Chapter 833: Brother Won't Be Angry, Right?
"Sister Yan'er, you castrated Xiao Fan... Brother Shen won't be angry, will he?"
Zhong Lingyin turned her head. Her beautiful, delicate face was painted with timid hesitation, even as Xiao Fan's muffled curses and agonizing wails continued to echo through the clearing.
"Hmph. I didn't kill him, so why would that dog of a man get angry?" Liu Ruyan glanced down at Xiao Fan's contorted expression, raising her fair chin with a haughty grace. "Xiao Fan, you're not going to die from this, are you?"
"Liu Ruyan, you venomous bitch—"
Xiao Fan's vicious curse was abruptly severed. Liu Ruyan casually flicked her slender finger, shooting a sharp wisp of energy that struck his mute acupoint.
A pathetic whimper tore from Xiao Fan's throat. Stripped of his voice, he could only glare fixedly at the woman standing above him. Looking at this goddess he had once pursued so desperately, there was no longer a single trace of infatuation in his eyes—only raw, unadulterated hatred and blinding fury.
The searing, hollow agony radiating from his lower body served as a brutal reminder. This was no longer just a matter of kidney damage. It was completely gone.
He was the last eunuch of Yanxia.
Xiao Fan's eyes turned a bloodshot, venomous red.
[Ding! Child of Destiny Xiao Fan's hatred is soaring. Plundering +9999 Destiny Value!]
[Ding! Child of Destiny Xiao Fan's Destiny Value has fallen below 30%. His luck has plummeted into a trough; the probability of a successful kill has greatly increased!]
Liu Ruyan paid absolutely no attention to the murderous glare burning holes into her.
As far as she was concerned, Xiao Fan had brought this entirely upon himself. He was a repulsive, ungrateful wretch. She and Shen Anyu had saved his life, yet his repayment was bringing his master, Xiao Qingtian, to slaughter them.
If it weren't for her terrifyingly powerful man, Shen Anyu would likely be dead right now, and the women would have fallen into Xiao Fan's filthy clutches.
The thought of Shen Anyu—still unconscious and clinging to life by a thread inside the nearby wooden cabin—filled Liu Ruyan with a suffocating, icy dread. Castrating Xiao Fan wasn't just a punishment; it was a necessary release for the violent unease and fury twisting in her chest.
Noticing Liu Ruyan's gaze drifting back toward the quiet wooden structure, Zhong Lingyin spoke up, her voice soft and laced with anxiety.
"I wonder how Brother Shen is doing. Can Sister Murong Jieyu really cure him?"
"She definitely can. Murong Jieyu is a Goddess Doctor." Liu Ruyan's tone softened slightly. "Even when my master, that old man, was still alive, he admitted that her medical skills surpassed his own. She is the absolute culmination of the Sword Palace's medical arts. Especially with her Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles—she can drag a man back even with one foot in the grave."
Then, catching the deep worry etched across Zhong Lingyin's flawless face, a mischievous glint returned to Liu Ruyan's charming fox-like eyes. She couldn't resist a tease.
"Why don't you go inside and help Murong Jieyu?"
"Me?" Zhong Lingyin pointed a slender finger at her own nose, her starry eyes widening in sheer disbelief. She looked exactly like the lowly catfish demon Benbo'erba being ordered by his master to capture the legendary monk Tang Sanzang.
"Sister Yan'er, stop joking. I don't know the first thing about medical skills. How am I supposed to help Sister Murong Jieyu?"
Zhong Lingyin looked genuinely distressed. If there was anything she could do to help wake her man, she would do it in a heartbeat. But her expertise lay in music and performance, not medicine. What was she supposed to do? Play a lute? Dance for him?
"You can definitely help." Liu Ruyan's eyes curved into seductive crescents, looking every bit like a sly fox eyeing a helpless chick. "Didn't Murong Jieyu mention that Shen Anyu seemed to have been affected by that kind of medicine? Why don't you go in and help him cool down? Lend him a hand."
"Eh? Eh, eh?!"
A violent, burning flush instantly exploded across Zhong Lingyin's fair cheeks, painting her skin a deep crimson.
What kind of shocking, scandalous words were coming out of her Second Senior Sister's mouth?! It was too embarrassing!
"You're not a maiden anymore, so why are you acting so shy? Last night, you were— Ow! What are you doing?"
Before Liu Ruyan could finish her wicked teasing, Zhong Lingyin lunged forward, desperately clamping her hands over the older woman's mouth.
"Sigh, you really can't take a joke, Lingyin~" Liu Ruyan giggled, easily dodging away from the flustered idol.
"Second Senior Sister! If you keep talking like that, I'm going to ignore you!"
Zhong Lingyin stomped her foot in utter mortification. With her cultivation a full realm lower, she had no hope of catching the slippery Liu Ruyan. She was so embarrassed she completely dropped the affectionate 'Sister Yan'er' moniker.
Even if it were true, some things were absolutely not meant to be said out loud!
While Zhong Lingyin occasionally played the role of a seductive, demonic temptress on stage or screen, that was purely acting. She could never match Liu Ruyan's genuine, shameless audacity in real life. Her heart simply couldn't take it.
"Hehe. Lingyin, if you don't go in, then I'll go. Alright?" Liu Ruyan suggested, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
You sly fox, you're finally revealing your true intentions! Zhong Lingyin's internal alarms instantly blared.
When it came to vying for favor in the inner courtyard, Zhong Lingyin—a veteran of countless palace drama television shoots—was an absolute expert.
Catching the sudden, wary shift in Zhong Lingyin's expression, Liu Ruyan let out a light snort and offered a compromise. "How about we go in together?"
Zhong Lingyin hesitated. She was terrified of disturbing Murong Jieyu's delicate treatment, but the aching worry for her man gnawed at her heart.
After a long moment of internal struggle, she shook her head softly. "It's better not to disturb Sister Murong Jieyu. If she gets distracted and something goes wrong, the consequences would be unthinkable."
Hearing this, Liu Ruyan didn't push the issue. Her charming eyes flickered toward the small wooden house with lingering concern.
In truth, she hadn't intended to go inside either. As much as she worried for him, she feared interfering with the Goddess Doctor's work even more. Her teasing had merely been a distraction, a way to ease the suffocating tension gripping both of their hearts.
"Hmph. This is all Xiao Fan's fault."
Remembering the root cause of their misery, Liu Ruyan's gaze turned glacial. She slowly turned her attention back to the bound, bleeding figure of Xiao Fan, preparing to continue her torment.
She was, after all, no kind and gentle saint.
Anyone who dared to harm her man would be made to deeply regret ever being born into this world.
Meanwhile, inside the dim, quiet wooden cabin.
"Was he doing that on purpose... or was it an accident?"
Murong Jieyu hastily straightened her collar. A deep, feverish blush still lingered across her elegant, dignified features. Her heart hammered against her ribs in a frantic, unsteady rhythm, the sound deafening in the silence of the room.
She cast a highly suspicious, trembling glare toward the man lying on the bed.
Just moments ago, Shen Anyu's large, scorching hand had conveniently landed directly on her chest—and he had even given it a soft, instinctual squeeze. The lingering sensation left her knees weak, completely draining the strength from her legs.
Murong Jieyu had spent her entire life engrossed in esoteric medical texts, dedicating herself to saving lives. Though she was a mature, twenty-seven-year-old woman, she had never once been in love. She had certainly never had her chest touched by a man.
Add to that the chaotic series of accidental kisses they had shared when they first met, and her mind was a swirling mess of panic.
It's over, she wailed inwardly. How am I ever supposed to get married now?
Was Shen Anyu deliberately taking liberties, or was it truly a feverish accident?
Her beautiful eyes stared unblinkingly at him. Shen Anyu remained motionless on the wooden couch. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut, his brow furrowed in deep agony. His skin radiated an unnatural, blistering heat, showing no signs of waking consciousness.
Was it just a reflex? Or was he pretending to be asleep to take advantage of her?
The moment the latter thought surfaced, Murong Jieyu's pulse skyrocketed, the heavy thumping echoing in her own ears within the narrow confines of the cabin.
No, that shouldn't be right. Shen Anyu isn't that kind of person... is he?
Her mind raced through a dozen wild scenarios before she firmly denied the suspicion. She knew in her heart that Shen Anyu wasn't a sleazy predator who would fake an injury just to grope a woman.
She remembered the time she had been struck by Tie Shan's Black Poison Iron Sand Palm. To detoxify, she had consumed a potent medicine that left her in a drunken, uninhibited state. She had acted completely wild, actively throwing herself at Shen Anyu, trying to entice this proper, upstanding man.
If he had truly wanted to take liberties with her, wouldn't that have been the perfect, effortless opportunity?
Yet, looking back on that night, Shen Anyu hadn't crossed a single line. He had remained a perfect gentleman.
Just as she managed to calm her racing thoughts, Murong Jieyu's breath hitched. Her eyes widened in shock as she looked down.
Shen Anyu's large, blistering hand was reaching toward her again.
No way... is he actually doing this on purpose?!
"It's so uncomfortable... help me."
A hoarse, pained murmur slipped from Shen Anyu's lips. His brows knitted together in sheer torment, his voice thick with a raw, desperate heat.
Murong Jieyu, who had raised her hands to shove him away, instantly froze in place.
Is he... is he really in that much pain?
[Akarin's Note: Benbo'erba (奔波儿灞) and the Nine-Headed Worm are classic antagonist demons from the legendary Chinese novel Journey to the West. Benbo'erba is a lowly, somewhat comical catfish demon minion who is often ordered around to do impossible tasks, like capturing the heavily guarded monk Tang Sanzang. Zhong Lingyin feels just as helpless and unqualified being asked to "treat" Shen Anyu.]
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