In her heart... instead, some strange emotions arose that she couldn’t even articulate.
Like inferiority, like resentment, like disgust, like resistance...
Especially, thinking of his sanctimonious appearance, when he patiently taught her cultivation in the name of a master, this strange emotion in her heart spread even more.
She so desperately wanted to see him... or rather, the most disgraceful side of her master.
Just like how disgraceful she was in front of him.
To pull down the high and mighty him, to drag him into this muddy, grim darkness where she was...
Every time she imagined his lowly appearance in her mind, her chilled blood would boil.
"Heh... heh heh..."
The girl’s slender fingers deeply sunk into the doll, she bit her lip, her legs lightly rubbed against each other uncontrollably under the thin blanket.
Just a slight movement made sweat gradually form at her temples, yet a hint of excitement quietly appeared in her eyes.
The excitement grew more intense, turning into a flush that crept up her pale cheeks.
Just at this moment,
Outside the door, came a creaking sound!
"Mm...!"
She suddenly looked up,
Only to see the man she imagined standing at the door, looking at her in confusion.
...
Chen Ye was puzzled, he slightly furrowed his brows.
The air was filled with a faint damp smell, was it the scent of some kind of herb?
Lin Jin was also very strange, her back stiff, motionless.
Though she was a reclusive girl, she wasn’t an immobile wooden figure...
"Jin’er."
Temporarily suppressing his confusion, Chen Ye planned to first get closer to Jin’er, stepping forward slowly, his voice gentle,
"Why not open the window? It’s so stuffy inside."
Lin Jin gave no answer, even her breathing was at its lightest, silently shrinking herself deeper into the wheelchair.
Was her condition worsening?
Was the past half-year alone too despairing?
Or... was it an unspeakable resentment towards her master who returned after half a year without a word?
Chen Ye sighed slightly, feeling that the time apart had aggravated her gloom and emotional knots.
She was originally such a delicate, fragile, and obsessively sickly child.
Half a year apart, perhaps she had secluded herself deeper into that dark and twisted little world.
He approached the girl, who seemed to want to retreat, her small hands quietly gripping the armrest, but she was already in the furthest corner of the room, with nowhere else to go.
"Could she be sick again..."
Chen Ye murmured, touching the girl’s forehead.
Hmm... her temperature was too high, something was off.
Strangely enough, as soon as he touched her forehead, he distinctly felt her shiver.
The shiver alone was not surprising, but she seemed to let out a muffled groan from her throat.
Chen Ye lightly sighed in his heart, outwardly calm, sitting down next to Jin’er, smiling:
"It’s been half a year, did Jin’er miss Master?"
As expected, Jin’er only slightly lifted her eyes, glancing at him with complexity, still not responding.
Chen Ye decided to change his approach.
Thinking about it, it’s been so long since they’ve seen each other.
And it seemed to make the little girl somewhat estranged from him.
Sigh...
Surely, over this half year, the little girl probably hadn’t missed him at all?
Chen Ye felt invigorated, he is an expert with youngsters!
To get the little one to open up to him was a matter of minutes.
Chen Ye, determined to succeed, smiled slightly and began to narrate his experiences over the past half year.
The events were dramatic, bizarre!
Surely able to capture the interest of a homebody like Jin’er!
The little girl’s gaze indeed flickered, landing on his smiling face, her small hands unconsciously tightening on the armrest.
Really wanted to... tear this kind of master to pieces!
He clearly saw her most shameful side, yet still put on a show...
Chen Ye couldn’t have known the little girl’s thoughts, as he finally finished recounting his experiences during this time.
He sighed deeply: "Jin’er, this half year, Master was forced. That Wei Family plotted against Master, forcing Master to Grotto Heaven. And your cultivation... just starting, entering Grotto Heaven would be certain death. Master thought to have you stay at Lisong Valley, since your family was there."
The little girl was still engrossed in her own fantasy, only realizing after hearing Chen Ye’s sigh.
Hmm?
He said... he was forced into Grotto Heaven?
Jin’er found it a bit strange.
Because both her father and sister said that her master had recently taken on a sect mission, temporarily leaving Lisong Valley with Lu Zhiwei and Xu Qingjun.
But they never mentioned that Chen Ye was actually framed...
It’s important to understand that these two things represent completely different meanings.
The former suggests that Chen Ye doesn’t regard her as a disciple at all, doesn’t care about her, and hasn’t considered her even when taking a position elsewhere.
The latter, however, implies that Chen Ye was forced, which doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about her.
No...
The young girl’s lips curled into a self-deprecating smile. Someone like her, who would care?
Even her sister thought she was crazy.
What’s more, someone as gloomy as herself wasn’t worth anyone’s care.
As she wallowed in self-pity, she suddenly felt her leg being quietly parted by a man.
The young girl’s expression tensed, and she quickly pressed her legs together, looking at Chen Ye warily.
Chen Ye curiously released his hold. He had treated Jin’er’s legs many times before; by right, she should be used to it?
He suppressed his doubts and smiled, "Jin’er, it’s been half a year since Master has treated your legs. Don’t be afraid, it doesn’t hurt at all, it’ll be over soon."
With that, he intended to remove the girl’s dress.
Of course, removing the dress would only expose her legs. As for the vital parts, naturally, there were undergarments.
Unexpectedly,
The girl’s face flushed deeply, and she tightly held his hands, her lips quivering like a mosquito’s buzz, "No..."
"Good girl, only by healing your legs can you walk in the future?"
Chen Ye said gently, but his actions didn’t allow for refusal.
He had long been accustomed to the girl’s reluctance, but could he give up on treatment just because of that?
Chen Ye first reached out to remove the thin blanket covering her legs.
The young girl’s body on the wheelchair shuddered, her empty, pitch-black pupils shrank suddenly, and she almost frantically tried to retreat into the depths of the wheelchair, clamping her legs neurotically.
"Jin’er?"
Chen Ye was stunned by her intense reaction, his actions froze, and his gaze instinctively followed her panicked movements downward.
In the dim light, there seemed to be a small dark stain on her skirt?
Chen Ye’s heart sank sharply, and he suddenly realized!
No wonder she was so resistant to recovery!
It turned out she had lost control...
This kind of humiliating loss of control, for a sensitive and self-abasing girl like her, was nothing less than the most terrifying torture!
Chen Ye immediately withdrew the hand he had intended to touch her with, feigning a sigh:
"Since you don’t want to, let’s not rush the leg issue. Today was indeed a bit hasty, Master is also tired from the journey. I’ll come again tomorrow to treat you."
After speaking, he turned briskly, avoiding further embarrassing the young girl.
Until the door quietly closed, separating two worlds inside and out.
Only then did Lin Jin seem to have her spine removed, suddenly collapsing onto the wheelchair.
The body, tensed to the extreme, relaxed powerlessly, yet because of the relaxation, it began to breathe heavily in an uncontrolled manner.
After a long time, she finally caught her breath.
Did he really not know?
The sensation of teetering on the brink of exposure far exceeded the girl’s expectations.
She carefully recalled the expression on the man’s face.
Clearly, it was only when he lifted the blanket that he realized something was wrong.
His expression had pity and regret... but no shock or shame.
For a long time.
"Ha..."
A broken, almost whispered cold laugh escaped from her bloodless lips.
So, he just thought she had lost control...
...
"Damn it!"
Chen Ye berated himself relentlessly.
Chen Ye, oh Chen Ye, how could you violate your disciple’s wishes?
Truly a despicable person!
Thinking back to that scene just now, even Chen Ye felt embarrassed for Jin’er.
"Where is Lin Qiongyu? In this half year without my treatment, Jin’er’s legs have had problems again... and she hasn’t cared for her sister?"
He pondered secretly, glancing back at the courtyard.
This small courtyard in the Inner Valley was home to only Lin Qiongyu and Lin Jin.
Logically, with Lin Jin’s legs paralyzed, her daily life would be extremely inconvenient and would need someone to care for her.
If someone had cared for her, the young girl wouldn’t have had an incident of incontinence.
That scene just now wouldn’t have occurred.
Normally, Lin Qiongyu was very devoted to her sister and wouldn’t neglect her.
"Forget it, let’s first find out what’s being said within the sect... The news of Bai Susu’s appearance in the Three Thousand Great Mountains should have already reached the sect’s ears."