Chapter 1428: Chapter 102: Unintentional Burning (Extra Chapter 1/78 for Yan Shaofei’s Alliance!)
During the days of recuperation, he gritted his teeth in silence every single day.
The gauzy curtain always hung on the silver hook. Except for the monts of drinking dicine, the two of them always kept a distance.
That distance wasn’t just limited to the space in the room. It wasn’t only the five-and-a-half steps from the bedside to the tea table.
It was another night—Jiang Wang didn’t know what day it was since he had no idea how long he had been unconscious, and there was no way to communicate with anyone.
Counting from the day he woke, he had been drinking dicine for five days.
Like every day before, Miao Yu pushed the door open and entered during the deep hours of the night. She still wore the gray-blue robes of a monk, her long hair wrapped under a monk’s cap, her face concealed by a Bodhi mask.
Just by listening to the sound of her footsteps, Jiang Wang could sketch out her silhouette in his mind.
Never in his life had he experienced such prolonged powerlessness, lying stiff on the bed day after day, slowly circulating Path Origin within, silently nursing his body, and waiting for it to recover.
Unable to cultivate, he lacked the strength to explore the Inner Mansion. Even pondering Dao Techniques in his mind was exhausting; after a short bout of thought, he had to rest again.
Other than that, he could do no more than listen to the sound of footsteps, drawing near and then fading away.
To think of it, this was likely the longest period of “rest” he had ever taken. No matter the ti in the past, he had never slackened in cultivation. But now, bound by his physical condition, all he could do was intermittently channel Path Origin and contemplate Dao Techniques—and nothing else.
He spent long stretches of ti sleeping, and equally long stretches of ti in a daze.
When he slept, it was hazy and dreamlike. When he was dazed, his mind wandered like an untad horse.
Miao Yu entered the room. As usual, she first lit a lamp. This bronze lamp burned oil made from the resin of the Pi-Sang tree, known for its calming and stabilizing properties, especially suited for those bedridden.
A single flickering fla gently illuminated the entire room.
From the Storage Box, she thodically took out three bowls of prepared dicine. Using a Mimic Plant, she checked them one by one.
The Mimic Plant was a rare treasure in the field of dicine, known for its miraculous properties. After absorbing the breath of the patient, it would simulate the patient’s physical state and was generally used to test dicines to predict the effect on the patient with maximum accuracy.
The Mimic Plant showed a good condition. Today’s dicine was well-prepared again. Miao Yu calmly put it away.
After slightly adjusting the temperature of the dicine with Yuan Force, she retrieved a wooden tray, placed the three unappealing bowls of dicine on it, and walked toward the bedside—one bowl a chaotic mix of colors, another a fluorescent green, and the last as black as ink.
She glanced at the bizarre concoctions and suddenly thought of the “soup” in that cave in Black Bear Mountain. A faint smile curved her lips.
She walked with a spring in her step.
asured, graceful steps carried her forward, accompanied by the faint aroma of her presence.
She reached the bedside with exquisite poise, effortlessly lifting the reclining Jiang Wang into a sitting position with one hand.
The combined scent of the three bowls of dicine created an indescribable and dreadful sll. It wasn’t just overpowering—it felt as though it could pierce the heart.
Jiang Wang’s glance swept over the bowls, and his eyelids involuntarily twitched twice.
A faint smile reappeared under Miao Yu’s mask. Without saying a word, she picked up one of the bowls and moved it toward Jiang Wang’s lips.
The consequences of refusal—Jiang Wang rembered them well.
So, he obediently opened his mouth.
Miao Yu’s eyes carried a deeper sense of amusent as she gently poured the thick, ink-black liquid into his mouth.
Gulp, gulp.
Jiang Wang quickly swallowed.
Resolute as his will was, even he could not stop his brows from knitting tightly together, taut as iron.
Miao Yu’s hand was steady as she brought the second bowl of colorful liquid forward.
With an expression as though staring death in the face, Jiang Wang opened his mouth again…
After consecutively forcing down all three bowls, she gathered the bowls and tray, then casually grabbed a handkerchief to dab haphazardly at the corners of Jiang Wang’s mouth.
Then she grabbed his leg and tugged him back down, returning him from a seated to a lying position—an action that filled Jiang Wang with sha. He felt like an infant, just a few months old, completely at her rcy.
But he couldn’t protest—he knew she was just waiting for him to speak.
He refused to comply.
Jiang Wang continued his cold war of silent defiance with gritted teeth.
anwhile, Miao Yu had already walked indifferently away from the bedside.
One, two, three, four, five… five and a half steps.
She sat down at the tea table.
Her back was to Jiang Wang, seated cross-legged, eyes closed.
Her graceful silhouette resembled a painting, etched onto the wall by the glow of the lamp. What kind of painter could capture such beauty?
Soon, the lamplight was extinguished.
The Pi-Sang tree resin oil was excellent for aiding recovery, but it was best to burn it for only an hour at night. Any longer would be counterproductive.
Moonlight, too, was blocked by the windows. Now, only the dark of the night flowed between the two of them.
One sitting, one lying down, their breathing both steady and calm.
It seed as though there were no waves, only a quiet contest of passing ti.
But both of them knew, no matter how long the night was… it would eventually end.
Surprises always arrive uninvited.
Knock, knock, knock!
Suddenly, a knocking sound echoed.
Jiang Wang barely registered the movent of air before he was pushed deeper into the inner side of the bed, and another person appeared beside him.
The white curtain had already fallen, and the small silver hook was left swaying lightly in the emptiness.
His nerves instantly tightened.
“Yu Zhen, Junior Sister.”
A woman’s voice called from outside the door.
Yu Zhen? A new na for her?
In all this ti recuperating here, it was the first ti soone had co to visit. He had thought no one would ever co.
The woman’s voice spoke from beside him: “Senior Sister, I’ve already retired for the night. Is sothing the matter?”
Too close…
Creaaak~
The door had already been opened, then closed again.
The unknown “Senior Sister” had entered the room.
Jiang Wang grew anxious. He suspected this tension stemd from his current identity and precarious situation. With the suspicion of Communicating with Demons still unresolved, how many places under the heavens dared to shelter him? He could not allow himself to be discovered.
“You need not rise.” Judging by her voice, the “Senior Sister” seed to be standing by the door. “I’ll just say a few things here. If I faced you directly, I wouldn’t know what to say…”
Jiang Wang suddenly beca acutely aware of his arm brushing against sothing soft and warm. It was as if water had molded itself to the shape of his arm, gentle and yielding.
There seed to be a vortex there, drawing in all his attention.
Everything was quiet, yet he could distinctly hear the sound of his own heartbeat.
“Senior Sister… what is it you wish to say?”
Jiang Wang only then noticed that her voice was different from usual. The countless layers of allure and charm in her tone were now completely gone. It had beco plain, serene, free.
From Miao Yu to Bai Lian, to Yu Zhen, what had she experienced?
Jiang Wang had always known he did not truly understand her. He had always assud he didn’t care to understand.
But he could not stop his ears from hearing, so at this mont, he could only awkwardly listen…
“You seldom show yourself, but you’ve spent these rare days remaining in the temple.” The Senior Sister’s voice ca from the door, “Seeing you here brings joy to my heart…”
Miao Yu’s breathing seed heavier. That weight felt as though it pressed down on the air, making Jiang Wang’s breathing follow suit, becoming uneven.
Yet her voice still flowed from her in that serene tone—
“I’m restless by nature, unable to stay long in one place. Sotis, encountering a stray cat or dog, I might tarry for a while… The matters of the temple, really, it’s Senior Sister who bears the burden.”
Jiang Wang, uncomfortable, instinctively wanted to shift further away, but his body lacked the strength.
His breathing grew increasingly uneasy.
For reasons beyond him, he felt as though the space beside him was a source of heat.
A heat so intense, it seed to ignite sothing.
Flaless Fire, a silent burn.
…
…
…
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