training

With the night dark and the wind high, it's the perfect time to sneak out... no, I mean, to go out.

Ji Wang held his breath as he got out of bed, hurriedly dressed, and concealed his aura to the extreme. With a light step, he was about to climb out of the half-open window.

He secretly planned to go outside for some fresh air as soon as possible and return before dawn, hoping to get away with it.

Just as he had half his body out of the window, secretly pleased with his skill, a hand silently landed on the back of his collar.

The force wasn't strong, but it acted like a talisman, instantly pinning him to the spot.

Ji Wang froze, turning his head slowly.

He saw that Bu Jiu was already standing behind him, dressed in a plain white nightgown, with his black hair flowing freely.

Those eyes were looking at him, calm and expressionless.

Ji Wang felt as if an invisible rope was around his neck. He swallowed hard, quickly forcing a guilty smile onto his face, trying to bluff his way out: "No...no blame? How did you wake up? I...I just got up to look at the moonlight, the moon is so round tonight...haha..."

He chuckled dryly and pointed to the pitch-black night sky outside the window, where not a single star could be seen.

Bu Jiu remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the man's neat attire—clearly intended for nighttime travel—before settling back on his face, which screamed "I'm lying."

Silence was Ji Wang's death warrant.

Just as Ji Wang was about to be crushed by this silent pressure, Bu Jiu finally spoke: "You've grown bold, haven't you? I won't let you go out during the day, but you dare to sneak out at night?"

Ji Wang's mind raced. He immediately abandoned all futile attempts at explanation and adopted the most direct and shameless strategy—admitting defeat.

He turned around awkwardly, still being grabbed by the back of his collar, his face instantly turning into a pitiful expression. He stretched out his arms, trying to cling to Bu Jiu: "How dare I..."

As he spoke, he tried to snuggle closer to Bu Jiu: "Who doesn't know I listen to you? Even if you gave me ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare to show off my skills under your nose!"

Bu Jiu was caught off guard by his sudden counterattack and was somewhat at a loss.

He tried to let go of Ji Wang's collar, but Ji Wang seized the opportunity to hug him around the waist and cling to him like a large pendant.

"Let go." Bu Jiu's tone remained indifferent.

"I won't let go!" Ji Wang hugged him even tighter, burying her face in his neck and nuzzling him. "You scared me, you have to make it up to me."

Looking at the shameless person in his arms who was now blaming others, Bu Jiu sighed: "Go back to sleep. Wherever you want to go tomorrow, I'll go with you."

After hearing this, Ji Wang secretly grinned in his arms and pressed her advantage, demanding, "Then you have to sleep in my arms tonight!"

Bu Jiu did not answer, but simply allowed the large canine to hang on him as he dragged it back to the bed step by step.

As dawn broke, Huaiqing knocked on the door and entered the house with a medicine tray. Unsurprisingly, he saw Ji Wang clinging to Bu Jiu, who had already sat up and was trying to pry his arms off, like an octopus.

"You two... If you knew them, you'd say you were recuperating; if you didn't, you'd think the temple had switched to selling sticky rice cakes." Huaiqing teased, but her hands didn't stop. She deftly placed the medicine tray on the small table beside the bed and reached out to Ji Wang, who was still dazed, "Xiao Bao, come here, let me see your injury."

Ji Wang was awakened by the noise. He groggily let go of his hand, and the dull pain in his left shoulder immediately became clear, making him gasp and fully wake up.

Bu Jiu finally managed to escape, glancing at Huai Qing as if to reprimand him for arriving a little too early. He then quickly straightened the collar of his nightgown, which had been slightly exposed by the friction, and covered that small patch of skin again.

"Good morning, Huaiqing..." Ji Wang greeted listlessly, sitting on the edge of the bed. He tried to stretch, but the movement aggravated his wounds, causing him to grimace.

"Good morning? I've been worried about you two all night." Huaiqing pressed him down impatiently and skillfully unwrapped the bandage on his left shoulder from yesterday.

The gruesome wound was exposed before my eyes. Although the bleeding had stopped, the flesh around the edges was still red, swollen, and turned outwards. There were also some traces of slow erosion on the surrounding skin—that was the demonic power attached to the Listening Bone Claw Force.

When Bu Jiu looked at Ji Wang's shoulders trembling from the irritation of the ointment, he pursed his lips again and again, and finally couldn't help but speak in a low voice: "I still have some top-quality Jade Bone Grass and Ginseng Marrow in my private treasury. They have miraculous effects in relieving pain and promoting tissue regeneration, and the medicinal properties are mild... When you prepare the medicine tomorrow, use that."

Huaiqing was focused on her work. Upon hearing this, she stopped and simply raised an eyebrow, tilting her head slightly. "Oh? Those two treasures? I begged and pleaded with them for years. You said, 'I've searched for a hundred years before I'd give them to you,' and in the end, you only gave me a tiny bit, the size of a fingernail. You treasured them like they were the most precious things. What, are you willing to give them all away?"

Bu Jiu lowered his eyelashes: "...Hmm. Take them. Bring them all."

Looking at him like this, Huaiqing felt both amused and touched, but ultimately didn't tease him any further. She simply nodded and said, "Okay, I understand. I'll go get it later. Using those two medicines will speed up the recovery."

"It hurts so much..." Ji Wang instinctively shrank back, which aggravated the wound on his left shoulder, causing tears to well up in his eyes from the pain.

Seeing him back away, Bu Jiu wanted to reach out and steady him back to his original position, but when his fingertips touched his uninjured shoulder, he retreated as if burned, and for a moment he did not know what to do.

It was too painful to hold him down forcefully. But if he were allowed to dodge, Huaiqing wouldn't be able to properly clean his wounds.

"Bear with it, Xiao Bao." Huai Qing's voice rang out at the right time. His hands moved very steadily as he wiped the eroded flesh around the wound with a cloth soaked in special medicine. "The evil and demonic power left by these Ling Gu is the most troublesome. If it is not completely cleaned today, your arm will suffer every time it is damp and cold in the future."

Ji Wang gritted his teeth, cold sweat beading on his forehead, but knowing the consequences, he didn't back down any further. Seeing this, Huai Qing quickened his movements, striving to minimize the pain of the cleaning.

"Alright, that's enough for today." Huaiqing finished wrapping the last bandage, tying a knot that was secure but not too tight.

He straightened up, tidying up the used items in the medicine tray as he instructed, "Lie still for a full hour, don't move around, let the medicine dissolve properly. Keep the food warm on the stove, get up and eat when you feel better."

His gaze shifted to Bu Jiu, who was sitting to the side: "You too, internal organ turmoil is no joke, plus yesterday's mental exhaustion, so take good care of yourself and don't make me worry about two things at once."

After giving his instructions, Huaiqing picked up the medicine tray and walked to the door. He lifted the curtain halfway, then turned back and raised an eyebrow at Ji Wang, who was grinning on the bed: "Continue tomorrow, Xiao Bao."

The room returned to quiet.

Ji Wang let out a long sigh, collapsing onto the bed, utterly exhausted, like a salted fish that had been sunbathing on the shore for too long and was too lazy to even turn over. Only his fingers remained restless, tugging at Bu Jiu's sleeve as he sat by the bed, his voice soft and drawn out: "My darling..."

He stared longingly at Bu Jiu, muttering incoherently, "Shouldn't you be coming over here right now, patting my head, and saying something like, 'Wow, you're amazing, you've endured so much pain'?"

Bu Jiu, who had been looking down at him with lingering heartache in her eyes, froze upon hearing this. She looked Ji Wang up and down as if to confirm whether the person in front of her had gone mad from the pain or been possessed by something strange: "Have I ever said that before?"

Ji Wang was speechless at his question, pursed his lips, and turned his face to the side.

Looking at him like this, Bu Jiu could easily understand his little scheme.

It's just that she was in a lot of pain, and she had just put on a brave face in front of Huaiqing for a while. Now that only her closest person was by her side, she couldn't help but want to act coquettishly, ask for some soft words of comfort, and preferably have some intimate contact to confirm that she was being cherished.

So he leaned over, one hand supporting himself on the couch beside Ji Wang, the other hand brushing away the stray hairs damp with sweat from Ji Wang's forehead, and placed a kiss on the corner of Ji Wang's lips.

His voice was a little lower than before: "Great."

After saying that, he seemed to feel that those two words weren't enough: "You held back, that's good."

Ji Wang stared at him blankly. The burning pain in her left shoulder suddenly felt like it had been washed away by a clear, sweet spring, and it became less unbearable.

He blinked, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up, first a small curve, then getting bigger and bigger, and finally a wide, incredibly cheerful smile.

"Then..." he pressed on, "one more kiss? Here?"

He pointed to his forehead, then to his cheek, and finally his gaze landed meaningfully on Bu Jiu's lips.

“…Okay.” Bu Jiu answered without hesitation.

First, her lips gently pressed against Ji Wang's forehead, followed by an equally gentle touch on the cheek where Ji Wang's fingers had just touched.

Finally, as if driven by instinct, he covered those two warm lips again.

Unlike the fleeting touch of their lips earlier, this time the contact lingered a little longer, with a slightly awkward and hesitant entanglement. It was merely a gentle caress of lips touching, confirming the warmth and presence of the season.

Ji Wang was completely stunned, only slightly parting his lips, wanting to respond to this hard-won kiss.

But Bu Jiu's movements stopped there. He stepped back a little, his breathing still a little unsteady, but he forced himself to remain calm and repeated Huai Qing's words: "Lie down. One hour."

Ji Wang chuckled, knowing when to stop, and contentedly slumped back down.

He moved the fingers that Bu Jiu was holding, no longer trying to force them, and scratched the other's slightly cool palm with his fingertips: "Does your injury still hurt?"

Bu Jiu shook his head.

Ji Wang recalled the results of their "negotiations" after being caught last night: "So, you said you'd go out with me today, does that still stand?"

Bu Jiu looked at him for a moment, as if assessing whether his current state was really suitable for going out, and finally gave an affirmative answer as if to compromise: "In the afternoon, just nearby."

"Deal!" Ji Wang agreed quickly, afraid that Bu Jiu would go back on his word.

He readjusted his position to make himself more comfortable: "I'll sleep a little longer, recharge my energy, so I'll have more strength this afternoon..."

His voice gradually faded. The continuous tension finally eased, and sleepiness washed over him like a tide.