Xie Lanyin looked at her and asked, “Do you really want to carry me?”
Lian Yin: “…”
The shamelessness was unbelievable.
He couldn’t actually expect her to carry him, could he?
Smiling politely, Lian Yin said, “I just wanted to see if you were really this thick skinned.”
“Oh.” Xie Lanyin nodded. “So you didn’t sincerely want to carry me.”
He sighed lightly.
“Then forget it. I’ll let you carry me when you genuinely want to.”
Lian Yin replied, “…Thank you, but that day will never come.”
Xie Lanyin rose to his feet.
“Let’s go.”
Lian Yin waited for him to lead the way, only to find him standing there without moving.
“It’s my first time at your home,” she reminded him. “I don’t know the way.”
“Mm.”
Xie Lanyin extended his uninjured hand toward her.
“Help me walk.”
Lian Yin stared at him.
“…Are you some imperial consort? Do you really need someone to support you just to walk?”
Lowering his eyes, Xie Lanyin spoke softly.
“I’m dizzy… I might fall.”
Lian Yin immediately went over to support him.
He’d been wrong.
This wasn’t simply the job of a bodyguard.
It was a bodyguard, servant, and maid all rolled into one exhausting position.
Xie Lanyin’s hand was cold.
Perhaps it was only her imagination, but his body temperature seemed even lower than before.
To support him properly, Lian Yin had to stay very close.
The closer she drew, the stronger the elegant fragrance lingering on his robes became.
His weight resting against her was as light as that lingering scent itself.
It wasn’t that he was pretending to be delicate.
He might actually need someone to support him.
For some reason, that thought surfaced in her mind, quietly softening some of the dislike she had felt toward him.
Yet after only a few steps, Xie Lanyin suddenly collapsed.
The instant his body fell toward her, Lian Yin froze for a heartbeat.
Seeing he was about to hit the floor, she hurriedly caught him in a fluster.
He’s so thin…
The thought flashed through her mind before she quickly checked his condition.
“Xie Lanyin?”
She placed a hand against his forehead.
His skin was burning hot.
When she turned his face toward her, an unhealthy flush colored his cheeks, and his breathing had become heavy and uneven.
He was obviously sick.
Should she find a medical cultivator?
But the palace was enormous.
Where did the medical cultivators live?
Where was the exit?
He wasn’t actually going to die from this, was he?
Lian Yin carefully leaned him against a nearby pillar before taking out her jade slip to contact Xie Sui.
She hadn’t expected to need his help so soon.
If Xie Lanyin really died, not only would she lose her chance to ask any more questions, but the Xie family would also lose their Dao of Wisdom cultivator.
She’d probably end up dead along with him.
Xie Sui replied almost immediately.
“He fainted? Is he all right?”
Lian Yin answered, “Yes! He fainted, but I caught him before he hit the ground. His forehead is burning hot, but the rest of his body feels cold. Is he going to die?”
Xie Sui replied,
“Take good care of him. Don’t call a medical cultivator yet. He probably fainted because he calculated twice for you today. If the medical cultivators discover it and report it to the family head, it could cause trouble and drag you into it.”
Lian Yin froze. Another message arrived.
“I’ve got something else to deal with. Wait until he wakes up and ask him yourself.”
Putting away the jade slip, Lian Yin felt conflicted.
So he’d exhausted himself and collapsed because he’d calculated twice for her?
Come to think of it…
His injured hand had also been because of her.
But…
Wasn’t all of this entirely his own fault?
He’d injured his own hand.
He’d also agreed to perform the second calculation himself.
He’d never mentioned he would collapse afterward.
If he’d explained it clearly beforehand, would she really have forced him?
That had been close.
She had almost been guilt tripped.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Lian Yin prepared to help Xie Lanyin back to his room.
Then she realized…
She had no idea where his room was.
So she picked up the jade slip again.
“Where’s his room?”
Xie Sui replied almost instantly.
“…?”
“Do you really think I know everything?”
Lian Yin blinked before laughing at herself.
That really had been an absurd question.
She put away the jade slip and was just about to carry Xie Lanyin into a random room when she turned around and found him staring at her with open eyes.
Immediately suppressing her smile, she hurriedly explained, “I wasn’t laughing at you. I wasn’t gloating, I was just asking where your room was.”
Xie Lanyin said nothing.
He only looked at her as a mist slowly gathered in his eyes until they became slightly wet.
Lian Yin panicked.
“Don’t cry! Just tell me where your room is. I’ll take you back first!”
Was she only making herself sound guiltier the more she explained?
Fortunately, Xie Lanyin didn’t actually cry.
Instead, he quietly pointed out the way.
Since there was no way she could make him walk anymore, Lian Yin simply carried him onto her back.
She was a sword cultivator.
Although her sword wasn’t particularly heavy, she herself was quite strong.
As she walked, she asked, “Do you need to see a medical cultivator? If you do, I’ll go find one for you.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Don’t.”
Lian Yin nodded and continued, “Then would you like some water later? Do you have medicine that needs to be prepared?”
“…No.”
“Don’t ask anymore.”
After helping him onto the bed, Lian Yin waited until he seemed asleep.
Or perhaps he had simply fainted again.
She decided to go boil some hot water.
The moment she withdrew her hand, burning fingers suddenly wrapped around her wrist.
Xie Lanyin had opened his eyes again.
His beautiful eyes were hazy with fever as he looked at her.
“Where are you going…?”
“I’m going to boil some hot water.”
“Boil… hot water…”
He murmured the words slowly, as though he no longer understood what they meant.
Patiently, Lian Yin explained, “It’s something you drink when you’re thirsty. I’m thirsty, so I drink it. If you’re thirsty, you’ll drink it too.”
“You’ll drink it…”
Slowly, he loosened his grip.
Then he looked at her.
“…Will you come back?”
He sounded almost as though he were pouting.
He really was surprisingly obedient while sick.
Lian Yin tucked his hand back beneath the blanket.
“Of course.”
After all, the hot water was for him.
When someone is sick, they should drink plenty of warm water.
After asking someone where the kitchen was, she used a magical artifact to speed up boiling the water and returned quickly.
Xie Lanyin was still awake.
She carefully helped him drink some.
When he finished, he looked at her.
“Can you stay?”
His voice was almost pleading.
Meeting those moist, faintly imploring eyes, Lian Yin paused.
She guessed the fever had muddled his mind, and he’d mistaken her for someone close to him.
She herself had been sickly as a child.
Both in this life and her previous one.
Only later had her health improved.
Perhaps because of that, Lian Yin understood better than most how painful poor health could be, and she was naturally more patient and tolerant toward sick people.
“Mm.”
“You should sleep.”
“I won’t leave.”
Seeing his eyes fall toward the hand he was still holding, she added,
“I won’t let go.”
Xie Lanyin watched her for another long moment, as though unconvinced.
Only then did he slowly close his eyes.
A tiny tear still clung to his lowered lashes.
Lian Yin quietly watched him fall into a deep sleep.
After sitting there absentmindedly for a while, she gently slipped her hand free and left.
Even overworked laborers deserved to clock out.
She needed sleep too.
Looking after him for a while was enough.
She couldn’t possibly stay awake day and night taking care of someone else.
Over the next three days, Xie Lanyin remained bedridden recovering from his illness.
Perhaps because she’d seen him during his unwillingly vulnerable moments, he seemed to target her a little after recovering.
He constantly ordered her around, making her handle countless trivial errands and run back and forth all day.
Occasionally, whenever their eyes met, he’d ask strange questions.
For example, “Were you happy to see me sick?”
Lian Yin: “?”
Or, “Do you hate me that much?”
Lian Yin: “??”
Or even, “You needed my help, yet you still lied to me.”
Lian Yin: “???”
By the time he was finished talking, she’d practically become an unforgivable villain.
Feeling completely wronged, Lian Yin protested, “I already explained the part about laughing. Fine, maybe laughing at that moment wasn’t appropriate.”
Then she hesitated.
As for hating him…
That part was actually true.
After a brief pause, she forced herself to lie.
“Why would I hate you? I’m very grateful that you gave me this opportunity.”
“And as for lying to you…”
“When did I ever do that?”
Xie Lanyin stared at her for a while.
Seeing that she genuinely seemed unaware of how she’d offended him, he finally gave up.
“Forget it.”
Lian Yin immediately objected.
“…Don’t just forget…”
“I have to go out today.”
“You’ll come with me.”
“Oh.”
Lian Yin nodded.
“When? Is your health really all right?”
“Right now.”
“I won’t die.”
“I’ll live at least long enough to finish calculating your questions.”
It had clearly been his own condition from the beginning.
Yet he spoke as though she were the one exploiting him.
Even her concern became twisted into ulterior motives.
Lian Yin couldn’t help wondering whether he was still angry.
She even worried that today’s outing was simply another excuse to torment her somewhere else.
Lost in thought, they soon arrived at their destination.
The banquet hall in the distance had already been fully prepared.
Many guests had already gathered there.
Following behind Xie Lanyin, Lian Yin could feel countless pairs of eyes watching her along the way.
The hostility hidden beneath those curious gazes sent a chill creeping down her back.
It was the first time she’d ever met these people.
Why did they all seem to dislike her so intensely?
Lian Yin found it strange.
Unfortunately, the only person she knew here was Xie Lanyin, who clearly had no intention of explaining anything.
After crossing the front courtyard, people gradually began approaching Xie Lanyin, greeting him warmly and expressing concern over his recent illness.
Cultivators of the Dao of Wisdom could calculate the Heavenly Secrets.
Even while remaining at home, they could foresee events thousands of miles away.
Naturally, they were welcomed wherever they went.
Before long, a crowd completely surrounded Xie Lanyin.
There were so many people that Lian Yin herself was squeezed out.
He had only just recovered from a serious illness.
His residence was usually so quiet that hardly anyone ever visited.
Wouldn’t being surrounded by so many people make him miserable?
Remembering that protecting him was still part of her job, Lian Yin prepared to push her way back through the crowd and rescue her frail employer.
Just then, a gentle voice sounded behind her.
“Miss Lian Yin.”
At the same moment, someone lightly tapped her shoulder.
Turning around, she found herself facing an unfamiliar young man.
His features were refined and gentle, and he smiled politely.
He seemed kind enough.
She simply didn’t know him.
Confused, Lian Yin asked, “How do you know my name?”
“I heard Young Master mention you.”
The man smiled and introduced himself.
“My name is Xie Songlin.”
Lian Yin blinked. Xie Sui had mentioned her?
Unsure what this man’s intentions were and having no desire to make new acquaintances, she prepared to end the conversation.
“I still have something to…”
Xie Songlin interrupted gently.
“Lanyin has been ill for several days. Everyone wants to speak with him now, so he probably won’t have time to look after you for quite a while.”
“I was worried you’d be bored waiting here, so I thought I’d invite you over to chat.”
“No, thank you…”
As she politely declined, Lian Yin glanced toward Xie Lanyin, who remained surrounded by people.
To her surprise, there wasn’t the slightest hint of impatience on his face.
Instead, he wore a faint, pleasant smile.
Remembering what Xie Sui had once said about him, she wondered…
Perhaps Xie Lanyin was actually very good at dealing with people.
Looking around the lively banquet, Lian Yin knew powerful families were always divided into competing factions.
Xie Lanyin probably belonged to one of them.
Having missed several days because of illness, today’s appearance was likely meant specifically for social obligations.
In that case…
She really shouldn’t squeeze back into the crowd.
“Miss Lian.”
Xie Songlin reached out, attempting to drape an arm over her shoulders.
Lian Yin sidestepped immediately.
She had already disliked the earlier shoulder tap.
Now her vigilance only increased.
“What are you doing?”
Xie Songlin wasn’t embarrassed in the slightest.
Still smiling, he reached for her again.
“Come sit with us.”
“Don’t touch me.”
Lian Yin frowned and dodged again.
At that moment, another young woman suddenly wrapped herself around Lian Yin’s arm.
With an affectionate smile, she clung tightly to her.
“Come on. Standing here is so boring.”
Lian Yin tried to pull free.
The girl only tightened her grip, practically dragging her toward a large table full of people.
Several of those seated there were among the ones who had been glaring at her earlier.
Lian Yin immediately realized these people meant no good.
Still, causing trouble at a banquet was a serious matter.
If she resorted to force, she’d immediately lose the moral high ground.
And besides…
This was the Xie family’s territory.
Even if she were in the right, it wouldn’t matter.
She reluctantly followed them over first to see what they intended.
The people laughing around the table all stood up enthusiastically the moment she arrived.
One of them offered her a cup of wine.
“Miss Lian, we heard you saved our Young Master. We simply have to thank you properly. You won’t refuse me that opportunity, will you? Hahaha!”
The others immediately lifted their own cups.
“That’s right, Miss Lian! Let me offer you a toast too!”
“This is the finest wine. You have to try it!”
Lian Yin instinctively felt something was wrong.
“I don’t drink…”
“It’s fine! This wine won’t get you drunk. It’s perfect for young ladies!”
As he spoke, the man pushed the wine cup even closer, staring fixedly at her as though he couldn’t wait to force it into her mouth.
Men and women surrounded her from every direction, forming a wall of bodies while each held up a wine cup.
“What kind of wonderful wine is this, that someone has to be forced to drink?”
Suddenly, a pale hand reached over the wall of people and accepted the wine cup before it reached Lian Yin.
Turning around, she discovered Xie Lanyin standing behind her.
The surrounding guests’ expressions shifted.
Recovering quickly, one of them smiled.
“This banquet was organized by the First Madam. Naturally everything here is the finest…”
“Exactly. We only meant to welcome Miss Lian with good intentions…”
“Really?”
Xie Lanyin’s gaze swept calmly across the crowd.
Smiling faintly, he asked, “There isn’t anything mixed into it, is there?”
Every expression froze.
Their faces became increasingly ugly.
Cultivators of the Dao of Wisdom were practically monsters when it came to intelligence.
Lying to one was almost impossible.
Perhaps Xie Lanyin already knew something had been added to the wine and was only asking deliberately.
He had already made the implication perfectly clear.
Yet Xie Lanyin refused to give them an easy way out.
They were furious, but none of them dared openly offend him.
Silence instantly fell over the entire group.
No one dared answer.
From their expressions alone, Lian Yin knew the wine definitely contained something.
Slowly lifting the cup, Xie Lanyin casually raised it in a toast.
“But I imagine no one would dare tamper with the wine at a banquet personally organized by the First Madam.”
“Would they?”
The crowd thought he was finally offering them a graceful exit.
Relieved, they hurriedly laughed.
“Of course not…”
“How could anyone…”
Then, in the very next instant, every smile froze solid.
Xie Lanyin drank the wine.