Start cultivating immortality in Xiaoao world, bumped into the master’s wife at the start!

Chapter 3: Chong’er, Don’t…

Not knowing whether her intentions had been seen through, or if she was simply angered by Linghu Chong’s stubbornness, Ning Zhongze snapped at him, “Chong’er! You’re being ridiculous! Let me go at once, I need to treat your injuries!”

“I don’t want to!” Linghu Chong flared up too. No one knew where he got the strength, but his shout stunned Ning Zhongze on the spot.

“Unless you promise me that you won’t try to take your own life again—that you’ll live on well…”

“Swear it! Otherwise, I won’t let go even if it kills me.”

“You…” Ning Zhongze was furious, but then sighed helplessly. “Please don’t force me, all right?”

“I’m not forcing you, Master’s Wife! I just want you to live, for Huashan’s sake, for little junior sister!”

“Are you really going to abandon us and leave so heartlessly?”

“If so, then I’ll die with you.”

Seeing Ning Zhongze calm down a bit, Linghu Chong brought up the entire Huashan Sect and their junior sister.

“Senior brother, Shan’er…” At his words, two figures flickered across Ning Zhongze’s eyes, and her tears began to fall uncontrollably, like pearls dropping one by one onto Linghu Chong’s shoulder.

Choking back sobs, she said, “Chong’er, don’t be like this… You can’t die… You’re the future of Huashan… Shan’er needs you to take care of her.”

“I don’t care. If you won’t promise me today—if you insist on seeking death—then I’ll die with you.” Linghu Chong shouted.

“You…”

“Master’s Wife! I can’t bear to watch you die before me, so please—let me go first!”

Seeing Ning Zhongze still hesitating, Linghu Chong decided to play his trump card.

“What are you doing?” Ning Zhongze cried out in alarm.

Linghu Chong grabbed the dagger from the ground and suddenly stood up.

Because the movement was too sudden, a sword swung and struck Ning Zhongze’s face.

Linghu Chong placed the dagger against his neck and looked down at her from above. “Goodbye, Master’s Wife!”

As he spoke, he prepared to slash his throat.

“No!”

Ning Zhongze was horrified and leapt to her feet, grabbing Linghu Chong’s hand to stop him.

A drop of crimson blood trickled onto the blade.

Seeing this, Ning Zhongze panicked and cried out, “Chong’er, don’t! Please don’t do this! Master’s Wife promises you, I promise! Don’t do something so foolish!”

“Really? Master’s Wife?” Linghu Chong’s face lit up with a faint smile.

“Yes! Master’s Wife swears—I won’t seek death again. Now let go, okay?” Ning Zhongze pleaded.

She was truly terrified, her tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks.

“That’s great, Master’s Wife!” Linghu Chong smiled gently, tossed away the dagger, and gently reached out to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes.

“Chong’er…”

Ning Zhongze could no longer hold back her emotions. She threw herself into Linghu Chong’s arms and broke into sobs.

Whether it was relief, fear, guilt, confusion, or helplessness…

She let all her tangled emotions flood out.

Linghu Chong, holding the weeping Ning Zhongze in his arms, felt a deep ache in his heart. For something like this to happen—even the famed ‘Jade Maiden Ning’ of the Jianghu* appeared lost, grief-stricken, desolate, and overwhelmed.

[*Literally “rivers and lakes.” This term refers to the martial world or the society of martial artists in wuxia fiction. It encompasses a world with its own rules, often outside the bounds of regular society.]

At this moment, she needed support.

Linghu Chong slowly reached out and embraced Ning Zhongze’s slender waist, holding her in his arms, gently comforting her trembling body and heart.

Ning Zhongze’s delicate body quivered slightly, then settled down and cried even harder.

Linghu Chong quietly held her, softly caressing her smooth back, letting her weep freely—perhaps this would help her feel better.

No one knew how much time passed.

Ning Zhongze’s emotions finally calmed down.

“All right, Chong’er! Let go now—Master’s Wife needs to treat your wounds first.”

Only now did she remember his injuries, and she spoke with her head lowered in a whisper.

But Linghu Chong didn’t respond to her call.

“Chong’er, Chong’er…”

Ning Zhongze called out twice more, still getting no reply.

A sense of dread surged in her chest. She quickly pulled back and propped up Linghu Chong’s body, only to see his eyes tightly shut—he had lost consciousness.

“Chong’er, what’s wrong? Don’t scare Master’s Wife!” Ning Zhongze cried in panic, patting his cheek.

But Linghu Chong’s body couldn’t remain upright and collapsed onto her.

He fell headlong into the snow.

“Chong’er, Chong’er!”

Ning Zhongze hurriedly eased him to the ground.

However, for some reason, Linghu Chong couldn’t lie flat.

A blush spread across Ning Zhongze’s delicate face. She had no time to worry about anything else and carefully lifted him onto a large round rock.

Then, she rummaged through the clothing on the ground and found the injury medicines: wound balm, calming pills, bleeding powder, and so on.

These were essentials when wandering the Jianghu.

After finding the medicine, Ning Zhongze first cleaned the wound on Linghu Chong’s back, disinfected it, then sprinkled the wound balm directly onto the dagger wound.

“Ah!!!”

A sharp, agonized scream echoed through the valley, startling the small creatures hidden among the rocky woods.

The pain was so intense that it jolted Linghu Chong back to consciousness.

“Chong’er, you’re awake!” Ning Zhongze’s face lit up with joy when she saw him awaken.

“Master’s Wife! What did you put on me? It hurts so bad!” Linghu Chong turned to look at her, tears of pain streaming down his cheeks.

“Wound balm! Hold still, it’ll be over soon!” Ning Zhongze paid him no heed and continued calmly applying medicine, sprinkling the powder bit by bit.

“Ahh! Oh…”

Linghu Chong’s face twisted in agony, gritting his teeth and trembling all over from the pain.

“What are you yelling for? Now you know it hurts? You’re a grown man, take it like one—endure it!”

Ning Zhongze plopped down onto Linghu Chong, pinning him tightly in place. Because he kept twitching, some of the powder had spilled, so she had no choice.

Linghu Chong, feeling the weight on top of him, suddenly had a glint in his eyes.

Well, this isn’t bad either!

Then he closed his eyes and began to enjoy the strange mix of pain and Master’s Wife’s tenderness.

This feeling was truly extreme—an ice and fire kind of heaven.

A long while later.

Ning Zhongze finally finished applying the medicine and wrapped the wound with a bandage.

“All done!” After everything was done, she clapped her hands to dust off the powder.

“All done?” Linghu Chong blinked, still immersed in the process, with a lingering sense of longing.

“Mm.” Ning Zhongze gave a simple reply.

Then she bent down gracefully to pick up a cloth from the ground and covered Linghu Chong with it.

She also wrapped herself in one and sat beside him, leaning slightly.

After all that chaos, she no longer had the strength to move.

“Master’s Wife…” Linghu Chong turned his head and softly murmured.

Ning Zhongze said nothing, just raised her head to gaze at the two full moons in the sky, her expression distant.

In that moment, she was so beautiful—with a fragile kind of allure that tugged at the heart. Linghu Chong couldn’t help but be mesmerized.

Everything that had happened tonight felt like a dream. Neither of them could quite believe it was real.

For a while, neither said a word. The mountain valley fell into complete silence, broken only by the soft chirping of insects in the bushes and tall grass.

It was already autumn now.

The air had turned cool.

Nighttime on Huashan was especially cold—especially here on the mountainside, where the wind blew fiercely.

Ning Zhongze instinctively hugged herself tighter, her delicate figure curling up.

Even so, her lush body trembled slightly from the cold wind.