Sunrays shines through the holes in the wall of Lao Jiu's rundown abode as De Ming wakes up to a soft sensation behind his head
He opened his eyes and saw the familiar cobwebbed walls and dirty floor of the professor's house along with Zhu Lian's doll-like face and a distinctly angry gaze directed at him from above…
'Ahh, who knew Lian's lap was so soft and comforting' Ming thought to himself as he rubbed his cheek against the soft sensation, making himself comfortable, dazely closing his eyes once more to return to slumber
And then it hit him
'Wait… Zhu Lian? Here at Lao Jiu's place?!'
Ming's eyes shot open in alarm
The shock instinctually jolted De Ming's torso upright as he turned back to see Zhu Lian kneeling on Lao Jiu's worn carpet, his face displayed that of pure horror
"Look who decided to wake up, isn't it my dear bodyguard, Mr Ming himself?"
Zhu Lian said in a sarcastic tone, doing air quotations at "bodyguard" as her face displayed subtlest of smiles, while the eyes on her small delicate her face stared bullets into Ming's
'Shit! She's REALLY MAD!'
"Zhu Lian! Uhh, umm, why are you here?" Ming asked nervously as beads of sweat formed on his forehead, this situation was life or death to him, he was caught red handed
Cat's out of the bag, Zhu Lian definitely knows that he's been fighting at the Beggar Sect's Gu tournament
Ming took a deep breath, trying to compose himself 'it's fine, Lian's very understanding' he naively thought
But as the adrenaline rush of seeing Zhu Lian died down
The terrible conditions of his body caught up to him and an intense wave of pain washed over his nerves as he yelps out loud in agony
"Ming, you idiot! Lie down! You're so injured!" Zhu Lian yelled at him harshly as she gently grabbed his shoulders and helped him lay back down, his head now resting gently on her lap again
"I can't believe you, you're- you're always getting yourself in reckless situations and end up so battered up!" Lian spoke in an annoyed tone but her voice gradually quieted down to a heartfelt plea "Don't keep scaring me like this, Ming…"
"Lian… I-" Ming tried to reach up and caress her cheeks to comfort her but realized that he couldn't lift his left hand
He looked down at his own body to see his chest tightly bandaged, his left ankle bandaged to a piece of wood as a fracture fixation, his left arm completely numb and his right palm all bandaged up from burns, he was in horrendous condition
"Shut up kiddo, you made her so worried" Lao Jiu leaped down from his hammock and walked towards where Ming and Lian was, Lian's knees lightly bruised from kneeling on a carpet so long, her fiery ruby eyes swollen from tears and shoulder length auburn hair visibly disheveled
"She's been tending to you non-stop all night long, kid, the least you could do is listen to her" Lao Jiu remarked as he sat down besides Ming, grabbing his right hand and pressing down his index and middle finger into Ming's wrist, checking his pulse
"Mr Jiu, how is he?" Lian asked worriedly
"He's stable now, I assure you, if they're one thing this lad is good for, it's his tenacity, he'll recover perfectly no time"
Zhu Lian let out a relieved sigh as he uses her delicate hands to caress Ming's face
"Lian… I made you worry again, I have no excuse this time…" Ming turned his face away from Lian's on her lap, the guilt eating away at him
"I'm not mad, Ming… I'm just so scared…" Ming uttered helpless and a sniffle creeps up her fragile voice "that you'll push yourself too far one day… and won't return to me" she said as a single tear dropped and splattered on Ming's forehead
"I won't ever, leave you Lian, I swear-" Ming attempted to reply with a heartfelt promise, unfortunately his feelings were cut short
"GOOD MORNING BENEFACTOR AHHAHHAHAHA"
Out of nowhere, Bu Li leaped inside through a in the hole, his small frame barely managing to slip through
Ever the troublemaker, his upbeat and mischievous voice instantly take hostage of the room
"Guess who just got promoted to be our Beggar Sect's Branch Official! Oh yeah!" He shouted excitedly, darting his eyes between the people present, seemingly waiting for an answer
When he found that no one was trying to amuse him, he continued anyways
"That's right! It's yer boy, Bu Li, right here" He said with a shit eating grin as he points his thumbs at his chest
Smack!
"Ow! What was that for!"
"God dammit, runt! Read the damn room!" Lao Jiu smacked Bu Li's head as he scolded him
"Heh, that's Bu Li for ya" Ming chuckled, Bu Li's entrance had broken the tension, and for once he's thankful for Bu Li's shamelessness
"Oooooo, resting your head on your lover's lap, might this be the lap pillow I've heard of in legends? How romantic~" Bu Li said in a sing song voice to he teased Ming as he claps his hands together and twirled around two times dramatically
"It's not like that…" Ming blushes as he turns away, his ears a clear shade of red. Lian's wasn't exactly calm ether, she was actively holding back her grin at Bu Li's insensitive yet favorable comment
"You can't fool my eyes, Mr benefactor! After you won yesterday, when Lao Jiu hauled your battered ass back here" He made and comical baby carrying gesture as he said so before continuing
"I went around "shopping" (he was pickpocketing for sure) for some medicine on the streets downtown, when I saw Miss Lian here, frantically looking around for someone. Asking if anyone had seen an ordinary guy with plain black hair, petty personality and a punchable face-"
"I didn't say any.of.that, I showed you a picture-" Lian corrected Bu Li's blatant lie, the look on her face telling pure bafflement, spawning from Bu Li's sheer shamelessness
"-well anyways, I instantly recognized it was you, my benefactor and brought her here. And also, rest assured, I told her everything, heh" Bu Li smiled proudly as if he'd accomplished something grand before giving Ming a thumbs up
"Yeah, and then she tended to you while yelling and scolding us for two hours straight for letting you do something so reckless" Lao Jiu complained with a wronged expression
"I would've turned your ass away if you had told me you've got a lover waiting" Lao Jiu shakes his head in disapproval
"Gu fighting is meant for those with nothing to lose, not those who's got people to protect, like you, kiddo" Lao Jiu rolled his eyes as he went off to the mysterious pile of stuff near his, hammock corner, plunging his left arm into it, seemingly fishing for something
"We're not… It's not like that… Not yet" Zhu Lian protested over shy remarks, her embarrassment palpable
"Huh- Lian what did you just sa-"
"YOU HEARD NOTHING!!" Zhu Lian shouted at Ming's face as she frantically yet gently cover his ears with her palms, despite her embarrassment, she's still so gentle with him
Ming smiled knowingly "Alright, I didn't hear anything, at all"
"Hmph!" Lian pouted outwardly, her cheek cutely puffed up like a chipmunk
But internally she's quite relieved that Ming doesn't seem to oppose the idea
"Here kid, you're tournament reward"
While both of them were being chummy and shit, Lao Jiu had fished out the scroll they got from winning the Gu tournament from his pile of equal amounts of junk and martial manuals
Lian reached out, carefully picked it up and read the label out loud "Iron Stomach Refinement, High Bronze Grade"
Ming looked at it expectantly, the technique's name sounds quite promising
"It's a cultivation technique that not only strengthens your stomach and core muscles, but also gives you resistance to poisoned or spoiled food, it's a great technique…" Lao Jiu's voice trailed off "In theory that is… in practice? Not at all"
"And why is that? Old man" Bu Li asked, intrigued at why such a good technique wasn't considered practical
"Well first off, you'll have to be at Third rate realm to even practice it. Second, the practitioners of this technique needs to to breakdown and reform their dantian in their stomach, so that the dantian nourishes the stomach's lining and surrounding muscles with Qi, strengthening them over time, which in terms give the dantian extra protection" Lao Jiu added
"Wait? Isn't that quite formidable? So why do you say it's not practical?" Ming asked, not finding a flaws with the technique
"Because Ming, moving your dantian away fundamentally changes the foundations of your martial path, since most techniques were intended to be used with a dantian located in the middle of your chest, the principles of their Qi flow and movements is made entirely on that basis" Zhu Lian interjected knowingly as she caresses Ming's hair
"Correct, your lover knows her basics well" Lao Jiu smirked as he said that
Lian knows that he did it on purpose to mess with them and get a reaction but she couldn't prove it
"It helps significantly with strengthening one's dantian and body right?" Ming asked carefully, dancing around his words as to not give clues about his Chaotic Structure Syndrome
"Hmm? Yeah, but don't really see the point in that considering its many cons" Lao Jiu added absentmindedly and jumped back on his hammock
"Lian?"
"Yes, Ming, do you need something?"
"Can you read out the manual to me? Please"
Lao Jiu raised his eyebrows in suspicion but stays quiet
"Sure but why- wait," Lian almost habitually agreed but quickly picked up what Ming is saying
"Ming, you're not thinking of learning it are you?!?" Lian replied in an alarmed manner, as if she's seeing someone fully prepared to ruin their own life
"I am"
"But-but, haven't you been listening to us?"
"I have, even still, I want to learn it" Ming said with earnest as he locked eyes with Lian
Lian's mouth left agape as he scrambles for ways to reason with Ming, but before she could, she was stopped by sincerity
"Lian… can you trust me on this?" He halted and looked into Lian's beautiful ruby eyes and saw his own battered body reflected on them, Ming resolved himself. He needs to get stronger at all cost, and this technique could be his only chance to control his chaotic Qi to do so without imploding
With all the gentleness he could muster, Ming pleads "Just this once"
Zhu Lian pursed her lips, Ming is putting her on the spot, she knows that this is a bad decision, and she knows very well that this will for a fact present Ming with difficulties later on. Even so….
When he looks at her like that, his black beady eyes digging through her conscience and his gentle voice loosening her rationale, it makes her want to trust him, I makes her want to hope that it'll work out
"For people who claim not to be lovers, you two are awfully romantic with each other… Do you think I'm a fool? Am I being lied to?" Bu Li, per usual, was unable to read to room and rudely interjected
"Pfft- …you're right, Mr beggar, this whole situation is pretty absurd"
Thankfully, someone breaking the tension was exactly what they needed, after a good laugh, Zhu Lian had made up her mind
"Ming…" she utters in the softest tone Ming's ever heard coming out of her mouth
"close your eyes, focus, and listen closely"
Ming smiles warmly as he reached up his bandaged right hand to touch Lian's cheek lightly
"thanks"
Lian blushes and starts reading it out, every line, describing the illustrations and even adding her own insights. Ming closed his eyes and took it all in, he honed his focus on his dantian and began the process of moving it, doing it as slow as possible to not let the Chaotic Qi within run rampant
"You two make a good couple" Bu Li grinned cheekily at the sideline
"For god's sake Bu Li! Scram already!!" Lao Jiu yelled out as he tossed a worn down book down at Bu Li's face
"Alright, alright, jeez" Bu Li sighed and promptly left the "couple" alone
=================================
By the midnight, Ming opened his eyes, the process was a complete success, his dantian now firmly resides in his stomach
"Are you done?" Lian asked gently, a smile tugging at her lips with dark bags under her eyes, she's clearly very tired, and yet she persevered with helping him all day long
Ming stumbles through his words, his heart filled to the brim with gratitude: "Yes… and thanks again, Lian, I-I truly don't know how to repay you for thi-"
Lian pressed her right index against his lips, shutting him up
"Be safe, get stronger and never leave me… that's how you'll pay for this" Lian replied and retracted her finger, her ears turned beet red as she broke eye contact
Seeing that, Ming slowly sat up, fighting through the ache
"Wait, don't get up, you're not healed yet-" Lian hurriedly said but she was cut off by Ming pulling her into a hug
Lian's word went silent, her mind blanked, there was only her and him left in the world at this moment, nothing else matters
"I promise" Ming whispers gently into her ears before letting go and lying back down
Lian later piggy back carried him back to the the Drifting Cloud Pavilion, both of them tired enough that they fell right into deep sleep upon hitting room 003's top quality mattress