Fairy, you call this repaying a debt of gratitude?

Shen Wei froze, his breathing becoming rapid. He suppressed the desire in his heart, stepped forward, and slowly draped the girl's clothes back over her shoulders.

He was not a gentleman, yet as he looked at this holy and perfect body, a slight unease rose in his chest, as if warning him that such beauty should not be desecrated.

Seeing Shen Wei's actions, Gu Lengyue was very puzzled. She tilted her head slightly and asked the question that was on her mind:

"You...can't do it?"

Shen Wei sat to the side, avoiding her gaze, his thin lips pressed tightly together.

"no."

"Am I not pretty enough?"

"You...are beautiful." Shen Wei's gaze fell on her face, his voice was strained, but Gu Lengyue could tell that it was a heartfelt praise.

Why is that?

You're drunk.

"I'm not drunk," Gu Lengyue immediately retorted, her tone certain.

The girl had just said she was drunk with clear eyes, but now she said she wasn't drunk with hazy eyes. Shen Wei was once again unable to figure out what the girl was thinking.

Why do this?

"..."

Gu Lengyue remained silent, her fingertips gripping the hem of her clothes tightly. After a long while, she spoke in a trembling voice:

"This is the only thing I can give you. If you still find it objectionable..."

"I have nothing more to give you."

"But I never asked you for anything..."

"This is what I owe you."

Gu Lengyue immediately interrupted him, raising her eyes to meet his gaze directly without flinching.

"You taught me swordsmanship and even helped me forge such a precious sword. I must repay these kindnesses."

"But I'm not forcing you to pay it back now... Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"..."

"I'm going to kill someone, someone I absolutely have to kill."

"But I'm too weak. I don't know if I can come back alive, so I think..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but her intentions were crystal clear. Fearing she might never return, she wanted to entrust everything she could give to the only two people who had ever brought her warmth before she left.

Shen Wei shook his head and sighed heavily:

You shouldn't do that.

Gu Lengyue immediately looked up and asked:

"What is right and what is wrong?"

"At the very least, this shouldn't be the case."

Shen Wei's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible irritation.

He felt like a pedantic scholar tempted but constrained by his own desires, or a monk strictly adhering to the rules, but he had never been that kind of person.

He was always free-spirited, unbound by the teachings of sages or bound by Buddhist beliefs, yet he found himself repeatedly restraining himself when facing this young girl, a reason he couldn't even explain.

Gu Lengyue hesitated for a moment, then finally asked:

"...Is it because you think I'm Gu Hanfeng's daughter, and that you think I'm too dirty, that you won't touch me?"

"No," Shen Wei immediately denied. "I've never thought that way."

Gu Lengyue remained silent for a moment, as if a huge weight had been lifted from her heart.

Then, she suddenly raised her head, as if she had mustered all her courage, and before Shen Wei could say anything more, she straightened up slightly and kissed him.

Her kiss was inexperienced and clumsy, lacking any skill whatsoever. She didn't know how to breathe, and simply pressed her stiff lips tightly against his, her breathing rapid and frantic.

Meanwhile, her hand hung helplessly in mid-air, unsure whether to place it on Shen Wei's shoulder or somewhere else. In the end, she could only tightly grip the fabric of Shen Wei's chest.

Shen Wei's heart skipped a beat at the girl's clumsy yet sincere kiss.

He could clearly sense her panic and helplessness; her pure feelings softened his heart, and his previous restraint gradually crumbled.

He couldn't help but reach out and gently grasp her hands, which were suspended in mid-air, placing them on his shoulders. With his other hand, he gently held the back of her neck, slowly taking control of her breathing and tenderly guiding her.

After a long while, their lips slowly parted and closed. At that moment, the air was filled with all sorts of scents, both desire and restraint.

Gu Lengyue was slightly out of breath. During the kiss, her tall figure unconsciously straddled his body. She looked down at him with a complicated expression.

There was shyness, there was determination, and there was also—

A little reluctant to part.

Her heart, which had been frozen for so long, had unknowingly been quietly melted by the equally cold man in front of her.

Before she could speak, Shen Wei said, "I will help you."

"No." Gu Lengyue immediately refused, a cold glint in her eyes. "It's a promise, you can only die by my hand."

"But if you die, who will take my life?"

Gu Lengyue didn't know how to refute it in the end, but she stubbornly said, "In short, it just won't work."

How strong is that person?

"Even stronger than... Gu Hanfeng."

"But Gu Hanfeng is not strong at all."

"Gu Hanfeng is actually very strong..."

"But that day, I don't know why, he suddenly became so weak."

"You were watching me fight Gu Hanfeng back then?"

"Hmm...because of this jade pendant."

He had assumed that the girl was hiding somewhere using the jade pendant, but he never expected that she was actually observing their fight from the sidelines.

Shen Wei looked once again at the familiar jade pendant in Gu Lengyue's hand. It was with this pendant that he had confirmed that the girl was Gu Hanfeng's daughter.

The jade pendant was his mother's keepsake, and its effects were exquisite and extremely precious. It was quite reasonable that it ended up in Gu Hanfeng's hands.

But now, at this moment, he no longer dared to be certain that the girl in front of him was Gu Hanfeng's biological daughter.

The only certainty is that the girl's identity must be extremely important to Gu Hanfeng.

Otherwise, how could such a powerful life-saving magic weapon have fallen into the hands of a young girl?

"What do you mean by saying Gu Hanfeng has suddenly become weaker?"

Shen Wei pressed on, his tone becoming more serious. He vaguely sensed that there might be a secret hidden within.

"He's become very weak..."

Gu Lengyue frowned, as if recalling the scene at that time.

"My cultivation level is too low to explain exactly what was different, but I know that his aura was much weaker than usual at that time."

Seeing that he couldn't get any useful information from Gu Hanfeng, Shen Wei changed the subject and tentatively asked:

"Can you tell me about the person you're going to kill?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Lengyue paused for a moment, seemingly recalling some past events, and also seemed to be caught in a deep dilemma.

She wanted to speak, but she couldn't.

In the past, others had borne the heavy burdens and dangers for her, but they all vanished before her eyes one by one.

She didn't want anyone else to die because of her; she wanted to bear this unpleasantness alone.

"No... I can't say that. This isn't just about me."

Upon hearing this, Shen Wei fell silent. Seeing the difficulty in the girl's eyes, he ultimately did not ask any further questions.