"I... I can't really move... You... you should apply it for me...!" Chen Zilan murmured in a voice no louder than a mosquito's. She lowered her gaze, her ears and snow-white neck flushed a brilliant crimson.
Her breathtaking face, like a blooming rose, was as flushed as a ripe peach—so tender and alluring that it instantly stirred a deep sense of protectiveness in anyone who looked at her.
Ye Tian, acting like a complete scoundrel while desperately trying to maintain his composure, was already going wild on the inside. The beauty before him was a temptation capable of stealing a man's soul, and through her torn garments, the curves of her physique were faintly visible—a fatal combination that made his blood boil.
"Pardon the offense!" Ye Tian suppressed his turbulent, feverish emotions, nervously gathered the crushed herbs, and after cleansing the area between her towering peaks, gently applied the poultice.
"Mmm... Hiss..."
Chen Zilan let out a soft murmur of pain. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a startled fawn, filled with shyness and a lingering fear of what Ye Tian might try next...
"Bear with it, the wound might sting a bit!" With that, Ye Tian exerted a sudden force.
He ripped off a small strip from the hem of her long skirt!
"Ye Tian... You...!" Chen Zilan shrieked in sudden panic.
She had misjudged him; Ye Tian was simply using the long strip of cloth torn from her skirt to gently wrap and secure the herbs. Breathing a sigh of relief, she thought to herself: *So that's what he was doing.*
She gazed intently at Ye Tian as he meticulously wrapped the dressing, a strange and unfamiliar emotion stirring in her heart. *He seems even more manly than before, and... much more handsome too!*
"All right, just lie down for now!" Just as Chen Zilan was lost in her thoughts, Ye Tian's voice sounded by her ear, sending a wave of heat straight to her cheeks.
Ye Tian gently helped her recline, covered her with his own outer garment, and said, "I'm going to look for some food. I'll be right back."
"Be careful then!" Chen Zilan said softly, her voice laden with concern.
Ye Tian looked back and offered a faint, reassuring smile as warm as the spring sun, before cautiously heading out.
He left Chen Zilan standing there in a slight daze, her heart racing wildly, a flush of shyness washing over her as she whispered to herself, *What on earth is wrong with me...?!*
In the dead of night, beside the campfire!
Ye Tian was roasting meat with practiced ease. The mouthwatering aroma filled the entire cave. He brought a portion over to Chen Zilan, carefully helping her up so she could lean against the stone wall, and handed it to her. "Here, eat!"
"Oh, wow! Back then, whenever I wanted to eat something you roasted, Chu Mengyao would guard it like you were a thief."
"Speaking of which, where is that dao companion of yours?" Chen Zilan asked, savoring every bite of the meat.
"Don't even mention that bint. My cultivation regressing is entirely thanks to her." Ye Tian's gaze turned ice-cold.
The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. If not for her, he might well have reached the status of an inner sect disciple by now.
"Oh...?" Chen Zilan shot him a puzzled look.
Hearing this, Ye Tian gave a vague explanation, though he naturally kept quiet about the Yin-Yang Sacred Scripture for the time being.
"You really have it rough, getting your feelings played with by a woman like that," Chen Zilan said, looking at him with sympathetic eyes.
"Ah, human hearts are treacherous. I suppose it's just my bad luck!" Ye Tian let out a helpless sigh.
He had already made up his mind: once he returned, he would thoroughly question the elder with whom he had a good relationship. He refused to let this go.
*Ding!*
[System]: *Chen Zilan's favorability toward you has reached 20%. Host, keep up the good work!*
"What's the reward for this?" Ye Tian asked, his heart leaping with joy as he anticipated a lucky draw.
[System]: *There is no reward!*
"If there's no reward, then piss off and stop bugging me!" Ye Tian cursed.
[System]: *......*
Two days passed.
Ye Tian and Chen Zilan appeared amidst a mountain peak draped in autumnal desolation. It was a bleak and barren place.
Jagged, sharp-edged rocks protruded everywhere, resembling forged swords—razor-sharp and, upon closer inspection, bearing a striking resemblance to pineapples.
"So Spirit-Refining Grass grows in a place like this. I searched for days and couldn't find a single one," Chen Zilan said in a daze, her beautiful eyes shimmering.
"Ye Tian, are you doing a sect mission?"
Ye Tian shook his head, then nodded. "I took a private commission. Buying one stalk at the sect costs five spirit stones, so someone put out a bounty for it."
"Here's what we'll do: I'll lure away those crimson spiders. I have plenty of experience with this sort of thing, and you can harvest as many as you can find," Ye Tian said slowly, a sharp glint in his eyes as he gazed intently at the dense swarm of crimson spiders in the distance.
"Be careful, then," Chen Zilan said with genuine concern. She knew that even Li Cheng couldn't catch up to Ye Tian, but while these crimson spiders were only at peak Tier 1, their sheer numbers might prove troublesome for her to handle alone.
With a calm and resolute expression, Ye Tian leaped forward, moving as nimbly as a spirit monkey through the mountains, and landed firmly on a boulder. He shouted a provocative taunt, "Spider freaks, come get your grandpa!"
"Pfft... This guy...!" Chen Zilan chuckled softly from a distance, her white teeth gleaming.
His mischievousness made her bloom like a radiant spring flower.
*Screech—*
*Screech—*
The cluster of crimson spiders, previously milling about in idle confusion, jolted wide awake.
They brandished their four sharp claws, slicing through the air, while flashing their alert emerald-red eyes and chewing menacingly.
A massive swarm of them surrounded the patch of Spirit-Refining Grass. These were their favorite spiritual herbs, capable of hardening their carapaces and aiding their advancement.
Without wasting a breath, Ye Tian's gaze sharpened like an unsheathed sword. He gathered a torrential surge of power in his palm, causing the surrounding air to vibrate, and unleashed it with a fierce roar.
*Boom!*
A howling, ferocious pressure blanketed the crimson spider fiends. Each one was the size of a large dog, and as the force swept over them, they let out angry shrieks.
*Swish!*
They spat out webs coated in murky, foul-smelling slime wrapped in a hazy mist, hurling them forward as one after another leapt and lunged on their sharp claws.
Seeing this, Ye Tian knew his objective had been met. He executed his Mystic-grade movement technique, the Shadow-Leaving Steps.
Amidst the scorching sun, he flitted about like the lingering ghost of a malevolent spirit, doing his utmost to lure the horde away.
Devoid of higher intelligence, these creatures were easy to manipulate. True to expectation, the entire swarm took the bait, growing excited and agitated at the sight of such seemingly tender prey.
"Good opportunity!" Chen Zilan's lovely eyes flashed. Her hair danced in the wind, her long skirt fluttered, and she bounded forward with feather-light steps.
She looked like a fairy in the deep mountains about to dance amidst a flurry of falling petals.
Her slender legs stepped gracefully from one rock to the next as her delicate jade hand reached out, moving with blinding speed to harvest the pale-yellow, faintly fragrant stalks of Spirit-Refining Grass.
With a few graceful pirouettes, she gathered every last one of them, leaving behind only a lingering trace of fragrance in the wind as she vanished from the spot.
Sure enough, before long, the spider fiends came scuttling back. Thinking they had returned to the wrong place, every single one of them slashed furiously at the stones with their saw-toothed claws, mad with rage.
Far off to the side, Ye Tian and Chen Zilan were overjoyed. They hadn't needed to fight head-on, and they had secured a total of six translucent, pale-yellow stalks.
Normally, two stalks were more than enough; any more would be too potent, and if the body couldn't handle the strain, it would rupture.
"My mission is complete, so it's time to head back." Ye Tian had already been out for a week.
"Ye Tian, I really have to thank you this time. If not for you, the consequences would have been unthinkable," Chen Zilan said with utmost sincerity.
"Ah, and here I thought you were going to offer yourself to me in marriage. My poor heart is shattered," Ye Tian teased with a smile, fixing her with a clear, steady gaze.
"Are you asking for a beating? How come I never noticed you could be so mischievous before!" Chen Zilan shot him a sideways glance, her face flushing crimson as she raised a delicate fist in a threatening gesture, her heart suddenly beating at a frantic pace.
*What does this mean? He would never dare talk like this to other girls in front of Chu Mengyao... Could it be that he has feelings for me? Should I agree?* Chen Zilan's mind raced, suddenly flooded with a flurry of conflicting thoughts.