Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 452: Old Married Couple

Yue Hongling blinked at Zhao Changhe’s self-assured statement and asked, “What does hubby mean? Is it like husband?”

“Mm-hm, my heroine is quite perceptive.”

“How are you my husband? When did we get married?”

“Eh? After everything we’ve been through? I mean, look at us now.”

“Still, we’re not married, little brother.” Yue Hongling teased, lazily tracing circles on his chest. “Your big sister is a wanderer of the jianghu and just gets lonely sometimes. I found you pleasing to the eye, and we had a passionate night. You got lucky, so just be happy with it. Don’t overthink things.”

Zhao Changhe could not help but laugh. “Looks like your wounds have healed a bit, huh? Feeling tough now that you’ve pulled your pants back up?”

Yue Hongling gave the faintest of pouts, half-serious and half-playful.

Initially, she had indeed thought of it as just “a night of passion.” A woman wandering the world did not really have the heart to settle down. When feelings ignited in the frontier, she just went with it. Why would she have to hold herself back? Once it was over, she could move on without attachments, or so she thought.

But the ripples in her heart just now did not lie. She could not deny the warmth and softness she felt, and she genuinely enjoyed the feeling of having him by her side, caring for her. In her moments of weakness, she had subconsciously leaned on him. When he asked if she belonged to him, she instinctively responded with a “yes.”

In truth, while roaming the jianghu for so long, had she ever thought of him during her journey?

Yes.

His image would often float to the surface of her mind, especially in times of danger.

She would always wonder where he was... She would wonder if she would feel less exhausted if he were standing beside her.

Was she then truly able to move on without attachments?

But then again, he was someone she had practically watched grow up. She had watched him go from a clueless young man who knew nothing about martial arts to someone making waves in the jianghu. Around him, that big-sisterly feeling never quite went away.

The next time they met in the jianghu, what was he to call her?

Was he to call her a little girl? A timid and lovable little woman? Or... his?

How strange...

Yue Hongling was not sure of her true feelings anymore. Regardless, the thought embarrassed her. She wanted to regain the upper hand. “Little brother, you’re always trying to be on top now, calling me a little girl—do you think you’re stronger than me?”

Unfortunately for her, Zhao Changhe had become immune to her tsundere ways.

Seeing that Yue Hongling had regained some energy and was now getting cheeky, Zhao Changhe leaned in with a grin, whispering in her ear, “Yes, yes, I can’t beat you. But shouldn’t the oh-so-valiant and honorable Heroine Yue stand by her words?”

Yue Hongling stiffened her neck, “What words?”

“You said if that if we met again, we could try a new position? Wasn’t it that side—OUCH DAMN WOMAN! How do you know the kidney twist move too...?”

“Too?” Yue Hongling raised an eyebrow with a playful smile.

Zhao Changhe: “...”

“So, tell me, who exactly are you planning on being a husband to?”

“...”

Oops, a slip of the tongue.

However, Yue Hongling did not press him further. Instead, she leaned closer, smiling mischievously as she whispered in his ear, “Isn’t having a big sister like me for a fling without any strings something that men can only dream of? You can be anyone’s husband if you want. I wouldn’t care.”

Zhao Changhe thought for a moment and shook his head. “No.”

Yue Hongling was taken aback, and she looked up at him from his shoulder with curiosity.

Zhao Changhe said seriously, “It’s really not that. It’s just that... I don’t want to hold you back. You are the setting sun, and you should not be constrained. I will simply wait for the day you really set. When you get tired, I’ll be here.”

Yue Hongling initially wanted to say, “If that day really comes, do you think I’ll still be this carefree, not getting into fights?”

But at this moment, she did not want to say that. Saying it would make it seem like she was admitting that she had those kinds of expectations, so she grumbled, “You’re just trying to make it sound good. All you really want is to try out all sorts of positions with me, like the side-lying one...”

Zhao Changhe responded, “So, does your word count or not?”

Yue Hongling turned away angrily, “It counts. Fine, I’ll just consider it as being bitten by a dog.”

Zhao Changhe could not help but laugh and lifted her up from behind, “Alright, my adventurous heroine, you should take a bath.”

“I’ve got my true qi protecting my body; I don’t smell!” Yue Hongling furiously retorted, but before she could finish, she felt herself being scooped up and, with a splash, was plopped into a tub of warm water.

Yue Hongling tried to struggle, but Zhao Changhe pressed her shoulder from the side of the tub. “Don’t move. I added some medicine to the water. It’s for disinfecting and cleaning your wounds to prevent infection. This sort of thing should be classified as poison resistance. Your true qi alone can’t completely shield you from it.”

Yue Hongling was not sure if what he was saying was true or not. Lately, he had inexplicably learned a lot of medical skills and now even acted like a proper doctor, so she felt that she should listen to him.

Then she watched as his large hands reached into the water and began stripping her of her clothes until she was reduced to a freshly-shorn lamb.

Yue Hongling: “...”

When she looked up, she saw that Zhao Changhe’s gaze was clearly filled with heartache.

Yue Hongling lowered her head to look at her body. There were scars all over—some new, some old. The older scars had faded significantly after being cleansed by the Zhenwu Sword Stone, and with more care, they could have disappeared entirely. But before they fully healed, new ones had appeared.

Yue Hongling suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.

His other female companions were probably all better-looking than me. Like Sisi, who’s truly as fair as jade, unlike me with my rough hands and feet.

Zhao Changhe stood behind her, gently washing her. His hands brushed over her scars, causing a tingling sensation. Yue Hongling could not help but say, “I can wash myself. Why do you need to wash me...?”

Zhao Changhe said, “Be good. This is our new position.”

Yue Hongling could not help but laugh, but eventually, she just sat there, letting him do as he pleased.

At first, she thought he was just playing around, but then she began to notice something was off... It seemed like his palms were emitting a strange warmth, and he was using some kind of unique cultivation technique. When his hands brushed over her scars, she could clearly feel a tingling sensation—it was a sign that her wounds were rapidly healing.

Yue Hongling looked over in surprise, and sure enough, her shallower scars were visibly disappearing, and her skin was becoming smooth and delicate once again.

“You... What kind of magic is this?” Yue Hongling could not help but ask.

“When I carried you back, didn’t you feel particularly comfortable?”

“...”

She had been unconscious then, so how could she feel much? She just woke up feeling better than expected and thought the medicine was effective. But it turned out that it was actually Zhao Changhe and his magical technique that allowed her to feel that way?

“You...” Yue Hongling cautiously glanced back at his expression, hesitated for a moment, and still asked, “Doesn’t this cost you a bit too much?”

The cost for using the technique was indeed a bit high. The Rejuvenation Art did not deplete true qi but strained the mind. Back when he treated the small cut on Lady Three’s arm, it left him feeling dizzy. He had improved a lot since then, but this kind of large-scale treatment was still exhausting. Of course, Zhao Changhe was not going to such lengths just to beautify his woman. What he said before was the truth: cleansing the wounds to prevent infection and smoothing the scars was just an added benefit.

Seeing Zhao Changhe not answering due to some fatigue, Yue Hongling softly asked, “Why don’t you erase the scar on your own face?”

“I’m used to it. Besides, it looks pretty cool.”

“You wish! You’re just a big, dumb bear.”

Zhao Changhe chuckled, “But seriously, if I got rid of my scar, wouldn’t you all suspect whether the person standing before you was the real Zhao Changhe or an imposter?”

Yue Hongling thought about it and found it quite possible. She could not help but laugh, “Since you’re not even trying to look better, then I don’t really need to either. So why go to all this trouble for me...?”

Zhao Changhe finally smiled too. “Didn’t I already say? This body belongs to me.”

Yue Hongling bit her lip and, for once, did not argue back.

In this scene, paired with those words, it really seemed like he was playing with her however he wanted, as if he wanted to explore every part of her. But Yue Hongling knew it was not like that. His mind was clearly elsewhere at the moment.

The problem was, her mind was not.

Wherever his hands went, that feeling...

In the warm water, the heroine’s body turned as red as a peach, trembling lightly. Her legs crossed and uncrossed awkwardly; no position seemed right.

But they were like an old married couple by now, so maybe it wasn’t such a big deal...

Outside, the sky gradually darkened, and faint moans could be heard from within the tent.

Sisi: “...”

The young girls of the Ancient Spirit Tribe nervously looked at their saintess, whose expression was like she had eaten something awful. One of them cautiously asked, “Sain... saintess...”

“He has nothing to do with me! You hear me? Don’t look at me like that! Oh, by the way, I actually have a grudge against him. Right now, I’m just pretending to go along with things, but I’ll kill him when I get the chance. You know nothing...”

“Oh...” The girls shrank back and did not dare say another word.

Sisi paced back and forth, gritting her teeth and asking, “Any news from outside?”

Just as she spoke, a tribesman hurriedly reported, “Saintess, the Black Hmong, along with those Xia swordsmen, are urgently searching for Yue Hongling. But most of the tribes aren’t cooperating. They’re saying the assassination attempt on the pacification commissioner has nothing to do with them, and several fights have broken out in various places.”

Sisi nodded slightly. “That’s exactly the effect we wanted... This way, any potential unity among the tribes is gone. Now I’m curious what tricks the Black Hmong will pull next.”

“Saintess, saintess!” Another tribesman hurried in, “Lei Ao came with his men. He claims he’s here looking for Yue Hongling.”

Sisi sneered. “Ambushing the mountain path, setting up gu poison everywhere, who gave Lei Ao the audacity to invade our tribe on some random pretext?”

The tribesmen exchanged awkward looks with each other. For others, it might be a pretext, but for the saintess... Isn’t she literally harboring Yue Hongling? How can she still sound so righteous? It’s almost as if she believes her own words!

To be honest, they weren’t sure whether their saintess’ gritted teeth were directed at Lei Ao or at the shameless couple in the tent. It felt like she would rather have Lei Ao drag Yue Hongling out of here. Before Yue Hongling showed up, the saintess had been smiling all day. But what about now? Someone was fooling around inside, and she was out here keeping watch for them?

“Saintess, saintess! Lei Ao is breaking in!”

Sisi frowned.

How odd—is he really trying to force his way in? Where did Lei Ao get the courage to provoke us? Is it Shi Wuding?

Sisi did not have time to think. She strode toward the gate, “Everyone, follow me! Kill anyone who dares to break in!”