After selling the game and furs in town, Mei Lin used the silver she earned to visit every medical clinic she could find, seeking a cure for severed meridians. Unfortunately, no one had a solution. However, one elderly doctor mentioned that there might be a healer in the southern countryside of Zhongzhou who could help, though this healer was known to be a leper and wandered from village to village, making him difficult to find.
Zhongzhou wasn’t far from Anyang, only about a hundred li (roughly 50 kilometers) away. At Mei Lin's current pace, she could reach it in half a day. However, the healer was said to be elusive, constantly traveling from one place to another.
Mei Lin carefully inquired about the healer’s exact location, his temperament, and how much he charged for his services, but the old doctor could only shake his head. He only knew about the healer because of a passing mention from a farmer.
Despite the uncertainty, Mei Lin decided it was worth a try and thanked the doctor before leaving. Before she left, the old doctor gave her a piece of advice that made her blood run cold. She returned to the village in a daze, and when she saw the closed gate of their courtyard, she had a fleeting urge to turn around and leave.
But she didn’t.
When she pushed open the wooden gate, she even managed to smile. As usual, she helped Murong Jing He with his needs, changed his position, and heated water for his bath, but she didn’t mention the leper healer.
After placing Murong Jing He into the slightly hot bath barrel, she turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Murong Jing He asked. Normally, when he bathed, she would stay nearby to help wash his back or massage the parts of his body that had been under pressure for too long to prevent bedsores.
Mei Lin paused for a moment, not turning around, and gently said she was going to take her medicine. Murong Jing He didn’t say anything further.
In the kitchen, Mei Lin looked at the medicine pot simmering by the hearth, and her heart clenched. The pain came on more fiercely and intensely than she had expected, forcing her to curl up beside the stove, pressing her fist against her chest until the pain subsided enough for her to straighten up.
With trembling hands, she poured the medicinal liquid into a bowl and downed it in one gulp. But these days, one bowl wasn’t enough to combat the severe pain. She poured the remaining liquid from the pot into the bowl, leaving only the dry dregs behind.
When she returned to the main room, Murong Jing He wrinkled his nose at the smell of medicine clinging to her. "Stop drinking that stuff. The smell gives me a headache."
Mei Lin smiled faintly, not responding.
It wasn’t just that the smell bothered him; the taste of the medicine lingered in her mouth, making her feel as though it might come back up if she so much as tilted her head. But what could she do? Without it, the pain would leave her too weak to function, and their days together would be impossible.
Kneeling by the bath barrel, she dipped her hand into the water and found it still warm. She lowered her eyes, her thoughts drifting until Murong Jing He’s voice snapped her back to reality.
She gave him an embarrassed smile, saying it was nothing, then stood up and began to undress.
Murong Jing He was surprised and hadn’t yet reacted when, in the next moment, she had stripped down to just her undergarments and climbed into the barrel with him. The addition of her body caused the water to spill over the edges and onto the floor.
In Murong Jing He’s memory, aside from the time she had helped wash his soiled body in a stream, they hadn’t bathed together since. He didn’t understand why she was behaving so strangely today—strangely enough to make him feel uneasy.
"Was there anything interesting in town today?" he asked, clearing his throat to break the sudden, awkward silence as her soft body pressed against his back.
Mei Lin, now hanging her wet undergarments on the edge of the barrel, took a cloth and began to gently wash his back as she recounted the details of selling the game in town. She said nothing about her visits to the medical clinics.
"There wasn’t much game, and after buying rice, there wasn’t much money left. I’m thinking of going further tomorrow. If I can catch something like a tiger or leopard, we should have enough fur to make winter clothes for both of us."
Murong Jing He felt a twinge of unease but kept his expression neutral as he calmly asked, "How long will you be gone?"
"Two or three days at most, maybe just one or two," Mei Lin replied, her hands gently moving the cloth over the old scars on his back. Her voice was steady, but her eyes were distant. "I’ll ask the hunter to help keep an eye on you while I’m gone, and I’ll thank him properly when I get back."
Murong Jing He remained silent. He couldn’t bring himself to ask her not to go, but he also couldn’t help feeling frustrated.
Mei Lin’s fingers traced a circular scar on his back, likely from an arrow. The first time she had washed him, she was shocked to find so many ugly scars beneath his fine clothes, finally understanding why he always kept his clothes on during intimate moments.
"How did you get these scars?" she asked, though she could already guess. As someone who had once led armies into battle, it was impossible for him to have remained unscathed. She asked because she wanted to hear about his past in his own words. Reflecting on their time together, it seemed that besides bickering and outsmarting each other, they rarely shared anything personal.
"You’re talking a lot today," Murong Jing He replied coolly, his tone revealing his displeasure at having his privacy invaded.
Mei Lin’s hopeful expression dimmed, and after a moment, she smiled faintly, though the smile didn’t reach her eyes. She said nothing more, but suddenly reached out and hugged him tightly from behind, as if trying to hold on to something.
Murong Jing He stiffened, recalling Wei Lao’er’s words, and a self-mocking smile crossed his face.
"You probably can’t do that... the little lady is in her prime..."
"Do you think..." He paused deliberately before continuing, "I can satisfy you now?" Though he could still perform, he had no desire to be dominated by a woman.
Mei Lin was momentarily stunned, then realized what he meant. Instead of retorting as she usually would, she slowly released him.
"In February, the peach blossoms are red, the apricot blossoms are white, the fields are covered in rapeseed flowers, and the willow leaves are as green as jade..."
In the courtyard, Mei Lin was washing their recently changed clothes. She seemed to be in a good mood, even singing a song, though her voice was hoarse, lacking the clear, soft tones of the past.
Murong Jing He lay in bed, his body still carrying the lingering warmth of the bath. The faint scent of medicine mixed with the fresh, clean scent of the bathwater filled his nostrils—partly hers, partly his.
It was still early afternoon, and the rare good weather after the onset of winter made the sunlight bright, though not particularly warm. The light filtered through the tattered paper windows, flickering over his eyelids like her unexpected kiss, gently plucking at his heartstrings.
When she had lifted him from the water, her body still wet, they had rolled onto the bed together. She had kissed him, her tongue entwining with his, and though the bitterness of the medicine lingered in her mouth, he had tasted sweetness.
Thinking of that moment, the corners of his lips lifted slightly, and the look in his eyes as he gazed outside was softer than it had ever been before.
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