Chapter 325: Matters

Chapter 325: The Matter

Not as fortunate as when falling into the Xuanwu Secret Realm with Yue Hongling, landing on a soft, bouncy jelly bed.

But at least it wasn’t too dire—no magma below… after all, it was another independent space, not a volcano.

Below was soil, charred and scorched, yet not hardened into clumps, loose and fluffy.

The two tumbled into the earth, scrambling up with dust-covered faces, both wearing expressions of surprise.

Though this place was also a realm without sun or moon, it was not dark, for there was fire. A flame as tall as a man burned quietly not far ahead, eternal and undying, through an entire epoch and countless ages.

Zhao Changhe felt as if the lids on Newton’s coffins were about to burst off.

He knew this was, at its core, a world of fantasy, but he’d never felt it so fantastical before—this was too absurd. What was the fuel, and how was the air sustained?

Yet at that moment, he had no mind to ponder it further, nor the strength to draw near and examine.

His injuries had rendered half his body immobile, pain drenching him in sweat, blood still flowing unceasingly. Beyond the pain, the dizziness of blood loss began to set in. Zhao Changhe tried to rise, only to groan and collapse back into the earth.

Injuries aside, he wondered if Huangfu Qing had regained her senses. If she was still that fierce, he’d truly die here…

From the way she had flicked her finger to seal the spatial barrier’s aura before falling, she must have recovered her reason?

Just as he thought this, he felt himself being lifted and propped against a soft, fragrant shoulder.

Looking up, under the glow of the fire, Huangfu Qing’s expression was calm, her brows and eyes gentle, with none of the earlier fiery, cruel madness that had turned her pupils into flames.

Holding the blood-soaked Zhao Changhe, she showed no aversion, letting his blood stain her beautiful mink coat red, as if she had returned to her inherent red ceremonial robe…

With blood as sacrifice, dyeing my red garment.

She took out a pill and pressed it into Zhao Changhe’s mouth, then gently tore open the cloth at his shoulder, hesitating for a moment: “Do you have clean bandages?”

Zhao Changhe thought to himself that back then, Yangyang had even used her bellyband…

Forget it, bringing that up might get him beaten. At this moment, the gentle Winged Fire Snake sister was hard-won; he shouldn’t risk her turning dark with a single word.

Anyway, before entering the mountains, he had tossed all his luggage left at Yang Qianyuan’s relay station into his ring—far more supplies than when he and Yue Hongling were stranded on a desert island. Zhao Changhe used his last bit of strength to pull out a medicinal kit from the ring, the movement nearly making him faint from the pain.

Huangfu Qing lowered her head, applied the medicine to his wound, and carefully wrapped it with bandages.

Zhao Changhe looked up at her.

It was clear she had never tended to anyone before—as clumsy as Yangyang. Her hands were meant for killing.

Yet this violent, murderous fiend had suddenly turned into a gentle older sister, the ferocity in her brows melting into tenderness, stirring something in him that made him want to hold her.

And so he did, wrapping his arm around her waist.

Huangfu Qing’s waist stiffened, and her hand tightening the bandage instinctively jerked, making Zhao Changhe yelp in pain.

She said irritably, “Don’t push your luck, or I’ll strangle you!”

Despite her words, she didn’t struggle forcefully, afraid that more effort would hurt him further.

So Zhao Changhe kept his arm around her, not letting go.

Huangfu Qing pursed her lips, ignored him, and continued binding the wound, murmuring, “If I had truly killed you, would you regret it?”

Zhao Changhe couldn’t help but laugh: “That depends on whether there’s an underworld, and whether I could become a ghost to regret it.”

“Don’t be flippant. You know what I’m asking.”

“Someone once asked me, when facing the vulture’s fangs, wasn’t I afraid of death? I told her, I never thought about it—once you do, no one acts.” Zhao Changhe said softly, “I never thought about what would happen to me… I just thought, if I hid inside and sealed the spatial barrier, I’d be safe, but you might remain trapped in madness, never recovering, or you might run into Ye Wuzong or even Yuxu Zhenren and die in Kunlun. I couldn’t let someone in that state be alone out there…”

Huangfu Qing wanted to say that even if she ran into Ye Wuzong, she’d beat him—why would she die in Kunlun? But the words died on her lips.

Whether she could defeat Ye Wuzong was meaningless; in a state of madness, it was hard to avoid all sorts of traps and ambushes, and even dying at the hands of some petty scoundrel was highly likely.

What mattered was his heart.

He worried about her, without even caring that he himself was about to be killed.

“Between you and me…” Huangfu Qing struggled, then finally said, “Between you and me, there’s no such bond. Don’t think that just because I teased you, leaned against your back on horseback, there’s any affection between us. I’m a demon cult enchantress—understand? How have you survived this long with such a foolish tendency to risk your life after a few flirtatious words from an enchantress?”

Zhao Changhe laughed: “Still trying to hide it? The Xuanwu Venerable interrogated you, and you admitted you liked me.”

Huangfu Qing’s eyes widened.

In the desolate rocky mountains of the desert, San Niang found a patch of jelly that hadn’t been dug up in the Xuanwu Secret Realm, curled up inside, sleeping soundly, dreaming and laughing.

Hehe, you’re usually so fierce, daring to bully me!

“So how could I stand by and let a woman who likes me come to harm?” Zhao Changhe tightened his arm around her waist, looking as if he was about to kiss her.

“Slap!” Huangfu Qing slapped her palm over his mouth, furious: “That dead… Venerable is talking nonsense! How could she ever have asked me such a thing!”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Zhao Changhe wasn’t about to believe such tsundere denials. If you didn’t like me, what position are we in now? You’re holding me in your shoulder, I’m holding your waist, and you’re not pulling away.

Clearly, San Niang was trustworthy.

Thank you, San Niang.

So instead of backing off, he puckered his lips and kissed her palm.

Huangfu Qing was about to explode, but suddenly felt dizzy and weak, her strength draining away, as if she were half-heartedly pushing him away.

After emerging from her berserk state, even if she wasn’t as completely drained as Zhao Changhe, there would inevitably be a brief period of weakness, leaving her momentarily powerless.

To Zhao Changhe, it felt like she was just too proud to admit it but was actually playing hard to get.

That only made her more alluring—sister really knew how to tease.

Though Zhao Changhe was injured, it was external; he wasn’t as weak. Seeing the enchantress sister seemingly yielding, he didn’t hold back. He tightened his arm, stretched his neck, and kissed her on the cheek.

He… he actually dared to take liberties with me?!

Huangfu Qing’s mind went blank. She wanted to struggle but had no strength, wanted to curse but had no words. Then she heard his soft whisper: “I like you too… Thank you, Vermilion Bird Venerable, for sending you to me.”

Who am I? Who is this?

Ah, in his heart, this is Winged Fire Snake, not Vermilion Bird…

Huangfu Qing’s mind was in a daze, still trying to sort out the logic, when she felt warmth on her lips.

Seeing that she hadn’t dodged or pushed him away when he kissed her cheek, the audacious man decisively moved from her cheek to her lips.

It was as if an electric shock erupted, surging into her mind and spreading through her body. Huangfu Qing lost all thought, her mind a blank.

I’ve been kissed by a man?

I, the Vermilion Bird, kissed by a man at merely the eighth level of Xuan Pass, nearly a decade younger than me… If word gets out, how can I stand in the martial world, how can I lead the sect, how can I face Chichi…

Should I kill him?

But he doesn’t know.

In his mind, this is a Winged Fire Snake who likes him…

But do I like him?

How could I? I was just teasing him…

How did it come to this…

After who knows how long, when the man tried to push further and breach her lips, Huangfu Qing finally shuddered, as if regaining a bit of strength, and shoved him away: “Enough!”

Both of them panted slightly. Huangfu Qing pushed against his chest, wanting to say something but not knowing where to start, her mind a tangled mess. Finally, she could only manage: “You’re severely wounded, covered in blood, and all you can think about is this!”

Zhao Changhe blinked his eyes. "Affection? That's Huangfu Qing. Affair? That's what I want to engage in. Of course I want an affair..."

Huangfu Qing was almost laughed into anger. "Learning to play with words from Tang Wanzhuang, are you?"

"No, no, just a moment of inspiration."

"You want to have an affair with Huangfu Qing?" Huangfu Qing found a good reason to refuse. "Though I am not a saintess, I am still high-ranking in the sect. Even if I can take a man, there's no reason to be with an outsider. It should be someone from the Four Symbols Sect. If you have the ability, go find the Venerable and join the sect first."

Zhao Changhe blinked again, reached into his ring, and pulled out another pig-face mask.

It was not the cute piggy mask from before. This pig face was fiery red, with ferocious tusks, eerie fire patterns, and an imposing aura, looking quite sinister. The mask material was also special, seeming to have some protective effects and power enhancement.

Huangfu Qing's heart skipped a beat. How did he have this?

Zhao Changhe shook the mask with a grin. "I am Chamber Fire Boar, one of your own, Sister Wing Fire Serpent, right?"

Huangfu Qing stared dumbfounded at the pig face, with only one sentence echoing in her mind: "Yuan Sanniang, I'm not done with you!"

The next moment, the dead pig head kissed her again. Huangfu Qing watched him approach helplessly, completely at a loss for how to refuse.

Their lips met again, and this time it was not a surprise attack.

The eternal flame burned softly a few zhang away, like a warm campfire.

Witnessing the Vermilion Bird before it fall into scorched earth, descending into the mortal world.