Chapter 876: Biting the tiger's mouth, her scar
Translator's Note: The "tiger's mouth" refers to the part of the hand between the thumb and the index finger.
Long Feiye and Han Yunxi were both fierce types with strong hearts, but it was easy for each of them to fall apart when faced with each other. That was because they grew restless with worry. Han Yunxi had completely calmed down by now. She looked at Long Feiye’s silent face and knew that he’d definitely go on a big killing spree if something was really wrong with her legs.
Although she was afraid of him losing control, she had the naughty thought of seeing him lose it over her someday. Of course, only when they were in safe surroundings. After a while, Long Feiye’s brows only knitted more intensely, but he didn’t budge.
This fellow, why does he look so good even when creasing his brows? Yet Han Yunxi’s heart still ached at the sight. Despite the pain in her legs, she smiled at him. “They’re only broken, really. It’s not a big deal.”
After escaping from danger, she finally had enough time to worry about her own legs. She didn’t need to inspect them to know that it was only a fracture that could heal normally. A regular doctor would be enough to set the bones until they healed.
Long Feiye didn’t believe it. He stared at her blankly, his eyes filled with aching and self-blame. Although Han Yunxi had a tiny bit of internal energy herself, she didn’t know how to use it. A massive force like the snake tail couldn’t have just broken her bones. His handsome face was drawn into a severe expression as he reproached himself, distressed for her, doted on her, and felt a little flustered. Han Yunxi almost laughed at the sight. Their life and death struggle meant nothing now as long as he was alright.
She tugged on his hand and swung it back and forth. “Really! I’m a puppy if I lie to you. I’m dying from the pain, hurry and find a doctor.”
Long Feiye recovered his senses. “Really?”
“Aiya, aren’t you just annoying?” Han Yunxi lost her patience. The guards nearby broke out into a cold sweat. There was actually a woman in this world who thought His Highness was annoying? How terrifying! More frightening than that was the fact that His Highness actually smiled bitterly while shaking his head.
Although Long Feiye was helpless before this woman, he rejoiced at the fact as well. If anything happened to her, he had no idea what kinds of things he would do. He was about to kneel down when Han Yunxi stopped him and reached out her hand.
“I don’t want you to kneel. Just pull me upright.”
He was incomparably venerated, so she’d never let him condescend to crouch down. That was because she wanted to stand shoulder-to-shoulder by his side as equals!
“Alright!” he agreed.
The two of them were so sweet that the surrounding guards couldn’t help but savor their conversation. Xu Donglin secretly added two more lines to his personal Yexi Record, but he couldn’t help but interrupt the pair now.
“Your Highness, the princess’s legs are broken. It’s best if you don’t pull her up.” he couldn’t help but sigh internally. The princess was still a seventh rank Sage Doctor who’d claimed her own stake in Medical City. How could she had forgotten such basic common sense for first aid?
But recalling the dangers just then, Xu Donglin still had to tremble. It’s already remarkable that the princess can smile at all after all that, so it’s probably normal that she’s forgotten.
Long Feiye immediately stopped after Xu Donglin’s coaxing, while Han Yunxi had to laugh at herself. She must have grown too careless after such a bad scare. After fracturing a bone, the wound had to be set immediately before the bones were displaced enough to affect the surrounding nerves and veins. She suddenly realized that her legs weren’t only hurting, but starting to turn a bit numb. After Baili Yuanlong dragged her away from the snake, then her prolonged treatment of Long Feiye, her fracture sites must be a mess by now. Moreover, there must be internal bleeding going on from the internal veins. She was still kneeling, but once she focused on her legs, she could feel an unbearable pain.
“Xu Donglin, hurry and go find a doctor!” Long Feiye ordered coldly. Broken bones could be treated by simply setting the bones if the fracture wasn’t serious, especially for martial arts practitioners. But faced with Han Yunxi, he didn’t dare to be careless. He could set broken bones too, but now all he felt was anxiety. He didn’t even dare to help her up anymore.
Han Yunxi stabbed a few needles into herself to allay the pain, then said, “Long Feiye, support me, alright? Help me sit up.”
She couldn’t keep kneeling like this. It would only worsen the pressure on her nerves and blood vessels.
“It’ll hurt. I’ll let you bite me,” Long Feiye said as he extended a hand.
Han Yunxi thought two needles would be enough to dull the pain, but reality proved that she had underestimated her pain tolerance. She sucked in a cold breath just by moving slightly.
Long Feiye was anxious, but he had to help her sit. “Endure it. I’ll let you bite me.”
He actually offered up his hand, so she bit down. The surrounding shadow guards exchanged astonished glances. Besides surprise, they couldn’t help but wonder… What does it feel like to bite His Highness?
Han Yunxi had no way to remain sitting, so she ended up lying on the ground. Meanwhile, Long Feiye’s hand was graced with a set of fresh, deep teeth marks. He only glanced at them briefly before ordering all the shadow guards to turn around. Then he lifted Han Yunxi’s skirts to inspect her shins while she stared at the marks on his hand.
A flash of surprise flitted past Long Feiye’s eyes when he saw that she wasn’t injured as severely as he expected. Then he quickly took her pulse and knew that she harbored internal injuries.
“You...did you use your internal energy back then?” he asked in confusion.
“No...it’s not like I know how,” Han Yunxi knew she had internal energy, but not how to use it!
Long Feiye’s body contained both the Lustbite and the Nirvana Heart Arts energy. He had given Han Yunxi the latter, but never thought her body would move to automatically shield itself with her two levels’ worth. This must have been a psychological response to stress and danger. Typically speaking, only cultivators with five levels of internal energy or above had the ability, but Han Yunxi could do it with just two. As expected, her innate talents were astounding.
“Looks like you’re well suited to the Nirvana Heart Arts energy. If it hadn’t protected you today, you would have…” Long Feiye trailed off into a long sigh.
Xu Donglin was quick to return with a doctor--not one from the military, but the surrounding village. After all, they still had to keep the princess’s identity a secret. Most people wouldn’t recognize them on sight since they were dressed in ordinary clothes today. The doctor had a fright when he saw the snake queen’s corpse in the den, so he nearly toppled to the ground when he met Long Feiye’s piercing gaze next.
“Doctor, you don’t need to worry. It’s very safe here,” Xu Donglin reassured him in low tones until he calmed down. He carefully examined Han Yunxi’s injury, then began treatment. All of the shadow guards kept their backs turned, leaving Long Feiye alone to stare at him work. This gave undue pressure to the doctor. Although setting bones was different from taking a pulse and demanded direct contact rather than through a screen, the doctor still felt like he was committing some heinous crime. He didn’t dare to spare His Highness a glance. Typically speaking, he was supposed to chat with the patient and distract her while he set the bones, but Long Feiye’s gaze made it impossible for the doctor to even speak. After finishing his preparations, he simply went ahead and pulled the bones straight!
“AH!” Han Yunxi felt terrible because of the pain, but the doctor didn’t stop. He quickly dealt with her other leg too, since short-lived pain was better than drawn-out agony!
Han Yunxi really couldn’t take it anymore. She grabbed Long Feiye’s hand and bit down, hard. Long Feiye didn’t even knit his brows. He let her bite as she wished while gently stroking her hair. The doctor thought he was doomed, but seeing Long Feiye remain so calm, he rejoiced at his good fortune. After coating the legs in medicine and setting them in place, he bandaged the legs and finished his work. Then he wrote a prescription and told them what to watch out for before hastily running to Xu Donglin’s side. He was still scared! He feared that Long Feiye would dig out his eyes in a moment of unhappiness. But Long Feiye only ignored him to focus on Han Yunxi’s legs.
“Do they still hurt?”
“No,” Han Yunxi pointed at his hand with an apologetic expression. “Does it hurt...for you? I’m sorry…”
Only then did Long Feiye saw that his tiger’s mouth (the part of the hand between the thumb and index finger) had been bitten into a bloody messy. The teeth marks were extremely deep.
“Hurry and treat it, or else it’ll leave a scar,” Han Yunxi said anxiously. She hadn’t meant to bite him so hard, but it was really too much just then. A scar on the tiger’s mouth was impossible to hide, so if it really scarred, anyone would be able to notice.
Long Feiye raised his hand for a closer look before he finally laughed out loud. “Hehe, I won’t treat it. Just let it scar, it looks quite nice.”
“Long Feiye!” Han Yunxi panicked.
“Count this as your makeup Qiqiao gift for this crown prince!” Long Feiye was in excellent spirits.
Besides staring speechlessly at the skies, what else could Han Yunxi do? She figured she’d treat him secretly after he fell asleep tonight. Scarring from bite marks differed from the norm, because it’d be obvious to tell that someone had bit him! Moreover, the teeth marks would be distinctly female. Long Feiye was clearly leaving evidence of her crime!
The doctor was about to leave when Long Feiye suddenly asked, “Does it have to be 100 days?”
Typically speaking, it took 100 days to heal a bone fracture!
“Y...yes...yes! It can only heal after 100 days. Within that time, by no means should…” as the doctor stuttered on with the typical prognosis, Long Feiye interrupted him.
“Is there any medicine that can speed up the healing process?”
Han Yunxi smiled. “Xu Donglin, send the doctor away. Remember to pay the consultation fee.” A village doctor like this would be some experienced, high-level expert. How could he know so much? If Long Feiye kept asking questions with his icy face, he’d scare him silly.
“Let’s go back first. We can ask Medical City and Medicine City,” she said before sighing. “It’d be nice if Gu Beiyue was around…”
They still couldn’t get in contact with him, even now. White-robed gentleman, ah, white-robed gentleman. Is everything well by Bai Yanqing’s side? When will you make a full confession in person to Miss Yunxi?
Xu Donglin had one of his subordinates escort the doctor away. Meanwhile, Long Feiye made sure Han Yunxi’s legs were firmly set before he picked her up in a princess carry. As he prepared to leave, he turned back and said, “Xu Donglin, take this snake queen back. Mince it to pieces and feed it to the dogs!”
Han Yunxi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “The snake queen is a precious item! Xu Donglin, leave the head and snake dan for me.”
Xu Donglin naturally knew that the snake queen’s entire body was a treasure, but since His Highness said to feed it to the dogs, what else could he do but part with it reluctantly?
By the time Long Feiye flew out of the den with Han Yunxi in his arms, it was already daylight. The Baili father and daughter were still outside, but their prognosis didn’t look good…