Ji Wujing didn’t speak. He crouched in front of Gu Jianli, poured some anti-itch solution into his palm, and carefully rubbed it onto her calves. A gnawing pain clawed at his chest. Ji Wujing turned his face slightly, frowning and coughing lightly twice.
Gu Jianli looked down at him, her tears falling like rain. She choked out, “Don’t touch me anymore. You mustn’t catch this dreadful thing too. I read in a book that out of three people who get smallpox, two will die. Your health is already poor…”
“Early death or late death, there’s no difference,” Ji Wujing said offhandedly.
“No,” Gu Jianli shook her head.
After applying the solution to her calves, Ji Wujing screwed the cap back on the bottle. He didn’t get up but looked up at Gu Jianli and said, “If I die, you can go home and find that old fool Gu Jingyuan. That old fool has probably already picked out a dozen candidates for you, waiting for you to choose.”
“What nonsense…” Gu Jianli muttered sullenly, “We’re clearly talking about smallpox!”
Ji Wujing responded casually, “I had it when I was a child, I won’t get it again.”
“You’re lying. People who survive smallpox are left with a pockmarked face. You have no scars on your face.”
Ji Wujing, tired from squatting for so long, simply sat on the ground, cross-legged, with his long arms resting on his ankles. He tugged at the corner of his mouth, forming a smile, and asked, “Do you remember saying last night when you were drunk that I look too enchanting to be a man?”
Gu Jianli’s eyes flickered with mist, her gaze evasive. Did she really say that to Ji Wujing last night? What else did she say? Her memories of last night were fragmented, remembering some parts while forgetting others.
“I don’t remember…” Gu Jianli defended.
“Actually, I didn’t originally look like this. I indeed had a pockmarked face. Many of the people I’ve killed were scared to death by my pockmarked face without me even needing to make a move. Later, I found some pretty faces, some male, some female. I skinned them and used a secret technique from the Xuanjing Sect to weave this human skin mask.” Ji Wujing licked his lips slowly, his tongue pausing at the corner of his mouth. His fox-like eyes slightly tilted up at the ends, exuding a bewitching charm. He casually brushed the red tear mole under his eye with his finger and said seriously, “Look, this is where I missed a stitch.”
Gu Jianli was stunned by what she heard.
Ji Wujing looked at Gu Jianli’s dazed, shimmering eyes for a long time before lowering his head and laughing deeply and softly.
Gu Jianli snapped back to reality, realizing she had been teased by him again. She frowned and said unhappily, “Why do you always talk nonsense!”
Ji Wujing just laughed, “Haven’t you heard that Ji Zhao is treacherous and deceitful, never speaking a word of truth?”
Gu Jianli didn’t want to talk to Ji Wujing anymore. The recent conversation reminded her of the image of patients with pockmarked faces described in medical books.
Thinking that there were only two paths ahead—either being tortured to death by smallpox or surviving but being left with a pockmarked face…
Gu Jianli raised her hands to cover her cheeks, feeling both scared and wronged. She had no mood to deal with Ji Wujing and just wanted to go get dressed. But just as she took a step, Ji Wujing, sitting cross-legged in front of her, suddenly raised his hand and grabbed her leg.
Ji Wujing frowned, prying apart the inside of Gu Jianli’s thigh, and asked, “When did this happen?”
Gu Jianli glanced down and said, “Got it while riding a horse.”
Ji Wujing stood up, took a long robe hanging on the yellow pear wood coat rack, wrapped it around Gu Jianli, and carried her horizontally to the freshly cleaned room next door.
The rain outside had lessened slightly as Ji Wujing carried Gu Jianli along the eaves to avoid the rain.
Gu Jianli stared blankly at the lines of rain falling along the eaves. It wasn’t until they entered the next room that she withdrew her gaze. Looking at the Ji Wujing who was close at hand, she asked, “Did you really have smallpox?”
“Guess,” Ji Wujing replied casually.
Too lazy to guess—Gu Jianli tightly pressed her lips together and didn’t make a sound, but silently replied in her heart.
Ji Wujing placed Gu Jianli on the bed, took out some ointment, soaked a cloth in it, and lifted the long robe covering her.
His gaze swept over the red pustules on Gu Jianli’s calves, then moved upward as he parted her legs.
“I can do it myself!” Gu Jianli exclaimed in surprise, hurriedly closing her legs. Every time she faced Ji Wujing in this spread-leg position, she felt extremely flustered.
“Don’t mess with me,” Ji Wujing slapped her thigh. Gu Jianli’s legs were slender, without any excess flesh, yet Ji Wujing’s slap sent a ripple through her snowy skin.
Ji Wujing carefully placed the medicated cloth on the inside of Gu Jianli’s thigh where the saddle had chafed her.
He pressed down on the four corners of the wet cloth with his fingertips. As he withdrew his hand, the back of his hand unintentionally brushed against her soft mound through the thin, pale white undergarment.
Gu Jianli’s body stiffened instantly. She hurriedly pulled the blanket over her lower body. She didn’t say a word, her gaze evasive, pretending nothing had happened.
Ji Wujing glanced at the back of his hand but didn’t say anything further, merely instructing, “You’ve been running all day. Sleep.”
Ji Wujing got up, blew out the lamp in the room, and went next door to check on Ji Xinglou.
In the darkness, Gu Jianli lay with her eyes open, staring blankly at the ceiling, unable to sleep.
She wasn’t unfamiliar with hardship. In the past six months, she had come close to losing her life several times. Yet she had always faced those challenges calmly. This time, however, was different. This time the enemy was smallpox, or rather, fate. The waiting, entirely dependent on luck to survive, was too passive and too tormenting.
“Squeak—” The door was gently pushed open.
Gu Jianli knew it must be Ji Wujing. Not wanting to hear any more of his deliberately provocative words, she closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. She sensed Ji Wujing walking closer, finally sitting by the bed. The faint, familiar smell of medicine confirmed it was him.
Gu Jianli didn’t know what Ji Wujing was doing, only that he sat by the bed for a long time.
Pretending to sleep, she found herself gradually lulled by the sound of his steady breathing. She was almost asleep when, in a half-dream, half-awake state, she vaguely felt Ji Wujing lean in and gently kiss the corner of her lips.
Her heart skipped a beat, then raced as if in response.
Gu Jianli didn’t open her eyes, continuing to feign sleep, and after a while, she truly fell asleep.
The next morning, Gu Jianli woke up itching. Still groggy, she reached out to scratch, only for her wrist to be caught, preventing her from moving. The itching intensified.
“Wake up.” Ji Wujing pushed her awake, “You’re not a child anymore. Control yourself and don’t scratch.”
Gu Jianli opened her eyes, looking helplessly at Ji Wujing. She whispered, “It’s really uncomfortable…”
Ji Wujing fetched the anti-itch solution again, repeatedly applying it to her body. The red spots on Gu Jianli’s skin had increased since the previous day.
Being awake was unbearable; it was better to sleep and feel nothing. Gu Jianli closed her eyes again, trying to force herself back to sleep.
When Gu Jianli woke up again, Ji Wujing was not in the room. She struggled to sit up and was surprised to find herself completely drained of strength. Just yesterday, she had been fine…
Could the illness progress this quickly?
She lowered her head, forcing herself to calmly accept the fact that she had indeed contracted smallpox. Weakness was just the beginning; more torment awaited her.
She sighed, lifted the blanket, got out of bed, and slowly walked outside. The sky was a clear blue, a stark contrast to the previous downpour. The rain had washed away the dust, leaving the sky exceptionally bright. Gu Jianli couldn’t help but smile, her mood improving considerably. She was no longer as terrified as she had been upon first receiving the grim news. She had come to terms with it and felt a bit more at peace.
After standing under the eaves for a while, Gu Jianli went next door and picked up the food box that Jixia had left by the door.
Ji Wujing wasn’t there either.
Ji Xinglou had woken up and was looking at Gu Jianli.
“Xinglou is awake,” Gu Jianli said gently, placing the food box on the bedside table and taking out some goat milk and meat porridge. She asked, “Which do you want, the goat milk or the meat porridge?”
Ji Xinglou frowned, his voice weak. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to feed my Xinglou and give him his medicine.”
Ji Xinglou snorted coldly, “Get lost. I hate you.”
“No,” Gu Jianli said with a smile, lightly tapping Ji Xinglou’s nose.
Her snow-white sleeve brushed past Ji Xinglou’s face, and he noticed the red spots on her wrist. His bright eyes, filled with resistance and annoyance, suddenly stilled. He widened his eyes and asked, “Did you get it from me?”
Gu Jianli blew on the meat porridge and brought the spoon to Ji Xinglou’s lips, saying, “If you don’t want me to feed you, get better so you can hold the spoon yourself.”
Ji Xinglou was about to speak, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Gu Jianli fed him a spoonful of the warm, smooth porridge. He had no choice but to swallow it. Before he could speak again, another spoonful was fed to him. After a few more spoonfuls, Ji Xinglou silently opened his mouth, waiting for Gu Jianli to feed him.
Because he was hungry.
Gu Jianli fed him half a bowl, then picked up a handkerchief to wipe the corners of his mouth.
Ji Xinglou looked at her strangely and said, “If someone else made me sick, I’d kill them!”
Gu Jianli’s smile deepened, “But Xinglou isn’t just anyone. You’re my child.”
“Pssh,” Ji Xinglou rolled his eyes. “A fifteen-year-old girl’s nonsense!”
Seeing Ji Xinglou’s sneer, which was a spitting image of Ji Wujing’s, Gu Jianli was momentarily stunned. She remembered that she wasn’t Ji Xinglou’s mother; he had his own mother.
Gu Jianli couldn’t help but think about Ji Xinglou and Ji Xinglan’s biological mother.
What kind of woman was she? What did she look like?
Gu Jianli examined Ji Xinglou’s features closely. Ji Xinglou had some of Ji Wujing’s contours around his lips and nose, but his eyes were entirely different. Did his eyes resemble his mother’s?
She also recalled Ji Xinglan’s sweet smile. Ji Xinglan looked nothing like Ji Xinglou, nor did she resemble Ji Wujing at all. Naturally, Ji Xinglan must have looked like their mother.
“Hey, are you mad?” Ji Xinglou asked.
Gu Jianli snapped back to reality and shook her head with a smile.
Uncertain, Ji Xinglou asked again, “Did you really catch it from me?”
Gu Jianli took Ji Xinglou’s small hand in hers and said seriously, “Xinglou, we need to work hard together, to fight through this and walk out of this room.”
Ji Xinglou stared at her for a long time, then said slowly, “Half a bowl isn’t enough to fill me up!”
Startled, Gu Jianli picked up the meat porridge and continued feeding him.
