Chapter 53: The Secret
The night wind rose, and dark clouds obscured the moon.
The bathhouse was filled with ripples.
Luo Yueguan had never imagined that one day she would be soaking in a bath with a man, even washing his body.
Jiang Huai had already been lifted out of the water by her. She was only wearing a light purple undergarment, and her snow-white and tender skin inevitably came into contact with his. She suddenly felt a strange unease and quickened her steps, carrying Jiang Huai back to the bed and tucking him in.
Jiang Huai’s face was slightly pale in his deep sleep. Luo Yueguan sat by the bedside, her gaze fixed on his cheeks.
Chu Xianning is truly fortunate.
Luo Yueguan sat by the bed for a long time, then stood up, gently closed the door, and returned to Luo Qingyu’s room.
Luo Qingyu’s snow-white and tender body was all curled up in the quilt. Seeing Luo Yueguan return, she immediately threw off the small quilt and said in a sweet voice, “Mother, come quickly, the quilt is all warmed up.”
Luo Yueguan was stunned, then chuckled and also quickly burrowed into the quilt, which was very warm. After hesitating for a while, she gently pulled Luo Qingyu’s body into her embrace. Luo Qingyu snuggled into her arms like an obedient kitten.
Luo Yueguan was actually not used to hugging others like this; she had rarely held Luo Qingyu since childhood.
In her memory, she had only been hugged by that woman when she was young. But that woman only hugged her to bite her shoulders and pull her hair, venting her own resentment and bitterness, not to give her any warmth.
“Mother’s arms are so warm,” Luo Qingyu’s small face rubbed against Luo Yueguan’s chest, her delicate pink lips lightly kissing her clavicle. “Qingyu is going to sleep now.”
Luo Yueguan was lost in thought for a moment, and it took a long time for her to come back to her senses. She lowered her head and gently kissed Luo Qingyu’s forehead.
“Yes, Mother is holding you.”
***
The next day, early morning.
When Jiang Huai woke up, he heard the noise of a torrential downpour by his ear. He sat up, looked at his naked body and the clothes placed beside him, and scratched his head.
Wait, he remembered he had passed out after the needle insertion last night, but why were his clothes gone?
His clothes wouldn’t just disappear for no reason.
Jiang Huai quickly understood and felt a little shame in his heart. He hurriedly put on his clothes and opened the door.
It was pouring rain in the courtyard. He quickly ran to the kitchen. On a rainy day, it was best to eat something hot. He decided to make a pot of pan-fried dumplings.
Luo Yueguan and Luo Qingyu came out of the room together. Luo Qingyu was wearing a black full-body ruqun, her jet-black hair spread out, looking delicate and lovely at first glance. Luo Yueguan, on the other hand, wore an ink-colored sleeveless qipao. Although the design of the qipao was dignified and elegant, it didn’t deliberately expose too much skin, but on Luo Yueguan, it was excessively alluring.
Her qipao was also a shoulder-baring design. As she turned slightly, Jiang Huai saw a large expanse of her snow-white skin on her back, and seemingly a small section of her snow-white and tender side-boob. Chu Xianning would never wear such clothing in the courtyard; it would be harder for her to wear it than to kill her.
The pan-fried dumplings Jiang Huai made tasted delicious, and Luo Qingyu ate her fill. Today was a rainy day, a very yin-type weather, which was perfect for Luo Qingyu to refine the pill and completely resolve the drawbacks of her Ice Soul Profound Body.
So Luo Qingyu went to the bathhouse in the backyard and began refining it within the Blazing Fire Spirit Jade formation. It was estimated to take four shichen to refine, and it should be finished by evening. Jiang Huai had promised her to eat lamp shadow beef tonight, so he continued to busy himself in the kitchen.
Luo Yueguan sat in the pavilion, quietly gazing at the rain falling on the distant mountains.
Jiang Huai, who was stewing the beef he had prepared, came out into the courtyard for some fresh air out of boredom. His gaze happened to fall on Luo Yueguan, who was staring at the rain. He walked over to her. Luo Yueguan glanced at him and immediately shifted her gaze away, even showing a hint of deliberate coldness.
“Give me your hand,” Jiang Huai held out his hand to her.
Luo Yueguan raised her slender and fair wrist. Jiang Huai gently grasped her wrist, sensing her body’s condition. Two-thirds of the cold toxin in her body had been resolved, but her overall physical condition was not very good, with various minor injuries.
“Don’t these injuries hurt normally?” Jiang Huai blinked at her.
“It’s fine. Once you get used to it, it doesn’t hurt.”
“Why get used to it if it’s not necessary?” Jiang Huai took out a pen and ink, pondered for a long time on a blank piece of paper, wrote down several spirit medicines, and then handed the prescription to Luo Yueguan. “Go and collect all these medicines. I’ll refine pills for you when I come to Qingxuan Sect next time and heal all these injuries at once.”
“No need,” Luo Yueguan hesitated for a moment and replied softly.
Jiang Huai was stunned. “Huh?”
“It’s not necessary, I’m used to it.” Luo Yueguan’s voice had a hint of coldness.
Jiang Huai stared at her intently for five or six seconds until Luo Yueguan began to look uneasy. Then he suddenly chuckled, “Sect Master Luo, why are you acting like a child?”
“Keep your thoughts on pleasing your Master.”
“You’re being unreasonable,” Jiang Huai looked at her face helplessly. “Healing your injuries is just a small favor, and so is refining pills. It’s as if you’re worried I’ll harm you just because I’m being nice to you.”
“Gifts without reason are either thieves or deceivers,” Luo Yueguan snorted coldly.
“Then what do I want from you?” Jiang Huai asked her with a smile.
Luo Yueguan was speechless for a moment.
“Then why are you being nice to me?” Luo Yueguan tilted her head slightly.
“You’re really unreasonable.” Jiang Huai withdrew his hand from her wrist. “I’ve left the prescription here for you. I should be back at Qingxuan Sect in about one to two months.”
Jiang Huai looked at Luo Yueguan with amusement and suddenly asked curiously, “Will Qingyu become exactly like Sect Master Luo in the future?”
“Yes.”
“That’s weird,” Jiang Huai couldn’t help but mutter quietly. Thinking that the cute girl Luo Qingyu would one day become a seductive older sister like Luo Yueguan, he wondered if he would still be able to resist Luo Qingyu’s watery eyes then.
Luo Yueguan glanced at Jiang Huai in front of her and suddenly spoke, “I heard from Qingyu that you are also close with your junior sister at Tian Xuan Sect?”
Jiang Huai was startled and hesitated for a moment. “Sort of.”
“Scoundrel.”
“…” Jiang Huai looked at her eyes helplessly. “It’s not what you think, she’s just a junior sister. Qingyu misunderstood something.”
Luo Yueguan sneered, while Jiang Huai had no desire to explain. The burden of proof lies with the one who makes the accusation.
Never fall into the trap of self-proving that a woman sets for you.
He looked at Luo Yueguan’s ink-colored qipao that clung to her body and asked, “Was this robe bought from Ziyun Pavilion?”
“Yes.”
“It suits Sect Master Luo very well.” Jiang Huai softened his tone slightly. Luo Yueguan gave him a faint glance. “Should I wear this tonight for your needle insertion?”
“Can you please not say it so ambiguously?” Jiang Huai said with a look of righteous indignation. “I’m here to treat your illness, not to take advantage of you.”
“Then were you really just rubbing Qingyu’s little feet to make her sleep obediently?”
“Of course!” Jiang Huai inwardly thought, “This is bad.”
This woman might have spied on quite a bit of his interactions with Luo Qingyu, hadn’t she?
“Who would have thought that the genius sword cultivator from Tian Xuan Sect, envied by countless people, would actually be a pervert obsessed with women’s delicate feet in private?” Luo Yueguan seemed to have found Jiang Huai’s sore spot, a slight curve at the corner of her lips. Her slender, snow-white legs crossed beneath the table, and the hem of her qipao was lifted to one side, revealing those lustrous, snow-white long legs. She gently swung her calf, her toes lifting slightly. “Want to lick them?”
Jiang Huai’s gaze was drawn for a moment. Luo Yueguan, without shoes or socks, had white and tender jade feet as crystal clear as jade. Her white toes were painted with red henna, and a silver chain was tied around her ankle. At this moment, her toes were slightly spread, and the veins on the back of her foot were as clear as blue-and-white porcelain patterns.
Jiang Huai coldly snorted, “I can only tell you that I won’t hold back when I insert needles tonight. You’ll have to endure it no matter how much it hurts.”
“I’ll cry out,” Luo Yueguan’s voice was soft, her eyes twinkling.
Jiang Huai’s mind instantly conjured an image of Luo Yueguan’s delicate gasps. He hurriedly shook his head, dispelling the strange thoughts. No, he couldn’t argue with this woman.
Those who are shameless are invincible in the world, and women even more so.
Jiang Huai stood up and returned to the kitchen to continue working on his stewed beef. After a while, he brought out a plate of sliced beef and placed it on the table in the pavilion, handing Luo Yueguan a pair of bamboo chopsticks. “Taste it.”
Luo Yueguan took the chopsticks and tasted a small bite. Even though she wanted to say something to discourage him, the taste on her tongue couldn’t be faked. Her eyes showed a hint of satisfaction. “Delicious.”
“I made extra. You can freeze it and then reheat it with the original broth I left when you want to eat it.” Seeing the satisfaction in Luo Yueguan’s eyes, Jiang Huai felt a small sense of accomplishment.
Luo Qingyu was still diligently refining the pill. The two sat in the pavilion and secretly ate the beef. After filling Luo Yueguan’s stomach, the awkward coldness in her eyes naturally disappeared.
“Jiang Huai.”
“Yes?”
“I want to ask you something.”
“Please speak.”
Jiang Huai had a feeling that Luo Yueguan was about to say something ominous, so he added a respectful title, hoping she would consider her identity. But Luo Yueguan’s next sentence made Jiang Huai instantly break down.
“Do you want to sleep with Chu Xianning?”
Jiang Huai slammed the table. “I’m warning you, don’t think you can joke around just because I have a good temper.”
“You don’t?” Luo Yueguan looked at him playfully. “Then never mind.”
“What ‘never mind’?”
“Originally, I had some little secrets about Chu Xianning that I wanted to tell you.” Luo Yueguan tilted her head, looking playfully at Jiang Huai. Jiang Huai’s expression stiffened slightly, unable to hide his guilt.
Damn it.
“My Master and I are like mother and son. You can’t joke about that. If you talk nonsense again, I’ll really get angry. Besides, Master never hides anything from me. Are there any secrets of hers that I don’t know?”
“You seem very guilty,” Luo Yueguan leaned in slightly, staring intently into his eyes.
Jiang Huai tried to meet her gaze. “You’re bluffing. Stop joking with me, Luo Yueguan.”
They stared at each other for about half an incense stick’s worth of time. Finally, Luo Yueguan burst into laughter. “Do you really think you understand Chu Xianning? There’s still a lot you don’t know about her.”
“For example?” Jiang Huai raised his eyebrows.
“For example… over the years, have you ever noticed that there’s one day each month when you can’t see your Master?”
“That’s when she’s in seclusion for healing.”
Luo Yueguan’s laughter grew more unrestrained. “Do you really think she’s in seclusion for healing?”
Jiang Huai looked suspiciously at Luo Yueguan, who was laughing uncontrollably.
What should I do? It feels like she knows a lot of secrets, and it doesn’t seem fake.
No, I can’t fall for it, Little Huai!
