Li Tianjue's heart skipped a beat, thinking his secret had been discovered.
He instinctively wanted to retort, to create distance between himself and Su Luo. However, the tighter she gripped, the more he slipped, and he fell heavily onto her, almost hitting her head.
Su Luo felt his weight and instinctively pushed him, "Senior Brother, you, you're so heavy..."
Li Tianjue's heart leaped, afraid of being seen and misunderstood.
Just as he was about to push himself up and off the bed, his body suddenly became immobile.
"Mmmph... move, you, you're crushing me... don't move..." Su Luo mumbled incoherently, her hands pushing aimlessly. But Li Tianjue couldn't move at all, his heart pounding.
It was like the first time he met Su Luo, when his spiritual energy had suddenly vanished, leaving him defenseless.
This time was even worse; he couldn't move at all.
Li Tianjue knew that this girl had likely unleashed her secret technique unconsciously, causing him to be unable to move. But now he was pressed against her, so close. Her flushed cheeks and petal-like lips dangled before him, creating an extremely ambiguous situation.
"Senior Brother..."
Su Luo, uncomfortable from being pinned down and unable to push Li Tianjue away, suddenly giggled. She caressed his handsome face and said, "You're so handsome... I get it, you like me, don't you? Otherwise, why would you look at me like this?"
With a strength she didn't know she had, she giggled and flipped over, pinning Li Tianjue beneath her.
"Su Luo!"
Li Tianjue's head was spinning, "Stop playing around, unbind me."
He didn't know if she was truly drunk or teasing him. Regardless, he felt like he was on the verge of going berserk, his heart racing uncontrollably.
Su Luo leaned closer to Li Tianjue's somewhat flustered face, her nose touching his, and giggled innocently, too drunk to know where she was, "Who are you, you look so much like... like my Senior Brother? Hee hee..."
Before she could finish, she weakly dropped her head, landing squarely on Li Tianjue's face.
Her soft, wine-scented face pressed against his lips.
Su Luo remained oblivious, and because of her discomfort, she kept squirming and moving, making the sober Li Tianjue feel a burning heat all over. He couldn't push her away, nor could he move.
Her lips brushed against his face, his lips, again and again.
So soft, so fragrant, like feathers, continuously stirring the depths of his heart.
Gradually, Su Luo slumped onto Li Tianjue and fell asleep. Her face was pressed tightly against his, her lips kissing his earlobe, remaining there for a long time.
It was unclear how much time had passed...
Li Tianjue didn't know when he would be able to move.
He shifted his body, allowing Su Luo to lie on the bed. Gazing at her face so close, his eyes held an unprecedented tenderness as he shamelessly stared at her face, her nose, her lips...
"Su Luo."
Li Tianjue uttered a low whisper from his throat and gently caressed her face.
Then he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers.
...
Lin Yao, his hangover slightly eased, saw the mess on the floor and took it upon himself to clean up.
Li Tianjue, just emerging from Su Luo's room, saw him. His body tensed instantly, but he composed himself and said, "Junior Brother Lin, you're awake? Does your head hurt."
Lin Yao quickly replied, "Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother. I just woke up and saw it was a bit messy, so I'm cleaning it."
Li Tianjue said, "Alright then, thank you for your trouble, Junior Brother Lin. I'll go check on the ship's condition."
After speaking, he walked towards the bow of the ship, as if nothing had happened.
Only then did his tensed body begin to relax...
When Su Luo finally regained consciousness, it was already the afternoon of the next day.
Her head throbbed slightly from the hangover. She saw herself in bed and couldn't remember how she got back to her room.
After muttering to herself for a while, Su Luo swore she would never get drunk again. She quickly took a hangover-clearing pill. Once she felt mostly recovered, she changed her clothes and went out.
The spacious spiritual ship had been thoroughly cleaned, with only a faint mixed scent of hot pot and alcohol remaining.
Everyone was chatting in twos and threes. Upon seeing Su Luo, they all greeted her.
"Hello everyone!" Su Luo looked at the clear blue sky, feeling incredibly uplifted.
She walked to the bow of the ship, gazing into the distance, and as the refreshing breeze blew past her face, she suddenly remembered something.
Right, she hadn't examined the Saint artifact that Senior Brother had given her yet.
With nothing else to do, Su Luo took out the silver hand crossbow that Li Tianjue had given her and began to study it.
"What are you doing?"
Suddenly, Li Tianjue's voice came from beside her.
Su Luo, with no memory of last night, smiled and said, "Senior Brother, I'm looking at the Saint artifact you gave me."
It was a small hand crossbow, palm-sized, exquisitely crafted, clearly the work of a master. After studying it for a moment, Su Luo quickly figured out how to use it. It was a crossbow that attached to the wrist and fired bolts. All she needed to do was input spiritual energy.
The accompanying arrows were five inches long, like steel nails. There were fifty of them, capable of continuous firing.
Just as Li Tianjue was about to say something, Su Luo suddenly exclaimed, "Huh, Senior Brother, why do I feel like you're a bit different today?"
"How so?"
Li Tianjue instinctively took a step back, his already unsettled heart pounding again.
Su Luo stared at him, scanning him up and down, and asked doubtfully, "You're just different, but I can't quite put my finger on it. It's just a feeling... Senior Brother, are you really alright?"
This girl is so sensitive!
Li Tianjue changed the subject, afraid of her noticing anything. "Do you still want to test this crossbow?"
Su Luo didn't dwell on it anymore. She shrugged and said, "I want to try, but we're on the spiritual ship now, and there's no target. We can't just test it in the air, can we? There are birds flying in the sky, but testing it on them won't show its power."
Li Tianjue: "Try it on me."
Huh?
Su Luo blinked her eyes, "Senior Brother, are you serious? Aren't you afraid that if by chance..."
Li Tianjue said calmly, "Although a Grade Three Saint artifact is good, if it's not a surprise attack, it shouldn't pose much of a threat to me. Feel free to give it your best shot."
He really is confident, using himself to help her test the power of the Saint artifact. Su Luo also became energetic.
"Alright, let's try it."
When everyone heard that they were going to test the power of this most expensive Saint artifact, they all became excited and ran out of the cabin to watch.
For a ranged weapon, it was natural to test it from a distance.
Li Tianjue stepped off the spiritual ship and floated into the air, creating a distance of about ten zhang from the ship before saying, "Alright, get ready."
Su Luo slowly raised her wrist and said word by word, "Senior Brother, be careful."
Instantly, spiritual light flowed around the hand crossbow, and a bolt of light flashed on an arrow.
Whoosh!
Su Luo didn't even see it clearly, only sensing that something had been fired.
In an instant, a transparent barrier appeared in front of Li Tianjue. A powerful force impacted it, and the shockwave erupted with a dazzling white light. The astonishing sonic boom made the onlookers cover their ears.
Even the spiritual ship was shaken, wobbling slightly.
How terrifying! This arrow actually explodes?
A moment later, the light disappeared, and the shockwave dissipated. Li Tianjue was unharmed, and everyone marveled. Shang Xie Shao Qing even praised, "How amazing! This hand crossbow's power is immense, but it still couldn't harm Brother Li!"
"Senior Brother is so powerful."
"As expected of Senior Brother, even a Grade Three Saint artifact can't harm him!"
Seeing that Li Tianjue was fine, Su Luo's heart settled, and she called out, "Senior Brother, I'm going to fire consecutively!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Su Luo fired three arrows in rapid succession, as fast as lightning.
Li Tianjue finally moved. He waved his hand, and a bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere, accurately striking one of the arrows. The other two arrows, however, sealed his escape routes to the left and right. Li Tianjue unleashed a burst of energy from his body, forcefully blasting them away.
Boom, boom, boom!
The three arrows exploded, the air waves rolling, and the spiritual ship was tossed about. The disciples steering the ship quickly pulled away.
"One last time, Senior Brother!"
Su Luo chuckled lightly, and the arrow transformed into an invisible streak of cold light and shot out.
Li Tianjue lowered his body, easily dodging it.
Suddenly, a spiritual ship appeared in the distance, just emerging from a thick patch of clouds. It encountered this stray arrow head-on.
Su Luo's heart sank. The explosion had already sounded.
Boom!