My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband - Chapter 35

After careful consideration over the past few days, Yan Hongyin had dismantled her meditation room and converted it into a bedroom. On the second day after little dumpling Ximen arrived, it changed from being Yu Luocha’s bedroom to becoming little dumpling Ximen’s bedroom.

Yu Luocha stood silently under the eaves with his pillow in his arms, contemplating for quite some time before knocking on the door of the head of the household.

Yan Hongyin opened the door, crossed her arms, and leaned against the doorframe, asking the Yu Luocha standing outside, “Are you sure?”

Yu Luocha said with a serious expression, “I’ve been thinking, neither the medicine room, nor the restroom, nor the bathing room is suitable for sleeping.”

“Hmm.” Yan Hongyin made an ambiguous sound. “So you’ve decided to disturb my sleep.”

If Yu Luocha entered her room, they would both have to meditate through the night instead of sleeping.

Yu Luocha pleaded pitifully, “Then could Wife perhaps give me a pill or some knockout drug to put me to sleep?”

Yan Hongyin was somewhat surprised, but since things had come to this point, she straightened up and moved away from the door.

Yu Luocha happily entered with his pillow and closed the door behind him, shutting out the moonlight.

…

Since Yu Luocha dared to suggest it, Yan Hongyin was willing to try.

After administering several specially formulated strong sleeping drugs, Yan Hongyin pursed her lips, her gaze sweeping over the medicine bottles on the table, then slowly turning toward Yu Luocha, who had just yawned.

Yu Luocha was genuinely tired. He had been riding at full speed on his journey, constantly worried that something might happen to little dumpling Ximen. Now that Yan Hongyin had examined him, he could finally relax and just wanted to sleep.

However, Yan Hongyin’s presence was a bit too strong, which made him rather uncomfortable.

Of course, Yan Hongyin’s current gaze—like she wanted to cut him open and see inside—made him even more uncomfortable.

Yu Luocha rubbed his eyes and mumbled, “Darling, could your gaze be a little less… purposeful? Could you hide your intentions a bit?”

“Have you trained for drug resistance? Or is it because of your special internal energy?” Yan Hongyin looked Yu Luocha up and down, reaching out to check his pulse.

Yu Luocha instinctively tried to grab her wrist in return, but halfway through the motion he realized the person opposite was Yan Hongyin. After restraining himself, he thought she would withdraw her hand, but she stubbornly flipped her fingers and pressed them against his wrist again.

Yu Luocha rolled his eyes. His mind was a bit foggy now, and he was genuinely concerned that if they fought here, they might accidentally bring down the two children sleeping in the room across.

Yan Hongyin was actually quite familiar with Yu Luocha’s pulse, but until now, she had never imagined his drug resistance would be so high.

“No wonder…”

When she had boiled Yu Luocha before, she had found it strange that despite the strong medicinal effects making him sweat, his expression showed little suffering.

She had thought his facial control was excellent, but now it seemed he really hadn’t been in that much pain.

Next time, perhaps she could try a lethal dose?

—After all, she should be able to revive him.

Yu Luocha shuddered and leaned back, “Are you thinking something terrifying?”

Yan Hongyin glanced at Yu Luocha, “I was too conservative with the medication before.”

Yu Luocha recalled the tingling, half-painful, half-itchy sensation during the medicinal bath and his expression changed. He started to speak but stopped.

Yan Hongyin seemed to know what he wanted to say and remarked blandly, “Stronger medicine means more potent effects. With your drug resistance, the previous medicinal bath wasn’t very effective.”

Yu Luocha was silent for a moment, then asked, “So may I ask how much you plan to increase the dosage, doctor?”

This time Yan Hongyin pondered for a long while, withdrawing her hand from taking Yu Luocha’s pulse into her sleeve, and eventually said, “About the dosage for an elephant… should be enough.”

Yu Luocha smiled, his eyes saying, “You can’t be serious.”

Yan Hongyin met his gaze directly, her eyes saying, “Who’s the doctor here, you or me?”

…Fine.

Yu Luocha raised his hand to support his cheek, his fingers playing with the sleeping drugs on the table, picking out one of the porcelain bottles and spinning it back and forth like a cat playing with a ball.

Seeing Yu Luocha’s tacit consent, Yan Hongyin said in a tone that was either praising or sarcastic, “You really aren’t afraid of death.”

“There have been many after my life.” Yu Luocha shrugged, then curled his lips and shot a flirtatious glance at Yan Hongyin. “But Wife, as you can see, I’m still alive and well, sitting right here.”

Yan Hongyin nodded noncommittally, saying nothing. Instead, she pulled the porcelain bottle from under Yu Luocha’s hand, poured out a pill, tossed it into her mouth, and swallowed it with a blank expression.

Yu Luocha froze, his face filled with astonishment.

Yan Hongyin said calmly, “What are you looking at? You’re not the only one with drug resistance.”

This bottle contained the strongest sleeping drug among them.

Yu Luocha said nothing, just watching Yan Hongyin, observing changes in her expression.

After swallowing the pill, Yan Hongyin showed no change in her demeanor. After about fifteen minutes, she asked Yu Luocha, “There’s a slight numbing effect, but not much. It wears off after fifteen minutes?”

Yu Luocha, “…Well, you’re more impressive. It takes me longer.”

Yan Hongyin nodded in understanding, placing the medicine bottle back on the tray and standing up to categorize and put them back in the medicine cabinet.

The bedroom was divided into an inner chamber and outer area by a screen. The inner chamber contained the bed and wardrobe, while the outer area had a wall-length medicine cabinet and a desk, with an elegant chaise lounge by the window that seemed completely at odds with Yan Hongyin’s style.

“Do physicians like you need to test drugs on yourselves?” Yu Luocha asked, seemingly casually.

Yan Hongyin didn’t turn her head, replying evenly, “Physicians don’t, but the Jinyiwei do.”

Yu Luocha frowned slightly, his body that had straightened gradually slumped back down.

“What about you?”

Yan Hongyin put all the medicine bottles away in the cabinet, set the tray aside, and stood by the medicine cabinet, looking down at Yu Luocha’s poor sitting posture.

Yu Luocha pressed his tongue against his back teeth, saying, “Once I was badly injured and poisoned, and my martial skills were still novice level, so I took all the medicine I could find, treating a dead horse as if it could be saved.”

“Fortunately, the King of Hell didn’t take me, or the world would have one less demon. How lonely~”

Still in his characteristically flippant tone, without a hint of seriousness.

Others might either fear or be confused by Yu Luocha’s unpredictable nature, but Yan Hongyin, who was quite familiar with him, methodically extracted what she wanted to know from his words, calmly saying, “Oh, then you had it harder than me.”

Yan Hongyin’s drug resistance had been built up bit by bit, while Yu Luocha had likely consumed too many conflicting poisons at once, their effects tangling and counterbalancing each other in his body, creating his unique constitution through a fortunate coincidence.

Yu Luocha, “…”

After a long silence, either from helplessness or frustration, Yu Luocha buried his face in his arms for a while, then suddenly burst into muffled laughter.

After laughing enough, he raised his head and drawled to Yan Hongyin in a wheedling tone, “Ah Yin~ I’m sleepy.”

Yan Hongyin looked at the man before her who was making himself completely at home, and gestured with her chin toward the chaise lounge by the window.

Yu Luocha wasn’t picky, rolling quickly onto the chaise lounge, and was pleased to find its length just right. He blinked his eyes, continuing to ask for a blanket.

Yan Hongyin, “…”

The Commander stood in place, not wanting to move.

Yu Luocha, “I can get it myself, as long as you promise I won’t be shot to pieces when I open the cabinet.”

Yan Hongyin, “…”

Yan Hongyin walked around the screen into the inner chamber. Fifteen minutes later, a blanket was draped over the screen.

Yu Luocha pulled down the blanket and hugged it to himself, walking toward the chaise lounge while sighing dramatically, “So you really have hidden weapons in the cabinet? Are they poisoned? How potent is the poison? Actually, I just wanted to put a couple of my clothes in there…”

Yan Hongyin’s refusal was blunt, “Not a chance.”

Yu Luocha lay on the chaise lounge covered with the blanket, his nostrils filled with a faint medicinal fragrance, though he wasn’t sure if it came from the nearby medicine cabinet or was embedded in the blanket.

The room was silent.

In the presence of another undeniable breathing sound, it was clear neither could sleep.

“Do you want Ah Xue to follow me?” suddenly, Yan Hongyin spoke from her bed.

Yu Luocha, “He wants to learn swordsmanship, which I truly cannot teach. If that doesn’t work out, I’d have to send him to some old master to try his luck.”

“All martial arts are connected—mastering one lets you understand ten. With your skills, guiding him into the way wouldn’t be difficult. After that, let him comprehend on his own,” Yan Hongyin said with her eyes closed, her hands neatly folded in front of her. “Are you afraid?”

Yan Hongyin’s directness caught Yu Luocha off guard, making his heartbeat skip. He opened his mouth, then sighed resignedly, “Fine… I am a bit afraid, but please leave me some face in front of the children, alright?”

“Hmm.” Yan Hongyin didn’t say whether she agreed or not, merely acknowledging his words.

By late October, Jinling City wasn’t as bitingly cold as the northwestern cities. Yu Luocha’s blanket soon ended up bundled in his arms as he covered himself.

“Ah Xue, this child…” Yu Luocha carefully chose his words, speaking slowly, “was already somewhat withdrawn as a young child. After beginning to learn the sword at seven, he became increasingly solitary, practicing swordsmanship to the point of obsession. That’s why my sister didn’t choose to send him to a master but kept him by her side to practice the sword manuals I sent, patiently trying to temper his character before making any decisions.”

“If not for this great change, Ah Xue probably wouldn’t have become so radical. To be honest, his character has already shifted too far.”

Yan Hongyin listened, and when Yu Luocha paused, she spoke, “Extremism driven by vengeance makes it easier to cultivate demonic arts. Given his sword talent, he might one day surpass even you.”

Yu Luocha clutched the bundled blanket in his arms, saying softly, “And then live in a daze, dying to the world’s acclaim?”

Yan Hongyin turned her head, seeing through the silk screen the figure lying on the chaise lounge.

“My path makes no distinction between good and evil, right and wrong. I follow my emotions and heart. Those who can maintain control keep their mind clear; those who cannot fall into endless hell.”

Yu Luocha opened his eyes, his cheek resting on the soft brocade surface of the blanket.

Throughout his journey, he had struggled through desperate situations and held lofty positions, each step brushing past the edge of death’s blade.

He had no support, no retreat, but Ah Xue was different.

Ah Xue had him.

He would give Ah Xue the best of everything he could possibly provide.

“Ah Xue’s mental state is unstable, his character extreme, and he carries a heart of vengeance. If he follows the righteous path of Daoist sects to practice swordsmanship, he can still become strong. Why must he wade into these troubled waters?”

Yan Hongyin was silent for a long time. After quite a while, Yu Luocha heard her breathing steadily from behind the screen. He wasn’t impatient and waited quietly.

“If I teach him, the Jinyiwei’s intelligence will certainly record his weaknesses. If one day he wreaks havoc on the country and massacres the martial world, it would be as easy as turning over a hand for the Jinyiwei to kill him.”

Yu Luocha laughed silently, then said, “But you would also protect him. As long as he doesn’t cross your bottom line, the imperial sword will never point at him.”

Yan Hongyin, “…”

Yan Hongyin raised her eyes to stare at the bed canopy for a long time, furrowing her brow, weariness appearing in her eyes, “You’re trying to use me.”

“I’m only asking you,” Yu Luocha placed the brocade blanket aside and rolled off the chaise lounge. “Asking you to give Ah Xue another choice.”

Yan Hongyin heard Yu Luocha’s footsteps stop in front of the screen. After a while, two standing lotus lanterns placed not far from the screen were lit one after another.

“Even if you would be entangled by the court because of this nephew?” Yan Hongyin asked him.

Yu Luocha seemed to laugh lightly, very soft and faint, “I thought that my coming here with you was already a kind of entanglement.”

The shadows of the lotus lanterns flickered on the surface of the bed curtains that hadn’t been raised, casting light on the walls and leaving suddenly elongated shadows.

Yan Hongyin sat up straight against the pillows, raising her hand to press her brow.

Behind Ximen Chuixue stood not just a tragic case, but the hatred stemming from an imperial succession struggle.

Yan Hongyin was with the Jinyiwei, but she wasn’t just Jinyiwei.

A very important factor in her non-involvement in the succession struggle was that, as the imperial Princess, her position was extremely sensitive. If she truly sheltered Ximen Chuixue, it would mean she had virtually positioned herself against the Crown Prince who had colluded with the Western Regions to kill Ximen’s parents.

However… the Second Prince, renowned for his wisdom, was not actually of the current Emperor’s bloodline. This truth—which she had personally written in a memorial to her father—was crystal clear to the Emperor, who would absolutely never allow the Second Prince to be named heir and succeed to the throne, disrupting the royal lineage.

This was virtually a deadlock.

Yan Hongyin indeed commanded covert forces and had blood on her hands, but as a healer, she had also saved many lives that shouldn’t have been lost.

In some ways, she was an extremely straightforward person. Because of her clarity and directness, she had never been skilled at the true and false calculations of court politics and insidious schemes.

“It seems that fresh green fruit is the Second Prince, then?”

Yan Hongyin’s eyes sharpened as she glanced toward the screen.

“Don’t be nervous, I’m just guessing.”

Yu Luocha’s shadow was cast on the screen as he politely tapped it gently with his finger, “Ah Yin, the night is long and I can’t sleep. May I come in to chat?”

With Yan Hongyin’s permission, Yu Luocha stepped around from behind the screen.

Only then did Yan Hongyin see that he was still hugging a long round pillow.

Yan Hongyin silently watched as Yu Luocha placed the pillow on the edge of the footstool, then sat down naturally by the bed, with the round pillow perfectly positioned at his waist, his shoulders slightly above the height of the bed edge.

So one leaning against the headboard, and one against the bedside, they spoke in calm tones about topics that couldn’t be known to outsiders.

“Does Ah Yin truly intend to just wait for the succession struggle to end?”

Yan Hongyin lowered her eyelids, “Heaven is high and the Emperor is far away. Whoever becomes the heir is of no concern to me.”

“Indeed, it has little to do with the Zhenfushi.”

Yu Luocha leaned his head back, as if sitting uncomfortably and shifting around. Several strands of his hair invaded Yan Hongyin’s bed, resting on her hand and between her fingers.

“But what about its relationship to the Jinyiwei Dark Division Commander? Is that significant?”

Yan Hongyin’s hand was tickled by Yu Luocha’s hair, but she didn’t move, her entire body like a jade sculpture, cold and hard.

“Very significant.”

She answered.

How Yu Luocha discovered it, when he confirmed it—these were no longer important. What mattered was that when Yan Hongyin’s true identity was revealed, the balance between them reached a precarious point.

As the leader of the Jinyiwei, Yan Hongyin would protect the court at all costs, prioritizing the Emperor’s orders, turning blades against enemies at a word.

As the Western Demonic Sect Leader and the uncrowned king beyond the border, after the Crown Prince had provoked Yu Luocha using the lives of his only remaining sister and brother-in-law, Yu Luocha would never let the Crown Prince go. He would only allow the Crown Prince to experience absolute despair and pain, dying miserably after losing everything.

But no matter what, the Crown Prince was still the Emperor’s own son, the face of the court. The Emperor would never allow the court’s dignity to be toyed with by martial arts factions.

From the beginning, their positions had been opposed.

“Ah Yin, you know, avoiding and complying will never achieve the best outcome in some matters,” Yu Luocha lowered his eyes and smiled lightly. “My avoidance of confrontation, unwillingness to fight, resulted in my relatives’ tragic deaths and my nephew becoming an orphan.”

“What do you think you will lose, Ah Yin?”

In the room filled with bitter medicinal fragrance, Yan Hongyin’s voice was calm and faint, “I have nothing.”

“You do,” Yu Luocha said. “You have this courtyard.”

Yan Hongyin’s spirit shook, and she bit her molars, saying coldly, “If ordered, I could kill you at the next moment.”

“Mmm, I guessed as much.”

Yu Luocha propped his arm on the edge of the bed, lying down with his head resting on the bed’s edge, rubbing against Yan Hongyin’s hand placed to the side, complaining, “Ah, couldn’t you say something nice to comfort me? Although I’m quite easily comforted, Ah Yin, you should occasionally give me some sweetness. Even horse trainers know to give a red date after using the stick…..Ah Yin, you just know how to bully me.”

Yan Hongyin could no longer tolerate the tickling sensation by her hand. She extended her fingers into Yu Luocha’s hair, grasping those strands smooth as silk to restrain his head, pulling it back slightly with force as she leaned forward to look down at the handsome face directly below her, eyes flickering with candlelight, “I bully you? You’re trying to drag me into the abyss, and yet you’re the one complaining first?”

Yu Luocha was notably compliant with Yan Hongyin’s force, looking up at her cold, frosty, intimidating face from below, curling his lips as his tongue slid past his teeth, his voice as soft as a poisonous snake whispering temptation in her ear, “Ah Yin, the Emperor is old… but not yet old enough to willingly abdicate.”

Yan Hongyin’s pupils trembled, her hand momentarily losing strength.

“Ow, ow, ow—” Yu Luocha, who had never made a sound despite suffering dozens of knife wounds in the past, cried out in pain as a few strands of his hair were pulled out. His voice sounded extremely miserable, as if he had suffered a great injustice.

Yan Hongyin instinctively let go, seeing the few curled hairs remaining between her fingers, expressionlessly and silently withdrawing her hand under the blanket covering her knees.

“Ah Yin! Playing is one thing, but you can’t pull hair like that!” Yu Luocha accused Yan Hongyin with reddened eyes. “When I get older and go bald, you’ll definitely find me unattractive!”

Yan Hongyin’s gaze shifted slightly.

Actually, Yu Luocha’s skull was quite round; even without hair, he probably wouldn’t look bad…

But of course, having this long curly hair did make him look better…

Yu Luocha sat by the bed, sorrowfully smoothing his hair with his fingers, giving Yan Hongyin a sulking back view.

Yan Hongyin’s gaze lingered on Yu Luocha’s head for a while, then she looked away, slowly saying, “…The Third Prince was born of a palace maid, his family background isn’t prominent, and he hasn’t received rigorous training. I’m afraid it would be difficult for him to stand out in this struggle.”

“Oh?” Yu Luocha questioned. “But doesn’t the winner of this farce ultimately depend on what the Emperor says?”

Yan Hongyin, “…”

Yu Luocha’s voice carried a thick tone of mockery as he continued, “Ah Yin, do you know where the fundamental flaw lies in men, especially men in high positions who hold the power of life and death?”

“They incurably guard against potential competitors who might take their place. An age gap of just over ten years is too small for the Emperor, small enough that these heirs possess both the urgency and possibility to overthrow him.”

“After tasting that supreme power, he absolutely cannot tolerate anyone surpassing him, replacing him, becoming him—while he still has the strength to fight.”

Yu Luocha turned his head, smiling slightly at Yan Hongyin in the candlelight.

“See how frightening human nature is.”

The Crown Prince and Second Prince were in their vigorous prime, but the Third Prince was different. Even if the current Emperor lived a long life to the age of seventy, the Third Prince would barely be twenty.

Yan Hongyin’s gaze intensified. After a long while, she steadied her thoughts, pondered for some time, and then spoke, “Very well. Starting tomorrow, Ah Xue will follow me.”

“Great, how about I teach Ah Lou? Ah Yin doesn’t seem very skilled at dealing with warm and adorable little dumplings like Ah Lou~”

Yan Hongyin, “…Will you teach him demonic arts?”

Yu Luocha pouted, aggrieved, “Am I such an unreliable person?”

Yan Hongyin, “Hmm…”

…Who could say no?

Yu Luocha was taken aback and muttered, “My martial arts aren’t demonic skills, okay! It’s just a different choice. I’m someone who can recite Central Plains Buddhist teachings and Indian Buddhist scriptures backwards!”

In Sanskrit, no less!

Yan Hongyin didn’t doubt this point.

In fact, the internal energy in Yu Luocha’s body, though seemingly domineering, was indeed cultivated from orthodox techniques—a yang-natured internal force that was even more robust and powerful than ordinary people’s internal energy. If Yu Luocha had been practicing demonic arts, Yan Hongyin certainly wouldn’t have treated him when she first took his pulse, just to be safe.

It was just that Yu Luocha, for some unknown reason, had drastically altered the flow of his internal energy through his meridians in pursuit of quick progress, leaving himself with numerous hidden dangers.

“Come to think of it,” Yu Luocha pondered, “this technique, before I haphazardly modified it, was a treasure kept in the Indian Buddhist scripture pavilion. The internal energy it cultivated, though abundant and smooth, lacked sharpness. Ah Lou’s temperament would be suitable for it.”

So he knew he had modified it recklessly?

Yan Hongyin glanced at the back of Yu Luocha’s head in exasperation.

Seeing that he had been energetic for a while but was now starting to yawn again, Yan Hongyin extended her finger to poke Yu Luocha’s shoulder, “Go back and sleep.”

Yu Luocha made a couple of complaining noises as he picked up his pillow and headed out.

Just as he was about to go around the screen, Yan Hongyin suddenly said, “You’ve stayed away from women all these years. Is it because you don’t want children?”

Yu Luocha’s footsteps halted, but he didn’t turn back. Instead, he snapped his fingers to extinguish the two lotus lanterns, walking out while mumbling vaguely,

“Who knows.”

…..

Gurgle~

A sound suddenly broke the silence of the room.

Yu Luocha placed his hand over his abdominal muscles, sighing forlornly, “I’m hungry.”

“Would you like me to go to the kitchen and make a couple of dishes?” Yan Hongyin’s tone sounded somewhat eager.

Yu Luocha’s mouth twitched, and he said sincerely, “…Never mind, eating late at night is bad for digestion. I’d better just sleep.”

Then in his heart, he silently moved cooking skills to the top of his urgent to-do list.

They couldn’t always eat out; someone needed to be in charge of cooking at home.

“Actually…”

Yan Hongyin’s voice came through, accompanied by the rustling of clothes as she lay down.

“I used to suspect you might have some hidden ailment.”

Yu Luocha, “…?”

“Half the reports sent back were about you kicking people out of your bed, both men and women. And since you don’t have anyone you cherish enough to remain chaste for, this seemed rather abnormal.”

“But later I checked your pulse and confirmed that in this aspect, you’re very healthy.”

Yu Luocha gritted his teeth, “…Thanks?”

Yan Hongyin responded graciously, “Small matter, no need for thanks.”