42: Chapter 42 Warmth After the War

He remembered his last words were "Everything destroyed can be rebuilt even better!",

He remembered Zhao Linger's little head leaning on his shoulder, remembered the morning light on the Lingxi River was warm, and then everything went black, as if the world had been pulled out from under his feet.

"Wang Sheng!" He didn't know who shouted.

The voice was very far away, yet very close, as if separated by a layer of water.

The last thing he felt was a pair of cold hands supporting his shoulders; the strength of those hands was much greater than he imagined,

His face was buried in a pair of full, soft curves, and almost the moment he collapsed, she had supported his body from the side, preventing him from falling to the ground.

Then his consciousness cut out.

When he woke up again, the first thing Wang Sheng smelled was the bitter scent of herbs, mixed with a faint fragrance of Moonlight Blessing—the unique scent on Shen Xun'er, like wine brewed from moonlight, or white orchids drifting in the night breeze.

He moved his finger and discovered his hand was being held by someone.

It wasn't Shen Xun'er's hand.

Those hands were cold as jade, with slender knuckles and trembling fingertips, as if they had been gripped in extreme cold for a long time, yet refused to let go.

Wang Sheng did not open his eyes.

He lay quietly, feeling the temperature transmitted from those hands—cold, trembling, yet stubbornly refusing to let go.

Her palm pressed against his, her fingertips resting on his knuckles; the pressure wasn't great, but there was a tension, as if she would lose something if she let go.

The breathing was very light, shallow, and rhythmic—it was deliberately suppressed, as if afraid of waking someone.

Wang Sheng slowly opened his eyes.

Coming into view was the dome of the Chiefs Tent; the tent roof sewn from Savage Beast hides cast warm shadows under the spirit fire light,

A Savage Beast crystal core hung in the center of the tent roof, emitting a soft, faint light, enveloping the entire Chiefs Tent in a hazy halo.

He turned his head.

Frost Mage Lin Shiyun was sitting by his bed.

To be precise, she was sitting on a low stool by the bed, her whole body leaning slightly forward, her upper body slumped over the edge of the bed, one hand holding Wang Sheng's hand,

The other hand was pillowed under her cheek, her long silver-white hair spreading like snow over the bed edge and her shoulders, shimmering with a cold yet gentle luster in the faint light.

She was asleep.

The Frost Mage's sleeping appearance was completely different from what Wang Sheng had imagined—it wasn't the aloofness of being cold as frost, nor the guardedness of a prickly personality,

But like a fish finally surfacing from beneath the ice to breathe; her long silver-white lashes were like two crescent moons covering her eyes, her ice-blue pupils hidden behind her eyelids, her expression relaxed and peaceful.

The usual coldness that kept people at a distance had dissipated completely, replaced by a softness that made one want to reach out and touch.

Her mage robes were still stained with frost fragments and dried Savage Beast blood; clearly, she hadn't changed since the battle ended.

The collar of her robe was slightly open, revealing a slender, fair neck and delicate collarbones; below the collarbones was skin as white as ice and jade, with full curves that were startling to behold, the deep cleavage tightly capturing his gaze.

In the faint light, it was like a piece of white jade soaked in moonlight, exuding a cold and astonishing beauty.

Her tall, slender figure was curled slightly on the low stool at this moment, the astonishing proportions of her waist and hips impossible to hide even while sitting,

Her slender waist was like a willow branch, but the curve above her waistline was breathtakingly full, the fabric of the mage robe stretched into graceful curves at that spot, casting shadows in the faint light that made his heart race.

Her fingers were still trembling slightly, not from cold, but from exhaustion.

The high-level Frost Spell "Frozen Thousand Miles" consumed a tremendous amount of mental energy,

Frost Mage Lin Shiyun had participated in treating the wounded and clearing the battlefield after the fight, yet she had remained here guarding him without resting.

Wang Sheng looked at her sleeping face and did not pull his hand back.

He lay quietly for a while, feeling the coldness in her palm slowly warming up, bit by bit,

That change in temperature was very subtle, like holding an ice cube in the palm during winter, slowly, bit by bit, being melted by body heat.

Her fingers curled slightly in his palm, as if she had grabbed onto something in her dream she didn't want to let go of.

Wang Sheng's lips curled slightly.

Then he noticed the light outside the tent flap—it was the silver-blue glow of Moonlight Blessing, flowing slowly like a silver river silently drifting outside the tent.

Shen Xun'er was still casting a spell.

Wang Sheng felt a warmth in his heart; Moonlight Blessing was a wide-area healing spell, but it could also be precisely directed at specific targets.

The reason his injuries were recovering so quickly, aside from the self-healing ability of a Holy Light Warrior, must also be due to the Moonlight power continuously channeled by Shen Xun'er.

He gently lifted his other hand, wanting to lift the tent flap to see Shen Xun'er,

But the tent flap moved on its own.

Silver-blue light poured in through the gap in the tent flap, as if moonlight had turned into water.

The tent flap was gently lifted by a hand; Shen Xun'er stood outside, her moon-white ceremonial robes appearing like silver armor in the afterglow of the Moonlight Blessing, her jet-black hair cascading like a waterfall to her waist, shimmering with a soft luster in the silver-blue light.

Her almond-shaped eyes first landed on Wang Sheng's open eyes, curving like two warm crescent moons—inside them were relief and joy,

A thousand words of "You're finally awake" condensed into a simple curve.

Then, her gaze shifted.

It landed on the hand of Wang Sheng that was being held by Frost Mage Lin Shiyun.

In the silver-blue light, Shen Xun'er's almond eyes paused for a fleeting moment—only a moment, as short as a beam of light cast when moonlight pierces through clouds.

Then she smiled.

It wasn't forced, nor was it jealousy, but a realization of "as I thought," and a gentle relief that was like moonlight embracing all things.

Her smile even carried a hint of small triumph, as if she had guessed something long ago and was now just getting confirmation.

"You're awake." Shen Xun'er's voice was very light, like a patch of moonlight falling onto water, not stirring up any ripples.

She walked into the Chiefs Tent, crouched down on the other side of the bed, and reached out to check Wang Sheng's forehead; her fingers were warm, carrying the lingering warmth of the Moonlight Blessing and a faint, fragrant scent.

"Three ribs fractured, two finger bones in your right fist fractured, and your whole body's muscles are severely overdrawn."

Her voice shifted from soft to professional, the rigor of a High Priestess flashing in her almond eyes,

"Moonlight Blessing has accelerated the healing, but you need to rest for at least a day. Although a Holy Light Warrior's constitution recovers quickly, it shouldn't be overdrawn like this."

"I couldn't help it during the battle." Wang Sheng gave a dry laugh, "When I collapsed,"

"When you collapsed, it was Frost Mage Lin Shiyun who supported you."

Shen Xun'er's tone was very flat, but her lips curled slightly, "You probably don't know, you almost fell to the ground; it was she who rushed over from the side to support you.

A Frost Mage who had just cast a high-level Frost Spell and whose mental energy was almost exhausted, stubbornly carried your body and brought you step by step to the Chiefs Tent."

Wang Sheng fell silent.