186 Rainy Day
The sky was hazy, rain pattering on banana leaves.
Summer downpours always arrived so suddenly. When Jiang Huai woke up, the sound of rain was his auditory companion. Bai Li, nestled in his quilt, was still peacefully asleep. He carefully released her calf and arms that had been clinging to him and sat up.
He hadn’t drunk much wine last night and had remained clear-headed, fully recalling their conversation and actions. He lowered his gaze to the girl in his arms. She had opened her eyes for a fleeting moment when he moved but slowly closed them again, falling back asleep with a sense of security.
Jiang Huai got up to make breakfast.
He opened the room door and, just as he stepped out, suddenly noticed Chu Xianning sitting in the pavilion in the courtyard.
Through the misty rain, their gazes met across the downpour.
In that instant, it was Jiang Huai who wanted to look away. Looking into Chu Xianning’s eyes now, he felt an unexplainable guilt. Chu Xianning had seen him emerge from Bai Li’s room, so she had naturally guessed something. Besides, Bai Li had been in the courtyard these past few days, and they had already shared some intimate moments. A paper could not wrap fire indefinitely, and Chu Xianning would eventually find out.
Would Chu Xianning care?
If he explained, would Chu Xianning listen? No, there was nothing to explain in the first place.
If he didn’t speak, would Chu Xianning ask?
Strange thoughts flooded Jiang Huai’s mind. He looked at Chu Xianning’s cheeks from afar through the rain and softly asked, “Master, why are you up so early today?”
“I just happened to wake up earlier,” Chu Xianning’s voice was not cold, but rather calm.
She had woken up because of the thunder that sounded beside her ear. It had been raining these past few days, and the damp weather had aggravated her old injury, leaving her calf with a peculiar soreness. Yet, staying in her room felt inexplicably stuffy, so she had come to the pavilion for some fresh air, to watch the rain beat the banana leaves in the courtyard.
“I see. For breakfast, I’m making Zha Tang Gao.”
Jiang Huai prepared to make a snack called Zha Tang Gao—soft, glutinous, with a hint of light sweetness. The exterior was crisp, golden yellow, while the interior was made of soft glutinous rice flour. The aroma of rice mingled with a faint sweetness, and soon the courtyard was filled with the fragrance wafting from the kitchen.
Bai Li liked to linger in bed, and she was probably still asleep at this hour. Jiang Huai didn’t disturb her. He brought some freshly fried Tang Gao to the pavilion and sat down opposite Chu Xianning.
Chu Xianning gently picked up a piece with her chopsticks, brought it to her lips, and carefully blew on it to cool it. Master had a cat-like tongue and couldn’t eat things that were too hot. After blowing for a while, she took a small bite.
Her eyes inadvertently swept over Jiang Huai, who immediately avoided her gaze guiltily.
Since Chu Xianning didn’t ask why he came out of Bai Li’s room, Jiang Huai didn’t know if he needed to say anything. If Chu Xianning didn’t want to hear it, or didn’t care, then he would seem very foolish.
Raindrops fell on the eaves, creating a rustling sound. Many green leaves on the branches were beaten down by the downpour. Chu Xianning’s gaze drifted towards the lotus pond in the distance. The previous downpour had caused many lotuses to fall, and now only a few scattered blooms remained. Last night, when she heard the rain, she had considered using spiritual qi to protect the lotuses, but after much thought, she felt that perhaps letting nature take its course was better.
The sky was unpredictable, with no certainty of sun or rain. Even if she could protect them once, twice, thrice, or four times, what then? Lotuses would eventually wither. She couldn’t protect them forever. Perhaps from the beginning, she should have let them grow in the pond, enduring wind and rain, for it was ultimately their own destiny.
Jiang Huai followed Chu Xianning’s gaze and saw the scattered lotuses in the pond. He softly asked, “The rain a few days ago damaged quite a few lotuses. I’ll go and move some more lotuses back to plant later, shall I?”
“As you wish,” Chu Xianning replied indifferently.
Much of the courtyard was maintained by Jiang Huai. He had planted many of the flowers and pruned the branches for years. Even the table and chairs in the pavilion were hand-polished by him. In the past, when Chu Xianning sat here alone, there was only a solitary chair. She often sat under the eaves, looking at the sky alone, for a long, long time.
When she first met Luo Yueguan, she was often told she was naturally cold and detached. She had once wanted to explain to Luo Yueguan that it wasn’t true, but explaining took too much effort, and in the end, she was too lazy to voice it.
She felt she just liked quiet. Being alone for so many years was simply because they were too lively. Occasionally, she enjoyed liveliness too, but too much excitement would inevitably disturb her peace. In comparison, she still preferred to be alone, quietly looking up at the sky, emptying her mind, not having to think about anything, as if forgetting her own existence.
Jiang Huai nodded slightly. After a moment, he said softly, “Bai Li is a good friend I met in a secret realm down the mountain. She’s the one I mentioned to Master about borrowing a sword. We went through life and death together many times in that secret realm, and she once saved my life.”
Chu Xianning turned her face slightly to look at him, not understanding what he meant to say.
“In a little over ten days, she will be going to the Western Region with her mother. That’s why I thought of inviting her to stay in the courtyard for a while. If Master finds it noisy, I hope Master will be more forgiving.” Jiang Huai’s voice was gentle, but Chu Xianning felt inexplicably choked by his words, unsure of what to say for a moment.
Did I seem like such a petty person in your eyes?
Chu Xianning fell silent for a few seconds. Seeing her speechless, Jiang Huai felt something was wrong but couldn’t pinpoint what he had said incorrectly. In reality, he just wanted to introduce Chu Xianning to his relationship with Bai Li; the rest was secondary. He knew Chu Xianning wasn’t that narrow-minded.
“Guanxue Mountain is not just my home, but yours as well. You don’t need to ask my opinion to bring a friend to stay. I won’t be angry; it’s your right.”
“After all, Master is the head of the household, so I thought I should properly inform Master… It’s been raining heavily lately, and I was worried that Master might feel unhappy hearing noises…”
“My unhappiness is due to my own physical condition and has nothing to do with her. She’s not noisy, so you don’t need to worry.” Chu Xianning said calmly.
“Is Master feeling unwell anywhere?”
“You don’t need to concern yourself with it,” Chu Xianning’s tone became slightly more urgent. But as soon as she said it, she regretted it. Her fingers under the table unconsciously tightened on the fabric of her dress, her eyes flustered, and she dared not look into Jiang Huai’s eyes.
“I was just concerned… Master is so fierce,” Jiang Huai’s voice held a touch of grievance.
Chu Xianning was again at a loss for words. She had been feeling inexplicably restless lately. Perhaps she vaguely guessed a reason, perhaps it wasn’t just the old injury but something else. She always tried her best not to think about it, but the more she tried not to, the more those strange thoughts emerged.
“There’s no use in caring; it’s better not to care. Just take good care of yourself,” Chu Xianning’s tone was slightly guilt-ridden, and she spoke without looking into Jiang Huai’s eyes.
“How is it useless? We can still open the acupoints you mentioned earlier. If you feel unwell anywhere, I can give you a massage, and it can help alleviate it. I’m really not saying this to take advantage of you, it’s just…”
“That’s enough,” Chu Xianning interrupted Jiang Huai. She finally turned her head, and their eyes met.
“I know,” Chu Xianning murmured softly, lowering her head slightly.
“Then where is Master feeling unwell now?” Jiang Huai asked softly.
Chu Xianning hesitated for a moment. She reached out a hand, her fingertips grasping the hem of her skirt at the waist. She pulled the hem up a bit, until it reached her knees. She slowly lifted her calf, but then paused it in mid-air due to hesitation. After another second or two, her calf finally lifted completely, and she said softly, “My calf is really sore.”
“Let me see.” Jiang Huai stood up, moved a chair to sit beside Chu Xianning, and in an instant, a pleasant floral fragrance wafted to his nose. Jiang Huai looked at Chu Xianning’s raised calf; it was smooth as porcelain white. He bent down slightly and gently grasped her ankle with his fingertips, guiding her calf to rest on his leg.
Chu Xianning thus found herself sitting sideways. Her hand still held the hem of her skirt. This posture brought an indescribable sense of shame. Jiang Huai sat beside her, lowering his head seriously, and touched her slightly flushed knee with his fingertips, softly asking, “Does it hurt here?”
“No, a little lower.”
Jiang Huai gently squeezed her calf muscle. “Here?”
“Mm,” Chu Xianning bit her lip slightly.
Her skin was slightly cool, while Jiang Huai’s fingertips were so hot, making her skin feel as if it had been shocked by electricity. Her body instinctively reacted by wanting to pull her leg back, but her mind tried hard to suppress this instinctive reaction… She was willing to believe that Jiang Huai wasn’t trying to take advantage of her; she also believed that Jiang Huai genuinely meant well for her.
Jiang Huai was a child she had watched grow up. Even if he was ambiguous with other women and harbored desires for them, he was still quite well-behaved in front of her most of the time when he needed to be.
“Is it a sharp pain? An aching pain? Or a sore pain?”
“Sore.”
“It might be that the Gu poison left from the old injury has spread to the marrow. That Gu poison is inherently cold, which is why Master feels uncomfortable every time it rains. It has always been difficult to alleviate. Fortunately, Master took the Dragon Blood Spirit Pill some time ago, and some of the blocked acupoints have opened, allowing for smoother spiritual qi circulation.”
Jiang Huai’s fingertips gently kneaded Chu Xianning’s calf. Chu Xianning was already exceptionally tall, so her calves were naturally slender. And she had a slender build, not overly bony, which made her calves particularly beautiful, like perfect works of art carved from exquisite jade.
Jiang Huai earnestly massaged her leg with his fingertips. Chu Xianning felt his fingertips were incredibly hot and, biting her lip, couldn’t help but mutter softly, “So hot.”
“Some time ago, I obtained the inheritance of the Overlord Art in the Daoji Ancestral Land. The Overlord Art is a very wondrous body-refining technique. Although it doesn’t require spiritual qi, it can refine a so-called Overlord Qi within the body. Although the name sounds a bit strange, it’s currently spreading through my fingertips. This Qi is yang and can have a certain alleviating effect on the cold Qi in Master’s body.”
As Jiang Huai spoke, his palm slowly slid down, and then he gently grasped Chu Xianning’s white and tender little feet. In his sight, Master’s slender jade feet were snow-white and exquisite, each toe as alluring as a crystal grape.
Originally, his heart was clear and pure. But then he suddenly remembered the day Chu Xianning had stuffed her little foot into his mouth, even excessively using her toes to grip his tongue and forbid him from speaking further… Jiang Huai’s mind suddenly felt a little excited for no reason.
He immediately raised his hand and slapped his own head.
