"How did you manage to bandage it yourself before then?" Ji Xinhe was indeed fed up with his show of complete innocence and simplicity. Obviously, he was a crafty and scheming old fox still pretending to be naive!
"Just a casual bandage or two, as you can see, a simple push from you already tore it open. This gauze and gold sore medicine are quite expensive, I can’t possibly waste them on haphazard bandages that are so easily torn again." Marquis Mu Houchu said earnestly.
Ji Xinhe laughed lightly, "Regardless, it’s only so much. Once we use it all in a haphazard manner, we won’t have any more for next time." She would go to hell before she believed this man’s nonsense!
Just as Ji Xinhe was about to turn and leave, she saw Marquis Mu suddenly let out a hiss, an expression of pain distorting his face.
His pale face was highlighted by the faint candlelight, his sharp eyebrows furrowed as if enduring immense pain. His chest had already been stained red by fresh blood, utterly eye-catching.
Ji Xinhe watched him with this appearance. Even though she knew that he was most likely pretending, after all, he seemed to be perfectly fine before. How could he suddenly be in unbearable pain?
Yet somehow, seeing him like this, her heart inevitably ached along.
She comforted herself by thinking that perhaps the goodness in her heart was still there. Certainly, she could not actually care for him!
"If you don’t help me apply medicine and bandage up soon, I might really die from excessive blood loss." Marquis Mu Houchu said.
Ji Xinhe’s figure stiffened slightly, but she still did not move.
Marquis Mu Houchu continued: "The wound was ripped open by you. I was kind enough to carry you back to the room to sleep, you tore the wound open, and now you just blatantly watch as I bleed to death?"
With that, he sighed again, "Forget it, if you don’t want to help me, that’s fine. After all, I am just..."
Before he had finished speaking, Ji Xinhe had already hastily sat down by the bed, aggressively snatching the gold sore medicine and gauze from his hands: "Turn around!"
Marquis Mu very "obediently" turned around. In the corners of his lips, an almost imperceptible smile crept up. He began to untie his robes, revealing his muscular chest. Then he started to loosen his waistband, intending to pull down his trousers.
Ji Xinhe promptly smacked away his indulging hands, a chill spreading over her face, "This much is enough."
Only then did Marquis Mu appear to come to his senses as if he was startled awake, "Oh?"
There was a flash of disappointment in his eyes. He was just a moment away from undressing completely.
Ji Xinhe gazed at his solid back, finding it hard to believe that beneath his scholarly attire, there lay such a good physique.
Just looking at his sturdy back was enough to make one swallow with desire.
Ji Xinhe quietly swallowed, clearing her throat before forcing herself to focus on the hole-like wound on his back. It was an arrow wound. Judging by its depth, the arrow must have pierced through his torso. Where was the arrow then? Did he pull it out himself?
Just thinking about it made Ji Xinhe shiver. Such a deep arrow wound. He didn’t have medicinal resources to deal with it, just forcefully pulled it out and casually bandaged it to stop the bleeding, then passed it off as a minor injury?
"What’s wrong?" Marquis Mu couldn’t see her expression since she was behind him, but noticing that she remained silent for a while, he couldn’t help but ask.
Ji Xinhe’s gaze swept across his firm back, which bore not just this single wound, but many old scars from sword and blade injuries. She found it hard to believe that a man dressed like a scholar would carry such startling injuries. She could sense the thrills and dangers of his life from these wounds.
Ji Xinhe couldn’t help but touch one of the old scars, a knife wound about one finger long. Judging by the scar, it seemed to be quite old. What had he gone through?
When she first met him, he was lying in a pool of blood. She had just seen him as a life-saving remedy and hadn’t looked at him closely. Her only impression had been, what a handsome man, what a great physique!
Whenever she saw him afterwards, she always thought he was someone noble and privileged, someone possessing inherent nobility and pride that even a coarse cloth garment and a seat on a bullock cart couldn’t hide.
But this was the man who could easily pick out practical and cheap Four Treasures of the Study for Xiao Bei. A man who carried a body full of scars.
Who exactly was he? What had he experienced?
Since coming to this era, for the first time, Ji Xinhe found herself consumed by intense curiosity, and a strong desire to understand someone, to know more.
The moment her fingertips touched his firm back, Marquis Mu’s body tensed up. He could feel her soft, warm fingers on his skin. Even though they were icy cold, they felt like a spark easily igniting him.
Damn it, his self-control seemed to always evaporate whenever he faced this woman!
"When did you get this wound?" Ji Xinhe lowered her head slightly, her thoughts chaotic, not noticing Marquis Mu’s odd behavior, she asked softly.
Wound?
Only then did Marquis Mu realize that the area her fingers were touching was one of his old wounds.
"I don’t remember." Marquis Mu’s voice was somewhat hoarse.
Even if he did remember, at a time like this, he had forgotten everything.
Marquis Mu swallowed, licking his somewhat dry lips.
A strange feeling swept across Ji Xinhe’s heart, she couldn’t exactly distinguish the emotion, only that it made her feel suffocated.
Ji Xinhe withdrew her hand and picked up the gold sore medicine, preparing to apply it: "You can’t remember every time, is it because you’ve been injured too many times? Too many to count?"
Hearing her fingers suddenly withdraw was like a flame abruptly extinguished. He felt blocked up inside, a vague unwillingness stirring within. He wished she touched him a while longer, just a bit more.
Marquis Mu pursed his lips, his face unreadable: "Hmm, probably."
Even his replies were becoming perfunctory now.
Ji Xinhe brought a basin of hot water, first wetting a towel with it. She wrung it until it was semi-dry and gently wiped around his hideous wound on the back, cleaning the blood and wound.
Marquis Mu shivered at her touch.
Ji Xinhe quickly stopped her movements, asking carefully, "Did it hurt?"
Marquis Mu’s body tautened, he shook his head, "No."
What did the pain of a wound matter? He had endured countless injuries since childhood. Even the arrow that pierced him today was pulled out single-handedly by him without a hint of discomfort.
But her casual touches were more tormenting than any sharp blade. Each touch ignited him more than a grave injury ever could.
Ji Xinhe thought he was just acting tough, she scoffed lightly, "If it hurts, just say it. Are you suddenly being self-conscious and trying to save face?" Although her words were sharp, her actions had become considerably gentler.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
