Chapter 32: Is This Ointment… Proper?

“Bullshit! I didn’t ascend to heaven!”

The fox demon girl descended from above, intending to make a dramatic landing. Instead, her legs gave out, and she tumbled headfirst onto the ground in front of He Yimo.

She lay sprawled on the floor, her already dirty clothes now soaked with blood.

If Jiang Jinyue had been faking her injuries earlier to test He Yimo’s reaction, this time she was genuinely battered and bloodied.

“Where… where the hell did you come from?”

He Yimo had been leaning against the dead Breeding Worm to rest.

Seeing Jiang Jinyue suddenly appear out of nowhere, he broke into a cold sweat. His previously calm demeanor was replaced by a surge of tension.

The reason was simple: when He Yimo had first arrived in the dungeon, he’d scanned the entire area for any signs of life.

Apart from the bloodstains on the floor and the Breeding Worm’s scales, there had been no trace of Jiang Jinyue’s presence!

Naturally, He Yimo had assumed she’d been devoured by the worm after a fierce battle.

But now…

Jiang Jinyue had been hiding on the ceiling all along!

He had underestimated the survival skills of an illusion master.

“Don’t tell me you used illusions to conceal your aura and just hung upside down from the ceiling, watching me the whole time?”

He Yimo’s lips twitched as his face turned pale. His voice trembled slightly as he carefully probed.

The absurdity of the situation left him momentarily stunned, forgetting to help the fox demon girl up from her undignified position on the ground.

“Hey, help me up! I think my leg’s broken—I can’t stand…”

Jiang Jinyue didn’t answer his question but instead pleaded weakly.

“Oh, right.”

Snapping out of his daze, He Yimo quickly moved forward to lift the limp fox demon girl into his arms.

He sat back down on the ground, leaning against the Breeding Worm, while Jiang Jinyue rested beside him. Her head drooped like a broken doll onto his shoulder.

“Don’t lean on my shoulder.”

He Yimo spoke flatly.

Hearing this, Jiang Jinyue obediently lifted her head, her face full of pitiful grievance as she looked at him.

She bit her lip as if wanting to say something.

But before she could, He Yimo sat up and crouched by her injured leg:

“Didn’t you say your leg was broken? Let me see if I can fix it.”

“You… you know medicine?”

Jiang Jinyue’s earlier grievance vanished as she blinked her peach blossom eyes in surprise, looking at He Yimo with genuine admiration and gratitude.

This was a side of her He Yimo had never seen in the original story. It seemed he’d truly pushed the Enchantress to her limits tonight.

“You saw the fight earlier…”

“At this point, there’s no point hiding anything from you.”

He Yimo spoke calmly as he pulled out a small bottle of oil-like ointment from his pocket.

“To be honest, I do know a bit about medicine. And it just so happens I have some ointment with me.”

As he spoke, He Yimo kept the conversation going to distract her before suddenly lifting her injured leg into his lap.

Jiang Jinyue winced in pain but couldn’t utter a word. Her delicate hands clutched at her clothes as soft gasps escaped her lips.

Her leg was held firmly in place as she watched He Yimo with unease. She had no idea what he intended to do, but being in such a vulnerable position made her mind wander uncontrollably…

“You’re… you’re really just treating my injury, right?”

Suppressing her embarrassment, Jiang Jinyue asked hesitantly in a soft voice.

Ever since He Yimo had lifted her leg into his lap, his expression remained serious and professional. But his hands—coated in that strange ointment—moved up and down her leg with alarming thoroughness. From her upper thigh to her ankle, he seemed to leave no inch untouched.

Though she respected him as her savior, his methodical touch felt so deliberate that Jiang Jinyue couldn’t help but wonder if he was taking advantage of her under the guise of treatment.

In just moments, her pale leg had turned flushed and warm under his hands.

“Stop touching me—it’s making me feel weird…”

Jiang Jinyue’s voice wavered as she blushed deeply, pleading softly.

She tried to pull her overheated leg away, but her injuries left her powerless. All she could do was endure as He Yimo’s hands continued their maddeningly thorough exploration…

He Yimo glanced up at her briefly before replying flatly:

“Don’t move. Bear with it.”

“But… ah!”

Jiang Jinyue tilted her flushed face upward, biting her lip as soft gasps escaped like a kitten’s mewls. Her mind spiraled into sensitivity, leaving her unable to resist or argue further.

As time passed, it felt like all her senses concentrated on that one leg. Every touch from He Yimo’s hands seemed amplified in her mind—like he was caressing every inch of her body!

Just as Jiang Jinyue swallowed nervously and braced herself—

Crack!

A sharp sound echoed as He Yimo suddenly applied force.

Startled, Jiang Jinyue squeezed her eyes shut and tensed up like a drawn bowstring.

But after several moments of silence—she realized there was no pain.

Her leg—coated in soothing ointment—felt only a faint tingling coolness where He Yimo’s hands had been.

Opening her eyes cautiously—she wiggled her left foot experimentally in surprise:

“It’s moving again…”

“Look how scared you were.”

He Yimo raised an eyebrow at her before rubbing her still-reddened knee gently.

After another moment of observation—he patted her pale thigh lightly: “Wipe those tears off your face. It didn’t even hurt.”

Seeing Jiang Jinyue visibly relax—He Yimo resumed examining her leg while explaining casually:

“You weren’t actually dealing with a fracture. It was just a dislocated joint from severe impact. I already set it back in place… The reason I kept touching your leg earlier was to numb your nerves with the ointment and distract you from the pain.”

“So… there’s such a painless treatment method?”

The fox demon girl twisted her leg experimentally—her eyes wide with amazement.

He Yimo’s novel and gentle approach to healing completely overturned her previous understanding of medicine.

For a moment—Jiang Jinyue couldn’t help but feel impressed.

In hindsight—the tingling sensation she’d felt while He Yimo worked on her leg had actually been quite pleasant…

Wait…

That wasn’t hindsight!

Because He Yimo was still touching her leg—even now!

“Isn’t the treatment over? Why… why are you still touching me?”

Biting her lip hesitantly—Jiang Jinyue finally voiced her discomfort.

Hearing this—He Yimo released her leg without hesitation and shifted his focus to her other one.

This time—Jiang Jinyue didn’t doubt him anymore. She endured the pain quietly as she lifted her right leg herself—placing it in He Yimo’s lap for treatment.

“My right leg is better than my left—it still has feeling but hurts when I move it…”

She wagged her tail obediently while reporting her condition like a patient student.

After applying ointment to her right leg—He Yimo switched techniques. Using two fingers together—he pressed along specific acupoints from thigh to ankle until reaching the swollen joint at her foot.

As soon as his fingers pressed down—Jiang Jinyue let out another soft gasp:

“So that’s where the problem is.”

“Is… is it a sprained ankle?” She asked weakly between breaths.

“For mortals—it would be. But that Breeding Worm’s scales were venomous. Your injury involves both physical trauma and disrupted spiritual energy channels. I’ll apply some ointment first to clear your meridians before proceeding…”

Mid-sentence—He Yimo fell silent again—but continued working diligently…

Without hesitation—he removed Jiang Jinyue’s bloodstained silk stockings—revealing swollen bruised skin beneath…

“Will this poison make me crippled forever…?”

Jiang Jinyue’s tail tucked nervously as she whispered fearfully—her peach blossom eyes wide with anxiety.

Glancing at her briefly—He Yimo couldn’t help feeling surprised by how timid she seemed. Was she acting—or genuinely this scared?

After all—in the original story—Jiang Jinyue lost not just mobility but even her eyesight later on due to delving too deeply into forbidden knowledge. Yet she never let such setbacks diminish her crazed villainous persona…

But now…

A mere poisoned foot had reduced this supposed Enchantress to trembling fear?

Perhaps even the most unhinged villains weren’t born that way overnight…

“If you behave yourself—and maybe flatter me a little—I might consider helping you detoxify it… Otherwise—if the poison spreads through your meridians—you won’t just lose your foot—you’ll lose your entire leg.”

Feigning ignorant—He Yimo teased ominously while gauging her reaction carefully…

To his surprise—the fox demon girl immediately clung onto his arm with pleading eyes:

“I’ll do whatever you say! Please save me—I don’t want to be crippled forever…”

Her pitiful display left even He Yimo momentarily stunned—it felt almost surreal…

But wary of potential deception—he maintained professionalism:

“Alright—let’s start with applying more ointment.”

“Hmm…”

As cool ointment touched her foot again—Jiang Jinyue tensed up slightly before blushing deeply once more…

She said nothing further—instead watching He Yimo silently while obediently keeping still as he worked meticulously over every inch of skin…

“This ointment feels… different this time?”

Noticing an increasing warmth spreading through her foot—Jiang Jinyue fidgeted uneasily while clamping her tail tightly between her legs…