Chapter 57 He went to Nanfeng Pavilion
"Young Master Xiao's pulse is tight and taut. Have you been injured recently?" Chu Fengnian asked after taking Xiao Sui's pulse.
Ning Qi looked at Xiao Sui. They spent every day together, and she hadn't noticed any injuries on him.
Xiao Sui shook his head.
"That's probably caused by the stagnation of cold pathogens in the meridians. I'll prescribe some warming and dispersing formulas for Young Master Xiao to help him recover."
Ning Qi nodded quickly; it seemed that he had caught a chill in the evening.
"As for matters of the bedroom..." Chu Fengnian stroked his beard and said in a serious tone, "Princess, you still need to restrain yourself for a while. Although Young Master Xiao's illness is caused by external cold, it has already led to stagnation of the meridians. If he does not exercise restraint, he may suffer from kidney yang deficiency and impotence."
"Huh?" Ning Qi's eyes widened, and she glanced at Xiao Sui. This was a big problem!
"When will that be?" she asked.
"It's not too late to wait until the young master has fully recovered," Chu Fengnian said.
Ning Qi nodded emphatically, and after receiving the prescription, she saw him off.
She carried the freshly brewed medicine back to her room and saw that Xiao Sui's ears were bright red. She couldn't help but pinch his ear and chuckle. It must be because of what Chu Fengnian had said earlier.
“Princess, I didn’t…” He said, his face turning red.
"Take your medicine first," Ning Qi said, suppressing a laugh.
Watching him finish his medicine, she patted his shoulder and said, "For now, let's follow the doctor's advice and sleep with separate blankets."
“He’s talking nonsense,” Xiao Sui said softly. “I don’t even…”
“I know you’re full of energy.” Ning Qi pressed her hand to his lips, then traced his jaw down to his Adam’s apple. “Get well soon, and I’ll give you a reward.”
Xiao Sui slightly opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbed, and finally relaxed his body, saying in a hoarse voice, "Okay."
He added, "We don't need to sleep with separate blankets."
As night fell, Ning Xi closed her eyes but refused to fall asleep, afraid that her poor sleeping posture would cause Xiao Sui to catch a cold. Just as she was drifting off to sleep, she felt an emptiness beside her, as if Xiao Sui had left.
Did she go to get up in the middle of the night? She didn't answer, but heard the rustling of clothes. After the footsteps and the door closing stopped, the room returned to silence.
Ning Qi then opened her eyes, full of doubt. What was he doing out so late at night instead of sleeping?
She waited for a while, but Xiao Sui still didn't return. She frowned, sensing that something was wrong.
Xiao Sui always tells her what he wants to do, but now he sneaks out at night. Is there something he's hiding from her?
Ning Qi put on her coat. Outside, Zhi Zhi was keeping watch. She asked her if she had seen Xiao Sui.
Zhizhi's eyes darted away, but unfortunately, the night was too dark for her to see clearly.
No, I didn't see it.
Ning Qi walked around the yard several times but couldn't find Xiao Sui. Had he actually gone out?
"Princess, you should go back and rest. I'll go find Young Master Xiao," Zhizhi said.
The night was indeed a bit chilly, and the cold wind blew into her body through the fabric. Ning Xi's body temperature dropped lower and lower, and she had no choice but to return to her room with a belly full of doubts. She instructed Zhizhi to find Xiao Sui and then fell asleep without realizing it because of her weak body.
When she woke up again, it was already bright outside. She was lying in her familiar arms. Xiao Sui had returned sometime earlier, as if her inability to find him yesterday was just a dream.
Xiao Sui habitually embraced her wriggling body, his breath lingering around her neck.
Ning Qi resisted the urge to kiss his lips, pulled away from his arm, and didn't notice that he frowned slightly. He sat up and questioned, "Where did you go in the middle of the night? Don't you know you're not feeling well and can't catch a cold?"
“I…” Xiao Sui raised his head, “You’ve discovered it.”
Ning Qi narrowed her eyes. "That's right, you'd better tell me honestly before I get angry."
Xiao Sui lowered his head. "I just wanted to prepare a birthday gift for you."
Ning Xi paused for a moment, then remembered that the 27th of next month was the original owner's birthday.
Wait a minute, she rarely called out the system, "Didn't you say that the original owner's birth date and time were the same as Xie Xiyue's? How come Xie Xiyue's birthday is so early?"
"Of course, it's because the emperor changed her birth date to alter her fate, completely severing her connection with the goddess who required sacrifices."
"No wonder," Ning Qi clicked her tongue. "So the original owner's birthday was correct?"
"Yes."
"We really should have a proper get-together then." Ning Qi put her arm around Xiao Sui's shoulder. "What did you prepare for me?"
"I want to keep it a secret for now," Xiao Sui said.
"Alright." Ning Xi gave up asking further questions. "Now that I know, you don't need to make it so mysterious for you to go out in the middle of the night. Go whenever you want."
Xiao Sui paused for a moment, then said, "Okay."
However, this is Ning Qi's first and last birthday in this world, and she is still looking forward to it. Although Xiao Sui wants to keep it a secret, she can't suppress her curiosity and secretly instructs A Ying to follow Xiao Sui to see where he went.
Aying quickly returned and told her that Xiao Sui had left using a teleportation array, and he couldn't find out where he had gone.
"Why are you making such a fuss?" Ning Qi stroked his chin and told A Ying to continue keeping an eye on Xiao Sui's whereabouts and report any new developments.
Twenty days passed quickly, and Ning Qi's birthday was approaching.
Her health remained poor, and she fainted three or five times during that period. Xiao Sui's cold illness had not fully recovered, but Yan Chongyan made considerable progress, having collected more than sixty demon cores.
“The rest are all first-level demon cores, which will be much easier to collect. I will be able to give you a hundred demon cores soon.” Yan Chongyan glanced around the room. “That good-for-nothing is not still recuperating in your room, is he? I really don’t know if you are the master or he is the master.”
“I’m willing to support him,” Ning Qi said with a smile. “Alright, I already know about your latest developments, so hurry up and go.”
Yan Chongyan sat down with a displeased expression. "We've been here for so long, and you haven't even offered us a cup of tea. Is this how you treat your guests, Princess?"
“That’s true.” Ning Qi nodded. “You’re an outsider, but you’re still a guest. Qianyu, serve tea.”
Yan Chongyan pressed down on the edge of the table, almost crushing the wooden table.
Qianyu brought over a pot of tea and poured him a cup. He picked up the teacup, and his sleeve slid down his arm, revealing a deep scratch underneath.
"Are you injured?" Qianyu said. "Let me get some gauze to bandage you."
"It's just a minor injury." Yan Chongyan laid his arm flat, rolled up his sleeve, and covered the wound.
Ning Qi saw that it was indeed serious, and considering that he was injured because of him, he nodded and asked Qian Yu to get gauze.
Qianyu quickly took it back and wanted to hand it to Ningxi, but Ningxi refused to take it, saying, "You take it."
She rested her chin on her hand, her thoughts drifting elsewhere. Xiao Sui had been going out more frequently lately, and she wondered where she had gone.
——
Aying followed closely behind Xiao Sui. This time, he didn't use the teleportation array to leave, but instead went to Yandu.
He followed the winding path, but Yandu was crowded with people and eyes, and in a moment of distraction, Xiao Sui disappeared.
He looked around and found himself in the back alley of Nanfeng Pavilion, and was immediately enraged.
The princess was looking forward to a gift from Young Master Xiao, but it turned out he was secretly enjoying himself behind her back!
No, he also came from Nanfeng Pavilion. This made him even more horrified. Could he be here to solicit customers?
"What are you doing here?" A voice exploded in his ears like a thunderclap.
He was startled and looked up to see Xiao Sui appear silently in front of him.
He immediately raised his voice and said, "Shouldn't I be asking you that? What kind of shady business have you been doing behind the princess's back? I need to go back and report to the princess!"
Xiao Sui turned around and blocked his way again, "You can't tell the princess."
"What? You dare to do it but not admit it? Are you scared?"
Xiao Sui pursed his lips. "I'm looking for medicine for the princess."
Ah Ying didn't believe it. "What kind of medicine can lead to Nanfeng Pavilion?!"
He remained silent for a moment before revealing the whole story about the prescription.
"Why are you here so early today?" The owner of Nanfeng Pavilion looked at Xiao Sui with a curious expression.
He's been coming over frequently lately, always with injuries on his body, and he has to apply ointment that corrodes his skin. The new injuries piled on top of the old ones are making him feel a little sorry for him.
“Master’s birthday is coming soon.” Xiao Sui said, a slight smile unconsciously curving his lips.
"So?" the boss asked.
"I want to use medicine to completely remove the scars on my body," Xiao Sui said.
The boss gasped. "The most important thing for your current physical condition is treatment, not covering it up with extreme methods. Why isn't the ointment enough? Why do you need liquid medicine? Is your boss trying to kill you?"
Xiao Sui shook his head, "My master doesn't. She treats me very well. It's just that this ointment is poisonous, and I'm afraid she'll get hurt if she touches it."
The shop owner looked at him with disbelief. "You're applying whole jars of it yourself, afraid she'll get hurt from just a little contact?"
"Hmm." Xiao Sui nodded, having already reached the room, and pushed the door open to go inside.
The shopkeeper followed behind, saying, "Then add more water to dilute the medicine, so it won't hurt..."
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Xiao Sui scoop the wooden tub full of medicine.
"...If you put in so much medicine, it will feel like your skin is being peeled off," he warned.
Xiao Sui ignored him and said, "Please leave."
The boss was at his wit's end. He waved his hand and said, "Fine, I don't care if you live or die. Do whatever you want. If you die here, I'll collect your body."
He left the room, and Xiao Sui stepped directly into the wooden tub.
The black liquid engulfed his body, burning with pain as it seeped into his skin.
He gripped the edge of the wooden bucket tightly, his knuckles turning white, and large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
It felt as if someone had just ripped off his wound and peeled away a layer of his skin.
He was breathing heavily, and couldn't help but let out a low groan of pain.
His body's instincts compelled him to leave the tub and get away from the source of the pain as quickly as possible. He even stood up, but then clenched his fists and fell heavily back into the tub, splashing water everywhere.
Time passed without him realizing how much, the pain became numb, and Xiao Sui's face turned extremely pale, as if he might faint at any moment.
He shook his head. He had already discussed everything with A-Ying, and he was supposed to find a reason for him to stay outside for a couple more days until all the wounds had healed.
It happened to be the princess's birthday, and he was able to rush back to see her.
Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to find the whereabouts of the Five-Petaled Netherworld Flower yet, so he can only use other gifts instead.
Xiao Sui was in so much pain that he became delirious, and his head almost fell into the water.
——
Ning Xi was a little unhappy after hearing the new message from A Ying. "Ah, he's going to spend two days preparing a gift."
"What gift could possibly require two days to prepare?" Yan Chongyan, who had already bandaged his wound, said, "I think he didn't prepare anything at all."
He turned his head and said, "Princess, why don't you join me on an autumn outing to enjoy the scenery on your birthday?"
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