Tending the Wounds

Stepping into the barracks, Xu Yuan found the layout identical to when he had visited not long before. The sand table, the armor stands, and an assortment of weapons lent the room a solemn, chilling gravity. Li Qingyan was not there. The vast, empty barracks were so quiet it was almost unnerving. *Tap.* *Tap.* His boots made soft sounds against the floor. As Xu Yuan walked inward, his gaze drifted from the vacant head seat to the scattered scraps strewn across the floor. Staring for a moment at those "scraps," which were stained with viscous black fluid and faintly gleamed with a metallic sheen, Xu Yuan bent down and picked up a sizeable piece. Sensing the array patterns carved into its surface, a strange look flashed in his eyes. These were fragments of armor. Li Qingyan's armor? A commander's personal armor went far beyond standard-issue gear; each piece was custom-made, perfectly harmonized with the military array cultivation methods of their border army. Never mind someone of Li Qingyan's standing—even Yuan Hao's armor cost at least a hundred thousand taels of silver to forge, and on the open market it would fetch several times that amount. Under normal circumstances, even if the commander died, such armor would at most suffer localized damage. Thinking this over, Xu Yuan looked at the armor shards scattered across the floor, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. *Hiss... The armor was battered into scrap. That chest-binding princess should be fine, right?* Casually tossing the armored vest back to the floor with a clatter, Xu Yuan walked unhurriedly toward the space behind the folding screen. He had seen the fighting at the eastern wall, but the decisive clash at the southern wall had likely been several degrees more brutal. With a soft sigh, Xu Yuan shook his head and pushed the thoughts aside. Behind the screen lay a short corridor. At its end stood a modest room, no different from the quarters of an ordinary soldier. In an army, if one wished to earn the soldiers' love and respect, one had to live by roughly the same standards as the ranks—at least on the surface. Arriving before the door, Xu Yuan raised his hand to knock, but after hesitating in midair for a fraction of a second, he decided to just push it open. Going by conventional tropes, what came next ought to be the crowd-pleasing scene of applying medicine to tend wounds. Knocking and formalities could probably be skipped. Besides, that female god of slaughter inside hardly seemed the type to care about such trivialities. Just as the thought crossed his mind, a voice spoke from within: "...Just come in. In the future, you may enter my chambers whenever you wish. There is no need to hesitate outside the door." "..." *Tsk, why does hearing that actually feel a little touching?* Xu Yuan shook his head. If this went on, one of these days he would end up completely brainwashed by this wicked woman. Gathering his thoughts, Xu Yuan pressed his hand against the door. *Creak—* The door was unlocked, swinging open with a gentle push. Xu Yuan's gaze instantly fell upon the woman seated cross-legged on the bed. Stripped of her armor, she was half-naked, clad only in her chest binding and undergarments. Her skin appeared fair and delicate in the dim light. Xu Yuan smiled, about to speak, but swallowed his words the very next instant as his brow furrowed slightly. Across her smooth, porcelain skin stretched a gory laceration deep enough to expose bone. It extended from her left hip all the way to her right ribs. Her tightly wrapped chest binding had even been sliced open, torn under the strain to reveal a glimpse of her compressed underboob. An inch higher or slightly off to the side, and any future child of hers would have needed a wet nurse. A heavy silence hung between them for a moment. Exhaling softly, Xu Yuan walked over and sat on the edge of her bed. After a pause, he asked, "Does it hurt?" Li Qingyan glanced at him sidelong and smiled. "Is my prince consort concerned about me? There is no need; I am used to it." Xu Yuan openly swept his gaze over her exposed skin and chuckled. "I don't see any other scars, though." The corner of Li Qingyan's red lips curled slightly as she looked into his eyes. "I am a woman after all. The scars I suffered in past battles were all removed with secret medicines." "Well, you're certainly candid about it." Xu Yuan smiled, pausing before adding with a soft laugh, "I used to think anyone who led armies into battle would be covered in scars." "Mm... if my prince consort has a particular preference for such things, I can leave this scar untreated." *Battle-damaged look?* *She really knows how to play.* Xu Yuan did not pursue the topic, asking instead, "You seem in good spirits. Did the battle go well?" Li Qingyan shook her head. "That barbarian was as difficult to deal with as ever. However..." As she spoke, she raised a slender, jade-like finger and pointed toward the inner wall of the room with an air of showing off. Curious, Xu Yuan turned to look. Resting upon the weapon rack that usually held her saber was a thick, muscular arm roughly five feet long. Menacing bone spurs jutted from it, and its heavy layer of horn looked impenetrable at a glance. "The Barbarian King's?" "Naturally." Li Qingyan seemed in high spirits as she murmured, "Since he wounded me so gravely, he naturally had to leave something behind." "..." Xu Yuan hesitated slightly and asked in a low voice, "With the Barbarian King's cultivation, can't he just grow another arm?" Earlier in the Great Desert, that Dachao prince had only been in the fourth rank, yet he had regrown a severed limb in the blink of an eye like a certain Namekian. A smile danced in Li Qingyan's phoenix eyes. "Using a secret military array art, I severed it along with the origin of his intent-soul. Even if he finds a way to restore an arm, this one can never be used again." "..." Xu Yuan stared at Li Qingyan with an odd expression. *You know the Reaper Death Seal too?* After a brief silence, Xu Yuan asked, "Then what about your wound..." As he spoke, he circulated the Blood Yuan Heart Calamity Art to extend his intent-soul. The next instant, Xu Yuan immediately sensed that this chest-binding princess had been battered so badly she was leaking qi; the Source Qi throughout the entire room was churning violently because of her. Moreover, a bizarre fluctuation clung to the bloody laceration. Not only did it impede her body's natural regeneration, but it also actively sought to deepen and widen the wound. A severe injury compounded by continuous bleeding. Were it not for Li Qingyan's formidable cultivation, even a minor cut infected by such an aura would have worsened into a fatal wound. Li Qingyan's expression remained serene, as though the bone-deep blade slash were not on her own body. Unperturbed, she retrieved a loose set of red combat robes from her Sumeru ring. "It is of no consequence. I can suppress it with my cultivation for the time being." She began dressing herself with crisp, gallant movements. While the red robes could conceal the blood seeping from her midriff, Xu Yuan suddenly reached out and caught the hem of her garment. Li Qingyan glanced back. Their eyes met for a breath, and a trace of amusement lit her phoenix eyes. "What? Has my prince consort not had his fill of looking upon my body?" "A princess's body is something one could never tire of looking at in a lifetime." "..." After a moment of silence, Li Qingyan slid the red robe off once more. Her slender, shapely figure stood upright before him. Leaning forward slightly, she raised a hand to lightly caress Xu Yuan's cheek, her phoenix eyes narrowing into two shimmering slits. "Prince Consort, your words just now... have stirred my heart a little." "To stir the princess's heart is my honor." Xu Yuan grinned while inwardly rolling his eyes. A woman's sweet words were pure deceit. He would have to be out of his mind to believe this wicked woman's honeyed tongue. Pausing for a breath, Xu Yuan glanced at the gruesome, unbandaged wound at her waist. "Princess, are you not going to treat the injury?" Her phoenix eyes flickered for a fraction of a second as she straightened up. "Treating it or leaving it makes little difference. I can only use Source Qi to temporarily staunch the bleeding and prevent it from worsening." Xu Yuan retrieved a small, ink-black bottle from his Sumeru ring and held it out in his palm toward Li Qingyan. "This was a gift Lou Ji gave me earlier." That mature lady Lou Ji was a master of poisons, but medicine and poison shared the same root, and whatever she gave him was usually the finest stock she possessed. A peculiar look entered Li Qingyan's eyes. "Director Lou's secret medicine?" Xu Yuan smiled faintly and explained, "She claimed it was an aphrodisiac for me to trick young girls with, but I had someone examine it. It turned out to be healing medicine, supposedly capable of mending any external trauma." Li Qingyan looked deeply at Xu Yuan, her gaze fraught with meaning. "Director Lou truly dotes on you, my prince consort." With that, she climbed onto the bed and laid down flat beside him without the slightest hesitation. Her alluring, pear-shaped figure seemed laid out entirely for the taking. Seeing this posture, Xu Yuan naturally understood what was expected and said no more. He popped the stopper off the small black bottle, and an exotic fragrance immediately drifted through the chamber. The ointment inside was a viscous green liquid. Practiced, Xu Yuan poured a bit of the balm into his palm and smoothed it evenly over one finger. Once prepared, he glanced at the peerless beauty lying on the bed and instinctively cautioned her, "It might sting a bit. Bear with it, and try not to scream." Li Qingyan's striking phoenix eyes flashed with amusement. "Rest assured. I am no pampered maiden from some noble boudoir—" Before she could finish, her teeth abruptly sank into her lower lip, cutting off her words. Her delicate brows drew tight in an instant. Xu Yuan's medicine-coated finger had barely grazed the wound. "..." Witnessing this, Xu Yuan's first instinct was that she was playing the frail victim to create a charming contrast. He could hardly help it—the chest-binding princess's image as an overbearing, manipulative woman who loved to gaslight others was deeply ingrained in his mind; whatever she did, he could not help but be suspicious. Amid the silence, her strained voice drifted over softly: "Continue..." Biting her lip, fine beads of sweat breaking out across her pale forehead, Li Qingyan struggled to keep her tone steady. "This... this medicine works." Xu Yuan hesitated a moment, then chose to observe with his intent-soul. As his senses extended, he realized at once that Li Qingyan was not feigning. The moment Lou Ji's ointment came into contact with the wound, it reacted violently with the bizarre energy clinging to her flesh. The clash was as ferocious as saltpeter plunged into water, gnawing at her like ten thousand ants devouring her heart. "Alright," Xu Yuan nodded. "Bear with it." Saying so, he first cut open a small section of her chest binding along the line of the blade wound. It was necessary to apply the medicine. Yet this action caused the already strained cloth to split upward a short distance, revealing a generous swell of fair, delicate flesh. "..." Xu Yuan's hand paused briefly. He glanced down at her. The chest-binding princess tilted her head toward him with a faint smile, her eyes showing neither embarrassment nor concern. Finding her lack of reaction rather dull, Xu Yuan pressed his finger against her wound, moving gently and deliberately. In his memory, this was his first time tending to another person's injuries, yet for some reason his movements were remarkably practiced. It was as though the skill were etched into his very body. A short while later, he had spread the ointment evenly across her wound. Yet when he looked back up at the captivating woman on the bed, he noticed something was amiss. Her eyes were half-shut. In addition to the fine sheen of sweat on her flawless, exquisite face, an unnatural, flushed redness had crept across both her cheeks. "..." Looking at her in this state, Xu Yuan rubbed his chin. *That old woman Lou Ji didn't actually mix an aphrodisiac into this healing balm, did she?* After waiting a moment without any reaction from Li Qingyan, Xu Yuan tested the waters: "Princess...?" Li Qingyan slowly opened her eyes. Her spirited phoenix eyes were now veiled in a light mist of moisture, and her raspy voice carried a distinct tremor. "W-What is it?" "I'm done applying it," Xu Yuan reminded her. Li Qingyan checked her condition for a moment. Resting against the soft pillow, her long hair spilling loosely behind her head, she gave a slight shake of her crown. A faint, almost imperceptible trace of allure laced her words: "Not... not enough. The medicinal potency isn't enough. Continue." With that, she closed her eyes once more. Xu Yuan licked his somewhat dry lips. *Oh no.* *Are we really about to replay that classic trope?* In the stillness, an ambiguous tension quietly diffused through the room. Li Qingyan's voice broke the silence, sounding much calmer now: "Continue. The layer you just applied isn't enough to dissolve the Barbarian King's corrosive blade qi." Xu Yuan cleared his throat lightly. "Princess, your condition seems a bit off right now. What I mean is... this medicine doesn't actually contain an aphrodisiac, does it?" As an exemplary young man well-versed in evading blame, he needed to absolve himself of responsibility beforehand. The room fell dead silent. It grew so quiet that Li Qingyan seemed to forget even the pain. After a long while, Li Qingyan kept her eyes shut, her long eyelashes quivering faintly. Biting her lip, she murmured in a low, clear voice, "I would know if there were an aphrodisiac in it. And even if there were, I wouldn't care. The city is in peril; treating the wound takes precedence. Until I tell you to stop, continue..." *Fair enough. That was the exact reassurance I needed.* Xu Yuan hesitated no longer. Scooping more ointment onto his fingertips, he swept them swiftly across the wound at the chest-binding princess's waist. "..." There was no cry of pain, but a rustling sound arose from the bed. Driven by the searing agony, the hand that had held sabers for years suddenly clenched tight. Her long, porcelain legs bent slightly, and her crystalline toes curled into the crimson bedsheets. Visible to the naked eye, the wound had already begun to knit together. Yet she did not call a halt. He continued. Still, she gave no command to stop. "..." Just as Xu Yuan was about to apply another coat, his half-kneeling posture beside the bed stiffened slightly. He glanced down at the small black bottle in his hand. *Wait a minute...* If he had not misinterpreted her words earlier, she had meant that the medicine held no mind-altering or aphrodisiac properties whatsoever. And if it held no such effect... Realizing the truth, Xu Yuan's expression turned utterly bizarre. Without a word or an expression, Xu Yuan simply tipped the entire bottle, pouring all the remaining emerald liquid directly onto Li Qingyan's waist, then instantly mobilized his Source Qi to funnel it all into the wound. The next instant— "*Ngh—*" Her slender waist arched abruptly, and a soft, breathy whimper tinged with undeniable sensuality rang out in the quiet chamber. An outsider would likely never in their lifetime imagine that such a sound could ever slip past the lips of this female god of slaughter. The very moment the sound escaped her, Li Qingyan's phoenix eyes snapped open. Their gazes locked. Seeing his bizarre, amused look, Li Qingyan instinctively averted her eyes for a split second. Yet it was only for a split second. Regaining her composure, Li Qingyan slowly sat up. Though a flush still lingered across her flawless cheeks, her voice had already returned to its usual composure: "The blade wound is ninety percent healed. Director Lou's medicine must be extraordinarily precious. Prince Consort, whatever you desire, so long as I can grant it—" "No need," Xu Yuan cut her off. Gazing at the residual flush on her beautiful face, he leaned in inch by inch, reached out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and said softly, "Qingyan, you've already given me what I wanted most just now. Mm... I truly look forward to the day of our wedding."