"!"
Chen Ye was dumbfounded. He had long known that the evil Little Qingjun was full of mischief, but he had never seen her truly bully anyone.
Watching as Jin’er was wantonly humiliated by Qing Jun, her little face blushing red, he could no longer stand by.
"But, if I scold her directly, Jin’er would know that someone saw, and she might be even more hurt..."
Thoughts raced through Chen Ye’s mind as he deliberately pushed the door open with a heavy thud.
He pretended to have just finished his meditation, looking refreshed, and stretched lazily: "A night’s cultivation, finally some minor achievement. Hmm? You two..."
He saw Lin Jin leaning against the pear tree, her clothes disheveled, cheeks flushed, eyes brimming with tears, her body trembling slightly from humiliation.
While Qing Jun stood obediently beside her, tilting her little head, asking with concern, with no hint of her earlier malice.
If Chen Ye had not been secretly watching, he might not have noticed anything amiss.
Perfect enough to find no flaw, Qing Jun’s reactions were indeed swift...
Chen Ye sighed inwardly but showed nothing on his face.
He pretended not to notice, saying with a hint of surprise, "You two, up so early? What are you talking about?"
"Master!" Qing Jun sweetly called out, quickly responding, "I just got up and saw my junior sister practicing walking in the courtyard, she’s working so hard! I was just about to help her."
As she spoke, she gave Lin Jin an encouraging smile.
Lin Jin bit her lower lip tightly, refusing to speak, the pain causing sweat to bead on her forehead.
Just now, Qing Jun acted with no restraint, completely unrestrained to the extreme.
Even though she often hurt herself, she couldn’t bear it.
Feigning concern, Chen Ye frowned slightly, "Jin’er, why is your face so red? Is it the morning wind, did you catch a chill? Your clothes are also disheveled, go back inside and change into something warmer."
He didn’t mention anything that might have happened just now, simply offering Lin Jin a way out in the most ordinary tone.
Qing Jun immediately added eagerly, "Yes, yes, junior sister, you should go back inside, don’t catch a cold. Master, Qing Jun will go prepare breakfast for you now!"
With that, she hopped toward the kitchen like a successful little magpie, giving Lin Jin a barely perceivable provocative glance as she passed by.
Laugh, let you like to sneer at me!
The little girl inwardly sneered, did she really think she’d fight her openly and secretly according to the rules?
If Master hadn’t taken her as a disciple.
Otherwise, just for her secret provocations, she would have bullied her long ago!
...
So smug...
Lin Jin bit her lower lip until she tasted the metallic tang of blood.
She was careless, she thought Xu Qingjun was just a spoiled little girl, at most verbally sharp or petty.
But who knew, Xu Qingjun would utterly and unapologetically humiliate her with absolute strength. Indeed, cultivation is the truth in the Cultivation Realm...
She clutched the cold pear tree trunk, her fingertips almost digging into the bark, emotions surging:
"Xu Qingjun, you love Master, relying on his favor... fine, one day, every bit of humiliation you put on me, I’ll repay it before Chen Ye’s eyes!"
This thought was exceedingly unreasonable.
Clearly, it had nothing to do with Chen Ye.
But she didn’t care, nor was she grateful.
She was inherently malicious, thinking only of how to inflict as much pain on others, to share her own suffering with them.
If Chen Ye knew, he would probably kill her directly.
This thought made her particularly excited, but soon, she suppressed all her dark emotions.
Chen Ye looked at the silent Jin’er, feeling a headache.
He had anticipated Qing Jun’s vile personality... but fortunately, it was much better than the original plot’s nature.
The original plot’s Qing Jun was a complete demon.
Even Zhiwei swore to kill Qing Jun... Of course, it also involved some misunderstandings between sisters, which we won’t elaborate on now.
It’s just... now that he can’t stand up for Jin’er, it might make her feel rather sad.
He walked over and softly asked, "Jin’er, Qing Jun didn’t bully you, right?"
Chen Ye had made up his mind, if Jin’er wanted him to stand up, he’d punish Qing Jun; if not, it meant she didn’t want him to know, so he’d feign innocence.
Lin Jin dumbly raised her little face, her eyes glistening with tears, and Chen Ye thought she was about to complain, but she just shook her head and tried to walk back by herself.
But as soon as she took a step, her body went weak, and if it weren’t for Chen Ye’s quick reflexes, she would have fallen again.
"Master..." she leaned against Chen Ye, her body so frail it seemed boneless, "I... I can’t walk anymore..."
"Don’t push yourself." Chen Ye, feeling guilty, had compassion in his heart.
He said no more, bending to carry her horizontally.
The girl didn’t speak, just quietly nestled in his arms.
Only then did the places she had been pinched begin to radiate a searing pain.
Especially Xu Qingjun’s focal point on the lower body...
Chen Ye gently laid her on the simple bed in her room: "Your legs were just showing some improvement, don’t hurt them again. Rest well, and later, I’ll have Zhiwei bring you some spirit food."
He was about to turn away when a cool little hand timidly clutched his clothing hem.
"Master." Lin Jin’s voice carried a suppressed sob, her head still lowered, her small shoulders trembling slightly, "It hurts, it hurts so much."
Indeed, she had just been bullied by Qing Jun, how could he leave right away?
Chen Ye paused; indeed, Qing Jun hadn’t held back. Though Lin Jin sometimes harmed herself, even she couldn’t take it, showing how heavy-handed she had been.
"Master, can you help me heal..." she buried her blushing face in the pillow, her voice as soft as a mosquito.
"Alright, let Master take a look for you."
Chen Ye didn’t think too much, as a healer and her master, it’s natural to treat a disciple’s injuries, he said softly,
"Bear with it, and I’ll work to improve circulation and will infuse you with some spiritual power so it won’t hurt."
"...Alright."
Chen Ye extended his hand, his fingertips hesitated a bit before gently lifting the thin cover over her.
She was really too frail, especially being damp with morning dew and sweat, her thin attire nearly translucent, her slender waist visible.
The blanket slipped down, revealing the girl’s youthful curves, but on this smooth skin, a swollen red area stood out glaringly, evidence of Qing Jun’s force.
Chen Ye didn’t look for long, closing his eyes, concentrating, clearing away all distractions, and pointing over the air.
The flowing spiritual energy moved like a warm stream.
Now he had reached the Foundation Establishment stage. His robust spiritual power could already treat superficial injuries from a distance, though directly contacting was still needed for deeper injuries to muscles and Dantian.
"Master... it still hurts." Jin’er muttered, "It wasn’t like this before..."
Did this girl think the master was not attentive enough?
Or was it that the injury affected the meridians?
Chen Ye hesitated slightly, seeing the girl’s thin shoulders quivering, unable to remain unmoved.
"Never mind, I’ve been lost in illusions. With medicine’s benevolence, how could there be a difference between men and women?"
Chen Ye thought silently to himself.
"Hmm..."
Initially, Jin’er was a bit stiff, but soon, she immersed herself in her master’s warm hands.
His hand, indeed, was as warm as it was in her dreams.
The twisted dreams of countless nights overlapped with the present reality.
She subtly turned her face, peeking at her master’s focused profile through the gap in the pillow.
"Xu Qingjun, do you see?" she smirked inwardly, "You rely on cultivation to bully me, relying on Chen Ye’s affection to go unchecked. One day, I’ll surely let you witness it..."
Just thinking of that scene made her blood race, heart nearly leaping from her chest.
The humiliation, pleasure, and desire intertwined.
Along with it, the kindling within her Dantian flared with her racing heart.
In an instant, her spiritual power surged, her cultivation breaking through directly to the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer!
This spiritual power was so intense that even the peach-like smoothness in Chen Ye’s palm turned warm.
"What is happening?!"
Chen Ye looked foolishly at his hand, wondering,
Did just massaging her allow her to break through the realm directly?