81 Ordinary
I've wanted to hold you like this for a long time.
"No... well, I'm absorbing the essence of the sun and moon."
Du Zhijin said dryly.
As she spoke, she shrank further into the corner, trying to create distance between them.
Ying Jianhua could obviously see her discomfort. He curled his lips into a smile and leaned over to light the oil lamp on the table: "I'll keep you company."
The candlelight flickered gently in the bronze stand, bathing half his face in a warm yellow glow, while the other half remained hidden in the shadows of the curtains, creating a dim and ambiguous atmosphere. A few strands of dark hair at his temples, illuminated by the candlelight, hung down beside his fair neck, swaying slightly with his breath. With each sway, tiny glimmers of light rolled across his collarbone, like a sky full of stars, further enhancing his gentle and graceful charm.
The moonlight shone brightly, and the beautiful night was filled with tenderness. For the first time, Du Zhijin understood what it meant to "bring glory to one's humble abode."
Wherever he stands, there is radiance.
"Not going?" He held the candlestick in one hand and gathered his clothes with the other. Perhaps because his left hand wasn't very skilled, the gauze robe wasn't gathered properly, hanging loosely on his body as if a gust of wind could blow it away. Du Zhijin really couldn't bring himself to ask him to practice swordsmanship with her like this, so she could only lie back down.
Although she was lying down, her whole body was tense, her hands clasped in front of her abdomen, her eyes fixed straight ahead, as stiff as an ancient corpse. Ying Jianhua leaned closer to look at her; soft strands of hair hung down her neck, causing a tingling sensation.
She silently tilted her head, facing the wall. That highly noticeable strand of hair then moved to her earlobe, making the strange feeling even stronger.
Like a gentle spring breeze, yet the spring breeze can melt ice and snow.
Ying Jianhua seemed not to have stopped, still maintaining the posture of his upper body hovering over her, reaching out as if searching for something. Because he was holding a candlestick, whenever Du Zhijin opened her eyes, what she saw was his half-loose robe.
Under the candlelight, every detail was clearly visible. The pale green gauze dress resembled a thin morning mist, through which the shadows of peaks and the murmuring of mountain streams created a bright and beautiful spring scene.
She couldn't hold back any longer and interrupted him, asking, "What are you looking for?"
He replied, "I'm a little thirsty. I remember leaving a pot of water here before I went to bed."
She nodded, practically jumping off the bed, found the kettle, poured a glass of water, and handed it to him. He thanked her, but somehow choked while drinking, knocking over the glass and spilling water all over his clothes and bedding.
"ah!"
Ying Jianhua gasped softly. Du Zhijin looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the already thin gauze dress had completely lost its function as clothing. The morning mist turned into rain, drizzling down, making the peaks look fresh and more distinct, and the mountain streams flowed endlessly.
Even though it was cold water, she looked away as if she had been scalded, not daring to look at it.
But then he spoke up: "These clothes are no longer wearable. Could you get me a new one?"
Du Zhijin didn't know how she opened the wardrobe or how she took out clean clothes for Ying Jianhua. The scene from just now lingered in her mind, so vivid that if she accidentally touched his hand, she would panic and take several steps back.
Ying Jianhua, holding the new clothes, said to her, "You... turn around."
"Oh, okay." She did as instructed, and after thinking for a moment, she simply closed her eyes as well.
However, when vision is lost, other senses will unconsciously become amplified, such as hearing.
He moved very carefully, always taking small steps. But even with his utmost caution, a rustling, frictional sound could still be heard, and because the movements were smaller, the whole process seemed to take even longer.
The sound was like water droplets in an empty valley, dripping, dripping, endlessly. And she was that stone; one day, the water would wear it down.
Finally, after reciting the Heart-Cleansing Mantra for the third time, the sounds behind him stopped. Du Zhijin, however, dared not turn around immediately, and obediently closed his eyes, waiting for instructions.
"I'm all better now."
As soon as she finished speaking, she held her breath, peeking out a slit with her left eye, ready to close it again if anything seemed amiss. Fortunately, Ying Jianhua was dressed properly this time, meticulously, with her neck completely covered.
For some reason, she inexplicably thought of the scenery she had just seen, and her gaze seemed to penetrate the clothes, piecing together the body's original appearance and depicting its rugged contours.
...Stop, stop, stop! By the grace of the heavens above, what is she thinking! Ah Mo only changed her clothes, and she's already imagining so much... Could it be that she's actually a lecher?
Upon hearing this idea, Du Dengtu Zi Zhijin immediately felt uneasy, as if he were sitting on pins and needles, fearing that if he stayed any longer, he would lose his wolfish nature and do this or that to his future Daoist partner.
She swallowed hard and said weakly, "Since the bedding here is all wet anyway, I'll just sleep outside..."
Ying Jianhua frowned and disagreed, saying, "Although it's summer, the evenings are cool. What if they catch a cold?"
The doctor had a natural authority in this matter, which Du Zhijin could not refute, but he was unwilling to go to bed and instead sat in the chair waiting with a stiff upper lip.
She thought she would go outside after Amo fell asleep.
However, Ying Jianhua didn't give her that chance. After listening to her words, he remained silent for a long time, and for a moment, there wasn't a sound in the room.
She unconsciously softened her breathing, afraid of disturbing the quiet night. After a while, she saw him raise his head, his cheeks bathed in moonlight, yet even brighter than the moonlight itself. On his jade-like face, only his lips had color, a wet, rosy blush.
Her lips parted, uttering a sentence she couldn't refute: "You're so annoying, do you want to be with me?"
Her heart felt like it had been gently poked by the tip of a sword, a bittersweet sensation. Any futile resistance crumbled at that moment, for she found herself unable to utter a single word of "no."
In the end, they ended up lying on the same couch, and because water had been splashed on the side where Du Zhijin had originally been sleeping, the two had to press themselves together.
Just as Du Zhijin was struggling with what sleeping position would be both intimate and unoffensive, Ying Jianhua had already provided the answer.
He rested his chin on the crook of her neck, his nose touching her earlobe, and with the slightest movement, his lips would brush against the back of her ear.
Du Zhijin remained motionless, making his movements even easier. He abandoned his previous weakness, holding her tightly in his arms, leaving no gap. With each breath, the scent of soap from her hair mingled with the faint medicinal fragrance of his body, creating a thick, sticky mist between them. Skin to skin, so close, she had no choice but to raise her hand to resist. Yet the pounding of his heart from her palm sent a shiver down her spine, like a drumbeat, like thunder, a testament to his throbbing passion.
Suddenly, she felt a warmth on her neck. Ying Jianhua gently nuzzled her, and a sigh that had been caught in her throat seeped into her earlobe, accompanied by an uncontrollable tremor. She belatedly realized that even her breath could become vines, silently binding her to each other's bones and blood.
"I've wanted to hold you like this for a long time."
He said.
Du Zhijin was stunned for a moment, then reached out and hugged back, offering silent comfort.
Tonight has been so long.
————
The next day, unusually, Du Zhijin got up later than Ying Jianhua.
Equally remarkable was that while she had dark circles under her eyes, he looked refreshed and energetic, clearly having had a good night's sleep.
"I'll replace the mattress with a bamboo mat, so it won't get wet."
She was completely stunned and could only nod when she heard this. Ying Jianhua smiled and left, leaving her sitting there blankly.
Amo said he wanted to change the mattress to a bamboo mat, meaning he would sleep there tonight too?
Heavenly Venerable One! Although she has already achieved a state of meditation and no longer needs to actually sleep, she can't withstand a few more hugs like that!
Du Zhijin immediately jumped up and chased after the poor mattress, but unexpectedly bumped into Aunt Yuan who had come looking for someone.
She looked at herself, barefoot and disheveled, not having had time to put on shoes, and then at Ying Jianhua, whose bedding had just been washed and was about to be hung out to dry. Suddenly, she felt powerless to say anything.
Sure enough, Aunt Yuan's mouth dropped open, her eyes darting back and forth between them, and she tentatively asked, "Shall I come back later?"
Du Zhijin: "No, no need... I'll go change my clothes, Amo, you entertain your aunt!" After saying that, she left as if she were fleeing.
Ying Jianhua coughed lightly, a perfectly timed smile on her face, as gentle as a spring breeze: "Auntie, is there something you need so early?"
Aunt Yuan explained her purpose: "Oh, it's all because of my rascal. He's been having stomach aches ever since he ate some fresh melon last night, so I thought I'd bring some to you too, just in case something happened. I'm glad you're all alright."
"Stomach ache?" Ying Jianhua recalled for a moment, then unconsciously began to analyze, "Fresh melon is cooling in nature, while osmanthus dispels cold, so logically there shouldn't be such a strong reaction..."
Aunt Yuan realized he knew medicine, so she quickly invited him to her home to see Yuan Xiaobao. He hesitated for a moment, then, remembering that Du Zhijin seemed to like the child quite a bit, he nodded in agreement.
He knocked on the door, told Du Zhijin that she would go later, and then they parted ways.
When she finally found out about the Yuan family, Yuan Xiaobao was wailing and crying his heart out, refusing to get the injection.
But in the end, he was punished by his mother and had to endure several injections while whimpering.
Du Zhijin stood outside the door rubbing her face, feeling a little guilty as she listened to the child's cries. Just then, she saw a octagonal table with a missing corner in the yard, so she simply took out her Xingyue woodworking tools and started doing some carpentry work on the spot.
So when Aunt Yuan happily brought Ying Jianhua out for tea, she noticed that her own table had miraculously become fine again.
Looking closer, it turns out the table didn't heal itself; Du Zhijin fixed it.
"That's amazing! Both of you in the family have skills. Your life is sure to get better and better." She thanked Aunt Yuan shyly, and even after she had walked a long way, she still thought about those words and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Ying Jianhua asked in confusion, "Are you very happy?"
She nodded emphatically, her gaze sweeping over the smoke rising from each house, and explained, "If I hadn't gone up the mountain, hadn't cultivated myself, and had just been an ordinary person, living a mundane life of firewood, rice, oil, and salt, it wouldn't be so bad."
"And what about me?" he pressed, a barely perceptible unease in his voice, "Am I... part of your ordinary life?"
She stopped, carrying the scallions given to her by Aunt Yuan in one hand and the eggplants she bought from the roadside in the other. The person who used to wield two swords without hesitation was now flustered.
Du Zhijin didn't speak, but Ying Jianhua already knew the answer.
Because she saw his image in her eyes.
[Author's Note]
Zhou: I'm starting to wonder if I'm a lecher.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
