Roaring Dragon-Chapter 65: The Calming of Lady Ji

Mudan Pool.

As elite reinforcements and martial soldiers combed the banks of the Huaijiang River for survivors and hidden threats, the royal barge of the Princess's residence slowly made its way back toward the city. Sword fanatic Li Jing and other senior cultivators personally accompanied the vessel, guarding it on all sides.

Inside the cabin reserved for the Princess, the air was heavy with the mingling scents of blood and medicine.

Lin Zisu, dressed in a ruqun gown, leaned over the bed, her porcelain-doll face focused with intensity. She held a golden needle between slender fingers, carefully stitching up a wound over a rib-deep gash in the patient’s chest.

That patient was none other than Xie Jinhuan—lying there on crisp white sheets, his body freshly cleaned of blood but still covered in bruises and purple blotches from the fierce battle. Silver needles sealed his meridians, stuck in his forehead and critical energy nodes. The sheer number of wounds was gut-wrenching.

Princess Changning stood nearby, her usual aloof air nowhere to be found. Worry and guilt were etched deep into her brow. She didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly for fear of disturbing the healer at work.

Linghu Qingmo, who just earlier had been drinking and teasing Xie Jinhuan, now stood red-eyed and regretful. In just a moment’s distraction, he had downed that dangerous pill and thrown himself into a death match. Now he was back, half a corpse.

She bit her lip in silence. If only she’d agreed to his little flirtation earlier—let him steal a kiss, a hug, a playful grope—maybe he wouldn’t have gone alone to risk everything...

Lin Wanyi, though trained in medicine, was better at treating women and poisoning people. Now she busied herself at the bedside, mixing herbs, handing concoctions to Zisu, and gently wiping away blood from Xie Jinhuan’s wounds.

She had just been forcibly kissed by this lunatic, and now here he was—wounded, self-sacrificing, and having wiped out the enemy to save hundreds.

A man this brave and unyielding... even if he’d stolen a kiss before death, that was probably a blessing in disguise for her—a cursed shamaness.

If anything, when a hero faces death, isn’t it tradition to at least let him leave behind a little seed...?

Rustle...

The room was utterly silent, save for the quiet swish of cloth and towels.

Lin Zisu continued suturing, fully concentrated—but halfway through, she noticed sweat beading on Xie Jinhuan’s brow, his skin slowly turning red...

Huh?

She sensed something was wrong and glanced sideways at the Princess, then at Linghu Qingmo and her aunt.

“Your Highness, Lady Linghu, I need you two to step out. You’re distracting me.”

Though nicknamed the "Poison-Handed Medicine Girl," Zisu was a direct disciple of the Academy's Alchemy Hall—no one doubted her skill.

Princess Changning, not versed in medicine, turned at once.

“Let’s wait outside.”

Linghu Qingmo hesitated, but she could only nod, taking three reluctant steps for every backward glance.

“If he wakes up, call us immediately.”

“Got it.”

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The door shut.

Lin Wanyi, having bottled her fury all night, finally let loose now that the others were gone. Brow furrowed, she scolded:

“Zisu! Are you crazy? Who told you to give him that Dao Surge Pill?!”

Zisu didn’t flinch. As the lead doctor here, she had the authority and wasn’t afraid of her nagging aunt.

“My pill wasn’t defective—it just has aftereffects. I told Young Master Xie all the pros and cons. He made the decision himself. Without that pill, everyone on that boat would be dead, and the demons would’ve gotten away.”

Then she pouted.

“Auntie, go comfort him.”

“...What?”

Lin Wanyi looked from the towel in her hand to Xie Jinhuan’s unconscious face, confused.

“How am I supposed to ‘comfort’ him?”

“Kiss him, stroke him a bit. Give him something to focus on.”

“Zisu!!”

Lin Wanyi’s face turned red. She glanced toward the door, then glared.

“I’m your aunt! You want a slap?!”

Zisu lifted her gaze, tone grave:

“The pill clouds the mind and stirs killing instincts and desire. Until it wears off, he’ll keep trying to break free. Right now, his meridians are sealed. His blood’s boiling, and he has no way to vent it. Let him calm down with a bit of intimacy, and he’ll settle.”

Lin Wanyi blinked uncertainly.

“...Really? Last time with Master Li, didn’t they just tie him up?”

“Master Li is old and has no woman. That’s why Mu Fuzi bound him and let him suffer through it. But you? You can fix this without tying anyone up. You were literally bathing in his house last time...”

“That was an emergency! Nothing happened! Don’t twist it!”

“You sure about that?”

“Absolutely!”

Zisu saw her aunt’s flustered resolve and gave a soft sigh.

“Fine. Then go get Lady Linghu. What a waste of a perfectly good aunt...”

“You—!”

Lin Wanyi’s almond-shaped eyes flared wide.

“You give him that freakish pill and I’m the one left to clean up your mess? Do you even feel the tiniest bit guilty?!”

Zisu blinked her large, innocent eyes.

“Then let me do it. Auntie, we’re practically like mother and daughter...”

“...”

Lin Wanyi hesitated. Her expression became complicated.

Meanwhile, Xie Jinhuan’s flushed skin steamed faintly, silver needles trembling. Blood began to bead along his stitches.

Zisu’s eyes sharpened.

“Auntie! Hurry!”

Realizing the meridian seals were failing, Lin Wanyi panicked. She considered calling for Linghu Qingmo—but after all her earlier jealousy, she couldn’t stand the idea of asking her for help now. What would Linghu Qingmo say?

“Are you stupid?”

“He gave you a chance and you blew it...”

And he had kissed her earlier. He’d rushed into battle like a stubborn ox to save lives. Thinking back on that, Lin Wanyi finally sat beside the pillow.

“...How do I start?”

Zisu was busy stitching but still found time to sass.

“You spend all day gossiping with those flirty housewives. Now you ask me? I’ve never even been married!”

“Neither have I!”

“Ugh. Just do what the storytellers say...”

Zisu’s voice shifted into a melodramatic narrator’s tone:

"The demoness glided forward on delicate feet, her eyes full of spring, bosom like congealed jade, as she revealed—"

“Spit!”

Lin Wanyi clapped a hand over her mouth before she could continue, then cautiously lifted Xie Jinhuan’s left hand and placed it on her cheek.

Under her gold-rimmed glasses, her cheeks turned crimson.

And sure enough, Xie Jinhuan, seemingly unconscious, immediately stilled. The wild energy inside him dulled. His struggle against the meridian seals... ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) eased.

“Told you it’d work,” Zisu murmured, stitching.

“Xie Gongzi likes you. If he senses you’re near and soothing him, he’ll suppress his urges. Just keep him steady. We’re almost there.”

“...Mm.”

Face pressed to his palm, Lin Wanyi started out mortified. But seeing how serene he looked while cupping her cheek, her anxiety melted. She shifted slightly, leaning into his hand, eyes softening as she silently scolded him:

Stupid boy. Running off alone like that, trying to be a hero. Must’ve suffered like hell...

And you dared kiss me. What if you’d died? How would I even... get married after that?

...Thank the heavens you came back alive.

“Huff...”

Xie Jinhuan, his mind muddled by spiritual turbulence, reflexively responded to her touch. He stirred, eyes barely fluttering open—

He couldn’t tell if this was real or a dream.

But just an inch away... a breathtakingly beautiful face gazed back at him.

His thoughts were scattered and unfocused, but he recognized her.

Glasses girl...

And with that, he closed his eyes again in peace.

Lin Wanyi saw his reaction and lit up. She leaned in to speak—but froze as his hand began to slide away.

?

What’s this supposed to mean?

Saw it was me and got bored? Don’t wanna touch anymore?

Then why’d you kiss me in the first place?!

Her eyes glimmered with hurt, but she released his hand.

Which promptly drifted down... along her neck...

?!

She jolted like she’d been shocked. Glanced nervously at Zisu. Thankfully, she hadn’t noticed.

You little perv... So that’s what this was about?

Zisu, still stitching, noticed the rising heat.

“Auntie! What are you doing?! Want me to feed you a ‘Sticky Like Glue Powder’ instead?!”

“I-I know what I’m doing!”

Flustered, Lin Wanyi quickly placed his hand back on her face and turned away.

“Keep going or he’ll break the seal and we’re both toast.”

“...Fine...”

Lin Wanyi could tell he wasn’t lucid, but this whole thing was... escalating.

And if he kept sliding his hand lower—

He’s unconscious... just following instinct... he didn’t mean to...

He even saved me before without taking advantage...

He’s doing this for the greater good... I can’t just let him suffer...

She sighed and blocked Zisu’s view with her shoulder, letting his hand roam freely.

Xie Jinhuan finally quieted, like a baby who’d found his pacifier.

?

Her face went bright red. His fingers twitched against her clothes—

This damned brat...

Well, at least he’s calm now...

It’s over your clothes, just endure it...

Hey! You’re actually pretty good at this...

...

The room was dead silent.

Lin Wanyi tried to pretend nothing was happening. Maybe she could just endure it and move on...

But the man who looked so unconscious? He was not done. After a moment of peace, he started trying to warm his hand.

When she ignored him, he began forcibly breaking through his sealed meridians again—

!?

She shoved his hand away, warning him—Any more and you’re getting nothing.

But before she could even breathe, Zisu barked from behind:

“Auntie—!”

Panicking, Lin Wanyi placed his hand right back, only to realize it didn’t work anymore. She hid it in her sleeves to warm it up—

Xie Jinhuan, satisfied, finally relaxed.

His hand, however, discovered something else—her festive Mid-Autumn outfit... layered in enchanted garments...

Feeling the new texture, he instinctively tried to channel qi into the artifact—

But his meridians were still sealed, so...

!?

You have got to be kidding me...

Lin Wanyi nearly threw in the towel. But that black-hearted niece of hers kept pressing—

“Auntie, hurry! He’s almost broken through! If you can’t do it, go get Lady Linghu!”

She’d already let him warm his hand. What more did they want?!

She was still a maiden, for heaven’s sake!

But Xie Jinhuan’s sheer willpower was terrifying. Even with his qi pathways blocked, he managed to force out a strand of spiritual energy—

The artifact, sensitive to such stimulation, responded instantly. A lotus motif blossomed—

Skin against skin.

!?

You absolute—

Lin Wanyi, terrified this would spiral any further, bore it in silence. Her toes curled painfully in her embroidered shoes. Her eyes welled up with unshed tears.

Emergency measures... emergency measures... he’s unconscious...

What kind of crap pill is this?!

If he’s truly senseless, how does he know how to undress someone?!

If this ever gets out, how will I marry?!

Zisu’s going to die tonight...

Meanwhile, Xie Jinhuan, having found his “toy,” finally settled down. Even in his foggy state, he began mentally rehearsing all 18 variations of his Azure Dragon’s Grasp technique—

All the way until the ship returned to Danyang City, he didn’t make another move to break free.