It was truly cold at the cave entrance.
The night wind was so chilly.
Yan Ruyu carefully took out his right hand. By now, his legs were a bit numb.
He gently scooped Zhao Shuning into his arms.
She was as soft and fragrant as jade.
The scent on the young girl was extremely alluring.
For a moment, Yan Ruyu felt a rush of blood in his body.
In his arms was the girl he had loved for so long. It would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted.
Yan Ruyu was no saint. He was a man of flesh and blood.
When he saw the one he loved suffering, his heart would ache.
When he saw Zhao Shuning shedding tears, he wished he could bear the pain for her.
At that moment in the Zhao Mansion, Feng Zhan sneezed loudly. He entered the house, shook his head and said, "Could someone be cursing me to death?"
Thinking it was impossible, he went back to bed.
Yan Ruyu looked at the woman in his arms, suppressing the stirrings in his lower abdomen, and carried her into the cave.
He found a soft spot and wanted to put Zhao Shuning down.
But Zhao Shuning's hands tightly clasped around Yan Ruyu's neck and refused to let go.
Helpless, Yan Ruyu lay down with Zhao Shuning.
After crying for a long time, Zhao Shuning fell into a nightmare again. This time, she came to the side of a lake.
By the lakeshore, there was the figure of Zhao Huai. He was walking into the water.
She immediately ran over, trying to grab Zhao Huai and stop him from walking into the river.
But she missed and plunged into the river with a splash.
She struggled desperately, but no matter what, she couldn't get to the shore. The bone - chilling cold made her shiver constantly.
Suddenly, she felt a warm force approaching her.
Driven by the instinct for survival, she kept moving towards that warmth.
Yan Ruyu was feeling sleepy. He had just closed his eyes when he suddenly felt something was wrong, because something was groping around on his body.
Yan Ruyu opened his eyes in a flash.
Sure enough.
Zhao Shuning's hands were tugging at Yan Ruyu's outer robe. Now the robe had been undone, and Zhao Shuning's body was desperately pressing against his warm one.
The places where the young girl's hands touched immediately became hot.
At this moment, Yan Ruyu didn't even dare to move.
He could only watch as Zhao Shuning found a comfortable position in his arms and then fell into a deep sleep again.
By now, all of Yan Ruyu's upper - body clothes had been undone.
It was his bare chest that Zhao Shuning was leaning against.
Now, finding a sense of security, Zhao Shuning's nightmare disappeared, and she slept soundly.
Previously, Yan Ruyu had been extremely sleepy, but now he was wide awake.
He just lay there with his eyes open until dawn the next day.
When Zhao Shuning woke up, she found herself lying on a perfect body.
Her hand was still resting on the chest of this body.
Zhao Shuning's mind went blank for a moment.
She looked up, and Yan Ruyu immediately closed his eyes and pretended to be sleeping.
When Zhao Shuning found herself lying in Yan Ruyu's arms, her shock was indescribable.
By now, she had calmed down a lot.
She thought, was it because of Zhao Huai's incident that she had lost control of her emotions last night? And seeing how handsome her master was, did she do something improper to him?
Before, she had only dared to think about it.
She never thought that last night, she would turn those thoughts into reality.
Zhao Shuning slowly got up.
Yan Ruyu also opened his eyes.
"Awake?"
"Master."
Yan Ruyu skillfully tied up his clothes.
Was her master so calm even after being 'taken advantage of'?
"How are you feeling?"
Zhao Shuning looked at the young boy's body lying there and said slowly, "I'm much better."
"Right now, you probably don't want to go back yet, do you?"
Zhao Shuning nodded.
Right now, she hadn't sorted out her emotions yet. Going back to the Zhao family now would make everyone worry about her.
"Master, if you have something to do, you can go back first. I want to be alone and calm down here."
"No matter how many things I have, Ning'er is the most important."
Zhao Shuning looked up in surprise.
Then she said dejectedly, "Master, I've been through a lot. You don't need to comfort me deliberately. I hadn't completely gotten over the incident of my little follower a few days ago, and now this incident with my brother has happened. I just haven't recovered yet. You don't need to worry about me."
Zhao Shuning had gone through so much pain and suffering.
She knew that simply being sad was useless.
Zhao Huai wouldn't come back to life.
The Zhao family wouldn't get better because of her sadness.
Once emotions erupted, it would be easier to heal later.
But, regarding Zhao Huai's incident, could the wound in Ning'er's heart really heal completely?
"Master, I said a lot of nonsense last night, didn't I?"
"No."
"Thank you, Master, for staying with me last night."
Zhao Shuning never thought that her master, who usually kept people at a distance, would chase after her.
Moreover, he was willing to be hugged by her and sleep with her for a whole night.
She didn't know if anything had happened in the second half of the night. She had slept too soundly.
"It's nothing."
"Master."
"You were cold last night, so you undid my clothes to keep warm. Nothing else happened. You don't need to worry."
"Okay."
Master hadn't suffered any loss. She should be happy, but Zhao Shuning could hear a hint of regret in Yan Ruyu's tone.
"Ning'er, there are some things that you should know even if I don't say them."
Zhao Shuning nodded.
"I know that sadness and self - blame can't solve problems, nor can they bring anything to the people around me. Instead, they will make them sad with me. Master, I can get over this. Believe me."
Zhao Shuning had to grow stronger slowly. She couldn't be defeated by this incident.
There were still many things waiting for her to do.
There was the matter of her younger brother Ye Xingchen, the incident when Ye Ling had suffered great injustice and was besieged to death by the four major families, and there were many people she cared about and who cared about her, waiting for her to protect them.
Only by getting over this could she avenge Zhao Huai.
Only then would her brother find peace in the netherworld.
Yan Ruyu didn't tell Zhao Shuning that Zhao Huai's body was just a container for the Supreme Beast.
Strictly speaking, Zhao Huai hadn't completely died.
Even if the Supreme Beast's primordial spirit was damaged, its vitality was extremely tenacious.
But Yan Ruyu said nothing. If Zhao Shuning got involved in this matter, other dangerous characters on the Nine - Province Continent would also set their sights on her.
Moreover, right now, Yan Ruyu didn't know to what extent the Supreme Beast's primordial spirit was damaged or how long it would take for it to stage a comeback.
If the Supreme Beast wanted to harm the countless living beings on the Nine - Province Continent in the future, there would surely be a battle between them. No matter who won, it wouldn't be a good thing for Zhao Shuning.
If Yan Ruyu managed to subdue the Supreme Beast, its second death would make Zhao Shuning experience the pain of life - and - death separation again.
The feeling of losing something after getting it back was simply too painful. Yan Ruyu didn't want Zhao Shuning to experience this again.