Jingting was peacefully eating his food when Xicheng ran into the room and stood before him silently, just his hands on his hips.
"Don't start. I don't care. I weighed the cons and pros," Jingting answered without looking up and continued with his food.
"I think your conscience and doctors' ethics worked more than the logic you say," Xicheng refuted him without even thinking. And Jingting couldn't say a thing because it was right.
Now, he had a stranger who gave him an alias as a name, and that was clothed in imperial armor, who had a mask over his face in his house.
"He had a tiger on his armor. It's the noble family crest. He is from the Capital. Are you sure you want him here?" No… Jingting was even less sure now than before. Even when he woke up with Baihua's hand around his neck, he had his doubts. So now, when Baihua's waking up was close and Jingting could see it, he was afraid.
He was afraid, but not for himself, but for all of his family. His father's and his own disciples were just like a family to him. He didn't want anything to happen to them.
Yet, something was telling him he could believe Baihua. That nothing bad would happen. Well, he was never a good judge of that, though.
"Let him be. He is still weak. And I don't think he means harm to someone who saved his life. He doesn't look like that type of person." Xicheng just snorted contemptuously and sat down. He took the chopsticks Jingting had put away and started eating. Now, Jingting, who had just stared at him, couldn't eat anymore. How could Xicheng put something in his mouth that someone else had in their mouth? Well, that was a mystery to him, but Jingting himself would never do it.
He stood up and walked out to the small courtyard garden he had in his quarters. He stood by the peach tree that blossomed so beautifully in spring, but now it was actually bare, they were all getting ready for snow.
"Jingting. You put him in your quarters, you are taking care of him day and night, almost not eating. I think you are too obsessed with keeping people alive. Especially this guy. I know you're proud of your work, but you can't let him stay for long. He is an Imperial Guard. Do you remember what happened?!"
"How could I ever forget?" he whispered back to Xicheng, who walked out of the room to the veranda and leaned on one of the big columns there. He looked so nonchalant in contrast with the serious topic they were discussing.
"But I only know it from stories my father told me, just like you. I'm not as bitter as he was, you have to understand that. None of them directly hurt me. It's hard to be wary of someone who did nothing to you." Jingting was really confused about his own feelings. He was told the story many times, but still… he was just born. How can they expect him to understand the grudge they had?
"But they killed your mother right after she gave birth to you! And kidnapped your uncle!" Jingting had put a hand on the tree and let his head fall down; he had no more tears to shed about it. But this tree was something his father planted for his mother. As a silent reminder for everyone here.
"But that doesn't mean he is as bad as others? There has to be a reason he is fighting for his life here… maybe he hates the capital, too. Just like…" Jingting didn't finish the sentence mainly because she wanted to say 'you', but that would only anger Xicheng. But because he heard a loud thump, too. On the veranda on the right wing of his courtyard was a body.
"I think he is an idiot. No wonder you are not scared of him." Xicheng chuckled but did not move at all. On the other hand, Jingting came running to that idiot and kneeled next to him, taking his pulse.
"I think you forgot you are a dead man walking. But I'm still surprised you came this far." Jingting whispered into Baihua's ear. It evidently made Baihua distressed because he grunted something, raising his hands. Jingting helped him to get into a sitting position and immediately went to check the wounds. Because if this idiot opened it again right after he cut the stitches.. He would kill him.
"How?" Baihua said, and Jingting chuckled.
"Years of studying, practice, and a bit of belief? If you asked how I'm so good. But if you asked how I saved you. Well, it's a long story." Baihua crossed his hands on his belly and watched Jingting with an indescribable expression. Jingting just rolled his eyes.
"Get up and back to bed. If you manage to do it, then I'll explain what happened." Jingting was glad this guy asked. If he were told the truth, maybe he would decide not to get the rest of his army and capture the entire mansion.
But this worked like magic. Baihua got up on his legs, with Jingting's help, and grunting and puffing, then he slowly walked back to the side room of Jingting's quarters and, with his help, lay on the bed. Jingting, who was sitting on the bedside, wanted to untie the undergarments, but Baihua brushed his hands off.
"Don't do it. If you touch my hands once again, I will break yours. I need to show you and check your wounds here." Jingting was, of course, not being truthful as he would never break someone's hands just because they touched his. But he hated when people wanted to invest themselves in his work. What if the wound inflamed again once they touched it?
Jingting took Baihua's pulse, untied his undergarment, and put on clean gloves from the side table. They were still warm as they were taken from the steam just a while ago.
"This cut was easy to stitch. Just a wound, I had to stitch back the muscle and skin, but it was okay. Same with the arm, the thigh, and the other side of your torso." Every time he described what he did, he pointed at the wound, slightly pressing it, looking whether there was pus leaking from it, but everything was okay. Jingting was so proud of himself that he stopped talking for a while.
"That's not all, though…" Baihua said, his voice somewhat magnetic. It was still a bit hoarse, but Jingting suspected Baihua's voice was like that originally. Hoarse from yelling at his underlings. He shuddered with somewhat of disgust. He had no idea what prompted such a visceral reaction, but who cared? Certainly not him.
"Oh, yeah. Let's not forget your ticket to the afterlife." Jingting joked and took down the fabric that was covering the biggest wound. The redness was almost all gone now, just the ends of the cut were still a bit red, but it wasn't swollen anymore.
"You were pierced through. Your gut was leaking into your belly, and you had inflammation," Jingting said, focusing on the paste for better scar healing he applied. And put a new cloth on.
"Turn around." Baihua obeyed without a word, but when he was lying on his belly, he hissed with pain.
"How could I survive all of that?" Good question… Jingting grimaced with a hint of amusement and curiosity, too.
"I guess my determination, your luck, and a lot of work. And a bit of knowledge. But I guess hard work is the one…If you don't appreciate it-..." Jingting finished changing the dressing, so he slightly slapped Sheng over his uninjured shoulder. Sheng fell back on his back once again and looked Jingting deep into his eyes.
"Why are you helping me?" Baihua asked. "You should've let me die." Jingting was quite taken aback. No one ever said it so blatantly before.
"You already tried that. You're terrible at it," he said, trying to brush it off as normal, but this guy looked haunted. His eyes looked dead in contrast to a few minutes ago, when they were full of vigor and the desire for Jingting's death.
"So try living instead…" he finished and walked away, but he didn't manage to get far because Baihua grabbed his hand and looked up at him with pleading eyes.
"Can you help me contact my family, my brothers?" That surprised Jingting. He didn't expect this soldier to think of anyone besides himself. Such an image was burned into his mind that everyone serving the emperor was a ruthless monster, thinking only of himself.
"Tell me what you want to tell them and I'll write a message and send it down the mountain," he said, showing a bit of empathy. Jingting thought that his family would be glad to be informed he was alive as well.
"Mountain?" Jingting jerked himself, and his expression hardened. He got up without a word and left Baihua there, with his mouth open.
Later, a servant came up to Jingting with a concoction and a paper and pen. But Jingting hadn't shown up.