Chapter 858: Chapter 854: My Talent Seems to Have Stopped Working!
At the same time, the top of the Demon-Suppressing Bell, originally shrouded in a bright yellow halo, was like the sky clearing after the fog, pierced by light that revealed its true form.
Although it was just for a fleeting moment, the exposed part was insignificant compared to the whole of the Demon-Suppressing Bell, hardly worth mentioning, but Sun Miaohan and Xiao Tian both captured it.
That pitch-black and clear line, even if it did not reveal anything useful, confirmed one thing—behind the bright light halo, there indeed were these mysterious patterns.
This made Xiao Tian’s seemingly absurd theory of seeing a mural now seem quite possible!
As the owner of the light, Sun Miaohan, was hit by an extreme fatigue, the world before her seemed to overturn, making her dizzy and unsteady on her feet, swaying like a drunk person.
Just as Sun Miaohan realized her body was out of control, about to fall to the ground, she was gently supported by a pair of strong hands and then collided with a warm and broad chest.
The unprecedented sense of security made Sun Miaohan want to sleep deeply, even hoping for that warm feeling to wrap her even tighter.
With that thought, Sun Miaohan involuntarily murmured, "Cold!"
Xiao Tian was stunned for a moment, watching Sun Miaohan, who was lively one moment and weak the next, and inwardly made a decision.
Previously, when he had formed that hand seal, his Spiritual Power had also nearly depleted in an instant, so Sun Miaohan’s current state was understandable.
However, while he was lost in thought, he once again heard a low murmur in his ear...
"Cold!"
Seeing her pitiful appearance and thinking of Sun Miaohan’s background, Xiao Tian sighed and held Sun Miaohan tighter.
Feeling satisfied, Sun Miaohan finally succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep.
Above her, the Demon-Suppressing Bell, which lost Sun Miaohan’s True Qi support, began to slowly float upwards, getting smaller and smaller, eventually becoming the size of a wind chime, quietly suspended in mid-air.
With the soft sound of snoring in his ear, Xiao Tian extended his hand to summon the Demon-Suppressing Bell back while carrying Sun Miaohan back into the tent.
...
Deep in the night, a bright moon hung in the sky, echoing with the white snow on the ground, draping the entire world in silver, and the moonlight brought a rare peace and tranquility.
Aside from the occasional night-time foraging of wild animals, there was no other sound, creating a silence that seemed to envelop people’s hearts as well.
Inside the tent, the sleeping Sun Miaohan suddenly furrowed her Liu Mei brows, then attempted to turn over and continue sleeping.
However, as she tried to move, she realized an arm was wrapped around her, and she was not lying flat.
Nervously, she slowly raised her head and, in the dim candlelight, saw Xiao Tian’s side profile leaning against the tent pole behind her, her face immediately flushed with heat as memories surged like a tide.
At that moment, Xiao Tian seemed to sense something and slowly opened his slightly closed eyes. Seeing Sun Miaohan looking at him, he couldn’t help showing a fleeting panic.
"Don’t misunderstand, I originally intended to put you..."
Before he could finish speaking, Sun Miaohan, with a flushed face, interrupted, "I know, there’s no need to explain it in detail." Yet in her heart, she couldn’t help but feel annoyed, wondering why he had to bring up such an awkward situation openly.
Though still groggy, Sun Miaohan vaguely sensed that during her sleep, someone had tried to pry her hand open, but she refused to relax, resulting in the current situation.
Sun Miaohan opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but felt that speaking in this circumstance somehow seemed inappropriate, so she hurriedly released her arms from Xiao Tian’s waist and turned her head to the side, avoiding eye contact.
After a long while, feeling restless, Sun Miaohan finally broke the awkward silence.
"Th-thank you!"
Xiao Tian, of course, understood what Sun Miaohan was thanking him for, but feeling equally awkward, he could only make small talk: "That hand seal from before, you remember it, right?"
At that time, Sun Miaohan was merely surprised, and after the surprise, she couldn’t withstand the Spiritual Power’s depletion and fell asleep, so how could she remember any hand seal? Nonetheless, the extremely twisted fingers and intense pain left a deep impression.
So, Sun Miaohan truthfully replied, "I didn’t remember."
"Then I’ll teach you tomorrow morning!" Xiao Tian could only follow along and say.
"Mm!" Sun Miaohan softly agreed, feeling wide awake with her mind filled with complex thoughts, thinking that all her previous experience with affairs was completely wasted!
And so, the two of them with their own concerns, knew without asking that the other wasn’t truly asleep, until just before dawn, when Xiao Tian finally left first to prepare breakfast, allowing Sun Miaohan to relax her tense nerves.
...
After breakfast, Xiao Tian indeed followed through on his promise and started teaching Sun Miaohan that strange hand seal.
But at this moment, ordinarily quick-witted and able to learn anything at first glance, Sun Miaohan found her talents seemingly vanished. No matter how thoroughly Xiao Tian explained, she couldn’t perfectly replicate the movements.
Does he think I’m deliberately delaying the process?!
Just as Sun Miaohan was speculating about Xiao Tian’s thoughts, she saw him sigh softly, step toward her, and move directly behind her.
At once, Sun Miaohan, who had never had any intimate contact with a man before, felt dizzy, her mind even more scattered and unable to concentrate.
The next moment, as Xiao Tian adjusted Sun Miaohan’s movements hand-in-hand, he was surprised to find the efficiency regressing, forcing him to stop helplessly.
"Are you even paying attention to what I’m saying?!"
Xiao Tian released Sun Miaohan’s hands and questioned sternly like a strict instructor.
"Huh?" Sun Miaohan appeared to snap out of a daze, then hurriedly nodded, "Yes!"
"Then repeat what I just said." Xiao Tian said with a steady face, his tone truly harsh without any falsehood.
Furrowing her Liu Mei brows, Sun Miaohan braced herself to say, "You just said, ’Are you even paying attention to what I’m saying?’"
"..."
Facing such shirking behavior, Xiao Tian truly had nothing to say, but he also knew Sun Miaohan wasn’t his student, and he wasn’t her instructor at this moment, so he could only remain silent in response.
He certainly didn’t believe that Sun Miaohan wasn’t aware of what he was asking.
In fact, Xiao Tian had noticed Sun Miaohan’s constant distraction all along, but he couldn’t tell if she was intentionally being difficult or genuinely preoccupied with something.
However, none of that mattered anymore, as Xiao Tian had already decided to leave.
Counting the days, it’s been nearly a month altogether. In that time, disconnected from the outside world, with Melinda missing, Xiao Tian had been unsettled, so returning sooner would bring him peace.
