Inside the dim cave, Yun Yun leaned quietly against the innermost wall, hugging her knees, her eyes blank and unfocused as she stared ahead, her mind a chaotic mess.
"I never thought that after guarding my purity for so many years, I would… let a young man here…"
Yun Yun's emotions were complex, but she didn't feel much resentment towards Xiao Li.
She didn't know why, but she couldn't bring herself to hate him.
Perhaps it was because it was her own fault? If she hadn't been unable to distinguish herbs, such a thing wouldn't have happened.
Or perhaps it was because she already had a good impression of Xiao Li.
After all, he was her savior, and Yun Yun naturally felt some goodwill towards him.
Moreover, although Xiao Li wasn't a true Dou Zong expert, he could still unleash Dou Zong-level power, so his identity was certainly not simple.
If it had been anyone else, Yun Yun might have truly wanted to kill him immediately.
But it just happened to be Xiao Li.
Just as she was lost in thought, Xiao Li walked in from outside.
Yun Yun instinctively recoiled.
Seeing her wary look, Xiao Li smiled helplessly and said, "A day has passed, you must be hungry. Have something to eat first."
He placed several grilled fish and some grilled shrimp, wrapped in lotus leaves, in front of Yun Yun.
Seeing the grilled fish, Yun Yun's expression immediately became a bit strange.
"These are fish I personally grilled. There's nothing in them, don't worry."
These words brought a faint blush of embarrassment to Yun Yun's cheeks.
If only she hadn't been so clever yesterday.
If she hadn't gone to grill the fish, such a thing wouldn't have happened.
"Thank you…"
"Then you eat slowly. I'll continue to stand guard outside."
"Wait!" Yun Yun called out to him, "You… don't need to go out. Just stay here."
Xiao Li didn't ask further and sat down on the spot.
Yun Yun asking him to stay showed that she wasn't very resentful of Xiao Li, which was good news.
"Yesterday's incident… let's pretend nothing happened. Once I break the seal, I'll leave, and perhaps we'll never meet again," Yun Yun said softly, biting her thin lip slightly.
These words sounded like a farewell.
But she had originally come for the Amethyst Winged Lion King's purple spirit crystal. Once she obtained the purple spirit crystal, she would leave here and return to the Yunlan Sect.
Forgetting everything that happened in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
"No."
Xiao Li suddenly said seriously, "I cannot pretend that nothing happened yesterday. I am a responsible man. Since such a thing has already occurred, I cannot act as if nothing happened."
"I don't need you to take responsibility…" Yun Yun averted her gaze.
"Then who do you want to take responsibility?"
"It's my own fault, I'll take responsibility myself," Yun Yun said softly.
At worst, she would live out the rest of her life alone, and then no one else would be affected.
"Yun Zhi, look at me!"
Xiao Li took Yun Yun's hand and said with a hint of dominance, "I like you, so I won't let you do that. I must take responsibility for you."
Yun Yun glanced at him, her gaze flickering evasively, and said, "I already told you, I don't need you to take responsibility for me."
Looking at her like this, Xiao Li suddenly felt an inexplicable surge of anger.
So he abruptly pulled Yun Yun into his arms and dominantly kissed the woman's soft, thin lips.
"Mm…"
Yun Yun's eyes widened, and she struggled continuously with her hands, trying to push Xiao Li away.
But how could she, who hadn't yet broken her seal, possibly push Xiao Li away?
Since she couldn't push him away, Yun Yun suddenly steeled herself and bit Xiao Li's lip hard.
But even though his lip bled from the bite, Xiao Li didn't let go; instead, he continued to kiss her domineeringly.
Slowly, perhaps because she couldn't bear to bite any longer, or perhaps because Yun Yun wasn't truly very resistant, her struggles grew weaker and weaker, and her body softly slumped against Xiao Li.
"Can you accept me now?" Xiao Li released her lips and asked domineeringly.
Yun Yun didn't know how to answer.
She felt that doing so was not good, and deep down, she didn't really want to accept it.
But she couldn't bring herself to completely reject Xiao Li.
This conflicted feeling left her at a loss for what to do.
Xiao Li also saw her inner conflict, and that she kept trying to avoid the truth.
If he couldn't make Yun Yun accept her inner feelings, the situation might develop in a direction other than what Xiao Li had envisioned.
"Xiao Li, actually, I lied to you about something." Yun Yun looked up at him.
"What is it?"
"Actually, my name isn't Yun Zhi. My real name is Yun Yun, and I am the Sect Master of Yunlan Sect," she said.
Xiao Li already knew, but he still deliberately showed a surprised expression: "So you are the Sect Master of Yunlan Sect!"
"Yes, so, I can't… accept you."
Yun Yun finally understood the source of her complex emotions.
Because she was the Sect Master of Yunlan Sect, her every word and action concerned the reputation of the Yunlan Sect.
Therefore, even if something like that happened between her and Xiao Li, she couldn't make the decision on her own.
"Because you are the Sect Master of Yunlan Sect, would you feel ashamed to be with me?" Xiao Li looked at her.
"It's not like that," Yun Yun quickly explained, then lowered her eyes again: "I just… can't help myself."
"Then, if I grow to a point where I can stand on equal footing with your Yunlan Sect, would you be willing to accept me?" Xiao Li asked.
"If only you were truly a Dou Zong expert…" Yun Yun murmured softly, then laughed at herself, finding it ridiculous.
Currently, there wasn't a single true Dou Zong expert in the Jia Ma Empire, so how could she demand that Xiao Li be a Dou Zong expert?
"My seal should break tomorrow. At that time, I should also leave." She looked at Xiao Li, her gaze not avoiding his for the first time.
"After I leave, it might be very difficult for us to meet again, so I hope you can forget everything that happened in the cave."
"No, I won't forget," Xiao Li looked at her: "If you leave, one day, I will go to the Yunlan Sect to find you."
He would never let his woman leave!
However, given the current situation, it was indeed unrealistic to expect Yun Yun to stay directly.
But he knew that Yun Yun's heart already held his image.
As long as he went to the Yunlan Sect in the future, he would surely be able to make Yun Yun accept him wholeheartedly.
Yun Yun looked at him, opened her small mouth, then swallowed the words on her lips, sighing.
"You little fellow, you're so stubborn…"
She knew that no matter what she said, it wouldn't change Xiao Li's mind.
Just as no matter what Xiao Li said, it couldn't make her stay.
So, let's both be a little willful then.
"It's getting late, get some rest."
Yun Yun felt much more at ease and didn't need to kick Xiao Li out.
The two of them rested silently in the cave like that…