“The moonlight tonight is lovelier than it has been these past few days.”
“Mm.”
Nan Muxue turned her head to look at the person beside her, smiling. “Why so quiet? What’s the matter?”
“What’s the matter with what?”
Nan Muxue took her head between her hands, turning it toward her. “You were the one who insisted on coming out here to sit, yet now you’ve gone silent.”
Chu Ruo blinked playfully. “Well, I can’t see it anyway. I have to rely on your descriptions. So, you talk and I listen—there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Ruo’er,” Nan Muxue pulled her into an embrace. “Are you worried about your eyes? Don’t be afraid, I will find a way…”
“I’m not.”
“It’s not your eyes?” Nan Muxue understood this person, who belonged only to her, as well as she ever had. “Then it must be about your martial arts.”
“This is why I always say my Xue’er can read minds,” Chu Ruo sighed to herself. “But what can I do? She just won’t agree to let me have the antidote.”
Nan Muxue couldn’t help but laugh. “What is that strange tone you’re using?”
“Hmph!”
Nan Muxue gently pinched her cheek, playing along with her by feigning displeasure. “Acting like a child again.”
Chu Ruo took the opportunity to slide into her arms, a look of pure contentment on her face. She spoke lazily, “Tell me, aren’t you quite the devious one? You clearly have a way to fix it, yet you refuse to release the seal on me, hm?”
Nan Muxue held her tight, her gaze—the only gaze she would ever have for anyone in this life—fixed solely on her. “Since you guessed it long ago, why continue to play the fool?”
“Because I love you.”
A smile had been playing on Nan Muxue’s lips, but those three sudden words made her daze for a moment. It wasn’t the first time this person had said she loved her, yet every time, she reacted the same way. She couldn’t quite name the feeling—was it touched, joyful, nervous? Perhaps all of them. She stroked her hair. “You…”
“Because I love you,” Chu Ruo repeated.
The light in Nan Muxue’s eyes was beyond words. “And yet you still play the fool?”
The person in her arms grinned, looking a bit silly yet undeniably adorable. “Well, I lied to you many times before, and you didn’t hold it against me, did you?”
Nan Muxue finally leaned down and kissed her. “Ruo’er, you are my soft spot. My only weakness.”
***
In the woods by the mountainside, Chu Ruo held a bamboo staff, her senses alert to her surroundings. Suddenly—*shoo!* Something streaked through the air. She stepped to the left and raised her hand simultaneously. *Clack!* A pebble hit the ground. Before she could celebrate, she spun around and raised her hand to block again, knocking another flying stone to the earth.
“Chu Ruo!” Xiao Guo’er stepped forward to praise her. “Not bad! You actually figured out how to identify positions by sound on your own. A-Yue and I threw stones from two different directions at once, and you still managed to dodge and knock them down. Impressive, truly impressive.”
A-Yue nodded as well. “We were quite far from you, yet you could still hear them.”
Chu Ruo shook her head. “No.”
Xiao Guo’er was puzzled. “What? You don’t seem happy at all. We weren’t going easy on you.”
“It’s not enough,” Chu Ruo said, her face filled with absolute seriousness. “Pebbles are so much easier to sense than actual hidden weapons. And then there are the experts—they could move toward us silently and effortlessly.”
A-Yue asked, “You mean…”
“Again. Use withered leaves. Xiao Guo’er, with your current internal strength, you should be able to pluck and fly leaves.”
“You…” Xiao Guo’er looked at her. “Take a break. You’ve been practicing so hard your hands are chafed…”
“No, I must keep practicing. I want to protect Xue’er. Again. Sister A-Yue, you should go back and rest for a bit. I’ll be fine here with Xiao Guo’er.”
“It’s no trouble. I’ll wait here for you both. The Young Palace Master instructed us not to leave your side. If you get thirsty or hungry, I’m here.”
“Then let’s continue. Xiao Guo’er, come.”
“Alright.”
Chu Ruo practiced with desperate intensity. Compared to stones, withered leaves were naturally much lighter and quieter. The slightest rustle of wind or grass was enough to make it difficult for her to discern the direction. Though Xiao Guo’er’s martial arts weren’t top-tier, she could still perform the "Flying Leaf" technique. Even though she held back her strength, she was still using internal power; when the leaves struck Chu Ruo’s hands, it was incredibly painful. Yet every time, Chu Ruo simply gritted her teeth and called for them to continue. Despite the freezing weather, beads of sweat were visible on her forehead. Xiao Guo’er finally understood why the Young Palace Master was so devoted to this seemingly flighty person.
After more than an hour, Chu Ruo could finally manage to judge the directions. Unfortunately, with her martial arts sealed, raising her hand to block was sometimes futile, and she suffered quite a few painful hits. But she believed that in time, she would succeed.
*Thwack!*
The sound came from a distance. It wasn’t a flying leaf, nor was it as heavy as a stone. Chu Ruo dodged with extreme agility and struck out with her bamboo staff. *Splatter!* Something cold hit her face. Was it snow? More likely, it was a snowball.
“Young Palace Master.”
It was the voices of Xiao Guo’er and A-Yue. The other woman’s voice drifted closer. “What did I tell you to call me while we are here?”
“Miss.”
Chu Ruo immediately went skipping toward the source of the voice, but the other woman moved faster to meet her. “Slow down. Watch your step.”
The other two were tactful; they whispered that they were heading back first and made their exit.
“Xue’er.”
Looking at the brilliant smile turned toward her, Nan Muxue smiled faintly. She raised her sleeve to brush the snow from Chu Ruo’s face. “What are you doing here behind my back?”
“Why did you throw a snowball at me? Where did you go this morning, leaving me behind? Did you go off to eat something delicious without me?”
Nan Muxue arched an eyebrow. “Am I questioning you, or are you questioning me?”
Chu Ruo greedily stepped forward to embrace her. “I don’t care. Answer me first.”
Nan Muxue returned the embrace tightly and answered her, “I went to buy medicine. Didn’t I tell you? Meanwhile, you’ve been sneaking around behind my back and dragging those two into it. Are you planning a rebellion?”
“You, honestly, that mouth of yours is just relentless. But I happen to really, really love kissing it. I… mmmph!”
Chu Ruo struggled for a long time before she could pull Nan Muxue’s hand away from her mouth. She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. “You little scorpion, why did you pinch my mouth?”
“What were you trying to do?”
“Kiss you, obviously! Do you even have to ask?”
“That is exactly why I had to pinch it.”
“You!”
“You still haven’t answered me. What were you doing?”
“Didn’t you see it all? You even threw a snowball at me.”
Nan Muxue nodded in acknowledgment, then reached out to tweak Chu Ruo’s ear, which was red from the cold. “I knew you wouldn’t stay still. Since you couldn’t get the antidote from me, you decided to find your own way?”
“Well, if you won’t unseal me, I’ll just train all over again. It’s just a bit of Soft Bone Powder; I don’t believe I can’t train my martial arts back. Didn’t you teach me? One must rely on oneself for everything.”
“Is that how I taught you?”
“How is it no—”
Nan Muxue suddenly stepped forward, leaning in to leave a light kiss on her cheek. It was enough to make Chu Ruo swoon, but she had to suppress it and feign a serious expression. “Why are you sneak-kissing me?”
“I see you’ve made progress with your sound-based location. This is your reward.” Having said that, she stepped forward again to hold her tight, whispering into her ear, “You never listen to the things I usually teach you—it goes in one ear and out the other. Yet you insist on taking to heart the things you shouldn’t.”
“But I’m not wrong. Our current situation is exactly like this. Only by relying on oneself can one be strong…”
Nan Muxue shook her head. “In all things, you can rely on me.” *I will block everything for you.*
Back in the house, Chu Ruo hurriedly pulled the other woman’s hands into hers to warm them. “Your hands are so cold. You know your body runs cold, yet you stood outside for so long. Where’s the charcoal brazier? You…” Faced with the woman who had suddenly pressed into her embrace, she was a bit surprised, but then she smiled tenderly. “Do you find my arms to be warmer after all?”
“What am I ever going to do with you?”
“What did I do now?”
“You don’t listen when I speak.” Nan Muxue couldn’t resist giving her a little pinch. “And yet, I just…”
Chu Ruo laughed, quickly cutting her off. “Say it! Is it that you just can’t bear to punish me? You see me and your heart just goes soft, right? Wifey, I know you adore me, hehe.”
Once she said that, the words Nan Muxue had intended to say remained unspoken. Instead, she petulantly pinched Chu Ruo’s waist. “You lie to me the moment anything happens.”
“What did I lie to you about?”
“Being blind.”
“Cough, cough…”
“Speak. Weren’t you just incredibly eloquent a second ago?”
“I mean, hasn’t that been over for ages?”
Nan Muxue refused to let it go. “Now that I think about it, I haven’t settled the score with you for faking your blindness.”
“Xue’er~ Xue’er~”
“Tell me, what should your punishment be?”
Chu Ruo tilted her chin up and said, “I warned you, you are not allowed to hide anything from me.”
“Then, then, then…” Chu Ruo was panicking internally. “But didn’t you find out anyway? By the way, how long did it take for you to realize I was blind back then?”
“Don’t change the subject…”
“Oh, come on,” Chu Ruo went over and wrapped her arms around the other’s waist, speaking in a soft, wheedling tone. “Xue’er, tell me. I thought I hid it quite well at the time. But every time I lie to you, you find out. You found out when I was faking blindness, and you found out when I was actually blind. Tell me, Xue’er~ Wifey~”
Nan Muxue’s heart softened after all. She allowed the other to sprawl against her and replied, “From the moment I opened my eyes and saw you, I knew something had happened to your eyes.”
“The very first look? I practiced in secret for so long! I made sure to memorize everything in that room!”
“Yes. But when you looked at me, your gaze was so unfocused. Don’t you know? Every time you look at me, there is a light in your eyes.”
Chu Ruo’s eyes grew red. “Xue’er, I…”
Nan Muxue only chuckled softly. “Of course, you always like to leave flaws. You did it when you were faking blindness, and you did it again when you were pretending you weren't blind. When will you ever change? Though, if you changed, you wouldn’t be my Ruo’er anymore.”
“I don’t think I left any flaws, did I?”
Nan Muxue spoke calmly, “When you poured water for me, you scalded your hand.”
“Can’t it be that I was so worried about you that I lost my composure?” *Sigh, having such a brilliant wife is too difficult.*
“No. And then you asked me to feed you.”
“I usually ask you to feed me anyway!”
“I had only just woken up then. If it were any other time, you would have been so anxious about me that you wouldn’t have let me move an inch, let alone ask me to feed you. Ruo’er, I’ve told you—every time you lie, you are very clumsy at it.”
“But you still didn’t expose me.” Tears were swirling in Chu Ruo’s eyes. She held them back and kissed her. “Why? Why do you never have the heart to call out this idiot?”
Nan Muxue’s answer was the same as always. “Because it is my Ruo’er.”
“But I can’t do anything. I can’t even lie properly.”
“But it was for my sake.”
“I…”
“What would you do without me?” Nan Muxue leaned against the other’s chest, listening carefully. “Ruo’er, that is why you are mine.”
“Yes, I have always been.” Was there anything else in the world better than hearing the person you love say you belong to her? Chu Ruo answered without hesitation, “Always. I am only yours.”
“Remember, I am here for everything. I will stand in front of you.”
“I only want to be with you.”
“Is it not good to be here with me? Why must you have your martial arts?”
“Because I want to protect you.”
Nan Muxue gave a rare, mischievous smile. “But if mine are gone and you have yours, wouldn’t that make me sad?”
Chu Ruo laughed. “Alright, I’ll listen to you. If I don’t have martial arts, then I don’t. I’ll listen to you in everything.”
“Ruo’er, the most important thing right now is your eyes.”
Chu Ruo shook her head. “The most important thing to me is you. You are my eyes.”
“Ruo’er, are you afraid?”
Chu Ruo held her tight in that moment, speaking the thoughts in her heart. “I’m just so afraid that I’ll forget what you look like.”
“Don’t be afraid…”
“You are in my heart. I will see with my heart’s eye.”
“Mm.”
“You’re pressing right against my heart. Do you like listening to my heartbeat that much?”
“Mm.”
Chu Ruo laughed again. “Then, my mouth is coated in honey. Do you want to have a taste? It’s very sweet.”
This time, the other woman didn’t cooperate. She pulled away and said, “A-Yue has heated the water. You’ve been practicing in the snow for so long; go bathe.”
“You go first. Shall the disciple serve the master in her bath?”
Nan Muxue smiled. “You won’t be faking blindness to peek again, will you? Or perhaps your eyes are already better and you’re just not planning to tell me?”
“Look at what you’re saying. Is there any need for that? There isn’t a single part of you I haven’t seen… Ow!”
***
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Master, Spare My Life: A Disciple's Sweet Rebellion | Chapter 152 | The Light in Your Eyes | Novela.app | Novela.app
