Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 245 243: Ye Liyuan: I'm the Wronged Party in the Dream?

Moonlight spilled in like water, pouring through the carved wooden window and onto the sandalwood bed. It cast mottled tree shadows on the floor. The room was so quiet one could hear the night wind rustling through the bamboo forest outside. The occasional, crisp chirp of an insect only served to deepen the silence.

Pei Yuhang lay on the bed, his breathing growing rapid. His body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, and the sheets were a mess of wrinkles where he'd clutched them.

Images flashed through his mind: Lu Ruoxi, Shang Miaoyan, Ji Xichan, Yu Xiaoyan, Bai Jingjing...

"No... Don't..."

Pei Yuhang murmured, his brow tightly furrowed, his body beginning to writhe uncontrollably.

His consciousness faded, as if he were plunging into a bottomless Abyss, doomed to be lost within it forever.

In the haze, he saw Ye Liyuan's figure watching him from a distance, her eyes filled with disappointment and pain.

"Ah Han..."

Her voice, faint and distant, was like a cold sword piercing his heart.

"No! Liyuan, let me explain!!"

Pei Yuhang's eyes flew open. He shot up like a drowning man, his hands grasping helplessly at the empty air.

A cold sweat slicked his forehead. He was panting, his chest heaving violently, and a large patch of his white underrobe was soaked through.

"Ah Han, did you have another nightmare?

What did you want to explain to me? It's not like you've done anything to be sorry for."

A gentle voice sounded by his ear, a stark contrast to the cold and disgusted "wretch" from his dream. The voice brought clarity back to Pei Yuhang's eyes.

HUFF... HUFF...

'It wasn't real. Thank goodness, it wasn't real.'

'Liyuan... she doesn't know yet.'

Pei Yuhang suddenly turned and pulled the slightly bewildered Ye Liyuan into a tight hug.

"Ah Han, what was your nightmare about? Don't hold me so tight, I can barely breathe~"

"Honestly, it's not like I'm going to leave you. What are you so afraid of?"

Ye Liyuan had always been a light sleeper. She had opened her eyes the moment she heard Ah Han startle awake and begin murmuring in his sleep.

Now, held tightly in Pei Yuhang's embrace, her long hair cascaded like a waterfall onto the pillow. In the moonlight, it shimmered with a faint silver sheen, making her look particularly lovely and enchanting.

However, Pei Yuhang seemed not to hear his Dao Companion's quiet protest and held her even tighter. His breathing was rapid and erratic, and his whole body was trembling slightly.

Ye Liyuan could feel his heart pounding violently, as if it were about to leap out of his chest at any moment.

"Ah Han..." Ye Liyuan's voice was tinged with growing concern. She reached out and gently stroked Pei Yuhang's back, trying to soothe his agitation.

Gradually, Pei Yuhang's breathing began to even out. His grip also slowly slackened, and Ye Liyuan seized the opportunity to wriggle out of Ah Han's embrace like a little hamster.

But she didn't abandon the still-shaken Ah Han. Ye Liyuan reached out her small, fair hand, took Pei Yuhang's larger one, and intertwined their fingers.

The solid, gapless connection between their hands soothed his panic.

"How are you? Are you feeling better, Ah Han~?"

His Dao Companion's voice was gentle and concerned, her hand so warm in his. It was enough to fully convince Pei Yuhang that the terrible vision had been nothing more than a nightmare, from start to finish.

"Liyuan..."

He whispered, his voice trembling slightly.

"I'm here."

Ye Liyuan replied softly. Her gaze was as gentle as still water, seeming to embrace all of Pei Yuhang's virtues and flaws. She looked nothing like the person who would stare at him with disappointed, numb eyes.

Pei Yuhang turned his head to look at his Dao Companion, who seemed to see only him. He opened his mouth, as if to share the torment in his heart.

But the image from his dream—of Liyuan utterly disappointed in him—was like a thorn lodged in his heart. It made Pei Yuhang afraid to speak, terrified that doing so would make it real.

"It's nothing..." He forced a smile. "I've probably just been too tired from my Cultivation recently."

Ye Liyuan grew a little concerned at his words.

"Is it because you're too worried about Yueqiu? After all, this is your disciple's first time exploring a Secret Realm alone."

"Perhaps..."

"You're worrying over nothing, Ah Han. Yueqiu was the champion of our Dao Sect's grand tournament. With her level of skill, who in the Nascent Soul Stage could possibly be her match?

You weren't even as exceptional as Yueqiu is now when you were at her level of Cultivation~"

"Mm."

Pei Yuhang murmured in agreement, squeezing his Dao Companion's hand a little tighter.

After a moment, Pei Yuhang added quietly,

"Liyuan, do you think I'm being too fragile? The great Cold Sun Sword Immortal, scared awake by a nightmare."

At his words, Ye Liyuan just reached out and gently stroked Pei Yuhang's cheek, her eyes curving into smiling crescents.

"How could I? You're like a little baby right now, Ah Han, and it's quite cute~ Fairy Ye doesn't mind letting you lean on her a bit more, you know."

With that, Ye Liyuan pulled Pei Yuhang into a hug.

Feeling his Dao Companion's heartbeat and breathing in his arms, Pei Yuhang made a vow. 'I will protect the best Dao Companion in the entire world.'

'To do that, I have to keep all that sordid business hidden away. I can never let Liyuan get hurt because of it!'

"Huh?"

Ye Liyuan's soft, puzzled noise instantly recaptured Pei Yuhang's full attention.

He lightly kissed his Dao Companion's forehead and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

The corners of Ye Liyuan's lips quirked up as if she were trying to hold back a smile.

"This wet patch on your leg... it doesn't feel like sweat, Ah Han~"

At her words, Pei Yuhang noticed the odd sensation as well, and his expression turned mortified.

Ye Liyuan finally seemed unable to hold back, letting out a snort of laughter. "Were you having a wet dream just now, Ah Han? To think you'd wet the bed~"

In the middle of her laughter, Ye Liyuan's expression suddenly stiffened, the smile slowly vanishing from her face.

"Wait... when you were having that wet dream, who were you dreaming about?"

Pei Yuhang instantly tensed as if facing a formidable enemy. "I... I was dreaming about you, of course, Liyuan! My love for you is as vast as heaven and earth! Even in a dream, my pure devotion to you would never waver!"

"Oh, really? Then why did you wake up apologizing to me, Ah Han?"

"..."

"If you were having a wet dream, then why did it turn into a nightmare?"

"..."

The tenderness in Ye Liyuan's lovely eyes vanished as she looked at Pei Yuhang. The light in them faded, as if she were trying to pierce through to his very soul and expose his ugliest secrets.

"Ah Han, the reason your wet dream turned into a nightmare... it wasn't because of me, was it?"

"You were in your dream, getting all cozy with some other Fairy, and then you suddenly dreamt of me and it spoiled your fun, am I right~?

Heh, my apologies. I'm so sorry you had to dream of an eyesore like me, Ah Han."

Peng Sword Immortal had just sworn a vow to never let Liyuan be hurt again, only to fail in less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn.