Chapter 73: The Divine Fruit of the Blazing Sun

Xiao Ding brought the “poison fruit” he had accidentally eaten that day to show to Yue Yurou. When Yue Yurou heard he had eaten two of them, she couldn’t help but burst into laughter, leaving Xiao Ding thoroughly bewildered.

“Brother Xiao Ding, how did you feel after eating the fruit that day?” Yue Yurou asked mischievously after her laughter subsided.

“I just felt unbearably hot all over…” Xiao Ding replied.

“Didn’t you have any other symptoms?” Yue Yurou asked, barely able to contain her amusement.

“Well…” Xiao Ding was about to mention the reaction he’d experienced in his lower body, but realizing the young woman before him was only seventeen or eighteen, he felt too embarrassed to speak and swallowed his words.

“Did you have an uncontrollable desire for women?” Yue Yurou pressed, her eyes glinting with mischief as she covered her mouth to stifle her laughter, deliberately observing Xiao Ding’s awkward expression.

“Miss Yue, since you already know, please don’t tease me any further. What kind of fruit is that, anyway? After eating it, I felt as if my meridians had widened,” Xiao Ding said, embarrassed.

After laughing for a good while, Yue Yurou finally stopped teasing him and explained, “The fruit you ate is called the Blazing Sun Fruit. It’s used to greatly replenish yang energy—it’s an aphrodisiac. Fortunately, you ate the white kind. If you had eaten a red or purple one and didn’t have a woman nearby, your body would have exploded from within.”

“Besides greatly replenishing yang, can the Blazing Sun Fruit also increase one’s cultivation?” Xiao Ding asked, secretly relieved that he hadn’t eaten more that day.

“The white ones are mainly for invigorating yang. Other effects are negligible. The red and purple ones, after being refined into Blazing Sun Pills, can greatly increase cultivation, especially for those practicing yang-based techniques,” Yue Yurou replied.

“So, the white Blazing Sun Fruit is pretty much useless?” Xiao Ding said with some regret.

“Not at all. Even the white Blazing Sun Fruit is a rare divine fruit. It’s just not matured yet, which is why it’s white. If left to age, it can evolve into yellow, red, or even purple,” Yue Yurou explained. “The white ones can be made into a low-grade Blazing Sun Pill, but its main effect is still to invigorate yang, with only minor benefits to cultivation.”

“Seems I picked them too early…” Xiao Ding said, regretful.

She laughed softly, “Actually, even if you hadn’t picked them, you wouldn’t have lived to see them mature.”

“Why’s that?” Xiao Ding asked, puzzled.

“The Blazing Sun Fruit evolves extremely slowly. It takes sixty years to turn yellow, three hundred and sixty to turn red, and seven hundred and twenty years to become purple,” Yue Yurou explained.

Sixty years for one cycle, Xiao Ding thought. I certainly wouldn’t have lived to see it…

“When you ate it, it didn’t taste good, did it? That’s because it wasn’t fully ripe. Even animals avoid eating it because of the taste, so the remaining fruit has a chance to continue evolving,” Yue Yurou said.

“Well, it won’t be evolving any further now. I picked them all at once,” Xiao Ding joked at his own expense.

Yue Yurou laughed again. “Brother Xiao Ding, you really are lucky to have come across such a rare divine fruit.”

“Miss Yue, since your Jade Purity Sect specializes in alchemy, why don’t you take these Blazing Sun Fruits back with you for refining? They’re not much use to me…” As he spoke, Xiao Ding took out all the fruits he had.

“Brother Xiao Ding, these are your divine fruits. I couldn’t possibly accept them so casually,” Yue Yurou declined.

“It’s fine. I can’t refine pills, and although the fruit is rare, it’s not useful to me. I’d rather give them to you,” Xiao Ding insisted.

“How about this, then? You saved my life last night, and I have no way to repay you. I’ll take them back and refine a batch of low-grade Blazing Sun Pills for you. If you don’t need them, you can give or sell them to those who do,” Yue Yurou suggested.

Seeing her determination, Xiao Ding nodded in agreement.

The two chatted idly as they continued along the cliffside. As night began to fall, Xiao Ding finally stopped. As before, he found two small caves at the base of the cliff, cleared them out, and prepared them for the night’s rest.

After dinner, dusk had deepened.

Yue Yurou suddenly became shy. Her face flushed, she glanced at Xiao Ding, then looked down, hesitating as if she had something to say. She stood, took a few steps toward the woods, hesitated, and returned, her cheeks still red as she sneaked another glance at Xiao Ding, unable to utter a word.

Before long, she stood up again, walked a few paces toward the forest, then retreated once more, stealing glances at Xiao Ding, her face still burning.

At first, Xiao Ding, resting by the cave entrance after dinner, didn’t notice anything amiss. But as he watched Yue Yurou fidget and struggle to speak, he grew curious and asked, “Miss Yue, are you feeling unwell?”

“Brother Xiao Ding, I— I need to— relieve myself, but I— I’m afraid…” Yue Yurou said softly, head lowered and face aflame.

“Oh, just go into the woods over there. I’ll wait here for you,” Xiao Ding said.

“No, Brother Xiao Ding, I’m scared… Could you come with me?” Yue Yurou finally managed to say, her face crimson with embarrassment.

Xiao Ding was momentarily surprised, but then it dawned on him—last night, she’d been captured by the Twin Demons of the Northern Wastes after going off alone to relieve herself. Clearly, she was still traumatized.

“All right, I’ll go with you,” Xiao Ding said, standing up and accompanying her into the woods.

“Brother Xiao Ding, turn around. You’re not allowed to peek…” Yue Yurou said.

“Of course,” Xiao Ding answered, turning his back.

Not far behind him, Yue Yurou relieved herself. The thought sent a ripple through Xiao Ding’s heart—who would have thought he’d find himself in such an intimate situation? Who says women of this era are all reserved?

When they returned to the base of the cliff, Xiao Ding pointed to one of the caves for Yue Yurou to rest in, intending to take the other for himself.

But Yue Yurou protested that she was too afraid to sleep alone and insisted on sharing a cave with him.

Xiao Ding thought, If a young lady like her isn’t afraid, why should I be? If she wants to share a cave, so be it.

The next morning, Xiao Ding woke first. To his surprise, at some point during the night, Yue Yurou had snuggled up to him, her upper body resting across his chest as she slept soundly.

He sighed inwardly. Did this girl have no wariness toward him at all?

But a woman’s intuition is rarely wrong.

In Yue Yurou’s subconscious, Xiao Ding was simply not a bad person. If he were, when she had been immobilized, he could have done whatever he pleased. Thus, she trusted him completely.

As Xiao Ding gently tried to move her aside by the shoulders, Yue Yurou suddenly opened her eyes.

Martial artists have keen senses; even Xiao Ding’s lightest movement woke her.

“Brother Xiao Ding, what are you doing?” Yue Yurou asked, glancing at his hands on her shoulders.

Xiao Ding realized the awkwardness of the situation—if someone saw them now, they’d surely think he’d pulled her onto his chest himself.

He sighed inwardly at his bad luck. Why did Yue Yurou have to wake up at this precise moment?