Hearing Yun Luo's voice, Su Tong came back to her senses.
"Thank you for saving me. I'm fine."
As she spoke, Su Tong tried to stand up to prove that she was fine.
But she had overlooked the fact that, after a battle lasting a full half hour, her entire body was already sore and weak.
The moment she stood up, her legs buckled, and she fell uncontrollably.
Seeing this, Yun Luo reacted swiftly and caught her.
"Thank you..."
Caught off guard as he drew her into his arms, Su Tong instinctively braced both hands against Yun Luo's chest.
Feeling the warmth of his embrace, Su Tong's face flushed red in an instant.
In all her life, this was the first time a man had held her.
Completely unlike what she had imagined, the young man's chest was warm and firm.
The young man was mere inches away, and a masculine scent drifted into her nose, making her cry out inwardly.
Too close!
They remained like that for about a minute. Seeing that the man still had not let her go, Su Tong stirred.
She gently pushed against his chest, her voice as faint as a mosquito's hum.
"Um... could you let me go?"
Looking at Su Tong, whose face was as red as an apple, Yun Luo finally snapped out of it. He released her and said somewhat awkwardly,
"Sorry, I... spaced out and forgot."
It was not that he had deliberately wanted to keep holding the woman before him.
The instant Su Tong drew close, he could clearly feel his second Martial Soul eagerly yearning to fuse with this woman's Martial Soul.
"It's fine."
Once Yun Luo let go, Su Tong sprang away like a startled little rabbit.
Then, hearing Yun Luo's words, she ran a hand along her long, pale-blue hair to hide her embarrassment and said,
"Um, hello. My name is Su Tong. Thank you for stepping in to save me."
With that, Su Tong bowed slightly to Yun Luo.
Hearing Su Tong's name, Yun Luo felt as though he had heard it somewhere before.
After thinking for a full minute, he remembered who Su Tong was.
She was the girl with the Ice and Snow Maiden Martial Soul whom Huo Yuhao had met when he attended his second Sea God's Fated Blind Date Convention.
Unfortunately, she was a peripheral character. The original novel had never explained her background, giving her only a few brief mentions.
Still, her talent was also astonishing.
In the era of the Unrivaled Tang Sect, she was the second soul master besides Huo Yuhao to possess an Ultimate Ice Martial Soul.
Without the aid of any fortuitous encounters, relying solely on her own cultivation, she had already nearly reached the threshold of Soul Douluo at twenty-nine.
"It's fine. It was no trouble."
Hearing Su Tong's thanks, Yun Luo waved a hand dismissively.
"But why did you come to such a dangerous place alone?"
Hearing her savior's question, Su Tong replied,
"To hunt for a Soul Ring, of course..."
After hearing Su Tong's account, Yun Luo nodded.
He had not expected the woman before him to be so unlucky. Just after she finished hunting for her sixth Soul Ring, a wolf pack had happened to arrive near the scent of blood.
"Um... um, I still don't know your name?"
Hearing Su Tong stammer as she asked his name, Yun Luo found the contrast rather striking.
After all, a woman whose appearance was so coldly beautiful was actually this shy when asking someone's name.
"My name is Yun Luo."
"Yun Luo..."
Hearing her savior's name, Su Tong murmured it twice.
"Yes, that's right. The reason I came here was that my Martial Soul was being drawn here."
"And once I arrived, I discovered that you were the one drawing my Martial Soul."
Su Tong, who had remained caught between shock and shyness, finally came to a sudden realization after hearing Yun Luo's words.
Indeed, how could her former self have behaved this way toward a strange man, even if he had saved her?
Once she realized this and examined what she felt, she too could sense that her Martial Soul felt a great affinity for the man named Yun Luo before her, as though the two of them were a match made in heaven.
Just as the two were chatting happily, Du Busi could no longer bear to watch and felt he ought to hurry Yun Luo along.
After all, what if they encountered danger while being lovey-dovey in a place like this?
Although the three of them were watching from above and he was certain nothing would happen to those two, Du Busi still thought it was better for them to maintain that awareness of danger.
The other two, Jin Peng and Li Qing, were both watching Su Tong and Yun Luo with smiles on their faces.
"Ahem."
While the two were still engrossed in watching Yun Luo and Su Tong chat, Du Busi coughed.
"All right. Although we're their elders, it's time we went and interrupted them.
"It won't do to let those two keep chatting here. What if they hold up the proceedings?"
"Come on, you two. Head down with me."
With that, Du Busi vanished from sight and flew downward.
Although Jin Peng and Li Qing did not want to go, the sect master had given them an order, and they could not disobey.
With that thought, they followed Du Busi.
Just as Yun Luo was chatting with Su Tong and coaxing her into a good mood, a voice rang out.
"Yun Luo, boy, have you taken care of your actual business yet?"
Seeing Du Busi standing a short distance away, Yun Luo replied,
"Soon, very soon, Sect Master."
Su Tong, standing beside him, naturally saw the three elderly men as well. She had not expected the man before her to have such a terrifying force behind him.
But before she could think about it further, she turned her gaze back.
It was not because she was afraid. The way two of the elderly men were looking at her and Yun Luo was so strange that it made her feel shy.
Watching her movements, Yun Luo also noticed Su Tong glancing at the three men nearby. He waved a hand and said,
"It's fine. Don't mind them. Let's continue."
"Mm."
Hearing Yun Luo's words, Su Tong nodded.
"Su Tong, do you have parents? Are you all alone?"
Hearing Yun Luo's words, Su Tong froze completely.
Not only Su Tong, but Du Busi and the other two nearby were dumbfounded as well.
What the hell is he saying?
Does he have that little emotional intelligence?
Looking at Su Tong's expression, Yun Luo realized that his words had been a little too blunt.
"Um, that's not what I meant. I just wanted to ask whether, if you're on your own, you'd be willing to come with me?"
Watching Yun Luo scratch his head awkwardly, the corners of Su Tong's mouth lifted slightly into a faint smile.
"Mm, I understand."
Since her parents had passed away, the young man named Yun Luo before her was the first person who had made her feel a sense of closeness.
Although her Martial Soul was part of the reason, it was more because the young man had stepped in to save her. (Although a hero saving a beauty was an old cliché, it was still very effective.)
Now, hearing the man's invitation, Su Tong did not immediately agree.
"Um, I'd still like to ask why you want me... me to go with you."
As she said this, Su Tong was extremely nervous, her hands clutching the hem of her clothes tightly.
Seeing Su Tong suddenly look so bashful, Yun Luo was somewhat puzzled.
Didn't I just ask you to come with me?
It's not like I'm asking you to do anything else. What the bloody teapot are you blushing for?
Although he grumbled inwardly, he still kept a smile on his face and said,
"As I said, I came here because my Martial Soul was being drawn here, and right now, you're the one who can draw my Martial Soul.
"So I'd like you to come back with me so we can study it properly."
Su Tong looked at the young man before her and slowly nodded.
Indeed, when the young man had released his Martial Soul earlier, Su Tong had also learned that his Martial Soul was an Ice Jade Scorpion, an Ultimate Martial Soul just like his Ice and Snow Maiden.
After he thought it over, she agreed to the young man's request.
As for why she agreed, the first reason was that he had stepped in to save her, and she truly did feel something toward his Martial Soul, though not as strongly as Yun Luo did.
The second was that she could not refuse anyway. Never mind the three elders behind him; Yun Luo could take her back himself if he acted.
"All right, I agree."