Chapter 16

He looked extremely serious. Qu Yan had no doubt that if she nodded right now, he would immediately take off his clothes and lie on the bed.

It was also Qi Ying’s first time saying such things. Although he pretended to be calm on the surface, his ears were already burning.

He felt he was being clever for once, but Qu Yan seemed a bit displeased. Her thin lips parted slightly, “You’re overthinking. I have no interest in my patients.”

Being rejected so bluntly, Qi Ying wasn’t angry at all. Instead, he felt relieved. He knew that someone like him couldn’t possibly be desirable.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he asked in a low voice, “If I lose my usefulness, will you kill me or let me go?”

Qu Yan’s brow furrowed deeper. She knew Xu Zong’er couldn’t keep his mouth shut, but she didn’t expect Qi Ying to react this way after learning her identity.

“How could I possibly kill you?” Qu Yan looked at the tense man, feeling somewhat bemused.

So she still wouldn’t let him go. Qi Ying remained silent for a long time, quickly accepting this reality. At least there was still a possibility of regaining his martial arts. He only hoped Qu Yan wasn’t deceiving him.

Qu Yan snorted lightly, seeming to see through his thoughts.

“Qi Ying, are you single-minded?” She sat down on her own, only continuing when she saw the man’s slightly changed expression.

“I’ve never imprisoned you, nor forced you to take poison. I’ve gone to great lengths to treat you, yet in your heart I’m such a person. Though I don’t know why you’re prejudiced against me, it makes me a bit sad.” Towards the end, Qu Yan’s tone lowered a few notches, as if it were true.

Qi Ying looked at Qu Yan in stunned silence for a while, the uncertainty on his face growing deeper. Finally, he stammered out, “That’s not what I meant.”

Qu Yan raised her head and said concisely, “After you’re cured, you’re free to stay or leave.”

Seeing that Qi Ying wasn’t as happy as she had imagined, Qu Yan rubbed the remaining ointment between her fingertips, raising her eyelids to look at him. Sure enough, he spoke softly.

“Why didn’t you tell me from the beginning that you’re from Medicine Immortal Valley?”

“There’s no reason to introduce oneself right away. You didn’t tell me about your identity as a secret guard either.” Qu Yan laughed and shook her head, those smiling eyes fixed on Qi Ying. “Besides, being picked up by me is much better than being picked up by a rural doctor, isn’t it?”

Qi Ying wasn’t good with words. What he was best at was maintaining silence and deliberately suppressing changes in his emotions.

Seeing him like this, Qu Yan rolled her tongue between her lips twice and spoke softly, “You’re not the first secret guard I’ve met. Four or five years ago, I met another one. He was clever and smooth, quite the opposite of you. Do you know what he came to me for?”

Qi Ying’s lips moved slightly, but thankfully the other party didn’t seem to actually want him to respond.

“He came to me to make a fake death drug. He said he was tired of being controlled by others and wanted freedom. I found it interesting at the time, so I made the drug for him.” Qu Yan suddenly clicked her tongue. “He still owes me money. I wonder if he’s really dead or living freely somewhere.”

Same identity, same request. The former came to her seeking the drug with cunning, while the latter was clearly just one step away from freedom, yet willingly jumped off a cliff.

In a sense, she preferred people like Qi Ying.

“I’m curious, why did you choose to jump from that cliff back then?”

“When Futu Tower first picked me up, it was by that village road.” Qi Ying’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice inexplicably hoarse. “I wanted to go back.”

He dared not hope for a home, but he wanted to be like ordinary people, returning to his roots. Dying by the roadside would shock passersby, but that cliff was very close to the road, close enough that Qi Ying could reach it in a few steps.

Qu Yan’s heart skipped a beat, not knowing what to say.

After that day, the relationship between Qu Yan and Qi Ying inexplicably eased a bit. Perhaps knowing each other’s identities, there were no more riddles in their conversations.

The day Qi Ying’s right hand splint was removed, he didn’t even realize it while eating, still habitually using his left hand to hold chopsticks. Seeing Qu Yan’s growing smile, he belatedly realized and switched the chopsticks to his right hand, his ears turning red.

Qu Yan noticed his awkwardness and teased that she would tie it up again. She made a move to grab his hand, and Qi Ying surprisingly didn’t dodge. He just looked blankly at the woman, unable to tell if she was joking or serious, with a docile expression as if resigned to his fate.

Qu Yan laughed for a while, but seeing the man’s face almost burning up, she finally held back her laughter.

Though he wouldn’t get angry and was easy to coax, he was still a thin-skinned man after all, and a single-minded secret guard at that. If teased too much, he might stay silent for several days.

Qu Yan coughed lightly twice, suppressing her smile. “I won’t laugh anymore. Hurry up and eat.”

Qi Ying held his chopsticks motionless, his lips slightly pursed, looking somewhat pitiful.

Although he was already twenty years old, and people his age outside the valley might already have two or three children, occasionally when Qu Yan stared at him, she could see a hint of youthfulness on his face. Like someone without a childhood, no matter how old he was, when he saw things he had never encountered before, there was that curiosity and freshness.

She picked up a piece of rib and placed it in Qi Ying’s bowl, coaxing him like a child: “It’s the meat you like. If you don’t eat it soon, it’ll get cold.”

Qi Ying became even more awkward. He stiffly looked at the food in his bowl and began to eat, not quite used to it.

At first, Qu Yan really thought he liked meat, but after observing a few times, she noticed that Qi Ying would frown every time he chewed meat, swallowing it with difficulty.

He didn’t like meat, he was just used to eating it. Qu Yan noticed this but didn’t point it out, still providing meat at every meal according to his habit.

Meat was the food that best preserved strength. Eating one more bite meant a higher chance of survival, especially in winter. Whenever he encountered meat, Qi Ying would force himself to eat large pieces.

But today his appetite was poor, and he ate very little. When Qu Yan looked up for the third time, he finally spoke.

“I’ll go decoct the medicine first.” Qi Ying’s complexion was poor as he hurriedly left after saying this.

Originally, decocting medicine wasn’t his job. Qu Yan had told Qi Ying to rest quietly, only responsible for drinking the medicine on time each day. But how could Qi Ying get used to such a peaceful life? He was accustomed to hiding in dark places, used to sleeping only two or three hours a day, and more accustomed to living on the edge of danger.

Every day when Qu Yan returned to the courtyard, she would see Qi Ying sitting on the stone steps, quietly gazing into the distance. Occasionally, Wu Yun would keep him company, but most of the time he was alone, looking lonely and desolate.

So Qu Yan taught him ways to pass the time. She first tried to get Qi Ying to read some stories, but later realized he couldn’t focus on those densely packed words. It might be better to teach him how to kill with needles; he might be more interested in that.

Qu Yan finally decided to have him learn how to decoct medicine. This method wasn’t as simple as people thought, but rather quite particular. The heat, amount of herbs, and the order and timing of adding ingredients all varied.

After burning two pots, he finally succeeded once. Qi Ying picked it up extremely quickly, but still seemed dissatisfied with himself. Qu Yan later learned that in those years at Futu Tower, only by being the best at everything could one avoid punishment.

When Qu Yan went out, the sky was overcast with dark clouds, another rainy day. Medicine was being decocted in the small kitchen, but unusually, Qi Ying wasn’t by its side. She raised her eyebrows in surprise, went over to check the heat, and just as the medicine was about to be ready, Qi Ying’s figure appeared.

Qu Yan looked at where he came from and the hand that dropped to his lower abdomen when he saw her, a glimmer of understanding passing through her eyes.

“The medicine has just been poured out. Let it cool a bit before drinking.”

Qu Yan put the medicinal soup aside and raised her hand to take his palm. Usually, he wouldn’t dodge, but for some reason, he shrank his hand back. However, she quickly grasped his wrist, and his pulse was indeed as she had thought.

But Qi Ying’s palm was cold and clammy with sweat. Qu Yan frowned, habitually taking out a handkerchief and placing it in his hand. Looking up, she saw Qi Ying’s ears were red and his expression somewhat flustered.

Qu Yan choked, realizing he had misunderstood. “It’s not that I find you disgusting. Don’t overthink it.”

Qi Ying held the handkerchief, his cheeks flushing again at her words. He had washed his hands after coming out of the latrine, but for some reason, he always broke out in cold sweats during his monthly period. The abdominal pain would make his steps lighter, increasing the chances of being discovered.

During those few days each month, he would hide away, never accepting missions or seeing others.

Qi Ying looked at the steaming bowl of medicine, then took out a small porcelain bottle from his bosom, handing it to Qu Yan through the handkerchief.

“This medicine is finished.”

This was the sweet-tasting medicine. Previously, after each time he drank the medicine, Qu Yan would feed him one pill. Later, she just gave him the whole jar, and Qi Ying ate them according to habit, finishing it just yesterday.

Qu Yan looked at Qi Ying’s action of handing it over through the handkerchief, then at the familiar small bottle. Her expression changed slightly, even the smile at the corner of her lips freezing.

Seeing that Qu Yan didn’t take it, Qi Ying’s face showed a trace of helplessness. “I… I’ll wash it clean before returning it to you.”

Qu Yan smiled helplessly, reaching out to take the bottle. “When I first brought you back, I wiped your body every day. If I found you disgusting, I wouldn’t have let you stay in my courtyard.” She held up the small jar in her hand and said helplessly, “Also, this isn’t medicine. It’s sugar pills. I gave them to you because I was afraid the medicine would be too bitter.”

Seeing Qi Ying’s dumbfounded and embarrassed expression, Qu Yan paused for a moment, only telling him to wait for her for a while.

After Qu Yan left, Qi Ying looked at the handkerchief in his hand, carefully folded it and placed it in front of his clothes. Recalling the woman’s words just now, his ears grew hotter and hotter.

He wasn’t unfamiliar with sugar, but because it was something Qu Yan gave him, he subconsciously treated it as medicine. Although it was sweet, he had never let it dissolve in his mouth, swallowing each one whole every time.

The familiar cramping pain started in his lower abdomen. Qi Ying frowned, his palm pressing hard on his stomach, as if pressing hard enough would make it stop hurting.

The familiar smell of medicine wafted over, but he felt nauseous. Qi Ying suppressed the churning in his stomach, held his breath, and gulped down the medicine in one go. Afraid he might vomit, he drank a bowl of cold water after finishing the medicine.

When Qu Yan returned and put down what she was holding, she saw Qi Ying’s face, paler than before, and the empty bowl. She frowned involuntarily. “You go back to your room and rest first. I’ll bring it to you when it’s ready.”

Qi Ying was indeed unwell and didn’t even register the latter half of Qu Yan’s words. He just walked back unsteadily, even his usually straight back somewhat hunched.

The dark sky finally began to rain. When Qu Yan entered the side room carrying a bowl and a warmer, Qi Ying was curled up under the blanket. His body was so thin that at first glance, one couldn’t tell there was someone under the covers.

The brocade quilt was lightly lifted, and the person hiding underneath startled, suddenly raising his eyes to look. Qi Ying’s hair was wet with cold sweat, messily sticking to his temples and cheeks. His small face, which had gained some color, was now deathly pale. In such a disheveled state, he looked very similar to when he was suffering from the Ten-Day Scattering Poison.

Qu Yan glanced a few times, frowning as she removed his hand that was tightly pressing on his lower abdomen. Qi Ying still had some intention to resist, but unfortunately, his right hand hadn’t fully healed, and he couldn’t match Qu Yan’s strength.

Qi Ying’s palm was clammy with sweat, as if it had been pulled out of water. As soon as the pressure on his lower abdomen was released, a pained whimper escaped his lips, immediately followed by embarrassment.

“…I’m fine, you don’t need to worry about me.”

He started pushing people away again. Qu Yan raised an eyebrow, acting as if she hadn’t heard, and put the items in his hands.

His cold palms were surrounded by warmth. Qi Ying looked at the warmer in his hands, his expression bewildered. Then the woman’s voice sounded above his head.

“Lie down properly, I’ll massage it for you.”