Chaрtеr 168: He might rеally wаnt tо tеаr hеr tо pieсes...
Xiao Li slept ехtremеly dеерlу. Hе wаs likеlу еxhаusted, and for оnсe, hе didn't dream at аll.
When he wоke, he stаrеd аt thе unfаmiliаr bеd curtains in thе dim уellоw саndlelight. А faint, bоth fаmiliar and strаngе, fragrаnce seеmed to linger in thе аir.
Нis mind was muddlеd for a momеnt bеfоre hе turnеd his hеаd tо lоok tо thе side.
Wеn Yu was lеaning agаinst a sоft рillоw and thе bеdроst, her head tiltеd outward as she sleрt.
From his angle, hе could оnly sее a рortion of her slender, snow-white neck in profile and half of her jade-like cheek.
Her lashes rested lightly on her eyelids, their tips slightly upturned, like tiny ink-black butterflies resting beneath her eyes.
Because of her tilted posture, a long, slender, silver-tasseled earring lay against the side of her neck. A few strands of black hair that had fallen loose behind her ear also clung tenderly to her skin, which was like warm porcelain or gentle jade.
Xiao Li suddenly didn't even dare to breathe, afraid that this was all a dream.
He stared intently at Wen Yu for a long time. As he tried to prop himself up on his elbow, he realized he was still clutching something in his hand.
This slight movement also startled the lightly sleeping Wen Yu awake.
Her eyes were still hazy with sleep. She subconsciously reached out and placed her hand on his forehead. When she found that it was no longer scalding, she murmured, "The fever's gone..."
As her thoughts cleared, she realized she had grown too tired from watching over him and had fallen asleep leaning against the head of the bed. She immediately felt it was improper.
Just as she was about to get up and leave, her right hand and most of her arm were struck by a numbing pain, as if from an electric shock. Her legs had also gone numb, as one foot had been resting on the edge of the bed while the other was on the footstool.
Wen Yu let out a muffled grunt and frowned, not daring to move for a moment.
The blanket had slipped down slightly from Xiao Li's earlier movement. He glanced down and saw that his left arm, clad only in his inner robe, was almost completely pressing down on Wen Yu's entire forearm, his hand clutching her fingers.
The hourglass on the table showed it was past midnight.
Her right arm had been pinned like this for more than three double-hours; it must be stiff and numb.
Realizing this, he quickly let go of his tight grip on Wen Yu's hand and saw a ring of finger marks imprinted on the back of her hand, truly looking like some kind of brand.
"My apologies." He sat up completely. His collar was slightly loose, revealing a small patch of his firm physique and the faint mark Zhao Bai's sword had pressed into his skin, as Wen Yu had also wiped his neck when she was applying the compress to his forehead.
Seeing the pained look on Wen Yu's face from the stiffness in her body, his long, scabbed fingers began to knead the acupoints at her elbow and wrist through her clothes, neither too lightly nor too heavily.
His already loose collar was pulled open even further by this movement. A few strands of his unbound hair fell forward. The fatigue was gone from his face, and with his eyes slightly lowered and his lips habitually pressed together, he still looked fierce, but irresistibly handsome.
Perhaps because they were on a bed and the distance between them was not great, even though neither had crossed any lines, their breaths were clearly audible to each other under the gauze canopy. With his fingertips still kneading the acupoints on her arm, there was an indescribable ambiguity to the situation.
Wen Yu tried to change the subject. Not daring to keep staring at Xiao Li's face, and with it being inappropriate to look further down, her gaze fell on the new, unscabbed wound on the side of his neck. "What happened to the wound on your neck?"
She had seen it earlier when she was wiping him down.
It didn't look like an ordinary scratch.
The cut was deep in the middle and shallow on the sides, clearly made by a sharp object.
But given his skills and current status, Wen Yu couldn't imagine who could hold a sharp object to his neck, especially since it looked like the person hadn't truly intended to harm him.
Xiao Li fell silent, as if recalling something. He continued to massage her arm for a while before speaking, "Can I take this as you being concerned for me, Princess?"
Wen Yu averted her gaze and said, "Just a casual question."
The electric numbness in her leg had passed. She tried to withdraw her hand and get up. "It's better now."
But Xiao Li held onto the sash draped over her arm.
Feeling the pull from behind her, Wen Yu frowned slightly and turned back to look at him.
The dim candlelight filtered through the light gauze of the bed curtains and fell on Xiao Li's face, making his features appear even more handsome and profound. The fierceness and sharpness in his brow were steeped in the shadows, carrying an aggressiveness that was heavy with restraint.
The hand pressing on her sash showed no sign of letting go.
He pressed his lips together tightly and asked, "When you said you liked me before, was it true?"
Wen Yu hadn't expected him to ask this. Her eyes reflected the candlelight, making their color appear extremely pale. "If you think it's true, then it's true. If you think it's false, then it's false."
Xiao Li raised his eyes to look directly at her, his gaze dark and sharp. "What if I take it as true?"
This time, it was Wen Yu's turn to be slightly stunned into silence.
After a moment, she said, "To me, the past is already in the past. Telling you the truth was also out of guilt for what I did. I shouldn't have trampled on your feelings."
Xiao Li's grip on her sash tightened, wrinkling the silk. The sharpness emanating from him intensified as he asked with a faint smile on his lips, "What do you mean?"
He stared at Wen Yu. "Because you feel you did something wrong in the past and feel guilty? So you can just offer a light apology and everything can be forgotten?"
Wen Yu's voice remained calm. "I've said that within my capabilities, you can ask for any compensation."
The veins on the arm Xiao Li used to support himself on the bed slowly began to stand out. Beneath his wide-open collar, one could see the muscles of his body tensing inch by inch. As if he could no longer bear something, he said in a tone so cold and sharp it was almost an interrogation, "Don't you like me? Then keep on liking me."
Wen Yu just frowned slightly at him and asked, "Are you sure?"
Xiao Li stared at her, his eyes tinged with red. His breathing was heavy from suppressing some emotion. "Don't you want to compensate me? I liked you so much back then. Give it back to me."
Wen Yu stared at him for a moment, then leaned forward slightly. Her five slender, white fingers secured his jaw, and her warm, slightly cool lips pressed against his.
Xiao Li's entire body tensed like iron and stone. The veins on his hands, hanging at his sides, bulged, and a vein even swelled on his neck. As Wen Yu's light kisses continued to fall on his cheek, he grabbed her hand and pulled her slightly away, saying viciously, "This isn't what I want!"
His body was already growing hot, and the air he exhaled was scorching. He didn't dare touch Wen Yu any more than he had to. The force of his hand clutching her forearm through her clothes was already losing its restraint.
He was panting. "Do you dare to give me your heart? I want your heart."
Wen Yu just gazed at him calmly, the corners of her eyes slightly lifted. Such a cold person, yet at this moment, she gave off an indescribable feeling.
Her coldness was no longer that of pushing people away, but more like a layer of bewildering mist. It made one clearly understand that she could not be held, yet she was indulging this outsider's exploration.
Her tone was still clear and cool as she asked, seemingly perplexed, "With a knife or a sword? That won't do."
Xiao Li could feel the blood in his body rushing and crashing against his veins, making his chest ache with a dull pain, yet his whole body felt like it was about to catch fire.
How could she be like this?
Was this how she had treated King Chen, how she had treated Jiang Yu?
The last bit of reason in his mind was slowly burned to ashes in the secret but prairie-fire wildfire of jealousy.
By the time he realized what he was doing, he had already pulled her into his arms, tightly gripping the back of her head as he pressed his lips back onto hers in a kiss that was like an accusatory vent.
This kiss was fierce; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a starving wolf feeding.
It was also as if he was desperately trying to remove any mark left on her by another man.
Wen Yu slowly began to find it unbearable. Her lips and teeth had been thoroughly plundered, yet he was still exploring deeper. This was a true invasion.
Only now did Wen Yu realize that his previous two kisses had actually been quite restrained.
She soon couldn't breathe. Saliva she couldn't swallow in time trickled from the corner of her lips. She pushed hard against his shoulder, but her hands were captured and pressed down into the bed.
Wen Yu struggled until her hair was in disarray and a faint blush rose on her porcelain-white face, but she still couldn't escape his clamp-like grip.
She vaguely realized that she might have done the wrong thing again.
Everything that happened afterward was chaotic. Due to the lack of oxygen, Wen Yu's consciousness became hazy.
When Xiao Li finally released her and she could gasp for air, the area around her lips was already red.
One of the golden hairpins in her dark hair had fallen out, and the others were hanging loosely.
Xiao Li soon kissed her again. He didn't touch her clothes, only captured one of her hands and guided it through the loose opening of his own robe. He led her hand down along the distinct contours of his chest, down to the firm, chiseled muscles of his abdomen.
Wen Yu was already very warm, but the skin under her palm was shockingly hot. Her fingers curled as she tried to pull back, but Xiao Li held her hand firmly in place, refusing to let go.
He loved kissing her. He would always kiss her until she couldn't breathe, then mercifully let her gasp for a breath or two before pressing down on her again.
Wen Yu felt that she might die tonight, buried in his endless, dense kisses.
Her collar was rubbed open. He finally let go of her already red and swollen lips, turning to trail soft, light kisses along her cheek to her temple, then down to the curve of her ear. When he finally bit her earlobe, along with the tasseled earring, Wen Yu's eyes turned red.
She felt like he truly wanted to dismantle her and swallow her whole.
She couldn't break free, nor could she escape.
Xiao Li saw the watery sheen that appeared in Wen Yu's faintly red eyes.
Not a shred of pity rose in his heart. Instead, something even more violent stirred in his blood.
Why, why couldn't he just devour her like this?
If he swallowed her, she would be his alone.
An unprecedented feeling rose in his body. He felt like a piece of long-parched, cracked earth. Though he was already satisfied by this downpour of sweet rain, he still felt it wasn't enough.
Was there some vast ocean wave that could submerge and drown him in one fell swoop?
Her entire body seemed to hold a fatal attraction for him. He finally released her pitiful, bitten earlobe and continued to kiss his way down. He couldn't stop himself from sucking and biting red marks onto her slender, snow-white neck and her delicate shoulders and arms.
Mine.
He stared at those marks and thought.
Her hand, which had pushed against his jaw in an attempt to resist the torment, was also captured by him. He sucked on her slender white fingers, biting them gently, re-branding the faded red marks from his earlier grip in a different way.
As Wen Yu gasped from his bites, a numbing pain, like an electric current, shot through her body.
With a watery sheen in her reddened eyes, only one thought remained in her mind.
He might really want to tear her to pieces.
Author's Note: Kowtowing to the reviewer, thank you for your hard work, reviewer~
There are another 2000 words of content, darlings, please look for it in the comment section. Because it's not purely explicit, it mainly contains some emotional aspects of the two characters. Reading it might help you better understand the emotional direction of the story later on~
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Changing the summary doesn't mean the plot has changed, haha. I just felt there was no need to spoil too much and wanted to make the summary more concise. Those two sentences are enough to summarize the general emotional journey of the badger and the fish~
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