Lu Pianpian quickly put the jade away, afraid of breaking it. "Thank you, Frost Jade, for sharing so many jade stones with us!"
"I promised you... Okay, you guys go now, I need to whisper something to my little grass. Remember to come visit us again when you have time."
"good."
After Lu Pianpian finished embedding the last corner of the barbed wire into the cliff outside the cave, she led Huan Changming back to the sect.
Huan Changming, still holding Lu Pianpian's shoulder from behind, looked at the sword at his feet and suddenly asked, "Senior Brother Pianpian, does your sword have a name?"
"No, a sword is a sword, why give it a name?" Lu Pianpian didn't have a penchant for naming objects. "By the way, junior sister, what kind of jewelry do you want?"
The Frost Jade gave them such a large piece of jade; it should be enough to make two or three pieces of jewelry.
Just as Huan Changming was about to speak, he suddenly felt a dark shadow fly past overhead.
The black eagle is vengeful and has been following Huan Changming relentlessly, waiting for a chance to take revenge. Knowing that it is no match for Lu Pianpian, it has now extended its claws to attack Huan Changming.
"Junior Sister!"
In the nick of time, Lu Pianpian turned around and hugged Huan Changming tightly, protecting him in her arms. The black eagle's sharp claws instantly tore through Lu Pianpian's back.
He gritted his teeth and endured the pain, then swung a sword technique at the black eagle with his backhand. This strike was 20% more powerful than the previous one. The black eagle was instantly enraged and decided to fight Lu Pianpian to the death, constantly circling around them and attacking.
Lu Pianpian flew into the forest on her sword to hide, while simultaneously unleashing several sword techniques. The black eagle, with its massive body, could neither dodge nor attack in the forest. After circling in mid-air for a while, it flew away in a fit of rage.
Lu Pianpian slid down to the ground, using the tree trunk as support. Huan Changming held his shoulder and asked worriedly, "Senior brother, are you alright?"
Lu Pianpian's forehead was soaked with cold sweat. Upon hearing this, she looked at Huan Changming with a weak smile. Just as she was about to say that he was alright, she collapsed into Huan Changming's arms and lost consciousness.
The concern on Huan Changming's face vanished instantly. He pushed Lu Pianpian, who was in his arms, backward, letting her fall to the ground.
"Serves you right."
He glanced coldly at the other man's back, which was bleeding profusely from the black eagle's claws, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.
Lu Pianpian had countless opportunities to kill the black eagle with a single blow, yet she chose to let it live, failing to eliminate the threat at its root. Her self-righteous kindness only emboldened the beast to seek revenge, leaving her severely injured in her current state.
This is not only deserved, it's also incredibly stupid!
"Fool!" Huan Changming stared at Lu Pianpian's face and said hatefully, "Utterly stupid!"
The boy lying on the ground had lost too much blood and was unconscious. He couldn't hear a word from him, only his brow furrowed slightly, indicating that he was in great pain.
Huan Changming grabbed Lu Pianpian's arm, pulled her up from the ground, and carried her horizontally. Lu Pianpian was still useful to him, and he couldn't let her die.
That's what he was thinking, but he didn't forget to continue mocking Lu Pianpian, saying, "Sooner or later, she won't even know how she died."
Chapter 12
Huan Changming had seen the road when he arrived. The forest they had fallen into to avoid the black eagles was actually not far from the sect, which was why he planned to take Lu Pianpian back to the sect.
But he wandered around in the woods for two or three hours without finding his way out.
Huan Changming, somewhat annoyed, tossed Lu Pianpian to a tree to lean against. The rough bark rubbed against the wound on Lu Pianpian's back, causing him to groan in pain.
Huan Changming watched coldly for a moment, and just as he took half a step forward, a cat suddenly fell from the tree and he caught it.
He looked down at the white cat, whose fur had turned dirty and black. "Speak."
The white cat traveled hundreds of miles back and forth, bringing news: "Wu Yao's people have already found their way to this area; they will find you sooner or later."
Where is Jingyi?
"Jingyi's men are nearby... What do you plan to do?"
Huan Changming put down the cat, walked to Lu Pianpian, squatted down, took the Frost Jade from his arms, and placed it in front of her.
The light pierced through the surface of the jade, emitting a cold aura, as if it were resisting the person holding it.
Huan Changming examined the jade closely for a few moments, then made his decision and said to the cat, "Bring Jingyi to the sect to see me."
The cat was somewhat surprised. "You're not planning to stay and cultivate immortal arts?"
Huan Changming put the jade back into Hui Pianpian's clothes, saying, "I don't have time to refine it for you."
He only believed half of what Han Shuangyu said. What really made him change his mind was Wu Yao's visit from Xiye Kingdom. He couldn't miss this opportunity.
"Then I'm leaving." The white cat shook off the mud, raised its paw to leave, but was stopped by Huan Changming, "Which direction do you go back to the sect?"
The white cat knew he was acting out of his way again, so it said, "Let me show you the way."
"I'm asking you to find Jingyi. Just tell me the directions."
"But... even if I tell you, will you be able to find it?"
Huan Changming frowned upon hearing this, turned around and picked Lu Pianpian up again, then commanded the white cat, "Lead the way."
The white cat obediently led the way, glancing out of the corner of its eye at Lu Pianpian, who was lying unconscious in Huan Changming's arms, and asked softly, "Is he dead?"
Huan Changming thought of Lu Pianpian's actions over the past two days and sneered, "She's not far from death."
The white cat sensed that he seemed very unhappy, so it obediently kept its mouth shut the whole way and dared not say another word.
The two brothers, Sheng Guan and Fa Cai, were chatting on the stone steps by the door when they saw a beautiful woman, as lovely as a fairy, carrying their senior brother Lu on her back, struggling to walk towards them. She pleaded for their help, saying, "Please, you two, help me save my senior brother..."
The beauty wept, her face streaked with tears, which immediately left the two brothers, Sheng Guan and Fa Cai, somewhat bewildered. "This... fairy, please leave Senior Brother Lu to us. How could someone as delicate as you possibly carry a man like Senior Brother Lu!"
The two, upon hearing the news of her promotion and wealth, hurriedly took Lu Pianpian and carried her into the sect. Huan Changming followed closely behind, sobbing softly the whole way.
Huan Juntian was practicing his swordplay in the courtyard when he saw Lu Pianpian being carried in by Sheng Guan Fa Cai. He immediately put down his sword, went over, and took Lu Pianpian from Sheng Guan Fa Cai's arms. "What happened to my senior brother?"
Huan Changming said with red eyes, "Senior Brother Pianpian was scratched on the back by an eagle while saving me, and he has been unconscious ever since."
Upon hearing this, Huan Juntian glanced at Huan Changming. Huan Changming met his cold gaze and choked out, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault. If it weren't for me, Senior Brother Pianpian would never have become like this. It's all my fault..."
He was handsome, and even his crying was pitiful. The two brothers, Sheng Guan and Fa Cai, surrounded him and comforted him. Huan Juntian said nothing, kicked open his door, put Lu Pianpian on his bed, quickly checked the wound on her back, and then injected some spiritual power into her.
"Call my senior sister over!"
"good."
Huan Changming was about to go find Qu Surou when the two brothers, Shengguan and Facai, rushed to fawn over him, saying, "The fairy is waiting right here. We two brothers will go find her!"
"Yes, yes, we can't trouble the fairy!"
Qu Surou arrived at Huan Juntian's room and frowned when she saw the wound on Lu Pianpian's back. "It's poison."
If it weren't for the poison, how could a cultivator with spiritual energy protecting him have fallen into a coma so easily?
Huan Changming watched quietly as Qu Surou applied medicine to Lu Pianpian by the bedside, tears streaming down his face like broken pearls, looking heartbroken and remorseful.
Huan Juntian noticed his expression and said, "Senior brother will be fine."
Huan Changming nodded with tears in his eyes, "Thank you, Third Senior Brother."
Although the black eagle is an ordinary creature, its claws are highly venomous. If an ordinary person is scratched by it, they will surely die from the poison. Although Lu Pianpian was not poisoned to death, she still lay in bed for a day and a night before she regained consciousness.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Huan Changming standing guard by his bedside, his arms propped up on the blanket as if he were asleep.
Afraid of waking him, Lu Pianpian sat up quietly, but still pulled at the blanket covering her, causing Huan Changming's long hair to slip down to his shoulder and onto the blanket.
Every time Lu Pianpian saw her junior, she was always drawn to her face, while her hair became an inconspicuous backdrop. This was the first time Lu Pianpian had examined her junior's hair so closely; it wasn't the usual black, but a yellowish-brown.
Such abnormalities are mostly caused by insufficient food and lack of adequate nutrition during childhood.
Lu Pianpian sighed softly in her heart, then carefully extended her index finger and gently touched Huan Changming's hair, whispering, "It's alright, brown suits you very well too."
Huan Changming twitched his fingers under his head, but didn't open his eyes. He wanted to see what Lu Pianpian would do to him.
Seeing that he was still asleep, Lu Pianpian gently brushed aside the strands of hair that were covering his face, revealing his fair earlobe with a small earring mark on it.
Women often have earring marks on their ears; his senior sister had them too, it wasn't unusual. But for some reason, Lu Pianpian felt that her junior sister's earring marks looked exceptionally beautiful.
He stopped talking and just stared quietly at the mark on his junior sister's earring.
The room fell silent for a long time. Finally, Huan Changming gave in first. He opened his eyes and said with a joyful expression, "Senior Brother Pianpian, you're finally awake."
Lu Pianpian noticed that his eyes were a little swollen and the corners of his eyes were red. "Junior sister, have you been crying?"
Huan Changming turned his face away so he wouldn't see, so he quickly grabbed Huan Changming's sleeve. Knowing that the other was crying because of self-blame, he quickly said, "You are my junior sister, it is only right and proper for me to shield you from the black eagle!"
Huan Changming turned his head and asked him softly, "Is that all?"
Lu Pianpian was taken aback by the question. "Of course... so you don't need to feel guilty. I did all of this willingly."
"Are you willing...?" Huan Changming lowered his eyes, concealing the expression in them.
It seems that he and Lu Pianpian were never on the same path from the very beginning.
"Senior Brother Pianpian, take good care of yourself and recover from your injuries." He stood up and smiled at Lu Pianpian. "I won't disturb you any longer."
"good."
After watching Huan Changming leave, Lu Pianpian put on her shoes, got out of bed, and took out the Frost Jade from her clothes.
He had been thinking about what kind of jewelry to make for his junior sister, and just now he had already decided.
He wanted to make a pair of earrings for his junior sister; the black jade would complement her snow-white earlobes, and she would look beautiful wearing them.
Having made her decision, Lu Pianpian took the Frost Jade and headed to the study. As soon as she opened the door, she encountered Huan Juntian, who was carrying medicine. "Senior Brother, you can get out of bed now?"
"It's just a minor injury; it should have healed long ago after lying in bed for so long."
Huan Juntian glanced at the still steaming medicinal soup in the bowl, seemingly finding it somewhat unnecessary.
Lu Pianpian picked up the bowl of medicinal soup and tried to drink it down in one gulp, but Huan Juntian quickly stopped her, saying, "It's hot!"
But it was too late. Lu Pianpian finished the bowl of bitter and scalding medicine, then stuck out her tongue and mumbled, "I'm going to the study..."
Huan Juntian frowned as he saw that the boy's tongue was burning red. He took out a cool sugar pill from his pocket and fed it to the boy. "Clumsy boy."
The cool sensation instantly masked the burning sensation on Lu Pianpian's tongue. He patted Huan Juntian's shoulder and laughed, "Junior brother, you're so thoughtful!"
Huan Juntian smiled and straightened his crooked collar for him. "Hmm."
Lu Pianpian locked herself in her study and spent two days reading books about jewelry making before she actually started working on it.
He initially thought making a pair of earrings wouldn't be too difficult, assuming that something small would be easy to make. However, he didn't realize that the smaller the item, the more delicate and difficult it was to make. He spent several days working on it day and night before finally creating a small prototype.
Everyone knew he was busy making things in his study, so they didn't disturb him. Occasionally, even his meals were brought to him in turn.
On the seventh day, an uninvited guest arrived at the sect.
Qu Surou was picking wild fruits from the trees in the woods in front of the sect, intending to take them back to make wine, when someone suddenly called out to her, "Excuse me, young lady, is there still anyone living on this mountain?"