14: Chapter 14 After the battle, Huo Ling'er bandaged my wounds like a devoted wife.

"Phew!"

The air seemed to freeze.

That pitch-black sharp claw, capable of tearing apart a Divine Decree, stopped less than an inch away from Yu Zimo's nose.

The sharp gust of wind had already pierced her delicate skin, causing a crystalline bead of blood to seep out.

Blocking this sharp claw was a pair of hands that weren't particularly broad, but were somewhat dirty.

"Big Black Dog... cough, Brother-in-law, when it's possible to let someone go, one should just let them go."

Shi Hao's hands supported that dark gold beast finger, which was like a heavenly pillar, and he grinned, revealing a row of bright white teeth.

"Although this little lady is from the Yu Clan, she didn't actually make a move just now."

"Besides, how precious are your Nine-Nether Ao claws? Using them to grab a bad woman's face—wouldn't that just get your hands dirty?"

Wang Teng's three pairs of massive, blood-colored pupils shifted slightly downward, staring coldly at Shi Hao.

"Bear Kid, are you trying to teach me how to do things?"

The low voice was like rolling thunder, making Shi Hao's arms go numb from the vibration.

"How could I! I'm just afraid that sister-in-law... oh no, afraid that Junior Sister would see something too bloody and have nightmares at night."

Shi Hao's eyes darted around as he desperately winked at Yu Zimo behind him, meaning:

Why aren't you getting out of here?

Are you waiting to be eaten as sashimi?

Yu Zimo was already scared out of her wits; her original image of a cold and aloof fairy had completely vanished.

She took a deep look at the Bear Kid standing in front of her, gritted her teeth, burned her last bit of essence blood, and transformed into a streak of green smoke, escaping toward the horizon.

Wang Teng did not pursue her.

Because a red silhouette had already blocked the path between him and Shi Hao.

It was Princess Huo Linger.

She didn't hide behind Shi Hao out of fear as she usually did, nor did she shrink back because of Wang Teng's hideous and terrifying beast form.

On the contrary, her small face, still stained with tear marks, was filled with heartache.

"Enough... can we stop fighting, please?"

Princess Huo Linger's voice was very soft, yet it possessed a strange penetrating power that instantly cooled Wang Teng's turbulent killing intent by a few degrees.

Ignoring the Nine-Nether Baleful Aura that hadn't yet dissipated, she walked step by step toward Wang Teng's massive front claw.

Earlier, in order to withstand the strike of the Rain Deity's Decree, although Wang Teng had devoured the decree, it was still the power of a deity after all.

His indestructible dark gold scales were now covered with a series of fine cracks.

Golden divine power was still raging at the wounds, preventing the flesh from healing.

Crimson blood dripped down the black scales, corroding deep pits into the ground.

"Doesn't it hurt?"

Princess Huo Linger looked up, her large, watery eyes gazing at the mountain-like wolf head.

Wang Teng was stunned.

Pain?

As a Nine-Nether Ao, a monster that had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, he had long forgotten what pain was.

In his view, these injuries were merely medals, the price of evolution.

"This little injury won't kill me."

Wang Teng said in a muffled voice, attempting to withdraw his claw, "Don't touch it, it's toxic."

The blood of a Nine-Nether Ao was extremely corrosive; an ordinary person would die upon contact.

But Princess Huo Linger did not back down.

She pulled a snow-white silk handkerchief from her bosom; it was a personal item she carried, emitting a faint, delicate fragrance.

Carefully, she wiped away the foul blood from the gaps in Wang Teng's scales bit by bit.

The handkerchief was instantly corroded by the black blood and turned to ash.

Princess Huo Linger did not hesitate; she reached out and directly tore a piece from the hem of her fiery red dress.

"Sshla—"

The sound of silk tearing was exceptionally clear in the silent mountain forest.

She took the red silk, which contained the runes of the Fire Kingdom's imperial family, and wrapped it around the wound on Wang Teng's massive beast claw, layer by layer, gently yet firmly.

The fiery red silk intertwined with the ink-black scales, creating a very strong visual impact.

It was the perfect footnote for Beauty and the Beast.

"You..."

Wang Teng's massive body stiffened.

He could feel the warmth from the girl's fingertips conducting through the cold scales to the depths of his soul.

It was a feeling called "being cared for" that he had never experienced in two lifetimes.

"I know you're very powerful, that you're one of the Ten Fiends, a monster."

Princess Huo Linger whispered as she tied the knot, her voice somewhat choked up.

"But in my eyes... if you're bleeding, it must hurt."

To the side, Shi Hao watched dumbfoundedly, the broken sword in his hand falling to the ground with a "clatter."

"It's over, it's all over."

Shi Hao clutched his chest with a pained expression, "I treat you like a Junior Sister, but you only want me to be a bystander!"

"This sour smell of love is even more overwhelming than the bad breath of that Feiyi!"

He picked up the broken sword and took one last look at the scene, which was so warm it was almost eerie.

An Archaic Vicious God capable of devouring heaven and earth was obediently lowering its head, allowing a tiny human girl to tie a bow on its claw.

"Fine, I'm just an extra."

Shi Hao shook his head, put his hands behind his back, and mounted the Nine-Headed Lion that had been shivering and playing dead nearby.

"Big Lion, let's go! Let's see if there are any leftover pure-blooded creatures over there. We can't stay here; it's too cruel to single dogs!"

The Nine-Headed Lion, as if receiving a great pardon, bolted, carrying Shi Hao away in a flash.

After Shi Hao left, the messy mountain forest finally became completely quiet.

Wang Teng did not immediately turn back into human form.

Having forcibly opened the Ten Heavenly Passages to devour the Divine Decree, combined with the previous series of intense battles, his body was indeed in a state of overload.

Maintaining his original form was more conducive to digesting the divine essence within his body.

He lay by the small lake, his massive body like a small black mountain.

Princess Huo Linger sat between his two front claws, leaning against his thick chest.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled over the person and the beast, stretching their shadows very, very long.

"Hey, Big Bad Dog."

Princess Huo Linger held a piece of foxtail grass, gently tickling a patch of soft flesh under Wang Teng's chin.

"In the future... will you really come to the Fire Kingdom to find me?"

"No."

Wang Teng closed his eyes and hummed lazily.

"That old man, the Fire Emperor, doesn't like the look of me. If I go, we'll just end up fighting. It's a hassle."

"You wouldn't dare!"

Princess Huo Linger turned around, her pink fist hammering Wang Teng's hard scales as she spoke coquettishly.

"You've already accepted my 'Betrothal Gift,' so you have to go whether you want to or not!"

Wang Teng opened one eye, looked at the uniquely ugly red bow on his claw, and his mouth couldn't help but twitch.

"This is a Betrothal Gift? This is clearly a bandage."

"I say it is, so it is!"

Princess Huo Linger huffed, then lowered her head somewhat dejectedly.

"I also know that you are a vicious bird or beast that soars through the nine heavens; Baiduan Mountain cannot trap you, and the Eight Regions of the Lower Realm cannot trap you either..."

"Father said that a Great Catastrophe is coming, and even the Archaic Divine Mountains won't be safe."

At this point, she looked up, her eyes full of hope:

"If one day the world falls into chaos, will you... still protect me like you did today?"

Wang Teng fell silent.

He looked at the princess before him, who was simple to the point of being a bit foolish.

He knew the future plot, knew what Princess Huo Linger would face.

It was the loneliness of a mulberry-picking woman, the sorrow of a descendant of Sin Blood, and the despair of the Dark Calamity.

An inexplicable irritability and impulse welled up in his heart.

It was an arrogance that wanted to change fate against the heavens.

The massive wolf head slowly lowered, moving close to Princess Huo Linger's face.

Wang Teng's barbed tongue very gently licked Princess Huo Linger's small face, leaving a wet mark.

"As long as I don't die."