After completing everything, Chu Xuan used a cleansing talisman to tidy himself up and returned to his senior sister’s side.

Qin Mengyao opened her eyes and looked at her junior brother with great satisfaction.

On one hand, it was his calm demeanor earlier, on the other:

"Thank you for trusting me, junior brother. I haven’t shared much with you before, yet you were willing to risk your life to stay with me."

"What is senior sister talking about? Aren’t you now entrusting your life in my hands as well?"

With that, they exchanged a smile.

So this is what having a younger brother feels like? It’s wonderful, Qin Mengyao thought silently.

"This place isn’t suitable to stay for long, we must leave immediately."

After all, no one knows if the first wave of cultivators to kill the Poison Blood Profound Crocodile were devoured or retreated.

Chu Xuan nodded. He crouched in front of his senior sister and extended his hands, saying: "Let me carry you."

At this moment, Qin Mengyao had almost lost the ability to move, let alone perform Sword Flight; she couldn’t even stand steadily. That move, "Heavenly Sword from Beyond," exhausted her spiritual energy greatly, and it couldn’t be replenished quickly just by consuming a few Replenishing Essence Pills and casually meditating.

Qin Mengyao hesitated for a moment, thinking that she was treating him as a younger brother anyway, and thus agreed.

She extended her hands, leaned forward, and lay on Chu Xuan’s back.

A warm softness immediately pressed against him; at the same time, Chu Xuan hooked his hands backward, holding his sister’s slender and round thighs, feeling an extremely delicate and smooth touch.

Qin Mengyao let out a soft "hng," her body trembled slightly, her nasal voice quivering, seeming a bit unaccustomed.

Chu Xuan also felt a bit embarrassed, even recalling the villain’s words about being willing to live ten years less for such an encounter.

He quickly shook his head internally, scolding himself for being shameless.

When Chu Xuan made this decision, he truly didn’t have any intention of taking advantage, so why did his feelings become twisted during implementation?

He silently admonished himself, reminding that his senior sister only considered him as a younger brother, and he must not betray her trust, only treating her as a sister in return.

Suddenly, a bright smiling face appeared in Chu Xuan’s mind, with a gentle voice echoing in his ears:

"In the future, you mustn’t get close to other girls, nor engage in any ambiguous behavior."

A pain surged in Chu Xuan’s heart, forcing himself to withdraw from his memories and stop recalling everything related to that person.

She abandoned me, no longer wants me, so why keep thinking of her?

Anyway, Chu Xuan firmed his resolve to discard the lovely sensations from his back and hands, dismiss the alluring fragrance at his nose, and just regard himself as carrying a good brother.

Qin Mengyao, passing through the initial awkwardness, saw her junior brother carrying her uprightly, even tensing up due to nervousness, with his ears flushed red, and felt somewhat amused.

Speaking of which, the junior brother is just an untried youth...

Thinking this, Qin Mengyao’s hands, wrapped around his neck, relaxed a bit more.

Once Chu Xuan stabilized his Sword Flight, she nestled against his neck, softly speaking: "Junior brother, may I ask you something?"

Senior sister Ru Lan’s warm breath sprayed onto Chu Xuan’s skin, itching slightly.

He paused in silence before saying, "Sure."

Back then, in the rear mountain forest, the scene where Chu Xuan suddenly burst into tears while listening to the melodious calls of nightingales left a deep impression on Qin Mengyao.

For some reason, today she suddenly recalled it, hence the question:

"...Since that time, I’ve been curious about you; what is your past like?"

"Of course, I know it’s a scar on your heart, so I’ve never dared to ask before."

"But today, could you please humor your elder sister a bit? Perhaps share a little?"

"Even if it’s only a few words; I want to know your past."

Perhaps due to being weak and injured, the usually mature, steady, and reliable senior sister suddenly adopted a slight coquettish tone.

Chu Xuan remained silent for a long while before saying: "It’s merely a story of falling for someone, only to be abandoned due to various reasons."

"Neither fresh nor particularly unusual."

Despite the brevity of his words, Qin Mengyao could deeply sense the emotions behind them—grief, heaviness—as if all these years had passed without moving beyond them...

She couldn’t help but feel a bit of empathy, wanting to hold and protect this young man.

Qin Mengyao asked nothing more, only tightened her grip slightly, saying gently: "Things will get better; everything will improve."

With those words, her body nestled a bit closer, as if trying to use her warmth to comfort his hurt, neglected heart.

Chu Xuan remained silent, unsure how to respond to this care...

A short while later, he was surprised to discover Qin Mengyao had fallen asleep.

She nestled against his neck, her cheek resting against his skin, peacefully, and tranquilly asleep.

This brought an involuntary smile to Chu Xuan’s lips; it seems senior sister truly trusts him.

...

Nightfall descended, and with Chu Xuan’s cultivation level, it was naturally impossible to fly continuously without resting.

Carefully, he found a sheltered spot to land, set up a small array to conceal their traces, and began to build a fire for warmth.

During this process, Qin Mengyao naturally awoke. Though she remained very weak, unlikely to recover within ten days to half a month, she didn’t appear upset, merely smiling as she watched her junior brother busily tending to tasks.

Once everything was in order, Qin Mengyao gazed at the warm fire and gently leaned against Chu Xuan, even turning her head to rest on his shoulder.

Chu Xuan was still a bit uneasy, "Should you perhaps meditate instead?"

"No, I’ve overexerted my Divine Sense, so meditating won’t help much. Let me sleep a bit more."

Qin Mengyao murmured softly and soon fell into slumber again.

Seeing this, Chu Xuan carefully lay her flat, allowing her to rest her head on his thigh.

Under the warm, orange glow of the fire, her pure and beautiful face seemed more innocent and lovely, evoking tenderness.

Chu Xuan gently stroked her cheek with his fingers, his mind again drifting to past events, thoughts tangled, perhaps hinting that he too should try stepping out of his self-imposed confines.

...

In this manner, Chu Xuan sat through the night, waiting for those who should have arrived.

The next day, as Qin Mengyao awoke bleary-eyed, she rubbed her eyes and asked, "Have the ancestors not come to meet us?"

This was a reasonable assumption:

Theoretically, after organizing their spoils, Chu Xuan and his senior sister should hasten to catch up with Jiang Yiyi and the others.

But now, so much time had passed while they delayed their reunion, it should be time for Jiang Yiyi and the others to worry and turn back to find them.

Chu Xuan was also puzzled, "Could it be that junior brother’s injuries are so unbearable that they couldn’t attend to us, and hurried to return him to the sect immediately?"

Qin Mengyao’s expression turned curious, "I just proposed a random reason, his injuries aren’t that severe, right?"

"Nevermind, guessing is pointless; let’s set off quickly, hoping nothing went wrong."

At Qin Mengyao’s mention, Chu Xuan started to worry as well. He carried her again to continue their journey.