Hearing Liu Buli's words, Li Qingcheng nodded.
Liu Buli's spiritual energy had indeed made her feel much more comfortable. Although she couldn't fully recover due to the surrounding formation still being active, she could at least catch her breath and allow her spiritual energy to circulate a little.
Her complexion improved slightly. Li Qingcheng forced a smile, a rather awkward one, and said, "Liu Buli, I thought at this point, you would at least touch me."
"Touch you?" Liu Buli didn't immediately understand what she meant. When he realized what Li Qingcheng was implying, he chuckled, "You mean carry you out?"
Li Qingcheng softly hummed in affirmation.
Liu Buli shook his head. "To be honest, just as you are wary of others, I don't like too much physical contact with people. Besides that, my Dao companion is a very jealous person. If he saw me carrying you out, then saving you would have been in vain, and he would surely take your life."
Hearing this answer, Li Qingcheng froze.
Then, she painstakingly guessed, "The Dao companion you're referring to, is it your disciple?"
Liu Buli nodded. "Yes, don't you think he's very cute?"
Li Qingcheng: ...
No, not cute at all.
Far from being cute, he was even a bit terrifying.
However, seeing Liu Buli's proud demeanor, Li Qingcheng didn't voice her thoughts. After a moment of contemplation, she said, "But you are so powerful, you must have reached the level of an Immortal Venerable. For someone like you, having multiple wives and concubines is quite normal."
Liu Buli raised an eyebrow. "Can I take that as a confession?"
Li Qingcheng lowered her head and softly responded again.
She genuinely liked Liu Buli. Even if she could deceive others, she couldn't deceive herself. For instance, when she thought she was going to die just now, Liu Buli's image was all that filled her mind.
If this emotion had nothing to do with liking someone, then she would be deceiving herself.
Li Qingcheng couldn't quite explain why she had fallen for Liu Buli. Perhaps it was because he was the most beautiful person she had ever seen in this life? Perhaps it was because someone had pulled her out of an abyss and told her that she still had a chance to live?
Li Qingcheng thought a lot, but in the end, she couldn't find a specific reason.
In any case, when she said that having multiple wives and concubines wouldn't be an issue for Liu Buli, she knew that she truly liked this person.
However, Liu Buli's answer was somewhat different from what she had imagined.
Upon hearing her response, he was first stunned, then he smiled again. Shaking his head, he said, "When my disciple told me you had feelings for me, I thought he was overthinking it. I didn't expect my own consciousness to be a bit unclear, and that you actually liked me."
Li Qingcheng pouted. "Am I that subtle?"
"It's not that you're subtle, it's probably that I haven't paid attention to anyone else," Liu Buli's smile didn't change much, but his words were incredibly direct and hurtful. He said, "Firstly, I am very happy and grateful that you like me. Secondly, I want to tell you something. Perhaps for people in my position, having multiple wives and concubines is normal. But for me, I don't need multiple wives and concubines. I only need one person, to walk hand in hand with me until we grow old together."
Li Qingcheng frowned slightly. "Won't you get tired of just one person?"
"No, and never will," Liu Buli said, pointing to his head. He added, "My disciple is a bit foolish. Whatever he says, he will do. He told me he would never give up on me in this lifetime, that he would always be with me. I heard all these words and remembered them. If he made a promise of 'one lifetime, one partner' with me, and I broke it, wouldn't I be a very incompetent master?"
Perhaps because Lu Wuming was mentioned, the light in Liu Buli's eyes softened. This was clearly the look one had when speaking of their most beloved. Li Qingcheng saw it clearly and knew even more certainly that no matter what, she had no chance.
Pressing her lips together, Li Qingcheng said, "I understand what you mean, but I want to tell you that I will still like you. You don't need to respond to me; I just want to tell you this."
Liu Buli seemed a bit confused. "Since you don't need my response, why tell me?"
"Because if I tell you, you'll feel I'm useful," Li Qingcheng chuckled along with him. "Not useful in the way of our previous agreement, but truly useful to you. You can use my liking for you. Whenever you need me, you can contact me anytime. I promise to be there whenever you call, and I won't refuse anything you ask me to do."
She said this very earnestly.
Liu Buli could tell that Li Qingcheng was not joking or lying at all.
Just like the female protagonist in a novel, once she determined who she liked, she would love them madly, obsessively, and humbly.
Except in that novel, her object of affection was the male lead.
But now, this halo...
How did it fall upon him?
Liu Buli frowned with a complicated expression, pressing his brow. He said, "You really don't need to be like this. I told you before, find someone who likes you and live a good life with them. There's no need to hang yourself on this crooked neck of mine."
"But I have to meet that person first," Li Qingcheng continued as if she hadn't heard his warning. "Until I meet that person, I've decided to keep liking you. Because you know all my secrets, yet you don't hate me, and you even came to save me. Just for that, you are already better than most men in this world."
Liu Buli was momentarily speechless.
She wasn't wrong about that.
If others in the cultivation world knew she had the blood of the Ghost Clan, they would most likely target this young girl under the guise of eradicating demons and upholding righteousness.
Sighing inwardly, Liu Buli said, "You're not wrong about that. So after we leave here, you'd best not easily reveal your identity to others, or it will easily bring you trouble."
Li Qingcheng's eyes lit up. "You said before that you are the leader of a sect. Then you must have your own faction, right? Can I go with you?"