Liu Buli's assurance was delivered with utmost sincerity, yet Lu Wuming felt an urge to tell him that he wasn't in such a desperate hurry.
After all, he understood his own physical condition better than anyone.
When his arm was first severed, the burning sensation spreading from the wound had indeed crept upwards with alarming speed. However, as time passed, the escalating damage from that spread had significantly weakened.
Otherwise, if it had continued at the same pace as when he was first injured, his entire arm below the elbow might have vanished by now, certainly not leaving him with what remained of his elbow.
But if he were to voice these thoughts to Liu Buli, the tears that were still clinging to the corners of his eyes would surely fall. Although Lu Wuming privately found Liu Buli's crying rather attractive, that attractiveness was confined to their moments in bed. Away from the sheets, if Liu Buli were to shed tears again, he would find it somewhat displeasing.
With this thought, Lu Wuming fell silent for a moment, ultimately choosing to keep his thoughts on his own injuries to himself.
Much like him, Liu Buli also feared that if he continued to speak, he would lose control of his emotions and break down crying. So, he gritted his teeth, deliberately emptied his mind, and focused all his attention on Lu Wuming's arm, transforming himself into a heartless ointment-applying machine. It was only with great effort that he managed to hold back the tears that were on the verge of spilling from his eyes.
Maintaining this state, Liu Buli finally let out a long sigh of relief only after applying a thick layer of ointment to Lu Wuming's wound. He then stared blankly at the wound, as if intending to watch it heal completely.
Feeling a touch of awkwardness under his gaze, Lu Wuming cleared his throat and, after a moment, tucked his arm behind his back.
The instant he moved, he saw Liu Buli's displeased gaze. Their eyes met, and Liu Buli reached out, intending to pull Lu Wuming's arm back into his view.
However, Lu Wuming was a step ahead. He intercepted the movement, offering a smile full of appeasing charm, and then said, "Shizun, please don't keep staring at my wound. You've already applied so much ointment; it's bound to heal quickly. I've been through this many times before, so I'm used to it. It doesn't hurt at all, you see..."
Lu Wuming had intended to comfort Liu Buli with these words.
But halfway through, he realized something was amiss. When he looked into Liu Buli's eyes, he saw tears streaming down his face, large drops falling like he had suffered some unbearable injustice. Looking at Lu Wuming's face, he wept uncontrollably.
Seeing that his attempt at comfort had only made the crying worse, Lu Wuming became flustered. He quickly pulled Liu Buli into his embrace again, patting his back as he tried to soothe him, "There, there, Shizun, don't cry. The past is the past. I don't even care about it, so you shouldn't cry either. I didn't mean to make you cry; I just wanted to tell you that you really don't need to worry about me so much. It doesn't hurt, I..."
The more he tried to explain, the more muddled his words became. Eventually, he stopped himself.
Having a slow mind was indeed a problem. At moments like this, he clearly wanted to put his lover's mind at ease, but his words consistently failed to achieve the desired outcome.
Lu Wuming let out a long sigh, finally giving up on explaining.
As Liu Buli lay in his arms, though he didn't sob aloud, both of them could feel the tears continuously welling up from his eyes, refusing to stop.
This situation persisted for nearly half a minute, until finally, it wasn't they who ended it.
Instead, a familiar presence approached, and Lu Wuming frowned. Liu Buli, for the sake of maintaining some semblance of composure, withdrew from Lu Wuming's embrace and looked towards a spot not far away.
A dark figure rapidly approached them. Upon reaching them, You Siqi, who was riding on a large cat, spoke, "If it were possible, I truly wouldn't want to interrupt your moment. But it's rather awkward; we've made a rather unpleasant discovery. If we don't resolve it properly, I fear none of us will make it out of here alive."
Hearing this, Liu Buli made an effort to regain his composure. He looked at You Siqi and asked, "What do you mean by an unpleasant discovery?"
You Siqi sighed.
He didn't answer the question directly. Instead, Shen Muzhi, who was beside him, flicked his tail. Both Liu Buli and Lu Wuming clearly saw that of Shen Muzhi's beautiful nine tails, one had been severed at the root and was still bleeding profusely.
Upon witnessing this, Liu Buli didn't hesitate. He immediately retrieved the ointment from his Qiankun bag and tossed it to You Siqi.
However, You Siqi waved his hand, indicating that applying medicine to this wound would be futile. He dismounted from Shen Muzhi and said, "The Nine-Tailed Spirit Cat has nine lives. If it loses a life, it loses a tail. This detail wasn't mentioned in the novel, but it appears the settings of this world are consistent with what I initially envisioned."
His words seemed simple, but Liu Buli immediately grasped the crucial point. His eyes widened, and he asked anxiously, "Are you saying Shen Muzhi just died once?"
You Siqi nodded with a grave expression.
Shen Muzhi, as the person involved, didn't react as strongly. It was as if dying once was a normal occurrence for him. He flicked his remaining tails and spoke directly, "Facing that fellow, I consider myself quite fortunate to have only died once. How did your fight with him go? Honestly, despite experiencing death and resurrection so quickly, I still have no idea how he killed me."