Help, I’m Being Forced to Marry a Frail and Sickly Immortal Doctor! 26

Chapter 26: Crane Returns to the Green River

“What’s so intimate about this?”

With nothing in her hands, Yin Buran was clearly not used to it, her brow slightly furrowed.

Ning Ruoque quickly stuffed a soft pillow into her arms and sighed softly.

In fact, Chu Xuan might not know the specific situation back then. She should ask a few more people.

But this still served as a wake-up call for her.

After getting along these few days, she had become more and more familiar with Yin Buran, and her bottom line had been pushed back again and again, so much so that she had forgotten to keep her distance.

If she wasn’t Yin Buran’s beloved, yet her behavior was so intimate, wasn’t she taking advantage of her?

In the future, when Yin Buran returned to normal and looked back on this experience, she would probably feel embarrassed too.

She stared at Yin Buran’s sleeping face, and after confirming that the other was sound asleep, she planned to go and practice her sword.

She had already reached the door, but then she suddenly went back, picked up the bundle of person and quilt from the bed, and placed it on the low couch by the window.

And she added another quilt for her.

It was unknown if it was because of the medicine or if Yin Buran herself was a deep sleeper, but she didn’t move at all throughout the process. Her body was incredibly soft, allowing Ning Ruoque to move her around at will.

The sleeping Yin Buran was also different from the usual Yin Buran.

The former was a small cotton ball, the latter an untouchable lotus flower.

Soon, Ning Ruoque packed up these messy associations and threw them out of her mind. She broke off a branch of white crabapple and began to practice her sword.

The sword forms she used today were on the sharper side, and the fierce wind she created cut off a few flower branches, piling up a full ground of white.

A long wind from afar rolled up, and countless white crabapple blossoms flew leisurely into the sky, then rustled down like rain.

At the end of the flower rain, Ning Ruoque saw Yin Buran.

She was leaning on the windowsill, her eyes still sleepy, complaining with a tired voice.

“Why do you prefer to break off flowers to use as a sword? If this continues, I’m afraid this crabapple tree of mine will go bald.”

Ning Ruoque neatly sheathed her “sword” and obediently apologized, “I’m sorry.”

It was not difficult to see that Yin Buran was very relaxed right now, her hair casually loose as she chatted with Ning Ruoque.

“When I get better, I’ll go back to Mount Xuansu with you. Before that, you can temporarily use the swords in my warehouse.”

She very naturally patted the windowsill. “Carry me. I’ll take you to find one.”

Ning Ruoque walked calmly to Yin Buran, but not only did she not extend her hand, she also said with a serious face.

“Yin Buran, we’d better not be too intimate.”

Yin Buran stared at her with a blank expression.

Her back seemed to feel a little chilly. Ning Ruoque averted her gaze guiltily and explained with a stiff upper lip, “The matter has not been settled yet. This is really a bit—”

Yin Buran suddenly leaned in and hugged her waist.

Then she looked up at her, as if wanting to hear what other nonsense this person’s mouth could spit out.

“Improper,” Ning Ruoque just happened to finish.

“……”

While a certain sword cultivator was stunned, Yin Buran punched her in the lower abdomen and then buried her face in it and rubbed against it.

It was called a hit, but it was more like a touch.

It didn’t hurt, and it was very itchy. Especially the moment she rubbed against her, it was so itchy that her whole body tensed up, and she subconsciously held her breath.

So Yin Buran really did touch her a few times.

Thanks to years of training, Ning Ruoque’s waist was narrow and slender, without a trace of fat. It felt good to hold, but it was a bit hard to the touch.

She didn’t know what it felt like.

Unfortunately, Ning Ruoque came to her senses and quickly retreated several steps, her voice changing in fright.

“Yin Buran!”

Ever since she returned to Azurefall Creek, this person had become more and more unrestrained!

Making some domineering and unreasonable requests was one thing, but now she was also… also…

Ning Ruoque couldn’t find the right words to describe Yin Buran’s behavior, so she pressed her lips into a straight line and stood far away from her, sulking.

“What’s so intimate about this?” Yin Buran didn’t care.

She leaned softly against a low table to the side, propping up her head with one hand. Her face was pale, adding a touch of loneliness.

“I’m just a patient now. I can’t lift with my hands or carry with my shoulders. I can’t even use my spiritual energy.”

Yin Buran lowered her eyelids and said softly, “If the Sword Venerable doesn’t care about me, then I’ll probably just lie in bed all day, depressed.”

Anyone could see that she was deliberately showing weakness. Except for the last sentence, everything she said was the truth.

But Ning Ruoque had seen her use poison like a god, moving with ease in the tide of demonic beasts. Comparing that with the sickly Yin Buran now, she couldn’t help but feel a little sour in her heart.

From Yin Buran’s perspective, there was nothing wrong with what she did.

Ning Ruoque took out a piece of sweet cake, placed it on a plate, and gently pushed it in front of her.

“I’m not ignoring you,” she emphasized with a serious and earnest tone, “But you can’t push your luck! Don’t do that kind of thing again in the future.”

She was already prepared for Yin Buran to bristle and planned to stuff the sweet cake into Yin Buran’s mouth at that time.

But the person before her’s gaze flickered, and after a few seconds of quiet thought, she actually nodded in agreement.

“Alright.”

Ning Ruoque struck while the iron was hot. “And the marriage—”

Before she could finish, Yin Buran interrupted directly, “Since you insist on a truth, I’ll promise you that I won’t force it again before this matter is investigated.”

Surprisingly easy to talk to, and her attitude was very calm. She neither acted cute nor bristled, which made Ning Ruoque almost unable to believe it.

Before she could figure out the key point, she heard Yin Buran speak listlessly, “Can you carry me now?”

“…”

Isn’t this the same as before!

Just as Ning Ruoque was about to refuse decisively, Yin Buran explained, “I want to take you to pick a suitable sword, but I can’t walk. You’re just taking care of a patient. Don’t overthink it.”

When she said this, her expression was cold, without sadness or joy, as if she had been hurt by Ning Ruoque’s attitude and was unwilling to pay her any more attention.

It made Ning Ruoque seem a little petty.

Ning Ruoque thought for a moment in a daze.

She felt that what Yin Buran said made sense.

Taking care of Yin Buran while paying off her debt, that was what she had been thinking all along.

Carrying a patient with mobility issues to the warehouse, how could this be considered intimate?

The sword cultivator finally sorted out her thoughts and no longer hesitated.

She easily carried Yin Buran in her arms and let the other hook her arm around her neck to show the way.

Carrying Yin Buran was very easy. When they arrived at the warehouse of Suwen Peak, Ning Ruoque was still not red in the face or out of breath.

She found a waist-high cabinet and put the person down, then looked around herself.

The medicinal materials were stored in a special pharmacy. What was placed here were some daily necessities and gifts given to Yin Buran by others.

Things like a sparkling mother-of-pearl dressing table, a jewelry box so full that it couldn’t be closed, and cloud-patterned brocade with exquisite and delicate patterns were all common in this warehouse.

Yin Buran was not short of money. Her food, clothing, and daily necessities were all the best.

So in Ning Ruoque’s heart, no matter how pampered and picky Yin Buran was, it was not too much. If she wanted, countless people would come to serve her.

And the current Yin Buran seemed to prefer ordering her around.

She lazily instructed, “On the shelf on the left, I remember there’s a sword made of Abyss Iron. See if it’s suitable.”

Ning Ruoque followed her words and found a sword that was completely black.

Perhaps because of the Abyss Iron, its body was as black as the night and as cold as ice. Only the blade flashed with a sharp line of light.

Two small characters were carved on the hilt—

“Sudden Rain”

She performed a sword flourish with the sword and tested the feel of it.

Yin Buran asked, “How is it?”

“A little light, but it’s fine.”

Ning Ruoque’s own life-bound sword was heavier than a normal sword, so it was difficult to find a perfect replacement.

So for Yin Buran to be able to give her such a sword, she was already very grateful.

She sheathed the sword, hung it at her waist, and turned back to express her sincere thanks to Yin Buran.

“Thank you. I’ll give you a sword in the future too.”

Yin Buran: “…”

Yin Buran averted her gaze from the tall and slender sword cultivator and said nonchalantly, “Let’s go back.”

When Ning Ruoque came over, she very skillfully hooked her arm around her neck, waiting for the person to pick her up.

A soft breath fell on the side of Ning Ruoque’s neck, and the sweet fragrance naturally permeated the air around her.

Yin Buran was so close that even a slight turn of her head seemed like an intimate whisper.

Ning Ruoque felt that something was not right.

But she couldn’t say what was not right, so she could only diligently act as Yin Buran’s means of transportation.

Her peripheral vision uncontrollably slanted towards Yin Buran, and she saw that she was not behaving even while being carried.

One moment she would turn her head to look at a fluttering butterfly, the next she would look at all kinds of flowers, but in the end, her gaze would always return to her.

She stared at her own side profile without blinking, not finding it boring at all.

Being watched so intently, Ning Ruoque wished she could fly back immediately, lest Yin Buran discover her slightly red earlobes.

She took two steps at a time and returned to the room in less than half the time it took to get there.

The first thing she did was to put the person down and touch the ice-cold sword at her side.

Yin Buran’s transmission talisman flashed incessantly. As soon as she summoned it, Qingtong’s voice sounded, “Little Senior Sister! The Eight Treasures Pavilion has stewed a medicinal meal. Would you like to try it?”

“No need.”

She refused very decisively, and Qingtong could only helplessly cut off the transmission talisman.

Yin Buran turned her head and said to Ning Ruoque, “I want to eat the sweet cakes you made.”

Ning Ruoque felt very strange again. This strange feeling was different from the annoyance of protecting her food. She frowned slightly, hesitating to speak.

Not wanting the carefully cooked medicinal meal, and only eating the sweet cakes she had casually made, wasn’t it a bit too…

Yin Buran snorted coldly and looked at her with her chin raised. “What? I’m just a picky eater.”

Some people preferred sweets over delicacies.

Ning Ruoque’s brow relaxed slightly. That made sense. Even Qingtong had praised her sweet cakes as delicious.

She generously took out three pieces and brought them to Yin Buran.

The latter seemed to have regained some strength and didn’t need her to feed her. She flipped through a medical book while taking small bites.

The sunlight fell on her long eyelashes, sparkling. She was engrossed in her reading, not even noticing the sugar powder on her soft lips.

She had said that they couldn’t be intimate anymore, so of course, she wouldn’t let Ning Ruoque help her wipe it.

Ning Ruoque stared for a moment, then silently retracted her attention and wiped her newly acquired sword with a soft cloth.

The strange feeling welled up again, as uncomfortable as the rust on a sword.

This feeling reached its peak when she was about to cultivate and Yin Buran slowly moved over.

The sun was setting in the west, and the evening wind was slightly cool.

Yin Buran wrapped herself in a rabbit-fur blanket, stretched lazily on the cool couch, and then curled up.

She very naturally nestled a little beside Ning Ruoque, like a curled up little animal.

“My body is weak, and I don’t feel safe.” Her eyes were half-closed, and her tone was long and drawn out. “With you guarding me, I’ll feel much more at ease.”

Ning Ruoque couldn’t refute this reason. Yin Buran wasn’t even leaning against her, and there was no contact between the two of them.

She glanced at Yin Buran, then glanced again, her gaze tracing over the seemingly soft cheeks.

She was sure that she was extremely calm, and thought to herself, Yin Buran is fluffy.

But why was it that even though everything was normal, it was so hard for her to calm down?

Could it be—

Ning Ruoque’s heart suddenly jumped, almost leaping out of her chest.

Had she made a mistake in her cultivation?!

*

Ning Ruoque pondered for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Before she could find the reason for her abnormality, Yin Buran’s transmission talisman lit up again.

Yin Buran had been taking a nap. After feeling the movement, she slowly sat up.

She subconsciously looked for Ning Ruoque and happened to meet the latter’s dazed gaze.

Soon, Ning Ruoque’s gaze went vacant, pretending to be a block of wood.

This time, it was Qin Jiangli who was looking for them.

The other’s voice was still as steady as ever, unhurried. “The Forging Fire Sect sent a message, saying that they also received an anonymous letter yesterday. I’ve compared it, and the handwriting is similar to ours.”

Upon hearing this news, both Ning Ruoque and Yin Buran perked up.

Yin Buran said directly, “I want to go.”

This matter concerned Ning Ruoque, so she had to go and see for herself.

The talisman spun around. “You’re not well. I’m worried.”

Yin Buran asked tentatively, “Are you going with us?”

This was truly a terrifying piece of news. Fortunately, the transmission talisman still “shook its head.”

“The Medicine King is still in seclusion. I have to stay and guard Azurefall Creek. I can’t leave for too long.”

Before Yin Buran could breathe a sigh of relief, she heard Qin Jiangli change her tune. “But I’ve already made arrangements with Chu Xuan. She will be responsible for your safety.”

Hearing the familiar name, Ning Ruoque still didn’t dare to make a sound.

It was just that Yin Buran’s expression was terrifyingly bad, her gaze even more like it was quenched in ice, filled with displeasure.

“Hmph.”