Chapter 699 - 556: You... You Like Me, Don’t You?
Chapter 699: Chapter 556: You... You Like Me, Don’t You?
They walked down the mountain path.
As they walked, Tushan Jing Ci softly told Xiao Mo which families they needed to visit that day, what symptoms they had, whose condition was more urgent, and who they should see first.
Fortunately, most of the cases they had to treat today were minor ailments like bruises, sprains, colds, and coughs. Nothing too difficult.
Xiao Mo led Tushan Jing Ci into one home after another.
Upon seeing the monk from Sikong Temple arrive, most of the families would let out a collective sigh of relief, their worries easing.
While treating the patients, Xiao Mo followed the Abbot’s instructions. He patiently explained the causes of the illnesses and the principles of pharmacology to Tushan Jing Ci, teaching her medical skills so that she could one day support herself.
When lunchtime arrived, Xiao Mo had planned to just have a few bites of a dry biscuit.
But Tushan Jing Ci had already prepared a lunchbox. Beaming, she took out several small plates of vegetarian dishes and placed them between the two of them.
"So? I wonder if my humble cooking is to Master Que Yin’s liking?"
Tushan Jing Ci looked at Xiao Mo, her eyes full of expectation.
"Mm... Your skills are truly impressive, Miss."
Xiao Mo nodded. His tone was calm, but a hint of imperceptible surprise was hidden in his eyes.
The Jing Ci he remembered couldn’t cook to save her life. Even asking her to light a fire would end with her covered in soot.
He never expected that after all these years, Jing Ci’s cooking would have improved so dramatically.
"If you like it, then eat more."
Hearing Xiao Mo’s praise, Tushan Jing Ci hurriedly used her chopsticks to place one portion after another from the lunchbox into his bowl, looking as if she wanted to dump the entire container in.
"And if you like it, I can cook for you every day from now on, alright?" She paused her chopsticks and asked tentatively.
Xiao Mo just lowered his head and remained silent, quietly eating the food in his bowl as if he hadn’t heard a thing.
"Hmph..." Tushan Jing Ci pouted and muttered under her breath, "Blockhead..."
Xiao Mo heard her but still didn’t reply, pretending her coquettish complaint had been carried away by the mountain wind.
「In the days that followed.」
Every morning after his early lessons, Xiao Mo would shoulder his medicine box, walk out the gates of Sikong Temple, and treat the common folk.
And every day, Tushan Jing Ci would hurry to the temple gates early, waiting with a beaming smile for Xiao Mo to emerge.
The two of them spent nearly the entire day together, inseparable.
Only when the sun began to set and dusk settled would Xiao Mo escort the young woman back to her small courtyard before returning to Sikong Temple.
The season gradually turned to late summer, and the weather grew increasingly hot.
As the two walked through the mountains, they would often find a clear spring to wash their faces and cool off.
But whether she was washing her face or drinking water, Tushan Jing Ci seemed a little too "carefree."
The spring water trickled slowly down her fair cheeks, flowed over her snowy-white jaw, past her delicate and beautiful collarbones, and finally disappeared into the towering Zishan Snow Sea.
Sometimes she would even stick out her small, pink tongue to lightly lick her moist lips, or she would tug her collar open slightly, deliberately revealing a flash of fair skin.
Each time, Xiao Mo would avert his gaze, not daring to look for long.
And seeing this, Tushan Jing Ci would always reveal a triumphant smile.
Occasionally, when passing a stream, and if no patients were waiting urgently, she would sit by the water’s edge, dip her small, fair feet in, straighten her jade-like insteps, and kick up splash after splash of water at Xiao Mo.
When the stream water kicked up by her jade feet accidentally splashed into Xiao Mo’s mouth, he would spit it out repeatedly, looking rather disheveled.
Seeing him in such a state, the young woman would laugh even more gleefully.
These quiet, wonderful days continued for about half a month.
If she could, Tushan Jing Ci truly wished they could live like this forever.
But...
What frustrated her, however, was that she had already exhausted every method to "seduce" Xiao Mo.
Yet this blockhead Monk remained completely unmoved.
’But I can clearly feel that he likes me!’
"Ah!"
One day, half a month later, as Tushan Jing Ci was following Xiao Mo through the mountains, she suddenly let out a cry of alarm.
By the time Xiao Mo reacted, Tushan Jing Ci had already fallen and was sitting sideways on the ground.
A snake shot into the undergrowth.
"Miss Jing Ci, are you alright?" Xiao Mo hurried forward.
"Of course not."
Tushan Jing Ci lifted her beautiful face. Her lovely eyes were already welling with tears, shimmering with a crystalline light.
She slightly lifted her pant leg, revealing a fair, slender ankle. On it were two small puncture wounds, the area around them tinged a faint bluish-purple. Her voice was filled with worry. "Monk, that snake... was it venomous? Am I going to die?"
Xiao Mo bent down to examine the wound carefully. "This humble monk did not get a clear look just now, but there shouldn’t be many venomous snakes on this mountain. You needn’t be so alarmed, Miss."
"Not many doesn’t mean none..."
Tushan Jing Ci’s voice held a sob as she looked at Xiao Mo with pleading eyes.
"Monk, can... can you help me suck the poison out? I’ve read in storybooks that as long as you suck out the poisoned blood, you’ll be fine."
"It’s not that complicated," Xiao Mo said in a gentle and patient tone. "I can teach you to press a few acupoints to force the poisoned blood out yourself. That would be safer."
"No, no..." Tushan Jing Ci leaned against a tree trunk, panting slightly. Her chest heaved dramatically, and her voice grew weak. "I have no strength at all right now, and my head feels dizzy. How could I have the presence of mind to learn? Monk, just do it yourself."