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Chapter 38: Chapter Thirty-Eight: Blood Bodhi

An inexplicable sense of tenderness arose in his heart as he looked at Tianling. Zhongshan shook his head and continued to focus on recovering from his injuries.

Zhongshan's recovery speed was terrifying. The next day, not only did the side effects of the Heavenly Demon Body completely disappear, but his injuries also healed significantly.

As the sun shone down, Zhongshan began practicing his swordsmanship.

The loud noise soon woke Tianling up.

She gently opened her eyes, rubbed them, and looked towards the source of the noise. She was stunned for a moment before suddenly remembering the embarrassing incident from last night, causing her face to blush uncontrollably once again.

Perhaps sensing Tianling waking up, Zhongshan immediately stopped practicing his swordsmanship.

"Awake? Hungry?" Zhongshan asked.

Seeing Zhongshan's usual expression, Tianling blinked her eyes carefully and stared for a while.

"What's wrong? Is there something dirty on my face?" Zhongshan made an puzzled expression and wiped his face.

"No, there isn't," Tianling quickly replied.

Finally assured that Zhongshan didn't know anything about yesterday, Tianling relaxed a lot. Thank goodness, thank goodness.

"No, then let's eat something. I'll go explore the road and see where this valley leads," Zhongshan said.

"You... you're leaving?" Tianling stared at Zhongshan with a pitiful expression.

Looking at Tianling, Zhongshan couldn't help but smile. "Of course, otherwise, we'll just stay here?"

"I don't want to stay here alone. My internal injuries are healed, but I can't walk because of my leg injury. Can you help me go together?" Tianling looked at Zhongshan with a pitiful expression.

Seeing Tianling's expression, Zhongshan felt relieved, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

"Sure, let's get up," Zhongshan said.

"Yeah," Tianling nodded immediately.

Helping Tianling to her feet, Zhongshan folded the blanket with one hand and put the big knife into the storage bracelet with the other.

Looking at Tianling's legs wrapped in white cloth, Zhongshan squatted down, much to Tianling's surprise, and, with his hands behind his back, lifted Tianling onto his back.

"Ah~~~~~~"

Tianling exclaimed in surprise, her feet leaving the ground. She had never been carried by anyone like this before. Wasn't this bringing them too close together?

"Zhongshan, put me down! Put me down!" Tianling blushed and cried out.

As she squirmed and wriggled, it seemed like she was trying to break free from Zhongshan's embrace.

When Tianling was still, everything was fine. But when she moved, her graceful figure, supple body, and the two little white rabbits leaning against his back bounced up and down. Even though Zhongshan was already eighty-one years old and had his own persistence, his face couldn't help but turn red.

"Snap~~~~"

"Don't move."

Tianlinger didn't feel any fiery pain on her butt after Zhongshan's sudden slap. Instead, she felt as if Zhongshan's palm contained an electric current that instantly surged through her body. Unconsciously, Tianling's body stiffened, and she stopped squirming.

Her mind went blank for a moment, and she didn't even realize when she had wrapped her arms around Zhongshan's neck. She sat there dumbfounded, half-dazed, before slowly coming back to her senses.

What was happening? Tianling checked her posture and realized that her entire body was pressed tightly against Zhongshan's back. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and her face was almost touching his neck.

Tianling didn't move, but she felt a numbness on her buttocks, as if Zhongshan's handprint was still there. Her legs were embarrassingly splayed open, sandwiched between Zhongshan's waist. Although Zhongshan's large hands were separated by clothes, they felt like two hot irons pressing against her thighs. Why didn't the clothes burn through? Tianling felt like she was being cooked alive by the heat from Zhongshan's hands. At least her face was so red it seemed like it might burst into flames at any moment.

Zhongshan continued to walk steadily ahead, and Tianling, clinging to his back, felt a sense of warmth she had never experienced before. She dared not speak, nor could she find the words. Why was this happening? Was she still herself?

But Zhongshan's scent was quite pleasant. Tianling thought lightly.

With that thought, Tianling's face turned even redder, but a faint smile, unnoticed even by herself, appeared on her lips. Maybe, just maybe, this was fine.

Zhongshan regretted slapping her just now, but fortunately, Tianling had stopped squirming. If she hadn't, Zhongshan would have had to check on her.

"Ling'er." After walking for a while, Zhongshan thought about what had happened earlier and decided to speak up.

"Yeah, yeah?" Tianling, still dazed by Zhongshan's call, absentmindedly responded before realizing her mistake and quickly correcting herself with a puzzled "yeah."

Taking a deep breath, Zhongshan furrowed his brow and said, "I promised you on the peak of the mountain that if we made it out alive, I would take you to see Senior Brother."

Hearing Zhongshan's words, Tianling immediately remembered Senior Brother. But now, for some reason, she didn't feel as eager to see him as before. Tianling didn't know why. According to her past self, she should have been overjoyed. But now, why did she only feel a slight sense of joy?

Furrowing her brow, Tianling glanced at Zhongshan carrying her on his back and felt a warm feeling in her heart. After a moment of silence, she nodded and said, "Thank you, Zhongshan."

"Hehe, what's there to thank me for? If it weren't for you using the Red Silk to save me, I might have ended up just like Zhongdi and the others, completely smashed." Zhongshan shook his head and smiled.

"That wouldn't have happened. Even if I hadn't saved you, you would have been fine," Tianling immediately affirmed, as if Zhongshan was invincible.

"Maybe," Zhongshan chuckled. The method he used to save himself was a stroke of luck, and many things were just coincidences. Without the Red Silk, how could he have pulled down the boulder? However, Zhongshan didn't argue. Maybe indeed!

With Tianling on his back, Zhongshan continued to walk steadily towards the other end of the valley. He wasn't in a hurry to leave, but rather, he wanted to take things slow in this unknown place for safety reasons.

The surrounding cliffs were steep, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. How were they supposed to climb up? The rocks were also very smooth, making it incredibly difficult to ascend.

They could only see if there was a way out.

"Zhongshan, what's inside there?" Tianling exclaimed excitedly when she saw the scene inside the cave.

"Don't speak," Zhongshan frowned.

"Oh." Tianling was interrupted by Zhongshan, quickly shifting her gaze from the inside of the cave to Zhongshan, softly acknowledging.

Holding his breath, Zhongshan listened carefully for any sounds inside the cave. He concentrated but heard nothing except for Tianling's heartbeat.

Picking up a stone from the ground, Zhongshan flicked it into the cave with his fingers.

"Plop." The stone made a crisp sound as it hit the cave. Zhongshan continued to listen attentively.

Meanwhile, Tianling, initially attracted by what was inside the cave, became more intrigued by Zhongshan's actions. She watched him curiously, her eyes fixed on him.

"No sound," Tianling whispered to Zhongshan.

Hearing Tianling's words, Zhongshan shook his head with a smile. After all, Tianling was at the Ninth Level of the Innate, so her hearing was naturally better than his.

"I might have been overly cautious!" Zhongshan chuckled. Then, he carried Tianling on his back and walked towards the cave.

Entering the cave and adjusting to the darkness inside, Zhongshan finally saw what was emitting the red light. In the distance, the faint red light came from the winding passage of the cave, along with the heat waves. At that moment, Zhongshan thought of a possibility: could this cave lead to the mouth of a volcano?

Then, Zhongshan turned his gaze to the thirteen red dots scattered in different directions.

"Blood Bodhi?" Tianling suddenly exclaimed in excitement.