"You..."
Ling Luochеn parted her lips, wanting to say something.
But the moment she spoke, she suddenly realized that the boy before her was holding her in an extremely embarrassing position.
"Could you... could you put me down first?"
Ling Luochеn pressed her lips together, a blush crossing her snow-white face for the first time.
Fortunately, only Xue Chen and Ling Luochеn were there. Had any Shrek Academy disciples who knew her seen her like this, their jaws would surely have dropped.
After all, Ling Luochеn was a famously frosty beauty in the Shrek Inner Court. When had she ever acted like such a bashful girl before a member of the opposite sex?
"Sorry, the situation left me no choice. Please forgive me!"
At her words, embarrassment crossed Xue Chen's face, and he hurriedly lowered Ling Luochеn gently from his arms.
Perhaps it was because she had severely overdrawn her Soul Power, but Ling Luochеn staggered the moment her feet touched the ground.
She instinctively reached for something, her fingers scrabbling through the air, and happened to catch Xue Chen's collar.
Xue Chen's white robe was tugged downward, its collar slipping open on one side to reveal the boy's sexy collarbone and a stretch of well-defined shoulder.
Ling Luochеn froze.
Xue Chen froze for a moment too.
He looked down at his half-open collar, then at Ling Luochеn's hand still hooked around it, and fell silent for a moment.
"Big sister."
His tone was calm, yet Ling Luochеn somehow heard a trace of teasing in it.
"If you can't stand steadily, you can hold my shoulder. There's no need to pull at my clothes."
"Saving you is one thing, but if you're lusting after my body, that's another matter entirely!"
Ling Luochеn snatched her hand back as though she had been burned.
Her face alternated between white and red, and she pressed her lips together until they had almost disappeared.
"You... what nonsense are you talking about!"
Ling Luochеn was so embarrassed and annoyed that even her voice grew louder.
"Who's... who's lusting after your body?!"
"Mm."
"My hand... my hand just slipped."
"Mm."
Ling Luochеn stared at his expressionless face, unable to tell for a moment whether he was answering seriously or merely brushing her off.
She wanted to explain further, but the more anxious she became, the less she could say. In the end, she simply shut her mouth, steadied herself against an ice-covered rock nearby, and turned her face away.
"Big sister, I was only joking just now. We can't just stay here, can we?"
Xue Chen smiled, then moved around into the direction Ling Luochеn was facing.
"Something's happened deep in the Far North. Quite a few high-ranking Soul Beasts have appeared on the outskirts."
"If we stay here, we'll get attacked by Soul Beasts, you know."
Ling Luochеn glared at Xue Chen, took two deep breaths, and finally gave a quiet huff.
The Far North's frigid climate was difficult to endure even for an ice-attribute Soul Master like Ling Luochеn.
And now she was also quite badly injured.
Ling Luochеn let go of the ice-covered rock and, enduring the weakness in her legs, started south. Her steps were hurried and quick, completely disregarding her serious injuries.
It was as though she wanted to leave that embarrassing incident behind her.
Watching her indignant retreating figure, Xue Chen's lips curved slightly, but he did not follow.
He was no stalking creep. Besides, he barely knew Ling Luochеn.
But she had barely taken two steps when her body went limp, and she toppled straight into the snow.
After a brief hesitation, Xue Chen hurried over to Ling Luochеn with long strides.
Her face was now as white as the snow, her long black hair spread across the ground, and a dark red bloodstain had appeared on the clothing over her left shoulder.
"Putting on a brave front!"
Xue Chen frowned and reached out to check Ling Luochеn's breathing.
The good news was that she wasn't dead.
The bad news was that if nobody helped her, she might very well die.
"Sister Ice caused this mess anyway. I'll just count this as cleaning up after her."
With a soft sigh, Xue Chen helped her up and hoisted her onto his back.
Ling Luochеn was considerably taller than him, and her arms hung limply over his chest.
Her chin rested on his right shoulder, her breath brushing his neck with a trace of warmth rarely found in the Far North.
Of course, there were also the two soft mounds bumping against his back from time to time.
Come to think of it, did people on the Douluo Continent not wear underwear?
"You're pretty tall, so how come you're so light?"
After securing Ling Luochеn on his back, Xue Chen muttered a couple of words. His Five Elements Qilin Martial Soul immediately possessed him, and the Soul Ring beneath his feet, whose true color the Snow Empress had concealed, glowed faintly.
In an instant, his body seemed to merge into the wind and snow.
With every step, his figure suddenly vanished, then reappeared somewhere far away in the blink of an eye.
This was the Snow Escape skill he had developed through his control over the Snow Empress's Ultimate Ice-attribute Soul Ring.
Wherever there was ice and snow, he could merge into it completely and travel anywhere along with it.
It was only because he was carrying Ling Luochеn now that he had to reveal himself with every step.
He could turn into ice and snow, but Ling Luochеn had no such ability.
The Far North covered a vast area, but at Xue Chen's almost teleportation-like speed, the two soon left it behind.
"Mm..."
Ling Luochеn slowly opened her eyes. An unfamiliar ceiling entered her view, and there seemed to be a medicinal herb scent in the air.
"Where am I?"
As the bewilderment slowly faded from her eyes, Ling Luochеn felt aches throughout her body, but much of her Soul Power had recovered.
"You're awake."
The sudden voice made Ling Luochеn whip her head toward its source.
The boy who had saved her in the Far North was sitting in a chair beside the window, holding a bowl of porridge and slowly stirring it with a spoon.
"Where... is this?"
Ling Luochеn asked in a somewhat hoarse voice.
"This is Dragon City in the Heaven Dou Empire."
Xue Chen took a sip of porridge from the bowl and could not help frowning.
Did people on the Douluo Continent not know how to cook?
How could they make even a bowl of porridge taste this bad?
No wonder Huo Yuhao's grilled fish was like something laced with drugs, leaving everyone who tasted it absolutely beside themselves!
"Did you save me?"
Ling Luochеn sorted through her memories before speaking.
"What else?"
Xue Chen blinked.
"Did you walk out of the Far North yourself after losing consciousness?"
Ling Luochеn puffed out her cheeks. The things that came out of this boy's mouth really were infuriating!
"Thank you!"
After a long while, Ling Luochеn still offered her thanks. After some hesitation, she could not help asking curiously:
"But how... how did you get me out of the Far North?"
She had grown up on the outskirts of the Far North, so she knew all too well how difficult it was to bring a severely injured person out of it.
"I carried you out on my back, of course!"
Xue Chen rolled his eyes, then added:
"But you're very light. It didn't take much effort."