The beardy was carrying two pheasants, already stripped of their feathers, as he walked towards Chu Lian. With the light coming from his back, most of his face was shrouded in shadow and only his jet-black eyes shone with a profound glint.
Chu Lian had only dared to risk a quick glance before looking down again.
It seemed like the beardy had realised that his rash actions had made her more cautious towards him. When he walked towards the fire, he didn’t say anything and simply pierced the two pheasants through with wooden sticks before placing them over the fire to roast.
With Chu Lian’s guard up, the moment the bearded man started walking towards her, she quickly tried shifting away. However, before she could get any further, her injured leg was caught in his grasp.
Chu Lian abruptly looked up at the beardy, dumbfounded by his action.
Her eyes shone with unhappiness, reluctant to let him do as he pleased.
He Sanlang simply cast a calm glance at her and asked with his magnetic voice, “What are you hiding for? Don’t you want to keep this leg?”
Upon hearing this, Chu Lian turned her gaze to the hand he was using to grip her ankle. The warmth of his palm scorched wherever it touched her skin. Even through the thick winter pants she had on, she could feel the intense heat of his body where he held her calf.
Chu Lian shifted her gaze away awkwardly. She just didn’t know how to react when he was acting so proper while bandaging her ankle. It was too different from that evil teasing of his before.
He Changdi lifted his own armour and pulled away the tunic beneath it to tear off a piece of his soft undershirt.
Next, he attempted to lift up the hem of Chu Lian’s skirt. However, after having experienced this once before, how could Chu Lian let him have his way? She quickly pulled down her skirt and said, “I know how to do it. I’ll bandage it myself.”
He Sanlang paused but didn’t say anything. He stood up and moved over to one side, passing the strip of cloth to Chu Lian.
Chu Lian took it and turned aside, presenting her back to him. Using the light of the fire, she carefully pulled down her white socks before rolling up the hem of the pants she was wearing underneath her skirt.
Quite some time had passed since she had gotten injured. Blood from her wounds had already soaked through her socks and pants and then dried up, so her clothing was now stuck to her wounds. When she tried to peel it off, some of her flesh came off with it- it hurt a lot.
With an additional beardy next to her, Chu Lian’s heart was filled with resentment. She didn’t want the beardy to look down on her, so she gritted her teeth and bore with the pain, pulling off the cloth stuck to her wounds all at once.
Finally, her slender ankle and calf were exposed.
After that bit of pain was over, Chu Lian sighed in relief. She was about to wipe at the fresh blood leaking from her wounds with the hem of her skirt when a large hand appeared in her vision. Held within those long, slender fingers was a damp white cloth.
Chu Lian was a little stunned. In the next second, the low, magnetic tone of a man’s voice said, “Wipe your wounds with this. This cloth is clean.”
Of course it was clean. He Sanlang had torn it off from the hem of his own undershirt.
Chu Lian pressed her lips together. For some reason, she didn’t quite dare to meet the beardy’s eyes. She reached out and took the damp cloth from his hands before carefully wiping at the wound on her ankle with her head bent down.
Luckily, the wound wasn’t too severe. It hadn’t damaged any of her muscles or bones, but the flesh around her ankle was a mess right now. She probably wouldn’t be able to walk normally for ten to twenty days.
As much as Chu Lian tried to hide her wounds, the cave was only so large, so He Changdi had already caught sight of what it looked like.
Chu Lian’s skin was already fair in the first place. The exposed parts of her calf and ankle peeking out from under her clothes were equally fair and smooth, which made the raw and bloody wound look even more wretched. He Sanlang felt like he was suffocating. He turned away, unable to bear looking at that wound.
After she finished cleaning, Chu Lian took some crushed herbs from the beardy’s hands to apply around the wound before carefully wrapping it up.
