Acupuncture
Within a second of Xu Ruoyan finishing her sentence, Pei Jue's mind was filled with a chaotic storm of thoughts, leaving him even more at a loss.
Xu Ruoyan, as his wife, even if only in name, still has duties she should perform...
In his panic, Pei Jue had a rather outrageous idea—at the very least, he should be on top!
With his brain already shut down, Pei Jue had no time to think and could only act on instinct. However, just before he was about to turn the tables, Xu Ruoyan's hand left his chest.
Pei Jue panicked even more, and for a moment he couldn't care less about anything else. He leaned back and groped for Xu Ruoyan's hand: "Madam, what are you going to do now?"
Then Xu Ruoyan pushed her head down again by pressing her fingers against it.
"Did I tell you to move?" Xu Ruoyan scolded him, then took out a silver needle from her small cloth bag and flicked it. "Lie still, or don't blame me if you hurt yourself."
Before Pei Jue could react, Xu Ruoyan thrust her needle into the acupoint.
Her fingertips pressed against Pei Jue's skin, and she could clearly feel his subtle trembling.
Warm, fresh blood flowed beneath her fingers, somewhat similar to, yet quite different from, the blood of patients she had touched before.
Now, under her fingertips, every rise and fall represents hope.
Xu Ruoyan was momentarily dazed, but she quickly regained her senses, squinted her eyes, and slowly rotated the needle until it trembled before quickly pulling it out.
After repeating this several times, about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Pei Jue suddenly felt a lightness in his body.
Is it over?
Xu Ruoyan carefully wiped the silver needles: "Well, that's enough for today."
Pei Jue sat up, his expression quite serious: "Why did you give me acupuncture today, Madam?"
Xu Ruoyan paused in her work, thought for a moment, and decided not to tell him that Zhu Ying had come to see her. She then made up an excuse: "You took me in, which is a kindness to me. As a way of repaying you, I want to try to heal your eyes."
Pei Jue suddenly looked up.
Are you really willing to treat me for free?
"Didn't I say? Repaying a debt of gratitude isn't free," Xu Ruoyan said calmly.
“But since we are married, it is really not a favor to shelter you from the wind and rain. Besides, you also take care of my daily life. It is I who should repay you.”
Why are you being so serious?
Xu Ruoyan sighed, picked up his clothes, walked over and threw them at him, saying helplessly, "Fine, if you really want to repay me, then cooperate with the treatment obediently, and I'll be satisfied."
Pei Jue nodded obediently as before.
Xu Ruoyan felt like laughing.
A month passed, and Pei Jue's eyes still hadn't improved much. However, Xu Ruoyan and Zhu Ying never gave up. After all, he had been poisoned for a year without any professional treatment, and the toxins had become deeply ingrained in his body. They couldn't rush to remedy the situation.
Zhu Ying believed that things would definitely improve, while Xu Ruoyan believed in her medical skills.
During this month, Xu Ruoyan also collected a lot of precious Chinese herbs. After selling them in town, she used some of the money to buy some medical books, and then bought more medicines for Pei Jue's condition. Finally, she bought herself a large locked box, intending to save the rest of the money.
Sitting on the bed, Xu Ruoyan patted the box on her lap with satisfaction, then thought to herself that the money was actually enough to escape.
But Pei Jue's illness is not yet cured...
Her instincts as a normal person urged her to leave this place, but her conscience as a doctor prevented her from abandoning any of her patients.
Let's stay a little longer and collect more herbs to exchange for money. It would be such a waste not to collect so many valuable medicinal herbs.
Xu Ruoyan convinced herself in this way.
Now that they have a stable source of income and are no longer worried about food or clothing, the next step is to restore their fighting strength.
In a place where you know no one, the best way to survive is to become stronger.
Xu Ruoyan set her sights on that open space in the courtyard.
The place is spacious, quiet, and not crowded, making it suitable for practicing martial arts. The only concern is that if Pei Jue discovers that she poses a threat to him, he might take advantage of her sleeping one night and have Zhu Ying deal with her.
After careful consideration, Xu Ruoyan decided to try out the tactic from novels that most effectively evokes the male protagonist's protective instincts:
Pretend to be weak.
Without further ado, Xu Ruoyan knocked on Pei Jue's door the next second.
"Enter."
The voice remained faint and emotionless, like the winter snow quietly accumulating on the highest branch of the pine tree in the courtyard.
Xu Ruoyan pushed open the door and went in, only to find Pei Jue standing in front of the table, wielding a brush and writing something.
Since Xu Ruoyan started taking care of him, Pei Jue has rarely used a wheelchair.
The person was standing by the window, bending over, with long, black hair hanging down to one side. The sleeves that usually covered his hands were now rolled up, revealing his slender, fair hands with distinct knuckles, which were loosely holding a pen. The pen tip moved across the paper, leaving behind elegant and graceful characters.
Xu Ruoyan stopped at the door, not wanting to disturb this peaceful scene.
Seeing that she hadn't moved, Pei Jue put down his pen and walked steadily to her side: "Why don't you come in?"
Perhaps because they've spent some time together, Pei Jue is now able to accurately sense Xu Ruoyan's location.
Xu Ruoyan helped him to the bedside and sat him down, then straightened his sleeves for him.
"Seeing you enjoying yourself, I don't want to interrupt you."
Pei Jue smiled slightly: "It's alright. What can I do for you, Madam?"
Xu Ruoyan got straight to the point: "I want you to teach me martial arts."
Pei Jue was surprised for a moment: "Why would Madam want to learn martial arts?"
Xu Ruoyan seized the opportunity to deliver her prepared statement: "I don't want to be bullied like before anymore. I want to be able to protect myself."
Pei Jue didn't ask any more questions, but lowered his head and pondered something.
After a long pause, he slowly spoke: "If Madam wants to learn, then she may. However, I think it would be more suitable for Zhuying to teach you. My eyes... I'm afraid I won't be able to become a qualified teacher."
Xu Ruoyan didn't believe his words at all. Based on her observations over the past few days, even though he was now blind, Pei Jue's martial arts skills were no less than Zhu Ying's, and blindness didn't seem to have a significant impact on his judgment and actions, let alone when he was sightless.
Most importantly, she just wanted a legitimate opportunity to learn martial arts; Pei Jue's skill level was irrelevant. Furthermore, having Zhu Ying teach her would only make it easier to expose her true abilities, since Zhu Ying's eyesight was intact and he would certainly be able to detect more.
Of course, she couldn't possibly tell Pei Jue what she was thinking.
However, she had anticipated this problem and naturally prepared a response.
“I noticed that Guard Zhu is never around, only returning at night. He must be busy, so I won’t trouble him,” she said. Then, feeling that this reason wasn’t convincing enough, she added, “Besides, didn’t you say you wanted to repay a debt of gratitude?”
Taking advantage of the fact that Pei Jue couldn't see her, she smiled rather wickedly: "You wouldn't refuse such a small request, would you?"
Moral blackmail, who can't do that?
Just as she expected, Pei Jue was the kind of person who was easily morally blackmailed, or more accurately, easily blackmailed by Xu Ruoyan.
So Xu Ruoyan's training session began after breakfast that day.
It was still the dead of winter, and despite being bundled up tightly by Xu Ruoyan in layers of clothing, Pei Jue could still feel the icy wind whipping against him, and the biting cold trying its best to penetrate his body.
He stopped in the courtyard and frowned: "It's too cold. Is Madam sure she wants to learn martial arts? I think it's not too late for Madam to start learning next spring when the flowers bloom and the ice and snow melt."
Xu Ruoyan first shook her head, then realized that Pei Jue couldn't see her, and said, "It's okay, I'm not afraid of the cold, let's start now."
Pei Jue nodded: "Very well. What would you like to learn, Madam? Sword, knife, or whip?"
When Xu Ruoyan learned martial arts from her father, she mostly used fists or sticks. She had never actually come into contact with the weapons Pei Jue mentioned.
"A sword," Xu Ruoyan said. "I've always wanted to try what it feels like to wield a sword."
Pei Jue's lips curled up, and he took another step closer to her: "If Madam wants me to teach her, she must be prepared to endure hardship. I don't think I will make an exception for you."
Pei Jue intended to scare Xu Ruoyan away with these words, but to his surprise, his seemingly delicate wife, whose injuries had only recently healed, replied without hesitation, "Of course."
It's not that Pei Jue couldn't scare her. After all, Xu Ruoyan's father had always been very strict with her since she was a child. Since Xu Ruoyan was ten years old, he had always demanded that she be trained to a standard similar to that of soldiers in the army. Therefore, no matter how ruthless Pei Jue was, Xu Ruoyan believed that she could handle it.
Hearing her resolute answer, Pei Jue no longer hesitated. His expression immediately turned serious, his lips pressed into a straight line, and the smile at the corner of his mouth disappeared.
“Then we need to improve your physical strength first,” Pei Jue said. “Run around the yard for an hour, and I’ll supervise you.”
...
As the morning drew to a close and it neared noon, Xu Ruoyan's training for the day came to an end.
She couldn't even touch the sword today. Although she was a little anxious, she knew that if she didn't build a solid foundation, she might not even be able to lift the sword.
After resting for a short while, she went to the kitchen to cook.
When Pei Jue returned to his room, Zhu Ying had been waiting there for a long time.
Pei Jue's voice was extremely cold, revealing no emotion whatsoever:
"How's the matter going?"
Zhu Ying bowed respectfully: "Reporting to Master, the Shadowless Pavilion has been rebuilt, and the surviving guards have been settled. Formal training can begin tomorrow."
If Xu Ruoyan had paid attention, she would have noticed that Zhu Ying hadn't appeared for a week. But she had never been interested in the affairs between the master and servant, and even if she had noticed, she hadn't thought to investigate further.
The predecessor of the Shadowless Pavilion, the Dark Shadow Pavilion, was one of the largest secret guard organizations in the Great Qing Kingdom. Its influence was intricate and complex, entrenched in almost every corner of the country, secretly observing everyone's actions. Anyone who tried to investigate the Dark Shadow Pavilion knew that its leader was Zhu Ying, who was responsible for dispatching missions to his subordinates. However, few knew who the true leader of the Dark Shadow Pavilion was, nor did they understand the true extent of its power.
The great upheaval in the ninth year of Qing'an Sect caused severe damage to the entire country, affecting everyone from the royal family to ordinary people. The Shadow Pavilion was also not spared, suffering heavy losses and disappearing from the martial world. No one knows where this mysterious force that once dominated the world has gone or whether it has disintegrated and no longer exists.
By this time, a year had passed since the upheaval, and the country was gradually stabilizing. The Shadowless Pavilion also found an opportunity to secretly establish itself on the northwestern border. The secret guards who survived the great upheaval all joined the Shadowless Pavilion and continued to develop their power.
After finishing her report, Zhu Ying did not look up, waiting for Pei Jue's next instructions.
"Be careful in everything you do, and don't let anyone notice."
"yes."
After Zhu Ying left, Pei Jue sat down by the window, resting his chin on his hand, his gaze fixed on a point in the void in front of him.
A year has passed, and they have all recovered from the ordeal. The reconstruction of Wuying Pavilion is proceeding steadily according to plan, so there is nothing to worry about.
However, Xu Ruoyan became a variable.
After all, what normal, weak woman could endure his training all morning without blushing or her heart skipping a beat?
Pei Jue frowned deeply, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table.
These actions reveal his current inner turmoil.
Perhaps it's time to think of a way to test his "wife".
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