Chapter 5

“So even when you can’t see, you still get nervous.”

Xie Tinglan’s cheeks had a faint flush. A smile lingered at the corners of her lips as she lowered her head and glanced at Ye Rui’s slightly trembling fingers, as if she’d found something interesting.

“I thought you never got nervous.”

Xie Tinglan remembered their first meeting. Ye Rui had been a little afraid, but she’d explained her purpose and identity in an orderly fashion; afterward, she’d calmly tended Xie Tinglan’s wound. In the days that followed, she’d handled everything well too: washing the injury, wiping her hands and feet, changing the medicine, cooking. Not a trace of panic or nervousness.

Even when Xie Tinglan tested her, she had never looked flustered during their contest of wills.

So she could still be nervous at times like this.

A slightly cool fingertip brushed lightly across Ye Rui’s cheek. Ye Rui jumped and immediately turned her face away. “Don’t fidget. I’m trying to untie the knot.”

Xie Tinglan’s teasing words, laced with amused innuendo, made Ye Rui even more embarrassed. Being seen through like that left her a little annoyed too, but she didn’t let it show.

Her fingers were still a bit clumsy, but by chance she managed to undo the knot. Yet with her eyes covered, she couldn’t tell whether it was really open. “Is it undone?”

Her fingertips, still slightly trembling, froze in midair and didn’t touch Xie Tinglan again, not even brushing her clothes.

Xie Tinglan had still been smiling, but when she saw the coarse cloth on Ye Rui’s right shoulder worn through and stained with blood, her brow couldn’t help but knit. The smile faded as she reached out toward Ye Rui’s shoulder. The instant her cool, jade-like fingertips touched the wound, Ye Rui stepped back at once, like a startled bird.

Xie Tinglan looked surprised, but when she saw Ye Rui’s reddened face, amusement filled her eyes again.

“I only wanted to see if you were hurt. Why such a reaction?”

Ye Rui turned away and pulled off the cloth over her eyes. “I’m going out.”

She left the small thatched hut at once, only then drawing in a breath of fresh air. The cold wind struck her face, finally driving away the heat there.

She went straight to chopping firewood, wanting to do something to distract herself. Even now, she still couldn’t quite make sense of what had just happened. Listening to Xie Tinglan’s light breathing, smelling the medicinal fragrance wrapped around her body, her senses had suddenly been sharpened. She had become so tense that it no longer felt as if she were touching Xie Tinglan’s clothes, but her skin.

Usually, even when changing medicine or wiping someone down, she had never felt like this...

Crack—!

Ye Rui swung the axe down, splitting the wood in two; her own shoulder nearly felt as if it had been split in half as well. The pain quickly snapped her out of the lingering haze from earlier.

People said desire took root in the heart, and lust sprouted from the eyes; but why, when her eyes were covered, did that seed of desire seem to grow so quickly instead? Could it be that the “eye” in that saying meant the mind’s eye, not the physical one?

When Ye Rui changed Xie Tinglan’s medicine and wiped her body, it wasn’t as though she felt nothing. It was just that her sense of morality had kept desire pinned down so firmly that she could stay free of stray thoughts. But once darkness fell, everything changed flavor; certain filthy desires simply could not be forced back down.

And neither could the pain in her shoulder!

Ye Rui sat down, clutching her shoulder. Hu Tu’s voice came through: 【Hey, why did you get blocked off just now? Did you go to the latrine?】

Ye Rui: 【I suggest you stop being so nosy.】

Hu Tu: 【Fine. There’s a side quest. Do you want to take it?】

After coming here, Ye Rui had become extremely cautious, especially when dealing with Hu Tu. She had to ask everything clearly before acting; sometimes, the one who dug the deepest pit for you was your own teammate.

Ye Rui: 【Tell me what the quest is first.】

Ye Rui rolled her shoulder, but it still hurt terribly, as if the flesh and tendons had been torn apart. It seemed she really needed some medicine.

Hu Tu: 【Gather five Fire Sparrow Grass in the mountains. Reward: ten points added to agility. Failure: agility drops by three points.】

After hearing that, Ye Rui felt more and more like she was inside a game. 【I keep feeling like you’re messing with me.】

Hu Tu: 【How could that be? We’re a very proper System. Your current agility is thirty-five points, with a maximum of ninety-nine.】

Ye Rui scratched her head. 【...Why do I feel like you’re training some kind of martial arts master?】

Hu Tu: 【Now that you mention it, it really does sound like that!】

Ye Rui was speechless. So Hu Tu didn’t even know what these numbers were for!

Ye Rui: 【Accepted. Show me a picture of the Fire Sparrow Grass.】

Hu Tu: 【Heh, coming right up.】

An image appeared in Ye Rui’s mind. Fire Sparrow Grass had long, slender leaves that spread out to both sides like wings; the leaves were a vivid red and especially distinctive, so if she saw it, she would definitely be able to recognize it.

Ye Rui glanced at the little thatched hut; there was no movement at all inside. Thinking back on what had just happened, she felt she had overreacted too much. That person must have found her funny.

No. As a modern person, she couldn’t possibly be looked down on by some ancient woman.

Inside the hut, Xie Tinglan was soaking in a wooden tub less than half a person tall, washing away the sticky residue on her body. Water slid over her jade-like skin; droplets trailed from shoulders as white as jade. Warm steam rose around her, lending a hint of color to Xie Tinglan’s pale face and softening her features a little more.

Her eyes were closed as she enjoyed the rare chance to bathe after so many days. Then a faint breeze came from behind her, and she opened her eyes with mild displeasure. “You had to come now?”

“Forgive me, my lady. This subordinate has something to report.”

Yin Yue kept her head lowered, not daring to look at the person in the tub.

“Speak.”

Xie Tinglan closed her eyes again and gently washed her hands and feet, carefully avoiding the wound on her left shoulder.

“The Duke of Wei came to visit twice before; Ri Xi turned him away once. Today she let him in to speak with Huan Jing for a short while, and afterward, I saw him meet Helian Chi at the Gold and Jade Tower.”

Xie Tinglan was not surprised. She curved her lips slightly. “So it really is those people.”

“Those men want to lure the wolf without losing the child; sending so many deathsworn assassins at once is rather strange.”

Xie Tinglan’s right hand drifted along her left arm, making a teasing splash in the water. Yin Yue remained motionless. “Does my lady think that person was involved too?”

Xie Tinglan only gave a cold laugh and did not answer.

Yin Yue felt she had asked too much. After hesitating in silence for two breaths, she went on, “My lady, three servants in the residence have already been dealt with by Ri Xi. Everything has been cleaned up.”

“Mhm.”

Xie Tinglan gave a brief reply and said nothing more. Yin Yue then asked, “My lady really doesn’t want to return...”

Before she could finish, there came a soft knock at the door. In the next moment, Yin Yue’s figure had vanished from the small hut, leaving only the window swaying slightly.

“What is it?”

Xie Tinglan opened her eyes, both hands instinctively covering her chest. From outside, the person said, “Are you alright? Do you need my help?”

How could Xie Tinglan fail to hear such deliberate provocation? This person still remembered how she had teased her earlier; truly... childish.

The corner of Xie Tinglan’s mouth lifted. “If you’re willing, then of course you may come in and help me.”

The person outside was silent for several breaths, then said, “I’m going to chop firewood.”

Hearing that, Xie Tinglan couldn’t help laughing. It was a rare, genuinely amused laugh, and the haze in her beautiful eyes softened even further.

What a coward.

**

That night, Ye Rui lit a small brazier in the hut. After changing Xie Tinglan’s medicine, she sat at the table practicing her writing.

Xie Tinglan was not idle either. Sitting by the bed, she held Two Beauties Play at Love in her right hand and read it. At times she frowned; at times she shifted her gaze. Whenever her eyes fell on Ye Rui, they always seemed to linger without her meaning to.

Two oil lamps were lit in the small room, one on the table and one by the bed. The little hut was filled with light, carrying a quiet, gentle atmosphere. The yellow glow fell on Ye Rui as she frowned in concentration, sitting upright while practicing her characters; every now and then she would roll her right shoulder and bare her teeth in pain.

Only then did Xie Tinglan remember her right shoulder injury. “Did you put medicine on it?”

After Xie Tinglan had bathed earlier, Ye Rui had washed herself as well; afterward, she had been busy running around in the yard, and Xie Tinglan had temporarily forgotten about it.

“No. The medicine ran out. I’ll go down the mountain tomorrow to buy some.”

Xie Tinglan’s expression darkened. She said nothing more. After reading for a while, she felt sleepy and lay down. By then, rain was falling outside in a soft rustle, and cold wind kept slipping in through the gaps in the window frame, the chill tearing at Xie Tinglan’s body like ghostly claws, so much so that even the brazier’s heat gradually became unable to hold it back.

Because her left collarbone had been fractured, Xie Tinglan couldn’t make large movements or exert herself. She couldn’t even curl up, so she could only send Ye Rui a look.

The person who had been writing so intently felt the scorching gaze and turned at once. Seeing Xie Tinglan trembling from the cold, her already pale face had gone even whiter. She quickly put down the brush, then sat beside the bed and reached out to press the window shut; after a moment’s thought, though, she felt that wouldn’t help much, and immediately became flustered.

“Sleep on the bed with me.”

Xie Tinglan’s voice was also trembling, but her tone was firmer and more decisive than usual, without the slightest trace of shyness; she looked more like someone drowning, urgently needing someone to pull her back to shore.

Ye Rui hesitated, thinking of what had happened that day...

“Afraid?”

Xie Tinglan’s lips curved slightly, the taunt both cold and defiant.

“What do I have to be afraid of?”

Ye Rui thought that this time, with no blindfold, there definitely wouldn’t be a problem! After tidying up a bit and blowing out the oil lamp, she climbed into bed and slipped under the quilt, lying shoulder to shoulder with Xie Tinglan. The bed was narrow, and the two of them were pressed tightly together; even the slight rise and fall of their breathing could be felt. In the darkness, every sense seemed sharpened even further.

At first, Ye Rui was still a little nervous and unaccustomed to it, but soon she realized something was wrong. It was rainy and cold, yes, but Xie Tinglan’s body shouldn’t have been this cold; her temperature was even lower than most people’s, like a piece of jade left out overnight.

“Why is your body so cold?”

Ye Rui was about to sit up when Xie Tinglan caught her hand. “It’s an old ailment. It’s nothing. You... come a little closer.”

She didn’t finish saying the word “hold.” Xie Tinglan truly couldn’t imagine being that close to another person, but right now she needed Ye Rui’s warmth.

Ye Rui could still feel Xie Tinglan trembling. After struggling with herself for a moment, she finally turned slightly and wrapped Xie Tinglan in her arms. One arm went around her waist, drawing her into her embrace; that fierce, icy fragrance wrapped around her completely, and the soft body in her arms stiffened slightly.

A silver glint flickered hidden in her sleeve, carrying a danger no one else could see.

“You..."

Xie Tinglan sounded a little surprised. She had thought Ye Rui might do something else, enough that her own body had tensed. Yet the other woman simply held her properly, not even changing the rhythm of her breathing.

“Just warming you up.”

Ye Rui’s lips were almost against Xie Tinglan’s ear; her voice was very soft, as if she were afraid of disturbing the person in her arms. In truth, Ye Rui was a little nervous too; her palms were sweating. Fortunately, through their clothes, the dampness in her palm wouldn’t soak into that slender waist.

“Are you bold, or are you timid?”

Xie Tinglan murmured lazily; the little knife in her hand also loosened. Damn this weakness—her eyelids were growing heavier and heavier. She could actually relax her guard in this person’s arms?

“I’m very cowardly, but I do know what should be done when.”

“Cowardly?”

Xie Tinglan didn’t understand.

“It means timid.”

Xie Tinglan let out a soft laugh after hearing that. “Little coward.”

Ye Rui froze. Just as she was about to say something, Xie Tinglan’s voice came again, even gentler this time. “Tomorrow, go buy some new clothes. This one’s scratchy.”

“Alright.”

Ye Rui thought of the rough feel of her own coarse clothes and answered with a bitter smile. Not long after, the person in her arms had fallen asleep.

Author’s Note:

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‘The heart is the seed of desire, the eye is the sprout of love’—Qing She by Li Bihua

Next chapter on Saturday.