The first round of the Five Regions Grand Competition officially concluded.
The twelve participants present were now divided into the Winners’ Group and the Losers’ Group. The rankings within each group would be decided tomorrow, and with that, everyone began to leave. Jiang Huai returned to his courtyard.
However, he had barely sat down when a knocking sound came from his door.
Jiang Huai opened the door to find Mu Yao standing outside. She seemed a little flustered, with Mu Lingwan and the Chess Saint standing beside her, their eyes fixed on Jiang Huai.
Before Mu Yao could speak, Mu Lingwan asked, “You’ve cured the evil spirit in Yao Yao’s arm acupoints?”
Jiang Huai nodded slightly.
“And the other acupoints?!” Mu Lingwan pressed urgently.
Jiang Huai had anticipated this and replied softly, “Over eighty percent, I believe.”
Mu Lingwan and the Chess Saint exchanged a look. Even the Chess Saint, usually so impassive, showed a flicker of excitement in his eyes. They had watched their daughter grow up, witnessing countless times the agony she endured as the evil spirit ravaged her body. They had searched the entire Eastern Region without finding a cure.
Now, an apparent cure had suddenly appeared. How could they not be overjoyed?
“Is what you say true?” Mu Lingwan leaned closer to Jiang Huai, her eyes locked onto his face. Jiang Huai felt a moment of helplessness and replied softly, “It’s true.”
“What… do you want?” Mu Lingwan finally asked, letting out a long breath.
Mu Lingwan had suspected this might happen ever since Jiang Huai had asked Mu Yao to bring her mother. The last time they met outside the Immortal Spirit Secret Realm, after her duel with Luo Yueguan, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss. It was only later that she realized they must have been in cahoots.
The young man in front of her appeared innocent, but was quite cunning. Mu Lingwan had braced herself for an exorbitant request on the way here, especially since it concerned her only daughter. She was prepared to pay any price.
“I want Senior Mu to help me find two medicinal ingredients.”
Jiang Huai produced two pages from an old scroll, detailing the names and images of the ingredients he needed: Snow Velvet Flower and Azure Vine. These were part of the prescription Granny Jiuy had given him. Jiang Huai’s goal was to find spirit medicines that could replace the Flower Spirit Physique and Ice Soul Profound Body, and these three ingredients were all indispensable.
He had already posted a bounty at Ziyun Pavilion for these ingredients. Enlisting the help of a powerful figure to utilize their resources to search for them would undoubtedly increase his chances. If he were to search alone, he had no idea how long it would take.
Mu Lingwan took the paper from Jiang Huai and noted down the ingredients he required. After a moment of silence, she said softly, “You’ll only cure my daughter if I find these two ingredients for you?”
The spark of hope in Mu Lingwan’s heart flickered slightly. But then Jiang Huai spoke, “No, I’ll treat her first. After she’s cured, I’d trouble you to keep an eye out for these two ingredients for me.”
“Aren’t you worried I’ll go back on my word?”
“Since you ask, I suppose you won’t,” Jiang Huai replied with a helpless smile. “Trust is mutual.”
The Chess Saint’s expression shifted slightly, but he remained silent.
“How will you treat my daughter?”
“I’ll use a prepared medicinal liquid to stimulate the acupoints and then use silver needles to expel the evil spirit. However, I must ask that you two seniors step aside for now. It should take about an hour, and after that, over eighty percent of the evil spirit should be gone.”
After exchanging a look, Mu Lingwan and the Chess Saint agreed. They chatted with Jiang Huai for a few more moments. Jiang Huai repeatedly assured them that there was no risk and they had nothing to worry about. Finally, they felt reassured and left. Jiang Huai closed the courtyard door and looked at Mu Yao, who was sitting on a chair. Dressed in a white dress, she appeared delicate and fragile, like an innocent lamb awaiting slaughter.
Jiang Huai took out the medicinal liquid and silver needles and looked at the girl. Mu Yao had been looking at him, but her gaze darted away as soon as he met her eyes.
“The treatment method will be the same as before. I will apply the medicinal liquid to your acupoints and then perform needle insertion. Do you understand?”
“Yes…”
“Then I’ll need you to change into something light and comfortable, and take off your shoes and socks,” Jiang Huai said softly.
He felt no shame about this. No illicit thoughts crossed his mind. He was willing to treat Mu Yao partly to incur a favor from Mu Lingwan and the Chess Saint for his herb search, and partly because treating Mu Yao was a simple task for him, nothing more. He had learned a great deal of medical skill and was happy to occasionally put it to use.
Mu Yao slowly got up and went into the room. After a while, the door opened again, and she emerged wearing a snug,藕粉色 (lotus root pink) colored undergarment.
This undergarment was particularly tight, covering a large portion of her chest and cinching her slender waist. Its hem barely covered her snow-white buttocks. As she walked, glimpses of spring scenery were unavoidable, so much so that she dared not meet Jiang Huai’s gaze, quickly sitting down on the chair.
Jiang Huai took out a blanket and gently covered her legs before placing a small stool opposite her. He took out the medicinal liquid and said, “Lift your calves.”
Mu Yao obediently lifted her slender calves. The toes of her white and tender jade feet curled slightly, her white and tender little feet trembling, revealing her anxiety. Jiang Huai poured the medicinal liquid onto the sole of her foot and carefully began to spread it evenly with his fingertips.
“It tickles…” Mu Yao’s timid voice was heard.
“Just bear with it for a moment,” Jiang Huai replied softly.
The two fell silent. Mu Yao hugged her chest, her eyes filled with panic and unease. Jiang Huai meticulously applied the medicinal liquid, using his spiritual qi to sense her acupoints. After a while, he suddenly thought of something and looked up at Mu Yao. “In the course of medical treatment, some physical contact is unavoidable. Please don’t be angry, Miss Mu Yao.”
“No…” Mu Yao hastily replied.
“That’s good,” Jiang Huai said with a sigh of relief. He took out the silver needles and softly said, “Then I shall begin the needle insertion.”
Mu Yao squeezed her eyes shut in a panic, her white and tender calves kicking restlessly. Fortunately, the next moment, her little foot was caught in Jiang Huai’s palm. This time, his tone was slightly firmer, as if issuing a command, “Don’t move erratically.”
Mu Yao’s body stiffened instantly, but the next moment, it became incredibly soft. Her delicate and tender little feet were held in his hand. In her eighteen years, no man had ever touched them, let alone seen them.
The warmth from his palm seemed to penetrate her skin and reach her bones. Mu Yao’s breathing gradually quickened. Her eyes had been closed because of her panic, but she couldn’t help but secretly open them. Jiang Huai was meticulously performing needle insertion, expelling the evil spirit, without the slightest distraction. Those dark eyes held an inexplicable allure. Whenever she secretly glanced at them, Mu Yao felt a little dizzy.
She had seen many handsome men, but never had she found anyone’s eyes more captivating than his.
She gradually became engrossed, even forgetting the slight pain of Jiang Huai’s repeated needle insertions. Her body, which had been tense with fear moments ago, suddenly felt as if it had lost all its strength. With every acupoint Jiang Huai opened and every bit of evil spirit he expelled, her body grew warmer.
Jiang Huai inserted five needles into each of her soles. After a while, he let out a long sigh and removed all the silver needles. He then took out more medicinal liquid and, in the same manner, gently applied it to her calves.
Jiang Huai thought to himself with relief.
His base desires were no longer as rampant as they had been one or two years ago. In recent times, with Wanwan, Qingyu, and Fufu, he no longer felt the same despicable greed towards other women as before. His hands were steady as he inserted the needles, and his gaze never strayed. Soon, he opened all the acupoints on the girl’s porcelain-white calves. He lifted the blanket covering her legs and poured the medicinal liquid onto her snow-white, tender thighs.
At this moment, Mu Yao’s legs were still tightly pressed together. The girl’s slender jade legs were smooth and warm. Jiang Huai said, “Separate your legs.”
Mu Yao slowly parted her legs. Such a humiliating position made her feel somewhat lost. Her eyes continued to watch him covertly. When his fingertips touched her skin, the resulting itch sent shivers through her body. However, she had to grit her teeth and endure it. Her long jade legs were now damp from the medicinal liquid, and the watery sheen made her skin appear even more tender and lustrous.
Jiang Huai inserted needles again. Mu Yao let out a heavy groan, her snow-white toes stretching out and then tensing once more. Her calf unconsciously lifted, accidentally kicking Jiang Huai.
“It’ll be over soon,” Jiang Huai said softly, unbothered.
He earnestly began to expel the evil spirit. Time in the courtyard seemed to stretch endlessly. Mu Yao could hear her heart pounding thunderously. No matter how much she tried to calm herself, her frantic heartbeat wouldn’t subside. This was the first time in her life she had been so intimate with a man, and she couldn’t resist, having no choice but to obediently accept everything like a lamb waiting to be tended to.
After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Huai let out a long sigh, put away the silver needles, and said to her, “Stand up and turn your back to me.”
Mu Yao obediently stood up, but her calves were so weak that she could barely stand. Jiang Huai asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”
“My legs are weak…”
“Then lean over the table.”
Mu Yao nodded obediently and walked to the side of the table, leaning over it. Jiang Huai brought a small chair and sat behind her, beginning to spread the medicinal liquid evenly on the skin of her rear thighs. Mu Yao didn’t dare to look back, only feeling the scorching heat of his fingertips tracing her skin. Her breathing became increasingly rapid, and her eyes grew more hazy. She suddenly found herself wondering if, in this shameful posture, he could see her underwear beneath her undergarment if he looked up. Flustered, she wanted to pull at the hem of her garment, but as she raised her hand, Jiang Huai’s silver needle pierced in. Her movement froze, and she remained there, her face pressed against the cold tabletop, her eyes tightly shut, trying her best not to think or feel anything.
