Chapter 82: Uncontrollable Tenderness

Chapter 82: Uncontrollable Tenderness

His words caught Shen Lian off guard instead.

But Shen Lian quickly averted his gaze. "If you're coming, then move it. Those demon creatures will be here any minute."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Lian turned and left.

Yan Huaixuan watched his retreating figure, then slowly followed after Shen Lian.

When He Ci saw the pair returning, he quickly stood up. He looked at Yan Huaixuan, momentarily at a loss for words. He didn't get what the deal was between the Tianheng Sect's number one prodigy and Shen Lian.

But the guy had genuinely saved his life.

He Ci pressed his lips together and ended up saying nothing.

Shen Lian held him up. "Let's go."

He Ci glanced at Shen Lian, who was holding him up, then at Yan Huaixuan, whose face stayed cold.

For some reason, he got a bad feeling.

After a while, He Ci glanced back and saw Yan Huaixuan lagging behind, and suddenly frowned. "A Lian, I feel like he doesn't look right."

Shen Lian said coldly, "You know he's the number one prodigy. What could possibly be wrong with a guy like him?"

He Ci figured that made sense, and continued walking with Shen Lian. But he couldn't help glancing back again and said, "No, seriously. Something's really off with him."

Shen Lian frowned, turned around, and looked Yan Huaixuan over.

He was startled by what he saw too. And Yan Huaixuan's lashes were still lowered, making him look... weak.

Shen Lian said in a low voice, "Yan Huaixuan."

Hearing this, Yan Huaixuan looked up. "What?"

His eyes were still cold and sharp, as if the weakness earlier had been an illusion.

Shen Lian looked away. "He Ci, don't overthink it."

He said coldly, "Don't you know he's always been good at faking it?"

He Ci was stunned.

Shen Lian didn't explain further, but inside he thought: Yan Huaixuan had known how to put on a disguise even back in the mortal realm, and later even turned into Cang Huai to trick him, and then into Shen Nian.

Yan Huaixuan had once called him out for being good at putting on an act, but in reality, he was the best at it himself.

Who the hell knew what Yan Huaixuan was playing at now?

"Let's go."

Perhaps because Yan Huaixuan had stopped hiding his cultivation entirely, none of those demon creatures dared to come near.

Night fell soon after, and they were only a day away from leaving the Forsaken Snow Domain.

When night came, Shen Lian dug out a cave and concealed the aura around it, this time taking extra care.

Along the way, he'd gathered a bunch of stuff from the demon creatures, and what he refined from it would definitely be enough to hide their presence.

Only then did he head into the cave with He Ci.

But when he turned around, Yan Huaixuan still hadn't come in.

Shen Lian had completely run out of patience. He couldn't take it anymore. "Yan Huaixuan, how much longer are you gonna keep pretending?"

But when he said that and turned around, he froze.

The Yan Huaixuan in his memory—always so aloof, never a speck of dust on him—was now lying face down on the ground.

Shen Lian froze on the spot.

He Ci scratched his head. "Maybe I should go—"

Before he could finish, Shen Lian was already marching over.

The moment Shen Lian got there, he froze. Yan Huaixuan's back was a mess—the wound had completely rotted, his organs visible through it, with a thin layer of frost on top.

Not only that, but Yan Huaixuan's skin had no color at all.

He Ci saw it too and winced. "Damn, how did he get hurt this bad?"

Shen Lian stayed quiet. He and He Ci worked together to carry Yan Huaixuan back into the cave.

Shen Lian stared at the nasty wound. For someone like Yan Huaixuan, this kind of injury should've been easy to fix.

Chen Xue took a look. "I don't know if I'm imagining it, but it feels like there's some other power inside him blocking his spiritual energy."

"His meridians... damn, why are they such a mess?"

Just then, Yan Huaixuan slowly opened his eyes.

Shen Lian couldn't stop himself. "Why didn't you say you were hurt?"

He stared straight at Yan Huaixuan. "You're trying to play the victim on purpose, aren't you?"

Yan Huaixuan was quiet for a moment, then looked down. "Yeah."

Shen Lian's fists clenched. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Yan Huaixuan's voice was hoarse. "Anyway, whatever I say now, you won't believe me. No point wasting your time. You don't need to worry about me."

Hearing that attitude, Shen Lian's hands tightened without him realizing. He let out a cold laugh. "Then I guess I was right. You're deliberately playing the victim."

Shen Lian took a deep breath, turned around with a blank face, and sat down across from Yan Huaixuan.

He Ci hesitated, glancing between the two. "A Lian..."

Shen Lian sat down to meditate. "Don't worry about him. Let him do whatever he wants."

Rumor had it that Yan Huaixuan had never hit a single setback. He didn't believe Yan Huaixuan would have some messed-up meridians.

He Ci sighed and kept quiet.

Across the campfire, he stared at Shen Lian's face, looking a little spaced out, lost in thought.

Even though Shen Lian was meditating, for some reason, he just couldn't calm his mind.

He frowned in irritation until a sudden loud bang sounded in his ears.

Shen Lian's eyes snapped open, only to find that Yan Huaixuan, who had been propped against the wall, had slumped down again. This time, a trickle of blood slowly trickled from the corner of Yan Huaixuan's lips.

He Ci hurriedly got to his feet, "Hey, you okay?"

Shen Lian's fingers curled slightly as he watched He Ci call Yan Huaixuan's name several times.

But Yan Huaixuan didn't respond.

He Ci looked at Shen Lian, "A Lian, are we really not going to do something?"

Shen Lian's eyes beneath his lashes were dark, his thoughts unreadable.

After a long pause, he pressed his lips together and walked over. First, he shoved a pill into Yan Huaixuan's mouth, then cut away the dead flesh on Yan Huaixuan's back.

Finally, he gave Yan Huaixuan two more pills, and a red-and-blue sheen rippled across the surface, but nothing unusual happened.

Once the spiritual energy in Yan Huaixuan's body was replenished, it quickly began to flow through his limbs and meridians, gently nourishing his channels.

Shen Lian placed his palm over Yan Huaixuan's Spiritual Sea, and after sensing the reluctant spiritual power beginning to gather, he immediately withdrew his hand, but Yan Huaixuan's consciousness remained hazy.

Shen Lian didn't even look at him. He was just about to get up and leave when his wrist was grabbed.

Shen Lian's eyes narrowed as he was yanked into Yan Huaixuan's arms, Yan Huaixuan's arms wrapped around him.

Shen Lian's face immediately darkened, "Yan Huaixuan, I knew you were faking it. You deliberately watched me come over—are you proud of yourself?"

But from the corner of his eye, he saw that Yan Huaixuan's eyes were tightly shut, and the breath against his ear carried an unnatural, scorching heat.

Yan Huaixuan murmured softly by his ear.

"Shen Lian."

"Shen Lian, don't go," the man's voice was impossibly hoarse, drenched in a deep, overwhelming despair.

Shen Lian froze, his struggles fading.

He Ci saw this, a flicker of disappointment in his eyes, then turned and sat down outside the cave.

Seeing this, Shen Lian instinctively pushed Yan Huaixuan.

But instead, the man behind him held him even tighter.

Yan Huaixuan's kiss landed on his ear, cold and careful.

"Shen Lian, don't leave."