Help, I’m Being Forced to Marry a Frail and Sickly Immortal Doctor! 3

Chapter 3: A Sword’s Startling Appearance

“You are my—”

Upon discovering the anomaly, Ning Ruoque turned to leave without the slightest hesitation, only to stop abruptly—

Her escape route was blocked.

She sucked in a sharp breath.

Yin Buran was standing right in front of her.

So close that Ning Ruoque could see the white crane and cloud patterns on her cloak, and her long, dense eyelashes.

Yin Buran lifted the hood of her cloak and tilted her head slightly. A few strands of silvery-white hair slipped down, nestling softly against her neck.

Her face held a vivid expression of confusion, a stark contrast to her earlier indifference.

Ning Ruoque only managed a fleeting glance before quickly lowering her eyes to avoid meeting her gaze.

To her surprise, Yin Buran showed no such restraint.

She even stepped closer, placing a hand on Ning Ruoque’s face with utter naturalness.

Before the latter could react, she felt something cool and icy slide down her cheek, past her jaw, all the way to the vital pulse point on her neck.

She was so startled that she forgot to resist, retreating purely on instinct.

But Yin Buran followed, pressing closer with every step.

Until Ning Ruoque’s back hit the table with a soft thud.

Like someone’s heart, which had just skipped a beat and nearly leaped out of their chest.

The bone-chilling scent of plum blossoms spread, making the small corner feel cramped and oppressive.

A large, warm, and soft fox-fur collar pressed against Ning Ruoque’s front. The furry sensation brushed against her skin, causing an itchy tingle.

She was instantly miserable, not knowing where to put her hands.

Yet, Yin Buran seemed completely oblivious, even asking with a hint of scrutiny, “Why are you afraid of me?”

Ning Ruoque could only scream inwardly—

Do you have any idea what you’re doing? Who touches someone’s face the moment they meet!

It was a good thing they knew each other. If it had been anyone else, Ning Ruoque would have already twisted their arm off.

Perhaps the astonishment in her eyes was about to overflow, because Yin Buran finally seemed to have a pang of conscience and withdrew her hand.

She didn’t blink, her clear, cold voice calling out, “Ning Ruoque.”

Each syllable was deliberate, carrying a certainty that made Ning Ruoque’s heart pound.

Yin Buran had recognized her with just a single glance? This was a disguise technique that even her own master couldn’t see through.

Ning Ruoque gritted her teeth and argued, “My name is not Ning Ruoque.”

Yin Buran leaned in a little closer and said faintly, “Your face is very hot.”

Ning Ruoque: “…”

The response was completely off-topic. She was stunned for a moment and subconsciously touched her own face with the back of her hand.

It really was hot.

She had never liked close contact with people. It was all Yin Buran’s fault for standing too close!

Holding back her frustration, Ning Ruoque pushed the other woman away and took several large steps back, until there was a safe distance between them.

Then she said with a serious expression, “I don’t know you either. Perhaps you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

She didn’t know where her disguise had failed, and she certainly didn’t want to expose her identity, so she could only insist that she was not Ning Ruoque.

In her current situation, the fewer people who knew about her rebirth, the better.

Fortunately, Yin Buran seemed to freeze in place after hearing her words and didn’t make any more strange moves.

Seizing the opportunity, Ning Ruoque held her breath and tried to slip away.

She was almost at the door when a cold glint flashed before her eyes, and a white figure appeared like a phantom.

A small knife then slid out from her sleeve, blocking Ning Ruoque’s path.

Ning Ruoque came to a sudden halt, the cold edge of the blade inches away.

The hand holding the knife was clenched so tightly that the knuckles had turned slightly white.

Yin Buran’s expression was dark. “You’ve forgotten?”

She stared without blinking, her eyes like the sea before a storm—dark and bottomless, filled with an emotion Ning Ruoque couldn’t comprehend.

But her words were soft, like a flower petal brushed by the wind. “You are my—”

“Fiancée.”

Ning Ruoque: ?

Ning Ruoque chewed over those words with a completely bewildered expression, her mind reeling.

What kind of decent person talks to their fiancée like that?

Wait, who did she say was her fiancée?

Me?

The matter was so shocking that Ning Ruoque forgot she was still being held at knifepoint, her voice rising a few octaves. “What did you say? How could I—”

The rest of the sentence died in her throat.

Ning Ruoque pressed her lips together, slightly annoyed with herself.

With Yin Buran’s sharp perception, even a single wrong word would reveal a clue.

She heard a clatter as the small knife fell from Yin Buran’s hand and hit the floor.

And when Yin Buran spoke, it was the same three words as before. “Ning Ruoque.”

The small knife lay at her feet, but she didn’t pick it up. Her dark eyes were misty, and the fox fur on her cloak was fluffy and soft.

It was easy for Ning Ruoque to mistake her for some kind of small, white-furred cat that liked to observe people.

She secretly ground her teeth, trying to push the irrelevant association out of her mind.

“You’re testing me.”

Her tone was not friendly, carrying a hint of coldness, but it was also an indirect admission of her identity.

Yin Buran stared at her in silence for another long moment.

Only when Ning Ruoque could no longer stand the scrutiny and frowned did she lower her head.

“It’s not a test. We knew each other in our early years. We made a vow before the Three-Life Stone, and you even said you wanted to choose an auspicious day to marry me.”

She spoke very softly, her voice as cold as thin ice in early spring. But her patient explanation added a touch of seriousness.

Unfortunately, Ning Ruoque didn’t believe a single word she said.

In Ning Ruoque’s memory, Yin Buran came from a family of doctors, practicing medicine for generations. Later, due to her exceptional talent, she entered Azurefall Creek and became the sole disciple of the Medicine King.

She had been pampered and doted on since childhood, and her etiquette and demeanor were beyond compare.

Ning Ruoque, on the other hand, was a child from a poor family. She didn’t have enough to eat as a child and couldn’t afford to go to school. She had to go to the battlefield for a single steamed bun.

When Yin Buran was practicing medicine by her mother’s side, she was probably fighting with refugees for food.

When Yin Buran was learning the guqin and reciting poetry, she was likely still rolling around in mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Even after she was lucky enough to be taken in by her master and embarked on the path of immortality, eventually becoming the world-renowned “Sword Venerable,” she and Yin Buran were still not the same kind of people.

She still remembered the first time she met Yin Buran. She had just returned from training in the Endless Abyss and was rushing to attend a regular meeting of the Immortal Alliance.

When she stepped into the council hall, she was still reeking of the malevolent aura of demons and ghosts, not even noticing the bloodstains at the corner of her eye.

No one dared to approach and remind her. Only Yin Buran handed her a clean handkerchief and said softly, “Wipe it off. Sit down and have some tea.”

But that was the extent of their interaction.

Believing that she and Yin Buran were close was less plausible than believing her sword had ascended to godhood and brought its master back to the world.

“You don’t believe me?” Yin Buran suddenly spoke, interrupting Ning Ruoque’s thoughts.

Ning Ruoque’s gaze rested on Yin Buran’s face for a moment, but she could no longer find any trace of the gentle, self-possessed person she once knew.

In those glassy pupils, there was now only a deep-seated obstinacy.

And that white hair—she didn’t have it before.

Ning Ruoque furrowed her brow. “It’s one thing for you to have recognized me, but why make up such things? We were never like that.”

Hearing her rebuttal, Yin Buran didn’t get angry. “On the Shangsi Festival in the sixth year of the Minghong era, you carried me on your back to watch the sunrise at Mount Xuansu.”

Ning Ruoque carefully searched her memory, then interrupted, “That never happened. I was practicing my sword on the mountain peak that day.”

Yin Buran continued, “In May of that year, you brought me a branch of plum blossoms from the Celestial Lake.”

Ning Ruoque’s face was expressionless. “But I clearly remember that I was out at sea slaying demons at that time.”

Yin Buran: “In September, you came to Azurefall Creek to find me and gave me a gift.”

“I got into a fight with someone and was recuperating at Mount Xuansu. I never left.”

Back and forth they went, and Ning Ruoque couldn’t match a single one of the past events Yin Buran mentioned.

Not only did she have no memory of them, but she also felt more and more certain that she would never have done such things.

At the end of their confrontation, Yin Buran lowered her eyelids and touched the sky-blue jade bracelet on her right wrist.

The emotions in her eyes were hidden by her lashes, leaving only a deep darkness.

“You gave me a strand of your sword qi.”

Ning Ruoque found this incredible.

Her sword qi at its peak could probably only be contained by ancient meteoric iron. With her meager assets, she felt the pinch even when treating herself to a good meal. How could she possibly afford it?

“Perhaps you’ve mistaken someone else for me,” Ning Ruoque refused decisively, pushing the other woman away without hesitation. “Compared to what others say, I trust my own memory more.”

“Others?” Yin Buran’s dazed repetition came from behind her.

Ning Ruoque had already reached the window but stopped and turned back helplessly. “Or, can you produce any other evidence?”

The room’s window was wide open, and the winter night’s wind poured in unhindered, drenching her in its chill.

Yin Buran was silent for a long moment, her lips moving.

The person made of snow suddenly coughed up a speck of bright, enchanting blood on her lips, exceptionally jarring.

Ning Ruoque watched as the color slowly drained from Yin Buran’s face.

Just a moment ago, she had been fiercely holding a knife, but in the blink of an eye, she was like a withered white plum blossom, ready to fall into the mud with a gust of wind.

Yet, she nonchalantly wiped away the blood, staring at Ning Ruoque with eyes filled with a watery mist. “That thing… cannot be taken out.”

Then, her frail figure swayed as if she was about to collapse.

That sway sent a cold sweat down Ning Ruoque’s back. Her instincts were faster than her brain. She took several large strides forward and caught the woman.

The elegant scent of white plum blossoms was mixed with the faint smell of blood. The person, cloak and all, was as light as paper.

The turn of events was somewhat unexpected. Ning Ruoque’s mind went blank.

No, wait.

What happened? How did she end up like this?

Ning Ruoque had no time to worry about anything else.

She reached out and pulled Yin Buran into her arms, half-supporting, half-carrying her to the bedside.

She grabbed a pillow for Yin Buran to lean against and untied the cloak’s ribbons to make her more comfortable.

Before she could ask what was wrong, she heard Yin Buran cough a few times and insist, “It’s you who have forgotten.”

Ning Ruoque: “…”

She suspected Yin Buran was seriously ill.

The person was sickly, curled up in discomfort, and even tried to grab Ning Ruoque’s hand.

Ning Ruoque sidestepped, subconsciously adopting her intimidating demeanor. “I’m sensitive to the aura of strangers. I might hurt you unintentionally.”

She picked up the cloak and covered the other woman with it. “Before this matter is cleared up, please refrain from any more improper actions, lest—”

The next second, Yin Buran seized the opportunity and grabbed her wrist.

At that moment, Ning Ruoque had just finished her sentence: “—lest I hurt you.”

“…”

She restrained herself with great effort, managing not to press back in retaliation.

This was a blatant case of giving an inch and taking a mile. And the perpetrator of this audacious act was now asking with wide, innocent eyes:

“What?”