"Junior Sister!"
You Su watched Ji Lingruo writhing on the ground, not knowing what to do, as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
He felt deeply remorseful; his junior sister's pain was heart-wrenching. How could he have pretended to be in pain just now?
"Senior... Brother..." Ji Lingruo curled up, struggling to squeeze out these two words amidst continuous groans of pain.
"Senior brother is here! Senior brother is here!" You Su replied anxiously.
He quickly grasped Ji Lingruo's hand, trying to let her know he was there. But Ji Lingruo gripped his hand tightly in return, like an ancient vine coiling around him.
The girl's hands trembled uncontrollably, You Su felt as if the pain he felt on his junior sister's body was being transmitted to him, making him feel her pain as well.
"Ah!"
Ji Lingruo seemed unable to hold on any longer, and suddenly cried out in pain again. Then, fleshy bulges began to swell on her body, like groundhogs constantly jumping around, stretching her pink and white dress to the point of bursting.
Unable to contain his grief any longer, You Su turned over and held Ji Lingruo tightly in his arms from behind, as if trying to forcefully suppress the bulging flesh with his embrace.
"Junior sister, don't be afraid, your senior brother is here! Just bear with it, just bear with it a little longer..."
You Su gently comforted her, but the thought of Ji Lingruo still smiling at him made him feel as if a thousand arrows were piercing his heart.
Ji Lingruo also sensed You Su's body. She tried to struggle to turn over and bury her head in the boy's broad chest. You Su understood and reached out to help her turn over.
Ji Lingruo's previously lowered face was now revealed, and she was only a fist's distance away from You Su. You Su glanced at her briefly, and his pupils instantly contracted to the size of beans.
The girl's face looked extremely strange at that moment; her beautiful face seemed to overlap with the ugly face of the demon.
A pair of alluring eyes, six protruding fish-like eyes; pink lips that make you want to greedily possess them; spiral mouthparts covered with fleshy teeth...
There is no harmony to be found on her face; beauty and ugliness, humanity and evil, are violently clashing together.
But You Su's surprise lasted only a moment. Without the slightest hesitation, he wrapped his arms tightly around the back of the girl's head and embraced Ji Lingruo tightly.
He held her so tightly, as if he wanted to merge Ji Lingruo into his own body and transfer these malevolent spirits to himself.
Two lines of tears, no longer able to be held back, streamed down her dark eyes. You Su sobbed, as if talking to herself:
"It will get better, it will definitely get better..."
As if sensing You Su's prayer, the girl's struggling body slowly stopped, the bulging flesh subsided, and Tai Sui's face flickered twice before disappearing.
Two lines of tears also fell from Ji Lingruo's eyes. You Su's embrace was so heavy that it made her ribs ache, but she didn't care. Instead, she touched the boy's back and hugged him even tighter.
You Su knew that his junior sister had recovered, but he was reluctant to let go and expressed his feelings with a hug.
The two whispered sweet nothings to each other, their silence speaking volumes. In the damp, cold cave, the young man and woman embraced tightly, their only blanket the dim candlelight.
The spiderweb was still there where the beams met, and it looked even more intricate than before.
The stranded insect seemed to have given up struggling, only gently flapping its wings.
You Su got up, trying to find the figure of the monster junior sister.
Finding the courtyard empty, You Su walked to her junior sister's room and gently knocked on the door.
"Junior sister?"
There was still no response for a long time. You Su was puzzled and was about to kick the door open when a soft voice finally came from behind.
"Um..."
"Are you alright, junior sister?"
You Su was unaware of the monster junior sister's current situation; perhaps it was desperately resisting the forced return of its consciousness. He could only tentatively inquire.
"Not good..."
"Ah? Then, how can I help you?" You Su asked eagerly.
"You can't help me with anything, don't come in, just leave me alone..."
You Su clenched his fists. The resistance in his monster junior sister's words was palpable, causing him a sharp pain in his chest and guilt for his own powerlessness.
He stood in front of the door, unsure of what to say or do, and remained silent for a long time.
It was the junior sister who spoke first, and her voice was no longer so cold:
"You... Senior brother, you can go out now. I'm fine, don't worry about me."
Before she could even finish speaking, You Su was swept away by the vortex and lost consciousness.
When he opened his eyes again, his restored vision disappeared once more, but the warmth and touch emanating from his body, as well as the girl's fragrance filling his nostrils, became even clearer.
Just then Ji Lingruo also twisted her body, waking up from her sleep, and let out a long sigh:
"Um..."
You Su felt two soft mounds pressing against each other in his arms, constantly changing shape as Ji Lingruo twisted and turned. Feeling guilty, he quickly let go of his hands that were holding his junior sister's back and moved away from her.
But the girl had already sensed it. She moved her head away from You Su's neck, first scrutinizing You Su handsome face before smiling sweetly, then said mischievously:
"Senior brother, no wonder your swordsmanship is so amazing."
You Su was a little confused by the question, "What do you mean by that, Junior Sister?"
"You even sleep with your sword by your side; who can outtrain you?"
You Su's face flushed red with embarrassment as he realized that his treasured sword was indeed pressed against a spot, and he could feel the warmth of the girl's lower abdomen even through her clothes.
He quickly moved Ji Lingruo, who was clinging to him like an octopus, and sat up straight.
Ji Lingruo remained lying on her side on the ground, propping her head up with one hand, her eyes roaming over You Su with a playful expression.
"Could it be that Senior Brother is... extremely angry again?"
"Where did you get the word 'again'?" You Su asked, looking as if he were a saint. Then he exclaimed in surprise, "That's not right! My heart is as still as water; I have never been angry at all."
"Really? Why did I sense such a surge of sword intent from you last night?"
"Words are meaningless and don't count."
"Oh? Then why is Senior Brother also so tense at this moment?"
"Hey, you little devil, you're way too arrogant!" You Su put on a stern face, held up two fingers, and started playing the same old game he'd played with his junior sister. "How could I, Old Sun, be bewitched by a little devil like you! My Ruyi Jingu Bang automatically expands every morning to absorb the essence of the sun. What does that have to do with you, little devil?"
Ji Lingruo chuckled, and the cave was instantly filled with fragrance. The young girl smiled sweetly, as if she had been amused by You Su and had completely forgotten the pain she had felt before closing her eyes.
"You guessed right, it really does seem to be daytime now."
Ji Lingruo caught the white beam of light shining through the cracks in the rocks with her fingers; a slight mist mingled with the dust in the cave in the light.
You Su seemed to realize something and withdrew his pretentious hand. He recalled the nights he told his junior sister about his rewritten version of "Journey to the West" from memory, during which he would always play the role of Sun Wukong and joke around with his junior sister, who played a demon.
He would say "Hey, you demon!" and his junior sister would immediately reply "Hey, wicked monkey!"
Such responses eventually became a habit, like a secret code known only to the two of them.
My junior sister didn't respond like that just now; perhaps the recent situation was too critical, and she forgot...