Junior Disciple Sister Helps Apply Medicine

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Junior Disciple Brother, Junior Disciple Brother, open the door! The sun's already shining on your backside. What are you doing?"

Early in the morning, Yue Lingshan had pounded the wooden door until it boomed.

"Ah... who is it?"

Ji Boying let out a deep yawn and struggled to pry open his eyelids. They felt as though they had been glued shut. After several hard attempts, his eyes stung, and tears streamed out uncontrollably.

Fortunately, those tears moistened his eyes and finally helped him wake up a little.

Daylight had long since filled the sky. Blinding sunlight streamed through the window, casting a pillar of light across the room.

"Junior Disciple Brother, can't you even recognize my voice? Open the door already."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Yue Lingshan was truly impatient. The wooden gate to the courtyard shook wildly beneath her blows, dust sifting down in soft showers.

Mount Hua lacked no such empty courtyards, but most of them had been abandoned. When Ji Boying came up the mountain, he had been assigned one small courtyard. Though it had been cleaned, dust accumulated over the years still lingered in certain corners. Now some of it had gotten into Yue Lingshan's hair, making her even more annoyed.

"Coming, coming. Wait a moment, Junior Disciple Sister."

Ji Boying answered in a muffled voice.

He hurriedly climbed out of bed, rubbed his eyes, and picked away the sleep from them.

"Hiss..."

But he accidentally touched the flesh on his cheek, making him suck in a breath from the pain.

Muttering to himself, he headed outside.

"That old Feng really hit hard."

"Junior Disciple Brother, what's wrong with you? It's already late in the morning, and you still haven't come out to practice?"

The instant the door opened, Yue Lingshan skipped inside.

"Don't tell me you got carried away just because you won yesterday... Ah! Junior Disciple Brother, your face! What happened to it?"

Yue Lingshan covered her little mouth in surprise, her slender jade finger pointing at Ji Boying's bruised and swollen face.

Ji Boying gloomily touched the bruises on his face, then could only wave it off casually.

"It's nothing. I was practicing last night when a huge rat suddenly darted out from a corner. I lost my footing and fell. I got up late today because I practiced all night and was exhausted. Why did you come so early today, Junior Disciple Sister?"

Yue Lingshan found it hard to believe. Her Junior Disciple Brother had fallen badly enough to end up like this? He clearly looked as though someone had given him a vicious beating. Still, she did not press the matter and instead said with some pride, "What? You're not happy that I came early? I came to practice with you."

Yue Lingshan twirled the dark hair by her temple around her jade finger, wrinkled her delicate little nose, and gave a soft snort. "You know, I didn't even go down the mountain to have fun with Second Senior Disciple Brother. I came specifically to practice with you. So tell me, how are you going to thank me?"

Ji Boying merely smiled, not daring to make too much of an expression. The moment his facial muscles moved, the pain made him bare his teeth.

"If we get a chance to go down the mountain later, I'll do whatever Junior Disciple Sister wants. I'll buy you lots of delicious food and lots of fun things. How does that sound?"

Yue Lingshan lifted her snow-white chin. Her bright black-and-white eyes fixed on Ji Boying. "It's a promise, then. You'd better remember it. Don't try to fob me off."

"Rest assured, Senior Sister. Rest assured."

"Are you practicing punches today? How do you want to train?"

"I can't practice yet. I need to prepare a wooden post first."

Yue Lingshan raised her head again. Looking at Ji Boying's battered face, she found it both funny and somewhat heartbreaking.

"Fine. Go find a wooden post. I'll head back and bring you some medicine to reduce the swelling. Look at you—you've practically fallen into a pig's head."

With that, she skipped away again, her graceful figure nimbly bouncing along the mountain paths of Mount Hua.

Watching Yue Lingshan's youthful, lively back, Ji Boying could only shake his head helplessly and chuckle.

That movement tugged at his facial muscles again.

"Hiss..."

The pain made him suck in another cold breath.

"That damned old Feng. So what if someone tricked him with talk about marrying a wife? Was there any need to get so embarrassed and angry?"

Ji Boying grumbled about Feng Qingyang, but he was not actually angry.

Although he had taken quite a beating, the night's training had brought him substantial gains.

Mount Hua Swordplay: Proficient (405/600)

After sparring with Feng Qingyang for an entire night, he had gained another hundred-plus proficiency points. According to Feng Qingyang, Ji Boying's Mount Hua Swordplay had already reached major mastery. There was no need to pursue perfection; he could begin practicing other sword arts instead.

In Feng Qingyang's eyes, Mount Hua Swordplay was merely a foundational sword art. Going from major mastery to perfection would require too much effort, and the gains did not justify the cost.

Many people often remained stuck at this threshold for a long time.

But Ji Boying was not afraid. After all, he had cheats.

If he kept practicing day and night like this, he should reach perfection in about a month.

By then, he would gain new energy points and could learn a new sword art.

With that in mind, he casually found a dilapidated house, removed one of its beams, carried it back to his courtyard, dug a hole, and planted it in the ground.

It was the height of summer. Although Mount Hua had its own coolness, sweat still seemed to seep endlessly from his body, while his skin occasionally felt a chill.

It was neither dry nor damp, yet always uncomfortable.

If one wanted to enjoy the coolness on the mountain, it was best to lie still in the shade.

By the time he finished working, Yue Lingshan had returned as well.

She had run some mountain paths on the trip there and back, leaving her slightly out of breath and her little face faintly flushed.

"Junior Disciple Brother, come. Let me apply some medicine first."

Yue Lingshan held a porcelain bottle in her hand and shook it twice at Ji Boying. The snow-white, glossy porcelain gleamed in the sunlight, yet it was still not as white and dazzling as Junior Disciple Sister's wrist.

Ji Boying was almost dazzled by the sight and hurriedly reached out to take it.

"Junior Disciple Sister, wait here a moment. I'll go apply the medicine."

Yue Lingshan shot Ji Boying another reproachful look. "You don't even have a mirror here. Let me help you apply it. You're my Junior Disciple Brother; taking care of such things is what a Senior Sister should do. Just sit down obediently."

As she spoke, she pressed Ji Boying down onto a stone beside them.

Yue Lingshan crouched gently, poured the ointment into her fair, rosy left palm, and set the porcelain bottle on the ground. Then she extended her pale fingers, lightly dipped them into the medicine in her palm, and reached toward Ji Boying's face.

Ji Boying closed his eyes and let her do as she pleased.

Then her clear, sweet voice sounded beside his ear, soft and delicate.

"Oh my, look at you. Your whole face is covered in sweat."

With that, she pulled up her sleeve and carefully wiped the sweat from Ji Boying's face.

Ji Boying caught a faint fragrance drifting from her sleeve, refreshing and soothing. Then a cool sensation spread across his face, and even his injuries no longer seemed to hurt.

Even the scent of the medicine could not conceal that subtle, tranquil fragrance.