Chapter 17 Jing Huan

Since the pharmacy was not far from the inn, Liu Changning bought the wound medicine and returned to the inn in just the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

When she came back, there was an additional carriage convoy at the entrance of the inn.

At the front was a black-canopied carriage with blue awnings, followed by more than twenty armed guards.

The carriage was exquisitely decorated, its body carved with dragons and phoenixes, and brocade curtains hanging down. As a gentle breeze blew, lifting a corner of the curtain, only a glimpse of the red wood interior could be seen.

The convoy stopped in front of the Yunlai Inn. The guards, well-trained, dismounted swiftly and stood with bowed heads.

The horsewoman secured the reins, dismounted first, and set up the footstool. Only then did she respectfully call out to the person inside the carriage: “General… My Lady, we have arrived.”

The person inside the carriage responded with a faint “Mm.”

Lifting the curtain, the woman who stepped out lightly touched the footstool with her long boots and leaped down. Her every movement was elegant and dignified.

The newcomer was a young lady, extremely tall, wearing a bright blue wide-sleeved robe made of Hangzhou silk, with a silver-white gold-threaded auspicious cloud pattern belt around her waist. She had a jade-white face, phoenix eyes, and full lips slightly pursed. Her ink-black hair was neatly tied up in a bun.

In the scorching summer heat, her collar stood straight up, and sweat trickled down her resolute face, seemingly oblivious to the heat, allowing the sweat to soak her collar.

It was just a casual glance, but Liu Changning was stunned, a flicker of confusion passing through her eyes. This person… she seemed to have seen her somewhere before.

She raised her eyes, intending to take a closer look, but unexpectedly met the approaching gaze of that person. There was a faint hint of detachment in the woman’s phoenix eyes.

Liu Changning shrugged, turned her head, and no longer dared to stare and investigate. She stepped sideways and strode into the inn.

Although she found this person familiar, it wasn’t to the extent that she needed to investigate thoroughly. Moreover, she had only been in this place for a few days, and the people she had met could be counted on one hand. Though she felt familiar, she couldn’t recall where she had seen her before. So she let it go, after all, people can look similar, it’s not unusual.

With this thought, Liu Changning completely lost interest in observing further. She wiped the sweat from her brow with her sleeve and went upstairs.

—

A hint of hesitation flashed in Jing Huan’s phoenix eyes. She stepped forward, wanting to stop the village woman who had just made eye contact with her. Her hand reached out but stopped midair, forcibly restraining herself.

Ever since she knew that she had finally come to this world, her mood had been restless. Encountering a woman here by chance, she felt that her demeanor was somewhat similar to hers.

Jing Huan pursed her lips and looked up at the azure sky.

A low sigh escaped her throat: “Master…”

It had been five hundred years. She had sacrificed all her lifelong cultivation to barely earn a chance for one lifetime of atonement.

A few days ago, when the strange star descended, the compass pointed towards the northern desert. The person she had been waiting for had finally arrived.

A thousand years of cultivation destroyed, reduced to a mortal, disguised as a woman, planning each step carefully, scheming to seize power.

Even though every step was difficult, she never regretted it.

A world without her was not worth living in.

She was guilty!

That year on the Black Wheel Sea, she had slaughtered an entire city for her, and when she turned around, she said to her, “From now on, you are no longer my disciple.”

She had shed tears of blood with open eyes, originally thinking there would be excitement in her heart for achieving great vengeance, but there was only a dull pain in her chest.

She had used herself as bait, devising this scheme of revenge and retribution through the hands of others. That was the beginning of her sin.

Later, she became the Demon Lord who had fallen into the demonic path, while her master became the emotionless elder of the righteous path.

Though they didn’t meet, they could breathe in the same world.

But she was about to ascend, and afterwards, they would be eternally separated by the divide between immortals and demons.

So she made another mistake, interfering with her master’s ascension tribulation. She had originally thought she could break her master’s backbone, capture her soul, and find another body for her. Perhaps, she could be her Jing Huan, and her master could be the Changning in her heart.

But…

Heaven was not on her side. Although she had protected her master’s soul with a celestial artifact, she didn’t expect the soul to escape, forever losing the chance to breathe in the same world as her.

For the next five hundred years, her master became her demon obstacle.

Fortunately, she had spent five hundred years searching and begging for this stolen lifetime.

In this lifetime, she was no longer her sinful disciple; she wanted to be her hus… husband.

—

When Liu Changning opened the door, hot water and meals had already been sent to the room.

Her cheap husband was half-sitting against the side of the bed, the anger from before gone from his eyes, just blankly staring at the hanging bed curtains.

For some unknown reason, his right ear was flushed red, and from a distance, it looked somewhat… hmm, shy?

Liu Changning shook her head, banishing the bizarre comparison from her mind.

Lowering her gaze, she saw the alarming bloodstains on his slender hands. Liu Changning sighed and turned to leave the room again.

She found a servant in the main hall and instructed her to buy a set of men’s clothes from the ready-made clothing shop.

Returning to the room, she brought hot water in a copper basin, rolled up her sleeves, and walked to the bedside.

Pei Yuanshao looked up, coincidentally meeting her thin arm. Usually hidden by sleeves, he hadn’t realized how frail she was. The half-exposed arm in front of him was bony, with blue veins visible beneath the skin.

It seemed as if a little force could break her bones. No wonder she was unwilling to empty the night soil; the bucket would probably bend her spine.

Pei Yuanshao pursed his lips, a flash of anxiety crossing his eyes. This person… if he were to leave in the future, she would be left with nothing, and with such a frail body, she might starve to death.

The scene of her picking up the whip and standing in front of him earlier flashed through his mind.

His fingers, hidden in his long sleeves, involuntarily curled. Having lived two lifetimes, although he was now stained with blood, he had only plotted against those who deserved it and punished those with ill intentions.

No one could become his support, and he had never learned to expose his weaknesses to others.

But just now… the bony back of this person gave him a moment of emotion that filled his chest. Never having been protected before, the memory was still fresh.

So, savoring that moment in the alley, the anger of being offended earlier disappeared like a gust of wind.

Pei Yuanshao lowered his head, his black hair covering his face, hiding his ever-changing eyes.

The room suddenly fell silent. Liu Changning tilted her head, her gaze fixed on the hair whorl of the person not far away, a flash of confusion passing through her eyes. She had been at odds with him for days, accustomed to seeing him flustered and angry. Now that he suddenly fell silent, the atmosphere became strange.

Liu Changning narrowed her eyes, placed the copper basin beside the bed, took out a bottle of wound medicine from her bosom, handed it to him, and nodded towards his wound, asking, “Do you need help applying the medicine?”

Pei Yuanshao, who had been lowering his head, suddenly looked up, his black eyes wide.

His lips parted, but upon seeing her thin arm, he pressed them into a straight line.

Perhaps due to excessive blood loss, his lips were extremely pale. Meeting her calm gaze, he said in a muffled voice, “I’ll do it myself.”

“Oh!” Liu Changning nodded decisively. She placed the wound medicine in his hand, pointed to the copper basin on the edge of the bed, and instructed, “The doctor said to clean the wound thoroughly before applying the medicine. The water in the basin is warm, feel free to use it.”

After speaking, she turned and went behind the screen.

With her body sticky with sweat, Liu Changning had no appetite for food.

Fortunately, the servant sister had brought plenty of hot water. She adjusted the water temperature, undressed, and stepped into the wooden tub with her long legs.

As the warm water wet her skin, Liu Changning’s lips finally curled into a smile.

Through the screen, she could see the vague silhouette of her cheap husband, his back motionless.

She didn’t know if he had eaten something wrong today, his temper was particularly… unpredictable. Gone was his usual flamboyant pride and arrogance. Now he sat dazed on the bed, lost in thought.

Who knows what he was pondering, completely disregarding the wound on his abdomen.

Liu Changning had obsessive-compulsive disorder. She always saw things through to the end when helping others. Seeing him not moving at all, she couldn’t help but urge through the screen, “Will daydreaming stop the bleeding of your abdominal wound?”

In the small room, her cool voice mixed with the sound of splashing water, both entering Pei Yuanshao’s ears. The tip of his ear involuntarily twitched.

He irritably pinched the mole at the corner of his eye, his gaze fixed on the pear wood bedpost, not daring to move.

Seeing him fall silent again, Liu Changning worriedly asked, “Is the wound very serious? Can’t you move?”

She stared at the wet towel on the edge of the algae tub, hesitating for a moment.

Pressing her lips, she said with displeasure, “If you really can’t do it, shall I help you?”

Pei Yuanshao couldn’t bear it anymore. He turned his head, his gloomy eyes looking over, gritting his teeth, “Do you even know what’s meant by the difference between men and women, propriety, and shame?”

Across the screen, their gazes met. Liu Changning suddenly curled her lips, chuckling lightly, “If you’re unwilling to let me help you apply the medicine personally, then be obedient and listen. A man… a male being so fussy, what kind of example is that!”

Pei Yuanshao nearly choked on his breath. He took a deep breath, calming his turbulent mood. Looking up again, he saw her with her back turned, her tone flat and devoid of any emotion or desire.

Suppressing the annoyance in his eyes, remembering how she had avoided him like a snake and scorpion the other day, his expression softened slightly.

If his judgment was correct, that farm woman over there was incapable of emitting a scent that could seduce and enchant men. No matter how sharp her tongue was now, she was just putting up a brave front. How could she have any ill intentions towards others?

Pei Yuanshao covered his wound, thinking to himself that not only might his heart be problematic, but his mind might also be affected, lowered by two levels. Earlier, he had worried about being violated, but thinking carefully, applying such concerns to an incompetent woman was unnecessary.

Her lifesaving kindness this time, he would repay with money when he left in the future.

After this mental calculation, Pei Yuanshao let out a long breath. He pulled down the bed curtain and wrung out the cloth.

Having experienced multiple assassination attempts this year, when surviving became a common occurrence, treating wounds became second nature.

He glanced at the shadowy figure behind the screen, then quickly averted his gaze. Lifting his clothes, he looked down at the ghastly wound on his abdomen. Although it looked alarming, it hadn’t injured any vital organs. Pei Yuanshao wiped the blood from his body clean and endured the pain as he applied the wound medicine.

After treating the wound, the person behind the screen was still bathing!

Now with nothing to distract him, the sound of splashing water, along with the chirping of cicadas outside, reached his ears, and he began to feel inexplicably anxious again.