144: Chapter 144 Sister, you don't want me to die with my eyes wide open, do you?!

"Bang—!!!"

An incredibly dull, thunderous sound exploded in mid-air.

"Pfft!"

To make the act convincing, Qin Feng withdrew most of the defenses on his back. The violent palm force shook his internal organs, and he immediately let out a groan of extreme pain, tilting his head back to spray a mouthful of warm blood.

Scarlet blood sprayed into the night wind, falling drop by drop onto Mu Wanqing's pale, stunningly beautiful face.

"Qin Feng—!!!"

Mu Wanqing let out a shrill cry of despair, feeling as if her heart had been fiercely gripped by a giant hand, making it impossible to breathe from the pain.

Taking advantage of the terrifying force of that palm strike, Qin Feng held Mu Wanqing and plunged straight off the edge of the cliff.

Like kites with broken strings, the two plummeted into the bottomless, pitch-black gorge below...

"Rumble..."

On the cliff, Senior Brother Zhao stopped, panting, and looked at the bottomless abyss shrouded in thick fog, his expression flickering with uncertainty.

"Damn it, after taking my full-power Mountain Crushing Palm and falling into such a deep gorge, there's no way they can survive. Consider yourselves lucky that you didn't die by my hands!"

Senior Brother Zhao spat indignantly and turned away, cursing as he left.

...

At the bottom of the gorge.

Inside a secret, gloomy cave.

Cold groundwater dripped down the rock wall, the "drip, drip" sound appearing exceptionally clear in the deathly silent space.

"Cough, cough... cough, cough, cough..."

A fit of weak, violent coughing that seemed as if it would cough up his very lungs broke the silence of the cave.

In the dim light,

Qin Feng lay weakly on a cold rock, his face as pale as paper (an act achieved by controlling his Qi and blood).

"Junior Brother, how are you? Don't scare me, wake up!"

Mu Wanqing knelt beside him, her hands trembling as she covered his constantly bleeding lips, sobbing uncontrollably.

That stunningly beautiful face, usually aloof and untouchable, was now covered in tears and bloodstains.

She desperately tried to mobilize the True Essence within her body to heal Qin Feng, but since her vital points had been injured, her Meridians were empty, and she could do nothing.

"Sister Wanqing..."

Qin Feng opened his eyes with difficulty. The light in his deep pupils was unfocused, and he breathed out a few words with a thread of a voice,

"Don't waste your energy... that palm strike from Senior Brother Zhao... has already shattered my internal organs. I... I won't make it."

These words were like a bolt from the blue, completely shattering Mu Wanqing's psychological defenses.

"No! I won't let you die! You're so powerful, how could you die!"

Mu Wanqing burst into tears, clutching Qin Feng's head tightly against her soft chest, her tears dripping down onto his cheeks.

"Why are you so stupid? You could have run away yourself, why did you come back to save me, why did you take that palm strike for me?!"

Endless self-reproach, guilt, and heartache flooded Mu Wanqing like a tide.

If it weren't for saving her, this Junior Brother with such a promising future would never have ended up like this.

Listening to the heart-wrenching wails beside his ear, Qin Feng, lying on her lap, curled his lips in an imperceptible smirk under the cover of the shadows.

Very good, the emotional atmosphere is set; it's time to close the net.

"Cough, cough..."

Qin Feng coughed up another mouthful of blood. He struggled to raise his trembling right hand and gently caressed the beauty's tear-stained cheek.

The rough sensation of his fingertips made Mu Wanqing shiver.

"Sister Wanqing... actually, actually, the first time I saw you in Mu Siyao's courtyard, I... I fell in love with you."

Qin Feng began his acting performance, his eyes filled with sorrowful beauty and deep affection, and he said intermittently,

"You are so noble... so beautiful... how could I watch you be defiled by that beast?"

"Even if it means trading my life for yours... I am willing..."

Hearing this sudden life-and-death confession, filled with blood and tears.

Mu Wanqing was stunned.

She never imagined that this man, who always seemed cold and unrestrained, hid such deep love for her in his heart.

For this love, he didn't even want his life!

In the cold world of Cultivation, who isn't selfish? Huo Kai could betray her to save his own life, yet the man before her used his own chest to block a fatal strike for her.

"Stop talking, please, stop talking..."

Mu Wanqing cried until she almost fainted, her hands tightly gripping Qin Feng's large hand and pressing it against her face,

"I owe you, I owe you a life..."

"You don't owe me... cough, cough..."

Qin Feng gasped violently, as if the flame of his life could be extinguished at any moment. His gaze was fixed straight on Mu Wanqing's delicate red lips, which were just inches away, and he said weakly,

"Sister Wanqing... I've grown up... always Cultivating desperately, to the point that... I don't even know what a woman tastes like."

"Before I die, I... I have one last wish..."

"Speak!"

Mu Wanqing shouted through her tears without a second thought, "As long as I can do it, I will promise you anything!"

"I want... to kiss you... may I?"

Qin Feng's eyes revealed a heartbreaking desire and humility, as if that were his only attachment in this world.

Once these words were spoken, Mu Wanqing was stunned.

A kiss?

Although she was no longer young, she had focused solely on the Dao and was still pure and untouched, having never been touched by any man.

But now, facing a man who was about to die to save her, how could she bear to refuse his only, humble wish?

At this moment, she had no time to think carefully about how Qin Feng and Mu Siyao were together, yet they hadn't even kissed?!

"I agree... I agree to everything."

Without much hesitation, Mu Wanqing closed her eyes, two lines of clear tears sliding down from the corners of her eyes.

She slowly lowered her head, and with a trace of trembling and inexperience, she gently pressed her soft red lips against his.

The touch was fleeting, and just as Mu Wanqing was about to lift her head, the next second happened.

The previously extremely weak Qin Feng suddenly used his blood-stained hand to clamp onto the back of her head!

"Mmm—!"

Mu Wanqing's mind went blank for a moment, and she instinctively wanted to struggle.

However, when she felt the pungent smell of blood on him, the guilt in her heart flooded back.

'Forget it... he's going to die anyway. Just treat this as satisfying his final madness...'

Thinking of this, Mu Wanqing gave up resisting completely.

After a long time, the long kiss ended.

Only the heavy panting of the two remained in the cave.

Mu Wanqing's face was flushed red, and a stunning charm appeared on her previously pale cheeks. She lowered her head, not daring to look into Qin Feng's eyes.

"Hoo... Sister Wanqing, you smell so good."

Qin Feng continued to pretend to be weak, his breath shallow, and said in a trembling voice,

"But... I'm so cold. My body has no temperature left at all; I feel like I'm about to fall into an ice cave..."

"Sister Wanqing, could you... hold me tighter? Give me some warmth?"

Seeing Qin Feng's "shivering" body, how could Mu Wanqing have the slightest doubt?

Her heart ached beyond measure, and without hesitation, she opened her arms and pulled him tightly into her embrace, not even caring about her own tattered clothes, using her body heat to warm him.

"Thank you, thank you, Sister Wanqing..."

Qin Feng's voice was as thin as a thread. He opened his mouth and breathed out a scorching, hoarse, and bewitching tone,

coaxing her: "Sister, for my last wish, you wouldn't want me to die with regrets, would you..."