My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband - Chapter 37

That day, as Yan Hongyin was packing up her needle case preparing to go home, a pair of brothers suddenly arrived at the medical clinic.

One was skinny as a bean pole with shifty eyes that looked quite shrewd, while the other was stocky and muscular with a somewhat fierce appearance. On the stretcher they carried was an elderly man.

The white-haired old man was moaning in pain, with one leg awkwardly twisted—it appeared to be broken at first glance.

This medical clinic was run by Doctor An. Yan Hongyin only needed to see patients for half a day. Doctor An knew Yan Hongyin was about to finish, so he went forward to examine the old man.

The skinny man next to the stretcher moved a step to the left, blocking Doctor An from the stretcher, looking quite displeased. “Doesn’t this medical clinic have any younger doctors? With those old arms and legs, don’t drop my father!”

This was truly a rare occurrence. Most who came seeking medical treatment specifically asked for elderly doctors with sage-like appearances. It was unusual to have someone requesting a younger doctor.

Yan Hongyin heard the commotion and walked over, saying to the visibly irritated Doctor An, “Doctor An, there are some herbs missing from the medicine cabinet that the apprentice hasn’t replenished yet.”

Doctor An knew Yan Hongyin was giving him an excuse to leave and looked at her gratefully. Following her suggestion, he said, “Alright, I’ll go to the back and ask about it.”

Yan Hongyin waited until Doctor An disappeared into the back hall before stepping forward. She raised an eyebrow at the skinny man and asked, “Who needs treatment?”

The skinny man looked Yan Hongyin up and down, then suddenly broke into a grin. “My father, of course. Doctor Yan, please be thorough.”

As Yan Hongyin brushed past the two brothers, she subtly channeled her internal energy through her fingertips, releasing two streams of energy that passed by their hair ornaments and lifted the curtain of the medical clinic. Yet the two men stood completely still, utterly unaware.

…Ordinary people?

Yan Hongyin hesitated.

Actually, she knew these two thugs. They had been watching the medical clinic for the past few days.

So why would ordinary people be targeting her?

She pushed the sleeve dagger that had slid into her palm back into her sleeve and stepped forward to examine the old man’s broken leg on the stretcher.

It was indeed broken, but it seemed to have been deliberately twisted rather than resulting from a fall.

Yan Hongyin straightened up without showing any reaction and had just lowered her rolled-up sleeves when she felt something sharp press against her lower back.

“My brother and I would like to invite Doctor Yan to come with us.”

The sturdy man stood behind Yan Hongyin. The old man who had been moaning on the stretcher had now stopped. He lifted his drooping eyelids, revealing cloudy whites, and threatened in a low voice:

“Doctor Yan wouldn’t want us to use force here, would you?”

Truthfully, even though many people saw Yan Hongyin as just an ordinary doctor, she had never experienced being kidnapped with a dagger against her back.

She cooperated with a nod and calmly said, “The elderly man’s fracture is very serious. If the bone isn’t set promptly, he may never be able to stand again.”

The burly man showed a vicious look in his eyes and said, “That won’t be necessary for Doctor Yan to worry about.”

…

Yan Hongyin was hooded and taken to a residence. When she could finally see clearly, she found herself in a firewood shed.

The shed had no windows. Firewood and straw were piled in the corner. The door was sealed tightly with a layer of coarse cloth, though the method was too crude to merit close inspection.

No matter how she looked at them, these people seemed like ordinary local thugs.

Yan Hongyin didn’t enjoy acting out strange scenarios for amusement like Yu Luocha did. She was simply curious about why these people had targeted her.

So she maintained her posture with her hands tied behind her back, finding a comfortable angle to lean against the straw pile.

These people weren’t very patient. Soon, the skinny man came to the shed with brush and ink.

“Doctor Yan can see clearly that we brothers only want money, not lives. If you’re sensible, write a letter to your husband asking him to send gold!”

Yan Hongyin: “…”

“Why would you think we have money?”

They didn’t even live in a house in the city center!

The skinny man proudly said, “We understand the principle of hiding wealth. Although you put on a good act, I personally saw you coming out of the Hua Family Fortress days ago. After that, they took down their notices seeking medical help. You’re a doctor, so you must have received the reward.”

“Don’t rush to deny it, Doctor Yan.” The skinny man noticed Yan Hongyin was about to speak and continued with a snort, “My brothers and I have been watching you both for days. Doctor Yan, you act well, but that wasteful husband of yours hired a chef from the best restaurant in Jinling to cook at his outer residence. We scared that chef a bit, and guess what? In just a few days, that chef received more than ten gold pieces!”

Yan Hongyin: “…”

So Yu Luocha had gone to such lengths… to learn cooking?

“Oh, Doctor Yan probably doesn’t know? I heard you and your husband also fell in love at first sight, and you even cured his illness?” The skinny man looked at her with sympathetic eyes and clicked his tongue. “Men become wicked when they have money. Perhaps you don’t even know he’s set up another residence? The owner of that new pastry shop is quite a beauty!”

Sitting behind the counter with eyes that hooked people’s hearts.

After a good long moment of processing this, Yan Hongyin opened her mouth with an odd expression. “If he’s already keeping a mistress, why would he pay to ransom me?”

The skinny man coldly replied, “Whether he’ll ransom you or not, we’ll find out by trying! Enough talk, Doctor Yan, write the letter!”

Yan Hongyin was speechless. After a moment, she said, “…Untie my hands first.”

Once the hemp rope was untied, Yan Hongyin flexed her wrists while mentally drafting her letter.

She had written countless secret reports and memorials, but this was genuinely her first time writing a rescue letter.

–And it was to that troublemaker Yu Luocha.

…..

An hour later, Yu Luocha was thrown into the shed tightly bound. The door was slammed shut, and the sound of a lock clicking came from outside.

Yan Hongyin: “…”

Yu Luocha: “Ah Yin~”

Taking a deep breath, Yan Hongyin suppressed the urge to castrate the cat and expressionlessly asked, “What did you do this time?”

Why would someone who only needed to deliver a simple ransom be tied up and thrown into the shed with her like someone venting their anger?!

Yu Luocha loudly proclaimed his innocence, “Wife, they were completely unreasonable, demanding five hundred thousand taels of gold right away! All our money is kept with you. How could I possibly have that much gold?!”

He acted so vividly that Yan Hongyin’s hands itched.

Not wanting to play along with Yu Luocha’s theatrical mood, Yan Hongyin asked him, “Since you’ve come in, who will deal with those two outside?”

“Wife, there aren’t just two, you know.” Perhaps because he was male, Yu Luocha’s legs were also bound with several loops of hemp rope. He struggled to inch his way to Yan Hongyin’s side and whispered, “There are seven~”

“Two of them came to the door with large sabers demanding money. They clearly had martial arts training. Scared me to death.” Yu Luocha moved closer until his shoulder touched Yan Hongyin’s as they leaned against the straw pile. “Well, now we can only wait for the pastry shop owner to pay our ransom.”

Yan Hongyin: “…”

Having a mistress pay the ransom—you really are something.

Yan Hongyin gave him a look of disdain and moved away, not wanting to be close to this person.

Yu Luocha moved closer again and whispered, “Ah Yin~ I learned many new dishes today. I’ll show off my skills to you and our two little ones tonight!”

Yan Hongyin laughed coldly. “So you remember there are two children at home who haven’t eaten?”

“Wife, don’t you know me? I have absolutely no relationship with that pastry shop owner. I was just borrowing the place to learn cooking. This is truly an undeserved calamity. If I’ve ever been unfaithful to my wife, may I be struck dead by lightning in broad daylight! Wife, please calm down, alright~”

Yu Luocha’s face moved closer, his breath almost on Yan Hongyin’s ear as he intimately whispered, “Wife, why would palace eunuchs from the capital travel all the way to Jinling to kidnap a doctor? What play are they acting out?”

Yan Hongyin’s eyes flickered. She stopped her motion to break free with internal energy and looked down at Yu Luocha’s impudent smile, transmitting her voice directly to him, “Can’t even use voice transmission anymore?”

Yu Luocha paused and sighed. “Wife truly is… unromantic.”

“Your mistress can be romantic for you.” Yan Hongyin replied.

Yu Luocha blinked. “Is Wife jealous?”

Yan Hongyin straightened up, revealing her arms tied behind her back.

Yu Luocha tilted his head, finally remembering how to use voice transmission. “Does Wife have any daggers or sleeve blades?”

Yan Hongyin, who had small weapons hidden all over her body, thought for a moment and indicated the position of her right arm.

With his hands also bound, Yu Luocha simply turned around and awkwardly raised his hands to touch Yan Hongyin’s hand, then gradually searched upward.

Earlier he had been the one flirting, and now he was also the one efficiently retrieving the sleeve blade, though from start to finish, he only touched Yan Hongyin’s palm once with his fingertips.

Yu Luocha’s hand paused when it touched the sleeve blade, and he suddenly laughed.

Yan Hongyin pressed her lips together.

Since becoming a Jinyiwei in her youth, the hidden weapons on her body had no second possibility of being touched except when thrown out.

Yu Luocha was the first.

The hemp rope was quickly cut by the sharp blade. Yu Luocha deliberately made the cut look rough and uneven, so at a glance it appeared as if someone without martial arts skills had worn through the rope with something hidden on their person.

Yan Hongyin took back the sleeve blade Yu Luocha returned to her and stood up to stretch.

Yu Luocha heard the sudden commotion outside and grabbed Yan Hongyin’s wrist.

Yan Hongyin was about to struggle when she heard heavy, hurried footsteps approaching.

The door to the shed was suddenly kicked open. Yu Luocha immediately pulled Yan Hongyin into his arms to protect her. Like an ordinary person without martial arts skills, he rushed recklessly forward, knocking aside the thugs with knives at the door, dragging Yan Hongyin across the courtyard, kicking open the back door by the well, and running away like the wind until they disappeared.

They ran faster and faster, leaving the cursing voices of the thugs and the shouting of constables searching far behind. Only when they reached a deserted grove did Yu Luocha release Yan Hongyin’s hand.

After running dozens of li, neither of them was even out of breath, but after a while, they simultaneously glanced at each other.

“…Well played.” Yan Hongyin couldn’t suppress the smile at the corner of her lips.

Yu Luocha leaned against a tree trunk and burst into laughter. “I knew following Ah Yin would never be wrong. I’d never encounter such interesting things on my own.”

Yan Hongyin didn’t want to take responsibility for this. She calmly corrected him. “Those people saw you giving gold to the chef, which confirmed their belief that we had received a large payment from the Hua family.”

Yu Luocha’s laughter faltered for a moment.

“Didn’t you notice people following you these past few days?” Yan Hongyin asked.

Yu Luocha: “…”

He had noticed, but since these thugs had no martial arts skills, Yu Luocha hadn’t taken them seriously. He had merely casually asked his secret guards to investigate, and finding no other identities of concern, he had ignored them.

He asked Yan Hongyin in return. “Weren’t they watching you too?”

Yan Hongyin: “…”

They had been following her, and she had noticed, but Ji Qing had investigated these people and found nothing suspicious, so she hadn’t paid much attention either.

–After all, neither of them was truly vulnerable.

Tactfully changing the subject, Yan Hongyin looked at the sky. “Let’s go back.”

Yu Luocha: “Oh, right, my new dishes! Ah Yin, let me tell you, today I learned…”

****

Three days later

Several thugs who had been taken to the yamen died in prison, and a pitiful person who had come to Jinling seeking distant relatives disappeared from the city.

In the secret chamber, Ji Qing handed Yan Hongyin a transcribed secret letter.

The person Yu Luocha had identified as a eunuch was indeed acting on the orders of the Crown Prince, testing all female doctors throughout Jiangnan in an attempt to find the Commander.

And Yan Hongyin, who had recently been rumored to have taken the Hua family’s reward and had allegedly escaped from Yan Hong Hall in Lin’an Prefecture, was one of the key doctors being investigated.

During this time, Yan Hongyin had arranged for someone to continue operating as the Zhenfushi in Lin’an city. She didn’t know whether Lu Gang had seen through the deception or was simply being cautious—after all, when Yan Hongyin left the capital, she had personally told Lu Gang that she intended to resume her female identity and marry someone.

Fortunately, Yan Hongyin had been secretive at the time. No one except her had seen the severely injured Yu Luocha, otherwise, with Yu Luocha’s face, he would have needed to disguise himself to conceal his identity.

This secret report to the Crown Prince stated that no suspicious doctors had been found in Jinling, and the person would continue searching southward.

Yan Hongyin asked, “Has the original letter been sent to the capital?”

Ji Qing answered, “Yes, the eunuch personally mailed it.”

“And what about the eunuch?” Yan Hongyin asked again.

Ji Qing’s expression froze momentarily, and he reluctantly admitted in a low voice, “He was… killed first by someone from the Luocha Sect.”

Yan Hongyin wasn’t surprised. Yu Luocha was the kind of person who took everything but never suffered a loss.

However, it didn’t matter whose hands the man died by, as long as he wasn’t alive.

“Daren, next time—next time this subordinate will definitely not allow the Luocha Sect to be so rampant!” Ji Qing raised his voice, bowed with a solemn expression, and firmly promised.

The Commander… the Commander didn’t know what to say. Ji Qing’s grudge against the Luocha Sect was truly justified and well-founded.

In fact, this wasn’t the first time Ji Qing had been outmaneuvered by the Luocha Sect. In the young Jinyiwei’s heart, the Luocha Sect was absolutely written at the top of his enemies list.

…Even though he knew his superior had officially married the Luocha Sect Leader and lived under the same roof.

“Daren, before that house marked with death order was burned down, erasing all traces, some Jinyiwei brothers snuck in to look. It was a bloody mess, like a slaughterhouse, truly a torture chamber…” Ji Qing hesitated for a moment but still gritted his teeth and expressed his concerns, “This subordinate understands Daren’s sacrificial intentions to restrain that demon, but that Luocha Sect Leader is capricious, bloodthirsty, and cruel. Regardless, one must be extremely cautious!”

Yan Hongyin: “…”

“There are Jinyiwei from the Tang family at the Jinling stronghold. Perhaps Daren should install more hidden weapons?”

Yan Hongyin: “…”

Ji Qing thought of the Storm Pear Blossom Needles and Seven-Holed Three-Inch Nails he had seen on the shelf in the secret chamber when he entered earlier, and felt heartbroken. Those were precisely what he had installed beside Daren’s bed!

Yan Hongyin composed her subtle expression and said solemnly, “Ji Qing, you’ve overstepped.”

Ji Qing suddenly realized his error. Cold sweat formed on his forehead as he stepped back and said quietly, “This subordinate acknowledges his mistake.”

…..

Upon leaving the secret chamber, Yan Hongyin had just opened the door when she saw little Ximen standing straight, waiting at the door.

Ximen Chuixue was dressed in lake-blue clothes that Yu Luocha had deliberately put on him, making the little one look even more fair and adorable.

Since awakening, whenever Yan Hongyin was home, every day she would see little Ximen waiting outside her door as if his feet were nailed to the ground. He never spoke, just looked at her with eyes like black jade.

Looking at this little dumpling whose health had improved after various methods of nurturing by Yu Luocha over these three days, Yan Hongyin finally relented, “Starting tomorrow, you’ll come with me to the medical clinic.”

Ximen Chuixue paused. “Medical clinic…?”

He knew that his aunt’s surface identity was that of a doctor, but what he wanted to learn wasn’t medical skills, but rather…

“If you want to learn something else, you may,” Yan Hongyin stood with her hands clasped. “When you reach the level of a medical apprentice, I’ll teach you internal energy cultivation techniques and basic sword techniques.”

Ximen Chuixue lowered his eyes and began to think.

Yan Hongyin looked at him. Even though the ten-year-old Ximen tried hard to keep a straight face, his thoughts still showed clearly on his face, visible to Yan Hongyin.

The sword was a killing weapon. Among the three thousand paths of swordsmanship, revenge was considered a lower path.

Ximen Chuixue’s nature was truly a rare innocence. His innate talent was exceptional—if comparing martial arts aptitude and physical potential, even Yan Hongyin with her heavy burdens and complex thoughts was inferior to him.

Therefore, Yan Hongyin would never allow Ximen Chuixue to hastily begin his path when his mind was unstable and fixated on revenge. This would bring no benefit to his future sword path.

“If you seek revenge in the future and are ambushed or injured, will you wait for others to save you?”

Yan Hongyin’s single question made the little Ximen’s gaze grow determined. He clenched his fists and said firmly, “I’ll learn!”

…..

Hua Manlou was carried under Yu Luocha’s arm to an underground secret chamber.

Unlike Yan Hongyin who needed to deal with all sorts of complicated Jinyiwei intelligence, Yu Luocha had modified this secret room.

Hua Manlou could not see, but felt the air grow colder around him.

“Uncle Yu?”

Hua Manlou hung comfortably from Yu Luocha’s arm, allowing himself to be carried. His nose twitched as if he were smelling something.

It seemed there was a scent of bamboo… and ink…

Yu Luocha set Hua Manlou down and guided his hand to feel the general layout of the secret chamber.

The four walls had been hollowed out into stone shelves filled with densely packed books and bamboo scrolls. The table was firmly fixed to the ground, and each wall had two ladders securely attached for climbing up and down.

When Hua Manlou “saw” the arrangement around him, his eyes immediately reddened.

Both the fixed ladders on the walls and the immovable table were designed for him, who could not see with his eyes.

Yu Luocha had always been gentle with little Hua. He casually pulled out Hua Manlou’s hair tie while rubbing the little dumpling’s head, which had a wonderfully soft texture, and said, “The bamboo scrolls are on the left shelf with carved characters. Books are on the right. Ah Lou, I require you to memorize everything here within half a month, without referring to the texts. Can you do that?”

“Oh, and that’s while not affecting the studies arranged by your Aunt Yan.”

Yu Luocha didn’t mention that these translated Buddhist scriptures and texts had been carved by his own hand, nor did he mention that the ink on those books was several times thicker than normal.

He simply used a calm yet trusting tone to ask the little dumpling beside him, who had not “read” independently since becoming blind at the Hua Family Fortress.

Madam Hua’s indulgence of her youngest son was thorough. For the past half year, whether for classes or leisure “reading,” Hua Manlou had everything read and explained to him by his tutors.

But in Hua Manlou’s dim eyes, two sparks of fire seemed to ignite.

He lived in darkness, but his self-respect absolutely forbade him from being a burden to his family.

Hua Manlou tensed his chubby little face and firmly said, “I can!”