I was bound by Lao Qin’s rope, unable to move, and facing me was Xie Zhuo, who was likewise immobilized by his wounds.
I thought that perhaps only in such circumstances could Xie Zhuo and I coexist peacefully in the same space.
Xie Zhuo rested with his eyes closed, his head leaning against the stone wall. Despite his severe injuries, he still managed to appear unweakened, unlike me… who had collapsed into a puddle of meat paste, desperately wishing I could sink into the wall to rest.
I tilted my head, examining Xie Zhuo. I had many questions about him, some concerning Jing Nanshou, some about Lao Qin. I was contemplating whether to annoy myself by asking questions to someone who wouldn’t answer me anyway.
And at that moment…
“Who injured you?”
Suddenly, human speech emerged in the cave.
I instinctively straightened my back and looked around, thinking a ghost was speaking, but of course, it wasn’t a ghost. It was Xie Zhuo before me, actively asking me a question.
Good heavens, how strange! Has today’s sun risen from all four directions at once? Did the mute Xie initiate a question?
I stared at him in amazement.
After receiving no answer for a long time, Xie Zhuo finally opened his eyes and looked at me.
We gazed at each other.
After a prolonged silence in the cave, his eyes once again fell upon my hands.
Lao Qin had bound the spirit ropes well, avoiding all the wounds on my hands, leaving my flesh exposed for Xie Zhuo to see clearly.
I said nothing else, but first mocked him: “So there are things the snow wolf demon from the Northern Arctic Ocean cannot foresee?”
He glanced at me.
Then I had a flash of inspiration: “If you want me to answer you, fine, let’s make an exchange. You answer one of my questions, and I’ll answer one of yours. No holding back.”
Before I could finish speaking, Xie Zhuo raised his hand to touch his ear and spoke to the air: “Who injured her?”
I froze in place.
I knew he was asking Lao Qin.
The answer must have come quickly, as Xie Zhuo’s eyes grew cold, and he said only three words: “Keep an eye on him…”
After speaking, he touched his ear again, presumably ending the conversation, then turned his eyes back to me.
“If you don’t want to die here, stay by my side from now on. Don’t wander off.”
I raised an eyebrow, finding his words interesting. I said, “Let’s not discuss whether I could defeat Jing Nanshou once my body recovers. Your statement suggests that I don’t want to die here, and then what? Stay with you until your wounds heal, have you take me back 500 years later, and then… die?”
Xie Zhuo stared at me: “Everyone must die eventually.”
I laughed out loud and continued to mock him: “Divorcing me has even given you a sense of humor. Besides, what use is it for just me to stay here? If I’ve been targeted, then Xiaxia has been targeted too. With me here…”
I was saying this to taunt Xie Zhuo.
But halfway through, I froze.
Yes, I was here, but Xiaxia was still out there. I’d asked her to help me find Xie Xuanqing. What if she couldn’t find Xie Xuanqing and instead encountered Jing Nanshou, who wanted to eat her? What then?!
I was an immortal, but Xiaxia wasn’t. After recovering, I might be able to match Jing Nanshou, but Xiaxia certainly couldn’t!
How could I use this to mock Xie Zhuo?
This was my life at stake!
What was I laughing about?
After realizing this, I immediately struggled against the ropes, trying to touch my ear with my fingers to contact Xiaxia and warn her about Jing Nanshou.
But with my hands and feet bound, no matter how I twisted, I couldn’t reach my ear with my fingers. When finger contact failed, I tried to use my knee to touch my ear, which worked, but was completely useless.
“Xie Zhuo, quickly, untie me. I need to warn Xiaxia immediately, lest Jing Nanshou finds her when she’s completely unprepared.”
Xie Zhuo pondered for a moment.
“A life is at stake!” I urged him.
“Come over here…”
He had reached a decision, his eyes fixed on me in the dimly lit cave. “I’ll help you…”
I thought to myself that Xie Zhuo at least had some conscience in these matters, so I scooted along the wall to stand up, then hopped with effort to Xie Zhuo’s side.
“Sit down…”
“No need, there’s just one rope. Just break it anywhere.”
“Sit down…”
He was quite insistent…
I thought this man was truly troublesome and difficult to serve, but I still sat down beside him.
To my surprise, Xie Zhuo didn’t untie my restraints! He raised his hand, brushed aside the hair near my ear, and gently touched my earlobe with his fingertip.
His fingertip was slightly cool, like a spring water droplet falling on my earlobe.
I was stunned, looking at Xie Zhuo, unmoving.
The ear-touching gesture wasn’t intense, and couldn’t be called intimate, but it was ambiguous enough to stir one’s heartstrings.