Chen Xuan jerked both hands back as if electrocuted and knocked his forehead hard against the carpet with a thud, his voice brimming with panic:
"This subordinate only just touched the threshold of Ming Jin yesterday. It was my first time circulating my blood and Qi to massage my mistress and promote circulation, and I failed to judge the strength in my hands, disturbing the Third Young Lady's noble person! Please punish me severely, Third Young Lady!"
He lowered himself into the dust, yet from the corners of his downcast eyes, he took in every detail of the girl's bashful expression on the couch, her face like peach blossoms and her eyes brimming with spring, secretly laughing to himself:
Tsk, this wasn't a cultivation massage. This was using the great-accomplishment Boulder Art to give the client's young lady the full luxury spa package! With this much emotional value delivered, let's see how you find fault with me now!
"You..."
Xiao Ling'er bit her lower lip. She had wanted to grab the soft cushion beside her and throw it at him to vent, but the lingering warmth and tingling in her right calf felt like countless little hooks scratching at her. Meanwhile, her left leg was still unbearably sore and swollen. The contrast actually left her with an unmentionable feeling of having tasted the marrow and craving more.
"Enough! Kowtowing at the drop of a hat-if word gets out, it'll make it sound as though I mistreat the hero who saved my life!"
Xiao Ling'er forcibly suppressed the wild pounding in her chest and turned her face away, her gaze wavering and her voice an octave lower than before:
"Rein in your blood and Qi a little more... You haven't massaged this leg yet. Keep going!"
"Yes. Thank you for your generosity, Third Young Lady!"
The corners of Chen Xuan's mouth curved almost imperceptibly. He straightened up again and laid both hands back on that warm, smooth, jade-like skin.
This time, the pressure of his fingertips became gentler and more sustained. His warm blood and Qi flowed like a trickling stream as he massaged upward along her acupoints, inch by inch. Every precise press made the girl's toes curl slightly on the couch, her breathing involuntarily growing a little heavier.
The spacious inner chamber was silent save for the rustling of green bamboo outside the window in the morning breeze, and the faint nasal sounds Xiao Ling'er only kept from escaping by burying her face in the soft cushion and biting her lip hard.
A full incense stick's worth of time passed.
"Th-that's enough! That's all for today. You may leave!"
As though she finally could no longer endure that tormenting heat, Xiao Ling'er abruptly drew both legs beneath her skirt, covering them completely. She did not even dare look at Chen Xuan, and her voice still carried a faint tremor that had yet to settle.
"This subordinate takes his leave."
Chen Xuan bowed with perfect propriety and backed out through the inner chamber's doorway.
Standing beneath the covered walkway, he felt the cool morning breeze from the bamboo brush his face. Only then did he lower his head to glance at his hands, which still retained the girl's fragrance and the sensation of her smooth skin, and slowly exhale a turbid breath.
Before long, the rustling sounds of changing clothes came from inside.
The door opened again, and Xiao Ling'er strode out in a fiery-red, narrow-sleeved riding and archery outfit, a red-tailed snakebone whip wrapped around her waist. Her long hair was tied high in a ponytail. The soft, bashful look she had worn in the inner chamber had vanished without a trace, replaced by a spirited, overbearing gallantry.
Chen Xuan immediately lowered his head, eyes on his nose and nose on his heart, and stared at the tips of his shoes.
"What? Weren't you quite bold inside just now? Now you know to be afraid, and you don't even dare lift your head?"
Seeing his honest, loyal-dog manner, Xiao Ling'er felt her earlier embarrassment vanish like smoke, and her mood inexplicably soared. She deliberately nudged his shoulder with the tip of her whip.
Chen Xuan kept his head lowered. His voice was quiet, yet every word reached her ears clearly:
"This subordinate isn't afraid. I merely feel that all the good fortune of this lifetime must have come from gathering every bit of virtue I accumulated in my previous life, and spending it all on meeting the Third Young Lady at the marquis's estate."
At those words, the air beneath the covered walkway fell silent for a moment.
Xiao Ling'er's fingers abruptly tightened around the whip's handle. Without warning, her heart missed half a beat, and the blush that had only just faded from her ears flared up again.
"Smooth-tongued!"
She spat lightly in bashful annoyance and lifted her chin, putting on a fierce front:
"Where did you learn such low-class flattery? If you dare spout nonsense again or let your eyes stray over me once more, do you believe I'll gouge out those dog eyes of yours right now?"
Rather than shrinking back, Chen Xuan took the opportunity to lift his head. With eyes washed utterly clear, as though filled with burning sincerity, he met her gaze directly and declared:
"The Third Young Lady possesses heavenly beauty. Even a fairy descending from the nine heavens could be no finer! Even if these eyes of mine were blinded on the spot, so long as I could look at you once more before losing my sight, I would die without regrets, entirely willing!"
Qiu Yue, who had followed her outside, could no longer hold it in. She covered her mouth and bent double with a snort of laughter.
His burning, frank gaze left Xiao Ling'er uncomfortable all over. Just as she was about to put on a stern face and scold him again, a shrill, acid voice suddenly cut in from the courtyard gate:
"Well, well! I wondered who was putting on an opera here. So it's a lowborn wretch who crawled out of the stable's dung pit! You've only just put on a human skin, and you already dare wag your tail in the courtyard and flirt with your mistress?"
The pink-skirted maid Chun Tao walked up the steps carrying a wooden tray in both hands. On it sat two cups of freshly brewed, scalding tea, billowing white steam.
She stared fixedly at Chen Xuan's brand-new blue guard's uniform, her back teeth grinding audibly and her nails almost digging into the tray's edges. Why?! Why should a lowly slave bound by an irrevocable contract, who was still shoveling horse dung in the back courtyard yesterday, get to serve in the inner chamber today, and even coax smiles from the Third Young Lady, who had always held her eyes above her head?!
Chen Xuan did not so much as lift an eyelid in her direction. He remained beside Xiao Ling'er with his hands lowered, treating her as nothing but air.
That utter disregard instantly set the jealous fire in Chun Tao's heart ablaze!
She hurried up to Chen Xuan with the tray. As she offered the tea, her right ankle suddenly twisted sharply at the edge of the step, and the wooden tray in her hands tipped violently forward!
"Ahhh-!"
Accompanied by an exceedingly affected cry, the two cups of freshly boiled, scalding tea hurtled straight toward Chen Xuan's face and eyes like two arrows of water, carrying rolling waves of heat!
They were less than three feet away, and the tea was scalding enough to sear to the bone!
"Watch out!"
Qiu Yue cried out in fright. Xiao Ling'er's expression changed even more sharply, her right hand instinctively pressing toward the whip handle at her waist.
Yet Chen Xuan, at the center of the storm, did not retreat even half a step!
In the lightning-flash instant before the scalding teacups struck the bridge of his nose, a cold gleam flashed through Chen Xuan's eyes. The blood and Qi he kept suppressed at early-stage Bright Force surged into his right arm.
He did not even assume a blocking stance. His right hand shot upward like lightning and turned!
His five fingers intercepted the falling paths of the two blue-and-white porcelain teacups with flawless precision. The muscles in his palm quivered slightly as he employed a deft force-dissipating technique honed through three years of carrying full buckets of water in the stables, forcibly catching the bases of the cups!
Tap, tap!
With two soft sounds, the two scalding teacups landed securely in his broad palm, as though they had eyes of their own!