CHAPTER 733: CHAPTER 319: KEEPING WARM (MUST-READ, MUST-READ)

"Mm." Xiao Jinxing responded indifferently yet again, with a faint acknowledgment.

It seemed like a casual remark.

Not particularly caring.

The two of them sat silently inside the cave entrance once more.

Still so cold.

Chilling to the bone.

Ye Qichi felt it must be several degrees below zero.

Cold enough to make her teeth chatter.

Cold enough to turn her hands and feet icy.

"Can we go find some dry wood to start a fire?" Ye Qichi couldn’t stand it anymore and asked Xiao Jinxing.

Xiao Jinxing flatly refused, "Unless you want the assassins to find us."

"I feel like I’m going to freeze to death tonight," Ye Qichi shivered as she spoke, "When will your men arrive? Can they make it tonight?"

Xiao Jinxing was also not sure.

Ye Qichi couldn’t bear it any longer; she couldn’t just sit still.

Sitting still would really lead to freezing to death.

She paced back and forth in the cave, trying to generate some warmth.

But no matter how much she walked.

It was cold, still just cold.

She was shivering uncontrollably.

Her hand was suddenly seized in a grip.

Xiao Jinxing’s hand, not warm either.

But not as shockingly cold as hers.

"This cold?" Xiao Jinxing frowned slightly.

"I am just a frail woman," Ye Qichi complained.

Xiao Jinxing was somewhat silent.

Ye Qichi thought that Xiao Jinxing must be thinking of some sarcastic remark to make at her expense.

After all, in Xiao Jinxing’s eyes, aside from Bai Mowan, hardly anyone else was worth sympathizing with.

"Ye Qichi." Suddenly, Xiao Jinxing called her by her name.

This seriousness somewhat startled Ye Qichi.

What on earth was he going to do?!

"In military campaigns, sometimes enduring long battles, soldiers too have to spend nights in the wilderness like this," Xiao Jinxing said.

So, was Xiao Jinxing telling her to not be so delicate?!

She hadn’t asked him for anything.

She was merely trying to warm herself.

"Sometimes it’s bitterly cold, almost to the point where it could freeze a person to death," Xiao Jinxing continued.

Ye Qichi didn’t want to listen anymore.

She didn’t need encouragement.

It wasn’t easy for a person to freeze to death.

Besides, she was no ordinary individual.

"There’s a way soldiers use to warm each other up," Xiao Jinxing’s voice seemed to grow deeper.

Ye Qichi felt that he wasn’t trying to mock her.

Nor was he offering her any moralizing platitudes.

He was just considering a method for warming up.

"What way?" Ye Qichi hurriedly asked.

Though not easily deadly.

Still, it was genuinely uncomfortable being so cold.

This night would still be so very long...

"Hugging each other, staying close together," said Xiao Jinxing.

"Then let’s embrace," Ye Qichi quickly said.

The idea had actually crossed her mind earlier.

After all, when they had just met, Xiao Jinxing’s embrace had indeed been quite warm.

Far better than the present.

But she feared rejection from Xiao Jinxing, and worried he might accuse her of taking advantage of him.

She rarely tolerated idle gossip.

So she bit back her words, never broaching the subject herself.

Now that Xiao Jinxing had brought it up, she didn’t need to hold any reservations.

"Naked embrace," Xiao Jinxing enunciated each word distinctly.

Ye Qichi had already opened her arms.

His words made her freeze in place.

To retain warmth is simply to generate and conserve heat.

Stripping down enhances heat transfer and prevents hypothermia. Moreover, when two people cling tightly, their joined bodies do not change in volume, yet their surface area for heat loss is reduced; thus, cooling down happens more slowly.

She understood this common sense.

She didn’t voice it out, just feeling...

After all, men and women are different.

Between her and Xiao Jinxing, even if there had been a semblance of marital union, given their plans to part ways after a quick agreement, it naturally wouldn’t do to get too intimate.

However...

The cold was indeed tempting her heart.

When it came to chastity and propriety, she still believed life was more important.

"First put a piece of clothing underneath, then stack our clothes on top of each other to cover our bodies." Ye Qichi agreed.

It was indeed fatally cold.

Xiao Jinxing gave an affirmative grunt.

After the decision was made, Ye Qichi no longer had so many concerns.

She first had Xiao Jinxing take off his outer garment, and she also removed hers, spreading them on the ground to avoid contact with the icy floor.

Then she began to take off her own clothes.

While undressing, she said to Xiao Jinxing, "Hurry up, I’m going to freeze to death once I start taking these off."

"Mhm," Xiao Jinxing uttered another acknowledgment.

Very quickly.

The two of them... embraced each other.

Their bodies were tightly wrapped in each other’s clothing.

This way, it was indeed, much warmer.

Mainly because Xiao Jinxing’s body was indeed warmer than her own.

Her whole body was icy cold.

Xiao Jinxing seemed to only have icy cold hands and feet, but the rest of his body was still warm.

"I used Inner Strength," Xiao Jinxing said, "It can make the body a bit warmer."

It seemed that he sensed Ye Qichi’s puzzlement.

Explanation.

The voice explaining was somewhat hoarse.

"Then use more Inner Strength," Ye Qichi didn’t hold back.

Having said this, she then cuddled up even closer to him.

It was truly a human instinct.

The limitless craving for warmth when facing the cold.

Suddenly, the cave became quiet again.

Ye Qichi felt.

Right now, at this temperature, she could probably barely get some sleep.

If she slept, her body would recover faster.

Thinking so.

"Xiao Jinxing, I’ll take a nap, if I start feeling cold later, wake me up," Ye Qichi said.

She feared that the warmth might suddenly fade, and then she might fall asleep again, and if her body kept freezing like that, she would really freeze to death.

"Ye Qichi..." Xiao Jinxing’s deep voice called out to her.

For some reason.

It felt like his breath was somehow hot.

Not just the heat from his mouth.

His body too seemed to be gradually getting hotter and hotter.

How much Inner Strength had he used?

Just as Ye Qichi was about to remind him not to overdo it and to prioritize his health instead.

Her body suddenly tensed up.

She stared wide-eyed at Xiao Jinxing.

Xiao Jinxing said nothing.

He buried his head into the crook of her neck and shoulder.

He bit down deeply into her slender shoulder.

As if trying to cover something up, or as if trying to control something.

Ye Qichi felt pain.

Yet at this moment, she did not push him away.

More than the harm he was doing to her shoulder, she was more concerned about...

The situation beneath them.

For a long time.

Not knowing how long.

Eventually, Ye Qichi fell asleep.

She forced herself to sleep.

She needed to conserve energy.

Although Xiao Jinxing had said, if they were found to have fallen off the cliff, someone would come to rescue them.

But what if, those who came to rescue them didn’t arrive.

And the assassins seeking to kill them found them first...

Having barely survived.

They couldn’t just die easily now.

Ye Qichi didn’t know how long she had been asleep.

In any case, she slept quite deeply.

Until Xiao Jinxing called her, "Ye Qichi, wake up."

Ye Qichi’s eyes snapped open.

For a moment, she felt danger again.

She touched her body.

Uncertain if there was enough time to put on clothes and flee at this moment.

Running naked was still awkward.

However, when she felt her body, she surprisingly found that her clothes were already neatly on.

So, Xiao Jinxing had helped her dress?!

She really was too tired, she had slept too soundly!