Master, Spare My Life: A Disciple's Sweet Rebellion | Chapter 144 | A Selfish Promise | Novela.app

"Oh, heavens..." No reaction? "Oh, hea-ve-n-s!" Chu Ruo lay on the bed, sighing and groaning for a long while without receiving a response. She pouted in dissatisfaction. "Little Scorpion..." The woman by the bedside immediately pinched her ear. "Have you no memory at all?" "But I’ve been calling you for ages and you ignored me..." "And why should I heed you? You’ve been whimpering and whining all day long." "Is it any wonder? You won't let me out of bed from morning till night. How could I not feel miserable?" The grip on her ear tightened slightly. "I am letting you recuperate out of the goodness of my heart, yet you show no gratitude." "I’m grateful, I’m grateful! Then come up here and keep me company..." Unfortunately, the other woman only returned four words: "Lie still and behave." "Xue'er..." "Be quiet." "You won't let me get up, you won't stay with me, and you won't even let me speak. You're being far too much," Chu Ruo grumbled. A faint smile played at the corners of Nan Muxue’s lips. "Can that mouth of yours never stay still? You’ve only been in bed for a day and already you have so many complaints." "I'm bored," Chu Ruo said, sitting up to pull the other woman into an embrace. "Mmm, my Xue'er is the most comfortable to hold." "Shameless." "By the way, how are Old Lady Hua and the others from the Fortune Inn?" Chu Ruo asked. She couldn't keep calling her 'that old woman' forever; after all, the woman had traveled all the way from Miaojiang to help and brought her staff along. Chu Ruo felt a bit guilty about it. "They went out to scout for news. They are fresh faces and not part of the martial world, so they are the most suitable for gathering information." "How is it outside now..." Nan Muxue interrupted her. "You need not concern yourself with the situation outside. It is a miracle enough that you survived that fall unscathed..." "I can't just stay in bed forever. Your mother..." Once again, Nan Muxue cut her off. "Do the injuries on your body still hurt?" "They're alright. I just can't use too much strength. Gentle movements are fine." "Fortunately, they are all external wounds." Nan Muxue caressed Chu Ruo’s cheek, her gaze filled with deep affection. "Do not do such a foolish thing again. I do not need you to shield me. You idiot, how could you be so stupid as to let yourself hit the ground first?" Chu Ruo chuckled softly. "I couldn't do much for you to begin with. This was the only thing I could do." "I told you, it has always been the master who protects the disciple. I will shield you from everything." Chu Ruo shook her head. "No..." "Ruo'er..." "Xue'er, my martial arts..." "I know. To stop you from throwing your life away at the Hundred Flowers Palace, Bai Zhi'er must have found a way to seal your internal energy. Who knew you would still find a way around it?" Nan Muxue let out a soft laugh. "I truly underestimated your capabilities." "Hehe, now you know my strengths." Nan Muxue tilted Chu Ruo's chin up. "Your 'capability' for attracting trouble everywhere you go?" "Well... about that..." "You certainly know how to charm them—a member of the Divine Physician’s family, the Alliance Leader of the martial world... My good disciple, how many other 'bosom friends' are out there that your Master doesn't know about? Speak up, and I shall settle matters for you in the future." Just as Chu Ruo was rendered speechless by Nan Muxue’s teasing, someone entered the room. It was the owner of the farmhouse, an elderly woman named Aunt Gui. She brought in the medicine, and only then did Nan Muxue "release" Chu Ruo to stand and receive the bowl. "I can handle it myself, there's no need to trouble you..." The woman smiled kindly. "It’s no trouble. I saw the medicine was ready and feared you might forget the time." Chu Ruo smiled as well. "Thank you, Aunt Gui. Where is Aunt Shen?" This farmhouse belonged to two farmwomen; the couple was staying here in exchange for some silver. At first, the women had refused the money, but eventually, they accepted it with great politeness. The village was secluded, the villagers simple and rustic, and they were very warm toward visitors. "Oh, a family nearby is holding a wedding today. She went to help early this morning. I’ll have to head over in a bit as well. You should all come for a drink later; the people here are very hospitable, it’ll be fine." "Ruo'er still has injuries, so she won't be moving about." Aunt Gui nodded. "Injuries really must be nursed properly, or they’ll leave lasting problems. Actually, I wanted to ask... what happened to you two to cause such terrible injuries? Are you running away from somewhere? I can see you two girls are refined and well-mannered, not bad people. Is someone chasing you?" Because Chu Ruo had many injuries from the fall, Nan Muxue was often busy tending to her. Furthermore, there was no need for deception here, so Nan Muxue had not hidden her female identity. She also had other considerations: Chu Ruo always presented as a man to the outside world. Even if people were searching for them, they would look for a man and a woman. Two women together were less likely to be noticed. Before Nan Muxue could speak, Chu Ruo answered, "I won't hide it from you, Auntie. Yes, we are indeed running away. We are sisters. Our family tried to force a marriage, wanting to wed my elder sister to a local tyrant. That tyrant is powerful and wealthy, and he knows martial arts. He even beat me until I went blind. My sister and I were forced into a corner and had no choice but to take a few loyal servants and hide wherever we could." *My ability to spin a lie on the spot is a perfect ten,* Chu Ruo thought. "Oh, you poor things," Aunt Gui wiped away a few tears. "Now that you're here, just stay and rest easy. Strangers rarely come to this place. You two sisters needn't worry. I won't say more; I have to get busy. I’ve made food for you, it’s warming in the pot. Eat when you’re hungry. If you want to see the festivities tonight, just ask anyone and they’ll tell you where to go." "Thank you, Auntie." As soon as the woman left, Nan Muxue arched an eyebrow. "Sisters?" Chu Ruo gave a sheepish laugh. "Well, aren't you my Master? Although 'sister' is a bit of a drop in seniority, it sounds better than 'younger sister,' right?" "You certainly are skilled at weaving nonsense." "Ow! You're pinching me again! Fine, let's swap—you can be the younger sister, okay? Honestly, I'm clearly older than you, so I'm the one losing out by calling you 'Jiejie.' Can I call you 'Meimei' now? Little Sister Xue'er—ow! It hurts! Little Scorpion! Ow, ow, ow! I don't dare anymore, I was wrong! Stop pinching..." Nan Muxue couldn't help but let her lips curl into a smile. "Sisters... only you could come up with that." Chu Ruo took advantage of the moment to snuggle into the other's embrace, looking utterly content. "Well, I couldn't exactly tell her we're master and disciple. If I did, how could you sleep in my room?" "Chu Ruo!" The night should have been quiet, but because of the wedding, the village was exceptionally boisterous and lively. The village wasn't large, so the sounds of celebration naturally reached them. Chu Ruo sat side-by-side with her beloved, calling out in a soft, clingy voice, "Xue'er..." Nan Muxue looked over dotingly. "What is it?" "Listen, it's so lively." "Do you want to go see?" Chu Ruo shook her head. "I still prefer being with you, sitting here where there's no one else. That way, I can hold you and kiss you. Hehe." In the past, such words would surely have drawn disdain. Tonight, however, the woman did not pull away. Instead, she leaned her head slightly and left a faint, lingering mark on Chu Ruo’s cheek. "Mmm..." Chu Ruo looked completely blissful. "I'm starting to like it here." "Then we won't leave. We will stay here forever and never depart." "We still have many things to resolve." "No." Nan Muxue took Chu Ruo’s head in her hands. "Wherever you want to be, that is where we shall be. Besides, this place is quite nice; I like it too. We will never go out again. Other people, other matters—they have nothing to do with us." Such words didn't sound like something Nan Muxue would say. Chu Ruo was somewhat startled. "Xue'er, what's wrong? You wouldn't usually..." "I wouldn't say such things, would I? Liu Li and the others' fates are unknown, my mother is out there harming people, and Bai Zhi'er is still dealing with the Hundred Flowers Palace for your sake. Everyone is looking for us. For me to say this... it's irresponsible, isn't it?" "No, I meant..." In the next second, Chu Ruo was pulled into a tight embrace. "Ruo'er, I admit it. I want to escape. I want to ignore everything, cast aside all responsibility. I want to be a heartless person who cares nothing for the world outside. Because to me, you are my everything. Going out means the possibility of losing you. That day you jumped after me... you will never understand how chaotic my heart was in that moment. I don't want to care about anything outside. I am selfish, but I will not lose you again. Ruo'er, I won't." "Xue'er," Chu Ruo soothed her, "It's okay, it's okay. I'm here. Fine, if you don't want to go out, we won't. We'll live here, on and on, and never leave." She had never imagined that she meant so much to the other woman—that her proud, arrogant Xue'er would actually say such escapist words. Chu Ruo felt her eyes growing moist again. "Xue'er," she said, her voice thick with emotion, "let us both be selfish for once. I don't want to lose you again either. I don't want it to be like before, where you leave me without a word. I don't want to wake up and find you're not by my side. We'll stay right here and spend a lifetime together."