The Aloof and Pure-hearted Killer: She Doesn’t Want Me to Suffer
Yuyi Yue’s skin was fair and delicate—a fact Fang Xun’gui had just realized in a way that left him ashamed and remorseful.
Thus, the crimson wound on Yuyi Yue’s shoulder now appeared especially jarring.
Fang Xun’gui’s fingertips trembled faintly as he slowly approached the wound.
But Yuyi Yue immediately stopped him: “Don’t touch it.”
Fang Xun’gui recoiled as if stung, withdrawing his hand and taking a step back:
“I was rude.”
Yuyi Yue turned her head helplessly and said to him:
“There’s clean water in the basin over there, and soapberries beside it. Wash your hands first.”
After speaking, Yuyi Yue realized something and widened her eyes to ask:
“You don’t do this step when you suture your own wounds?!”
Fang Xun’gui couldn’t help but laugh, his laughter tinged with self-mockery:
“In those situations where I have to suture my own wounds, just staying alive is enough of a struggle. Who has time for such things?”
Silence filled the room, broken only by the sound of Fang Xun’gui washing his hands.
Once again, moonlight bathed the chamber.
After washing his hands, Fang Xun’gui turned around to see Yuyi Yue standing up.
Under the lamplight, Fang Xun’gui couldn’t discern the emotion in Yuyi Yue’s eyes. He only watched as she retrieved a delicate small knife from the wooden shelf, approached the candle on the table, and passed the blade through the flame.
Fang Xun’gui didn’t understand what Yuyi Yue intended to do.
Yuyi Yue gradually drew closer until she stopped right in front of Fang Xun’gui.
She suddenly smiled:
“I’ll teach you.”
With that, before Fang Xun’gui could even react to stop her—
Yuyi Yue slashed her own wound with a backhand motion, and fresh blood gushed out once more.
Fang Xun’gui grabbed Yuyi Yue’s hand, snatched the small knife away, and asked in shock:
“What are you doing?!”
Yuyi Yue replied nonchalantly:
“It’s fine. A wound like this poses no real threat to me. Since there’s an opportunity today, I’ll teach you how to treat wounds.”
For the first time, Fang Xun’gui felt a chill run through his entire body because of Yuyi Yue’s words.
What kind of logic was this? She… hurt herself for such a reason?
Yuyi Yue continued on her own:
“If you can’t find clean water, use alcohol to treat the wound first. In the worst-case scenario, if there’s no alcohol either, stop the bleeding first.”
Yuyi Yue took Fang Xun’gui’s cold, trembling hand and pressed it against a specific point on her shoulder.
The bleeding ceased.
Fang Xun’gui had no strength to pull away, his gaze fixed intently on the wound.
Yuyi Yue went on:
“I’ll prepare some hemostatic medicine for you. Carry it with you at all times—it can save your life in critical moments.”
After speaking, she released Fang Xun’gui’s hand, fetched a porcelain bottle from the shelf, and deftly removed the lid with one hand in front of him:
“See, that’s how you open it. Then sprinkle the medicine on the wound.”
As the medicinal powder scattered and the bleeding stopped, Yuyi Yue returned the porcelain bottle, retrieved a cloth bundle, and handed it to Fang Xun’gui:
“These are silver needles and Heavenly Silk Thread. Help me suture it.”
Fang Xun’gui didn’t know what emotions gripped him as he clutched the cloth bundle.
In the candlelight and moonlight, Yuyi Yue sat at the table, allowing Fang Xun’gui to hold the silver needle and press it against her shoulder.
Fang Xun’gui hesitated, unable to proceed.
“What’s wrong? Your hand is trembling.”
Yuyi Yue teased lightly, “You’re not afraid of blood, are you?”
Fang Xun’gui didn’t answer.
He didn’t understand. From the moment he returned to this desolate courtyard today, everything seemed to have taken a wrong turn.It wasn’t until Yuyi Yue reopened her own wound that Fang Xun’gui vaguely sensed something had changed between them.
Yuyi Yue’s fingertips rested on Fang Xun’gui’s wrist:
“You’re not injured now, so the trembling is psychological. It’s not fear, not anger, and probably not heartache either… So why is that?”
She tilted her head in confusion, gazing at Fang Xun’gui’s lowered eyelids.
“…Do you really need an answer?” Fang Xun’gui asked hoarsely.
Yuyi Yue nodded:
“Of course. But before that, help me stitch it up first.”
“What if I don’t do it well?”
“Just sew it up—it’s not like I’m asking you to embroider flowers on my shoulder.”
Yuyi Yue’s tone was too casual, which only made Fang Xun’gui increasingly agitated.
He forced himself to concentrate, his calloused hands moving as gently as possible, touching the wound with the softest touch he had ever mustered.
“No anesthetic?”
“I can handle this level of pain, and besides, it’s hard to use anesthetic when you’re injured too, right?”
The silver needle, guided by the Heavenly Silk Thread, pierced the fair skin.
Yuyi Yue trembled slightly but didn’t make a sound.
Fang Xun’gui’s eyes were fixed on the needle as he asked softly:
“…Why?”
“You seem to really like asking me ‘why’—just like the day I saved you, and again today.”
“Because I want to know.”
“Alright, since you’re helping me stitch it up. What do you want to ask this time?”
“Why did you reopen your own wound?”
“Because today was a good opportunity. I happened to have a wound, so I could teach you the proper way to stitch it up… Wait, here you need to pull the needle through. Yes, then switch to this side and reinsert the needle… Ah, where was I?”
“You didn’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I did. This way, the next time you’re injured, you can treat the wound yourself—at least you won’t suffer from an infection.”
“There’s no need at all! Even if you didn’t teach me this, I could handle it.”
“I’ve seen the wounds on your body. Several of them were stitched by you, right? They clearly weren’t done properly, leading to secondary infections and inflammation. You didn’t have to endure that kind of pain.”
“I don’t care about that, I…”
“I don’t want you to suffer too much.”
Just as Yuyi Yue softly spoke these words, Fang Xun’gui pulled through the final stitch.
His hand trembled suddenly, and he dared not dwell on what he had just heard.
Yuyi Yue lowered her gaze, looking at her wound, and said:
“You did a great job stitching it. Now tie the knot. Give it to me—just watch.”
Yuyi Yue took the needle from Fang Xun’gui’s hand and skillfully worked on her shoulder with one hand:
“This kind of knot is suitable for small wounds… this one for larger wounds… and this one, the most secure kind… There, done.”
She deftly snapped the silk thread, placed the needle on the table, and looked at Fang Xun’gui again:
“Now you’ve learned, right?”
A tangled knot of indescribable emotion lodged in Fang Xun’gui’s throat, making him want to roar out loud. But in the end, all he could do was ask her again in a hoarse voice:
“Why?”
This time, Yuyi Yue didn’t tease Fang Xun’gui about his endless curiosity.
Her eyes held a pool of clear moonlight, filled with a soft smile.
She said quietly:
“Because I really like you.
“I don’t want you to suffer after getting hurt.””If what you’re asking is why I don’t want you to suffer, this is my answer.
“Does this answer satisfy your doubts?”
The candle flame flickered, and Fang Xun’gui remained silent for a long time.
The drum-like heartbeat mocked the killer who had finally betrayed himself, ridiculing him for being nothing more than an ordinary person whose mind was thrown into chaos by a single word of “like” from the one he loved.
The myriad tangled emotions in his heart ultimately condensed into two simple sentences—
Yuyi Yue had gone mad.
He was done for.