Chapter 14 (2/2)

Ahhh

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

These two jerks.

I’m not dealing with this anymore.

“Where are you going…?” Fang Hua finally abandoned his smooth tone and that well-behaved expression.

“I’m going to soak in a medicinal bath,” I half-turned but didn’t move, wavering between staying and leaving.

“You don’t need to today,” he looked at me and with a toss of his hand, caused the flaps of his sleeves to open. Something flew out from its depths towards me. Surprised, I reached out and caught it in my hands.

It was a white porcelain vase as big as my palm, stoppered with a brilliant red cloth. It looked extremely cute and felt cool to the touch.

“This is the antidote I just made today. Mix it with the water behind the house and spread it over your body.” He stood there smiling at me, a warm look in his eyes.

“Many thanks to yifu.”

Han Zichuan looked at us, a confused expression on his face. But I didn’t feel like paying him any attention, especially when I felt so excited.

Heaven and G.o.d on Earth…

I finally received the antidote.

The next moment I was nearly tripping over myself to get to the back of the house. The willow catkins swayed in the wind. I took a few steps into the woods and came upon the jade-colored pond, its waters lit up dazzlingly by the sunlight that streamed down from between the trees.

I looked around me, and let out a whistle.

Taking off my outer robes, I left them on the rocks and leaped into the water, where I slowly sank down as I swam towards the center…

Summer had finally arrived, but I still couldn’t help but tremble at the cold. The water here was completely frigid year-round, but it never froze. Its jade-green hues gave off a carefree, happy feeling. Fang Hua once said that the waters here were extremely helpful for refining medicines.

Right…the medicine.

I held the bottle between my fingers as I pulled out the stopper. Then I poured some into my palm and slathered it over an arm.

It was weird, but the oily liquid in my palm suddenly started to burn my arm with a scorching heart…then it turned numb, and the dark black layers of my skin seemed to become a little red. I started to worry and immediately soaked my arm underwater, where it felt a little better.

I glanced suspiciously at the medicine, afraid to use any more.

— [Most up to date translations for this series can be found on volaretranslations.]

Wasn’t this just made today?

I’m not being used to test it out, right?

I swam back to sh.o.r.e, deciding it’d be best to ask Fang Hua for an explanation. But just as I was setting the bottle aside, my foot carelessly stepped onto a fragment of rock. The hand holding the medicine was still covered in medicinal oil and very slippery. In a flash, the bottle slipped out of my grasp, flipped in the air a few times, and splashed me in the face with its contents…

Curses…

A numbing, raging fire…

I shut my eyes and plunged into the water.

With pain like this, it felt like my face was burning off. Eyes half-open, I groped around until I found my clothes by the sh.o.r.e again, and used them to wipe myself. When I finally opened my eyes, I seized up at the sight of a pair of boots…

There was also the soft, draping folds of a robe adorned with plum blossom branches, giving its squatting owner a unique style.

“Shao’er, your face…” Han Zichuan had an uncertain expression as he poked me, before scooting closer for a better look. He rubbed at the skin gently, but the cooling sensation of his finger caused me to give a contented sigh.

In response, his face turned red.

I looked at him, not understanding. He looked even more confused than I felt.

What?

He kept rubbing gently at my skin until his finger dug at something. I felt a cold sensation on my face, as if something was being torn off…

-o- [Most up to date translations for this series can be found on volaretranslations.]

[1]no silver buried here (此地无银三百两) －cidi wuyin sanbailiang, or “no 300 taels of silver buried here”, meaning a clumsy denial resulting in self exposure, a weak excuse that gives everything away. Based on a folk tale of a man who tried to hide his money in just a way.