The Demon Venerable Is Delicate and Charming (GL) Chapter 56

For a moment, Wen Si did not react. Only after a dry “ah” did he realize he was blocking the way. He stepped aside and apologized in a low voice.
Li Lingjiang nodded slightly. Yin Wu followed behind her. Her gaze drifted past the short knife in Wen Si’s hand that was still dripping blood. Then she raised her eyes and met his gaze with deep meaning.
Wen Si noticed the look. He did not move his eyes away. Instead, he neatly rolled up his robe, wiped the knife clean with care, and tucked it at his waist.
After doing all that, he turned and walked toward his senior brothers, telling them to adjust quickly. After resting a little longer, they would set out.
Li Lingjiang walked straight past the cooled corpse. She looked ahead. Her throat seemed to hold something, making her words much more muffled. “Yin Wu, burn it.”
Yin Wu was just about to say yes when Li Lingjiang suddenly turned back. She quietly looked at the corpse. Only after a while did she sigh. “The soul is gone.”
“Tang Wusuo was the same. When he died, his soul could not be found. I checked the others too. Their condition was the same.”
Yin Wu also sent in a thread of power to examine it. A few seconds later, she casually formed a spell and sent it down. Fierce fire swallowed the body at once. Rolling heat came with black smoke, and the burned smell was somewhat unpleasant. Yin Wu never dared use too much force when holding Li Lingjiang’s wrist, so she tugged her aside carefully.
“Do you mean the magic artifact can swallow souls?”
Li Lingjiang was not sure either. The tip of her tongue slipped out a little, then quickly drew back. Dots of color touched her pale lips. “Souls can also gather power. It is an evil method.”
Yin Wu lowered her head and kicked the sand with the tip of her foot. “This magic artifact is an evil thing too. So annoying.”
“Hiss.” The little immortal suddenly lifted her head. She let go and stepped back twice. Holding her chin, she looked Li Lingjiang up and down. “My Lord, when did you change your medicine? Do your feet hurt? How did I forget?”
The little immortal drooped her head in regret. “But in this place, how can we change your medicine?”
“I do not need to change it. These past few days, I can clearly feel my body getting better. It only feels a little hot.” The sweat that seeped out brought some pain, but compared to before, it was already much better. Li Lingjiang had long gone numb to it.
She even wondered, since her sense of taste had already been lost, whether her sense of pain would slowly disappear too.
Yin Wu crouched on the ground, held her cheeks in both hands, and looked up at Li Lingjiang with a pout. “But I am afraid you feel bad.”
Li Lingjiang’s beast ears flicked forward and back, trying to shake the dampness from the fur. Yin Wu’s small movement pulled her along, and she tilted her head to look at Yin Wu too. “I will not. Is the ground not hot? Get up.”
She reached out. Her robe seemed a little larger again and no longer fit well. Half her fingers were hidden, while the exposed part was wrapped in gauze. Her wide sleeve spread open, revealing the thin arm hidden beneath the cloth, layer after layer of bandage wound around it.
Yin Wu suddenly thought that she could hold that wrist with one hand every time. Had she failed to control her strength and hurt Li Lingjiang before? It seemed it was not only there, but also her waist, legs, and ankles. Yin Wu thought of the wounds she had seen before, all bloody and blurred. She had heard of the Demon Realm’s punishments.
First, they put a person in ice water until their body went stiff. Then they soaked them in corrosive hot water. Ten lashes, each one burrowing into the heart and scraping bone. Then soul-eating bone nails were driven into every piece of the spine, three days without rest. And on top of that, there were things she did not know…
Yin Wu slowly closed her eyes. Thinking about it now, no wonder Li Lingjiang was so hard to nurse back to health. Even her blood bead could not heal her quickly.
Aside from last time, Li Lingjiang had almost never taken the initiative to say she was in pain. She also liked to hide herself away.
How could such a person love tormenting herself so much?
Seeing Yin Wu lost in thought, Li Lingjiang did not disturb her. She silently drew her hand back and tucked it into her sleeve, standing quietly to the side. Her veil had been blown down, and the wind made it puff and flutter. Her eyes were calm, their focus slightly scattered.
Her thoughts had drifted far away. Suddenly, she felt someone tug at her sleeve with a very small movement. She lowered her head. “What is it?”
Yin Wu did not move for a long time. After a few seconds, she said, “My foot went numb. My Lord, can you pull me up?”
Li Lingjiang naturally gripped Yin Wu’s arm and used strength to pull her up. The little immortal’s attention immediately fixed on her hand. Yin Wu thought that if it had not been injured, the bones and tendons beneath the skin should have shown beautifully, instead of being wrapped in bandages.
“Yin Wu!” Li Lingjiang called urgently. Her breath struck Yin Wu’s face all at once, far hotter than Yin Wu herself.
Only then did Yin Wu realize in shock that the two of them were very close. Through that layer of gauze, she could see Li Lingjiang’s clear, pale eyes and trembling lashes.
“I am sorry, My Lord. I was distracted.” Yin Wu lowered her head and obediently admitted her mistake.
Li Lingjiang let go of her hand. “It is fine. Next time, pay more attention. Do not be like this again. If it were not me, if it were someone else, there would be danger.”
Yin Wu blinked. She tasted the meaning in the words. “Do you mean you will not hurt me?”
“No.” Li Lingjiang sighed. She lifted half the veil, revealing only half her face, which made her seem sharper. Her speech was still slow. “Yin Wu, I cannot promise what I will do. You must understand that fully trusting a person is very hard, let alone saying such baseless words. At least, I do not believe them.”
Yin Wu paused for a few seconds. Then she suddenly laughed, a trace of boredom passing through her eyes. “Maybe My Lord simply has not met such a person. But I do not believe in it either. Though my strength is not great, I will use my own methods to take back what is owed to me, bit by bit.”
“Is it… the little one you mentioned before?”
Yin Wu gave a long “ah.” Interest suddenly rose in her heart, and she laughed low. The echo in her chest seemed strong enough for Li Lingjiang to feel.
Through the veil, Li Lingjiang saw Yin Wu smile in a harmless, sincere way. “Of course. What she owes is too precious.”
For some reason, Li Lingjiang’s heart panicked. A great sense of weightlessness rose from her spine. “Then you truly must take it back properly. You cannot suffer a loss.”
Li Lingjiang felt that the little immortal smiled even more happily. That feeling of being watched until she wanted to run appeared again. Suddenly, she felt a little nauseous and pressed her lower stomach without showing it.
“My Lord is right. As a person, one cannot suffer losses. If I am bullied one day, I will come find you.”
Yin Wu walked forward, closing in on Li Lingjiang. Her tone was warm and gentle.
“Why find me? If I go help you, I am afraid I will only hold you back.” Li Lingjiang was silent for a few seconds.
The playfulness in Yin Wu’s eyes grew heavier. She realized that listening to Li Lingjiang say such things was especially pleasing.
“How could that be, My Lord? I will certainly nurse your body back to health. Trust me.” As Yin Wu spoke, she wanted to hold Li Lingjiang’s hand. Her movement was not offensive. It was only the same as usual.
But Li Lingjiang recoiled as if startled. She shook off Yin Wu’s hand, hurried back two steps, turned around, covered her mouth, and coughed hard. Her back trembled. She casually lifted the veil. Her stomach cramped with pain, spasming and shaking. She could not help retching, but nothing came out. Only a clear taste of blood spread through her mouth.
Yin Wu’s face changed. She quickly stepped forward to check, but Li Lingjiang raised a hand to stop her. Her voice was much smaller, almost like a whimper. “I am fine.”
Cold sweat poured from Li Lingjiang because of the pain. She could not say where she felt unwell. This was different from before, almost making her unable to hold back a low groan. Enduring the pain, she slowly crouched down. Her mind instantly went blank, then seemed like tangled threads, messily wrapped together before suddenly tightening. Even her beast ears pressed tightly against herself.
She crouched down and curled her body very small. Or perhaps she was too thin. Looking at her like this, she looked like an abandoned cat, making her whole person seem pitiful.
But thinking that this was Li Lingjiang made the thought seem absurd.
Yin Wu drew back her step. Her gaze darkened as she stared at Li Lingjiang’s back. The string of copper coins had fallen to the ground, and the red cord was glaringly bright.
“My Lord.”
Li Lingjiang lowered her head and tried her best to control herself. Hearing someone call her, she answered softly. Before she could react, Yin Wu hugged her whole body. Yin Wu held even her arms in her embrace, and one hand could directly circle Li Lingjiang’s waist. Li Lingjiang seemed like a puppet being moved. She had no strength to resist. Her limbs were weak, and she coughed in a way she could not bear.
Yin Wu’s body was different from hers in size. Being held without the slightest gap, Li Lingjiang’s body shook with each cough. Even her hair grew messy. She forced out one complete sentence. “Let… go of me.”
The little immortal gave a very low “mm” beside her ear. No emotion could be heard. Yin Wu’s hand moved to Li Lingjiang’s lower stomach and covered it lightly. Spiritual power gathered in her palm as she secretly moved the power hidden inside the blood bead.
“My Lord, does it feel very bad?”
After Yin Wu finished everything, she let Li Lingjiang go. With concern, she supported her shoulders and gently brushed the hair falling along her cheeks behind her ears.
Li Lingjiang made a faint sound. Her eyes half closed as she tilted her head against her own knees. Quietly, she adjusted her breathing. “I do not know why.”
“It is all right.” Yin Wu had examined Li Lingjiang’s body. It was improving. She also did not know where this sudden pain had come from.
Li Lingjiang’s voice was muffled. She did not hide it. She only said the truth in a small voice. “I want to vomit.”
“But I cannot.” Li Lingjiang lifted her head and used both knees to brace herself as she stood. “I will be fine after resting a while.”
Her eyes were lowered. Her face was deathly pale, and the little light in her eyes had faded a great deal. She took a deep breath and lifted her eyes with effort, meeting Yin Wu’s gaze directly. It was as if she was comforting her. “It is much better. It seems refusing you was not exactly the correct choice.”
Yin Wu did not speak.
Li Lingjiang did not want to say more either. She turned around. Little Black had been hidden well by the space Li Lingjiang had deliberately left and had not been pressed down at all. Seeing this, it immediately grew larger and half covered her, then rubbed its head against her face. Its movement was so gentle it seemed afraid to breathe.
Before Li Lingjiang had even stood steady, Yin Wu ran over in large steps. She did not speak. She only rested her head on Li Lingjiang’s shoulder. She stretched out a hand. In her palm were two tiny figures made of flame. One wore a bamboo hat. The other held a flower and hopped before the first.
Yin Wu stretched out her other hand. It held a flower shaped from flame. Imitating Little Black, she rubbed against Li Lingjiang’s neck. She did not move. Her lips only brushed there lightly.
“My Lord, is it pretty?”
Li Lingjiang clearly froze. Yin Wu’s arms loosely surrounded both sides of her. Li Lingjiang raised her hand, and the moment her fingertip touched the flower, it scattered and vanished into sparks that danced over her fingertips.