"Turn around!"
The voice made Chu Ruo jump. She turned back with an honest, pathetic look, but then she froze in surprise. "Did you go out to be a thief? Or... were you sneaking out for a tryst?" *Heaven help me, why is the Little Scorpion wearing a night-traveling suit? What on earth is going on?*
The next second, her neck was caught in a death grip. "Have I been too lenient with you lately? Have you forgotten your place!"
"I... *cough, cough*... what place could I possibly have?" Chu Ruo thought a thousand curses in her head. *How did I end up getting choked by this crazy woman again?* After practicing martial arts for so long, she was still like a little chick before her, unable to resist at all. If this kept up, she might as well start practicing an "Iron Neck Technique." She struggled desperately. "Let... go..." The sensation of suffocation and the pressure on her throat made her start to gag.
Just as Chu Ruo was wondering if she should actually spit on her—it would be disgusting, but it might make the Little Scorpion let go in revulsion—the grip on her neck suddenly loosened. *Is she actually listening to me?* She quickly patted her chest to ease the discomfort, taking several deep gulps of fresh air. Only then did she notice the other woman stumbling backward with erratic steps. Chu Ruo moved instinctively, catching her in her arms. Even a fool could see something was wrong. "Are you hurt?" Her voice was suddenly filled with genuine anxiety and panic.
As soon as she asked, Chu Ruo felt a slick, warm wetness on the hand supporting the woman's back. A bad feeling rose in her gut. She shifted her hold and brought her hand into the light. Black blood was dripping from her palm.
"Get away!" Nan Muxue shoved her, nearly falling over herself in the process. Fortunately, Chu Ruo caught her again. "I said, get away!"
Nan Muxue raised a hand to strike her. It was a half-hearted blow, but the slap landed squarely on Chu Ruo's face. In the silence of the room, the sound was sharp and clear, even though Nan Muxue was too injured to put much force behind it. Chu Ruo’s temper flared instantly. *You little brat, even at a time like this, you’re still thinking about hitting me?* With a look of deep displeasure, she simply scooped the woman up in a bridal carry and marched toward the bed.
"Let me go!" This time, it was Nan Muxue struggling, but every movement pulled at the wound on her back. Her consciousness was already fading, making her efforts futile. Chu Ruo barked at her fiercely, "Don't move!"
After finally getting her onto the bed, Chu Ruo shook out her arms. "You're heavy."
Nan Muxue swore that if she were well, she would kill this person with a single palm strike. "Get out!"
"Are you mental? I carry you over here and you tell me to get out?" Chu Ruo grumbled. She immediately went to the bedside, dampened a white cloth, and sat down behind her. "Let me see the wound."
"I don't need your fake kindness. Get out!"
*Again? How many 'get outs' is that? Five?* Chu Ruo snapped back, "Are you quite finished? You're hurt this badly and you're still being so fierce. Watch out, or you'll never get married and end up a bitter old maid."
"Get out! I don't want to see you again!" Nan Muxue tried to prop herself up to face her, but before she could move, she coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood. Red spots splattered across the snow-white bedding like blooming plum blossoms.
Seeing the severity of the injury, Chu Ruo panicked. She quickly supported her from behind. "Little... Master, how are you? Don't scare me. Fine, fine, it's my fault. Don't be angry. Let me treat the wound first."
"Get... no need..." Nan Muxue replied feebly. "None of your... business."
*Woman, stop being so stubborn!* Chu Ruo didn't care anymore. Her hands fumbled at the woman's waist, beginning to undo her belt. Nan Muxue was shocked, a flush of red rising to her cheeks—a mix of shame and fury. "What are you doing! Stop this instant!"
Chu Ruo had no intention of listening. Her hands kept moving. "Don't be noisy. These clothes are too hard to take off. Almost there, don't rush."
"You... Chu Ruo! Shameless!" Nan Muxue gritted her teeth. "If you don't stop, I'll kill you!"
"There," Chu Ruo said. With a rustle, the belt was gone. "Finally got it off. Stop squirming. Now I have to pull the top down. If you keep moving, you'll aggravate the wound."
Nan Muxue froze. *What was I thinking just now? How could I...* While she was dazed, Chu Ruo gently placed her hands on the collar, slowly pulling it open to the sides and then down. Although she couldn't see the other woman behind her, Nan Muxue's face was completely flushed. In the awkward atmosphere, she completely forgot about the interrogation she had intended to conduct.
As the black night-suit was lowered a third of the way, the wound finally came into view. It wasn't very long—a straight line cutting diagonally from the left shoulder toward the middle of the shoulder blade. It looked thin and short, and logically shouldn't have been deep, but the bleeding wouldn't stop, and the skin around it was turning black. When Chu Ruo pressed the damp cloth against it, Nan Muxue’s body trembled with pain. Though it was slight, Chu Ruo heard her muffled groan. "Does it hurt a lot? I'll be gentler."
Nan Muxue didn't speak. In truth, the other woman's movements were already incredibly gentle. In the past, she had suffered far worse injuries without showing a hint of pain or making a sound. But for some reason, in front of this person, she couldn't control herself. She wasn't her usual self.
Silence fell between them. Chu Ruo wiped the wound meticulously, her movements as slow as possible. It took nearly half an hour. "Finished wiping." She was about to get up to wash the cloth and her hands when she remembered something and grew tense. "Is the wound poisoned? I saw it turning black just now."
"Get the wine from the table on the right."
"What for? You want a drink? You're still thinking about drinking at a time like this?"
"This poison requires wine to be poured over the wound first, then apply the Green Sap Powder."
*Fine, I don't understand this stuff anyway, I'll just do as told.* Chu Ruo brought the wine over as instructed. This time, however, she sat directly in front of Nan Muxue. The other woman's face turned even redder as she pulled her clothes tighter. "Why are you sitting in front of me? Go away." In reality, the clothes hadn't been pulled down very far; aside from her delicate collarbones, nothing else was visible. But girls are naturally modest and thin-skinned, which was only to be expected.
Chu Ruo hadn't been paying attention to that, but the tone and the movement made her eyes wander involuntarily. *The Little Scorpion is so fair... her figure seems... really good too. Even if it's just a collarbone, it's so pretty...*
"Keep looking and I'll gouge your eyes out!"
Nan Muxue's voice was like a bucket of cold water, completely dousing her appreciation of beauty. "Fine, I won't look. No curves in the front anyway, who'd want to look?"
Fortunately, because of her injury, Nan Muxue's attention was divided, and she didn't hear the mumble. Otherwise, there would have been another scene. After her silent complaint, Chu Ruo actually moved forward and pulled Nan Muxue toward her to lean against her. Nan Muxue instinctively tried to pull back, but Chu Ruo held her in a tight grip. "Don't move. The wine will hurt when I pour it. I'll hold you. If you really can't stand it, just bite my shoulder. It'll make you feel better."
The voice drifted into her ear from a hair's breadth away. Nan Muxue suddenly stopped moving. One of Chu Ruo's arms was wrapped tightly around her waist. She added, "Okay, I'm going to pour it now. Bear with it."
There was no response. Chu Ruo's hand trembled slightly with caution. Finally, she slowly poured the pungent liquid onto the porcelain-white skin of the back. The moment it touched the wound, Nan Muxue’s hands gripped Chu Ruo’s clothes on both sides, her body shuddering with pain. Seeing this, Chu Ruo felt a pang of heartache, but she couldn't stop. Gritting her teeth, she increased the speed of the pour, hoping to get it over with quickly to minimize the pain.
...
The wine was finally finished, but the two didn't let go of each other for a long time. Eventually, Chu Ruo felt the grip on her waist loosen. She looked down at the woman. "Better?"
"Mhm."
The voice was so soft it was barely louder than a needle hitting the floor. It seemed the Little Scorpion really was in a lot of pain. "Give me the Green Sap Powder. I'll apply it for you while I'm at it."
After another long bout of fussing, Chu Ruo finished applying the medicine and wrapped her in white cloth like a bandage. She clapped her hands. "All done. Hurry up and change your clothes so you can rest. Be careful of the wound when you sleep. I'm leaving."
Leaving? If she hadn't mentioned it, Nan Muxue might have forgotten. "Stay right there!"
The voice was cold. Chu Ruo’s hand was already on the door latch. Hearing the voice from behind, her expression turned into one of pure reluctance. *How does this Little Scorpion have such a good memory?* She turned back with a cheeky grin. "Hehe, does Master have any other orders?"
Nan Muxue pulled her clothes together haphazardly and walked over. "Does Ruo'er have nothing to explain to her Master?"
"Nothing at all. Master, you should go to sleep and recover. Your disciple will take her leave now, ha." She immediately turned back to open the door.
"If you don't explain yourself tonight, just try taking one more step."
*Ugh, what a mess. If I'd known, I wouldn't have helped you and just let the poison kill you. Wait, she probably could have applied the medicine herself, I was the one who jumped in to help.* Chu Ruo stood there miserably, her face like a bitter gourd. "Explain what?"
Nan Muxue sneered. Of course, since she was wearing a black mask, the other woman couldn't see it. "Does Master need to ask again? What were you rummaging for in my room?"
*Tsk tsk tsk.* Chu Ruo looked up; the Little Scorpion was like a walking volcano, ready to erupt at any moment. Thoughts raced through her small brain. She absolutely couldn't tell the truth, or she'd better pray for a second reincarnation. "You already know, so why ask?"
"Is that so?" Chu Ruo thought she was going to be choked again, but she wasn't. In fact, Nan Muxue did raise her hand, but remembering the wound on her back and the scenes of the other woman treating her just now, she lowered it. "Master wants to hear it from your own mouth."
"What else could I be looking for besides the antidote? It's not like I have a secret crush on you and came to steal your personal belongings, like a bellyband or something, to take back and soothe my lovesickness. That's just redundant."
Nan Muxue couldn't find the words to describe the person in front of her. "Ruo'er's words are laughable. I clearly gave you a month's worth of antidote. Has it taken effect after only three days?"
"So what? You're allowed to secretly poison me with the Hundred Flowers Gu, but I'm not allowed to steal the antidote back? I've never liked being threatened. If I don't look for it now, and something happens to you while you're out, wouldn't I have to die with you? People who don't know better would think I was dying for love! I'm telling you, I'm thinking about that antidote every waking moment. Every disciple you've poisoned out there feels the same; they're just too scared to come here!" *Amitabha, please don't see through me. This is half-truth, half-lie. God, please let the Little Scorpion believe it.*
"One must have the skill to do so," Nan Muxue snorted coldly. "Go back and copy the sect rules a hundred times as punishment."
"What? Are you sick? A hundred times? You want my life!"
"Two hundred times."
"Hey, hey, you—"
"Three hundred times."
!!! *I was wrong, I was really wrong. I shouldn't have come to steal the antidote today. If I hadn't come, I wouldn't have run into the Little Scorpion. If I hadn't run into her, I wouldn't have saved her. If I hadn't saved her, I wouldn't be in this mess. Why did I have to be so meddlesome?* Chu Ruo really wanted to slap herself twice. She spinelessly surrendered. "I... I'll go back and copy them." At least she wasn't being beaten or choked.
"This is just a small warning. If there is a next time—"
"Fine, fine, you don't need to say it, it won't be anything good anyway. Oh, right!" Chu Ruo cut her off, remembering something very, very important. "You're injured. Yan'er went with you. How is she? Is she hurt? Where is she? Tell me, tell me!"
Nan Muxue was shaken so violently by the frantic woman that she felt dizzy. "Let go! She's fine."
"As long as she's fine. I'll go see her—no, it's too late, she must be asleep. By the way, how did you get hurt?"
"We took a bounty mission a few days ago. The target was a powerful martial artist. I was caught off guard by a sneak attack."
"That sounds so dangerous. How much can a lousy bounty be worth? Don't take them anymore."
"How much?" The other woman raised an eyebrow. "One hundred thousand taels of gold."
"That much?" *No wonder they went.* She used to think sect leaders had it easy, but now she realized they had to make a living too. Even someone who looked so cold and noble had to "bow for five pecks of rice." It seemed that no matter the era, finding a meal was always the primary goal. "Then be careful in the future. Don't take the dangerous ones. Only fight the ones you can beat. You can't get hurt again."
Nan Muxue felt a bit amused. If it were easy, why would they pay such a high price? "Why? Is Ruo'er concerned for her Master?"
Chu Ruo nodded, seemingly missing the teasing tone. "Of course. If you die, who's going to give us our allowance?"
...
*BAM!!!*
"Hey, you female demon! Can't you just talk? Why did you kick me out! Help! The Young Palace Mistress has gone mad!!!"
Chu Ruo's shrill cries echoed throughout the entire Baihua Palace and across Mount Ruyun...
***
