"How are you feeling, Boss Sweety?"
After the massage ended, Arden Xu inquired about the client's satisfaction.
"Great! Very good..." Sweety seemed very pleased with Arden's service. "Also, 'Boss' is too formal. Just call me Sweety."
"Then... Sweety."
Arden looked at Sweety's bare back, finding it somewhat hard to resist. "Your back... ahem! How about a cupping session?"
That smooth, delicate back was a pristine white, like a plain after snowfall... It would be a shame not to do cupping.
.....
While Arden was attending to Sweety, outside the room.
"Fufu, this... isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
Yixuan, crouched by the wall roots, looked at Ju Fufu squatting in front of her, her expression flickering with uncertainty.
She had always conducted herself openly and honestly. When had she ever been this sneaky?
"Sect Master, some things require catching evidence on the spot to be convincing!"
That's right, Ju Fufu was here to 'catch them in the act.'
While helping at the Apothecary, she saw Sweety and Arden head to the back hall, but they hadn't come out for a long time. A woman's sixth sense made her restless, feeling that something was amiss.
"Mmm... hngh..."
"Mmmph~~ That's too hard... ah ah ah, be a little gentler..."
The occasional suggestive sounds coming from the room pushed Ju Fufu's unease to its peak.
"I can't wait any longer!"
Bang~!
Ju Fufu rushed to the door and gave it a powerful, forceful kick.
"....."
Yixuan had no choice but to follow.
Actually, although Ju Fufu had brought her along just for a witness, deep down, Yixuan was also a bit uneasy about Arden's situation.
"!!"
However, the scene inside the room seemed somewhat different from what the two had imagined.
First was Sweety lying face down on the massage table.
Her back was completely bare, but it was covered in patches of blue and purple, as if she had been beaten... or... into S&M? A gross misunderstanding.
Of course, Ju Fufu and Yixuan also knew a bit about traditional medicine and quickly realized it was just from a particularly vigorous cupping session.
As for Arden....
He was straddling Sweety, holding onto one of her long, fair legs, straining to pull it outward.
That's right, Arden was performing bone-setting for Sweety.
"Hmm?"
Hearing the commotion, Arden turned his head in confusion. Seeing Ju Fufu and Yixuan, his already somewhat guilty conscience made him instinctively startle.
Crunch...!
As a result, not paying enough attention, Arden's hand slipped with a bit too much force....
"Aiya~!"
Sweety immediately cried out in pain. Her thigh had been dislocated by Arden.
"....." x3
Arden, Ju Fufu, and Yixuan stared at each other in silence.
"Uh.... Sorry! Sweety, let me put it back for you right now!"
After resetting Sweety's dislocated thigh, Arden offered another round of apologies. Then, he had Sweety lie down and rest on the bed, advising her not to move until fully recovered. He then pulled Ju Fufu and Yixuan outside.
"What are you two doing!?"
Arden glared at Ju Fufu with displeasure, and Yixuan didn't escape his gaze either. "I was in the middle of bone-setting for a client, and you just barged in like that!!"
"That... that... I was just worried you'd be eaten by some vixen..."
Ju Fufu offered a weak defense.
"Heh, hehe."
Yixuan could only laugh awkwardly.
Even as the Sect Master, Yixuan had lost her usual imposing demeanor. After all, what she and Ju Fufu did was indeed improper.
Arden was wholeheartedly busy with the Apothecary's business. Not only did they not help, they actually came to cause trouble, nearly resulting in a serious medical incident.
"You two... ah~ forget it!"
Arden wanted to say more but ultimately held back, only sighing.
After all, he had a guilty conscience too.
"Don't let it happen again!"
.....
Arden gave Sweety some injury-healing pills, of course completely free of charge. After resting a while longer, Sweety was finally able to move freely again.
"Little Arden, I'm heading off now. Feel free to come to my Yum Cha Sin for some tea and snacks sometime. I'll give you a discount."
"Hmph! Brother Arden doesn't need to go. The tea I brew is enough. He won't go to your place, you vixen!"
Ju Fufu darted over like an orange cat, positioning herself between Sweety and Arden.
"V-vixen?"
Sweety was taken aback by the remark.
"Hehe, Fufu means you're as beautiful as a Fox Thiren," Arden quickly explained.
"Is that so? Well, I'm off then, bye-bye!"
Before leaving, Sweety, not one to avoid stirring up trouble, even threw a flirtatious glance at Arden.
"Brother Arden~~!"
Ju Fufu immediately became unhappy, her little fists pummeling Arden's chest.
"Sigh~!"
Arden sighed. It seemed he had his work cut out for him tonight.
And all of this was seen by Yixuan, standing to the side.
.....
Several days later.
Somewhat unexpectedly, the best business at the Apothecary turned out to be cupping therapy.
For a time, throughout the Waifei Peninsula, if a woman, young or old, didn't have cupping marks on her back, she'd almost be too embarrassed to go out and greet people.
And at the Apothecary here, although Sweety was gone, Arden was still surrounded by a flock of chattering women. From time to time, he'd still go to the back hall for a full-body essential oil massage, cupping, bone-setting, or the like.
Sip...
Yixuan sat in the main hall of the Apothecary, savoring a cup of tea made from premium leaves.
The income from the shop had greatly alleviated Yunkui Summit's financial strain, even leaving enough surplus to improve the living conditions for the disciples and herself, the Sect Master.
But for some reason, watching Arden interact back and forth with the female clients, Yixuan found the taste of the tea had become much blander.
"This can't continue like this."
A soft sigh escaped her lips.
"Exactly!"
Ju Fufu, beside her, chimed in agreement, then took a fierce bite of the chicken leg in her hand, as if it were Arden's xxxx. (TN:IYKYK)
"Then... what should we do?"
"What else can we do? Return to Yunkui Summit, of course."
"Hmm... that's a plan."
At this moment, master and disciple were surprisingly in agreement.
Even if they had to work to support him, they couldn't let Arden stay outside flirting with flowers and willows. He must be kept at Yunkui Summit and properly supervised.
And so, Ju Fufu and Yixuan forcibly pulled Arden back to Yunkui Summit. Arden didn't insist on staying either, as the date for the core disciple assessment was approaching.
After all, compared to the divination business, the Apothecary, and the beauties of Waifei Peninsula, the grand plan of [Charge the Master] was more important.
As for the business at Suibian Temple...
A-Shuo had already recovered, so he could handle the divination. As for talismans, Arden could make those at Yunkui Summit too. The pills needed for the Apothecary were the same. He would also teach massage, cupping, and the like to the disciples of Yunkui Summit.
....
Yunkui Summit.
The courtyard where Yi Jing resided.
At this moment, only Yi Jing was in the room.
His expression was somewhat grim as he answered the phone.
"Your suggested plan... has failed!"
The female voice on the other end of the line seemed to be suppressing anger.
"Ms. Laurent! My plan was sound. It's just... just that some unexpected events occurred. Please give me another chance," Yi Jing replied, trembling with fear.
"....."
There was a moment of silence on the other end before the female voice came through again. "I'll give you one more chance... Remember, this is the last time!"
Beep beep beep...
The call ended as soon as the woman finished speaking.
"Phew..."
Yi Jing let out a sigh of relief, then his expression twisted into one of gritted teeth.
Bang~!
He slammed his fist, shattering the wooden table into dust!
"Damn you, Arden Xu!"
He practically ground the name out between his teeth, filled with boundless resentment.