Free Web NovelChapter 421: Chapter 351: Me Too
"Noble Consort Quan, help me trim my toenails."
"Where’s the nail clipper?"
"Don’t you have teeth?"
"Alright, you’re in luck this time. You’re the first person to have Zhou Taizu trim your toenails with his sword. I promise I’ll make them clean with just two chops, and you’ll be free of worries forever."
"Hey, hey, hey, I have a small knife. Use this."
"I don’t know how. Do it yourself."
"You don’t know how? What’s the use of you growing so big!" Murong Hui shook her head helplessly, handing the small knife to Ying Rushi, drawing out her words to playfully whine, "Little Fox~"
"Can’t do anything about you." Ying Rushi placed the little naughty cat’s paw on her thigh. Murong Hui grew up in a honey jar, her self-care ability nearly nonexistent. Having known each other for so many years, she was already used to taking care of this slightly older sister.
As soon as she finished trimming, Murong Hui immediately hugged her foot, "Alright, now it’s my turn to help you."
Ying Rushi hadn’t trimmed her nails for several days. Along the way, even sleep was a race against time, and it was only upon reaching the Demon Gathering Land that she had a chance to bathe, naturally leaving no time for care. It was a rare act of filial piety from Murong Hui, which was rather comforting, but just as she was about to relax, she immediately tensed up — because Yan Qing came over.
"The assassin hasn’t shown up today," Yan Qing said. "I thought he would seize this opportunity... Has he already given up and left?"
Neither the White Lion King nor the Phoenix are easy opponents. To deal with these eight demons, they must fully focus with all their hidden cards, and this is when they are the most vulnerable. Moreover, when tackling the White Lion King, they faced a sneak attack from the Baibao Guards. Although it wasn’t as dire as Murong Hui’s swamp predicament, it was an excellent assassination opportunity. Yan Qing had always kept part of his attention on Murong Hui’s situation, yet unexpectedly, the assassin had stayed inactive the whole time.
"Not necessarily," Murong Hui said while trimming her nails. "We were fast in fighting the eight demons, and we had previously moved quickly. The assassin likely couldn’t catch up with us, and even if he did, he wouldn’t have found a good position in time."
She paused, "Actually, you don’t need to bother with that assassin; I can figure something out myself."
"What’s your plan?"
"Ignore him, I’ll just run faster when the time comes. He won’t be able to catch up with me anyway."
"Didn’t you say you’re delicate and pampered, can only handle two nights without sleep, and can’t endure against those knife-edge assassins?"
"That’s just a saying of considering defeat before victory. As a Shadow Dance Messenger, my speed is unparalleled in the third cycle; there’s a high chance the assassin won’t be able to catch up with me," Murong Hui said confidently. "At that time, you all insisted I leave, so I just made up an excuse to brush you off. Being worried doesn’t mean I’m afraid."
"Since you say that, shouldn’t you be leaving now?"
"Then I’ll be trimming this toenail for two days. Yellow Dog, you wouldn’t want Little Fox’s stinky feet to go untrimmed, right?"
Watching Yan Qing’s attention shift to her foot, Ying Rushi blushed like a boiled shrimp, hugging a pillow to cover her face, then kicked Murong Hui’s stomach hard, "Don’t make trouble!"
"Alright, I misspoke; they’re fragrant, okay?" Murong Hui looked at Yan Qing, "Really, if you don’t believe me, you can smell them; they’re quite something!"
"Murong Hui!"
"In any case, you don’t need to worry about the assassin," Murong Hui immediately said seriously. "Maybe he’s already given up, and we’ve been wasting our wits on thin air."
Yan Qing knew Murong Hui hadn’t truly given up. She had been assassinated twice, almost dying as a result. How could she be so willing to let go? She just found it too troublesome and didn’t want everyone to waste their efforts on it. The assassin always attacked from outside their line of sight, retreating swiftly if unsuccessful. Even in games, this was a highly troublesome type, and encountering such an assassin in reality could only be seen as bad luck.
"If he really gave up or left, you’ll have to swallow this irritation," Yan Qing said. "But if he’s still waiting to strike... I’ll make him regret not leaving earlier."
"Exactly," Murong Hui nodded in agreement, "It’s like hitting the master while looking at the dog! I didn’t expect you’d care so much about me, little lady. Unable to repay, I’ll leave this foot for you to trim!"
Murong Hui stuffed Ying Rushi’s right foot into Yan Qing’s arms and ran off, not hiding her delighted mood. Ying Rushi cursed Murong Hui silently eight hundred times, wanting to withdraw her foot back, but feeling the heat from her ankle, she somehow couldn’t muster the strength.
She glanced at Yan Qing, wondering if she’d washed her feet clean just now. There shouldn’t be a smell... even if there is, it shouldn’t be that bad, right?
However, Yan Qing didn’t act strangely and straightforwardly helped her trim her nails, then returned to the sofa to continue reading his "Immortal Venerable’s Tale." Ying Rushi breathed a sigh of relief, thinking Yan Qing seems to have no peculiar habits, but looking at her smooth, jade-like instep, suddenly recalled Aunt Ying Le’s fondness for nail polish.
...
...
Although the Baibao Guards were unlikely to leave the Skeleton Document Square, night watch was still necessary. As Murong Hui’s sleeping posture began to distort, just as Yan Qing was about to step over, he saw Ying Rushi coming over on her own.
"I’ll help you apply the ointment later," Ying Rushi tried to keep her tone calm.
"Want to do it together? It might save some time," Yan Qing asked.
Ying Rushi blinked, surprised that Yan Qing would suggest reducing the time, but as soon as she started, she immediately realized something was off: the two of them applying the ointment to each other’s hands was more like mutual caressing than medicine application, an interplay of initiative and passivity, and because of the White Jade Flawless Ointment, everything felt slippery to the touch.
She stopped silently, "You go first."
"Okay." Yan Qing said calmly.
Unexpectedly, Yan Qing really proceeded to apply the medicine quickly and properly, without crossing any boundaries. Ying Rushi was a bit surprised, and when it was her turn to help with the medicine, she noticed that Yan Qing kept his gaze fixed on the street outside the window, not once did he look at her, even when she leaned forward a bit, it didn’t catch his attention.
Is he angry?
Why is he angry?
Is it because I refused to apply the medicine together just now? But it’s so embarrassing... Besides, you’ve done so many bad things before, and I wasn’t angry. How come you get angry when I slightly refuse you once? And purposely ignore me.
But thinking carefully, it has always been Yan Qing who approached first, and I’ve been responding half-heartedly. Could it be that he’s finding me exhausting to deal with, and is a bit disheartened? If it were me, I’d also hope that when I take the initiative to advance the relationship, I would get positive feedback from the other person, right? At least not rejection, otherwise, I would doubt the sincerity of the other person.
Should I be more proactive?
In no time, Ying Rushi’s mind went through stages of complaint, introspection, and planning. Yet, the ever resourceful and decisive Prince of Lanling found her mind muddled, not thinking of any remedial actions until the medicine was all applied. Actually, it wasn’t that she hadn’t thought of anything, but for her, they were too difficult, just being ’proactive’ was a hard obstacle for her to overcome, demanding Yan Qing to prove himself earlier had already exhausted all her courage.
It’s not that Ying Rushi is overly reserved or prideful, but she came after Red Snake and Black Wolf. When Yan Qing was proactive, she could shirk responsibility by saying Yan Qing is a lustful dog, but what would it mean for her to be proactive? She faintly realized that her thinking was problematic, wanting both things simultaneously. But realizing it is one thing, she simply couldn’t tarnish her own reputation, just like she couldn’t abandon the righteousness of the Ying Family.
Ying Rushi dragged things out, while Yan Qing continued to stare outside without moving. Although the matter could be delayed till tomorrow, and the problem might disappear overnight, Ying Rushi isn’t the type to leave things to fate. She gritted her teeth and sat on the windowsill, blocking Yan Qing, "Are you angry?"
Yan Qing was startled, "What am I angry about?"
"Then why don’t you look at me? And don’t... get handsy."
Yan Qing’s eyes gleamed brightly, "What, you want me to get handsy?"
"Of course not!" Ying Rushi quickly shook her head, paused, then muttered super quietly, "I definitely don’t want... but if you insist... I’m asking if you’re angry, don’t change the subject." Her voice grew louder towards the end.
"No."
"Then why won’t you look at me? Again you’re avoiding my gaze."
Yan Qing helplessly said, "Have you seen yourself?"
"What’s wrong with me?" Ying Rushi looked at herself, puzzled.
Street lights cast their yellow glow through the glass window onto her, like a thin veil of sheer fabric draping over her. She wore a slip nightgown from a nearby clothing store, her shoulders bare, skin exquisite and smooth like fine porcelain, emitting a holy radiance, beautiful like a dream.
She felt quite satisfied with her attire tonight, wasn’t it quite nice? What was the problem?
Yan Qing hesitated for a moment before saying, "You know the dam, right? If it rains continuously upstream and the dam isn’t cleared and diverted, do you know what will happen?"
"The dam will collapse, what’s wrong?" Ying Rushi looked puzzled.
Yan Qing continued, "You’ve seen boiling water, right? If it keeps boiling without turning off the heat, it’ll just keep boiling dry, even the kettle might explode."
Ying Rushi pondered for a moment, slowly nodding, "I understand."
Yan Qing breathed a sigh of relief, thinking no wonder she’s the smartest in the Thief’s House, she could indeed understand his metaphor.
"You mean your feelings for me are just like a flash in the pan, when the rain stops, when the fire goes out, it’ll end." Ying Rushi said in a lowered voice, "I understand, I won’t—"
"You understand nothing." Yan Qing interrupted her immediately, hesitated for a moment, then leaned over to Ying Rushi’s ear to speak softly. Soon, Ying Rushi’s expression changed from downcast to embarrassed, from embarrassed to shy, truly like a boiling kettle, her cheeks steaming with heat.
Watching Ying Rushi hurriedly leave, Yan Qing couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed. It’s unfortunate that Ying Rushi, a pessimist, not only fails to understand his metaphors but always misunderstands in the worst ways, leaving him no choice but to be candid.
But he felt wronged too, not to mention Ying Rushi getting closer to him day by day, Murong Hui, this cunning little cat, is absolutely uninhibited in their interactions. With this happening daily, even the strongest dam must collapse, even the most solid kettle must explode, while normally combat might help distract him, in the quiet of the night, where would Yan Qing dare to take more stimulation?
Some might suggest keeping your distance from them? But it’d be like skipping the fan service episode with female characters while watching a hot-blooded manga; though you didn’t start watching for it, if you skip as soon as you see it, then you’re the one with a problem for sure. Clearly, Yan Qing had no problem, so he accepted the pain mingled with joy, eagerly anticipating his return to Thief’s House.
Suddenly, Ying Rushi returned again, face flushed, leaning close to his ear with a trembling, turning voice:
"Actually... I also want a little."
After saying so, she promptly returned to the bed, threw a glance at Yan Qing who cycled through surprise, excitement, pride, and disappointment, casting her a frustrated look as he gloomily crossed his legs and stared out the window, keeping vigil.
Ying Rushi surreptitiously smiled but quickly covered her glowing face, embarrassed as she curled her legs, toes curling as well, wondering what was she thinking earlier, daring to even say that. Yet now, each knew the other’s most embarrassing secret... secrets just for them.
With this thought, Ying Rushi fell asleep contentedly.
