Especially when she saw the blood seeping through the tattered strips wrapped around his palm and recalled her eldest brother Xiao Yuxuan's vicious expression in the main hall that morning, as though he wanted to swallow him alive, the heart of this ever-willful, unreasonable third young lady softened completely.
"Hmph, stop feeding me your bewitching brew! You've only just touched the threshold of early-stage bright force. Look how full of yourself you are-your tail's practically sticking up into the sky!"
Xiao Ling'er deliberately put on a stern face and snorted, but she could not hide the delight in her voice. "Still, breaking through so quickly means those good words I put in for you before Mother this morning weren't wasted! At least when you accompany me outside from now on, people won't laugh at me, Xiao Ling'er, for not even having a ranked guard at my command!"
At this point, her expression grew slightly serious. She tapped her fingers against the dressing table and earnestly warned him:
"But listen carefully. With early-stage bright force cultivation, you might qualify as an instructor at a martial arts school in some town outside, but here in our Marquis of Zhenbei's Residence, you aren't even qualified to guard the gates of the different branches! Even that good-for-nothing eldest brother of mine, Xiao Yuxuan, keeps several martial-world Attendants with An Jin cultivation in his courtyard, though he's only at early-stage bright force himself! You've just received Mother's reward, and you're right in the teeth of the storm. Keep your eyes peeled when you walk around the residence from now on, and don't go provoking them. Do you hear me?!"
"Yes! Third Young Lady, I'll engrave every word of your precious advice in my heart! I'll keep my tail tucked firmly between my legs and never cause you the slightest trouble!" Chen Xuan lowered his head and answered with utmost obedience.
"Good, as long as you know what matters. If you go out, stir up trouble, and get beaten like a dead dog, I can't afford that humiliation!"
Xiao Ling'er stubbornly voiced her disdain, then seemed to remember something. She pulled open the bottom drawer of her dressing table, took out a palm-sized little porcelain bottle, emerald green all over like jade, and casually tossed it toward Chen Xuan's chest.
"Here, take this!"
Chen Xuan caught it firmly with both hands and looked down. A small seal marking it as an imperial preparation was affixed beside the stopper. Before he even opened it, the cool, refreshing medicinal fragrance of borneol seeped through the bottle.
"This is Jade Skin Wound Salve, bestowed by the palace a few days ago. It's a hundred times better than those black plasters the outer courtyard dispensary boils out of rotten roots!" Xiao Ling'er turned her face aside, the tips of her ears slightly red, and said fiercely, "Look at those two filthy strips wrapped around your hand. Just seeing them ruins my appetite! Take it back and apply it every morning and evening. If you dare report tomorrow morning with that bloody smell still on your hand and stink up the air around me, watch your hide!"
Beside her, Qiu Yue saw that her young lady was clearly concerned about Chen Xuan's injured hand yet insisted on acting disgusted. She could not help lowering her head and pressing her lips together to stifle a laugh.
Holding the costly bottle of imperial wound salve, Chen Xuan's eyes instantly reddened again, and his voice trembled as though he were about to cry:
"Third Young Lady... this is something precious the palace bestowed upon you. These rough horse-feeding hands of mine are all thick skin and coarse flesh. How could they deserve such fine spiritual medicine...?"
"If I'm giving it to you, just take it! What's all this nonsense?!" Unable to withstand his deeply moved gaze, Xiao Ling'er hurriedly waved her little hand to shoo him away. "All right, all right, stop standing here with that mournful face and offending my eyes! Starting tomorrow, you'll officially serve at my side. Wherever I go, you follow. Whoever I tell you to bite, you bite. Do you understand?!"
"Understood! I'll tie my life to your waistband... no, to your stirrup, Third Young Lady! Alive, I belong to the Listening to Rain Pavilion; dead, I'll be its dead dog!"
"Pfft-what nonsense about waistbands and stirrups! No ivory ever comes out of a dog's mouth! Qiu Yue, hurry up and take this fool to the side courtyard and arrange a clean room for him, before he sullies my ears any further!" Flustered and annoyed, Xiao Ling'er grabbed the rouge box from the table and threw it at him.
"Yes, Young Lady. I'll take him down and settle him in."
Qiu Yue answered with a smile and led Chen Xuan, who thanked her over and over, out of the upstairs inner chamber.
They passed back through the bamboo-lined path and arrived before a row of separate side rooms with blue-brick walls and dark tiled roofs on the eastern side of the Listening to Rain Pavilion. Qiu Yue opened the door of the southernmost room, which enjoyed excellent light, then turned to Chen Xuan and said:
"Guard Chen, our Listening to Rain Pavilion's inner courtyard originally had no quarters for male guards. This southern side room used to be a storeroom for antiques, calligraphy, and paintings. After the young lady returned from the main hall this morning, she specifically had me bring two women who handle heavy chores to empty and clean it. Your bedding and two changes of blue guard uniforms have all been prepared and set on the table. Take a look and see if you still need anything."
Chen Xuan stepped over the threshold and looked around, unable to help marveling inwardly.
Compared with the dilapidated straw shed by the rear courtyard stables, where wind leaked through every side and horse dung and bedbugs covered the ground, this single room, with its blue-brick floor, bright windows, spotless tables, and bedding fragrant with soap pods, was practically an immortal's cave abode! And when Xiao Ling'er returned to her courtyard that morning, he had not even broken through yet, but that girl had already ordered someone to prepare such a fine southern room for him.
"Nothing, I don't need a thing! Thank you for your trouble, Sister Qiu Yue. This room is ten times grander than the rich landlords' homes I've seen in my dreams!" Chen Xuan cupped his hands and thanked her sincerely.
"This is a blessing you earned by putting your own life on the line. Just serve the young lady well from now on." Qiu Yue smiled gently and instructed him, "There's nothing for you to do this afternoon. Rest here, tend to your injuries, and familiarize yourself with the surroundings. Remember, be outside the upper chamber's door at the start of the chen hour tomorrow morning, on time. The young lady has important business outside the residence tomorrow."
"Yes, I'll remember. Take care, Sister Qiu Yue."
After seeing Qiu Yue off, Chen Xuan reached behind him to shut the wooden door tightly, slid the bolt into place, and went to sit beside the table.
As the door closed, that honest, grateful, fearfully deferential expression of a loyal dog vanished from his face without a trace. He leaned lazily back in the armchair, a deep, playful smile curling his lips.
Finally, I've smoothly secured a place in the residence's inner courtyard as an early-stage bright force guard.
Chen Xuan stroked the smooth jade bottle of wound salve in his hand. Once again, the image of Xiao Ling'er's snow-white skin beneath that thin, pale-blue gauze dress and her tender, pink-tinged feet in the inner bedchamber surfaced in his mind. A completely undisguised trace of possessiveness flashed in his eyes:
This little chili pepper has a vicious tongue, but she's easier to coax than anyone. Today's "swallow a pill and achieve sudden enlightenment" performance thoroughly stunned her. Not only did I prove that this blade of hers was worth investing in, I also pried her defenses another inch open by playing pitiful and pledging loyalty. Next, to hold her ground in the struggles between the different branches, she'll definitely keep showering me with good things!
At this thought, Chen Xuan slowly raised his right hand and tore off the bloodstained rags he had used for his performance.
He curled his five fingers slightly and willed it.
Hiss-!
A wisp of pale-red pure Yang Gang Qi silently appeared in his palm, scorching the air within three inches until it warped slightly. Then, with a clench of his hand, it instantly withdrew into his marrow, leaving not the slightest trace.
As for this middle stage of Ming Jin cultivation, and the minor accomplishment realm Eight Desolations Prison-Suppressing Yang Gang...
Chen Xuan glanced at the towering courtyard wall outside the Listening to Rain Pavilion's window, his gaze cold and sharp as a blade:
These are my true trump cards for securing my place and surviving in this man-eating marquis's residence! Xiao Yuxuan, Zhao De, and the mastermind secretly poisoning Treading Snow... there's no rush. I'll keep the score for now. Once I ride the Listening to Rain Pavilion's east wind, grind my Yang Gang to major accomplishment, and step into An Jin, I'll make you repay every lofty, condescending glance you cast at me today on your knees-with interest!