[Fan-Made] Previous Life Extra: The Sorrow of Luoqing City (Part 2) | Author: Was Lazy Since Childhood
"Mm," Luoqing City answered in a low voice.
HISS. Nie Yun summoned his Pill Fire, illuminating the pitch-black cave. In the rainy, misty darkness just moments ago, he hadn't gotten a clear look at Luoqing City's face, but now, under the flickering light of the flame, he finally saw her clearly. The young woman wore a white jade orchid hairpin, and her long, damp hair fell loose about her temples. The sight of her dark hair against her fair skin was stunningly beautiful. Though her face was somewhat pale, it only made her all the more endearing. Even the resolute Nie Yun found himself staring, his eyes fixed on the young woman kneeling on the ground, breathing rapidly.
"Young Master Nie?" Seeing him standing there in a daze, Luoqing City felt no annoyance at being stared at. On the contrary, a trace of joy sparked in her heart. 'My looks were enough to make him freeze on the spot,' she thought, and a pleased little smile crept onto her face.
Her call snapped Nie Yun back to his senses. He said awkwardly, "My apologies, I was rude. How are your injuries, Miss?"
Seeing Nie Yun flusteredly change the subject only made Luoqing City more delighted. After all, she was still a young girl who had rarely met any men besides her own father. Nie Yun had helped her in her moment of crisis, and they were both from Luoshui City. In terms of both looks and strength, he was a true dragon among men. A romantic scenario she had only ever imagined—a hero saving a beauty—was happening to her in real life. How could her young heart not be stirred?
Luoqing City wasn't about to let Nie Yun off the hook that easily. Covering her mouth to stifle a giggle, she teased, "I never would have thought Young Master Nie, so peerlessly heroic just now, could actually be shy."
Her smile held a hundred charms, enough to put all other beauties to shame. Nie Yun was just an inexperienced young man himself; faced with Luoqing City's teasing, he was momentarily at a loss for what to do. "Your injuries are severe, Miss. They need immediate Healing." Flustered, Nie Yun simply repeated himself.
"But... my whole body is sore and weak. I can't even lift my arms. How am I supposed to get any Healing?"
"That's simple enough. If you wouldn't mind, Miss, I can help you with that."
At his words, Luoqing City's face instantly turned bright red. To bandage her wounds, she would have to take off her clothes. She had never been alone with any man besides her father, so how could she not be mortified at the prospect of being naked in front of one now? What's more, one of the most serious wounds was in a very... sensitive place. 'Even if I have feelings for him, I can't just abandon all propriety and undress for a man who isn't my husband!' she thought desperately. "But... but..."
Coincidentally, Nie Yun had also never been close with any woman besides his mother and sister, and he had momentarily forgotten the principle that unrelated men and women should not touch. Seeing Luoqing City's face turn beet red, he assumed she was just worried about his skills with Healing. "Don't worry, Miss. I've been injured a lot since I was a child, so I'm very proficient in the methods of Healing. Where are you hurt? Can you tell me?"
Luoqing City cursed Nie Yun a thousand times over in her heart. 'Just how dense are you?!' "But, Young Master Nie, men and women must maintain their distance. A major wound is... it's over there... How can this possibly be done?"
Even someone as dense as Nie Yun finally understood. This person wasn't his mother or his sister; it was already improper for an unmarried man and woman to be alone together, and yet he had just offered to undress her and perform Healing. He was so embarrassed he wished the ground would swallow him whole. "Then... what should we do, Miss...?" Nie Yun asked, scratching his head.
'If I don't get these injuries Healed soon, we could run into enemies at any moment. In my condition, won't I just be a burden to him?' At this thought, Luoqing City bit her lip and said shyly, "You... you're not allowed to open your eyes!"
"Of course! Of course!" 'It'll be a little inconvenient with my eyes closed, but it shouldn't be a major issue,' he thought. "Then... I'll begin."
With that, Nie Yun slowly reached for Luoqing City's clothes. 'I've performed Healing countless times, but for some reason, my hands are trembling a little now...'
"You... Close your eyes!"
"Right... right..." Nie Yun awkwardly snapped his eyes shut. He gently undid Luoqing City's outer robe, and then her blood-stained undergarments. But now he was in a bind. 'I forgot to ask where she's hurt! I can't just smear medicine all over her entire body...' So he asked, "Miss... where exactly are you hurt...?"
Luoqing City nearly fainted. 'You take my clothes off *then* ask where the wound is...? You're unbelievable...' "My... my chest... two inches to the left. The wound is about two inches long..." she stammered, so embarrassed her neck had turned crimson. "You... just hurry up..."
Following her directions, Nie Yun was about to apply the medicine to the wound. But the moment his fingers made contact, Luoqing City cried out with a sharp "Ah!" "What is it? Does it hurt a lot?" he asked.
"You... you touched me!"
"How am I supposed to apply the medicine without touching you?"
"But you touched me *there*!"
"But that's where your wound is..."
"Ah! You opened your eyes!" When she had suddenly cried out, Nie Yun had forgotten she was completely naked and subconsciously opened his eyes to ask what was wrong. He hadn't even realized it during their silly back-and-forth. But with her reminder, it all came rushing back, along with the intoxicating vision of snowy-white skin that had filled his eyes... He instantly slammed them shut, his ears burning red with shame.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I... I really didn't mean to."
'Intentional or not, you still saw everything!' Mortified, tears streamed down Luoqing City's face like pearls from a broken string. "Forget it..." she sobbed. "You... just hurry up."
"Oh... oh..." The wonderfully soft and smooth sensation from his fingertips nearly made Nie Yun lose control. The intoxicating image from moments before replayed endlessly in his mind.
'I can feel his fingers fumbling around on my chest, but I don't dare make a sound,' she thought. 'Who knows if he'll just open his eyes again...'
A moment later, Nie Yun had skillfully bandaged Luoqing City's wound. Only then did he let out a slow sigh of relief. The atmosphere in the cave was terribly awkward. After a long silence, Luoqing City spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz. "Young Master Nie, why did you risk your life to save me? Even if we're from the same hometown, no one would risk death for someone they've only just met."
'It's impossible, I know,' she thought, 'but a girl can dream.' She desperately hoped this heroic man would say something like, "It was love at first sight."
But reality rarely lives up to one's hopes.
"Because we're from the same hometown, and because your father is a hero of Luoshui City. That's why I wanted to save you. Besides," he added, "I never thought I would get hurt. If you hadn't turned back for me, I would have already escaped without a scratch."
"There's no other reason? Even after... everything that's happened?" With a sliver of hope, Luoqing City mustered all her courage to ask. Any normal person would have understood the romantic feelings behind her question, but this Nie Yun was far denser than average when it came to matters of the heart.
"Do I need any other reason?..."
Hearing his reply, the light in Luoqing City's eyes dimmed. 'You saved me, you saw me, you touched me, and you made my heart flutter,' she thought sorrowfully. 'After this, how could I ever fall for anyone else? And yet... you don't feel the same way about me.'
'Could it be... you already love someone else?' The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt, and she couldn't stop the quiet sobs from escaping.
A beauty's tears are a heart-wrenching sight. Nie Yun instantly panicked. He couldn't stand to see women cry, and this young woman's tears, in particular, were enough to make anyone's heart ache with pity. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Are you thinking about your father? Don't be so sad. The dead can't be brought back to life..."
If the Celestial Dao had thoughts, it probably would have wanted to slap Nie Yun a few times.
'Why am I crying? Isn't it obvious it's because of you?' she thought. 'You don't even know why I'm crying... you really don't care about me at all.' This realization only deepened her sorrow. Piled on top of the pain of her father's recent death, her tears became uncontrollable, and she threw aside all composure and began to wail loudly.
Nie Yun never expected his attempt at comforting her would only make Luoqing City cry even more sorrowfully. Not knowing what else to say, he gently pulled her into an embrace, patting her back the way his mother used to comfort him as a child. After a long while, her crying finally subsided. Looking at the tear-stained girl before him, Nie Yun's heart filled with pity. He disregarded the impropriety between men and women, reached out to wipe the tears from her cheeks, and said, "You know, Miss, you're even more beautiful when you smile..."
"Am I ugly when I cry?"
"No, that's not it. Sigh... I don't know how to explain it. You're beautiful either way. Beautiful!"
At his words, Luoqing City broke into a sweet smile. She tilted her head, rested it on Nie Yun's shoulder, and whispered, "Let me lean on you for a while. Besides my father, no one has ever given me a shoulder to lean on..."
'You and I are like the sun and the moon,' she thought. 'I can only gaze at you from afar; we can never truly be together. You're so dazzling, and I'm so dim. The person in your heart must be a thousand times better than me. The sun and the moon can never meet, much less rely on one another. But... just for tonight, let me be by your side. All I ask is that many years from now, you won't forget there was once a woman named Luoqing City.'
"Nie Yun," she asked, her voice as soft as a breeze and nearly inaudible, "if the moon disappeared, do you think the sun would go looking for it?"
Nie Yun didn't quite hear her.
"What?"
"N-nothing. I'm sleepy." Two days and nights of fleeing had left Luoqing City mentally and physically exhausted. Feeling the warmth from Nie Yun's body, a faint smile appeared on her lips as she drifted off to sleep. Perhaps only in her dreams could her wish come true.