My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband - Chapter 3

Entering the door right on time, she saw a tall figure standing by the bed – broad shoulders, narrow waist, with curly hair falling on his shoulders, his clothes half-pulled up over his arm.

Yan Hongyin only paused for a moment, her gaze sweeping over the cleaned medicine buckets in the room, before walking to Yu Luocha’s side with an unchanged expression.

Yu Luocha’s back muscles instinctively tensed at Yan Hongyin’s approach.

Yan Hongyin’s eyes narrowed, catching that momentary unusual reaction in his muscles.

The Great Ming dynasty didn’t favor the Tang dynasty’s fullness as consideration to be beautiful, nor did it promote the Song dynasty’s powder-faced young masters. However, most male courtesans in brothels had delicate, willowy appearances. Someone like him…

Rather than a courtesan, he seemed more like… those who lived by the sword in the jianghu.

The atmosphere in the thatched cottage suddenly became subtle.

“Doctor Yan should avoid approaching so suddenly.” In that split second, Yu Luocha’s face showed a bitter smile as he loosely pulled up his undergarment, “My body rejects others’ proximity. When I was in… I was whipped many times for offending the person who trained me.”

“When I removed your clothes earlier, I did indeed see many whip marks, but they were only flesh wounds, nothing to worry about.” Yan Hongyin, whether believing him or not, casually walked two steps to the side, blocking Yu Luocha’s path to the door, and extended her hand saying, “Would Young Master Ah Yu allow me to check your pulse again?”

Yu Luocha’s eyes curved as he extended his wrist toward Yan Hongyin, pulse point up, smiling sweetly. “Then I’ll trouble Doctor Yan.”

Yan Hongyin glanced at him, placing her fingers on Yu Luocha’s pulse point to check again – like before, his pulse showed no signs of the internal energy typical of martial artists. Instead, due to his unhealed serious injuries, his pulse was weak and difficult to read, showing typical signs of deficiency in both qi and blood.

The temperature of Yan Hongyin’s fingertips seemed to always be slightly cool. Yu Luocha maintained his composure as he allowed Yan Hongyin’s fingertips to slide across his palm’s tiger’s mouth point, lowering his eyes to observe the doctor.

His gaze lingered briefly on the red marks on Yan Hongyin’s neck, his eyes growing deeper with meaning.

The next moment, Yan Hongyin spoke frankly, “You only have slight calluses on the edge of your index finger, with no marks from manual labor or sword use. You must have lived well before losing your memory.”

These were hands that had been well-cared for, only occasionally used for writing and painting – such hands shouldn’t belong to a brothel courtesan, but also wouldn’t belong to someone from the jianghu.

However, it did align perfectly with Ah Yu’s claimed background.

Actually, Yan Hongyin wasn’t naturally suspicious, but having been in the Jinyiwei for so long, caution was ingrained in her bones.

Yu Luocha didn’t show his momentary surprise, but instead changed the subject. “Why does Doctor Yan despise jianghu people so much? I feel that just now, if Doctor Yan had mistaken me for one of those sword-wielding jianghu people, you would have kicked me out the next second.”

Yan Hongyin gave a cold laugh. “If you were a jianghu person, you’d already be unconscious from my needle and sent to the Liu Shanmen by now.”

Yu Luocha’s expression froze. “…”

What kind of grudge was this?

Tactfully moving past this unfavorable topic for both of them, Yu Luocha was quiet for a moment before raising his hand to adjust his collar.

Western Region people weren’t as bound by rules and regulations as Central Plains people, but when conditions allowed, Yu Luocha still preferred to be properly dressed in front of a woman.

However, this thatched cottage was too dilapidated. Earlier, Yu Luocha had searched everywhere but couldn’t find any other clothes. His original clothes were stained with blood and had sword cuts, but they could have been made do with, but…

Yu Luocha’s eyes fell on the cloth strips on the ground that had been torn into bandages, and he gave Yan Hongyin a meaningful look.

Yan Hongyin, who had barely ever undressed a man and lacked patience in her movements: “…”

“Your original clothes can’t be worn anymore.” A faint blush appeared on Yan Hongyin’s cheeks, but she still looked directly at Yu Luocha, “The undergarments still cover you adequately. Now that you can walk freely, you can go into town to buy a new set.”

Yu Luocha could barely manage a smile anymore.

This woman wore cloud brocade worth its weight in gold, yet was so stingy about a single set of clothes?

But he couldn’t go into town, nor could he buy clothes himself.

Yu Luocha had chosen to stay in the capital for two reasons: first, to test the imperial court’s depths, and second, because the Western Region’s demonic sect hadn’t yet established footholds in the capital, making it easier for him to hide his identity. However, while the demonic sect indeed had no spy network or strongholds here, money could make anything happen. The Western Region, wealthy enough to rival nations with its mountains of gold and jewels, had no shortage of gold, and those hunting Yu Luocha were mostly Central Plains assassins who cared only for money, not loyalty.

Currently, Yu Luocha couldn’t rashly contact the demonic sect’s bases. Thus, not only had his only human skin mask become unusable, but he didn’t even have a single copper coin.

Oh, and he was still seriously injured, with stagnant blood and extreme weakness.

When Yan Hongyin finished packing the medicines from the shelf into a cloth bundle and turned around, she saw Ah Yu sitting on the bed, head slightly lowered, his curled eyelashes casting shadows on his face, showing hints of unspoken worry, his features beautiful enough to move one’s soul.

This face had truly captured Yan Hongyin’s heart. She had never encountered someone whose every smile and frown, every expression could make her heart flutter so.

In her twenty-four years of life, she finally understood what her senior brother meant about being someone who appreciated beauty.

However, when fishing, impatience is a fatal flaw.

Yan Hongyin was undoubtedly very patient.

Noticing Yan Hongyin’s several moments of distraction while looking at his face, Yu Luocha deliberately showed an expression of having something to say but holding back. Just when he thought Yan Hongyin would ask, this woman actually picked up her bundle and walked toward the door!

Seeing she was about to leave, Yu Luocha quickly called out. “Doctor Yan!”

Already at the doorway, Yan Hongyin turned back, tilting her head to look at Yu Luocha.

Yu Luocha, who hadn’t suffered such indignity since mastering his martial arts, bit his back teeth, raised his hand to his lips and coughed lightly, saying softly, “About the medical fees I owe Doctor Yan…”

Yan Hongyin’s eyebrow twitched. “When you have money, send it to Yan Hong Hall in Jiangnan.”

Yu Luocha’s fingers curled, knuckles turning white, already missing his pair of curved blades left at the sect.

Endure.

The Demonic Sect Leader, usually willful and hands stained with countless lives, suppressed the anger in his heart, took a deep breath, and forcefully pulled his lips into a smile. “I wonder if Doctor Yan needs someone to serve her? In my current useless state, with this trouble-causing face, if I return to the city like this, I fear those who captured me before won’t let me go.”

Yan Hongyin stood in the doorway, where the light from outside touched her plain white clothes’ hem and spilled onto the ground.

The man sitting on the bed frowned slightly, his face showing embarrassment and hesitation difficult to express. In Yan Hongyin’s eyes, his original ten points of beauty reached twelve points under this shy expression.

Yan Hongyin felt both familiar and strange about the various emotions surging in her heart. Vaguely, she seemed to grasp the previous mistake in her martial arts cultivation, touching upon the bottleneck in her emotion-severing technique, but like looking at flowers through fog or viewing objects through gauze, she couldn’t see clearly.

“Are you married?” she suddenly asked.

Yu Luocha was stunned for a moment, carefully answering, “Those who sold me said my family met with misfortune, and there’s no one left.”

Yan Hongyin’s eyes flickered, looking at the handsome man by the bed. “Although Yan Hong Hall doesn’t lack silver and has considerable wealth, I’m just a doctor, daily seeing patients and preparing medicine, and don’t need someone to serve me.”

Then, as the rejected person suddenly looked up at her, she smiled, eyes bright. “But Yan Hong Hall happens to need an educated man to marry in. Would Ah Yu be willing to marry me?”

Yu Luocha could hardly believe his ears.

What did this woman say?

Marry in? A husband? Marry her?

She wanted the uncrowned king of the Western Region, the Demonic Sect Leader whom thirty-six nations dared not disobey, to marry into her family as a commoner woman’s husband?!

What humiliation! How absurd!

Angry to the point of laughter, Yu Luocha lowered his eyes to hide the killing intent within them, but showed just the right amount of shock and embarrassment on his face.

Yan Hongyin walked over, noticing the redness spreading from his earlobes to his neck, and also somewhat embarrassedly coughed lightly, saying, “Although Yan Hong Hall is just a medical clinic, my medical skills are quite good. Your injuries can be properly treated by my side, and I can certainly provide for…”

Yu Luocha, whose neck was already physiologically red from anger, twitched his eyelid and cut off this woman’s attempt to continue, forcing himself to speak slowly, “Doctor Yan! It’s not that I’m unwilling, but with my current memory loss, wouldn’t it be… inappropriate to hastily discuss marriage?”

Hearing this, Yan Hongyin sighed in relief, completely unconcerned. “It doesn’t matter, as long as Ah Yu is willing. If someday Ah Yu recovers his memories and is unhappy with this marriage, we can separate and go our own ways.”

She couldn’t stay in Jiangnan forever and would eventually return to the capital, so a clean break would be more convenient.

What did this woman take him for?!

Yu Luocha’s smile almost froze on his face, and amid surging emotions, his throat itched, causing him to cough violently. Blood seeped through his fingers covering his mouth, and he ended up having to lean on the bed, gasping for breath.

Yan Hongyin quickly bent down to support him, massaging acupoints until his breathing finally eased. She belatedly realized how rushed and sudden her proposal was, and said sheepishly. “Don’t worry, Ah Yu, as long as you’re willing, I’ll have someone arrange the proper matchmakers and marriage contract. I won’t slight you in any way.”

Actually, Yan Hongyin hadn’t proposed rashly – she had repeatedly checked his pulse to confirm his yang essence was intact and his chastity preserved before speaking. Otherwise, no matter how suitable he was, she wouldn’t have acted.

Of course, this couldn’t be said openly.

Yu Luocha coughed urgently several more times, his chest’s qi and blood churning, almost coughing blood again.

Having reached this point, if Yu Luocha wanted to go with Yan Hongyin, he could only agree – because at this moment, to the wealthy Yan Hongyin, this was his only use.

Yan Hongyin was heading to Jiangnan, where she had status and residence. The Jiangnan area was filled with various martial arts schools and factions, which would actually make it easier for Yu Luocha to operate covertly and seek opportunities.

Currently, with his acupoints sealed by golden needles preventing him from using internal energy, and with internal injuries accumulated, he had nothing to his name. If he traveled alone, he would face dangers from all sides. At this point, compromise was his only option…

Yu Luocha tightly gripped the dry straw at the edge of the bed, saying softly, “Ah Yu owes Doctor Yan a life-saving debt. Being favored by Doctor Yan, how could I refuse?”

Yan Hongyin’s eyes brightened.

Yu Luocha lowered his head, forcing out two words through gritted teeth. “I… will.”

When the day comes that he breaks through his limitations and recovers his martial arts…

Today’s humiliation will be repaid a hundredfold.

TN:

Liu Shanmen=六扇门 (Liù Shàn Mén) literally means “Six Doors”, but it traditionally refers to a government law enforcement agency in ancient China. In many stories, 六扇门 is portrayed as an elite investigation bureau handling criminal cases, similar to a combination of detectives, constables, and secret agents under imperial rule.