Chapter 64: Using Softness to Envelop Hardness
Jiang Shen'er provided Ning Jue with a specially made antidote, and with the physician's external bandages, Ning Jue only needed to rest for two days at Qimeng Manor before his health improved significantly.
During this time, at Jiang Shen'er's behest, Bai Hua walked out of the manor gate in a blatant manner and made contact with Chen Fu and others who were secretly lurking. She told them that the conflict had been resolved peacefully and that there was no need to continue monitoring them. She also explained that the young master was injured and needed to rest, and that he would have to wait another day or two before leaving the manor.
Chen Fu breathed a sigh of relief. If Miss A Peng hadn't shown up today, they might have become impatient and prepared to surround the manor and force their way in. Three days was really too long. Even if they were in a standoff, it was taking far too long.
Bai Hua glanced at the number of people lying in ambush behind Chen Fu and asked him in surprise, "You brought so many people. It must be hard to hide them."
Chen Fu explained, "For the past two days, they have been keeping watch in pairs. Today... I felt that the situation was a bit unusual. After discussing it with Guo Zhong, we decided whether to break down the door and rescue them."
Bai Hua thought to herself, "Luckily, Jiang Shen'er reminded me. She came out in time. Otherwise, if Chen Fu and his tea shop brothers had forced their way into the manor and clashed with the guards and the masked men, both sides would have inevitably fought and suffered injuries, resulting in bloodshed in vain."
"Jiang Shen'er doesn't seem to be making things difficult for us right now. Just do as the young master instructed, and you should go back to the city quickly. There's no need to waste your energy here any longer."
Chen Fu responded, without inquiring about the specifics of what had happened inside. He was sent by the family head, Duan Yi, to assist Young Master Ning in his mission, so there was no need for him to ask about the details. Once they returned to Ye City, the family head would personally ask Young Master Ning about the process.
After enduring the elements for several days, the brothers were really starting to feel the strain. It rained last night, and even with hats and raincoats on, they couldn't keep out the downpour. Their clothes, soaked to the bone, clung to their skin, and the feeling was indescribable. They dared not take off their clothes or make any noise, so they could only grit their teeth and persevere until dawn...
Then there's A-Qiu, who initially insisted on staying to keep watch with him, but after only two days she backed out, feeling tired and listless, and refused to come back.
Only he and Guo Zhong could barely keep up, but if they had to endure it any longer, they probably wouldn't be able to hold on any longer.
Fortunately, the situation was under control. After confirming that the young master was safe, Chen Fu immediately arranged for the brothers who were keeping watch to secretly retreat along the stone shadows.
He left behind the severed tail and took the opportunity to instruct Bai Hua: "Jiang Shen'er is cunning and difficult to deal with. Before you and the young master officially leave the manor, you must always be vigilant against her."
Bai Hua nodded and replied, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Chen Fu then asked what he could find out: "Is the young master's health confirmed to be alright?"
Bai Hua reassured him, "It's just a few superficial wounds, nothing serious. We'll return to the teahouse as soon as possible to meet up with you."
Chen Fu responded and bowed in farewell.
Watching Chen Fu and his group walk away until there was no one left in sight, Bai Hua slowly withdrew her gaze, letting it fall into the void, without immediately turning around and leaving.
Beside her grew a lush, ancient elm tree, its trunk wider than twice her size, its branches abundant, its leaves blocking out the sunlight. She stood alone in the shade of the large foliage, her figure forlorn and forlorn.
In the villa, she was always with the young master and couldn't find a chance to think things through alone. Now, here, she could finally calm down and make some plans.
She shouldn't have eavesdropped; it wasn't a respectable thing to do. But by sheer chance, Jiang Shen'er happened to mention the Grand General's challenge.
Then, she unexpectedly learned that the young master was actually quite interested in the general's recruitment of fighters...
Helping her cousin win the ring and embark on a career in government is the only way to help her brother, who has been wrongfully imprisoned, escape danger. However, if the young master is also interested in winning the ring, then he will become her cousin's most competitive rival, and she will stand on the opposite side of the young master.
This was what her cousin was most worried about at first, and it's also what Bai Hua least wants to see right now.
The shadows of the leaves fell on her long raven feathers. Bai Hua hesitated for a moment, pacing back and forth, struggling to make a decision.
She finally stopped walking, her head covered in sweat, not from exhaustion or the sun, but from the turbulent emotions churning within her.
She was an orphan and couldn't bring herself to sacrifice her brother's life for a moment of affection.
Therefore, her decision was selfish—once the young master had fully recovered, she would find an opportunity to leave and reunite with her cousin.
Just as she approached Ning Jue with a specific purpose in the beginning, she could never escape the feeling of owing him anything.
Having figured things out, Bai Hua made a decision no matter how difficult it was, but her emotions remained unsettled for a long time.
Guilt, self-blame, reluctance, heartache... too many emotions surged up at once, clogging her heart and throat.
Bai Hua closed her eyes, her expression changed slightly, her heart ached, and her throat felt bitter. She felt waves of suffocation washing over her, making it hard to breathe.
...
Before leaving Qimeng Manor, Ning Jue and Jiang Shen'er had another private conversation. This time, Bai Hua behaved herself and did not approach or inquire.
Although she was still curious, she had no interest in delving into the mystery.
As she prepared to part ways with Ning Jue, and without saying goodbye at that, her heart was filled with bitterness and reluctance. All she could think about was how she would treat him very, very well in their last few days together…
Jiang Shen'er sent a carriage from Qimeng Manor to take them back to the teahouse.
It's obvious that the tea shop has been exposed and is no longer a secret hideout.
But Jiang Shen'er did not make things difficult for them, nor did she take advantage of Tianji Pavilion's influence to clean up all the spies and informants in the teahouse.
Guo Zhong dared not relax his vigilance and cautiously closed the tea shop, ceasing operations.
I thought that the enemy was in the open while I was in the dark, and that I could gain the upper hand in everything. But I never expected that I would become the mantis, with a shrewd oriole waiting to pounce behind me.
Perhaps the teahouse wasn't exposed this time. The people from Tianji Pavilion had already noticed their unusual movements, but they remained silent, not wanting to alert them. What were they planning?
Guo Zhong broke out in a cold sweat. He and Chen Fu were both Duan Yi's men. In this urgent situation, they exchanged opinions and discussed for most of the night, finally deciding to evacuate as soon as possible.
The head of the family had been doing tea business on the border between the two countries for several years, and the secret connections he had made were not limited to just a small tea shop.
Although Guo Zhong was unclear about the specifics, he was certain that there were other spies of the family head within Guocheng City who had not yet been exposed.
He had to hurry and leave, and before leaving, he had to clean up the mess to avoid causing trouble for his other brothers.
Guo Zhong was responsible for covering the rear and couldn't leave immediately, which would take at least three or four days. Therefore, Ning Jue, Bai Hua, Chen Fu, and Jiu Qiu decided to take a boat back to Ye City first to meet up with Duan Yi.
...
After boarding successfully, cabins will be assigned.
Ning Jue and Bai Hua kept their secret vows of marriage at the villa to themselves, neither of them mentioning it.
Therefore, when the four of them traveled together, Chen Fu avoided any suspicion of gender differences when arranging the cabins, and intentionally arranged for Bai Hua and Jiu Qiu to share a room.
Ning Jue's objection drew surprised glances from Chen Fu and Jiu Qiu.
Bai Hua remained silent, two blushes slowly rising to her cheeks, looking quite uncomfortable.
Ning Jue remained unfazed: "It's inconvenient for me to apply the medicine myself, and besides, we're used to living together."
When did I develop this habit?
Bai Hua blushed even more upon hearing this, her head drooping like a quail, she couldn't even imagine what Chen Fu and Jiu Qiu would think of them.
They're being so open about it, yet they still claim their relationship is innocent... who would believe that?
Chen Fu clutched his cabin ticket, feeling troubled. He had only bought tickets for two cabins, with a total of four beds. If the young master and Miss A Peng were to share a room, wouldn't he be left with Jiu Qiu?
A man and a woman alone together, this is outrageous...
Jiuqiu reacted quickly, deftly taking the cabin ticket from Chen Fu and handing it to Ning Jue. She then turned to Bai Hua, smiling, and said, "You two go ahead, don't worry about us. We can always get another ticket in a different cabin."
Bai Hua didn't know how to respond, so she simply pretended to be mute.
Ning Jue was very satisfied with Jiu Qiu's quick wit and had no regrets about bringing her along. He reached out and took the cabin ticket. Without delay, he grabbed Bai Hua's wrist and pulled her away.
After the two walked away, Chen Fu turned around and looked at Jiu Qiu, saying, "You just said you would buy tickets again... but the tickets are already sold out. This merchant ship is not big, and it is a popular trade route. You have seen how crowded it was when boarding. There is no way to buy tickets for other cabins at the last minute."
Jiuqiu raised an eyebrow, her voice trailing off with a slightly cloying tone: "I know..."
"You knew?" Chen Fu's eyes widened, his words tinged with confusion. "You...you knew and still gave the cabin tickets to Young Master Ning, then we..."
Jiuqiu sized up Chen Fu, a sly glint in her eyes: "What, are you afraid of me? You don't even dare to share a room with me."
Chen Fu snorted coldly: "Afraid of you? A man and a woman alone in the same room, who do you think is at a disadvantage?"
With an indifferent attitude, Jiuqiu shrugged and said in a slightly raised tone, "I said... no one loses out. Aren't there two beds? You take one, I take one, we'll keep to ourselves and not bother each other. What, you don't want to squeeze in with me, do you?"
"you……"
She could always easily shut him up with just a few words.
Chen Fu's face flushed red and then paled. He wanted to retort, but the words caught in his throat, and he ultimately stopped himself from speaking.
Jiuqiu looked at him provocatively, her eyes carrying a hint of flirtation.
Chen Fu looked away, trying to calm himself down, and didn't fall for her trick.
He was so provoked that he almost blurted out: "Fine, let's squeeze! Who's afraid of who!"
But in the end, I didn't act on it.
Deep down, he was still a conservative, traditional man who couldn't bring himself to be rude or flirtatious towards women, especially since... she was a girl he had feelings for.
...
The sea voyage would take about three or four days. In the past, every time Bai Hua took a boat trip, she disliked the swaying motion of the ship and felt that the journey was slow and the days dragged on endlessly.
However, this time is different.
On the same route, with the same level of turbulence, Bai Hua, contrary to her usual behavior, not only did not feel that the ship was moving slowly, but actually felt that... it was a bit fast.
Once they arrived in Ye City, they could try to contact their cousin. These last few days at sea would be their final time together.
After dinner, Chen Fu and Jiu Qiu returned to their cabin.
Bai Hua and Ning Jue went up to the deck, shoulder to shoulder, holding the railing, enjoying the sea breeze and watching the sunset. They chatted and gazed into the distance, smelling the damp, salty air and marveling at the beauty of the sunset.
In just a short while, the deep orange hue spread across the sea, slowly being swallowed by the azure blue, and the sun quickly and completely set.
Wow, that's fast...
It travels at the same speed as the ship.
Bai Hua suddenly had an idea.
If God could hear her heart's desire, would it be possible for the next few days to be filled with torrential rain and strong winds?
In this way, she could embrace the young master without any reservations, and cling tightly to him under the pretext of being afraid of thunder.
Unfortunately, based on the clear, cloudless sky during the day, it is unlikely that it will rain tonight.
She also heard the crew members excitedly discussing how they hadn't had such a calm voyage in a long time, which saved them a lot of effort and made them very lucky!
So lucky...
Bai Hua felt sullenly that she was having some bad luck.
She remained still for a long time, and Ning Jue glanced at her for a while, but she didn't notice him for a long time.
Ning Jue confirmed, "You have something on your mind."
Bai Hua then came to her senses, looked up at him, and felt a little uncomfortable.
She casually replied, "It's getting windy, we should go back."
Unable to get any further questions, Ning Jue had no choice but to let her lead him away.
Looking at her slender shoulders and thin waist, he said softly, "There's not much good food on the ship. Once we get to Ye City, I'll take you to eat something nice to replenish your energy. You've lost a lot of weight since we came out together."
Bai Hua felt that she hadn't changed much. She looked in the mirror every day and was pretty much the same as before.
“I eat every meal, without missing a single one.”
"Yes, every meal is like eating cat food, Jiuqiu eats more than you."
Bai Hua pursed her lips and remained silent.
Actually, she wasn't being delicate or finding the food on the ship unpalatable; rather, she was preoccupied and simply had no appetite.
If she showed no emotional fluctuations at the moment of parting, it would truly sadden the young master.
Once inside the cabin, Bai Hua took the initiative to help Ning Jue undress and change his bandages.
Ning Jue cooperated, of course. In fact, all the wounds on his body had already formed a shallow scab, and they could heal on their own without further medication. However, Bai Hua wanted to be on the safe side and insisted that he continue applying the medication for the next few days on the ship.
He agreed.
He enjoyed the close, skin-to-skin contact with her.
But there were also particularly agonizing moments in the process.
For example, when she helped apply the ointment with her fingertips, the itching was still bearable, but when she finished applying the last layer and leaned in to gently breathe on him, the itch was truly excruciating.
Ning Jue's fingers curled up.
Unaware of anything amiss, Bai Hua carefully put the medicine bottle away and returned it to her bag. Then she sat on the edge of her bed and quietly gazed at Ning Jue from a distance of two feet.
Ning Jue spoke, his voice slightly hoarse: "Yesterday I saw you were in low spirits, and I thought you were just tired from traveling, so I let you get a good night's sleep and you've recovered. Why are you still sighing?"
Bai Hua couldn't talk to him about this, and casually said, "I'm probably a little homesick. I... I'm thinking of going back to Jiling."
It's going back to Jiling, not back to Xianyang Mountain.
There is a fundamental difference between the two.
Ning Jue didn't reply, his eyes lowered, lost in thought.
After a long while, just when Bai Hua thought the topic had been put to rest, Ning Jue suddenly spoke up and asked, "I have taught you all seventy-nine moves in the two parts of the Lone Goose Sword Technique. Now that several days have passed, do you still remember them clearly?"
Bai Hua nodded truthfully: "I remember..."
Ning Jue: "It's good that you remember."
Bai Hua didn't understand what he meant by asking that question; it seemed like he was just trying to confirm that she might have forgotten.
This was the part of her that she felt most sorry for the young master, and now that he had brought it up so abruptly, Bai Hua couldn't help but feel a surge of guilt once again.
She impulsively stood up, walked to Ning Jue, and stood between his knees, her tone tinged with unease.
"Young master... do you still particularly hate it when people lie to you?"
“Not really.” Ning Jue brought his knees together and raised his hand to hold Bai Hua’s hand. He continued in a deep voice, “For example, sometimes when I go deep into you and you stubbornly insist that nothing’s wrong, I especially like that kind of spirit of yours.”
Bai Hua was stunned and speechless for a moment, only her ears burning hot.
Her sadness vanished almost instantly; the young master was completely unpredictable and insisted on leading her astray.
"I let you rest yesterday. I even went so far as to ask Chen Fu to let me share a room with you. I didn't want to be alone and lonely. Tonight... do you want to keep me company?"
Ning Jue's voice was gentle yet alluring, his gaze fixed on Bai Hua's beautiful eyes.
Bai Hua felt flustered and uneasy, but besides these feelings of unease, she also felt a strong sense of excitement and joy.
She didn't reply immediately. After a brief hesitation, she made a decision and mustered up her courage to bend down and hug Ning Jue's neck, demonstrating her thoughts and willingness through her actions.
She shed her shyness and spoke frankly with him. At this moment, the two of them were adrift on the vast sea, and no chains could bind her any longer.
The two hurriedly removed their clothes, hugged and kissed passionately, and then fell onto the bed together, rolling around as they continued to breathe into each other.
Before anyone knew it, Bai Hua's hair was disheveled, and Ning Jue was clutching her crimson halter-neck robe in his hand.
In the chaos just now, Ning Jue did not mean to pull on anything. With a forceful pull, a large expanse of bright white flashed before his eyes. The scene was shocking, just like... crashing waves, surging and turbulent.
Ning Jue stared at it carefully and said in a deep voice, "Your shoulders are thinner, your waist is thinner, but not here. Luckily, not here."
His relieved tone made Bai Hua feel her face burning hot.
She knew, of course, that he preferred that spot. Whenever they were intimate, he would either touch or suck on it, sometimes with one hand, but mostly with both, as if he couldn't put it down.
But this highly skilled swordsman, who diligently practiced his swordsmanship to the point that his fingertips were calloused, caused her to feel both disoriented and tormented when he touched her.
Tonight we'll be using a new trick again.
Bai Hua didn't understand at first and let him manipulate her blankly until he filled the deep ravine with white hair, and then she finally woke up from her dream.
Even the most turbulent waves can hardly overwhelm the massive reefs. Using softness to overcome hardness, all she can do is cling tightly to him.
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