Jiang Huai’s small hands were almost red from clapping. After Chu Xianning finished her piece, his applause was as childish as a child’s. Chu Xianning’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. “So noisy.”
Jiang Huai looked at her with a wronged expression. “I still want to listen.”
“What do you want to listen to?”
“Rippling Spring in the Green Stream.”
“That’s a piece for flute and xiao ensemble.”
“I know.” A section of bamboo xiao appeared in Jiang Huai’s hand.
Chu Xianning glared at him with dissatisfaction. She always felt that she had been tricked by Jiang Huai again, so when she brought the bamboo flute to her lips, her eyes revealed a hint of unwillingness. But as she truly began to play, her brows gradually relaxed.
The sounds of the bamboo flute and xiao intertwined and flowed in the courtyard. Jiang Huai’s gaze fell on Chu Xianning’s face. Looking into Chu Xianning’s eyes, his heart finally quieted down.
When the piece ended, Chu Xianning put away her bamboo flute, and Jiang Huai put away his xiao. He picked up the porcelain bottle on the table, his hand no longer trembling. He moved a chair from under his feet, walked to Chu Xianning’s side.
A pleasant fragrance wafted to his nose. The distance seemed to have slightly closed. Chu Xianning’s waist was slender and well-proportioned, like accumulated snow. Jiang Huai poured a drop of viscous medicinal liquid onto his fingertip, then gently touched Chu Xianning’s slender waist with his fingertip.
Chu Xianning bit her lip.
She suddenly felt an inexplicable unease. The disobedient disciple’s fingertips seemed to be hotter than she had imagined, or perhaps it was the effect of the Dragon Blood Spirit Pill. She felt that such a touch made her body itch. Chu Xianning straightened her waist, trying hard to turn her face away and not look, as if Jiang Huai were torturing her.
Although Jiang Huai was only lightly touching her waist with his fingertips, she felt as if her skin had been stained by the heat of his fingertips, as if a cluster of fire tongues had brushed across her skin. What expression would Jiang Huai have at this moment? This guy must be overjoyed, having taken advantage again. You clearly knew his intentions from the beginning, so why didn’t you refuse?
And it had to be at this time. If you couldn’t suppress your desires later and made a fool of yourself in front of him, how would you then hold yourself up as his Master? What were you thinking, Chu Xianning?
She quietly asked herself in her heart, but no one could answer her.
The moonlight fell on her cheeks, and also on the snow-white and tender skin of her waist. The medicinal liquid made her skin appear watery and lustrous, as if it were glowing slightly. When Chu Xianning finally felt uneasy and wanted to ask Jiang Huai to stop for a moment, she turned her face and her eyes fell on Jiang Huai’s face, but she was suddenly stunned for a moment.
Because Jiang Huai’s eyes were clean.
As she looked into those eyes, she seemed to hear the wind blowing by her ears, and the wind carried her through time, allowing her to see again the evening when she brought Jiang Huai back to the courtyard. The boy’s eyes were just as clean back then.
So when did his eyes become unclean?
Chu Xianning closed her eyes and began to recall. She remembered when Jiang Huai was fourteen years old. In the evening, as usual, she walked out of the bathhouse in a thin white dress after bathing and sat on a lounge chair in the courtyard, flipping through old scrolls. The boy looked up inadvertently, and then he froze. The old scrolls in his hand slipped to the ground as if he were out of his mind. She asked him in confusion, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing… it’s just… Mother looks so beautiful. I was stunned.”
He said such annoying words back then, but she didn’t feel any displeasure at all. She took it as her child praising his mother’s beauty, and she even felt a little joy in her heart. But when did she begin to realize that Jiang Huai’s filial piety had gradually changed?
It seemed to be since he no longer wanted to call her Mother.
At first, she was still bothered by this. She even discussed it in private with Luo Yueguan in her boudoir. Luo Yueguan didn’t understand these things and just laughed at her, saying, “Who told you to bring a wolf into your house yourself in the first place? And now you know you’re troubled?” She didn’t believe her child had really turned into a wolf. She read many scripts, thinking he was just getting older and his personality was becoming rebellious, refusing to accept the control of elders, and that was why he called her that.
She didn’t care that much, as she wasn’t his birth mother. But his address changed not only from Mother to Master, but until one time he called her Older Sister, Chu Xianning suddenly trembled and suddenly understood.
Perhaps Luo Yueguan was right.
So that time, she broke her rule and tied Jiang Huai to a tree and whipped him severely with a long whip, hoping he would remember his lesson and be afraid. But he just nodded in agreement. Even though he no longer called her Older Sister, many of the things he did and said afterward meant that he no longer truly regarded her as his beloved mother, but rather…
So, in her panic and unease, she arranged a marriage for Jiang Huai.
She knew Jiang Huai held resentment in his heart, but so what? Perhaps he was too young to distinguish his feelings, and it was just that he had grown from a boy into a man. During this time, there were no other girls around him, so he had developed inappropriate thoughts about her. When he married Luo Qingyu and had his own wife, he would gradually understand her good intentions.
But time passed, and four years had passed since she arranged his marriage. He was now nineteen years old.
Recently, she felt that the ‘cleanliness’ in Jiang Huai’s eyes was decreasing. It seemed he was always trying to say something or do something to stir a ripple in her heart. She should have refused him sternly the first time he started testing her, but it seemed every time she ended up indulging him. It was the same now. Although the excuse was that he was opening her acupoints, which would be beneficial for her future cultivation and old injuries, the fact remained that she was sitting here now, with her slender and soft waist being held and played with by a man.
Chu Xianning didn’t care about her old injuries, nor whether those acupoints were opened. But why was she sitting here willingly?
She opened her eyes.
Before opening her eyes, she suddenly felt a strange anticipation. She expected to see Jiang Huai’s eyes filled with lust and greed, so she would have a reason to tell Jiang Huai to let go. But when she looked at Jiang Huai’s eyes, she saw the clean purity of his childhood again, as if on a lazy summer evening, when she was leaning on the lounge chair, gazing at the sunset, Jiang Huai stood behind her, gently massaging her shoulders and neck.
He seemed to be better at disguise than her, so much so that she often couldn’t read his eyes. It was as if deep mist hid in them. That cynical, despicable, and shameless Jiang Huai was him, and that pure, clean boy was also him.
“What is Master thinking about?” Jiang Huai asked softly.
“I’m thinking about what you’re thinking about,” Chu Xianning replied calmly.
Jiang Huai was stunned, then chuckled, “I was thinking about something very rebellious.”
“Tell me.”
“It’s nothing, really. When I saw Master walk out in this dance skirt, I was unavoidably amazed. Thinking that I would touch Master’s waist later, I felt uneasy and my hands trembled badly. Master has always treated me very well since I was young, but my head is full of despicable and dark thoughts. I’m such a bastard.”
“So?”
“But when I actually touched it, it was as if I suddenly remembered being in the courtyard when I was little, Master sitting quietly and spacing out, and I was massaging Master’s body. At that time, I didn’t seem to think about anything, and I felt at ease just like this. So my heart suddenly quieted down inexplicably.” Jiang Huai had already smeared the medicinal liquid evenly on Chu Xianning’s waist. He took out a silver needle, found Chu Xianning’s acupoints, and gently pricked them in while talking.
“Does it hurt?”
“No,” Chu Xianning shook her head gently.
“It will be over soon.” The gleaming silver needles reflected the light. Jiang Huai’s movements were very serious. He then took out a second silver needle. The position of the second silver needle was slightly above Chu Xianning’s delicate pink navel. He came to Chu Xianning, squatted down, and gently inserted the silver needle. When he looked up, Chu Xianning’s face was right in front of him.
Their eyes met from a distance, and Jiang Huai suddenly asked, “Does Master want to have a couple of drinks later?”
“I need to deal with the drawbacks of the Flower Spirit Physique tomorrow, so I can’t drink too much.”
“Then never mind,” Jiang Huai replied softly.
“One cup is fine,” Chu Xianning said softly again.
Jiang Huai was stunned, then chuckled. He placed two cups on the table, took out a pot of peach blossom wine brewed in spring, and poured it into the wine cups. The faint aroma of wine filled the air. Jiang Huai leaned closer to Chu Xianning’s waist again, removed all the silver needles, and then used a damp handkerchief to wipe away any remaining medicinal liquid. His movements were serious and meticulous, without any transgression.
After wiping away the medicinal liquid, Jiang Huai picked up the wine cups, and Chu Xianning also raised her cup. She just took a small sip, and so did Jiang Huai.
This cup could be drunk many, many more times.
“You still haven’t told me clearly. Between Wen Wanwan and Luo Qingyu, how do you plan to handle it in the future?”
“I promised to marry Luo Qingyu when she turns twenty, and I also promised to marry Wen Wanwan if she still wants to stay by my side in the future.”
“Your promise is useless. What if Luo Qingyu doesn’t agree then?”
Jiang Huai just sighed. “When I was at Qingxuan Sect, I had a fight with Luo Qingyu. The reason for the fight is a bit funny to think about.”
“How so?”
“Qingyu said I was two-timing and always made her worry and fear. She hoped I would take her body to prove my love for her. I refused and said many things to her. I thought she would stop pretending to be obedient and talk to me seriously, but she continued to play her obedient role, crying and begging me not to abandon her. When she cries, I can’t do anything but compromise obediently. But it was at that moment that I suddenly realized that if we were truly considering marriage in the future, it was very necessary for me and Luo Qingyu to understand each other more, rather than continuing to play the game of brother and sister.”
“As for the future? The future will be dealt with in the future. I’m too lazy to think about it when it bothers me.” Jiang Huai raised his wine cup and winked at Chu Xianning. “Master, you know me, I hate troublesome things the most.”
“Is that so?” Chu Xianning gazed at his eyes intently, expressing doubt.
Jiang Huai looked into her eyes and smiled helplessly. He didn’t speak, but it seemed he had guessed what Chu Xianning was doubting.
He had always been a person who was especially afraid of trouble. So when Luo Qingyu tried to make him love only her, he directly started a lazy conversation, handing the right to choose to Luo Qingyu. He never cared much about love or not. Perhaps it was because he had been lonely for too long, and he didn’t crave love that much.
But only when it came to liking Chu Xianning did he never feel any trouble at all. He failed repeatedly, but was still happy and immersed in it. As long as Chu Xianning didn’t truly kick him away, he would approach her again and again like a little cur.
This seemed to be no longer just liking, but a strange obsession.
Perhaps this was the saying that what one cannot have is always the most coveted?
“There’s only one thing that isn’t too much trouble for me, but I won’t say it,” Jiang Huai looked innocently at Chu Xianning’s eyebrows.
“I don’t want to know either,” Chu Xianning turned her face away and took another small sip of her wine.
Her alcohol tolerance had always been poor. After a small sip of wine, a blush spread across her snow-white cheeks.
