Chapter 40: Tiger-Head Shoes Stepping into the Infant Spirit Hall (Part 6) His lips pressed against hers. ...

This wasn't some mountain beast spirit at all, but a woman, a woman with white hair and bloodshot eyes.

Li Zhixing met her gaze, remembering the Snow Girl that San San and Xiao Liu had mentioned, and he knew for sure it was her.

This Snow Girl had a human face, but her features were misshapen, as if melted by someone. Her eyes, mouth, and nose were fused together, blurring the lines.

Even with his good eyesight, he still needed to look closely to make out the eyes and nose. If a mortal had seen such a blurry face, even if she had saved them, they would have been terrified and cried out for someone to capture her. Though

her features were blurred, the Snow Girl's limbs were slender and powerful, like a wild deer that had roamed the mountains for years. Her hair was white and reached her feet. When she looked up, her silver hair flowed like white waves down her back.

As an immortal, Li Zhixing wasn't frightened by her appearance, especially since he was still a "small man."

The Snow Girl couldn't see him.

Sure enough, she simply glanced at the broken wall before turning and, using all four limbs, running.

Li Zhixing leaped onto her back, his face flushing.

Though she resembled a white fox, she had no fur, her waist and back smooth—in short, completely naked.

"Sorry, sorry," Li Zhixing said as she ran, eyes closed as he leaned against her back.

Traversing mountains and forests, the Snow Girl led him to a cave. Li Zhixing opened his eyes when she paused, jumped off her back, and hid behind a rock to observe the situation. He saw... lots of children.

It wasn't clear from below, so Li Zhixing climbed to a higher, shadowed spot, peering carefully. He felt a pang of dismay—the children, of varying ages, were often deformed.

Many, like her, had faces that looked as if they had been smelted. Others were broken arms and legs, crawling on the ground like insects and snakes.

With every glance, Li Zhixing felt a growing pang of pity and sadness. He thought of the Infant Spirit Hall at the Gates of Hell, where the children taken in and raised must be them.

He almost understood why the children refused to be reborn.

The human world was too cruel and too painful for them.

Some of the children cried, while others remained silent. The Snow Girl soothed them one by one. She couldn't speak, only mumbling. Yet, every child she held fell into a peaceful and tranquil state,

as if they were gently slumbering in a mother's warm embrace and caress.

While people might judge closeness by beauty and ugliness, and be drawn to likes and fears based on appearance, babies were different. With their innocent eyes,

they perceived good and evil. They smiled at those who treated them well.

As the Snow Girl held the children and comforted them, Li Zhixing heard footsteps from the cave entrance, and another gust of ghostly energy filled his nostrils. He hurried over to look—

"Shan'e" was carrying wild mountain fruits and a water bag, and slowly approached. She looked different from the one in Ghost Gate. She looked much younger, about the same age as Ye Qingzhan, wearing tattered clothes, and her hair was messy.

Li Zhixing suddenly remembered what he had asked Xiaoliu today: "Besides you, Liuliu Dashun, Sanyang Kaitai, Bamianlinglong, and Shiquanshimei, is there anyone else in the gang with such auspicious names?"

Xiaoliu said in a half-awake state: "Yes, there are people with such auspicious names—Boss, did you drink yourself silly last night? Wasn't this name given by Miss Ye? You were applauding it at the time, how come you forgot it all after waking up from a sleep?"

"There are also Wanshi Ruyi, Siji Ping'an, Jiutian Fairy..."

"Eldest sister Wanshi Ruyi went to the Snow Girl to help take care of the children, Siji Ping'an went to work for a wealthy family, and Jiutian Fairy passed away."

After a moment's silence, Li Zhixing said, "My condolences."

... I guess Wanshi Ruyi is this girl. But in this illusory realm, she had become possessed by Shan'e.

After figuring it out, the villain Li Zhixing leaped onto her shoulder and whispered, "Shan'e."

The girl lowered her head, and upon seeing the person on her shoulder, she replied in surprise, "Li the Exiled Immortal."

Li Zhixing nodded, then slowly crept closer to her ear, saying, "Don't say anything. Just listen to what I say. I'll teach you how to use the ginkgo tree to send messages."

Shan'e nodded and walked towards the Snow Girl.

Seeing her approach, the Snow Girl forced a smile through her complex features.

Ye

Qingzhan and Wen Gu stood with their backs to each other in front of the bed, each blushing.

Tangyuan watched from the side, scratching his head, wondering: The boss and his wife have been married for some time now, why are they blushing so much at the sight of the bed? Could it be that he's thinking of...

Tangyuan covered his mouth, his eyes rolling, as if realizing something profound. "Boss, Boss Husband, is there anything else you need?"

They both shook their heads.

"Then Tangyuan has left." Tangyuan glanced left and right, and walked away with a step back.

After the people left, Wen Gu coughed lightly and said, "You sleep on the bed tonight."

Ye Qingzhan turned around and said, "But in the fantasy realm, we are husband and wife, and-" She looked around and continued, "There is only one bed in this room. Apart from this, there is no small couch or other bedding for rest. You can't sleep well..."

Wen Gu wanted to say that it would be fine for one night, but when he saw the blush on her face, the words on his lips became: "I can't rest well, maybe I will... get sick."

Before he finished speaking, Ye Qingzhan remembered the way he vomited blood, took his hand and walked to the bed, saying, "You sleep on the bed, I'm in good health, it doesn't matter if I don't sleep for one night."

A strange look flashed in Wen Gu's eyes, and he held Ye Qingzhan's hand and said, "Sleep together, I won't do anything to you."

His eyes were full of innocence that was ignorant of the world, bright and clean. Under such gazes, Ye Qingzhan tried to pull her hand out of his grasp, but paused before hearing him say,

"Is that alright?"

"My lady,"

his voice was soft, almost pleading, yet with a gentle tentativeness.

As if bewitched by a fox spirit, Ye Qingzhan nodded, turned around, and was led to the bed.

Wen Gu tucked her in with the quilt, while he himself lay bare, sleeping on his back beside her, peaceful and respectful.

Ye Qingzhan could hear his own heartbeat.

Thump—thump—

again and again.

Ye Qingzhan thought she couldn't sleep, but as soon as she touched the bed, enveloped in the plum blossom fragrance emanating from the person beside her, sleepiness came over her instantly. She had just lied, and if she didn't sleep tonight, she would be drowsy all day tomorrow.

She loved sleep, whether in the human world or in the afterlife.

Only when he heard the shallow breathing of the person beside him did Wen Gu dare to turn around.

He clutched his chest, sweat beading on his forehead.

It hurt...

more than ever.

However, this pain seemed to be wrapped in honey, tempting him to accept it willingly.

Enduring the excruciating pain in his heart, Wen Gu traced the sleeping face beside him in the moonlight. Starting from the fine, dense lashes, he moved down, inch by inch, across the upturned nose, and lingered on the tightly closed lips.

Finally, he withdrew his gaze.

A dark aura swirled uncontrollably, encircling the two of them on the bed, a dark mist swirling around them like a veil. A voice from deep within his heart hammered at his heart again and again: "What are you waiting for?"

"No more."

"Devouring her." "

Controlling her."

"Destroying..."

His mind was too noisy, and Wen Gu struck his heart with a palm.

The voice faded.

Blood flowed from the corner of his lips, and he wiped it away, curling up in thought.

When did his feelings towards her change? Was it when she stood up to him? Or... He didn't know. He only knew that by the time he noticed, he couldn't bear to see her cry, let alone feel sad... Never mind. I couldn't figure it out, and I didn't want to think about it anymore.

Feeling the pillow was uncomfortable again, Wen Gu wanted to pull it away, placing it between them, afraid of doing something irreversible. But as soon as he picked it up, something fell out. He reached out to catch it, glancing at the person beside him.

No one was awake, thank goodness.

Wen Gu then looked at the object in his hand. It was a book.

He figured it was the Dongfang Young Master's bedside reading, assuming it was some medical tome. He flipped open it, glanced, and hurriedly closed it again.

His face flushed a red plum.

He took a few deep breaths, then couldn't help but open it again.

What was the person in the book doing?

Wen Gu read a few pages, his heart pounding, the Yin Sha's roaring intensifying. He forced himself to close the book again and put it in his sleeve.

He couldn't let her find out...

But the images in the book seemed to be etched in his mind, lingering.

He felt an unbearable heat, and he turned over, facing the window filled with moonlight. But a moment later, he turned back.

The images wouldn't fade away, as if only by doing something could they disappear.

Wen Gu's eyes fell on the lips of the person next to him.

They looked very beautiful.

In the moonlight, they were moistened with a thin layer of light, and they looked even more beautiful.

Thinking of this, he imitated the person in the book, leaned forward, and put his lips on her.

Was it his illusion? There was obviously no honey on her lips, but the sweetness penetrated into his bones little by little, making his bones soft and his internal organs seem to melt and dissolve... His heart no longer hurt, but beat out again and again, as if it didn't recognize him. But he

felt that it was not enough, no matter what he did, it was not enough. He wanted it so much, a little deeper...

What was he doing!

As if waking up from a dream, Wen Gu suddenly stepped back, his heart beating like thunder, and hurried to see her.

The sleeping face of the person next to him was still peaceful, as if he was in a beautiful dream, with a smile on the corner of his lips.

Wen Gu felt that he had committed a heinous crime -

what had he done!

He did it after all...

Wen Gu's eyes were filled with panic and he dared not look up. His face was burning, his neck was flushed, and his heart seemed to no longer feel any pain. Only his mind could not help but recall the touch of his lips over and over again.

His body was getting hotter and hotter...

With his hand on his forehead, Wen Gu forced himself to close his eyes and fall asleep.

As soon as he closed his eyes, he felt dizzy and his whole body was shaking.

Ye Qingzhan was woken up before he pretended to be asleep. She rubbed her eyes and said, "Huh".

Wen Gu did not dare to open his eyes for fear of seeing her. He only heard Ye Qingzhan say, "Why are you in the carriage? Weren't you on the bed?"

He slowly opened his eyes, but his eyes were always dodging when he looked at her.

Ye Qingzhan lifted the car curtain to take a look, then retracted her gaze and fell on him, saying: "Wen Gu, we seem to be on the way to Sui'an County." She pointed outside the window, and a crooked tree flashed by. "Did you see that crooked tree? I dreamed about it. It's now on Yudie Peak."

Wen Gu said "hmm" absentmindedly, and the blush on her face slowly faded.

Seeing that his face and lips were even redder, Ye Qingzhan became a little worried. She moved closer to him, put her hand on his forehead, and said: "It's not hot," and looked at his cheeks that were still flushed, "Why is your face so red?"

It would have been better if he hadn't asked. This question reminded him of his shameful behavior last night. Wen Gu turned his eyes away and stammered, "No, it's okay."

As if he didn't believe it, Ye Qingzhan's eyes followed his sideways glance and said, "You are not allowed to lie to me."

"If you want to vomit blood, you should tell me in advance."

Wen Gu's heart moved, and he was about to say something, and heard her continue:

"I'll ask Tangyuan to stop the car for you."

"Don't dirty the carriage."

Wen Gu: "..."