Outside the bathhouse.
A cloth curtain hung outside the bathhouse. Perhaps sensing Jiang Huai’s approaching footsteps, a faint exclamation came from within, “Who?”
“It’s me, I’m back,” Jiang Huai replied softly.
A moment later, Wen Wanwan’s voice from inside the bathhouse rose slightly, “Senior Brother Jiang Huai, please come in.”
Jiang Huai, standing outside the door, hesitated for a moment.
Luo Qingyu hadn’t really intended for him to draw a line between himself and Wen Wanwan, but now he felt an inexplicable unease. However, if he hesitated too long, Wen Wanwan, being so sensitive, would surely notice something. Yet, after only seven or eight breaths, Wen Wanwan’s voice called out again, “Wanwan has already put on her clothes.”
So Jiang Huai lifted the curtain and walked in. Wen Wanwan was standing by the edge of the bath, her fair and tender hands having just tied the sashes of her clean Daoist robe. Her clothes were still a bit disheveled, so she immediately reached out to adjust her collar.
Jiang Huai walked up to her. Wen Wanwan looked up at him, and after a moment, her eyes showed more concern. She gently caressed his cheek, “Senior Brother Jiang Huai, you look so pale.”
“I didn’t sleep well last night. I’ll get more sleep later,” Jiang Huai gently held her wrist and thought for a moment, “How have things been recently?”
“Fairy Chu has taught me a lot. Wanwan has learned Mist Slash and Moon Gazing. We’ve taken on many orders at the pharmacy and earned a total of twelve thousand and four hundred Spirit Stones, all here.” As Wen Wanwan spoke, she quickly took out all the Spirit Stone notes and handed them to Jiang Huai.
Jiang Huai casually took out three thousand Spirit Stone notes and handed them to Wen Wanwan. After a moment of hesitation, Wen Wanwan said softly, “Senior Brother Jiang Huai, you gave me so many Spirit Stones before, and it’s more than enough for cultivation.”
“Keep them with you for emergencies. I don’t need that much anyway.” Jiang Huai still pushed the Spirit Stone notes into Wen Wanwan’s palm. Wen Wanwan couldn’t refuse anymore. The two looked at each other again, but neither spoke.
Jiang Huai seemed to detect a hint of unease in Wen Wanwan’s eyes.
He couldn’t tell if it was his imagination, but he had always trusted his intuition. So he moved closer, looking into Wen Wanwan’s eyes, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing…” Wen Wanwan gently shook her head, then asked softly again, “Is Senior Brother Jiang Huai going to bathe?”
“Mm.”
Wen Wanwan was silent for another second or two. She couldn’t bring herself to ask if she should help Senior Brother Jiang Huai bathe, and it wasn’t out of shyness… Perhaps she shouldn’t overthink things, but the ten-odd seconds Jiang Huai stood outside the bathhouse had made her feel an inexplicable unease. So she said softly, “Then… shall Wanwan wait for Senior Brother Jiang Huai outside?”
“Mm, okay.”
Jiang Huai watched Wen Wanwan nod gently and pass him. He turned his head to look at the girl’s slender back, always feeling a vague sense of loss, as if he had done something wrong.
A moment later, he suddenly spoke, “Wait…”
Wen Wanwan turned around.
Jiang Huai came up to her again, looking into her eyes, “When I was down the mountain, I always thought of Junior Sister Wanwan. Now that I’m finally back, I want to give you a hug.”
The unease in Wen Wanwan’s eyes vanished in an instant. She walked up to Jiang Huai, obediently extended her hands, and the next second was gently embraced by Jiang Huai. Her body was slender and soft, carrying a pleasant fragrance.
Jiang Huai lowered his head slightly, the girl’s delicate pink lips mere inches away. He hesitated for only half a breath before leaning in and gently kissing her lips.
According to Wen Wanwan’s counterattack law, the next second Wen Wanwan leaned in, her lips once again pressing against Jiang Huai’s lips. The summer heat enveloped them. Their embrace was somewhat scorching, but this seemed to pale in comparison to the girl’s rapidly beating, fervent heart at this moment.
Jiang Huai’s hand around her waist inadvertently moved down a bit. As Wen Wanwan kissed him passionately and demandingly, he gently squeezed her perky, soft, and bouncy buttocks. Wen Wanwan’s body trembled for a moment, and she became obedient, then looked up at him, “Senior Brother Jiang Huai…”
“Mm?”
“Do you want Wanwan to help you bathe…”
“Master is in the courtyard. It wouldn’t be good if she found out,” Jiang Huai replied guiltily. So Wen Wanwan nodded obediently. After a moment, she leaned close to Jiang Huai’s ear, “Then… you can come to Wanwan’s courtyard next time.”
“Okay, okay.” Jiang Huai released her. Wen Wanwan left his embrace and continued walking toward the bathhouse. The girl’s waist seemed straighter now.
Only then did Jiang Huai take off his clothes and immerse his entire body into the bath. Several bubbles appeared on the surface of the water. He soaked for a while before leaning to the edge, looking up at the intermittently bright clouds in the sky.
To extend a hand to two girls at the same time is the act of a scumbag, a bastard. But if you have already extended a hand to one girl, and she wants to hold onto you tightly and rely on you, yet you want to retract your hand… then you are worse than a scumbag!
***
Jiang Huai quickly put on his clothes and returned to the courtyard.
He had many things to attend to. For the time being, he did not report his experiences in the Secret Realm to Chu Xianning. Instead, he looked at Wen Wanwan, who was sitting obediently beside him, and winked, “Wanwan, why don’t you accompany me to the pharmacy? I need to buy some suitable spirit medicines.”
Wen Wanwan stood up, her footsteps incredibly light, and came to his side. After walking out of the courtyard, Jiang Huai gently held her fair and tender little hand. Wen Wanwan’s shoulders trembled slightly, and a smile seemed to involuntarily appear between her brows.
She also clutched Jiang Huai’s hand very tightly, as if afraid he would let go the next second.
The pharmacy still had the same elders. Elder Fang saw the two of them arrive together and said with a smile, “You brat are finally back. I’ve recently encountered a small bottleneck in alchemy and wanted to discuss it with you.”
“Please, go ahead.”
Elder Fang knew Jiang Huai’s aversion to trouble, so he had already written down the problems he encountered in a notebook and handed it to Jiang Huai. Jiang Huai glanced at it. They were indeed minor issues. After thinking for a moment, he picked up a pen and wrote down the solutions. Then he smiled at Elder Fang, “Three thousand Spirit Stones wouldn’t be too much, would it?”
Elder Fang was amused and exasperated. “Alright, alright, pick whatever medicinal materials you want.”
Jiang Huai’s pricing wasn’t excessive. Elder Fang was an Earth-tier alchemist. If he took this notebook to ask those Heaven-tier advanced alchemists for solutions, five thousand Spirit Stones would be considered little, and they might not even provide as good an answer as Jiang Huai.
Jiang Huai wrote another prescription for the auxiliary medicinal materials for refining the Dragon Blood Spirit Flower for his Master. Then he spread out another prescription and casually wrote down a few herbs. Elder Fang looked at the prescription for several seconds, then looked up at Jiang Huai, and couldn’t help but laugh heartily, slapping the table.
“Don’t laugh! If you laugh again, I won’t teach you anymore,” Jiang Huai said to him gloomily.
Elder Fang laughed until he couldn’t straighten his back, and he took the prescription to get the spirit medicines for Jiang Huai. Wen Wanwan, sitting beside Jiang Huai, was full of confusion. “What’s Elder Fang laughing at?”
Jiang Huai’s mouth twitched slightly. “Because the second prescription contains some herbs to tonify the body, a little supplementation.”
“Tonify the body?” Wen Wanwan was still confused.
“A couple of days ago, I was at Qingxuan Sect, and I stayed up quite late sleeping with Qingyu…” Jiang Huai replied with a hint of guilt. Wen Wanwan heard this, and her cheeks flushed slightly as she understood Jiang Huai’s meaning. She then nodded slightly, “I see.”
It seemed a little awkward.
But fortunately, Wen Wanwan still looked obedient and sat quietly without saying anything else. Soon, Elder Fang brought back the medicines. Jiang Huai collected the spirit medicines, thanked him, and then walked back to the courtyard with Wen Wanwan, hand in hand.
Back in the courtyard.
Jiang Huai took out his alchemy furnace and began setting up Spirit Stones to refine medicine. The Dragon Blood Spirit Flower would take a while to refine, likely until evening. Jiang Huai monitored the heat of the Spirit Stone array. For ordinary pills, he wouldn’t bother to watch, but this pill was for his Master, so it was very important.
Wen Wanwan sat beside him, joining him in the bamboo forest. Bamboo shadows crisscrossed, and the wind rustled the bamboo leaves. They sat side by side on a long bench. Jiang Huai thought for a moment, “It was quite interesting in the Secret Realm this time. Do you want to hear about it?”
Wen Wanwan immediately nodded emphatically, her eyes bright.
So Jiang Huai began to tell her about the Secret Realm. The story started with him first encountering the heavily injured Bai Li.
Jiang Huai couldn’t explain why, perhaps because Wen Wanwan was completely unguarded with him, or perhaps because Wen Wanwan was too tolerant of him and never asked for too much. Therefore, Jiang Huai’s story was not a condensed version. He told Wen Wanwan everything that happened in the Secret Realm, even about his engagement with Luo Qingyu, the argument in the bathhouse that night, and everything that happened afterward, without any concealment.
Wen Wanwan just listened obediently, never interrupting Jiang Huai. When Jiang Huai finished his story, he looked up at Wen Wanwan and said, “Mm, these are roughly the things that have happened recently.”
Wen Wanwan’s eyes met his. Her eyes were bright.
She felt inexplicably much more at ease that Jiang Huai was willing to tell her these things. A smile appeared between her brows. She reached out and gently pinched Jiang Huai’s cheek, her voice carrying a hint of playfulness, “No wonder Senior Brother Jiang Huai needs to tonify his body properly.”
At this moment, Jiang Huai felt a little shy.
Although the Immaculate Golden Body was still quite robust, without the nourishment of Spiritual Qi, something was still missing. Wen Wanwan gently held Jiang Huai’s hand and said softly, “Does… does that place hurt?”
“Mm?”
“It’s just… it’s just the way Senior Brother Jiang Huai… bullied Qingyu…”
“Qingyu said it didn’t hurt, but I feel like it might still hurt a bit… perhaps people’s physiques are different?”
Why were they discussing such strange questions so seriously now?
Wen Wanwan’s small hands were warm. She leaned slightly towards Jiang Huai. After a while, she said very, very softly, “When… when Senior Brother Jiang Huai has recovered his health, if… if Senior Brother Jiang Huai wants to, Wanwan… Wanwan can too.”
Jiang Huai looked back at Wen Wanwan. Wen Wanwan’s cheeks were flushed, as if they were about to drip water.
Jiang Huai was a little surprised, and his voice carried a hint of amusement and exasperation, “Junior Sister Wanwan can actually say such shameful things.”
Wen Wanwan moved closer, her fingers gripping his hand even tighter.
“In front of Senior Brother Jiang Huai… Wanwan can also be… a shameless woman. Senior Brother Jiang Huai… you are not allowed to laugh.”
