Chapter 119: How Long Will the Hug Last?
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The rain stopped.
Ye Jingtang carried a small package and walked back to Dye Workshop Street. It was already past dinner time.
It had been more than 20 days since he left the capital. The old and dilapidated street was completely unrecognizable. He could see sheds erected everywhere and half-rebuilt stores. The ground needed to be relaid with blue bricks. The old and broken bricks had been pried off, leaving potholes and puddles ail over.
He jumped left and right on the street and arrived at Double Osmanthus Alley. Before he got close to the courtyard, he heard a voice coming from behind the wall.
“Wipe it well. You can only eat after you’re done.”
Coo.”
“What coo? You’ve grown round after eating all day long…”
“Chirp…”
It was the familiar elegant and gentle voice of the big sister and the aggrieved cries of the bird.
Ye Jingtang smiled and quickly walked to the courtyard door. The courtyard was as clean as before, and the bonsai under the vegetable trellis was verdant and lush. The doors of the main room and the west wing were open.
Zhe Yunli was wearing a red top and a white pleated skirt with flower petals. She had her hair up in double buns commonly worn by unmarried girls. She didn’t look like a Jianghu girl at all. She looked more like a well-behaved and witty little young woman. She was using a feather duster to clean the table and chairs in the main room while humming. “Mmhmiib”
In the kitchen on the right, Luo Ning was wearing a blue summer dress and an apron, wiping the dusty corners of the table. Her long black hair reached her waist, and there was a blue hairpin in her hair. With her exquisite waist and hips, coupled with her delicate face, she looked like a gorgeous cook.
The big fluffy bird was standing beside the rice vat, its claws stepping on a small linen cloth as it circled listlessly around the vat to clean it.
When he returned home after work, he saw the mother and daughter diligently tidying up the small house with the little pet helping by the side. He felt…
lie felt that he might be beaten to death by the Pacifying Heaven Cult Master!
When Ye Jingtang thought of the Pacifying Heaven Cult Master, all the miscellaneous thoughts in his head disappeared. He walked into the courtyard.
“Chirp!” As if the bird had been pardoned, it threw down the rag and wanted to fly out, but Luo Ning stopped it with a look.
Luo Ning didn’t turn around, but her wiping slowed down.
Zhe Yunli turned around, revealing her energetic little face. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Ye Jingtang’s bandaged right hand. She frowned and hurriedly ran to the door. “Brother Jingtang, why are you injured?”
Luo Ning, who was originally cold, immediately turned around when she heard this. When she saw that Ye Jingtang’s right hand was wrapped like it had been broken, graveness and worry flashed across her eyes. She put down the linen cloth and walked over. “What happened to you?”
“I was dealing with a small matter in the morning and got into a fight with someone.”
Ye Jingtang walked into the house, took out a jewelry box, and threw it to Yunli.
Zhe Yunli caught the jewelry box and looked at Ye Jingtang’s injury and complexion seriously.
Ever since Luo Ning got to know Ye Jingtang, she had never seen him suffer a loss. He has basically dealt with the Wingless Owl, Zhou Ying, Jian Yuhua, and so on all in seconds. This was the first time she saw him return with bandages.
Luo Ning wiped her hands on her apron, picked up Ye Jingtang’s right hand, and checked his fingerbones. “Who did you fight? Who can injure you like this?”
Ye Jingtang was completely fine. It was just some grazed skin on the back of his hand, but the princess had been very concerned. After she bandaged it, it looked like his hand had been broken.
Seeing the rare concern in Heroine Luo’s eyes, Ye Jingtang hesitated for a moment and pretended to be in pain. “1 fought someone from the Iron Buddha Ridge. Hiss! It hurts a little.”
Seeing this, Luo Ning immediately became much gentler and instructed, “Yunli, go buy some rice. I’ll take a look at your Brother Jingtang’s injury.”
“Okay.” Zhe Yunli’s eyes were also full of concern. After carefully looking at Ye Jingtang’s right hand a few times, she carried the bird and ran out the door.
Luo Ning pulled Ye Jingtang to the main room and sat down in front of the bed. She placed his right hand on her thigh and took out medicine.
Ye Jingtang sat upright on the bed and watched Heroine Luo remove the bandage worriedly. He felt that he would be beaten up later. He thought for a moment and hugged Luo Ning with his left hand.
Luo Ning, who was unwrapping the bandage on his right hand, sat up straight, and embarrassment flashed across her eyes.
Before she could say anything, she heard Ye Jingtang say seriously, “Let me hug you. Don’t get angry when I hug you. You must be willing to admit defeat.”
?
Luo Ning gritted her teeth. She felt that this little thief was completely heartless, but in the end, she still followed the bet. She suppressed her anger and continued to remove the bandage. “At a time like this, you still haven’t forgotten to take liberties with a woman. Really… Did you meet the Glaring Vajra?”
“I met his brother, Second Cheng.”
Luo Ning blinked. She had never heard of this person. She frowned and asked, “Is Second Cheng also a top expert?”
No, he’s just a street gangster.”
“A street gangster injured you like this? Were you drunk and couldn’t stand steadily?”
“I didn’t draw my saber. I hit him with my fist.”
Luo Ning raised her eyes in confusion. “The Iron Buddha Ridge practices defensive martial arts. Why did you hit him with your fists? Did someone take away your saber?”
“I just wanted to test how domineering defensive martial arts were. The people of Jianghu boast about it so much, but in the end, I still beat him to the ground.”
Luo Ning opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say. “You’re a saber Grandmaster, yet you still have the cheek to be complacent when you injured your hand dealing with an ordinary gangster…”
Before she finished speaking, she removed the bandage, revealing the back of his right hand, showing the obvious injury…
Fortunately, Ye Jingtang came back in time. If he had been a few hours later, Luo Ning really wouldn’t have been able to find the wound.
?!
Luo Ning was stunned for a long time. When she saw this ‘injury’, her willowy eyebrows instantly raised. She looked up at Ye Jingtang, and anger gradually surged in her eyes. “Ye Jingtang!”
Ye Jingtang hurriedly hugged the furious Heroine Luo tightly. “You promised not to be angry. I was indeed injured, but the medicine was good, so I recovered quickly.”
Luo Ning gritted her teeth, threw the bottle of medicine to the side, and tilted her head to look elsewhere. “Have you hugged enough?”
If Ye Jingtang let go, he would probably be beaten up, and he definitely hadn’t hugged her enough. He changed the topic. “By the way, when 1 punched Second Cheng today, the skin on his forehead had cracks like porcelain. Do you know what kind of martial arts this is?”
Luo Ning’s eyelashes fluttered as she turned around. “Porcelain?”
“It looked like ice cracking, the kind of spiderweb patterns created when you punch it. I feel that it’s not a defensive martial arts at all. Do you think it’s possible that it’s the ‘Golden Scale Picture’?”
Luo Ning’s beautiful face was solemn as she recalled carefully. Suddenly, she frowned and said coldly, “Hand!”
Ye Jingtang was also thinking. His hand subconsciously slid down a little and touched something very plump and beautiful. Seeing that Heroine Luo was angry, he slid his hand up. “I wasn’t paying attention. Don’t be angry.”
Luo Ning’er pressed her hand against the sword at her waist, her eyes threatening Ye Jingtang for a moment before she continued to think seriously. “Xue Baijin said before that after mastering the Golden Scale Picture, the skin will be as tough as dragon scales and be nigh indestructible… The description is very different from what you said, so it shouldn’t be.”
Ye Jingtang didn’t think someone like Second Master Cheng could practice the Roaring Dragon Chart. “It’s probably a strange martial arts technique. When his brother, the Glaring Vajra, comes to find trouble, I’ll beat him up and study it carefully.”
Luo Ning glanced at the big hand on her waist. She wanted to be angry, but she couldn’t. Her face was as cold as an iceberg as she asked again, “Haven’t you hugged enough? How long will the hug last?”
Let’s finish talking.” Ye Jingtang turned to look at Luo Ning and asked, “Is there anyone else from the Pacifying Heaven Cult in the capital?”
“What do you mean?”
“Yesterday, an official was killed by someone from the Pacifying Heaven Cult…”
“That’s impossible.” Luo Ning shook her head solemnly. “I just arrived at noon today. The few helm masters I brought are all staying outside the city. I’m still in the city. It’s impossible for Xue Baijin to hide it from me and arrange for people to come to the capital to cause trouble.”
Ye Jingtang thought for a moment and said, “Then, someone is deliberately framing. The murderer used the Wandering Body Palm of ‘South Mountains Iron Trigram’ Zhang Henggu, but the people from the Black Office and the Ministry of Justice didn’t see any problem. Does Zhang Henggu have a disciple who defected?”
“Wandering Body Palm…” Luo Ning recalled for a moment. “The Wandering Body Palm is Protector Zhang’s unique technique. He has only taught it to Xue Baijin and his disciples. Even 1 don’t know it. The few of them are all in the South Firmament Mountains. It’s impossible for anyone else in the world to know this technique. They must have seen wrongly.”
Ye Jingtang was skeptical. “Even the White-Haired Diting confirmed that it’s the Wandering Body Palm. Are you sure it’s not one of your people?”
“Absolutely not. I know all the arrangements of the Pacifying Heaven Cult. The matters in the capital are only about Qiu Tianhe. It’s impossible for outsiders to know the Wandering Body Palm… Where is the corpse? I’ll go take a look. You must be mistaken.”
“In the government office’s morgue. Accompany me to secretly take a look tonight and find clues about the faked palm technique so that I can explain it to the government. Otherwise, the blame can only be placed on the Pacifying Heaven Cult.”
Luo Ning naturally wanted to see it for herself. Just as she was about to get up and prepare, she realized that his hand was still on her waist. She took a deep breath. “Even if 1 abide by the bet, there must be a time limit. You can hug me for fifteen minutes a day at most. When Qiu Tianhe regains his freedom, we’ll be even.”
Ye Jingtang nodded. “Alright, as long as you’re happy.”
As he spoke, he took out a hairpin box and handed it to her.
Luo Ning looked at the exquisite hairpin box and wanted to reject it, but after some thought, she looked at the small package beside her. “Who did you buy the other jewelry for?”
“I bought them for close female friends. I can’t wear them myself.”
?
A trace of suspicion flashed across Luo Ning’s eyes as she tilted her head to look at the package. There are still four items… There are four other women…
Ye Jingtang found her funny. “Don’t think too much. They’re just gifts 1 brought back. Didn’t I buy one for Yunli too? Heroine Luo, since you don’t like it, I’ll just give it to Yunli. 1 think she’ll really like it.”
“What am 1 thinking? You… Little thief, it’s not like I don’t know your personality. It has nothing to do with me…”
After muttering this, Luo Ning put the hairpin box aside and stopped talking…
