Rustling sounds came from near and far. Having her first rest in so many days, Luoyu was sleeping exceptionally deeply, yet she could still hear strange noises all around her.
Opening her eyes, she was met with a pair of beady little eyes set in a furry, triangular head. Seeing Luoyu wake up, the creature let out a few shrill squeaks and lunged straight at her face.
"Ah! A rat!"
Luoyu shrieked and jumped straight up in fright, smashing her head against the ceiling of the cave. A dark, fuzzy thing dropped down, landing squarely on her shoulder and scurrying down her collar into her clothes.
Beside herself, Luoyu shrieked and slapped at her own body. Her foot trod on something soft, seemingly accompanied by the sound of internal organs being squeezed out.
Unable to use her Spiritual Power, Liangchen was nonetheless as agile as ever. Locking his gaze on the bulging lump on Luoyu's back, he pinched it with ruthless speed and precision.
Feeling an unknown liquid trickling down her back, Luoyu finally snapped.
"Ugh."
Retching dryly as she lowered her head, Luoyu finally saw the rats underfoot: stacked one upon another, stretching out in wave after wave of pitch-black masses.
Damn heavens! She didn't ask for butterflies filling the sky, but spiders would have been fine too!
Luoyu quickly stripped off her outer robe and flung it to the ground, casting several Cleansing Spells just to barely suppress her nausea.
The rats were so numerous there was nowhere to set a foot. Gathering her internal energy, Luoyu sent the Glazed Pure Fire spreading outward from her feet. The rats it touched were instantly burned to nothingness, leaving no ash behind. A pungent stench filled the entire underground cave—the smell of scorched fur and damp decay. Her stomach churned incessantly, but since she had been relying entirely on Inanition Pills these days, she had nothing to vomit up, leaving Luoyu to double over and retch continuously.
Liangchen had it even worse than Luoyu, using his Flowing Light Sword directly like a brick, though there were simply too many rats for him to swat them all.
The area around Luoyu was relatively clean as she cleared the field with bursts of fire from time to time. The catch was that it was the Glazed Pure Fire, making it impossible for Liangchen to get anywhere near her.
"Brother, I'll take you up!"
Liangchen took out a purified willow leaf, and Luoyu grabbed him as they fled toward the exit.
The ideal was grand, but the reality was harsh. Once the two stood in the passageway, they discovered things were completely different from what they had imagined. There were no rats here, but it was essentially an oversized chimney; thick, pungent black smoke mixed with rat fur billowed outward endlessly, so blindingly dense that they couldn't even keep their eyes open.
"We'd better go back down." Luoyu led Liangchen back down to the ground.
The fist-sized rat holes in the rock crevices along the edges earlier had somehow been gnawed out to the thickness of water vats. Even larger rats were unable to squeeze out, poking out basin-sized faces and crunching rhythmically against the hard stone walls.
Liangchen was already completely exhausted. Luoyu had to toss a fireball in the distance first to clear a tiny patch of open ground, throw him across, then clear out the swarms of rats around herself over a large area before pulling him over.
On top of that, a few rats would drop from overhead from time to time. From her initial shrieks, she progressed to flailing in a panic, and eventually to small clusters of flames directly taking out the rats before they could even land on her body.
Luoyu couldn't estimate how many rats she had actually killed. Thousands? Tens of thousands? Even more!
The Glazed Pure Fire inside her body was purifying and absorbing the incoming Demonic Qi while continuously releasing it over large areas. After about two hours, the flame had shrunk to the size of a pea, and she would be doing well just to barely protect herself.
Liangchen said, "Stay away from me."
Liangchen sent Luoyu to the furthest end of the cave. The Demonic Qi within him erupted instantly, and he crouched on the ground like a beast. With his palms hooked into claws, a single swipe instantly tore hundreds of rats to pieces.
Surely he wasn't going to bite them with his mouth, was he?
Disgusted by her own thought, Luoyu spotted the location of the Flowing Light Sword, tossed a fireball to clear away the rats, and threw it in front of Liangchen.
Liangchen tilted his head, looking at the Flowing Light Sword with a puzzled expression. The familiar bond with his natal magical treasure compelled him to take the sword into his hand.
Sword moves he had swung tens of thousands of years ago were deeply engraved in his bones. Before long, he was moving with ease, advancing and retreating fluidly. Those large Golden Core stage rats could dodge a few times at first, but were soon all killed by him in a single strike.
He truly lived up to being born with a sword bone!
After a long while, the pile of rat corpses around Liangchen had grown into a small mountain.
Day finally broke, and the rat swarms retreated into the crevices. In the massive cave, only Liangchen's heavy breathing remained. He turned around and stared at the sole living creature: Luoyu.
"Brother Liangchen, snap out of it! I am Luoyu."
A hoarse, beast-like roar issued from Liangchen's throat as he brandished the Flowing Light Sword and lunged forward.
Luoyu hurriedly formed hand seals, and a needle of light condensed from her mental energy struck Liangchen's wrist, sending the Flowing Light Sword flying out of his hand.
Regardless of anything else, Liangchen pounced. Luoyu did not dodge; azure-blue flames protected her body as she touched down lightly on her toes, pressing her lips to his and channeling Spiritual Power mixed with the Glazed Pure Fire into his mouth.
The crimson in Liangchen's eyes faded slightly. Amidst the chaos, he remembered the owner of these lips.
"Luoyu."
"Sister Luoyu."
Before yesterday, he had never had intimate contact with a woman, but now a wicked fire deep within his heart could no longer be held back. Submerged in Demonic Qi day after day, even the tiniest desire in his heart was magnified infinitely. He wanted her—he wanted more!
Hearing him huskily call her name, Luoyu felt a jolt in her heart, unable to tell whether it was a feeling of relief or heartache.
Liangchen's lips covered hers once again, and Luoyu channeled breath into him a second time.
"Stay away from me!"
Liangchen clutched his head in agony. His consciousness had returned, but that wicked fire deep in his heart was burning more and more fiercely. He tried hard to recall Fan Ni's appearance, but could not picture her no matter what; his mind held only Luoyu's lips swollen red from his ravaging, the disappointment and tear tracks in her eyes, and the desolation of her slender figure leaning forlornly against the rock wall.
Liangchen felt as though he was about to burst. He hammered his fists fiercely against the rock wall, the pain helping him regain a sliver of clarity.
Watching Liangchen act like a madman, Luoyu assumed he still hadn't regained his senses and pressed her lips against his once more.
The clarity Liangchen had fought so bitterly to maintain collapsed entirely. The pent-up passion could no longer be controlled, and he tightly pulled Luoyu against his chest, his scorching, burning breath seemingly intent on kneading her into his very body.
"Liangchen..."
Luoyu's startled cry was blocked in her throat. His domineering tongue probed into her mouth, conquering and plundering every inch.
Seeing Liangchen grow increasingly crazed, Luoyu began to feel afraid—afraid of her own regret, and even more afraid of Liangchen's regret. In her desperation, she could only release flames to envelop her entire body, yet it had virtually no effect. Liangchen circulated his demonic power to resist, black and azure locked in a stalemate.
With nowhere left to retreat, Luoyu had her back pressed against the stone wall with no escape. With one hand, Liangchen clamped her jaw to demand a kiss, while his other hand lifted her hips, straddling her waist.
"Luoyu."
"Luoyu."
"Luoyu..."