"Be careful," Tang San warned Huo Wu.
Huo Wu bit her lower lip. Then, without warning, she did something that caught Tang San completely off guard—her arms suddenly wrapped around his neck, and her red lips pressed toward his own.
Tang San was startled, but with her arms locked around his neck, there was no escape. In his shock, he could only jerk his head to the side. Huo Wu's kiss did not land on his lips; those soft, warm lips merely brushed against his cheek.
Their bodies sprang apart as if struck by lightning. Tang San's voice carried a mix of alarm and anger as he said, "What are you doing?"
Huo Wu's breathing had clearly quickened. In a voice only the two of them could hear, she said to Tang San, "No matter what, you saved my life that day. You didn't have to do what you did. I've never liked owing anyone anything. That was my first kiss. From now on, we're even."
With those words, Huo Wu turned and ran, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Tang San touched the spot on his cheek where she had kissed him, feeling caught between laughter and exasperation. Still, Huo Wu's straightforward personality had earned a bit of his regard. He smiled helplessly—a life traded for a kiss seemed like a rather poor deal. He just hoped she wouldn't come looking for him again.
As he thought about it, Tang San decided he should find a place to wash his face right away. He really couldn't afford to leave any trace behind.
Tang San left as well. But from a secluded corner of the rest area, a figure stepped out.
His expression was so dark it looked as though it could drip ink. Feng Xiaotian stared in the direction Tang San had departed, fists clenched tight, the bones in his arms crackling in a rapid succession of pops.
His feelings for Huo Wu were no recent development—he had liked her for a long time. Naturally, his attention habitually drifted toward her at all times. He had noticed the moment she went to find Tang San earlier. When he saw the two of them slip away to the rest area alone, a combination of curiosity and a twinge of jealousy had prompted him to follow quietly. But he knew both Tang San and Huo Wu were roughly his equals in strength, and to avoid being detected, he could only watch from a distance.
He couldn't make out what Tang San and Huo Wu were saying, but when the two of them suddenly "embraced" and Huo Wu even kissed Tang San, he saw it with perfect clarity. He had pursued Huo Wu for years without so much as touching her, let alone sharing anything remotely intimate. His goddess had been defiled. In that moment, a tidal wave of jealousy crashed relentlessly against Feng Xiaotian's heart.
Meanwhile, Tang San returned straight to the camp. It seemed everyone had gone back to rest. Subconsciously, he touched his face—even though he had washed it thoroughly, a lingering sense of embarrassment clung to him, like the guilty conscience of a thief.
Just as he was about to slip silently back to his room, Xiao Wu's voice came from one side: "Brother, you're back."
"Ah? I'm back." Seeing Xiao Wu step daintily out of a nearby tent, the sliver of awkwardness in Tang San's chest expanded several times over.
Xiao Wu walked up to him in a few quick steps, a hint of puzzlement on her face. "Brother, what's wrong? Why are you so nervous?"
Tang San couldn't take it anymore. This guilty feeling was eating him alive. He smiled wryly and said, "All right, I'll confess. If I keep it bottled up, it'll kill me. So here's what happened…"
And like a fool, he recounted everything without holding back—what he and Huo Wu had said, and how she had kissed him.
As Xiao Wu listened, her big eyes grew wider and wider. When she heard Tang San say that Huo Wu had traded her first kiss to repay a life debt, her mouth fell open in astonishment.
"And that's the whole of it. Whew—saying it out loud makes me feel so much better." Having finished his account, Tang San's expression quickly returned to normal. He studied Xiao Wu's stunned face and ventured cautiously, "Xiao Wu, you're alright, aren't you?"
Xiao Wu's expression gradually settled back to calm. Then she suddenly declared, "That Huo Wu—she's absolutely terrible."
"Huh?" Tang San stared at her in confusion.
Xiao Wu burst out laughing. "A life worth only a first kiss? At the very least, she should offer to marry you. Brother, you really are dense. No wonder people call you a block of wood."
Xiao Wu was genuinely amused—though not because of Huo Wu, but because of the way Tang San had nervously spilled every detail of his conversation with her without a shred of restraint. If Tang San's battle IQ was a hundred, then his emotional IQ was plainly hovering close to zero.