Chapter 1284: Unintentional Burning

In the days of recuperation, clenched teeth were the only speech.The bed curtains always hung on silver hooks; except during the drinking of medicine, a distance ever lay between the two.That distance, far from being confined to this room, far from being limited to the five and a half paces from bedside to tea table.It was another night – Jiang Wang knew not which day it was, for he knew not how long he had been unconscious, and had no means to communicate with others.Counting from the day he awoke, he had taken medicine for a full five days.As on every previous day, Miaoyu entered the room when the night was deep. Still clad in a grey-green monastic robe, with her long hair wrapped in a monk’s hood and her face hidden by a Bodhi mask.Merely by the sound of her footsteps, Jiang Wang could roughly sketch her appearance.Never in his life had he endured such a long state of helplessness. Every day he could only lie rigidly on the bed, slowly circulating his Dao Yuan, silently nourishing his body, awaiting its recovery.He could not cultivate, nor had he surplus strength to explore his inner palace. Even meditating on Daoist techniques in his mind required restraint of his mental energy; after a spell of contemplation, he had to rest.Besides this, he could only listen to those footsteps, receding and then approaching.Truly, this must be his longest period of “rest.” In the past, no matter the circumstance, he had never relaxed his cultivation. But now, constrained by his physical state, he could only circulate Dao Yuan and ponder Daoist techniques intermittently, unable to do more.He had long stretches for sleep, and long stretches for staring blankly.When he slept, he was in a stupor; when he stared blankly, his thoughts ran wild like an unbridled horse.Miaoyu entered the room and, as was her custom, first lit a lamp. The oil in this bronze lamp was rendered from Pipsang resin, habitually used for calming the spirit and steadying the mind, especially suitable for those confined to bed by illness.A single bean of lamp flame softly illuminated the entire room.From a storage box, she successively took out three bowls of brewed medicine, and using a拟身草 (Nǐshēn Cǎo – Mimetic Grass), inspected each one in turn.拟身草 (Nǐshēn Cǎo – Mimetic Grass) is a treasure of the medical path, possessing truly wondrous effects. Upon absorbing a patient’s essence, it will mimic the patient’s physical state, generally used to test medicine for the patient, capable of reflecting the patient’s condition after taking the medicine to the greatest extent.The Mimetic Grass showed a good state, today’s medicine was also very appropriately compounded, and Miaoyu calmly put it away.After slightly adjusting the medicine’s temperature with Yuan energy, she took out a wooden tray, upon which rested the three rather unsightly bowls of medicine, and walked towards the bed – one bowl was a complex mix of colors, another was a sickly green with phosphorescence, and the third was black as ink.She looked at these peculiar concoctions and suddenly remembered that bowl of “soup” from the black bear cave back then, and couldn't help but curve the corner of her mouth.Thus, she walked with even greater eagerness.Her lotus steps moved lightly, and a fragrant breeze stirred.With a graceful posture, she reached the bedside. With a single lift of her hand, she raised the lying Jiang Wang to lean against the head of the bed.The smells of the three bowls of medicine mingled together, compounding into a fearsome odor beyond description. The smell was not merely pungent to the nose; it seemed capable of piercing the very heart.Jiang Wang’s eyes swept over them, and his eyelids couldn’t help but twitch twice.The corner of Miaoyu’s mouth beneath the mask curved upwards again, but she still did not speak, merely holding up one of the bowls and moving it towards Jiang Wang’s lips.The consequences of refusal Jiang Wang already remembered clearly.So, he obediently opened his mouth.More amusement appeared in Miaoyu’s eyes, and she gently poured this bowl of medicine, black as ink, into him.Gulp, gulp.Jiang Wang quickly swallowed.As resolute as he was, his brows were now furrowed together, tightened like iron bars.Miaoyu’s hand was steady, and the second bowl of multicolored medicine was already presented.With a look of facing death unflinchingly, Jiang Wang opened his mouth again...After successively pouring down three bowls in this manner, she collected the medicine bowls and tray together, and casually picked up a handkerchief, wiping haphazardly at Jiang Wang’s mouth.Then, she grasped Jiang Wang’s legs and pulled downwards, returning him from a sitting to a lying posture – this attitude made Jiang Wang feel deeply ashamed, as if he were a baby only a few months old, completely at the mercy of an adult.But he could not voice protest – he knew that woman was waiting for him to speak.Absolutely not.Jiang Wang continued his biting cold war.And Miaoyu had already left the bedside indifferently.One, two, three, four, five... five and a half steps.She sat down at the tea table.She sat with her back to Jiang Wang, cross-legged with her eyes closed.Her slender back was truly like a painting, illuminated on the wall by the lamplight. What kind of painter could depict such a beautiful scene?Before long, the lamplight was extinguished.Lighting lamps with oil rendered from Pipsang resin was excellent for recovery, but it was best to keep them lit for only half an hour each night; more was excessive.The moonlight was also shut out by the window, and now only the flowing night lay between the two of them.One sat, one lay, their breathing both shallow.They seemed to have no ripples of emotion, merely wearing away the time.But both knew that however long the night... it would eventually pass.The unexpected always arrives without invitation.Knock, knock, knock!Suddenly, a knocking sound echoed from the door.Jiang Wang only felt a gust of wind, and he was pushed to the inner side, with someone now beside him.The white curtain had already been drawn down, the small silver hooks swinging emptily back and forth.His mind instantly tensed.“Junior Sister Yuzhen.”A female voice sounded from outside the door.Yuzhen? Her new name?Having recuperated here for so long, this was the first time someone had come to visit. He had once thought no one would come.The woman’s voice sounded from beside him: “Senior Sister, I am already resting. Is something the matter?”Too close...The door had been pushed open, and then closed again.The unknown “Senior Sister” had already entered the room.Jiang Wang was very nervous. He guessed this tension was due to his current identity and situation. The suspicion of being linked to demons had not yet been cleared. How many places in the world would dare to shelter him? He could not be discovered by others.“You need not rise.” Listening to the voice, that ‘Senior Sister’ should be standing by the door: “I will say a few words to you here. To speak with you face to face... I know not what to say.”Jiang Wang only felt as if his arm was touching a mass of water. The water conformed to the shape of his arm, warm and soft.There seemed to be a vortex there, attracting all his attention.Everything was actually very quiet; he clearly heard the sound of his own heartbeat.“Senior Sister... What do you wish to say?”Only at this moment did Jiang Wang realize that her current voice was vastly different from her usual one. The myriad of emotions and charm in her voice had all been reined in, becoming plain, clear, and at ease.From Miaoyu, White Lotus, and now to Yuzhen, what had she experienced?Jiang Wang had always known that he did not understand her. And he had always believed that he did not wish to understand.But he also had no way to block his ears, so at this moment, he could only listen in this awkward manner...“You don’t usually show yourself, yet it’s rare for you to stay in the nunnery these past few days.” The female voice by the door said: “Seeing you, Senior Sister is also very happy...”Miaoyu’s breathing seemed to have deepened, a heaviness that seemed to press upon the air, causing Jiang Wang’s own breathing to become unnatural at this moment.But her voice still flowed out with that clear tone –“My nature is restless; I cannot stay in one place. Sometimes, when I encounter a small cat or dog, I linger for a long time... The affairs of the nunnery, truly you have worked hard, Senior Sister.”Jiang Wang unnaturally tried to move a little to the side, but his body was truly powerless.His breathing became increasingly labored.He didn’t know why, but he felt as if there was a source of fire beside him.There was an unbelievable temperature, searing something.A fire without flame, a burning without a heart.