87. It doesn't hurt.
We earnestly request your help, young lady, to save the people of Wuling Village!
Perhaps because her gaze lingered for too long, Du Zhijin seemed to sense something and withdrew her gaze, turning it to him.
Their eyes met, and Ying Jianhua held her breath, afraid of disturbing the moment of peace.
"Does it still hurt?" she asked.
He was taken aback, and only when he followed the direction she was looking did he realize that she was asking if his wrist still hurt.
The pain was initially bearable, but after she asked, it suddenly became unbearable, bringing tears to her eyes.
He lowered his head, his long eyelashes fluttering like silk ribbons, obscuring the shimmering water on the lake's surface, shrouded in a thin mist: "...It doesn't hurt."
In response, he hurriedly tugged at his sleeves a few times, trying to cover the scars on his wrists, but Du Zhijin was faster than him.
She grabbed his arm, stopping him from hiding it any longer. The force was light, and it avoided the wound, but it still made him cry out in pain.
"hiss......"
She was somewhat annoyed and, unusually, spoke sharply: "Doesn't this hurt?"
Ying Jianhua pursed her lips, her lips a pale white tinged with bloodlessness, while her eyes were red and moist, like a misty rain in the sunset.
Even if she had a thousand or ten thousand repetitive words to say, she couldn't say them to him.
Besides, he has already paid the price for his actions; he's alive now, isn't he?
Du Zhijin sighed silently, removed the blood-soaked bandage for him, and skillfully applied medicine and changed the bandage.
Ying Jianhua then realized that his wound had been treated sometime during the day. As for the person who applied the medicine...
A few forsythia blossoms bloom on the withered field, very small, but soon they will cover the mountains and fields, blooming into a sea of flowers again.
Seeing her focused expression, no longer as cold as yesterday, he carefully began, "You..." "You're a doctor yourself, you know what you can and can't do these days, I don't need to say more, do I?" she instructed, then asked, "What were you trying to say?"
"It's nothing..." He glanced at her, his head still lowered. His hair was a little messy because he hadn't slept all night, which reminded Du Zhijin of the calico cat next door being punished for doing something wrong.
The calico cat next door is usually quite arrogant, but it only shows its pitiful side when it gets caught stealing food, meowing and whining. My aunt sighs every time she talks about it, wondering how she could have been so captivated by its docile appearance.
Humans and cats may be similar in some ways. And once you decide to get a cat, you must be prepared to care for it for life and never abandon it halfway through.
"I want to drink... fish porridge."
Hearing his words, Du Zhijin didn't react in any particular way, nodding to indicate that she understood. Before leaving, she glanced at Lu Ping sleeping peacefully on the bed and said simply, "He woke up once an hour ago, and I reckon he should wake up again soon. Remember to give him some water."
He nodded, watching her figure disappear outside the door, and the anxiety that had gripped him all day finally subsided.
Fish porridge isn't too complicated to make, but it's not easy either. She agreed, does that mean he hasn't been rejected yet?
It's nothing more than a resurgence of something dead, a revival of something withered and dying.
Only Ying Jianhua and a recovering body remained in the room. He sat there in a daze for a while, until he heard a cough behind him. He went over and found that Lu Ping was still unconscious, with fresh blood at the corner of his mouth. He didn't wipe it away immediately, but stared intently at the pale face.
He regretted killing Lu Ping. But his regret was never about not killing him, but about the timing of the killing.
How did Du Zhijin know about this? Did someone tell her? But less than five hours had passed between the murder and the incident; who could have tipped her off so quickly?
Lu Ping had registered at the inn a day ago, indicating he had no acquaintances in the capital to rely on. Could it be him alone?
In an instant, Ying Jianhua remembered the mysterious object that Lu Ping had carried with him but had not been found at the inn.
Tipping off... Jinxi City... Wuling Village... A mysterious, pointed object...
In a flash, the image of Honghua flashed into my mind.
Before leaving, Du Zhijin gave Honghua a firework tube. Later, when they laid a trap in Wanze City, she also gave him a firework tube for communication. She said that the one she gave Honghua was particularly special; its flames could only be seen by cultivators, and it contained a special protective power for the holder. If that's the case, everything makes sense: why she knew so quickly, why Lu Ping survived a night in the water, and why he couldn't find the firework tube. There are probably a hundred ways for a celestial object to escape the eyes of a demon.
But this raises a new question: why did Honghua give the fireworks tube to Lu Ping? And why did Lu Ping come to Liulijing with the token? As far as he knew, Honghua cherished this fireworks tube and would not easily lend it to others.
Deep down, he felt that this matter might be related to his mother.
How could Mother, a powerful demon capable of forming a demon core, be no match for the servants of the Prince's mansion? But if Mother hadn't died, where is she now? Is she still in the back mountains? Is this why Honghua asked Lu Ping to go to the capital?
The threads intertwined, like a giant net covering the sky, binding him tightly and rendering him unable to move.
Ying Jianhua strode out and saw that everything in the courtyard was in perfect order, with a neatly packed bundle placed under the window.
Yes, if even he could guess these things, Du Zhijin couldn't possibly not know.
But with only one bag, was she planning to go alone?
Thinking of this, his heart, which had just calmed down, became uneasy again. It turned out that calm was such a fragile thing; the slightest disturbance could shatter it into pieces, leaving only a heart full of anxiety, like walking on thin ice, not knowing which step would plunge him into the deep cold. He leaned against the courtyard gate, gazing blankly.
"Dr. Mo, what are you looking at so early in the morning?"
Aunt Yuan passed by as usual, still holding the hand of Yuan Xiaobao, who didn't want to go to school.
He had no interest in small talk and was about to make a perfunctory remark when Yuan Xiaobao suddenly cried out in alarm, "Blood! Mother! He has blood on him!"
Blood?
He thought it was blood seeping from the wound through the bandage, but when he looked down he realized it wasn't. After looking around, he saw a long bloodstain on the hem of his clothes.
It was probably accidentally spilled during a blood transfusion.
After days of worry and the blood transfusion, my brain was a complete mess, like mush, and I couldn't think of a single excuse.
Just as the mother and son were terrified, thinking they would be killed to silence them, Du Zhijin returned.
She carried two gutted fish and greeted the mother and son: "Auntie, Xiaobao, going to school again?"
The casual tone eased the tense atmosphere. Aunt Yuan was the first to recover and slapped the child across the face: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
It's just fish. Besides, he's a doctor; isn't it normal for him to have a little blood on him?
Feeling ashamed, Aunt Yuan quickly left with her child after only a few words, her scolding voice still audible from afar.
Du Zhijin suggested, "Let's change your clothes."
He nodded, took a handful of mugwort, lit it, and used the scent of the mugwort to mask the stench of blood in the courtyard.
The fish porridge was being cooked with the medicine, sometimes bitter, sometimes fishy. She went to check on Lu Ping and, seeing his eyes still closed, asked, "Has he not woken up yet?"
"Yes. But I checked, and it's nothing serious. He should wake up by today at the latest."
After saying that, Ying Jianhua felt that he shouldn't have said it, since it was he who was "in the way" for Lu Ping.
However, after waiting anxiously for a while, she still didn't say another word. He couldn't help feeling uneasy, and looked up to try and catch a glimpse of her expression, only to find that Du Zhijin was also looking at him.
Seeing him look over, she said, "When he wakes up, you'll come with me to apologize and beg for forgiveness, okay?"
Together.
Ying Jianhua's heart skipped a beat, and she nodded hurriedly, afraid that if she was too late, it would become just the two of them.
So, she forgave him?
She smiled, her expression weary, yet her eyes still held a crystal-clear light.
The magnificent glory that he once longed for but could not obtain now shines only on him, making him appear even more dim.
"I know everyone makes mistakes, and I've made mistakes before too." The milky white steam from the soup made her face blurred, making her words sound wet and heavy.
"No one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes. But Ah Mo, I don't want a next time, I don't want you to keep anything from me. Since we love each other, shouldn't we be honest with each other?"
Mutual affection and sincere devotion.
He suddenly raised his hand and gripped her sleeve tightly with his cut right hand: "I promise I'll never do it again... but will you leave? I saw it, I saw your packed luggage, I..."
Ying Jianhua wanted to tell her that he wanted to go with her and would never be left alone, but she rejected him once again.
She held his hand, the warmth of their palms touching was distinct, but he had no idea what Du Zhijin was thinking.
She explained, "Wuling Village has probably fallen, and the situation is not optimistic. You can't go. Besides, Lu Ping hasn't recovered yet and can't be left alone."
"......I see."
Seeing that he agreed, Du Zhijin looked unusually relaxed. Once the medicine was ready, she took it to Lu Ping.
He pushed open the door and found that he had woken up at some point.
She exclaimed with delight, "You're finally awake! Here, drink your medicine."
"Thank you, Miss Mu." Lu Ping struggled to get up, but she stopped him: "Your health is important, drink your medicine first."
He paused, then obediently drank the medicine. Du Zhijin had expected him to ask why he was there, and had even prepared his response in his mind, but to her surprise, his first words were: "Miss Mu, have you seen a firework?"
She nodded and answered truthfully, "Yes."
Now that things have come to this, there's no need for her to continue hiding her identity.
Upon hearing this, Lu Ping let out a long sigh of relief, like a cavalryman who had finally delivered the message after a long journey, relieved of a heavy burden.
"Indeed... I knew from the beginning that you, young lady, possessed extraordinary martial arts skills, unlike any other." As he said this, a faint smile appeared on his face, which then vanished in an instant, replaced by a solemn expression.
Ignoring his injuries, he bowed deeply, his waist bent low, his voice filled with barely concealed pleading and anxiety: "My name is Lu Ping, and I humbly beg you, young lady, to save the people of Wuling Village!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
