Bandaging Tang Ya

"Alright, let's not talk about him. Bad luck."

Tang Ya waved her hand, returning to the lively, youthful state she had been in at the beginning.

Looking at Tang Ya now, Jiang Nannan always felt that she had more left unsaid.

Tang Ya did not notice. Her beautiful phoenix eyes were still sparkling. She admired Jiang Mu not only because he had saved her life, but also because he had not held anything against her afterward.

Of course, if she could read minds, she might not have thought that way.

Speaking of saving her life, Tang Ya suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, can I ask what that move you used to save me was?"

The image of the jade-covered fists that had saved her life kept appearing in Tang Ya's mind.

Could Mysterious Jade Hand have spread beyond its original lineage?

"Oh, you mean this?"

Jiang Mu immediately used his first soul skill. His hands, even his forearms, turned jade-like.

"This is my first soul skill, Jade Transformation. My martial soul is my hands."

"Oh, oh!"

Only then did Tang Ya nod. So she had been overthinking it. She had thought Mysterious Jade Hand had somehow found its way outside.

Jiang Mu looked at Tang Ya, who had placed a hand over her chest, but said nothing.

Naturally, he understood why she had asked. He was also surprised. He had never expected that absorbing a lousy bug would give him such a soul skill.

Seeing that there was nothing else to ask, he spoke.

"Mm, then let's go."

Jiang Mu got up and was just about to leave when he sensed something.

Buzz!

It seemed to be a fluctuation of soul power. Turning his head, he found that it was coming from the left arm of the Iron Fist Gorilla they had slain.

"What is it?"

Seeing him stop, Jiang Nannan asked.

"That corpse feels like it's drawing me in. I'll take a look."

Jiang Mu was not entirely certain as he quickly ran over.

He crouched down and examined it with a small knife.

Crack, crack?

After prying it open, he found a glowing bone.

"I really do have the fate of a protagonist!"

It was actually a soul bone?

After muttering that, he bent down to collect it. He had no intention of absorbing it. A five-thousand-year soul bone was not worthy of him; even if it suited him perfectly, it was still out of the question.

"Oh, a soul bone?" Jiang Nannan ran over, and upon seeing it, murmured softly in surprise.

"Mm. Once we sell it, we can buy Mother something nice."

The reason Jiang Mu was so happy was that it could replenish their funds. It had not been easy for Mother Jiang to raise the two of them, and though she was always frugal, she had never shortchanged him. Naturally, he had to repay her.

Soul bones were still very valuable. Jiang Mu simply did not think much of one. If it appeared outside, people would still fight fiercely over it. Since they were heading to Shrek Academy anyway, they could see whether it could be auctioned off there.

It would make for a considerable amount of starting capital.

That was pretty good.

He carefully put it away.

"Aren't you putting that away? Soul bones are quite valuable, after all. Aren't you afraid someone might steal it?"

Tang Ya slowly limped over from the side. Seeing that Jiang Mu had not placed the soul bone into a storage soul tool, she found it strange.

"Of course I'm not putting it away because I don't have one."

Jiang Mu spread his hands. If he had one, he would naturally have put it away. But he did not.

Hearing that, Tang Ya nodded and fell silent as she bit her lip.

After hesitating for a moment, she made a suggestion.

"Then do you trust me? I can store it for you and prevent unnecessary trouble."

As she spoke, Tang Ya lightly lifted the hem of her training uniform, revealing the Twenty-Four Bridges Bright Moon Night hanging at her waist, a storage soul tool.

"Alright, then I'll trouble you with it."

Jiang Mu did not have any strange thoughts about it as he handed the soul bone over.

Why not avoid unnecessary trouble if they could?

Tang Ya nodded, took it, and placed it into her storage soul tool. "Mm."

Jiang Nannan rolled her eyes at the two of them and urged, "If you're ready, let's go."

"Ah~"

Tang Ya had only just taken a step when she let out a muffled groan.

Jiang Mu and Jiang Nannan turned their heads at the same time, only to find Tang Ya collapsed on the ground, her black-stockinged legs stretched out before her and angled to the side.

Tang Ya's face had turned bright red, whether from pain or embarrassment. Her fingers unconsciously reached for her ankle.

"It's not better yet?"

Jiang Mu looked at Tang Ya's ankle. The black stocking there was visibly swollen.

Those stockings were a little thick.

If it was a sprain, keeping it wrapped like that could easily worsen the bruising.

He frowned. She was storing his soul bone for him, after all. Better not end up owing her a favor for no reason.

"I'll do it."

Jiang Nannan's expression changed slightly when she heard that. Helping someone recover from an injury was the easiest way to raise their affection.

My little brother couldn't really have taken a liking to her, could he? Her expression shifted as she wanted to stop him.

But she was too late. Jiang Mu strode over and crouched down.

Tang Ya, clutching her ankle in embarrassment, caught the strong male scent rushing toward her. Her face turned even redder, the blush spreading all the way to her neck.

The fingers holding her ankle trembled, but she did not refuse.

"Th-thank you."

Jiang Mu raised his hand and directly removed Tang Ya's short boot. His hand pressed against her stocking—soft, but not smooth, faintly translucent.

Rustle, rustle, rustle~

The fabric made rustling sounds as he pulled it off. Jiang Mu only removed—

"Mm~" His hand was cold. The instant it touched her, Tang Ya could not hold back a soft moan.

He pulled the black stocking off her left leg and tossed it aside, revealing Tang Ya's fair, tender leg. Her calf was somewhat red now.

He looked down at her foot. It was elegantly shaped, full and fair, with no unpleasant smell—it truly deserved to be called a jade foot. Her ankle was badly swollen and bruised purple, somewhat ruining its appearance.

He opened the small pouch tied at his hip and unwrapped a white bundle. The scent of herbs immediately wafted out.

Jiang Mu and Jiang Nannan did not have many resources. They normally earned money by hunting and selling low-tier soul beasts.

Scrapes and injuries were unavoidable in the process. Hiring a healing soul master was too expensive, so unless an injury was serious, they simply used herbs to bandage it and left the rest to their bodies to recover.

The herbs had been prepared in small packets. Once squeezed, the juices immediately soaked through the outer bandages, and the white bandage slowly turned green.

The bandage slowly drew closer.

"Hiss~ Cold."

The moment it touched her, Tang Ya sucked in a breath.

"Bear with it. It'll be quick."

Jiang Mu placed her foot on his knee and began wrapping her ankle.

It was only an ordinary sprain, nothing too serious. The stockings had trapped too much bruising, which was why it had become so swollen. As long as she changed the dressing, rested, and applied the herbs, it would recover seventy or eighty percent.

As a soul master, she would recover fully before long anyway, so there was naturally no need to make a huge fuss.

It was just that the process of tending to it was rather embarrassing.

Especially when Tang Ya's pink lips trembled slightly.

"You... you're the first person to touch my foot."

"Oh, then I suppose I'm lucky."

Jiang Mu did not even raise his head, replying casually as he continued bandaging her.

But Tang Ya took it seriously. Her eyes lowered, then occasionally lifted to glance at Jiang Mu as he earnestly bandaged her. The little deer in her heart began crashing wildly about, and her heart fluttered.

"You're really kind. Thank you..."