Slender willows sway in the breeze

Chapter 197 Willing or Unwilling
"Grandmother, thank you!"

She knew her grandmother had a noble cause, but wasn't sure how far she could go. She was satisfied with today's outcome.

Aside from saying "thank you," Liu Sijun didn't know what else to say.

“Jun’er, your grandmother is tired. Let’s talk another day. This courtyard is no longer habitable. Go to your mother’s courtyard. I had it repaired last year.”

"it is good."

The moonlight cast a sinister shadow over Hidden Moon Courtyard. Liu Sijun leaned against a bamboo couch, reading documents, the wound on his left shoulder inflicted by evil magic still throbbing faintly.

Suddenly, he heard a soft creaking at the window. Gu Changzhou had already strolled over to his side, his dark robes damp with night dew, and he was holding a jade medicine bottle in his hand: "I heard that someone is stubbornly refusing to use the muscle-regenerating ointment?"

A strange look flashed through Liu Sijun's heart. She pulled her clothes tighter and covered her wound as she did so: "Why are you here?"

How did you know she was injured?
Even Li Qing was unaware of her injury.

Just as she asked the question, An brought over a steaming bowl of ginseng soup: "Miss, this is what I just made."

An was startled to find a man in the room.

"Just leave it there, I'll drink it later."

Liu Sijun spoke first, and Cong An responded, putting down her soup bowl and running away.

Gu Changzhou did not answer, but knelt on the edge of the bamboo couch and used his fingertips to lift her plain white inner garment: "If this injury is delayed for another three days, even the best medicine will probably leave a scar."

Liu Sijun's ears turned slightly red, and he seemed to be acting more naturally.

But when she thought about what she had done to him when they first met, she was too embarrassed to say anything to scold him.

“Just a minor injury”

Before he finished speaking, the aroma of medicine reached his nose.

The slightly cool ointment was applied to the burning wound.

His hair still held the scent of osmanthus blossoms he had picked up on the way there, their sweet fragrance mingling with the aroma of ambergris, lingering between the two of them.

The overlapping figures were reflected in the mirror. Gu Changzhou's fingertips traced along the butterfly bone: "You still can't bear to harm him. The evil poison left by his mutated evil magic needs to be neutralized by daily internal energy cultivation."

Over the past year, Liu Sijun has fought alongside them against Xuanji Hall and Blood Spirit Sect several times. Although he was injured at times, this time he was the most seriously injured.

Admittedly, there were reasons why he tried his best to protect her, but this time, dealing with Liu Shiyuan was clearly different from the previous times.

"No need, I can take pills to heal myself."

Unexpectedly, as soon as she finished speaking, her palm suddenly pressed against her back, and warm spiritual energy flowed into her meridians like a spring stream.

Liu Sijun trembled slightly from the shock, and a blush spread from behind her ears all the way to her collarbone.

"do not move."

His warm breath brushed against her earlobe, and Gu Changzhou, in this half-embracing position, helped her fasten her dress.

Just as the sandalwood clasp was about to lock the last button, he suddenly brushed his knuckles against the throbbing pulse on the side of her neck: "This color suits you."

Liu Sijun lowered her head. Cai Jian's inner garment had been changed to begonia red at some point, and the gold thread along the edge shimmered faintly in the candlelight.

Just as she was about to speak, a firework suddenly exploded outside the window, startling her so much that she fell backward and bumped into his arms. Gu Changzhou pulled her close, resting his chin on her head: "The fireworks for this year's Qiniang Festival seem to be even more spectacular than in previous years."

When Gu Changzhou spoke, Liu Sijun remembered that today was her eighteenth birthday.

He magically produced a glass lantern, and the stars formed from spiritual energy flowed inside the lampshade in the shape of the Hetu diagram: "A birthday gift for you."

As Gu Changzhou placed the lamp on the table, his pinky finger seemingly unintentionally brushed against a strand of her hair.

Liu Sijun looked at the glass lamp and suddenly smiled.

Thinking back to this time last year, when I confessed my feelings to him, I actually changed the subject because I was nervous.

This year, instead of mentioning it, they went straight to "taking action".

He knew he had always coveted his good looks, but he hid it so well that he completely forgot.
Feeling better now?

"Hmm." I didn't expect Gu Changzhou to be so thoughtful.

"Thank you!"

He thought Liu Sijun would know when to stop, but this "thank you" only emboldened him. He suddenly leaned very close, his warm breath washing over Liu Sijun's face: "What are you thanking me for?"

Their battle was quite a big one. If it weren't for Gu Changzhou's help, it wouldn't have been so easy to keep Liu Shiyuan's practice of evil arts and his collusion with the Blood Spirit Sect a secret.

The old lady was such a shrewd person that she would normally have been very careful to investigate and ensure that nothing went wrong. However, Liu Shiyuan's blow to her was too great, so she simply ignored it.

That's why Liu Sijun thanked him.

This guy clearly knows, but he still insists on asking.

Liu Sijun rolled her eyes: "If you don't know, then forget it."

She was about to turn around when Gu Changzhou grabbed her arm: "Since you want to thank me, why not do something practical?"

"what?"

But as the face drew closer, Liu Sijun understood what he meant by "actual actions."

For no reason at all, her heart started pounding wildly.

Finally, Liu Sijun covered Gu Changzhou's lips, but Gu Changzhou licked Liu Sijun's palm with his warm tongue, causing her to pull her hand back as if burned by fire.

The tips of his ears turned red and warm.

"Let's talk this out."

What is this all about? It's made her suddenly forget what to do.

"Si Jun, what do you think of me?"

"pretty good."

"Where's the best place?"

Liu Sijun: "Anywhere is fine."

Gu Changzhou suddenly became shameless: "Explain clearly, what's so good about it?"

"Gu Changzhou, is this never going to end?"

Just as Liu Sijun looked up in annoyance, Gu Changzhou's handsome face suddenly appeared before her: "Sijun, tell me, are you willing or not?"

If you think about it carefully, they've known each other for quite a while.

Especially during their time in Zhongzhou City, they dealt with the Xuanji Hall and the Blood Spirit Sect together, spending most of their time together.

There was no romance, but there was life-and-death struggle.

The candle wick sparked tiny embers, and Liu Sijun stared at the thin lips so close to his own, his throat tightening.

She suddenly caught a glimpse of the star map flowing in the glass lamp, and the shimmering light perfectly outlined the silhouette of Mo Lin.

It's the pattern from the jade pendant that was torn off by the Blood Spirit Cult during the fierce battle last year.

You're asking a question you already know the answer to.

Her fingertips touched his chest, catching sight of half a jade pendant hidden inside his clothes. "Last year in that underground palace, who was it that slipped the jade pendant into my hand and said, 'If I don't come back, please keep it for me, young lady'?"

Gu Changzhou's eyes suddenly turned deep and he grabbed her wrist and pressed it against the carved window frame.

Moonlight pierced through the glass lampshade, casting shimmering, star-like shadows on his profile: "Back then you clearly said 'we'd die together,' how come you're bringing up old grievances now?"

The final syllable faded between their pressed lips.

Liu Sijun caught a whiff of the lingering scent of pine soot and ink on his tongue, and suddenly remembered three months ago in a secret chamber of Xuanji Hall, when he was breaking through the formation with a long sword in his hand, his eyelashes had also been lowered, casting shadows under his eyes.

The memories of brushing with death, mixed with the tenderness of the present moment, made her fingers go numb.