Xiao Wu's eyes were red, her tears falling like pearls from a broken string as she cut open Xiong Shaoqing's bloodstained clothes with trembling hands.
Zhu Zhuqing held a basin of hot water. Her hands, normally steady even when holding a blade, now trembled slightly around the basin.
"Why are you crying? It's just a flesh wound." Xiong Shaoqing's face was pale, his forehead covered in cold sweat, but his voice remained cold and hard. "That little bit of poison can't do anything to me."
He secretly used his pure level-eighteen Soul Power to force the poison out of his body, but the tearing pain of the wound was all too real.
Large tears rolled down Xiao Wu's cheeks. Holding the Golden Wound Medicine, she hardly dared apply it. "It's all my fault. If you hadn't been protecting us, how could you have been hurt so badly?"
Zhu Zhuqing bit her red lip tightly and carefully wiped his firm chest and the blood around the wound with a hot towel.
The warmth from the towel, accompanied by the inadvertent touch of the girl's fingertips, lent the room a faint, unusual tenderness.
"It must have been Tang San." Zhu Zhuqing's cool eyes were filled with unrelenting heartache and murderous intent.
Watching the two peerless beauties cry around him, tending to him with red eyes and utmost care, Xiong Shaoqing kept his brows tightly furrowed as though enduring immense pain, while inwardly he was already so delighted he could hardly tell north from south.
Worth it. Taking that arrow was so fucking worth it.
Personal care from a bunny girl and a catgirl, those soft voices, those aching looks-even the life of an immortal wouldn't tempt me to trade this away.
Feeling Zhu Zhuqing's fingertips brush over his chest, Xiong Shaoqing's thoughts ran wild, but he closed his eyes without betraying anything, pretending to rest.
In fact, he swiftly summoned the Destiny Diary in his Sea of Consciousness, striking while the iron was hot:
Chapter 34: A Two-Pronged Approach
[My left shoulder was pierced clean through. That poisoned crossbow bolt really felt awful.]
[Tang San certainly has his methods. He even brought out an Armor-Piercing Repeating Crossbow and a Fine Steel Net, with ten Soul Elders striking to kill from the shadows. He really thinks highly of this battered body of mine.]
[The wound hurts to the marrow, but seeing both of them safe and sound, I actually feel this blood was worth shedding.]
[As long as neither of them suffers so much as a scratch, never mind one crossbow bolt-I could take ten.]
[But now, watching them cry beside the bed as they carefully bandage me, my heart aches even more than my wound. In this cold, cruel world, it takes blood to carve out a path to survival after all.]
The diary's writing had only just appeared.
Beside the bed, Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing froze simultaneously. The two girls looked at the words in their minds, then at the pale yet resolute face on the bed, and the emotional defenses in their hearts burst like a broken dam.
[Ding! Detected: Xiao Wu's heartache has reached its extreme. Her love has erupted like a gusher, and she is willing to follow you in life and death!] [Ding! Detected: Zhu Zhuqing has developed the deepest attachment and heartache toward the host. Her heart is entirely yours, and she is willing to brave boiling water and raging fire for you!] [System Feedback Mechanism eruption! Vast quantities of pure Soul Power are being forcibly infused.] [The host's Soul Power has broken through two level barriers in succession.] [Current Soul Power: level 20 (major-stage bottleneck reached)!]
Feeling the Soul Power in his body surge like an erupting volcano, Xiong Shaoqing nearly cried out in pleasure.
Level twenty. Already at the cap-I can go get my second Soul Ring now.
He clenched his back teeth, forcibly suppressing his ecstatic expression and maintaining that "weak and cold" demeanor as Zhu Zhuqing's warm, soft fingers gently applied medicine to his wound.
Tang San didn't send people to assassinate me. He sent a god-tier assist and a huge experience gift pack.
Don't worry. Once Tang San gets to Shrek Academy, I'll have an enormous gift ready for him, to properly repay today's arrow.
Inside the guest room at the Listening Snow Inn, the night deepened, and charcoal crackled softly in the little red-clay stove.
The faint smell of blood mingled with the clean, bitter fragrance of Golden Wound Medicine.
Xiong Shaoqing reclined on the bed, his upper clothing removed to reveal firm, well-proportioned muscles and the gruesome hole in his left shoulder, which had already stopped bleeding.
Zhu Zhuqing sat on the edge of the bed, leaning forward slightly. Her tight black outfit already outlined breathtaking curves, and now the two were extremely close to make bandaging easier.
Her delicate fragrance, carrying the cool freshness of wind and snow, drifted unimpeded into Xiong Shaoqing's nose.
The girl's fingertips were slightly cool, yet their gentleness made the heart tremble.
Every time she applied the ointment, the pads of her fingers inadvertently brushed his chest like a little electrified brush, teasing Xiong Shaoqing's taut nerves.
On his other side, Xiao Wu sat on a brocade-covered stool, holding a freshly cooked bowl of hot porridge.
Puffing out her cheeks, she carefully blew on the spoonful of porridge to cool it, then brought it to Xiong Shaoqing's lips, her large, reddened eyes brimming with unrelenting heartache. "Big brother, have some porridge to put something in your stomach. Open your mouth..."
Surrounded by tender, fragrant beauties attending to him from both sides, Xiong Shaoqing kept his expression still as water, his swordlike brows slightly knitted as though enduring tremendous pain. Even his eyes conveyed an aloof restraint that kept others a thousand miles away.
"It's just a flesh wound. Don't make such a fuss." His voice was cold and hard, and he even turned his head slightly, seemingly unaccustomed to such intimate care. "Put the bowl down. I can drink it myself."
Beneath that iceberg expression, however, Xiong Shaoqing's lecherous soul was already wildly banging gongs and drums, spiraling into the heavens.
Holy shit, who could withstand this? A bunny girl feeding me on the left, a catgirl applying medicine on the right. She's so close I can see every one of Zhu Zhuqing's long eyelashes.
That glimpse of white skin at the collar of her black leather outfit is practically dazzling. Being kept this well would have those old emperors from my previous life drooling with envy.
Hold it in. I have to hold it in. This lofty, aloof God King image can't crumble for even a second. The more I pretend not to care, the harder these girls will throw themselves at me.
Xiong Shaoqing forcibly calmed his wildly pounding heart, allowing Zhu Zhuqing to wind the snow-white bandage around his shoulder, layer after layer.
Once she finished bandaging him, Zhu Zhuqing raised her head, a fine sheen of fragrant sweat beading on her forehead.
Looking at Xiong Shaoqing's pale yet utterly fearless face, she could not help asking softly, "Tang San sent ten high-ranking assassins. You could clearly have kept your vital spots out of danger. Why did you insist on taking the hit?"
Xiong Shaoqing closed his eyes, no longer looking at her, and merely tossed out a curt reply. "You talk too much."
Far from angering Zhu Zhuqing, that chokingly blunt reply only deepened the ache and emotion in her heart.
She knew this man was simply that awkward. He would rather disguise himself with indifference than admit to the softness in his heart.
Sensing the two girls' emotional fluctuations, Xiong Shaoqing knew it was time to add fuel to the fire.
He sank into his Sea of Consciousness and summoned the Destiny Diary.
This time, he planned something different, writing in the slightly weary tone of someone who had seen through the vicissitudes of the world:
[The wound aches a little, but the charcoal fire in the room burns warmly.]
[In my previous life, I ascended to the Divine Realm, where the heights were unbearably cold. I grew used to the gods' hypocritical schemes, and to licking my wounds alone in the abyss.]
[Now that I have fallen into the mortal world, a mere poisoned crossbow bolt has left two silly girls with reddened eyes, bustling around my bedside.]
[Xiao Wu cools the porridge just right, and Zhu Zhuqing's fingers are gentle as she applies the medicine. This warmth, touched by the smoke of ordinary mortal life, actually puts me more at ease than that illusory divine throne.]
[At last, this cold world has given me somewhere to belong. Even if I had to do it again, I would still block that arrow.]
After writing those passages, Xiong Shaoqing nodded inwardly. He had struck exactly the right balance. Though he had already delivered a dose of Mary Sue melodrama earlier, this time he would add a tough man's tenderness, focusing on authenticity and a sense of destiny.
Let's see you refuse this serving of lovey-dovey sweetness.
Beside the bed.
Xiao Wu's hand abruptly stopped around the spoon, and her tears burst their banks again.
She put down the porcelain bowl and, deliberately avoiding Xiong Shaoqing's injured left shoulder, threw herself into his arms without hesitation, burying her face firmly against his chest.
Zhu Zhuqing bit her red lip tightly, her hands clasped over her knees, her nails digging deep into her flesh.
The diary's words, "licking my wounds alone in the abyss," struck the softest corner of her heart.
From now on... you won't be alone anymore.
Zhu Zhuqing silently made that promise in her heart.
[Ding! Detected: after reading the diary, Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing have experienced an eruption of deep emotional resonance! Bond Points have reached their peak!] [System Feedback Mechanism activated. Vast quantities of pure Soul Power are pouring into the host's body!] [Warning! The host's current Soul Power has reached the level 20 major-stage bottleneck. Further breakthroughs are impossible without a Soul Ring!] [Overflowing Soul Power has automatically been converted and stored in the Experience Pool! Current overflow: one level!] [Note: after obtaining the second Soul Ring, the stored level will instantly be fed back to the host, raising you directly to level twenty-one!]
Chapter 35: Intimate Care from a Catgirl and a Bunny Girl
[My left shoulder was pierced clean through. That poisoned crossbow bolt really felt awful.]
[Tang San certainly has his methods. He even brought out an Armor-Piercing Repeating Crossbow and a Fine Steel Net, with ten Soul Elders striking to kill from the shadows. He really thinks highly of this battered body of mine.]
[The wound hurts to the marrow, but seeing both of them safe and sound, I actually feel this blood was worth shedding.]
[As long as neither of them suffers so much as a scratch, never mind one crossbow bolt-I could take ten.]
[But now, watching them cry beside the bed as they carefully bandage me, my heart aches even more than my wound. In this cold, cruel world, it takes blood to carve out a path to survival after all.]
The diary's writing had only just appeared.
Beside the bed, Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing froze simultaneously. The two girls looked at the words in their minds, then at the pale yet resolute face on the bed, and the emotional defenses in their hearts burst like a broken dam.
[Ding! Detected: Xiao Wu's heartache has reached its extreme. Her love has erupted like a gusher, and she is willing to follow you in life and death!] [Ding! Detected: Zhu Zhuqing has developed the deepest attachment and heartache toward the host. Her heart is entirely yours, and she is willing to brave boiling water and raging fire for you!] [System Feedback Mechanism eruption! Vast quantities of pure Soul Power are being forcibly infused.] [The host's Soul Power has broken through two level barriers in succession.] [Current Soul Power: level 20 (major-stage bottleneck reached)!]
Feeling the Soul Power in his body surge like an erupting volcano, Xiong Shaoqing nearly cried out in pleasure.
Level twenty. Already at the cap-I can go get my second Soul Ring now.
He clenched his back teeth, forcibly suppressing his ecstatic expression and maintaining that "weak and cold" demeanor as Zhu Zhuqing's warm, soft fingers gently applied medicine to his wound.
Tang San didn't send people to assassinate me. He sent a god-tier assist and a huge experience gift pack.
Don't worry. Once Tang San gets to Shrek Academy, I'll have an enormous gift ready for him, to properly repay today's arrow.
Inside the guest room at the Listening Snow Inn, the night deepened, and charcoal crackled softly in the little red-clay stove.
The faint smell of blood mingled with the clean, bitter fragrance of Golden Wound Medicine.
Xiong Shaoqing reclined on the bed, his upper clothing removed to reveal firm, well-proportioned muscles and the gruesome hole in his left shoulder, which had already stopped bleeding.
Zhu Zhuqing sat on the edge of the bed, leaning forward slightly. Her tight black outfit already outlined breathtaking curves, and now the two were extremely close to make bandaging easier.
Her delicate fragrance, carrying the cool freshness of wind and snow, drifted unimpeded into Xiong Shaoqing's nose.
The girl's fingertips were slightly cool, yet their gentleness made the heart tremble.
Every time she applied the ointment, the pads of her fingers inadvertently brushed his chest like a little electrified brush, teasing Xiong Shaoqing's taut nerves.
On his other side, Xiao Wu sat on a brocade-covered stool, holding a freshly cooked bowl of hot porridge.
Puffing out her cheeks, she carefully blew on the spoonful of porridge to cool it, then brought it to Xiong Shaoqing's lips, her large, reddened eyes brimming with unrelenting heartache. "Big brother, have some porridge to put something in your stomach. Open your mouth..."
Surrounded by tender, fragrant beauties attending to him from both sides, Xiong Shaoqing kept his expression still as water, his swordlike brows slightly knitted as though enduring tremendous pain. Even his eyes conveyed an aloof restraint that kept others a thousand miles away.
"It's just a flesh wound. Don't make such a fuss." His voice was cold and hard, and he even turned his head slightly, seemingly unaccustomed to such intimate care. "Put the bowl down. I can drink it myself."
Beneath that iceberg expression, however, Xiong Shaoqing's lecherous soul was already wildly banging gongs and drums, spiraling into the heavens.
Holy shit, who could withstand this? A bunny girl feeding me on the left, a catgirl applying medicine on the right. She's so close I can see every one of Zhu Zhuqing's long eyelashes.
That glimpse of white skin at the collar of her black leather outfit is practically dazzling. Being kept this well would have those old emperors from my previous life drooling with envy.
Hold it in. I have to hold it in. This lofty, aloof God King image can't crumble for even a second. The more I pretend not to care, the harder these girls will throw themselves at me.
Xiong Shaoqing forcibly calmed his wildly pounding heart, allowing Zhu Zhuqing to wind the snow-white bandage around his shoulder, layer after layer.
Once she finished bandaging him, Zhu Zhuqing raised her head, a fine sheen of fragrant sweat beading on her forehead.
Looking at Xiong Shaoqing's pale yet utterly fearless face, she could not help asking softly, "Tang San sent ten high-ranking assassins. You could clearly have kept your vital spots out of danger. Why did you insist on taking the hit?"
Xiong Shaoqing closed his eyes, no longer looking at her, and merely tossed out a curt reply. "You talk too much."
Far from angering Zhu Zhuqing, that chokingly blunt reply only deepened the ache and emotion in her heart.
She knew this man was simply that awkward. He would rather disguise himself with indifference than admit to the softness in his heart.
Sensing the two girls' emotional fluctuations, Xiong Shaoqing knew it was time to add fuel to the fire.
He sank into his Sea of Consciousness and summoned the Destiny Diary.
This time, he planned something different, writing in the slightly weary tone of someone who had seen through the vicissitudes of the world:
Before you continue