He did not know how much time had passed. Qin Xi awoke from unconsciousness.
A narrow space, dim light. Outside the cave entrance was another large mass of Demonic Qi. Fortunately, a defensive barrier blocked it outside.
Something felt heavy on him. Looking down, he saw Mo Tiange sitting motionless beside him, her head tilted to rest against his body. Their palms were intertwined, feeling cool and soft to his touch.
His back burned with a searing pain—the wounds torn by the Giant Eagles. Yet he also felt something soft. Reaching back to feel, he realized she had placed a cloak beneath him.
What was going on? Why didn't his injuries feel severe?
"Tian Ge!" he called softly, giving her a nudge.
Mo Tiange did not move.
A bad premonition struck him. He reached for her pulse point and then froze.
Her meridians... were empty.
He suddenly realized what must have happened and immediately circulated the Spiritual Qi within his body. Indeed, his Dantian and meridians were completely intact, and his Spiritual Qi was abundant. The only difference was the presence of a great deal of Yin spiritual energy, entrenched deep within his Dantian, mingled with the neutralizing energy.
He sat dazed for a while before snapping back to his senses.
Almost every time he used the Yang Spirit Bead, his body would become extremely weak, requiring a long period to recover. That was why he rarely used it—without perfect preparation, using it could cost him his life. But this time, because of her, he didn't even suffer any internal injuries.
She was now at the Core Formation stage. Even though the Spiritual Qi of early Core Formation differed greatly from that of Core Formation perfection, the total Spiritual Qi in her entire body was more than enough to heal him. That was why his Dantian and meridians had returned to normal so quickly.
He sat in a daze for a good while before slowly recovering.
The cave was very small. Sitting side by side, they could barely move. To heal him, she had almost curled herself into a ball. Even though she wasn't tall and had a slender frame, this posture must have been very difficult.
He thought for a moment, then laid her flat and tried to turn sideways himself to heal her. The wound on his back hurt sharply with every movement, but he endured it.
However, he couldn't complete this action. Though not burly, he was much taller. Forget sitting up; he couldn't even turn around properly. After struggling for a long time, he could only lean forward, barely hovering over her. Just as he was about to channel Spiritual Qi into her, he suddenly realized his position... it seemed as if he were trying to take advantage of her.
Realizing this, his face grew hot, and he couldn't proceed. After much thought, he could only sit back, pull her close so her back faced him, press his right palm against her Lingtai Acupoint, and slowly channel Spiritual Qi into her.
The best acupoints for channeling large amounts of Spiritual Qi were the Danzhong point on the chest and the Lingtai point on the back. The former was inconvenient, so he could only choose the latter.
At this moment, the meridians within her body were almost empty, with only a small amount of Spiritual Qi in her Dantian slowly circulating. The moment his pure Yang Spiritual Qi entered, it seemed to instantly stimulate the circulation of her own Spiritual Qi. In that instant, his Spiritual Qi almost uncontrollably poured into her body.
Yet this lack of control was also extremely smooth. As his Yang Spiritual Qi entered her body, Yin spiritual energy almost immediately gathered within her meridians. Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, circulating endlessly, life begetting life.
Gradually, color returned to her face, though her brows remained tightly furrowed. He knew she had injured her Divine Sense. For that, he could do nothing. Divine Sense was something he had never heard could be healed; it could only be slowly nurtured within one's own Sea of Consciousness.
Thinking of this, he shook his head, stopped channeling Spiritual Qi, and sat properly side by side with her again. But after a moment's thought, he felt this wasn't good either. Reaching into his Qiankun Bag, he pulled out a garment and placed it behind her as padding. The surrounding rocks were hard; this should make her more comfortable.
The pain in his back grew more intense. He knew he had lost quite a bit of blood, but the space was too narrow. In such cramped quarters, he couldn't even remove his robe properly, let alone tend to his wounds. He could only give up on the idea. After all, for a cultivator, it was just a minor injury; it wouldn't kill him.
But having lost too much blood, experienced a perilous battle, and just expended a great deal of Spiritual Qi, his mind grew hazy. Soon, he fell unconscious again.
Mo Tiange opened her eyes, feeling warm and cozy all over, almost making her want to stretch. But before she could complete the motion, her head bumped into something.
She cried out in pain and was about to clutch her aching head when she heard a very gentle voice: "What's wrong?" Then a pair of hands encircled her, lifted her head, and examined it. A chiding tone followed: "How can you be so careless? Do you even have a cultivator's awareness? So muddle-headed."
Of course she was muddle-headed when not fully awake... She didn't say this out loud because she felt the current situation was very strange.
Truth be told, she was rarely in such a muddled state. Most of the time, she was very clear-headed and calm. Why was it that whenever she was occasionally muddled, he was the one to see it?
Her mind was a jumbled mess. She shook her head, trying to dispel these inexplicable thoughts.
Her eyes darted around as Mo Tiange remembered what had happened earlier. They had been attacked by Giant Eagles on the cliff face, were injured, and thus holed up in this place to recover. But... but what was with his current attitude?
"Shoujing... Senior Brother?" she ventured softly.
"What?" His voice sounded somewhat displeased, yet his face showed no sign of displeasure.
Then he asked: "How are your injuries? Has your Spiritual Qi recovered?"
Spiritual Qi? She immediately circulated her energy and was stunned.
Seeing her expression, Qin Xi grew tense: "Is there a problem?"
Mo Tiange shook her head, still somewhat dazed: "No." Not only was there no problem, but... it had never been this good! Originally, she only had a small amount of Yang Spiritual Qi within her body, but now it had almost formed a circulation around her Golden Core! Even she, foolish as she was, knew what had happened. She had transferred her Spiritual Qi to him for healing, and after he recovered, he had transferred it back to her. In this exchange, not only was there no loss of Spiritual Qi, but it had also triggered their own Spiritual Qi circulation.
She suddenly understood why her master had been so keen on matchmaking them. It wasn't because he loved playing matchmaker, but rather... their cultivation techniques and their own Spiritual Qi attributes, if they practiced Dual Cultivation, would undoubtedly complement each other perfectly.
However, realizing this made her feel extremely displeased. Was it only because Dual Cultivation would benefit them both?
"If there's no problem with your Dantian and meridians, what about your Divine Sense?"
Hearing his question, she felt the headache again. Supporting her head, she took a moment before shaking it: "My Divine Sense... is quite severely injured."
Qin Xi nodded, not surprised. He said, "The Spirit Refining Art is an excellent technique for achieving unexpected victories, but its flaw is fatal. You must use it more cautiously in the future."
"Mm," she responded softly. In the past, using the Spirit Refining Art had even allowed her to defeat stronger opponents. But this time, because these Giant Eagles grew in a special environment, she herself had suffered severe injuries. Now her body was completely fine, but the injury to her Divine Sense would require at least several years of nurturing to recover.
"By the way, Senior Brother, are your injuries healed?"
He nodded with a smile: "They're fine now. I have to thank you for that..."
"It's nothing."
Neither of them was accustomed to the polite exchange of thanks, so they stopped there.
Mo Tiange felt she had forgotten something. After thinking for a while and seeing the bloodstains on her lapel, she suddenly remembered: "Ah, right, Senior Brother, the wound on your back..." She reached over, trying to push him away from the rock wall a bit to lean in and look.
Qin Xi resisted slightly, unwilling to move, and only smiled: "It's nothing."
"How could it be nothing!" Mo Tiange ignored him and continued to push. "You lost so much blood. You couldn't tend to it yourself. Don't worry, I'll be very gentle."
"It's not that..."
Before he could finish, Mo Tiange firmly interrupted: "Senior Brother!"
Seeing her eyebrows raised in that manner, he found himself unable to speak and could only comply.
So Mo Tiange pushed him, making him sit with his back to her. One look confirmed that the wound was indeed a bloody mess. She frowned, tried to tear open the robe on his back, but the Xuanqing Sect's robes were spiritual artifacts or magical instruments and were difficult to tear. Having no other choice, she reached to undo his belt.
This action felt very natural to Mo Tiange, who saw nothing amiss, but Qin Xi stiffened. He felt her hands reach around his waist from behind, fumbling at his side, trying to undo his belt.
However, their robes had long since become tangled together. No matter how she tried, she couldn't undo it.
After a good while, she leaned over, trying to see what was wrong, but the next moment, her hand was pressed down.
"What..." She stopped halfway, belatedly realizing.
This posture... seemed very inappropriate.
His hand pressed down on hers. Because she was trying to undo his belt, her arms were wrapped around his waist. With this press, her entire body was pressed against his back.
Silence. Breathing.
In the narrow space, only their breathing and heartbeats could be heard. The howling demonic winds outside could not penetrate the crevice, becoming distant and unreal, leaving only each other, close at hand.
Mo Tiange felt her hands were burning—the part pressing against his waist was burning, and the back of her hand covered by his was burning. She felt this was wrong and wanted to pull back, but he only gripped tighter.
"Tian Ge..." After who knows how long, Qin Xi's voice was heard. Somewhat trembling, yet carrying a gentleness like water that she had never heard before.
Her heart raced wildly. She wanted to wait for something, yet felt she couldn't wait a moment longer and wanted to flee. Should she answer? She thought this, but couldn't even find her own voice.
Qin Xi finally moved, separating her hands but not letting go. Then, with the rustle of fabric, he gently turned around.
The space was too narrow. He could only turn a limited amount, so after turning, he was almost pressed against her.
Mo Tiange felt she couldn't breathe. Struggling, she tried to lean back, wanting to put some distance between them.
But the next moment, he leaned in again, finally releasing her hands only to wrap them around her waist.
No retreat—
A cool kiss.
It happened so suddenly, yet felt so inevitable.
Her eyes were wide open, as if unable to believe what was happening.
The face so close, their breaths intertwined.
And the cool, soft sensation on her lips.
A completely unfamiliar feeling.
She must be dreaming. She must be.
But her eyes only grew wider, until she heard his helpless sigh. Then, her eyes were covered.
From lips to breath, everything grew fervent.