Yun Yun: Then... Help Me Get Dressed! (Something Was Deleted from This Chapter, So It May Feel a Bit Awkward)

Yun Yun's jade-like fingers unconsciously clenched her collar, a faint blush rising to her cheeks.

Her clothes were stained with dust and blood, leaving her feeling uncomfortable all over.

After hesitating for a moment, she slightly turned her head away, her gaze evasive as she did not dare look directly into Xuan Qing's eyes. In a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, she said,

"Xuan Qing, I want to bathe. But my Dou Qi is sealed right now, and I've completely lost my ability to protect myself. Can you keep watch nearby for me?"

As she spoke those words, Yun Yun's ears burned hot.

When had the lofty Sect Master of the Misty Cloud Sect ever entrusted her safety entirely to a man like this?

But her current circumstances were difficult. Surrounded by desolate mountains and wilderness, Xuan Qing was the only person she could rely on.

Xuan Qing nodded gently.

The stream burbled along, clear light shimmering across the pool's surface.

Yun Yun slowly walked to the streamside, her fingertips gradually undoing the robe stained with mud and blood as her clothes slowly slipped away.

The refreshing mountain breeze swept across her skin, making her body tremble slightly.

She turned her head and looked toward the figure behind her. Unable to conceal the shyness in her heart, she spoke with a faint tremble in her voice.

"Y-you mustn't peek, and don't spread out your senses!"

Previously, he had helplessly caught sight of her upper body. That alone had already been an unbearably embarrassing situation.

But now that she was fully conscious, she absolutely could not allow him to cross the line regarding her lower body.

Xuan Qing did not turn around.

"Don't worry. I definitely won't turn around, and I won't spread out my senses either."

Yun Yun lightly bit her lower lip. Only after confirming that the figure's back had shown no sign of turning did she cautiously remove the rest of her clothes.

Her entire body slowly sank into the cool water, leaving only her shoulders and head above the surface.

The icy stream water enveloped her body, washing away the dust and bloodstains covering her.

From time to time, Yun Yun secretly glanced behind her, afraid that Xuan Qing might suddenly turn around.

After discovering that nothing was amiss,

she raised her hand and scooped up a handful of clear stream water. It slowly flowed over her shoulders before returning to the stream.

Beneath the water, a water snake hidden within a crack between the rocks suddenly shot out, its sharp fangs viciously biting into her calf.

A burst of pain struck.

Yun Yun's entire body stiffened. She sucked in a cold breath, gasping sharply in pain as a soft cry escaped her.

"Ah!"

A faint pain spread up along her thigh before sweeping through her entire body.

Her Dou Qi was sealed, and she could not mobilize even a trace of strength. She did not even have the ability to drive away the venomous snake.

Her panicked movements stirred the stream into ring after ring of chaotic ripples.

"A snake... There's a snake! I was bitten!"

Hearing her cry of pain, Xuan Qing hurriedly turned around and looked toward the stream.

His figure flashed, and in an instant, he was at the water's edge.

He immediately locked onto the slippery, fleeing shadow beneath the water. Dou Qi gathered at his fingertips as he lightly pointed through the air.

A fierce burst of Dou Qi tore through the air and directly killed the venomous snake underwater. Its corpse was carried by the current toward a nearby rocky bank.

The danger was eliminated in an instant.

Xuan Qing stood at the edge of the pool, his gaze instinctively falling upon Yun Yun. At that glance, all he saw was a dazzling expanse of white.

The snake venom had already begun taking effect, and a faint, unusual numbness spread across Yun Yun's skin.

Yun Yun, submerged in the pool, had her whole body tensed. On one hand, she endured the piercing pain from her wound; on the other, Xuan Qing had already turned around.

Her heart was filled with unconcealable embarrassment. Her hands shielded her chest as she tried to shrink deeper into the water, revealing only half of her flushed face.

She bit her lower lip, fine beads of cold sweat appearing at her temples as she let out a soft whimper.

"Ah... It seems to be venomous!"

A weak, numb sensation rapidly spread from her bitten leg, traveling through her muscles toward her waist and abdomen, draining her strength bit by bit.

The composure she had desperately maintained completely crumbled before the piercing numb pain.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly as her wet eyes looked toward the young man on the bank. Embarrassed and helpless, she looked utterly fragile and alone.

"I... I can't move."

A limp, powerless feeling swept through every part of her body.

Yun Yun kept her head lowered tightly, her ears so red they seemed ready to bleed. Her voice was as soft as a gnat's hum, carrying both grievance and shy whimpering.

Her arms struggled to cover her chest, but her body swayed unsteadily, as though she might collapse at any moment.

"Xuan Qing... Can you carry me up... I can barely stand anymore."

"Alright."

Xuan Qing agreed without another word. He stepped into the stream, one arm passing behind her back and the other beneath her knees.

In one swift, decisive motion, he lifted the limp Yun Yun into a bridal carry.

The hand that had been covering one of the two places instinctively hooked around Xuan Qing's neck the moment she was lifted.

With his neck hooked, Xuan Qing instinctively looked downward, catching a glimpse of something he should not have seen.

Yun Yun's cheeks burned hot, a thin mist gathering in her eyes. Ashamed and annoyed, she spoke with a trembling, aggrieved voice.

"P-pervert, stop looking!"

To be seen so completely like this was an immense humiliation for the formerly lofty Sect Master of the Misty Cloud Sect.

The numb pain caused by the venom continued coursing through her limbs. She had no strength in her body and could only curl herself up helplessly.

She buried her face against Xuan Qing's shoulder, unwilling to look at him again.

The warmth and softness in his arms felt as real as jade.

Xuan Qing had nowhere to rest his gaze. His limbs stiffened, and even his walking posture became terribly awkward.

Yun Yun pressed her cheeks tightly against his shoulder and could clearly hear his slightly hurried heartbeat. The sense of shame nearly drowned her whole.

Her slender fingertips trembled faintly with nervousness, her right hand tightly hooked around his neck.

Xuan Qing hurried toward the shore.

Upon reaching the bank, he gently laid Yun Yun flat atop a bluestone.

"Put your clothes on quickly." He deliberately kept his voice calm.

At that moment, Yun Yun's body was weak and limp all over, her limbs as heavy as though filled with lead. She did not even have the strength to raise her hand and could only lie softly sprawled across the stone.

Her delicate brows furrowed, the blush on her cheeks still unfallen. She weakly shook her head, her voice soft and powerless.

"I... I have no strength left. I can't move. Do you have an antidote pill? Help me remove the snake venom first."

Out of the corner of his eye, Xuan Qing glanced at the venomous snake he had just killed on the rocky bank and recognized its species at once.

It was a first-tier Soft Cloud Snake. Its venom was mild and not deadly. Its only effect was to numb the body's meridians, leaving a person weak, limp, and powerless. It would not harm the internal organs, nor was there any danger to life.

Knowing the nature of the venom, a trace of amusement flashed through his eyes. As his eyes shifted, an idea to close the distance between himself and Yun Yun immediately arose in his heart.

He gently shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness.

"No."

At those words, Yun Yun's delicate body stiffened, and a layer of mist instantly clouded her narrow eyes.

Her entire body was weak and limp, unable to move. Her Dou Qi was sealed, she wore not a stitch of clothing, and she lay alone upon the bluestone.

Overwhelming embarrassment and helplessness engulfed her.

She bit her soft lips, her voice as quiet as a mosquito's buzz as she spoke with utter awkwardness.

"Then... then help me put them on."

As she said those words, Yun Yun's entire face turned thoroughly red, the flush spreading from her cheeks all the way to her ears and neck.