After Being Certified by the Immortal Lord on the Path of Ruthlessness - Chapter 35

“Green Wine!” Jiang Mianhao nearly stumbled under her weight, barely managing to hold her up.

Ling Lan quickly reached out to help support her, pulling Jiang Mianhao into her embrace as well. “You were fine just moments ago. What happened so suddenly?”

The storytelling house was in complete chaos. The brilliance of Ye Qingge’s sword technique had completely overshadowed the storyteller’s tale.

Many young ladies from official families leaned out, inquiring which family Ye Qingge belonged to.

In the private room on the second floor, Fu Wanyin’s gaze remained fixed on Ling Lan.

She watched the green-clad maiden who had appeared out of thin air and saw how anxiously Ling Lan held her.

Her intuition told her that the relationship between Ling Lan and that maiden was anything but ordinary.

But before she could observe further, the two had already left the storytelling house.

Jiang Mianhao expended tremendous effort carrying Ye Qingge all the way back.

She couldn’t summon a spiritual barrier at will, and Ye Qingge wasn’t weak enough to revert to her original form.

Ling Lan tried several times to offer help, but Jiang Mianhao instinctively refused each time.

The person in her arms wasn’t heavy, and as she held her close, her nostrils were filled with an elegant fragrance.

Ling Lan, standing beside them, reached out repeatedly but found no opportunity to intervene.

She could only carry the wooden sword, following step by step behind Jiang Mianhao.

The inn was two streets away.

It was autumn, and the sun was scorching and relentless.

Jiang Mianhao’s clothes were soaked with sweat, yet she remained unaware.

Carrying Ye Qingge like this all the way back to the inn, Jiang Mianhao didn’t pause to rest, immediately calling for the attendant to fetch water.

Ye Qingge was aware of the jostling throughout the journey.

She was held in Jiang Mianhao’s embrace.

The maiden’s body was petite, her still-developing frame pressing uncomfortably against tender flesh.

“You…” Ye Qingge’s voice came out hoarse, catching in her throat.

The wildly rampaging spiritual energy within her surged uncontrollably, causing her vision to darken as she closed her eyes in pain.

At first, she thought there was something unusual about the storytelling house.

But now, as she recovered slightly, she belatedly realized the truth.

The love tribulation remained unbroken, and her spiritual energy could no longer be suppressed.

Pain surged through her once more, the intense energy running rampant within her body.

Jiang Mianhao, who had just returned with the water, hurriedly closed the door, afraid that the slightest negligence might worsen the situation.

On the way back, she had checked Ye Qingge’s body. There were no wounds on her skin.

Her first thought was of how Ye Qingge disliked dirt, and how she had sweated profusely while carrying her. She needed to wash up quickly.

The person who had brought the water didn’t bother wiping the sweat from her own forehead, instead twisting a cloth to gently dab Ye Qingge’s face.

Battered by the rampaging spiritual energy, Ye Qingge felt a trace of coolness. Though she couldn’t open her eyes, she instinctively reached out and grasped that source of relief.

Her sleeve slid down her slender, pale wrist, revealing the object tied there.

A white jade toggle fastened with a red thread, the crimson hue making her skin appear as white as jade.

Jiang Mianhao’s hand paused for a moment, her mind briefly dazed.

Whether in size or craftsmanship, this white jade toggle was identical to the one over her own heart.

And the one on Ye Qingge’s wrist was faintly glowing.

Jiang Mianhao was half-kneeling by the bedside, slightly hunched over, the white jade toggle at her neck hanging down.

The two heart-linked toggles sensed each other, emitting a soft, shimmering light.

Suddenly, an intense pain swept through Jiang Mianhao’s entire body.

This fierce, overwhelming agony unlike anything she had ever felt before, violently assailed her heart.

It felt as if her entire body had been thrown into a furnace, scorching and unbearably hot.

“Green Wine…” Jiang Mianhao couldn’t spare a hand to press against her chest. One hand held a cloth, while the other grasped Ye Qingge’s hand.

Why did it hurt so much? The symptoms were now apparent.

Jiang Mianhao tried to regulate her breathing, attempting to distract herself from the pain, but the agony refused to subside.

Was it because she had seen Green Wine injured?

Green Wine was the one hurt. So why was her own heart aching?

Jiang Mianhao’s face turned frighteningly pale as the pain ravaged her chest.

When she was in pain, did Green Wine suffer like this too?

Gently, Jiang Mianhao wiped the face of the person before her with the cloth.

Beads of sweat, mixed with either tears or the moisture from the cloth, rolled into Ye Qingge’s hair.

Pressing her lips together, Jiang Mianhao continued to wipe softly.

The room was so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard.

In the corner, an incense burner wafted a steady stream of calming fragrance.

Jiang Mianhao meticulously wiped away Ye Qingge’s sweat.

She endured the rising pain in her chest with great effort.

Struggling to support herself, Jiang Mianhao helped Ye Qingge remove her outer garment.

In her dazed state, Ye Qingge felt the clothing being gently peeled away from her body.

She wanted to lift her hand to stop it, but the gentle movements of the person above her greatly eased the pain in her chest.

Ye Qingge couldn’t quite put the feeling into words. She knew it was Jiang Mianhao taking care of her.

She also knew that her scattered spiritual power couldn’t block the Heart-Link Bond.

Was Jiang Mianhao also feeling her pain?

But such intense agony. Had she endured it all?

Ye Qingge didn’t have the strength to ponder further, as Jiang Mianhao’s closeness and touch soothed the chaotic spiritual energy within her.

Jiang Mianhao’s fingertips brushed past her neck and trailed down along her spine.

Wherever her fingers passed, the pain was greatly alleviated.

Ye Qingge resisted the urge to push her away and obediently allowed Jiang Mianhao to continue wiping.

This cool and comforting sensation was like the refreshing calm that had guided her out of countless nightmares.

As if imperceptibly influenced, Ye Qingge who had always shied away from intimacy and physical contact began to adapt to the embrace.

The room was extremely quiet, filled only with the soft sound of Jiang Mianhao rinsing and wringing out the cloth.

Meanwhile, Ling Lan stood by, watching Jiang Mianhao’s tension, worry, and anxiety.

The usually noisy and careless person had suddenly become reliable.

Ling Lan held a damp cloth in her hand, standing awkwardly to the side as she observed everything before her.

Jiang Mianhao carried out her tasks methodically, wiping and changing the clothes of the unconscious Green Wine.

Though her spiritual power was insufficient, she performed each step with utmost care.

Ling Lan, standing beside her, glanced down at the cloth in her own hand, now warmed by her grip, and lowered her lashes to conceal her emotions.

After Jiang Mianhao finished tidying up, she gently placed the cloth back into the basin.

Ling Lan hesitated for a moment before quickly following her.

The room door closed, separating the inside from the outside.

“Mianhao.”

Ling Lan suddenly called out.

Jiang Mianhao paused mid-step and turned around. “What is it, Lanlan?”

Ling Lan pressed her lips together, hesitating for a moment before asking, “You… toward Green Wine?”

The corridor was bustling with people coming and going, noisy and chaotic.

Downstairs, the waiter loudly promoted business, while guests checking out or making reservations crowded around the front desk, the clatter of copper coins and silver echoing across the room.

Ling Lan carefully studied the expression before her—the pale lips, the fine beads of sweat on the temples.

After a long while, she finally received a response.

“Lanlan,” Jiang Mianhao said softly, “I think I truly care about Lu Jiu, but it’s a different kind of care than the way I care about you.”