Having been held by her so many times, Bai Li Chong Yan was no longer easily embarrassed. He was, however, unsettled by her words.
First, they were not yet married. Second, his current state…
Zhu Nian kicked the door open and strode in, the door closing automatically behind her.
The system had given up. It stated that the host would not change, and that her race was god, with inherent habits that rendered previous restrictive measures useless.
This was a novice world, and her data was not yet fully collected. She would have to wait until the next world for the main system to make adjustments based on her situation and establish new rules.
Zhu Nian placed him on the couch. Watching him sit obediently, her heart inexplicably softened. She had intended to reprimand him just moments ago, but now the urge to tease him had vanished.
However, she soon realized that his docility stemmed from being lost in thought, his attention completely elsewhere.
Zhu Nian reached out and pinched his ear. "What are you thinking about again? You're always spacing out in front of me. Is my allure not enough for you?"
Bai Li Chong Yan: "...No, it's not."
"Then what are you thinking about?"
"Nothing." He saw no need to tell her the unpleasant things he had heard and experienced.
How could Zhu Nian not see his thoughts?
"Never mind. Tell me when you're ready. How have you been these past few days? Can you feel your legs yet?"
Changing to a topic that was even more difficult for him to address, Bai Li Chong Yan still didn't know what to say. He could only hang his head in shame, gazing at his own legs in a daze.
"No feeling?" Zhu Nian reached out to touch his leg. Although Bai Li Chong Yan could not feel it, he still instinctively flinched away.
Zhu Nian grabbed his ankle and said softly, "Don't be afraid. I said I would help you heal. You've been taking your medicine every day, and your body has almost recovered. Let me take a look."
Bai Li Chong Yan's grip on her hand loosened. He looked up to meet her gaze, and after a moment, slowly removed his hand.
Zhu Nian lifted the hem of his robe and rolled up his pant leg, revealing legs as thin as skin and bones. He had once been a general who conquered battlefields, with a substantial frame and large bones. Yet, he was now as light as a paper doll, almost nothing but skin and bone.
His skin was pale blue, with faint traces of veins and old scars that had healed, not as shocking as those on his face.
His legs were in this state because his leg tendons had been torn apart while he was alive. Even with a peerless divine physician to reconnect his meridians, such an injury would never fully heal.
But Zhu Nian was not human, and she did not use human methods. Such an injury was not difficult for her.
In the divine realm, mortals could use lotus roots as bodies. After burning a lamp for seven days and seven nights, and then introducing a soul, a person could recover completely using the lotus root as a vessel.
His meridians were merely severed; it was not that complicated for her.
Zhu Nian looked at his calves, which appeared no different from a normal person's except for their thinness, and warned, "It will hurt a little. Don't watch for a while. If you can't bear it, bite me."
Bai Li Chong Yan silently turned his head away.
Zhu Nian channeled her spiritual energy, slowly infusing it into his legs as if injecting vitality, stimulating the regeneration of his meridians.
This was originally a very long process. A person's body only fully developed by their early twenties. Now, his meridians had to regenerate in such a short time, and the pain was unimaginable.
Since the torture he endured years ago, Bai Li Chong Yan had been very afraid of pain. Although he never showed it, his body was severely decaying, and even a light touch could cause pain. How much more so now with his meridians regrowing.
Sweat soon appeared on his forehead. Pulled by the uneven mask, some of it dripped into his eyes. He could only close his eyes, focusing even more intensely on the pain.
The hatred that had been dormant for so long now surged like luxuriant wild grass, taking root deeply in his heart.
He had done nothing wrong, yet he had to endure such torment.
Both then and now, he was the only one suffering. Those people had stolen his power, plundered his achievements, and were now living in comfort. How could this be?
He hated them so much!
Waves of subtle yet bone-deep pain washed over him, making him almost unable to bear it and pass out.
At this moment, what sustained him was none other than the hatred in his heart.
His father, his brothers, they wanted to see him decay and perish like a puddle of mud.
But they would never have imagined that the marriage his good imperial father had bestowed upon him would be his salvation.
This must be heaven's will. Heaven's will did not want him to rot and perish; heaven's will wanted him to live and seek revenge!
[Villain blackening value +10, current blackening value 70]
[Villain blackening value +10, current blackening value 80]
Zhu Nian, who had just realized what the blackening value represented: "..."