Exploring the Illusory Tomb Part 1 [Ancient Times Version] - Chapter 43: Brilliant Like Fire

Chapter 43: Brilliant Like Fire

“Luo… Shen.” 

My lips trembled. And the sound that came out was low and hoarse.

The person behind me didn’t respond. She reached out and gently grabbed my wrist. And just like that, I fell into her arms.

Her thin lips continued to press against the back of my neck. They were slowly moving. They gradually spread to behind my ear. Her warm breath poured directly into the root of my ear. And wherever her lips touched, it felt like it was set on fire.

But her lips were clearly cold, icy cold. Yet they brought me such burning sensations.

Her kisses were so light. They like falling flowers brushing past flowing water. They carried the fragrance of morning dew. They brushed across my skin, continued downward, and eventually flowed into my heart.

My whole body felt as if it were bound by a fine net. They were unable to move. It allowed that cold fragrance behind me to press tightly against me. My heart pounded wildly. At this moment, no words could describe the shock and joy in my heart.

I liked her so much, but had never dared to say it out loud. Yet now, her lingering, delicate kisses behind me gave me an unexpected response. It was filling me with overwhelming joy.

It was like I had struggled to follow her. Climbing mountains, crossing waters. I was always watching her back from afar. But now, I suddenly discovered she had stopped. A faint smile was on her face. It was standing at the corner with her unique, unparalleled beauty, waiting for me.

When my mind cleared, she had already turned my body to face her. I was pressed against Ao Yue’s soft fur. My back was burning like fire. In front of me was Luo Shen’s face leaning close. Her eyes now held light ripples. They were like a shallow lake under moonlight. They gazed at me without blinking.

I looked up at her, tongue-tied. I was trembling: 

“You… you.”

Her right hand was braced against my shoulder. She raised her fine eyebrows and suddenly smiled faintly. She softly said, 

“Me what?”

That smile could topple a city. Everything around was dimmed by her smile. My world had only her snow-like light. Fireflies danced around. And those twinkling lights all fell into her eyes.

To me, this life is enough.

I no longer hesitated. I reached out, gently hooked her neck, and she leaned in. She was kissing my lips.

The world instantly turned chaotic. This time, it was unlike the bittersweet feeling when secretly kissing her. Nor was it like the surprise and trembling brought by her light kisses earlier. This time, there was only peace, calm, and joy. They were overflowing from my heart.

Through slightly narrowed eyes, I secretly observed her. Her eyes were gently closed, long eyelashes slightly trembling, her icy cheeks tinged with pink — one could never get enough of looking at her.

As I responded to her cool kiss, I thought, how could anyone’s kiss be this sweet — just like that carved lotus seed soup with rock sugar from a dessert shop.

After a while, that cool softness finally left. She lifted her head, gazed intently at me, then suddenly said, 

“Why are you crying?” 

As she spoke, she reached out to wipe my face.

“I’m not crying!” 

I hurriedly denied it. But my hands weren’t idle. I used the back of my hand to rub away the remaining tears at the corners of my eyes. I spoke with a bitter tone: 

“You… are you hungry? I’ll go find something to eat.”

“Not hungry.” 

She shook her head. And suddenly her eyes lit up, saying, 

“I’m full.”

Full?

Full!

At first I didn’t understand what she meant. I instinctively touched my lips — they were much fuller than usual. Suddenly I understood, and quickly jumped up. I was backing away from her. My face was burning — definitely redder than a steamed crab.

She saw my embarrassed look and still maintained a faint smile. She didn’t explain further. She just took my hand and started walking out.

I stumbled behind her. I tightly held her hand. I was afraid it was all a dream. If I didn’t hold on tightly, she might fly away.

As we walked, I asked, 

“Where are we going?”

She held my hand. She was squeezing it as if to reassure me. She then said softly from in front,

 “Now I really am hungry. Let’s go find food.”

We walked around the area. Fortunately, there were some mountain animals and fruit trees near the abyss. We caught a wild mountain chicken, picked some wild fruit, washed the fruit at the spring, cleaned and plucked the chicken, and wrapped it in leaves to bring back.

Then we lit a bonfire on the ground. We skewered the chicken with branches and roasted it. She lowered her head watching me busying about. And the firelight reddened her pale face. It was making her look especially intoxicating.

I glanced over. I was secretly watching her for a long time. I really wanted to pinch myself again to remind myself this wasn’t a dream. My lips still held the lingering taste of her kiss — like mist in the mountains — hard to grasp its reality.

After that heart-stirring kiss, something between us seemed to have completely changed. Just sitting beside the fire, without many words, yet we seemed to understand each other tacitly. Even if we did not break that thin layer of window paper between us.

As my thoughts wandered, she suddenly frowned slightly and said, 

“Careful, don’t lose focus or you’ll get burned.”

I quickly came back to my senses and saw my hand was just an inch from the flame. My face burned even hotter. I hurriedly turned the chicken. It was now sizzling with oil and smelled delicious. It made one’s appetite grow.

I tore off a piece of the wing, wrapped it in leaves, and handed it to her. 

“Who knows where the demoness is now. We should eat and then go find her.” 

Thinking back to the time since we fell off the cliff, I didn’t know how much time had passed. We had survived a disaster. But now, the Dragon Ravine was full of dangers. I worried whether Yu Linxing might have run into something even worse. My heart had just relaxed a bit. But the moment I thought of it, I tensed up again.

“Mm.” 

She replied faintly. Just then, a huge white head poked over — it was Aoyue. It was drawn by the smell. I quickly smiled and tossed half of the roasted chicken to it. It caught it in one bite and swallowed it whole. It then stared at me with its red eyes.

I found it funny. For such a big guy, that bit of chicken wasn’t even enough to fill the gap between its teeth.

I had to spread my hands helplessly: 

“That’s all there is.”

Aoyue snorted through its nose and ran off like the wind. Luo Shen and I exchanged a glance. We were unsure of what the big creature was up to.

When I had covered the fire and cleaned everything up, suddenly a pile of wild chickens fell in front of me like a strange rain. I was stunned.

Aoyue lay in front of me. Its paws were on countless poor wild chicken corpses. We stared at each other. I looked at it, thinking — what are you trying to do?

Aoyue whimpered. It was shaking its big head. I instantly understood. This wolf usually eats raw meat. Maybe it wanted me to roast all these wild chickens for it?

My head instantly felt like it was about to explode. I turned my head and saw Luo Shen covering her mouth. Her shoulders were shaking as if trying not to laugh.

Then she walked over lightly. Her eyes hooked mine. She said, 

“Your cooking is just too good. The roasted chicken makes people want to swallow their tongues — no wonder it changed its nature.”

I looked up and caught a smile hidden deep in her eyes. She continued with a serious face, 

“With such good kitchen skills, whoever marries you in the future will be truly lucky.”

Her tone was light and ambiguous. It wasn’t really like a compliment. I quickly interrupted, 

“Who would marry me? Don’t talk nonsense!”

“Not nonsense.” 

She suddenly murmured like in a dream: 

“Who would marry you, I wonder?”

Just as I didn’t know how to respond to my embarrassment, she lowered her head and gently kissed my lips.

At this moment, the fireflies around had not yet dispersed. And from a distance, it was as if a thin mist had risen.