"Cough, cough..."
The Ice Empress coughed weakly twice, aggravating the wound on her chest and making her brow furrow, yet she still insisted on speaking.
"I know... but this deal only has benefits for you, and no drawbacks."
She paused, her gaze turning behind Caelus as she reminded him.
"Also, she is about to die. If you don't save her now..."
Caelus's heart suddenly jolted.
He had been so focused on his own script that he had actually forgotten Zhang Lexuan was also in critical condition from her heavy injuries.
He immediately turned his head to look, only to see that Zhang Lexuan had at some point lost the strength to support herself and had collapsed into the cold snow. The white snow beneath her was stained a piercingly bright crimson by the gushing blood, and that red was still continuously expanding and spreading.
"Oh no!"
Caelus mentally cursed his own carelessness and immediately flashed to Zhang Lexuan's side, carefully propping her up.
At this moment, Zhang Lexuan was already in a semi-conscious state. Her pretty face was so pale it lacked even a trace of color, and her breathing was weak and rapid.
The white clothes on her chest were almost completely soaked through with blood, and the color was still deepening. Clearly, the wound was still bleeding, and her life was rapidly fading away.
"Eldest Senior Sister, wake up! Don't sleep!"
Caelus called out softly, his tone carrying a trace of imperceptible anxiety.
Zhang Lexuan's brow furrowed in pain, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and her fingers also unconsciously curled a bit, indicating that she still retained a sliver of consciousness.
But the injuries were too heavy and the blood loss too great; her body was already unable to respond to her brain's commands, as if imprisoned by invisible shackles, unable to move at all.
Caelus's brows were tightly locked together.
Zhang Lexuan absolutely could not die here.
She was not just the Senior Sister who cared for and looked after him, but also the Chief of the Shrek Inner Court and a reserve member of the Sea Gods Pavilion.
If she fell here while he returned safely, what would Shrek Academy think?
How would big shots like Mu En and Yan Shaozhe scrutinize him? This would create unpredictable and massive obstacles for his future plans.
He couldn't hesitate any longer.
"Eldest Senior Sister, excuse me,"
Caelus whispered, as if in explanation.
With one hand, he steadily supported Zhang Lexuan's weakly leaning body. With the other hand, carrying a bit of hesitation, he finally reached out firmly and slowly, beginning to remove the Moon-white dress that was already soaked with blood and icy water.
His fingers inevitably touched her cold and delicate skin. Caelus took a deep breath of the freezing air, forcing himself to remain calm.
As the blood-stained clothing was gently peeled away, the first thing that came into view was that gruesome puncture wound on her left chest that was still slightly oozing blood, like a crack on a perfect piece of jade—it was a shocking sight.
However, when the clothing was lowered to her shoulders and more of the scene was revealed, even with Caelus's firm resolve, his breath couldn't help but hitch.
It was a scenery he had never imagined.
Her skin appeared exceptionally white due to the blood loss, yet it was still as delicate as the finest mutton-fat white jade. Under the reflection of the hazy snowlight, it seemed to be flowing with a layer of gentle luster.
Her beautiful collarbones were like a butterfly spreading its wings, tracing a breathtaking line.
Further down, although not fully revealed due to her injuries and posture, that fleeting glimpse of rounded curves and full, upright peaks was already like Twin Snow Lotuses quietly blooming on a snowy plain—holy yet seductive, filled with the most primitive and vigorous beauty of life.
The bloodstains dotting them unexpectedly carried a kind of tragic and cruel poetry.
Caelus was, after all, a young man full of vigor; when had he ever experienced such a scene?
He only felt a surge of heat rush straight to his head; his mouth felt dry, and his heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably.
But he suddenly bit the tip of his tongue, the sharp pain instantly clearing his mind.
He forcibly shifted his gaze, no longer looking at the sight that could make any man lose his composure, and quickly took out various top-tier healing medicines that Xu Jiujiu had prepared for him from his storage spirit tool.
"Eldest Senior Sister, this is all forced by the circumstances. Please don't blame me,"
Caelus said in a low voice, knowing that Zhang Lexuan's consciousness still remained and she could hear him.
Sure enough, from the corner of his eye, he glimpsed that Zhang Lexuan's originally pale earlobes and cheeks were turning a layer of shameful and indignant crimson at a speed visible to the naked eye.
At this moment, Zhang Lexuan's heart had long been submerged by a massive sense of shame, indignation, and powerlessness.
Her consciousness was clear, so she could distinctly feel her clothes being removed and the sensation of the chill and the young man's gaze touching her skin.
She wanted to struggle, wanted to sternly shout for him to stop, wanted to curl up to protect herself, but her body was like it was being held down by a ghost; no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move even a single finger. This feeling of enduring everything while being conscious was nearly a hundred times more agonizing for her than the pain of the wound.
Her lips moved slightly, but she couldn't make any sound; only her rapid breathing showed her internal anxiety.
In the next moment, the cold alcohol with its pungent smell touched the wound on her chest.
"Mmph...!"
The intense, stinging pain made her let out a suppressed groan uncontrollably. Her body instinctively wanted to curl up, yet it still couldn't move an inch; only the teardrops from the corners of her eyes silently slid down, mixing with the ice and snow.
Caelus used his left hand to hold her as steadily as possible, while his right hand carefully used cotton gauze soaked in alcohol to clean the bloodstains and possible ice shards around the wound.
His movements were very clumsy, clearly showing a total lack of medical experience.
While attempting to clean the area near the inner side of the wound, his trembling fingers inevitably brushed against the soft and full edges nearby several times.
Every inadvertent touch made Zhang Lexuan's delicate body shudder violently. The shame and indignation in her heart reached a peak, making her wish she could die immediately rather than endure this suffocating embarrassment and shame.
But she couldn't even close her eyes to escape.
Caelus was also covered in sweat, complaining incessantly in his heart.
He didn't mean to offend her; he truly had no experience, and the size of the "obstacles" before him was indeed impossible to ignore. While focusing on treating the wound, it was inevitable to... slip up.
Being able to force himself not to look at that enchanting scenery was already a testament to his firm will.
He clumsily yet carefully finished cleaning the wound, then applied the ointment that emitted a cool aura evenly around the wound, and finally began to carefully wrap and bandage it with clean bandages.
The entire process was no different from a long and agonizing ordeal for both Caelus and Zhang Lexuan.
And all of this was quietly watched by the Ice Empress on the side.
In her cold vertical pupils, there was initially the indifference of an uninvolved bystander. However, as she watched Caelus's clumsy yet exceptionally focused and even strangely gentle movements, along with his forced composure that still couldn't hide his youthful embarrassment, a very subtle and indescribable light flashed in her eyes.
This human youth... seemed not to be entirely the same as those greedy and cunning human Soul Masters in her perception.
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