Yun Ya’s gaze was so intense that Feng Miao Jun felt almost dazed. At this moment, she wished she could be a naive and innocent young girl who could wholeheartedly believe his words and trust in his goodness.
But she was the ruler of a nation. Any decision she made personally could potentially affect New Xia’s future and national fortune.
She had to examine, to contemplate… and to doubt.
In her position, she had to fulfill her responsibilities. She didn’t have the luxury of blind trust.
Feng Miao Jun sighed inwardly and tapped the table, “You’ve already left Ying Gong City, right? I should leave now. If I stay in this bottle any longer, I’ll start growing mushrooms on my body.”
Yun Ya smiled pleasantly, “You’ve been away for so long, why not linger a while longer? This is an excellent place for calming the mind and nurturing one’s nature.”
His implication? Feng Miao Jun suddenly realized and glared at him angrily, “You intend to keep me trapped here?”
This was his storage space, and the magical artifact only obeyed its master. If he didn’t want to let her out, she probably couldn’t leave—unless her power had grown strong enough to break through spatial restrictions.
This, she hadn’t tried, nor was she confident about it.
“How can you call it ‘trapped’?” Yun Ya took two steps closer, his tall figure casting her in his shadow. “Since we parted at Yin Zi City, three months have passed without seeing each other. I’m merely inviting you to stay a few more days to alleviate my longing for you.” He gazed at her and sighed softly, “During these hundred or so days, have you thought of me?”
“Stop changing the subject,” she wasn’t fooled and poked his chest. “Let me out quickly. I don’t have the sacred relic fragment with me, so keeping me here serves no purpose.”
What muddle-headedness had she committed when being pursued by the Yan King? She had jumped into this man’s small bottle to seek refuge without a second thought. Despite their previous grievances, despite her seizing the Yao territory from Wei, despite knowing that Yun Ya was gnashing his teeth with hatred and looking for an opportunity to deal with her, why had she inexplicably trusted him at that critical moment?
Look, now she was facing the consequences.
Yun Ya seized the opportunity to catch her small hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss, “New Xia is perfectly peaceful. Since you have no urgent matters to attend to, why not stay here and recuperate properly?” He emphasized the words “recuperate” heavily, then continued, “Besides, after the incident at Yin Zi, you still haven’t compensated me.”
She had snatched away the Yao Kingdom, taken the sacred relic, and made all his efforts futile. This account needed to be settled properly.
Feng Miao Jun remembered that her injuries had just healed, and her spiritual power hadn’t fully recovered. Fighting him now wouldn’t give her much chance of winning. “What do you want?”
“Stay here obediently and keep me company for a while longer, and I’ll let bygones be bygones,” Yun Ya chuckled softly. “Otherwise, don’t blame me for being unkind to New Xia. You know that every agreement has its loopholes.”
This threat, coming from his mouth, carried substantial weight. Feng Miao Jun was furious but knew she had no options at this moment, “A country cannot go a day without its ruler…”
“Fu Ling Chuan will manage things well in your place,” Yun Ya pulled her into his embrace. “You’ve been away from New Xia for so long, and it hasn’t shown any problems.” She had left New Xia when Yun Ya launched his surprise attack on Yin Zi City, and it had been more than three months since then. New Xia had been running smoothly, without any disturbances.
A mature political system should continue to function normally even in the absence of its leader. The fact that New Xia, founded not long ago, already possessed such capability was truly impressive to him.
As Feng Miao Jun was about to speak again, he took advantage of the moment and captured her lips.
He hadn’t savored the noodles earlier with such care. Then she felt a warmth at her waist—his fingertips gently caressing. Yun Ya’s voice was low and hoarse, filled with longing, “Are your injuries healed?”
Feng Miao Jun instinctively sensed the threat and quickly said, “No, not yet.”
Yun Ya stopped and sighed.
A sweet, deep sleep.
When Yu Hai Zhen opened her eyes, this was the scene she saw:
Chen Da Chang was kneeling before her, having already unfastened half of her robe, his gaze fixed directly on her chest. This shock was no small matter—she reflexively swung her hand to slap him!
With her usual strength, she could have sent even an elephant flying, but now, Chen Da Chang easily blocked the strike with one hand while casually explaining, “The water’s boiling. Time to apply medicine.” The medicine needed to be dissolved in boiling water and applied within fifty breaths.
Yu Hai Zhen lifted her hand and immediately felt the weakness in her body, instantly recalling everything that had happened before she fainted. She sternly said, “Don’t you know to wake me first!”
“How could I not?” Chen Da Chang looked innocent. “I called you twice, but you were completely unresponsive, so I thought I’d quietly apply the medicine. If you don’t believe me, ask them.” He pointed at the crane spirits.
Before she could even speak, Big Black nodded repeatedly, swaying its long neck.
“You…” Those two crane spirits were under his command, so who knew if what he said was true or false? Yu Hai Zhen felt a surge of anger in her chest. Seeing him still staring at her, she grew even more furious, “How much longer do you intend to look?”
Her figure had always been beautiful. Although the corpse poison had turned her skin dark, she still maintained her shapely form and curves. Chen Da Chang had indeed unconsciously looked a moment too long. Now, rubbing his nose, he carefully turned her over so that her back was facing up.
Yu Hai Zhen’s outer robe was also a magical artifact, so he couldn’t tear it off like ordinary clothing. Fortunately, the fabric was smooth, and even though it was stained with blood, it didn’t stick to her skin, or else she would have suffered even more.
After falling off the cliff, the little monkey had once treated Yu Hai Zhen’s injuries, discarding her undergarments at that time, so Chen Da Chang didn’t need to struggle with that now. He gently removed the medicine that the monkey had applied, revealing five ghastly finger holes beneath!
Chen Da Chang couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath, “Such powerful corpse poison.” The wounds had festered and swollen significantly. Even after wiping them twice, black blood continued to seep out.
The medicine applied by the monkey hadn’t been effective. However, the broken shoulder bone had been set properly. He looked at it and nodded, “Not bad. If it had been left until now to treat, we might have had to break it again and reset it.” As a powerful cultivator, Yu Hai Zhen had abundant vitality, and her bones healed extremely quickly. If the fracture hadn’t been properly treated by now, it might have healed incorrectly, necessitating breaking it to start anew.
Chen Da Chang brought over a basin of melted snow water and was about to reach for his clothes when Yu Hai Zhen suddenly said, “Use mine.” She took out a silk handkerchief, a beautiful goose-yellow color with a cluster of crab apple blossoms embroidered on it in fine stitches.
The handkerchief was delicate, soft, and fragrant. Chen Da Chang’s nose twitched slightly, and he instinctively sniffed a couple of times. Yu Hai Zhen immediately scolded, “What are you doing!”
“Nothing,” Chen Da Chang also realized his action was inappropriate, but the handkerchief had such a pleasant scent wafting from it, and his reaction had been unintentional.
Just as he placed the handkerchief in the water, Yu Hai Zhen spoke again, “Let the crane spirit do it.” She was naturally fastidious and had lived alone for many years, reluctant to be touched by men. Earlier, when Chen Da Chang had pressed on her back twice, his fingers had felt very hot, and she had already felt uncomfortable.