Waking Up Weak

On the other side, Yang Ning, lying on Shi Xuanfei's soft couch, his consciousness hazy, once again saw those unique, stubborn red eyes appear uncontrollably in his mind.

[After a fierce battle, the cave temporarily returned to silence. Yang Ning sat leaning against a cold stone, breathing slightly heavily. On the ground beside him, a pitch-black longsword was stuck diagonally, its blade emitting a faint, cold light.

An Han was crouching in front of him, a look of "disdain" on her face, but her movements were exceptionally careful as she used a clean strip of cloth torn from her clothes to meticulously wrap Yang Ning's still bleeding palm.

"This sword of mine... if it's not wielded by me, or... or someone I approve of," she paused here, her earlobes warming slightly (she actually wanted to say "someone I have feelings for," but was too shy to speak it aloud).

"No ordinary person can use it. If a normal person touches the hilt, sharp poisonous thorns will immediately sprout from the blade to retaliate."

Yang Ning scratched his head with his other hand, feeling embarrassed. "The situation was too critical just now, I was seeing red... I saw this sword fall by my feet and just picked it up and used it without thinking."

An Han's red eyes flickered slightly as she recalled the dangerous scene at the cave entrance just now.

At that moment, five mysterious individuals with red armbands suddenly appeared and attacked without a word. Those people weren't top-tier in strength, likely around the Foundation Establishment Stage, but they were all like madmen, their eyes bloodshot, as if they felt no pain, no fatigue. Even when heavily injured, their movements showed no sign of slowing.

Two of them had an arm severed by her and Yang Ning, yet they still roared and continued to attack with their weapons!

It was at that moment, facing an enemy covered in blood, with only one arm left but still charging ferociously, that her mind went blank for an instant, causing the demonic sword in her hand to be knocked away.

At the critical juncture, it was Yang Ning's roar that startled her awake. She immediately kicked out, sending the fanatic flying.

The two of them fought for a full two hours before finally eliminating all five of these death-like fanatics.

An Han carefully bandaged Yang Ning's palm and subconsciously tied an intricate Ruyi knot at the end of the cloth strip.

"Who were those people... where did they come from? Why were they so fearless of death? And your uniform red armbands... who exactly are you?" she finally couldn't help but ask.

Yang Ning looked down at the beautiful Ruyi knot on the back of his hand, trying to change the subject. "That's a really nice knot, where did you learn it?"

An Han looked at him deeply. "If you don't want to say, then so be it. There's no need to deliberately change the subject... I'm just a little curious."

Yang Ning smiled, stood up, and spoke with a tone as relaxed as if the recent battle had been just a game. "Just think of it as... a fall outing organized by the academy. No need to worry too much about it."

He slowly walked to the side, bent down, and picked up his sword that was scattered on the ground. "Alright, you helped me, so I naturally have to help you. I'm a person of my word. Let's go, we'll go to Black Wind Cliff together, and I'll help you pick that Star Sea Flower." ]

Just then, a faint creaking sound of a door hinge broke the silence of the bedchamber and interrupted Yang Ning's dream. He slowly woke up.

Before, he had been preparing to open Shi Xuanfei's bedchamber door to leave, but after pulling it several times, the door didn't budge. Immediately after, an invisible yet immense pressure swept over him like a tidal wave. He didn't have time to react at all before he was violently thrown back, his back slamming heavily against the door, and then he fell to the ground, completely losing consciousness. The last sensation before he fainted was that his face seemed to be pressed against a soft, cool piece of fabric (Shi Xuanfei's silk socks).

Waking up now, the first thing he felt was a strange warmth slowly spreading from his lower abdomen to his limbs, making him feel warm and extremely comfortable all over—this was the sign of the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir beginning to dissolve its medicinal properties and nourish his body. His eyelids fluttered a few times, and he slowly opened them.

What met his eyes was a hazy red canopy above his head. He instinctively twitched his nose, and a faint, elegant fragrance seemed to linger on his face. He moved his slightly stiff neck, propped himself up with his hands on the soft couch beneath him, and slowly sat up.

"Awake?"

A smiling voice came from the side. Yang Ning turned his head and saw that Shi Xuanfei had entered at some point. She had changed out of her luxurious dress and was wearing a simple, elegant green tunic, covering herself completely. A gentle smile graced her face, making her look like a completely different person from her previous alluring and languid demeanor.

Looking at Shi Xuanfei before him, Yang Ning naturally still harbored some apprehension. The powerful wave that had knocked him unconscious just now was, he knew without a doubt, her doing. But seeing her gentle attitude now, and even taking the initiative to speak first, Yang Ning could only go along with it.