NOVEL NEXT Chapter 16: The Leecher
Chapter 16: The Leecher
After returning to their room, Xianyun and Yehe began discussing their next steps.
At present, they had committed the same grave crime as Lin Mu—sheltering the Demon Sect’s Holy Maiden.
If Prince Qi were to discover Ji Wutong’s true identity in the future, neither they nor Lin Mu would survive.
Given the circumstances, the only solution was to eliminate this threat as soon as possible by dealing with the Demon Sect traitor.
Unfortunately, having pledged allegiance to Prince Qi relatively late, they lacked clear information about the identity of the Demon Sect spy.
“It seems our only option is to find a way to extract information from Elder Ku Die,” Monk Yehe said helplessly, clasping his hands together.
“Junior Brother, there’s no need to worry too much,” Elder Xianyun replied with a smile, offering reassurance. “Whatever we can think of, Divine Physician Lin can surely think of as well.”
“Perhaps he’s already devised a plan by now.”
“All we need to do is cooperate discreetly.”
Perhaps Old Man Li’s warnings, along with those from Xianyun and Yehe, had finally taken effect on Elder Ku Die.
Or perhaps the old nun had been intimidated by the former clinic master’s reputation.
In any case, she no longer dared to snoop around the clinic during this period.
This allowed Lin Mu to enjoy a few peaceful days.
On this particular day, the clinic had few patients.
Seizing the rare moment of leisure, Lin Mu lounged on a rocking chair, softly humming an old song from his past life.
“Yesterday was like the east-flowing river, gone far away, never to return~”
“Today troubles my heart, full of worries~”
At that moment, Ji Wutong happened to pass by, carrying a basin of laundry—some of it hers, some of it his.
Hearing the song, she paused unconsciously and asked curiously, “The melody of this song is so strange, yet quite pleasant. Did you compose it yourself?”
“I don’t have that kind of talent.”
Lin Mu shook his head, choosing not to claim credit this time.
He didn’t want to risk exposing himself in case Ji Wutong was well-versed in music.
“I heard it from a patient once—apparently, it’s a folk song from his hometown.”
“It’s called ‘New Lovebirds and Butterflies Dream’!”
Lin Mu continued explaining.
Ji Wutong nodded upon hearing this and didn’t press further.
Truthfully, she wasn’t particularly interested in music. It was just that whenever she passed by Lin Mu, she felt an urge to exchange a few words with him.
What they talked about didn’t matter—just speaking to him was enough.
A short while later, Ji Wutong sought out Lin Mu again.
Unlike before, she now appeared shy and hesitant, gripping the hem of her clothes so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
It seemed she had something to ask but was too embarrassed to say it outright.
“Why aren’t you speaking?” Lin Mu asked with a smile, still reclining in the rocking chair.
“Um…” Ji Wutong’s lips parted slightly, her cheeks growing even redder.
“Your breathing is so heavy—have you caught a cold?”
Lin Mu reached out instinctively, following her arm to her wrist to check her pulse.
But Ji Wutong, flustered and annoyed, pulled her hand away.
“N-no, that’s not it.” After stammering for a long while, she finally mustered the courage to speak slowly. “It’s just… I want to take a bath tonight.”
“Could you… help scrub my back?”
Having stayed at the Benevolent Clinic for nearly half a month, plus the time spent traveling, she hadn’t bathed in over a month.
For a clean and beautiful woman like her, this was absolutely unbearable.
After much deliberation, she had no choice but to turn to Lin Mu for help.
Since there were no other women in the clinic besides her, the blind Lin Mu became the most suitable candidate.
“I’ll have Gu Xing heat some water tonight.”
Lin Mu kept a straight face, pretending to respond calmly.
But his flushed cheeks betrayed his own awkwardness and embarrassment.
Seeing this, Ji Wutong’s shyness faded somewhat, and she even felt a mischievous urge to tease him further.
“Why is your face so red?”
“Could it be… you’re embarrassed?”
Ji Wutong leaned close to Lin Mu’s ear and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, “Don’t worry~ I won’t mind.”
“Why would I be embarrassed?!” Lin Mu pushed himself upright from the rocking chair and retorted, “My face is red from the cold!”
“Really?”
“Of course it’s true!” Lin Mu snorted. “I’m a physician—a woman’s body is no different from dirt in my eyes!”
“Oh, my mistake~ You’re not blushing at all~”
Ji Wutong suddenly interrupted Lin Mu’s defense, then giggled softly.
Lin Mu immediately realized—he’d fallen into this woman’s trap!
If he wasn’t blushing, the more he denied it, the more guilty he appeared.
Unbeknownst to him, his face was now as red as a lantern.
Whether from anger or shame, it was hard to say.
“No! I have to turn the tables!”
Lin Mu swore inwardly—when had he ever suffered such a loss?
Mocking a blind man—Ji Wutong, are you even human?
Taking a deep breath, he slumped back into the rocking chair.
Then, in a voice just loud enough for Ji Wutong to hear, he muttered to himself, “I knew I wasn’t blushing~ It’s not like I haven’t seen your body before.”
!!!
“You—!!!” Ji Wutong’s face instantly burned crimson as her thoughts flew back to that day ten years ago in the Purple Bamboo Forest.
Back then, to administer the acupuncture treatment for her poison, Lin Mu had indeed removed her clothes…
“Leecher!!!”
Clenching her left fist, Ji Wutong punched Lin Mu’s chest in flustered anger to express her displeasure.
For the rest of the afternoon, she refused to speak another word to him.
Only when night fell did she reluctantly seek him out again.
“Come on, let’s go to my room!”
Ji Wutong said irritably.
Without waiting for his response, she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the back hall.
Gu Xing, who had just finished heating the water, happened to step out of the kitchen.
Watching the two walk away, he couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
“Didn’t Sister Wutong say she wanted to bathe?”
“Why is she dragging Master along?”
But the next second, as if realizing something, he grinned slyly.
Oh! So it’s a lovebirds’ bath!
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Gu Xing suddenly felt his fatigue vanish.
If it made his master and future mistress happy, what was one pot of hot water?
Even if it were ten pots, he’d never complain!
“It’s still early—might as well practice some martial arts!”
Too excited to calm down, Gu Xing pulled out a fist technique manual from his robe and hurried into the courtyard.
“Hah!”
“Hei!”
“Hah—hei~”
Dropping into a horse stance, he began throwing punches with vigorous force, the movements sharp and powerful.
Though he had only practiced this fist technique for less than half a month, his form was already quite polished.
However, without sufficient internal energy to support it, his strikes were ultimately just flashy moves in the eyes of true graded martial artists.
Martial arts was not something mastered overnight.
It required years of relentless training to achieve real results.
Yet once one reached the graded ranks, profound internal energy and combat insight could easily compensate for technical shortcomings.
This was the greatest divide between martial prodigies and ordinary practitioners.