197: Chapter 197 Ye Yun: So spineless!

The urge to let her melt into water in his arms.

[No. I can't think about this anymore. She is my Senior Sister, she came to save me, and now she's poisoned. What am I thinking?]

Ye Yun cursed himself as a bastard in his heart.

Then, he sat cross-legged behind Han Qingxue and took a deep breath.

Suppressing those messy thoughts, he raised his hands and pressed his palms against her back.

The moment his palms touched her skin, Han Qingxue's body suddenly tensed up.

Ye Yun's palms could feel the slight coolness and delicateness of her skin.

As well as the slight curve of the muscles on both sides of her spine, bulging slightly due to tension.

He quickly focused his mind, circulating the Tai Xuan Hehuan Scripture, and condensed his Pure Yang Mystic Power into two warm currents.

Passing them from his palms into the Meridians in her back.

The warm Mystic Power slowly advanced along her Meridians.

Forcing out the dark green poisonous gas lurking deep within her Meridians bit by bit.

Han Qingxue's breathing gradually stabilized, and her tense body slowly relaxed a little.

But the pink hue at the base of her ears, instead of fading, deepened.

Ye Yun's Pure Yang Mystic Power roamed through her body.

That warm, tingling sensation was something she had never experienced before.

After an unknown amount of time, Ye Yun forced the last trace of poisonous gas in her body into one spot.

Guiding that mouthful of black blood to well up from her throat.

Han Qingxue opened her mouth and spat out a mouthful of blackened blood, which landed on the hay on the ground; the hay sizzled as it was corroded by the poisonous blood.

She went limp as if exhausted, her body leaning back and falling into Ye Yun's arms.

Ye Yun instinctively reached out to catch her.

His palm happened to land on the bare skin of her waist, touching a patch of cool, smooth softness.

Han Qingxue's back was against his chest, her shoulder blades pressing against his chest.

That thin inner garment could hide nothing.

Every curve of her body was clearly imprinted on his perception through the fabric.

Especially that soft curve wrapped in fabric that could be faintly seen even from behind.

It was rising and falling slightly with her rapid breathing.

Han Qingxue's entire body froze.

She could clearly feel those burning palms on her lower back.

She could feel the warmth of his chest transmitting through the fabric.

She could feel his powerful heartbeat thumping against her back, beat by beat.

Han Qingxue's ears were completely red, and even her neck was stained with a faint layer of pink.

"Let... let go."

Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, lacking any of her usual cold Senior Sister demeanor.

Ye Yun quickly let go, then steadied her shoulders before she could slip.

"I was afraid you'd fall."

He explained, then noticed his voice was a bit hoarser than usual.

Han Qingxue didn't speak, but quickly pulled up her dress, which had slipped to her waist, to cover her bare back.

Her fingers were still trembling, and it took several tries to retie the sash around her waist.

Throughout the process, she kept her head down, not daring to look into Ye Yun's eyes.

The cave remained silent for a good while.

"We'll rest here for the night and continue our journey tomorrow morning."

Ye Yun stood up and walked to the cave entrance.

"Recover well; I'll stand guard at the entrance."

Han Qingxue nodded gently, still not looking at him.

Ye Yun sat down at the entrance, leaning against the stone wall, and let out a long breath.

He looked down at his hands that had just touched her back; his palms seemed to still retain the cool sensation of her skin.

Then he raised his hand and slapped himself across the face, expressionless.

It was light, making almost no sound.

[Taking advantage of someone in peril is not the behavior of a gentleman.]

Ye Yun cursed himself in his heart.

Then he thought back to that jade-white back from just now.

He thought of the shallow groove of her spine and the two faint dimples on her lower back.

He slapped himself again, slightly harder than before.

From behind him came Han Qingxue's extremely soft voice.

"Junior Brother."

"What is it, Senior Sister?"

Ye Yun didn't turn around. "Does the wound hurt?"

Han Qingxue was silent for a moment, then whispered.

"Just now... thank you."

...

The valley was very quiet at night.

Moonlight leaked through the gaps in the vines at the cave entrance, spreading a thin layer of silver frost on the ground.

The chirping of insects outside the cave drifted in and out, and occasional cries of nocturnal birds came from across the ridge, only to be scattered by the night wind blowing through the valley.

Ye Yun sat at the entrance with his back against the stone wall, the burning snow sword resting across his knees.

Deep inside the cave behind him, the rhythm of Han Qingxue's steady breathing hadn't changed for a long time—she was asleep.

Ye Yun glanced sideways.

The moonlight only reached halfway into the cave; Han Qingxue lay on her side on the hay, covered by his gray outer robe.

Her face was buried in the shadows, revealing only half of her fair neck and a few strands of black hair scattered on the hay.

The black patterns on her neck had mostly faded, leaving only a few faint gray marks.

The Pure Yang Mystic Power had worked.

Ye Yun withdrew his gaze and looked down at his open palms.

His palms had returned to a normal temperature, but that cool, soft sensation still lingered on his skin.

He thought of the moment his hand pressed against her back, the curve of her shoulder blades trembling slightly under his palm.

He thought of the warmth and softness transmitted through the fabric when she fell into his arms.

[Truly fucking useless.]

He clenched his fists and rested his hands on his knees.

[She is your Senior Sister.]

[She is come to save you.]

[She's poisoned and almost died; what are you thinking?]

But the images in his mind wouldn't obey.

One moment, it was her jade-white skin under the fabric corroded by the Poison Palm on her shoulder.

The next, it was the entire bare back revealed when she lowered her dress.

And then, it was the pink hue at the base of her ear, so red it seemed ready to bleed, as she leaned in his arms.

Ye Yun gave himself a slap.

It wasn't loud, but in the quiet night, it was exceptionally crisp.

An extremely soft sound came from behind, like hay being pressed down.

Ye Yun froze for a moment and didn't turn around.

"Junior Brother."

Han Qingxue's voice came from behind, slightly hoarse from just waking up, yet still in that cold tone.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Ye Yun said, his expression unchanged.

"Swatting a mosquito."

Han Qingxue was silent for a breath.

"It's late autumn; where would mosquitoes come from?"

Ye Yun didn't respond.

The rustling of hay being pressed came from behind again; Han Qingxue seemed to have changed her position.

Ye Yun still didn't turn around, but his ears unconsciously caught every sound from behind.

The sound of fabric rubbing, the sound of her taking a soft breath and slowly exhaling.

And the sound of her injured hand lightly brushing over the hay to find a point of support.

"Does the wound still hurt?" Ye Yun asked.

"Much better."

Han Qingxue paused.

"Your hand... what happened to it?"

Ye Yun looked down at his open palm.

He had used too much force when slapping himself just now.

The base of his palm was red, though it wasn't very visible in the moonlight.

"It's nothing."