The charcoal in the stove crackled softly inside the house.
Xiao Changling felt deeply that she had brought home a major source of trouble.
Under normal circumstances, she would never bring a stranger back. But this person was…
Xiao Changling lowered her gaze to look closely at Ning Yan, who was already lying unconscious on the bed.
She bent down and picked up a piece of broken armor from Ning Yan’s body, rubbing it between her fingers several times.
It belonged to a general of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the only female general in the entire Zhou Dynasty.
Five years ago, Xiao Changling had seen Ning Yan on the streets of Chang’an.
Back then, Ning Yan had just won a grand victory, draped in glory. She rode a tall, powerful black horse at the very front of the procession.
Countless fresh flowers and scented pouches were tossed toward her.
At that time, Xiao Changling was still young. Resting her chin in her hands, she watched this scene from the upper floor of a tavern. Disregarding her maid’s protests, she unfastened a silk flower from her hairpin and tossed it down.
The silk flower landed precisely against Ning Yan’s chest, and Ning Yan snatched it with one hand.
Perhaps it was because the flower was crafted with exceptional delicacy, or perhaps because it bore a hint of the light incense lingering on Xiao Changling.
Ning Yan rubbed the flower in her fingers, looking left and right several times, but she could never pinpoint which young lady in her boudoir had thrown it.
With no other choice, she pinned the flower to her chest, attributing it to a whim of fate.
Among countless silk flowers, only Xiao Changling’s flower was privately kept by the general.
Five years ago, Xiao Changling was young and watched the general riding through the streets with eyes full of admiration.
She had thought: How could there be anyone so magnificent in this world?
…
The charcoal in the stove burst with a crackle.
Xiao Changling’s thoughts returned to the present. The cozy warmth scattered the biting chill of the snowy world outside.
The woman on the bed lay unconscious amidst the soft bedding.
The house was not large; there was only this single bed and this single quilt.
This person had brazenly taken over Xiao Changling’s only place of rest.
Now, Xiao Changling wore neither silk flowers on her head nor precious jewel hairpins. Dressed in plain, simple clothes, she knitted her brows slightly as she unbuckled and removed the pieces of damaged armor from Ning Yan’s body one by one.
“Hiss…”
The woman under the quilt let out a brief, stifled groan.
“Endure it.”
Xiao Changling’s mind was tangled with complex emotions. She had never imagined that the woman once known as the Flying Cavalry General, now with her legs broken and completely unable to move, would be lying here with striking, gruesome bloodstains on her torn trousers.
The woman on the bed seemed intimidated by her stern rebuke. She buried her head completely into the quilt, leaving only her body trembling slightly.
Under the candlelight, the wounds on her body became increasingly distinct. Fresh injuries bubbled with crimson blood on the outside, while old wounds had solidified into a layer of dark scabs.
If an ordinary woman saw this scene, she would likely have screamed and vomited on the spot.
With an unbothered expression, Xiao Changling fetched a pot, boiled water, and placed cotton cloth and needle tools into it.
Her demeanor remained calm and undisturbed from start to finish, her eyes showing not the slightest hesitation when facing the bloody wounds.
In her clouded state of consciousness, Ning Yan’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. Through the blur, she caught sight of a stranger’s figure approaching.
Layer by layer, the clothes on Ning Yan’s body were stripped away.
The fabric had stuck to her open wounds, bringing a bone-chilling agony as it was peeled apart.
Ning Yan gasped sharply!
This person’s movements were not gentle in the slightest.
Ning Yan’s body instinctively wanted to fight back, but just as her arm tried to exert force, the wave of pain passed.
Under the dim lamplight, waves of restless heat surged within Ning Yan’s body.
However, the agonizing pain of her wounds being treated quickly suppressed that layer of heat. Her persistent urge to lean close to a pair of cool, icy lips was also forcibly quelled.
What a heartless woman.
Is she a doctor? Or does she want to torture me?
Is she like those Beidi priests who claim to understand the heavens, but actually take pleasure in torturing people?
This woman’s technique was efficient, and her appearance under the candlelight was overly captivating. She looked far better than those priests whose faces were covered in dry, bark-like wrinkles; she seemed more like an otherworldly, mystical figure.
Ning Yan’s body went rigid, her pupils shrinking in sudden fear.
Xiao Changling washed her hands clean, picked up a piece of clean cotton cloth, soaked it in hot water, wrung it out, and wiped away the dried blood scabs around the wounds.
Her movements were extremely meticulous, avoiding the ulcerated areas and the fresh, bleeding wounds.
Yet how could treating wounds be painless? No matter how careful Xiao Changling was, the person on the bed would still let out painful sobs from time to time.
Ning Yan could not see clearly what Xiao Changling was doing; she only felt that this closely resembled a method of torture.
The wounds that had grown numb from pain now began to throb in fierce, recurring waves.
In her delirium, Ning Yan felt as though she had returned to the battlefield, her fingers tightly clutching the bedsheet beneath her.
She thought to herself: When I wake up, I must interrogate this woman to find out who she really is.
In her hazy mind, Ning Yan felt as if she were not in a dry, warm small room, but in a captive tent of the Beidi.
Her wrists were bound in iron chains that cut deep into her flesh, and she watched helplessly as the soldiers beside her were dragged onto beds covered in beast pelts.
No,!
Let go of my men!
The instinctual terror of her body caused her muscles to suddenly tense up.
Xiao Changling’s eyebrows furrowed.
In an environment lacking both doctors and medicines, there was truly very little she could do.
Using tweezers, she extracted the tiny embedded pebbles from the depths of the wounds.
She applied bone-healing medicine brought out from the imperial palace onto both legs, and rubbed golden-wound salve over the rest of the injuries.
She had not managed to bring much out of the palace; these expensive ointments needed to be used sparingly.
She had been reluctant to use much on herself, yet now, when applying them to Ning Yan, she did not hesitate in the slightest.
Every time she scooped out a spoonful, Xiao Changling’s heart throbbed with distress for the wasted medicine.
Yet who could have expected that the person on the bed would be so ungrateful? The wound that had just stopped bleeding suddenly stretched tight, and fresh blood spurted out in streams, drenching Xiao Changling’s body.
Even though Xiao Changling possessed a gentle temperament, she couldn’t help feeling a stir of anger at this moment.
“Be quiet.”
The “witch doctor” whose face could not be seen clearly scolded her.
The person on the bed winced and furrowed her brow in pain; her legs below the knees felt as though they were being crushed over and over by heavy carriage wheels.
The excruciating pain intertwined with the aphrodisiac poison inside her body, causing her eyelashes to tremble uncontrollably.
“If you want to torture someone, torture me alone! Do not torture my soldiers!”
Muffled, fragmented whispers escaped from the mouth of the person on the bed.
Xiao Changling was halfway covered in blood spatter. Hearing this sentence, her brow creased even deeper.
“There is only you here right now. Do not force me to tie you up. If you still want to live, stop thrashing around.”
Xiao Changling looked at the person on the bed with complex eyes, carrying a rare, indescribable emotion.
It was one thing for her to fall from grace and end up destitute, but how could this Flying Cavalry General, Ning Yan, whom the Beidi people called the Jade-Faced Asura, also fall into such a miserable state?
Ning Yan’s consciousness drifted up and down. She slept fitfully, her body alternating between cold and feverish heat.
Meanwhile, the quilt provided by that so-called “witch doctor” was so dry and comfortable that Ning Yan wished she could bury her entire body inside it.
Xiao Changling labored for most of the night, watching helplessly as the tips of Ning Yan’s ears grew increasingly crimson, her skin flushed with an unnatural, burning heat.
She must be running a fever, Xiao Changling thought.
Ning Yan remained caught in a heavy fog of consciousness. One moment she dreamt of the fierce battlefields with iron armor and gold spears, and the next moment she seemed to watch her soldiers being forced onto beds, with herself being next in line to endure the atrocious rituals of the so-called barbarians.
Yet in her feverish delirium, Ning Yan thought from another angle: Since I am still alive, perhaps I should act obedient and play nice to temporarily preserve my life, waiting for an opportunity to turn the tables later.
Show goodwill to that so-called witch doctor, and do not display any hostile intent.
Just like before, when I led my soldiers to escape from the Beidi encampment, only to turn around and launch a surprise counterattack when they least expected it.
I will kill all those beasts.
It is the exact same logic now; I need to conceal my claws and fangs.
Tame and compliant, allowing the other party to perform those bizarre, unnameable, yet cruel acts upon my body.
As long as I can stay alive… As long as I can stay alive…
Ning Yan’s eyes were half-open, her gaze swimming with rising heat.
Her lips parted slightly, coated in a glistening layer of moisture. Fine, broken murmurs trickled from her throat.
Xiao Changling’s expression turned somewhat peculiar. That voice was incredibly soft, tinged with a slight sob.
It sounded as if she were going to burst into tears in the next instant.
Xiao Changling could hardly be called clean at the moment; half of her body was splattered with bloodstains. Fortunately, she managed to wrap and bandage Ning Yan properly using the few cloth strips she had on hand.
“You took over my bed, and now you have the nerve to act so entitled.”
Xiao Changling threw the soiled clothes aside, changed into clean undergarments, wrapped herself in a fur blanket, and lay on her side next to Ning Yan.
She then fed a bit of water to the person who wouldn’t stop humming and whimpering softly.
Water glinted once more upon those swollen lips, making them look like the prized cherries offered as tribute to the imperial palace.
Back when Xiao Changling was still favored, whenever cherries arrived as tribute, she would always receive a small basket.
Right now, Ning Yan’s lips looked even prettier and more striking than the largest, brightest cherries from those days.
This night was destined to be sleepless. Xiao Changling shifted her gaze away and pulled the fur blanket over her head.
She thought to herself that Ning Yan seemed so fierce and intimidating on the outside, yet now that she was injured, she actually possessed such a soft side.
Ning Yan lay curled up on the other side of the bed like an injured hound.
In an environment so lacking in medicine, bandaging her to this extent was already the absolute limit. Tomorrow, she would have to go to the market to buy more wound ointments.
The night sky grew heavy and dim, and the snowfall outside intensified.
Pelted by the wind, the sleet rattled noisily against the roof tiles.
Xiao Changling fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. Just as dawn broke the next morning, she was awakened by movement beside her.
Throughout the night, that soft, persistent whimpering in her ear had not ceased for a single moment.
It made one’s heart itch with restless agitation.
…
As the faint morning light crested, a figure suddenly pressed down heavily on top of Xiao Changling.
Startled, Xiao Changling instantly snapped awake, her hand reflexively gripping a jewel-encrusted golden dagger.
However, the person pressing on her moved a step faster. Ning Yan, tormented all night by the aphrodisiac poison and tossing in agony, bit down once again on Xiao Changling’s lips with her own.
It was as if only by tasting the “witch doctor’s” breath could Ning Yan regain a fleeting moment of clarity.
The person atop her had flushed, bloodshot eyes and soft, ragged breaths, yet her actions were remarkably fierce, biting and tearing at Xiao Changling’s tongue and the corners of her mouth.
“Insolent!”
Xiao Changling reversed her grip on the dagger handle and struck Ning Yan’s shoulder with force, knocking her off her body.
“How dare you!”
The snow outside the window had stopped.
Draped in a silver-grey pelt, Xiao Changling stood with reddened lips and cold, sharp eyes as she glared at Ning Yan.
Clear sanity suddenly returned to the eyes of the person who was being glared at.
The aphrodisiac poison in her body flared intensely; only by leaning close to this person could she gain a bit of relief.
Yet this person clearly disliked her approaching.
She could only bide her time for now.
The general restrained her deeply possessive eyes and suppressed the restless heat inside her body. She lowered her head submissively, looking just like a tame household hound.
“I am sorry… It was because I felt so miserable… I beg for your forgiveness.”
Her tone of apology was exceptionally raspy, yet her voice trembled slightly, sending a tingling sensation straight to the heart.
A cold chill lingered between Xiao Changling’s eyebrows. Even though she and this general shared a past acquaintance, this person had truly gone too far.
Xiao Changling rubbed the wound on her lip where a bead of blood was oozing out, saying in a cold voice: “Do you have any idea how important a first kiss is to an unmarried woman?”
The obedient hound before her bowed her head even lower, her face pale and her body swaying faintly.
“You stole my first kiss… twice.”
As Xiao Changling spoke, a wave of bittersweet sorrow surged in her heart.
The kiss she had waited five years for was never meant to be like this.
No matter how fallen a princess became, she was ultimately a princess, possessing the innate noble pride of imperial blood.
How could she tolerate being taken advantage of again and again?