Chapter 38

Yu Tao was a bit stunned.

“‘Being your spiritual pet isn’t so bad…’ What did that mean?”

Yu Tao was so confused and asked aloud.

The young man turned his gaze away, his tone awkward and a little stiff. “It means exactly what it says.”

Yu Tao hesitated for a moment, then lifted her face, her eyes looking strange. “Little Senior Brother, I didn’t expect you to have this kind of preference.”

Yu Li: “…”

He let go of her fingers, his tone becoming faint. “If you’re unwilling, forget it.”

“Of course I’m willing!” Yu Tao quickly replied, gently patting the collar before putting it back on.

“Little Senior Brother, you look really good with it! Your skin is so pale and delicate, it suits the black collar perfectly! It has that, what’s it called… that cold, aloof vibe, like Senior Sister Lu said!”

The young man hummed softly, not responding, and grabbed her wrist as they stepped across the rocks and walked toward the island.

Yu Tao followed, her head still a little foggy, feeling a bit confused by the sudden shift in the conversation.

The night breeze brushed her face, mixing the faint salty scent of the sea with the fresh, light fragrance of the leaves.

Her eyes locked onto the young man’s side neck. From this angle, she could just about see the “Tao” character she had carefully etched there.

She stared at it for a while before suddenly speaking, “So, Little Senior Brother, does this mean you’re now my spiritual pet…?”

Yu Li narrowed his eyes slightly. “Now you want to back out?”

“You were so sweet-talking and tricking me into accepting you as my spiritual pet, even using underhanded tactics to get me to agree. Now, just a few days later, you’re getting bored…?”

“I’m not bored.”

Yu Tao interrupted him, feeling a bit dazed herself. “I just want to ask.”

“Ask what?”

“Well, now that things are like this, can you still keep me warm at night?”

Yu Li didn’t look back at her, his ears turning red, but he spoke calmly. “What are you even thinking about? Of course not.”

“Oh.”

Yu Tao obediently responded, kicking a stone on the ground with her foot.

She lowered her head and muttered softly, feeling a bit down. “It seems like it was better not knowing about this. Before, I could still hold him while sleeping, but now even hugging is off-limits.”

Yu Li was silent for a moment, his tone a little stiff. “…If it’s just holding without doing anything else, that wouldn’t be impossible.”

Yu Tao blinked her eyes, looking hopeful. “Then… can I still touch your cat ears and tail?”

“…Don’t push your luck.”

The two of them reached an open area in the forest. The young man let go of her wrist, asked her to stand to the side, and used his sword to chop down trees, constructing a simple wooden cabin with the wood.

Yu Tao crouched to the side, resting her chin on her hands as she dazedly thought about what had happened today.

There was quite a lot of information to process, and she was still a bit stunned, her thoughts sluggish. Her mind felt messy, as if she had overlooked something important.

What had she missed…?

As she pondered, Yu Tao looked at the young man wielding his sword and suddenly felt that something wasn’t quite right, though she couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

Wait… The cat was still a cat, and the spiritual pet was still hers, but it had gone from Lili to… Yu Li, her Little Senior Brother.

Yu Tao finally realized what was wrong, her pupils contracting in shock.

The person she had a crush on had become her spiritual pet.

What kind of bizarre situation was this???

Yu Tao slapped her forehead. What had she just said to her Little Senior Brother? Hold while sleeping, touch cat ears…

Help, if she actually did that, she would probably die of embarrassment right there on the spot!

How had she blurted those things out without thinking?

The cabin was finally completed. Because her spiritual power had only recovered to the Foundation Establishment stage, it had taken nearly a quarter of an hour to finish it.

Yu Li furrowed his brows slightly, sheathing his sword and looking at the girl beside him.

She was crouching by the tree, hugging her knees like a little mushroom, her head nodding slightly as she dozed off. Obviously, she was exhausted from today, and in just a short amount of time, she had fallen asleep.

When Yu Li had been tangled with the vine roots at the bottom of the sea, he had suddenly felt the curse power of the vines weaken by half, which had allowed him to resolve the issue earlier than expected.

Her arms had marks from the vines’ restraints, and it seemed that half of the curse power had been drawn away by her.

Yu Li spread soft bedding on the makeshift wooden bed, then walked over to the girl, bending down. He was about to lift her up, his hand reaching under her legs.

But suddenly, the girl woke up, and when she saw who it was, she instinctively recoiled, falling back and sitting on the ground. Her back hit the tree root hard, making her gasp in pain.

She winced in pain, clutching her shoulder and gasping softly.

“…” Idiot.

Yu Li sighed in resignation, reaching out to help her up. “Did it hurt?”

Yu Tao took a while before responding, shaking her head. “No.”

Her mind was preoccupied with other thoughts, so she instinctively pulled away from his hand and stood up, leaning on the tree for support. She glanced at the little cabin to change the subject. “Little Senior Brother, you finished so quickly?”

Yu Li looked at the empty space where he had been about to offer his hand, his gaze slightly puzzled. But he didn’t say anything, probably just not noticing.

He replied softly, “Mm, it’s done.”

Yu Tao walked inside and took a look. The cabin wasn’t large, but it had a door that could be closed. She tapped the wood, surprised at how solid it seemed. The only problem was that there was only one bed inside, and there were two of them.

The bed looked big enough for two people to lie down on.

Yu Tao pinched her fingers in frustration. Could it be that Little Senior Brother… was really going to put into practice her suggestion of “warming the bed”?

As she thought about it, she cautiously turned her head, intending to politely suggest that they could skip the “warming the bed” part.

Suddenly, the young man’s cold voice came from behind.

“Take off your clothes.”

Yu Tao: ????

She turned around in shock, looking at the young man, who appeared calm and composed as usual.

Given how calm he was, Yu Tao almost thought he had just said something like “The weather’s nice today,” and she had imagined it.

Yu Li raised his eyes slightly, his pale golden gaze cold and a little puzzled. “Why are you still frozen?”

Good news: It wasn’t her imagination, her ears were fine.

Bad news: It wasn’t her imagination, Little Senior Brother was serious.

Yu Tao’s brain quickly started to work, forcing her pounding heart back into place. She tried to stay calm. “Little Senior Brother, actually… it’s fine if I don’t take off my clothes. I’m usually like this.”

Ugh, what is she saying? She couldn’t even sleep holding her cat-earred Little Senior Brother without taking her clothes off!

Yu Li looked at the ointment in his hand, even more confused. “You can apply the medicine without taking off your clothes?”

Wouldn’t the ointment get on her clothes?

Yu Tao saw it too and froze for a moment.

Wait… apply medicine?

So, Little Senior Brother wanted her to take off her clothes just to apply the medicine?

Realizing that her thoughts had gone in the wrong direction, Yu Tao’s face grew even hotter. She quickly responded, “Ah, Little Senior Brother, it’s no trouble, I can do it myself.”

“Well, you can, but this medicine needs spiritual energy to dissolve and be absorbed. How much spiritual energy do you have left?”

Yu Tao: “…” Great, she used it all up while tangled in those vines.

“Um… Little Senior Brother…”

Seeing her hesitation, Yu Li suddenly understood what she was worried about. His ears turned slightly red, and he cleared his throat. “Sorry… I didn’t think that through. You can apply the medicine yourself, and just call me when you need me to use spiritual energy to help it absorb.”

Yu Li placed the medicine by the bed, stepped outside, and closed the small cabin door.

Yu Tao slapped her burning face, peeled off her clothes to expose her shoulder, and took the ointment. She twisted the cap off, dipped her finger into the milky white cream, and carefully applied it to her light blue shoulder bruise.

Then, she evenly spread it over the bruises on her arms before putting her clothes back on and softly calling out, “Little Senior Brother.”

The young man stepped in. Strangely, his gaze didn’t look at her, his pale golden eyes were fixed on the empty wall.

Yu Tao understood and felt warmth in her heart. “Little Senior Brother, I’m here,” she said, extending her hand toward him.

The warm, soothing spiritual energy helped dissolve the medicine. The pain was gently wrapped in the medicinal effect, and a cool sensation replaced the burning sting at the wound site.

From this angle, she could see the young man’s pale white jaw, and his neck seemed a little tense, his Adam’s apple moving slowly.

As she watched, Yu Tao suddenly noticed two red scratches above the black collar, clearly visible against his fair neck.

That seemed… to be from her.

It must have happened when the fuzzy cat tail wrapped around her wrist, pulling around the young man’s neck. When she tried to pull away, her fingers must have accidentally scratched him.

The memory of what happened deep underwater came rushing back to her, and Yu Tao finally remembered what she had been overlooking.

That long… kiss underwater?

Why call it a kiss? Because Yu Tao felt that if it was just about sharing breath, there wouldn’t have been all the extra steps.

Yu Tao swallowed nervously. Although she had never been in a relationship, she had seen couples in love or married couples who often kissed like that.

Why would Little Senior Brother kiss her like that?

Yu Tao’s mind suddenly filled with a thought, one that seemed absurd and far-fetched, and her heart immediately started racing.

Perhaps she was just being delusional.

But could it be possible… could Little Senior Brother… possibly like her?

“Yu Tao, are you hot?”

Once the medicine had absorbed, Yu Li withdrew his hand and turned around, only to find her face flushed, her clear eyes misty, as if the heat had caused them to become fogged and damp.

Yu Tao froze for a moment. “No, it’s just that the medicine makes me feel a bit warm.”

“Mm.”

Yu Li gave a slight nod. “Then you should rest.”

After speaking, he turned to leave the small cabin.

Yu Tao was stunned. “Little Senior Brother, where are you going?”

Yu Li paused, lifting his eyes. “Is there something else?”

Yu Tao blinked, looking at him with a bit of confusion. “Little Senior Brother, it’s so late, aren’t you going to sleep?”

This island was strange, and there was no telling what dangers might lurk in the night. It was necessary for someone to keep watch.

However…

Yu Li looked at her with silent contemplation. When she asked like that, could it be that she was hoping for him to stay and sleep beside her?

Remembering what she had said earlier about “sleeping together,” Yu Li’s ears turned slightly red, and he cleared his throat lightly. “Tonight… not possible.”

Yu Tao was a bit confused: Huh?

“This island has many unknown factors. It’s dangerous if we both fall asleep completely. We’ll talk about it when we return to the sect.”

Yu Tao finally understood what he meant—he was talking about her request for “warming the bed” and thought that when she asked him why he wasn’t sleeping, she was implying that he should sleep with her.

Her face instantly turned bright red, and she stammered a response.

Her mind was in a daze, and she wasn’t sure what she was saying anymore, rambling while sitting at the foot of the bed: “Then why did you make such a big bed?”

The young man fell silent for a moment, then answered honestly: “The night you returned from the library, you were holding my arm and rolling around on the bed.”

The implication being…

If he hadn’t stopped her, she would have woken up under the bed the next day.

The room at Huaishui Bamboo Pavilion had soft rugs on the floor, so if she fell, it would have just been a small tumble. But here, if she fell, not only would she hit her head, but she’d also end up covered in mud.

Yu Tao: “…”

Help, someone save her.

What kind of image did she have in Little Senior Brother’s eyes!?