Chapter 50 Coveting You
"Are you hurt?"
Ning Jue's voice was slightly hoarse, but his tone was concerned. Seeing Bai Hua cross her arms to protect herself, he realized he should look away and subtly adjusted his breathing.
Bai Hua was still shaken, her face turning pale with fright.
She crouched down, kneeling, and submerged herself in the water, leaving only her head above water. Her voice trembled as she asked, "Why did you suddenly barge in, young master…?"
Ning Jue pointed to the curtain behind him and explained, "That door connects to my room. I thought only I could enter this bathroom, but I didn't expect it to connect two rooms, and I certainly didn't expect you to be inside preparing to take a shower."
Bai Hua raised her head, glanced hastily in the direction of the curtain, and then squatted down again.
She frowned and said, "I did see a white curtain over there, but I thought it was just for decoration. I didn't expect there would be a door behind it."
Ning Jue didn't care about the door curtain issue at the moment; he was anxious to check on Bai Hua's injuries.
He asked, "Did you bump or hurt yourself anywhere? Did you sprain your ankle?"
Bai Hua hesitated for a moment, then shook her head at Ning Jue.
Ning Jue watched the changes in her expression and knew what was going on.
He turned and took two steps away, then took a piece of dry cotton cloth from the clothes rack behind him, stretched it out, and made sure it was long enough to wrap around himself.
He walked back to the edge of the wooden tub, spread out the cotton towel with both hands to block his view, and said, "Can you stand up? Don't worry, I can't see. Let me carry you out first to check the sprain. This can't be delayed."
Bai Hua looked away guiltily, surprised that the young master had seen through her thoughts so easily.
Her ankle was throbbing slightly, but she still hesitated and did not respond.
The two of them had been cold to each other for so long, finally bringing their relationship to a freezing point. Now, because of her unexpected injury, they're supposed to reconcile and rekindle their relationship? Wouldn't all her previous efforts have been in vain?
Thinking of this, Bai Hua insisted, "I'm fine. Please go out first, young master. I can manage on my own."
Ning Jue did not back down. Instead, he stepped forward and said in a solemn voice, "Injuries are not something to be taken lightly. If you do not move, I will take action to rescue the person directly."
"..."
Bai Hua was afraid of him, worried that he would really keep his word. At this moment, she was naked, how could she continue to be stubborn?
Therefore, they had no choice but to cooperate with the others.
With Ning Jue's help, Bai Hua managed to stand up, her left ankle aching, but she gritted her teeth and steadied herself.
Ning Jue turned his head to the side, looked away, and opened his arms to completely wrap her in a cotton towel.
From top to bottom, only its round head and white, jade-like toes are visible.
Noticing that she was hesitant to put her left foot down, Ning Jue glanced at her a few more times and asked, "Does your left foot hurt? Can you bear it?"
Bai Hua truthfully said, "It hurts when I step on it hard, but it's fine if I step on a loose surface. I think I twisted my ankle a little."
"Even in this state, you're still trying to be tough?" Ning Jue said expressionlessly, his words carrying a strong sense of intimidation.
Bai Hua lowered her head, looking aggrieved as if she had done something wrong.
Ning Jue had no temper, so he sighed again and asked her in a softer tone, "Shall I carry you over to apply the medicine first?"
He's already wrapped her up like a cocoon, she can't just hop over on one foot, can she?
Bai Hua understood the situation and had no choice but to nod obediently.
With her consent, Ning Jue no longer hesitated. He stretched out his strong arms and easily scooped her up in his arms.
Bai Hua followed his force and stood on tiptoe, her body immediately suspended in the air.
Her cheek was turned toward his chest, and her knees were slightly bent so that he could exert force.
Ning Jue didn't ask any questions, and carried her directly to his room by turning left.
Seeing that the direction was wrong, Bai Hua quickly called out, "Young Master..."
Ning Jue explained, "I have some ointment in my bag that can treat sprains and bruises. I'll apply it for you first. It's so late, and if we go through the trouble of finding a doctor, it will only keep you from sleeping. It's better if I help you."
Bai Hua knew that the young master had many medicines, including various effective medicines for healing injuries, as well as many deadly poisons, and some... strange and unusual collectibles.
Previously, with the discerning eye of the Fujianese merchants, the young master easily identified a bottle of genuine medicine among a row of counterfeit goods.
Bai Hua really didn't want to cause trouble for the tea shop owner's family so late at night, so after thinking about it, she decided to do as the young master said.
She thanked him politely, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, young master."
Ning Jue chuckled and looked down at him, saying, "Just be obedient."
That's a bit ambiguous.
Bai Hua's cheeks flushed red involuntarily. Noticing her heartbeat becoming erratic, she quickly buried her head and stopped talking.
Ning Jue carefully carried her to the bed, protecting her head and gently laying her down. Then, he carefully loosened the cotton towel wrapped around Bai Hua's body so that she wouldn't feel suffocated.
After doing all that, he went to the side to rummage through his bag and quickly took out a blue medicine bottle.
I opened it and smelled it, confirming that it was a medicated ointment for treating sprains and bruises.
Ning Jue walked back to the edge of the bed and said, "Apply it now and massage it in properly. The swelling and pain should subside by tomorrow."
Bai Hua reached out to him for the medicine, saying, "I can apply it myself."
Ning Jue withdrew his hand, refusing to give it to him: "You're all bound up, how can you do it yourself?"
Bai Hua thought for a moment, then looked at him tentatively and said, "Could you please go to the next room and get me a clean set of clothes? I can come by myself after I change."
Ning Jue replied casually, "No."
Bai Hua looked at him with reddened eyes: "...Young Master."
Ning Jue toned down his carefree attitude and patiently explained to her, "Taking off and putting on clothes will take up a lot more time. If we miss the best time to apply the medicine, it won't heal as quickly even if we do. Besides, your foot injury makes it inconvenient for you to dress yourself. Do you expect me to stay and help you?"
Bai Hua felt like he was teasing her again, but she couldn't think of a good way to retort.
He quickly denied it, saying, "Of course not."
Ning Jue said without any mercy, "Either I hurry up and apply the medicine to you, or you get out of bed now and limp back to your room on one foot to find your clothes."
"..."
Provoked by him like that, even someone with no temper couldn't swallow their anger.
Bai Hua's eyes widened, and she made a move to sit up, but the cotton towel made it very difficult for her to get up.
Seeing her like this, Ning Jue blocked her with his arm.
She had struggled for a long time to stand up, but now he had pushed her back down in an instant. Bai Hua: "Young master, let go, I'm going to limp back to my room to find some clothes to wear."
Ning Jue reached out and rubbed her head, helped her sit up halfway, and then squatted down close to her without saying a word.
He stared at her.
Seeing Bai Hua's expression change from furious and aggressive to shy and confused, her eyes also...
"Stop fooling around, I'll put on the medicine for you so we can finish quickly and you can rest, okay?"
Bai Hua didn't speak, nor did she try to avoid him anymore.
Ning Jue took it as a tacit agreement, reached out and pulled up a corner of the cotton towel, placing Bai Hua's left foot on his knee, fully exposing her ankle for easy application of medicine.
He looked at it for a moment and said, "It's definitely swollen. Does it hurt?"
Bai Hua murmured, "Faintly."
Ning Jue returned to the bathroom to wash his hands, then squatted down again, applied the white ointment to his fingertips, and, holding Bai Hua's ankle, rubbed the ointment in circles.
"Is the force enough?"
"……Um."
Ning Jue had thin calluses on his fingertips. When he rubbed the ointment, it brought Bai Hua not only pain, but also an unbearable tingling and itching sensation.
Bai Hua suddenly felt very hot being wrapped in the towel, and her forehead was about to break out in a sweat.
Furthermore, due to being bound, she gradually felt difficulty breathing.
After applying the first coat, apply the second coat.
With both hands inside the cloth, Bai Hua couldn't support herself on either side to keep steady, so she had to lean back against the headboard, feeling insecure.
At the same time, his large hand completely lifted her left foot up.
His hands were so large, and her feet were so small. The process of him helping her apply the medicine felt like she was being played with repeatedly.
Mistakenly believing this, Bai Hua's body grew hotter and hotter, her face flushed, and her toes curled up uncontrollably.
Especially when she noticed that the young master's breathing was also gradually becoming heavier, the feeling of no longer being there became even stronger.
Ning Jue's voice was hoarse: "Don't move."
Bai Hua pursed her lips and whispered, "...It didn't move."
Ning Jue's eyes darkened: "I wasn't talking about you."
Bai Hua remained silent, naturally failing to understand the young master's contradictory and inconsistent words.
Finally, after applying the ointment, Bai Hua felt that the young master seemed to have breathed a sigh of relief even before she did.
But before she could even say thank you, Ning Jue hurriedly got up and left without saying goodbye.
Bai Hua stared blankly at his retreating figure.
As Ning Jue left, he said, "Wait here for a while and let the ointment dry. I'll go get you some clothes. Which set do you want?"
Bai Hua paused for a moment and replied, "The cyan one."
Ning Jue: "Okay."
The two rooms were next to each other, but it took Ning Jue quite a while to get out.
When he returned, he was carrying not only a dress, but also a sword, not the Qingying he usually used.
The young master always carried a box with him, which Bai Hua originally thought was his spare sword for emergencies.
Unexpectedly, the weapon inside was the one the young master had given her earlier.
Ning Jue handed the sword to Bai Hua and said, "You will be traveling with us tomorrow and the day after, so you must carry a sword with you at all times."
Bai Hua took the sword, touched the hilt of the scabbard, and said with shame, "I haven't mastered the self-defense sword techniques that Young Master taught me before, so I'm afraid I can't use them..."
“It’s alright. I’m having you carry the sword not to count as part of our fighting strength, but to serve as a deterrent,” Ning Jue explained to her. “Chen Fu will carry the knife, and I will carry the sword. If the three of us encounter danger while traveling together, our opponents might see you unarmed and easily exploit your weaknesses to launch an attack. To prevent this from happening, you carrying the sword with me will create a deterrent effect and help us avoid any unexpected dangers.”
Bai Hua carefully considered the young master's words and raised an objection, saying, "But if I don't carry a weapon, won't the other party think that I have profound internal strength and can kill the villain with a single palm strike without the need for a weapon, thus making them more wary of me and not daring to provoke me easily?"
Ning Jue looked at her, a half-smile on her face, and said, "Probably not."
Bai Hua blinked her innocent big eyes, her gaze filled with confusion, and asked, "Why? Do I not look like a martial arts master?"
Ning Jue: "Like the family of a martial arts master."
Bai Hua: "Young Master is talking nonsense again."
"What nonsense are you talking about? Your hands are so delicate, without a single callus. They look like the hands of a lady from a respectable family, not someone who practices martial arts. And your slender figure is as thin as a willow, you have to sway your waist every few steps. How can such a frail body resemble a martial arts master with profound internal strength? If you were wielding a sword, you could barely pretend to be a skilled swordswoman, but if you don't have a weapon in your hand, you are just blatantly telling everyone that you are a sitting duck."
That's a bit too harsh.
Bai Hua muttered, "Maybe there really are people whose eyesight is not as good as yours, and they might be fooled by me for a moment and become wary of me."
Ning Jue shifted his gaze from Bai Hua's bright and flamboyant face, and casually revealed the truth: "The people who are fooled by you are more likely to covet you than to be wary of you."
But it doesn't matter, I'll kill them all.
Ning Jue didn't say the second half of what he truly felt.
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