The Demon Venerable Is Delicate and Charming (GL) Chapter 51

A clear line divided the desert from the ground. Before they even stepped across it, rolling heat rushed over them. Wuzhi’s hanging sleeves stirred slightly. He rolled them up a little and walked a few steps forward.
Butterflies were fragile too. The instant Wuzhi walked in, he felt a heat and stuffiness that words could hardly describe. He frowned and turned his face aside, trying to avoid the fierce light. A demon mark flashed at the corner of his eye and vanished.
The grains of sand were tiny. They slipped into the gaps of his clothes with ease. The strange feeling made him frown, and he had to pull his collar tight. In only a few seconds, his cheeks had turned red from the heat. The invisible waves of heat nearly blurred his face.
Wuzhi tried to steady his breathing. “This place is truly wicked. Either we stay on this border for one night and leave tomorrow, or we set out now.”
Ling Xin looked toward Wen Si and asked for his opinion in a hoarse voice. Wen Si licked his dry lips under sudden pressure. After hesitating for a long while, he gripped his sword hilt and finally squeezed out a word. “Go.”
“I am afraid more trouble will appear. We may not even pass tonight in peace.”
Ling Xin nodded. He had no objection. Then he walked to Li Lingjiang, bent down, and explained the situation in a low voice.
Li Lingjiang let out a soft “ah.” The sound was so quiet that only the end of it seemed to hook the air. Her chest rose a little more sharply, then quickly calmed again. “Since it has already appeared, we cannot avoid it by hiding.”
Her fingertips rubbed together slightly. Suddenly she said, “Ling Xin, if we get out, this matter of No-Return Mountain will be passed down for generations.”
The meaning of her words was hidden, but Ling Xin still understood. He curved his lips in a smile that did not reach his eyes. “You are right. It is time for No-Return Mountain to have its name cleared. We must get out.”
He did not know why Li Lingjiang had thought of this, but her words struck his heart hard. His mood grew heavy and tense. Li Lingjiang wanted him to clear the Demon Realm’s name. Even if they died, they could not take this false blame.
Ling Xin’s expression turned serious. He gave Yin Wu a look, then walked off to the side.
Yin Wu froze. She pointed at herself, then looked at Li Lingjiang. After a moment of hesitation, she followed him and gave a simple salute. “Lord Ling Xin.”
He swept his eyes over her with an irritated face. Several times, he opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Seeing this, Yin Wu asked, “What is wrong, my lord? Did I do something wrong?”
Ling Xin waved his sleeve and let out a heavy breath, looking as if this was hard to say. “It is not that.”
“I heard from… Qi San that you defiled My Lord.”
Yin Wu: “?”
“What defiling?” Yin Wu became completely confused.
Ling Xin forced out a few words with great difficulty. “Did you not kiss My Lord?”
“Ah…” Yin Wu’s expression twisted. Where had this rumor come from? Why would she kiss Li Lingjiang?
“I did not. How could I possibly do something so disrespectful to My Lord?”
Yin Wu set her face and looked at him very seriously.
Ling Xin clearly did not believe her. “Truly?”
“Truly. Why would I lie to you? Who said this rumor?” Yin Wu explained between laughter and tears. At most, she had hugged Li Lingjiang and squeezed her hand. How had it turned into something this intimate?
Ling Xin was silent for a while. Without a word, he walked away. Before leaving, he still looked at Yin Wu for a long time, half believing and half doubting, only turning away when the group began to move.
“Let us go.” Li Lingjiang saw Yin Wu return with a thoughtful face, but she did not ask. Instead, Yin Wu brought it up first.
She called, “My Lord.”
Li Lingjiang tilted her head to listen. “Mm?”
Yin Wu twisted her fingers together and spoke faster. “Are you not curious what we talked about?”
“Then what did you talk about?” Li Lingjiang looked straight ahead, but her words still went along with her.
Yin Wu’s gaze stayed on her the whole time. Perhaps because of the conversation just now, she kept noticing Li Lingjiang’s lips.
How had she never noticed before? Li Lingjiang’s lips were much fuller, and the small bead at the center of her upper lip added a tempting charm.
Yin Wu licked her own lips and steadied herself. “Lord Ling Xin asked whether we had kissed. He may have thought I did something to you.”
Li Lingjiang let out an “ah,” then frowned. “How could he think that? We do not seem to have done anything improper.”
“Exactly.” Yin Wu patted both sides of her thighs. She laughed, hopped backward until she was in front of Li Lingjiang, then held up one finger and shook it twice. “I only respect you. I would never do anything that crossed the line.”
Li Lingjiang’s eyes softened a little. She nodded silently.
The group began entering the desert one after another. The wind blew again. Cries of misery rose and fell. Even Feng Luan cursed under his breath and slapped hard at the sand on his body.
“There is actually a sun?”
Ling Xin looked up at the sky. Under the fierce light hung a blazing sun, its edge ringed with a red halo. He raised a hand to block the light and looked toward the endless border.
Li Lingjiang was the last to enter. The instant she stepped inside, the scenery behind her suddenly changed. She stopped and turned to look.
It was desert.
Now it seemed they were completely in the desert, without the slightest way back. Seeing this, Yin Wu walked back two steps and kicked the ground. What rose was all real sand. She put her hands on her hips and laughed. “This is truly my first time seeing a scene like this.”
“Mine too,” Li Lingjiang answered. The heat rose very quickly. In only a moment, even Li Lingjiang felt hot and restless, to say nothing of the others.
The outer robes they had worn against No-Return Mountain’s harsh weather were taken off one by one. Some people simply pulled open their collars and kept fanning themselves with their palms.
“What cursed place is this? Cold one moment and hot the next.”
“I cannot take this, Senior Brother Wen. Let us get out faster. If I stay any longer, I will be burned to death.”
“This place really is wicked. No wonder it is the Demon Realm’s forbidden land.”
“I have never seen a desert in my life. I did not expect it to be under these circumstances.”
“Speak less. I feel like I am dying of thirst. We will not run out of water later, will we?”
They had brought a fair amount of water in their storage spaces, but supplies were limited. As soon as those words came out, many people grew nervous. Just thinking of that possibility made chills run up their backs.
“Stop saying that. It is frightening just to think about. What if we cannot get out?”
“You are saying it yourself. The more you talk, the worse it gets. Are you trying to curse us?”
“Enough. Do not think so much for now. I am only worried something will jump out. Everyone stay alert.”
“…”
“Which way do we go now?” Wen Si was also suffering from the heat, but he still held on to his manners and did not loosen his robes.
The desert had become vast. All four sides looked exactly the same. Turn in one circle, and it was already impossible to tell direction.
The wind blew in waves. In moments, their ability to judge direction was gone. Wen Si’s question made everyone fall silent.
Qi San pressed down his black robe and raised a hand slightly. “I am facing the direction we came from. I have not moved.”
Wuzhi cast him an approving look, but Qi San did not respond.
“Then let us go.” Wen Si had no other choice and called for the others to follow.
Li Lingjiang, who had fallen behind the group, said nothing and quietly followed. She untied the fur collar and draped it over her arm, revealing her neck. With each swallow, it moved in a small rise and fall.
Yin Wu’s attention was always on Li Lingjiang. Her gaze drifted without sound over the other woman’s thin lips, and she thought again of what Ling Xin had said.
She secretly gritted her teeth and forced herself not to think about it. Then Yin Wu suddenly remembered something. She searched in her storage pouch for a long time, standing still without moving.
Li Lingjiang had walked for a while before she noticed Yin Wu had not followed. Even her breath was hot. Her hand, rarely, had a normal warmth, and fine sweat covered her forehead.
“Li… Jiang.” Li Lingjiang bit the two words slowly, saying them very clearly. She stopped and waited in place.
Yin Wu came back to herself, lifted her head, and answered casually, “Wait for me a moment.”
Under the blazing sun, she searched for a long time before finally finding it. She immediately ran to Li Lingjiang with delight and lifted the thing in her hand. “Look!”
Li Lingjiang was startled by her raised hand and dodged back slightly. She blinked quickly and looked closely. It was a bamboo hat, with a layer of white gauze around it.
“How…” Before Li Lingjiang could finish, Yin Wu had already leaned in and put it on her. The movement looked rough, but the actual force did not offend at all.
“My Lord,” Yin Wu called softly. She seemed to be doing something very secret. She covered the side of her mouth with her hand and leaned close to speak. “Wear this. It can block the sand and sun. This sunlight is far too strong.”
She crossed her arms in displeasure. “It drove away all my sleepiness!”
Li Lingjiang wore black, and the bamboo hat hid all of her face. Her belted clothes outlined her graceful waist. Even after losing so much weight, she stood there like clear wind, pride rising from her by itself. She lifted one side of the gauze with her fingers, raised her eyes, and smiled.
Her smile was beautiful. Her eyes curved slightly, and the corners of her lips rose only a little. Yet it suited her air perfectly. Just standing there, she could draw many people’s attention. Because of her injuries, her presence had softened greatly. Even the sharpness between her brows had eased and become gentler.
For one moment, Yin Wu felt that even the fierce sun was not bright enough to match her.
“All right. Do not be angry. Hurry and walk.” Li Lingjiang urged her, then lowered the veil again. She did not refuse Yin Wu’s kindness.
Yin Wu came back to herself, answered, and followed. She circled beside Li Lingjiang like she was asking for praise. In the end, Li Lingjiang could not bear it anymore and pressed down the hand tugging at her sleeve. “Thank you.”
“Be quiet.”
When Li Lingjiang spoke, the end of her voice always seemed to hook softly. This sounded less like blame and more like a helpless compromise.
Yin Wu laughed under her breath twice and muttered, “Fine. I will stop talking.”
The two walked shoulder to shoulder. Their footprints in the desert were softly covered over, just like their careless talk beneath the dizzy sunlight.