him sway, she hurried forward and wrapped her arms around him before he could fall.
Part of his weight settled against her, and she tightened one arm around his back to steady him while her eyes anxiously examined his pale face and the blood lingering at the corner of his mouth.
Xiao Yun could not understand what had just happened before her.
The Ji Lin she had known throughout all these years was an exceptional physician.
Perhaps there was no one in all of Azure Cloud City who could rival him in the art of medicine.
Yet in everyone’s eyes, he had always remained an ordinary mortal who had never once stepped onto the path of cultivation.
How could someone like that kill three cultivators in a single instant?
Her gaze shifted toward the three corpses lying across the courtyard before quickly returning to Ji Lin.
As she recalled what had happened moments earlier, her thoughts stopped on the pill he had swallowed before the attack, the power that had suddenly erupted from his body, and the blood he had coughed up immediately after everything ended.
Those details came together in her mind and gradually led her toward a single explanation.
Ji Lin must possess some special method that allowed him to temporarily draw out strength far beyond the limits of his body.
Perhaps that pill had been the key.
In order to save her, he had used it without hesitation despite whatever price he might have to pay afterward.
The more Xiao Yun considered that possibility, the more painfully her heart tightened.
He had risked his body for her.
Perhaps he had even risked his life.
Her eyelashes trembled, and a faint redness appeared around her eyes.
She carefully pulled Ji Lin closer, as though afraid that holding him too tightly might worsen his injuries.
Only minutes ago, she had been convinced that there was no possibility of escaping the Liu Family men.
Even death, the final path of escape she had chosen for herself, had nearly been taken beyond her control.
Yet at the moment of her greatest despair, the person she had never imagined capable of protecting her had appeared before her.
That person was Ji Lin.
The same man who had previously saved her from the cold poison had returned today and pulled her back from the brink of death once again.
Xiao Yun lowered her gaze slightly as her breathing became unsteady.
A debt of life-saving grace incurred once was already heavy enough.
But twice?
She did not know what she could possibly offer to repay such a debt.
Against her will, memories of what had previously happened between them surfaced in her mind.
Gratitude, embarrassment, and guilt intertwined with another emotion that she could not easily identify.
She had spent the past several days convincing herself that keeping their distance was the correct decision and that severing the relationship between them would gradually return everything to the way it had once been. Read the latest chapters at NovelPing.
But after what Ji Lin had done today, how could she possibly look at him the same way she had in the past?
More importantly, what would she do if Ji Lin still refused to abandon his desire to continue the relationship she had tried to end?
Her fingers slowly tightened around the edge of her dress, but no matter how deeply she searched within herself, she could find no answer.
Ji Lin, meanwhile, silently observed every subtle change that passed across her face.
He noticed the trembling of her eyelashes, the hesitation in her eyes, and the way she pressed her lips together whenever her thoughts became increasingly conflicted.
When he sensed that the moment was right, he moved his hand and gently took hers.
Xiao Yun flinched slightly and raised her eyes toward him, only to see a weak smile appearing on his pale face.
Madam…
Ji Lin paused as though merely speaking required considerable effort before adding in a low voice,
I came.
Xiao Yun’s heartbeat immediately quickened upon hearing those words.
Her lips moved before she finally spoke in confusion.
Ji Lin, you…
She tried to withdraw her hand, but his fingers remained wrapped around her palm.
She quickly glanced toward the shattered courtyard gate, then at the three corpses lying on the ground, before turning back toward him.
The blush on her cheeks deepened further.
Let go of my hand first.
Someone could come at any moment.
Her voice dropped even lower, embarrassment clearly visible in her eyes as she added,
If someone comes in and sees us like this, how am I supposed to explain it?
I wouldn’t even know how to face anyone afterward.
She tried to push him away, but her palms pressed against him with only the slightest force.
Ever since she had seen him cough up blood, she no longer dared to use enough strength to risk worsening his injuries.
When she noticed that he was still holding her hand, her brows drew together slightly, embarrassment and reproach mingling within her gaze.
You’re injured this badly, yet you still have time to think about such things?
Ji Lin did not answer her directly.
He knew that this courtyard was located relatively far from the busier areas of the city and that passersby rarely came here without a reason.
That very isolation was one of the reasons Xiao Yun had been able to spend more than ten years living a quiet life while interacting with only a limited number of people.
Therefore, the possibility of someone suddenly appearing did not concern him much.
Her fingers were slender and soft, while her skin was smooth and slightly cool, making the warmth of his palm even more noticeable against it.
He studied her hand for a moment before a passing breeze carried a faint, familiar fragrance toward him.
Ji Lin unconsciously breathed in the scent, and the corner of his lips lifted into a small smile.
Xiao Yun noticed where he was looking, and the blush covering her face deepened.
She tried once more to free her hand, but her movements remained weak because she was afraid of hurting him.
In the end, she raised her eyes toward him, pleading and embarrassment mingling within her gaze, before whispering,
Ji Lin…please…
Xiao Yun could not stop herself from glancing repeatedly toward the shattered courtyard gate.
The mere thought that someone might pass by outside, happen to look into the courtyard, and see the two of them in such a position was enough to double her anxiety and make her fingers tense unconsciously.
However, the fear of being discovered was not the only emotion controlling her at that moment.
Only a short while ago, she had been standing on the brink of death.
Her heartbeat was still racing, her breathing remained unsteady, and traces of terror lingered throughout her body, as though her nerves had yet to fully comprehend that she had truly escaped the danger.
As those turbulent emotions mingled with Ji Lin’s presence before her, another, far more complicated feeling began to form silently within her heart.
He was the one who had appeared before her at the moment when all hope had been lost.
He was also the same man who had previously revealed the depth of his feelings for her, even though she had not known how she should respond to them at the time.
But now, after he had risked himself and saved her life for the second time, it had become difficult for her to continue looking at him the same way she once had, as though everything he had done for her carried no meaning at all.
Xiao Yun lowered her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly as her thoughts fell into turmoil.
Then she felt the strength she had been using to distance herself from him gradually begin to fade.
The resistance in her hands weakened little by little.
She no longer pushed him away as before, nor did she continue trying so insistently to free her hand, until eventually her movements ceased altogether.
After a few moments, Xiao Yun’s body gradually relaxed until she gently leaned against Ji Lin’s chest, as though the tension that had gripped her ever since the Liu Family men broke into the courtyard had finally begun to recede now that she realized she was safe.
Ji Lin immediately noticed the obvious change in her attitude.
He did not hesitate for long.
Bending down, he lifted her into his arms and carried her directly toward the room.
Xiao Yun’s eyelashes fluttered when she felt her feet leave the ground.
She raised her eyes toward him for a moment, but this time, she did not object.
Instead, she merely lowered her head and hid part of her face against his chest.
A deep blush remained across her cheeks, while her fingers lightly clutched the edge of his robe as he drew closer to the doorway.
The instant Ji Lin crossed the threshold with Xiao Yun in his arms, the system’s voice echoed inside his mind.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. The emotional barriers within Xiao Yun’s heart have begun to collapse significantly. 5,000 Luck Points have been plundered from Ye Fang.]