My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband - Chapter 38

“Tap.”

“Tap.”

…..

After several consecutive sounds, Yan Hongyin, who had been preparing medicine in the back hall of the clinic, twitched at the corner of her eye. She put down the winnowing basket in her hand and turned to walk to the large banyan tree in the backyard, which remained lush and evergreen throughout the seasons.

Evergreen trees were common, but only banyan trees could form forests from a single tree.

This one in the clinic’s backyard had taken root before the clinic was established. Although it hadn’t quite formed a forest, its trunk was sturdy, its branches supported each other, and its hanging branches were dense, even extending over the wall into the neighboring yard.

Yu Luocha sat cross-legged among the banyan branches, holding several date pits that he had cleaned after using them to tap on the clinic’s windows.

Hearing Yan Hongyin’s footsteps, Yu Luocha poked his head out from the greenery and asked the woman standing under the tree, “Ah Yin~ what are we having for dinner tonight?”

Yan Hongyin, who didn’t actually have much expertise in food, replied, “…Whatever you like.”

Yu Luocha pretended to think for a moment, then said with difficulty, “Which cuisine is that? I’ve never heard of it.”

Yan Hongyin looked up and glared at Yu Luocha.

Yu Luocha laughed, changing his position to hang from the tree. Despite his large size, he managed to lie on the branch with remarkable lightness, one leg swinging freely in the air.

“How about we prepare a pot of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall stew tonight?”

Yan Hongyin was speechless yet resigned about Yu Luocha’s increasingly elaborate menu choices. After a long silence, she slowly said, “You have a pimple on your face.”

Yu Luocha instinctively covered his left cheek and raised his voice, “Nonsense! I don’t! Impossible!”

Yan Hongyin’s eyes flickered with surprise. “You really do have one?”

Yu Luocha, who had carefully concealed the pimple with cream that morning: “…..”

Yan Hongyin turned her face away, struggling to flatten her upturned lips, and lightly coughed, “You’ve been eating too richly these past few days. Perhaps you’re getting some internal heat. I’ll prepare some medicine for you when I get back.”

Yu Luocha picked at the tree branch, protesting, “Why don’t any of you get internal heat?”

Yan Hongyin: “…”

Because the other three mouths at home had all been drinking heat-reducing soup.

Yu Luocha discerned the truth from Yan Hongyin’s unhidden expression and angrily said, “You’ve been eating secretly without me?!”

Yan Hongyin: “…We just don’t want to keep eating ginseng and eel soup, shrimp fried with chives, and sea bass soup with ten ingredients anymore.”

There were no seriously injured patients at home needing nutritional supplements, and no one could withstand Yu Luocha’s elaborate cooking.

Yu Luocha’s ambitious desire to nourish the household was instantly crushed. He hung from the tree, immediately deflating.

Yan Hongyin coughed a few times and changed the subject, “Ah Lou mentioned yesterday that he wanted to drink lily and wolfberry porridge. That takes quite some time to prepare.”

At this, Yu Luocha lifted his head, eyes bright as he looked at Yan Hongyin, “Then how about lily and wolfberry porridge with pancakes for dinner tonight?”

Yan Hongyin nodded, breathing a sigh of relief.

Having settled on the menu, Yu Luocha was about to climb down, but then had another thought. He turned back to Yan Hongyin and said, “I want medicinal pills, the kind with extra honey!”

Yan Hongyin: “…I’ll add two extra spoonfuls for you.”

Satisfied, Yu Luocha scurried along the banyan tree for a bit, then stepped onto the wall and jumped into the backyard of the pastry shop, diving straight into the back kitchen.

Yan Hongyin’s eyes softened, and she chuckled quietly. She stood under the tree for a while before turning back to continue preparing medicine in the clinic.

……

After the commotion had passed, Yan Hongyin still went to the clinic daily to see patients, while Yu Luocha spent his days nestled in the pastry shop, expanding his culinary skills from Jiangnan cuisine to Sichuan flavors.

–However, the two adults and two children at home weren’t accustomed to the spicy and stimulating Sichuan dishes.

So the household meals became a chaotic mix of recipes from all over, with everything that flew in the sky, ran on the ground, or swam in the water falling victim to Yu Luocha’s culinary exploits.

And apparently, Yu Luocha, who had never been to the seaside, had strangely developed an interest in seafood lately, already ordering the Luocha Sect followers to establish bases in coastal areas.

Yan Hongyin… Yan Hongyin now had several more coastal regional dynamics to monitor in his intelligence reports.

But overall, life was still peaceful and comfortable.

After Yan Hongyin gave him the copper coins earned from helping at the clinic every day, little Ximen’s first action was to buy a white robe, completely burying the chest of colorful and delicate clothes that Yu Luocha had purchased at the bottom of his trunk.

Upon discovering that Ximen Chuixue had bought himself a white outfit, Yan Hongyin replaced all the clothes in Ximen’s wardrobe with plain garments. The large and small pair looked particularly harmonious when they went to the clinic—although this earned them several days of Yu Luocha’s resentful glares.

Ximen Chuixue could now identify all the common medicinal herbs visible in the clinic, and had become quite proficient in reciting entry-level texts like “Song of Decoctions” and “Treatise on Cold Damage.” He could even redraw the human acupoint chart with his eyes closed—a remarkable achievement for a ten-year-old child who had never encountered medicine before.

Yan Hongyin had not offered to teach little Ximen swordsmanship or internal energy techniques, and surprisingly, after half a month of following Yan Hongyin around the clinic, little Ximen had not demanded that Yan Hongyin fulfill his promise on schedule.

Hua Manlou had completed memorizing the Buddhist texts in the secret chamber within Yu Luocha’s specified time limit. These days, while helping to grow vegetables and medicinal herbs at home, he constantly recited Buddhist scriptures, causing Ximen Chuixue, who occasionally wasn’t taken out by Yan Hongyin, to space out.

Ximen Chuixue completely lacked his uncle Yu Luocha’s aptitude for Buddhist scriptures; listening to these tongue-twisting texts only made his head ache.

But Hua Manlou loved them.

During the past half month, the family had visibly noticed that Hua Manlou’s condition improved day by day. Though his eyes remained dim, his smile was warm and natural, with his little sunshine qualities becoming increasingly evident. This prompted Yu Luocha, who occasionally went out at night to cause mischief, to first cuddle little Hua after bathing before returning to his room to sleep.

After a period of “friendly adjustment,” Yan Hongyin and Yu Luocha, this superficial couple, had finally come to accept sleeping in the same room—provided, of course, that neither had nightmares and no one was stomping on their roof looking for death.

The fact that ruffians and hooligans had targeted them meant that many underworld figures in Jinling City had noticed them. Those who secretly infiltrated at night, attempted to steal, or planned to kidnap the children… were all sent to the yamen by the Jinyiwei.

In this matter, Ji Qing could be said to have saved face before the Luocha Sect, sweeping away his frustration and depression.

Yu Luocha, who had been ordered by Yan Hongyin not to harm ordinary people—even ruffians and hooligans—consequently made Spicy Blood Curd Hotpot for several consecutive days.

That evening’s dinner was, as promised, lily and wolfberry porridge with pancakes, accompanied by a few side dishes. On his way home, Yan Hongyin had also bought a roast chicken.

Remembering the moving of furniture she’d seen at the neighboring house on her way back, Yan Hongyin said, “Someone has moved into the abandoned house next door.”

Actually, due to her upbringing in the imperial harem, Yan Hongyin still had the habit of not speaking while eating or resting, but after spending so much time with Yu Luocha, those miscellaneous rules seemed as distant as a previous life.

Yu Luocha tossed several fried peanuts into his mouth in succession, somewhat surprised, “Didn’t you buy it?”

Yan Hongyin was cautious and planned—or to be blunt, paranoid—disliking unexpected events beyond her control. The neighboring house was separated from their courtyard by just one wall. Yu Luocha initially wanted to buy it and connect the properties, but when he inquired, the owner refused to sell regardless of the price offered.

Yu Luocha had assumed Yan Hongyin had purchased it in advance as a backup.

Yan Hongyin put down her chopsticks with a frown and asked Yu Luocha, “Wasn’t it your doing?”

Yu Luocha looked completely innocent. “When have I ever caused trouble without registering it with you afterward?”

Yan Hongyin: “…”

True, although the one at home was unruly and liked to wander, he always left a small mark in Yan Hongyin’s records after his escapades.

It was by pushing just to the limit of Yan Hongyin’s tolerance that Yu Luocha had gradually squeezed into Yan Hongyin’s safety zone.

“The house next door? I think big brother and I saw them today.” Little Hua, who was politely battling with a chicken leg, looked up.

The two confused adults turned simultaneously to the two little dumplings.

“What happened?” the head of the household, Yan Hongyin, asked sternly.

Hua Manlou thought for a moment, then replied, “Earlier today, a child from next door came out wanting to be friends with us.”

Yan Hongyin and Yu Luocha didn’t find this particularly strange. Although Ah Lou’s eyes were impaired, he was himself clever and astute, and with the highly vigilant Ah Xue nearby, it was quite normal for neighboring children of the same age to seek playmates.

Nevertheless, both silently thought they should investigate this new family next door.

Then they heard little Ximen let out a cold snort, “Weren’t his exact words, ‘little beauty, want to be friends’?”

Hua Manlou’s expression became somewhat embarrassed as he pressed his lips into a smile, his face full of bashfulness.

Yan Hongyin: “…?”

Yu Luocha: “…!”

I knew raising the children too well would eventually attract unwanted attention!

With a crack, Yu Luocha broke the chopsticks in his hand and smiled dangerously, “Where did this little scoundrel come from? I’ll break his legs!”

Yan Hongyin, with a calm expression, said to little Ximen, “Bring another pair of chopsticks.”

Ximen Chuixue glanced at Yu Luocha and little Hua, then wordlessly grabbed a handful of chopsticks.

Yu Luocha understood immediately, took a deep breath, and tapped the chopsticks on the table twice. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Come, Ah Xue, tell us what happened today.”

–

Today Yan Hongyin had been called out for a house visit, and Yu Luocha had his own matters to attend to, so only Hua Manlou and Ximen Chuixue were at home.

The vegetable garden and medicinal herb field in the backyard were primarily tended by Hua Manlou, but Ximen Chuixue conscientiously took responsibility for keeping the water tank filled.

The deadline for Yu Luocha’s arranged recitation test was approaching, and Hua Manlou had been muttering Buddhist scriptures even in his sleep these past two days, not to mention while watering plants and weeding.

The two large pear trees in the front yard had begun to revitalize after this period of adaptation. Due to spatial limitations, the once sprawling, luxuriant pear trees had started to intertwine as they grew, unexpectedly saving quite a bit of space.

While Hua Manlou was watering the two large pear trees in the front yard, a head popped up over the wall.

Ximen Chuixue noticed the wild-haired head almost instantly. He stopped grinding tooth powder, walked a few steps to Hua Manlou’s side, protected him behind himself, and retreated a few cautious steps, coldly demanding, “Who’s there?! Come out!”

Hua Manlou, holding a watering can: “…?”

“I-I-I’m not a bad person!” The suspicious head on the wall moved a bit, and after a while revealed a dirty face, followed by a boy laboriously climbing to the top of the wall.

He looked about the same age as Hua Manlou.

“I just heard someone talking and wanted to see…”

The boy straddled the wall and peered down, shrinking his neck when frozen by Ximen Chuixue’s cold gaze. Just as he was considering climbing back down to his own courtyard, he saw the small head peeking out from behind the fierce white-robed boy.

The boy’s eyes immediately brightened, and he blurted out, “Little beauty, want to be friends?”

As soon as he said it, the boy showed an indescribable expression and muttered, “Pooh pooh pooh! It’s all master’s fault for saying nonsense these past days…”

“Cough, well, my name is Lu Xiaofeng! The ‘feng’ from phoenix!” The boy quickly ran his hand through his hair and said with a brilliant smile, “What’s your name?”