I put my arm around the strong man's slender waist

Chapter 60

Yan Shu called out to me from behind, "Su Xie, Su Xie!" The call continued for a long time, filled with deep hatred.

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No matter where I go, no matter where I die, as long as I leave this place, leave...

I lay on the horse's back, bouncing and losing consciousness. It seemed like I was far away... I only remember falling off the horse, exhausted, being dragged along by it, in excruciating pain, and then passing out.

In this pitch-black dream, I was unable to move. I vaguely felt someone lift my wrist, and it hurt terribly. Every inch of my skin and bones ached.

I vaguely heard someone muttering something beside me, sighing and groaning...

"She's still alive after all that, Miss Su is really tenacious..."

"How is she now? Is she alright? When will she wake up?"

Who is it? The voice sounds so familiar. Do you know me? Or is it someone I know?

"I don't know. Miss Su's poison hasn't been neutralized yet, and the wound on her chest is too severe..."

Will I die?

"Not at all. Although the wound on my chest is severe, it's not difficult to treat. I've already bandaged it up. The poison in my body isn't really anything. As you know, it's a poison I made. Do you think there's no antidote?"

"Then... what does sir mean?"

"I have ordered someone to brew some medicine. As long as Miss Su takes it and wakes up tomorrow morning, she will be fine. However, it still depends on Miss Su's will to live. Whether she wants to live or die is her own decision."

The sound of cups clinking together.

"I'll do it."

Someone gently supported my neck, and warm liquid flowed into my lips, teeth, and throat. It was bitter and astringent. The person said to me in a low and soft voice, "You still have to live. There are still many things you haven't experienced, aren't there?"

Who is it? That voice is eerily familiar... but who is it?

I can't remember.

I don't know what this medicine is, but it's boiling hot in my stomach, making me dizzy and sweaty, and I keep waking up and falling asleep again.

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It's like I'm having one dream after another, with a very talkative person always talking to me, and then it changes to a few other people from time to time, including a sweet and innocent little girl and a precocious little boy.

Every day, she would come to greet me and say, "Miss Su, Hongyao couldn't come today, so I've come to change your dressing. She couldn't recite the prescription and was punished by her master to copy it a hundred times..."

“Master is so long-winded! He nags every day, ‘Qinglian, have you brewed the medicine? Qinglian, have you added fuel to the fire? Qinglian, how could you leave this here…’ I’ll tell you a secret, Hongyao and I both think that Master is so old and hasn’t married a mistress because he’s too long-winded, and no one would want to be with him…”

"Qinglian, have you changed your dressing? Why did it take so long? Didn't I tell you that you should be efficient and decisive in your work, and not drag things out..."

But I still can't hear the voice of the person who fed me medicine on the day I was seriously injured. Who is he? I keep thinking about it, but I just can't remember.

“Miss Su, let me take your pulse.” Someone sat down beside me, placed their hand on my wrist, and after a while said, “Miss Su, you should be awake by now, right? These past few days, I’ve heard my unfilial disciples say quite a few bad things about me. Alas, I’ve made a mistake in teaching them; they’re all so young and yet they dare to speak ill of their master. Actually, I’m not that long-winded. As for why I haven’t married yet, it’s very simple: marriage is troublesome. Besides, I haven’t yet fulfilled my master’s mission to find my rebellious junior brother. How can I marry and settle down first? Miss Su, don’t you think that makes sense…”

I couldn't bear to listen any longer, so I exhaled, opened my eyes, and saw that the smiling man in front of me was none other than the Medicine King, the Miraculous Healer.

He spoke gently, "Miss Su has finally woken up."

Yeah, if he doesn't wake up soon, I'll be nagged to death.

I looked around and asked the skilled healer, "May I ask, sir, who saved me?"

Miao Shou smiled slightly and said calmly, "The person who rescued Miss Su does not want to reveal his name, which naturally has his own reasons. Why should Miss Su ask? Just consider it as me saving you, isn't that good enough?"

"Excellent, excellent." It wasn't that I absolutely had to ask, but that voice... it scared me a little; I couldn't be sure who it was.

"Now that Miss Su has woken up, let's repay the favor," Miao Shou said gently with a smile.

I was taken aback. "Repay a debt of gratitude?"

"That's right." Miao Shou nodded to me in confirmation, smiling like a blooming flower. "I saved your life, and the debt of gratitude is as heavy as a mountain. Miss Su will certainly do her best to repay it, won't she?"

A vein throbbed slightly on my forehead as I forced a smile and said, "I wonder what you want me to do, sir..." Seeing his broad smile, I immediately realized I'd been tricked and quickly said, "Sir, please be careful! Su Xie can't do anything like going through fire and water. He might even stab you in the back if he gets angry! You certainly won't want a tragedy to happen, so please have some self-respect!"

The skilled hand chuckled and grasped my hand, saying, "Miss Su, you misunderstand. I only wished that you..."

Seeing his smiling face, I grasped his hand in return and said sincerely, "I can consider offering myself to you."

He hurriedly withdrew his hand, staring at me in utter terror, and said, "Miss Su, please don't make a move on me! Although I am gentle and considerate, and handsome, I have sworn an oath that I will not marry until I find my junior brother! Your deep affection... I..."

It scared him...

I withdrew my hand with self-respect and asked seriously, "What does the master want me to do?"

Miao Shou moved a little further away from me and said, "I just want Miss Su to accompany me to the Central Plains to see something."

"Central Plains?"

Author's Note: I'm back.

Sorry for the week-long hiatus... My acute appendicitis came on so suddenly, I was hospitalized and had surgery, and only just got discharged today. I texted a friend to let everyone know I was taking a break on Weibo, I don't know if you saw it, anyway, I'm really sorry, but I'm finally back, finally better! I never want to go to the hospital again... a nightmare... During the surgery, it suddenly occurred to me that I could use having my intestines removed as a form of torture in the future... *facepalm* During the surgery, I asked to see the removed appendix, and my first reaction was, "Holy crap! It looks just like pig intestines..."

Ahem, it's been a long time since I've been back, and I have so much to say to you all... I'm being too long-winded, so please just ignore me.

Thank you all so much for waiting for me for so long. I bow deeply and wish that none of you will ever get appendicitis again!

Important P.S.: I was just discharged from the hospital and my family keeps nagging me, so I will rest for a few days. I will update every other day for the next week or two. It will be slow, but I will try my best. Please forgive me. Thank you.

(To the friend with the negative score, **I've been having some issues lately, and the comment not appearing is due to a glitch. I've never deleted a single comment from anyone. I've always thought of comments as a way for friends to vent to each other, but I'm sorry, I really can't be all smiles when it comes to personal attacks. I'm slow, but I'll try my best to keep updating. I can't please you, so I'm truly sorry. Goodbye.)

72

Looking at something?

I couldn't understand why the Master wanted to see something that required going to the Central Plains, and why he insisted that I go with him. When I asked him, he just said in a mysterious way, "I was only doing this for someone else. I'll understand when I see Miss Su."

I can't stand his nagging, so I don't dare ask too many questions. He'll chat with you in a very detailed and endless way...

His two young apprentices, on the other hand, were both very young and beautiful, especially the little girl Hongyao, who was just over eight years old. She had bright, clever features, and her big eyes darted around. She was quite mischievous.

Qinglian was a year older than her, but she had been trained to be old-fashioned. Despite her young age, she always had a furrowed brow and followed the instructions of the skilled hand to pay her respects to me morning and evening without fail, always behaving properly.

"Girl, drink your medicine." He handed it to me, his small brows furrowed as he watched me drink it. Then he took the bowl, sat down, and said seriously, "Qinglian will start talking to you now."

I quickly smiled apologetically and asked to ease the atmosphere, "Qinglian, how old are you this year?"

"The young lady already asked that yesterday."

Is that so...? Let me try another one. I asked with a sly smile, "Qinglian, how old were you when you started following your master?"

"This girl asked the same question the day before yesterday."

Have you asked that yet...?

Well… I couldn’t keep up my smile, so I quickly asked, “Qinglian, what’s your name?”

Qinglian gave me a disdainful look and sighed heavily, "You're so boring, sir."

What do you want?!

I weakly propped my head up and asked dejectedly, "What are we having for lunch today...?"

"Eat?" Qinglian gave me a strange look. "Aren't you going to the Central Plains with my master later? Why don't you have lunch in the valley?"

"So fast?" I was surprised; the miracle worker hadn't told me.

Qinglian nodded and said, "Master said that it is best to go as soon as possible to fulfill the trust placed in us."

I blinked and smiled ingratiatingly at Qinglian, "Who has such great influence that even the Medicine King and the Miraculous Healer personally came to help?"

"Oh, this person..."

I quickly moved closer, and Qinglian frowned as she looked at me, saying, "Master instructed us not to tell."

Skilled in training and discipline...

Just as I was wondering whether I should ask in a different way, the door was kicked open with a bang, and a small, red figure rushed in, pushed aside the blue curtain, buried her head in the brocade quilt on the couch, and remained silent.

Qinglian and I were both stunned, looking at Hongyao beside us, who was hugging the blanket and burying her head in anger. We exchanged glances, but Qinglian spoke first: "What's wrong now?" Qinglian came over and pulled her arm, "Who bullied you this time?"

"Mind your own business!" Hongyao slapped his hand away, smeared her face with her little hands, and angrily cried as she said, "You and Master are in cahoots! You're rotten! You bad guy! You big bad guy!"

Qinglian felt inexplicably aggrieved and said, "What did I do to offend you..."

As an adult, I couldn't just stand by and watch the show without saying anything, so I put my arm around Hongyao's shoulder and comforted her, "Try to think positively. There's nothing you can do about having a master like that..."

Qinglian glared at me, but Xiaohongyao burst into tears, crying bitterly, "I'm breaking up with Master! He doesn't love me anymore! He takes you and Qinglian out to play but doesn't take me! He'll never be able to marry Master's wife!"

Hmm, that's what I think too.

"Don't cry..." Qinglian quickly came over and pulled her sleeve to wipe her tears and snot, coaxing her as she said, "Master isn't taking us to the Central Plains for fun, we're going to do serious business..."

"What important business is this! Master is here to treat patients! There are no patients in the Central Plains, why are you running around like this!" Hongyao cried, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Who said there are no patients?” Qinglian coaxed patiently. “Have you forgotten that Master promised that young master to help him save people? A promise is a promise, and you have to do what you say. Besides, you don’t want that young master to be sad, do you?”

That young master? Which one?

I bit my finger as I watched Hongyao's crying subside, but tears still streamed down her face. I nodded, sniffling, then added defiantly, "Well, I have important business to attend to too!"

"What important business do you have?"

"Of course I did!" Hongyao said angrily. "I also promised that handsome young man I would go see him! A promise is a promise, you said it! Anyone who doesn't keep their word is a dog!"

Qinglian was speechless for a moment, and after a long pause, she finally said, "Nonsense..."

"You're just like your master! When you can't win an argument, you call others crazy!" Hongyao felt extremely wronged. Suddenly, she stormed to the table, kicked the stool, smashed the bowl, then sat down on the couch, wiping away her tears, and said, "I am being crazy! I'm going!"

“Red medicine…” Qinglian frowned, unable to speak properly.

I interjected, "Actually, there's not much to do in the Central Plains, and there are a lot of bad people there..."

"I'm not afraid of bad guys!" Hongyao pouted. "I'm not even afraid of my master."

"A villain even worse than your master?" I asked.

"For example?" she asked me.

I thought for a moment and said, "I'll force you to practice every day. If you can't remember the moves, you won't be allowed to eat. If you don't practice well, you'll be forced to kneel as punishment. Even if you remember them and practice well, you'll still get beaten if you lose a competition."

Hongyao stared at me with wide eyes in surprise.

I continued, "There are also many liars who clearly say you can eat two bowls of rice today, but if they're unhappy, they'll feed it all to the dogs and won't give you any."

"Wow..." Hongyao blinked, looking at me with pity, and said, "You're so pitiful! You're not even as good as a dog..."

I scratched my head and chuckled awkwardly, "I was just giving an example; that's roughly the idea."

Hongyao thought for a moment, then frowned at me and said, "You're lying to me. That handsome young man is also from the Central Plains, so he's not a bad person."