Chapter 4687 — Watch Your Step
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Hmph. I truly don't know where you get your confidence. Fine, I won't argue with you anymore—I won't dock your share, all right? Now hurry up and go!" Huo Yudie said as she slowly climbed to her feet.
Having been limp and sprawled there for so long, her body was somewhat unaccustomed to standing; before she had even steadied herself she staggered, but luckily Wei Zhao was right beside her and reached out to catch her in his arms. Huo Yudie let out a small cry, instinctively clutching at his arm, and then let herself tumble into his embrace.
With soft, warm flesh in his arms, Wei Zhao's eyebrows arched of their own accord and the corners of his mouth curved into a faintly amused arc. Say what you would—this girl's body was rather springy.
Ah! Huo Yudie gave a sudden sharp cry and hurriedly fled from his arms, her face flushed scarlet so that she dared not look at anyone; head down, she simply pressed on, walking as fast as she could.
"Hey, be careful—don't go getting bitten by some strange thing like another Eight-Legged Kache Insect!" Seeing this, Wei Zhao hurried after her. It was the middle of the night, and they had only the faint starlight overhead to make out their surroundings—and in a place this treacherous, too. He himself would be fine, but for Huo Yudie it was still very dangerous.
Only then did Huo Yudie slow her pace, though she still did not dare turn back to look at Wei Zhao. Her shyness was not purely because he had held her just now; it was the masculine scent that had rushed to her nose, making her body go weak and soft by instinct, and bringing that earlier scene unbidden into her mind.
Wei Zhao had said it was the normal process of drawing out the poison, but she could not help worrying that she might go through it all over again—and if that happened, she really would have no face left to show anyone.
What on earth was this girl up to now? Behind her, Wei Zhao shook his head in exasperation and hurried to catch up, deliberately spreading his divine sense as he did, lest another accident of that sort occur; a few more episodes like it and all their time would be wasted.
The two walked one behind the other. Up ahead, Huo Yudie kept her head down and said nothing; behind her, Wei Zhao had no idea what to say either, so he simply kept his mouth shut. And so, in the silence, the atmosphere inexplicably turned somewhat ambiguous.
Wei Zhao did not mind much—at most he could admire the graceful figure of the girl ahead of him—but Huo Yudie had clearly grown rather constrained and unnatural.
For some reason, the image of Wei Zhao lying over her earlier kept surfacing in her mind without warning. Especially that most embarrassing scene of all—the mere thought of it set her whole body burning, and Huo Yudie felt as though even her ears were about to catch fire. It was simply too shameful!
Granted, from beginning to end only she and Wei Zhao had been involved, and no one else would ever know; and granted, there had been a perfectly legitimate reason—drawing out the poison. Even so, it left Huo Yudie, the ice-cold snow lotus in everyone's eyes, deeply mortified.
And it was precisely for this reason that even simply facing Wei Zhao now left her feeling less than confident. Her manner of speaking was no longer as free and forthright as before; in its place was a bashful awkwardness, the bearing of a small, demure woman—one that even she herself found utterly unfamiliar.
Such a thing would have been unimaginable before. She was the ice-cold snow lotus! Any man, no matter how outstanding, would only find himself drawn to her against his will in her presence, and she had always regarded them with disdain. How could she now be like this, with a man's shadow filling her mind?