The courtyard was very quiet, but the ever-burning lantern by the gate had gone out, lending the place an unusual air of desolation just as he returned home.
Shi Yeshan glanced up, but his steps didn't falter. He pushed open the courtyard gate and strode inside, only pausing abruptly at the doorway to turn his head and glance sideways, very lightly.
Su Zhai was lying on the ground just like that, without a sound.
She was playing dead, not daring to breathe, cursing the treacherous snake in her heart for being so disloyal.
Once he came in, there was no further sound, but Su Zhai could feel his gaze quietly settling on her.
Standing there silently staring at her like that was even more terrifying. Su Zhai felt her scalp go numb and her whole body stiffen.
But the wound on her shoulder was growing more painful, and holding her breath was getting increasingly uncomfortable.
The courtyard was silent to the extreme, making the chorus of frogs from the back mountain seem all the more loud and clear. For some reason, a cold wind picked up, causing the rocking chair in the yard to creak. The sound was inexplicably eerie, but Su Zhai took the opportunity to very carefully catch her breath.
Just as she was slowly exhaling, the man quickly strode toward her. Before Su Zhai could react, she was already lifted into his arms.
…Shi Yeshan.
Though he made no sound, the moment he touched her, Su Zhai's rigid body relaxed. Even though she couldn't see anything, she forced her eyes open and took deep breaths, momentarily unable to speak.
His embrace was very cold, and his chest was as hard as stone—quite different from how he usually was.
After picking up Su Zhai, Shi Yeshan sat down and laid her horizontally across his lap.
He didn't speak either, only supporting Su Zhai's waist with one hand while undoing her clothes with the other. His icy fingers slipped inside and touched the injured area.
What had once been porcelain-white shoulder bone was now swollen and red, radiating a faint, murky aura—the residual spiritual power of that bastard low-born cultivator.
Spiritual Qi condensed at Shi Yeshan's fingertips as he gently applied it to heal her wound.
"Does it hurt?"
That was a pointless question.
How could it not hurt? Su Zhai's brows were furrowed, and her breathing had grown heavy.
Shi Yeshan realized his thoughts were somewhat scattered at the moment.
His mind had gone completely blank for an instant just now. When he'd stared at Su Zhai's lifeless body, he'd had no thoughts at all—it felt as if even his blood had frozen.
Only when he saw that she was still breathing did his senses return to him, though his fingertips were still slightly numb and a lingering chill remained in his heart.
Su Zhai shook her head. "It's fine. Not too painful. But it feels a bit hot, like it's burning."
She quickly added, "It's much better now."
The man didn't respond, only gently massaging the wound with his thumb. Su Zhai couldn't tell whether the sensation was pain or something else. She rested both hands on Shi Yeshan's shoulders, gripping his sleeves. "Is it very obvious?"
"What?"
"The place where I'm injured," Su Zhai explained. "How did you know there was a wound here? Was it bleeding?"
But she hadn't smelled any blood.
Shi Yeshan answered somewhat distractedly, "It wasn't bleeding."
"…Mm."
She fell quiet. She'd had many things she wanted to say, but she didn't speak again, simply letting him massage her wound obediently. She could feel the pain lessening and the burning sensation fading, and gradually relaxed.
Her eyes still couldn't see.
Only the sound of their breathing filled the space.
His body was still very hard, and leaning against it wasn't comfortable.
Su Zhai straightened up, moving slightly away from him, and noticed the man's movements freeze for a moment.
"Su Zhai." He paused. "Say something."
Su Zhai tilted her head, her eyes somewhat vacant, turning hesitantly.
Shi Yeshan covered her eyes with his hand. "Close them."
Her soft eyelashes brushed against Shi Yeshan's palm.
"That little snake came to find me first today," she said slowly. "It was about Fifth Young Miss's matter. She has a cultivator guarding her, and I suspect that Fifth Young Miss and the Red Snake killed that cultivator together. Then the cultivator's family came looking for him, and I was a bit unlucky—I happened to run into them."
She paused for a moment, then said softly, "I got into a bit of a conflict with them. I was hit here on my shoulder, and my eyes went blind too. But fortunately, a passing Daoist priest helped drive them away, and then you came back."
Su Zhai was a little worried they might come back to cause more trouble.
After all, Shi Yeshan and she were just ordinary people. If it really came down to it, they would have no choice but to reveal the matter of Fifth Young Miss.
Before Shi Yeshan could say anything, Su Zhai suddenly lowered her head and rubbed her forehead against his palm. "You're not listening, are you? Don't worry for now—they probably won't come back to make things difficult for us… Or maybe we should just move. I know there's a cheap haunted house behind the street in town, and we have enough money to live there for a while."
There was also that kind Daoist priest—unfortunately she hadn't managed to ask his name, or maybe she could have asked him for help.
The man took the opportunity to stroke her head, his palm wrapping around the back of her rounded skull and pressing her gently against his shoulder.
Su Zhai poked his chest. "So hard. Turn soft again."
It got even harder.
"Su Zhai." His tone, however, was very gentle. "You can cry."
Su Zhai was momentarily stunned.
"You don't even say when it hurts." Shi Yeshan tapped her forehead with his finger. "And when you're feeling awful, you don't cry either?"
His voice was calm. "I'm not trying to blame you, but you're not allowed to do this."
Su Zhai swallowed dryly, unconsciously pressing against Shi Yeshan's body. She found that it had turned soft—soft in a way that was almost absurd, damp and sticky from her tears.
"Shi Yeshan, I'm afraid I might go blind someday…" She sniffled and mumbled, "And then you'll throw me away and not care anymore."
Shi Yeshan rubbed behind her ear, but his tone was puzzled. "Why would I throw you away and not care?"
"Because the trouble was brought by me… that snake came for me tonight, and also, I thought Fifth Young Miss was a bit pitiful." Su Zhai buried her face in his chest, then defended herself after speaking. "But I saw this snake in the labyrinthine array before. It poked its head around me several times. I guessed it might have been trying to lead me out safely, but I was too scared to move at the time. I think it's probably a good snake."
The red snake outside the courtyard gate let out two pleased hisses.
Shi Yeshan closed his eyes, then suddenly stood up and carried Su Zhai to the bathhouse.
He set her down at the entrance, silently filled the bath tub with water, and only then helped her sit inside. Su Zhai kept anxiously clutching his hand, but Shi Yeshan pulled it away. "Take your bath first. I'll go change the lock on the courtyard gate and hang a Ziqian Hall waist token on the door. Once they know a Mount Shu cultivator lives here, they shouldn't dare come looking for trouble anymore."
Su Zhai quickly nodded. "Then go quickly."
"Mm." He tucked a square cloth into Su Zhai's hand and patted her head. "Call me if anything happens. Wait for me to come back."
The man strode out in a hurry, reaching the red snake's side in a single breath. He picked it up with one hand and pointed at the courtyard. "Guard this place for me first. Don't let anyone in."
The little snake was terrified of him. It watched Shi Yeshan's figure vanish in an instant, then slowly crawled into the courtyard, propping up its head to wait for a moment. It was tempted to sneak into the bathhouse to check on Su Zhai, but Shi Yeshan had already returned.
In his hands, he carried two severed heads—bloody, with eyes wide open in death. A terrifying sight.
They were two disciples of Lingxiao Palace who had been lurking nearby to investigate, and Shi Yeshan had sensed their presence.
Shi Yeshan tossed the two heads in front of the red snake and asked calmly, "Was it these two just now?"
The red snake shook its head in fear, then heard Shi Yeshan say lightly, "Swallow them. Make it clean."
With that, he went to the kitchen on his own, doused himself with water from the vat to wash away the smell of blood from his clothes, and only then returned to the bathhouse.
Su Zhai was indeed still restless. She was curled up in the bath tub waiting for Shi Yeshan, and when she heard his voice, she lifted her chin. "You're done?"
No.
Shi Yeshan had forgotten about that. After killing those people, his only thought was to come back to Su Zhai.
"I only hung the waist token. It's too dark out. We'll deal with it tomorrow."
That worked too.
Su Zhai stood up from the bath tub, pushed away the hand Shi Yeshan offered to help her, and fumbled her way out on her own. She wrapped herself in a bath towel and groped blindly toward the cabinet to find her nightclothes.
"What are you doing?" Shi Yeshan frowned at her. "You can't see, and you're still moving around."
She was quite confident. "I'll try it myself first. You're right here anyway—if I can't manage, you can help me then."
She managed to put on her nightclothes, let out a long breath, and turned around slowly. "Shi Yeshan?"
After a moment's consideration, she shook her head. "Find me a walking stick. Use that clean fire poker from the kitchen."
But Shi Yeshan didn't move. She could sense that he wasn't too pleased. "I'm not as good as a fire poker?"
Su Zhai: "…"
"You can't stay home taking care of me every day." She explained, "While you're still home, let me practice on my own first. After that, I'll get used to it."
Shi Yeshan was silent for a moment. "You're still afraid I'll abandon you."
He was so annoying, in a way she couldn't quite articulate.
Su Zhai fell silent and felt her way toward the door. As she passed Shi Yeshan, she even gave him a shove. "Don't block the doorway."
But he stood as immovable as a mountain, as if he were sulking with her.
Su Zhai stopped too and said slowly, "Don't make me angry right now."
"I know." Shi Yeshan looked down at her empty eyes and said in a low voice, "Why won't you let me help you?"
Before Su Zhai could answer, he continued on his own, "Because you think I'm useless in bed, an incomplete husband. So you don't trust me."
That was why, after being hurt, she was terrified of being abandoned.