A Desperate Flight for Their Lives! Healing and Being Healed, Intimacy in the Cave

Ning Chengyi's throat bobbed. He recognized the unconscious woman floating on the river at once: she was the one who had just fought the Death Spider Emperor to the death.

Seeing her drift near the bank, her breathing faint, Ning Chengyi hesitated.

If he saved her, he might draw the Soul Beasts the Spider Emperor had sent to search for her. But if he left her there, she would surely die of her injuries.

Faint roars came from the forest. The search was closing in.

Ning Chengyi hesitated no longer. He leaped into the river, swam to the opposite bank, and carefully lifted Bibi Dong into his arms. Her damp purple clothes clung to her body. He quickly pushed aside distracting thoughts, released the Phantom Butterfly to conceal their presence, and hurried toward a cave he had discovered in Sunset Forest while under the protection of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Ning Chengyi reached the safe area around the cave and used trees to block the view from outside. He then took powders from his Storage Ring and scattered them around to confuse any Soul Beasts tracking their scent. Only then did he relax a little. He hurried inside, gently laid Bibi Dong on a stone platform, and sat down beside it, gasping for breath.

Ning Chengyi stepped closer to examine Bibi Dong. A flash of admiration crossed his eyes, but his brow soon furrowed. Blood had soaked the purple fabric over her chest, and the venom had left the wound exposed and horrifying. Even unconscious, her face was drawn with pain, making her look heartbreakingly vulnerable.

He summoned the Phantom Butterfly and was about to step forward to heal her when Bibi Dong's eyes snapped open. She fixed him with an icy stare full of killing intent and embarrassed anger.

"Uh... you're awake? I found you unconscious by the river and brought you here. I just want to treat your injuries. I'm not thinking of anything else..." Ning Chengyi instinctively backed away a few steps. The life-giving Phantom Butterfly Spirit Tide hovered over his hand. He was terrified this woman might misunderstand and kill him with one strike. What an unjust way to die that would be.

He hurried through a brief explanation of what had happened.

Seeing Ning Chengyi retreat, Bibi Dong relaxed a little and tried to heal herself. But the Death Spider Emperor's venom had left her entire body numb and weak, and it was steadily eroding her Soul Power. She knew she would die without treatment. After a bitter inner struggle, she finally set aside her pride and wariness.

She gave a slow nod. "Treat me," she said, her cool voice weak and hoarse. Ning Chengyi rubbed his nose. He was somewhat reluctant, but he stepped forward anyway.

Then he faltered in embarrassment. "The wound is in an awkward place. I... I'll need to undo your clothes to clean it properly and draw out the poison."

Something flickered in Bibi Dong's eyes. At last, she slowly closed them, silently accepting the treatment. The place the Death Spider Emperor had wounded her really was awkward.

With her life at stake, she could no longer worry about modesty.

Ning Chengyi took a deep breath, tore a strip from his robe, and tied it over his eyes, blocking his sight completely. Guided by Bibi Dong, he removed her clothes with trembling hands. Each accidental brush of his fingertips against her smooth skin made her body tense. Even a powerful Titled Douluo like her, it seemed, could not remain unmoved by such intimacy.

As her clothes fell away, a faint blush spread over her flawless, beautifully proportioned figure, now exposed to the cool cave air. Bibi Dong's face was full of shyness and unease. She had never willingly allowed anything like this before.

He drew a deep breath, steadied himself, and quietly activated his Second Martial Soul.

Phantom Butterfly Spirit Tide.

Specks of soft, luminous pollen drifted down from the air. Carrying pure, life-giving Soul Power, they settled precisely on Bibi Dong's wound.

He neither looked nor touched her throughout. He relied solely on his Martial Soul to find the wound and the spirit tide to heal it.

The butterfly's Soul Power flowed from the depths of his own mind, seeping in fine threads into Bibi Dong's damaged meridians and flesh.

Deep inside, unseen by anyone else, their two currents of Soul Power quietly mingled, flowing together and nourishing her. Little by little, they neutralized the Death Spider Emperor's sinister venom, repaired her severed meridians, and healed her torn flesh.

Once he had finished, Ning Chengyi took the only clean set of clothes from his Storage Ring and handed it to her. Bibi Dong guided him to lay it over her before letting him remove the blindfold. When his vision returned, he saw an enticing blush on her cheeks as well.

"Th... thank you."

The woman lying on the stone platform bit her lip, looking shy. After struggling with herself for several seconds, she managed a faint smile as she spoke.

Ning Chengyi stared, momentarily stunned.

That smile was breathtaking. Frail and lovely, she made him want to protect her.

Ten days later.

Ning Chengyi had guessed the woman's real name long ago, but he had never said so.

"Qian Xun, how's your recovery?"

"My name is Zhu Qianxun, not Qian Xun!" the woman snapped. Ning Chengyi merely gave an awkward smile and ignored her flustered indignation.

For all ten days in the cave, Ning Chengyi had carefully looked after Bibi Dong while her injuries left her unable to manage on her own.

With each day spent together, they grew more familiar.

Perhaps it was because her injuries had made her dependent on him, or perhaps the Phantom Butterfly Spirit Tide's treatment had affected her. Either way, the forbidding chill she always carried, along with the noble air of someone long accustomed to power, gradually faded.

Ning Chengyi noticed the change and felt considerably more at ease.

After what had happened with Ning Rongrong, he had developed an instinctive aversion to that sort of arrogance.

Their quiet life in the cave passed peacefully for ten days. On the eleventh, a long, piercing Soul Beast roar shattered the calm.

They were eating inside the cave when they heard the roar outside. Both stopped at once.

Ning Chengyi's expression darkened. He sprang to his feet and met Bibi Dong's eyes. Both frowned.

"How did a Soul Beast find us?" Ning Chengyi paced slowly, baffled.

He had used the Phantom Butterfly to conceal their presence all these days, as well as the beast-repelling powder he had brought from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to mask their scents. By all rights, no Soul Beast should have been able to track them to their hiding place.

His gaze shifted, and he caught the unmistakable guilt on Bibi Dong's face.

Understanding dawned. Ning Chengyi gave a rueful smile. "Don't tell me you left the cave just now."

Meeting his eyes, Bibi Dong flushed faintly with guilt. Much of her usual cold pride had fallen away. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I went out to fetch water and wash up a little."

Ning Chengyi was speechless. He let out a heavy breath, exasperated.

"We're about to die, and you're worried about washing up."

He gripped the Desolation-Suppressing God-Breaking Spear, its shaft cold beneath his hand.

"Stay in the cave. Whatever happens, don't come out. I'll lure that Soul Beast away."

As Ning Chengyi moved toward the entrance, Bibi Dong's guilt deepened. She tried to rise, forcing her still-weakened body to cooperate. "Your Soul Power Level puts you at a disadvantage. Let me go."

"Stay inside and don't move!"

Ning Chengyi stopped short and whipped around, his voice suddenly stern.

Bibi Dong froze and stared at the young man before her.

She had once ruled all of Spirit Hall and commanded countless Soul Masters. Now a young man had sharply scolded her, leaving her mind blank for a moment.

"If you take even half a step outside, your scent will spread and draw more Soul Beasts. We'll both die here."

With danger bearing down on them, Ning Chengyi had no time to care who she had once been. He left her with that warning and dashed out of the dim cave into the dense woods of Sunset Forest.

"That little fool. Always showing off, and he even dared to scold me. I hope a Soul Beast gets him!"

In the dark cave, Bibi Dong watched his figure vanish beyond the entrance. Her hand clenched and unclenched against her chest. Her expression shifted again and again, as though she no longer knew what she ought to feel.

A moment later, she lightly struck the stone beside her and muttered those words under her breath, sounding more vexed than angry.

Despite what she had said, she straightened unconsciously and kept her eyes fixed on the patch of light beyond the cave entrance.

But Ning Chengyi's warning still rang in her ears. She forced herself to stay where she was, worry quietly settling over her face.

Not long after Ning Chengyi left, the roars outside grew fiercer and more piercing. Trees shook as the beasts bellowed without pause.

After a while, the roars receded into the distant forest, and the commotion gradually died down. Yet the young man still had not returned.

The minutes dragged by, the torment of waiting wearing at her nerves.

Bibi Dong could bear it no longer. She clenched her teeth and fist, a fierce glint rising in her eyes as Soul Power surged within her. Her voice was cold as ice.

"If you die out there, I'll make every Soul Beast in Sunset Forest follow you to the grave!"

With that, she forced herself to rise, ready to leave the cave and search for Ning Chengyi.

At that very moment, a figure covered in dirt and thin streaks of blood stumbled through the entrance and pitched forward.

"You little fool, are you all right?" At the sight of him, Bibi Dong's heart finally settled. Relief and delight colored her voice.

Ning Chengyi glanced at her. "Don't go out. It's safe for now." Then his vision went black, and he collapsed into a warm, soft embrace. A faint, cool fragrance lingered at his nose.

When he woke, two days had passed.

Ning Chengyi explained the cause of the Soul Beasts' rampage from beginning to end. Bibi Dong breathed a sigh of relief when she heard it, not even noticing that she was holding him.

"Ahem. I'm fine now. You can let go."

"Hmph!" Bibi Dong released him with a snort, her face flushing.

"Get some rest. I'll make the food today."

"Can... can you?" he asked doubtfully. Bibi Dong shot him an icy glare, embarrassed and furious. "None of your business!"

She went to the dried meat Ning Chengyi had seasoned a few days earlier and fumbled with it. Her movements were so awkward that it was plain she had never cooked for herself.

Ning Chengyi watched her, smiling.

She wore one of his robes. Though loose on him, it outlined her full, graceful figure. With every small movement, glimpses of fair skin showed beneath it.

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

Ning Chengyi rubbed his bleary eyes and came fully awake. The first thing he saw was Bibi Dong lying on the stone platform.

She had changed into a plain white dress. Her hair, left loose for so long, had been swept up and secured with a hairpin. A faint air of nobility surrounded her once more.

Her beautiful face was calm and composed. Every trace of the softer side she had shown while they lived together was gone, replaced by an icy distance that warned others away.

She noticed him looking. "Slept well?" she asked evenly.

It was the same familiar voice, but all the warmth it had held during their time together had vanished. She sounded as though she were speaking to a stranger she had met by chance.

Ning Chengyi studied her quietly and let out a slow breath. Turning his face aside, he asked, "Is all the Death Spider Emperor's venom gone?"

"Yes." Bibi Dong gave a slight nod.

Her figure blurred, and in the next instant she stood before Ning Chengyi. "Leave this place. I'll help you obtain a Soul Ring."

With that, she turned and walked toward the cave entrance, her steps elegant and her figure graceful.

Watching her reach the entrance, Ning Chengyi suddenly said, "I cared more for the Zhu Qianxun you were before. The way you are now feels so distant, I can't bring myself to like you at all."

At the entrance, the white-clad figure stiffened. She stood silent for a moment, then walked out of the cave without looking back.