"Hiss~" Inside the rented room, Qiu Wuji was applying ointment to Chu Ge's wound. Chu Ge grimaced in pain: "Where's the healing technique? We don't seem to need this kind of folk remedy."
"The tip of the dagger only pierced the flesh a little, the wound isn't big or deep, we wouldn't even treat such a minor injury where I'm from! You wrote it."
Chu Ge: "...I'm an idiot." One can write about how characters treat minor injuries as nothing without ever being stabbed by a dagger, but only after actually being stabbed does one know what pain truly is.
"I'm stopping the bleeding. I looked up the medicine here on Baidu. I'll apply some mercurochrome and a large bandage, and that'll be it. With your current constitution, you'll recover quickly." Qiu Wuji said sternly, "I'm not using healing magic to completely heal you; it's to teach you a lesson."
"Remember not to act like a hero in the future?" Chu Ge asked, "But it was our agreement that you wouldn't show up in the first place. We can't always let you be at the forefront... Don't say I'm pretending. Even if your identity is legitimate, this is still a man's job! I can't just watch you fight and cheer you on from behind."
"What nonsense are you talking about? It's to teach you a lesson..." "Remember how to fight in the future!" Chu Ge: "?"
"Even if you haven't learned any fighting techniques, you didn't need to get injured!" Qiu Wuji said with exasperation, "Two people lost their balance, and you hit one? What about the other? Is he dead? Besides, your fist contains the power of an iron bell, which is no small matter for ordinary people. One punch should at least knock them out, even if it doesn't knock them unconscious. Look at what you did! Why are you holding back? Do you think you're me?"
"Emmmm..."
The tone suggested that he thought this act of heroism was perfectly justified, even though the fighting was atrocious.
Chu Ge could only force a smile: "We've been discussing this for a while now, and we said we lack practical combat training, so we're practicing defense and escape first." Qiu Wuji snorted and fell silent.
Chu Ge wasn't the type to be aggressive; on the contrary, he was a shut-in who spent his days sitting in front of the computer typing. It was hard to believe he'd ever fought with other kids as a child. For a novice like Chu Ge to fight a group of menacing menacing men wielding daggers for his first time, his performance was actually quite respectable… Qiu Wuji thought back and realized that Chu Ge himself had a bit of a violent streak, though not as bookish as he appeared.
Hmm, having a violent streak is good. How could a female sect leader in a fantasy world, who has survived countless life-or-death situations, possibly appreciate a scholar who only knows how to talk?
While Qiu Wuji was cursing, he actually felt quite pleased… as if the rift between their worlds wasn't so obvious anymore.
The two were silent for a moment. Chu Ge looked down at Qiu Wuji tending to his wound under his ribs, her focused and serious expression, the fragrance of her hair wafting in the air—intellectual, beautiful, and gentle.
She was so angry, saying, "How dare you hurt him?"
Hehe.
Suddenly, the wound didn't hurt at all. Minor wounds really don't need treatment!
Qiu Wuji finally finished applying the medicine, looked up as if to say something, but met Chu Ge's gentle eyes, and forgot what he wanted to say: "...What are you looking at! You're in so much pain!"
"Ahem." Chu Ge avoided his gaze, clumsily changing the subject: "I feel like I need to ask Lin Wuyang for some money for the medicine."
"Go ask Zhang Qiren!" Qiu Wuji said, "Not for medicine, but for clothes! Last time you shielded him, your clothes were torn, and today you got hit again, and your clothes are torn again! Do you think making money is easy? You can afford to lose clothes like this? You typed this out word by word!" So thrifty... Chu Ge asked curiously, "Are you sure it's related to him today?"
Qiu Wuji sneered: "He was waiting outside to stop people, and you beat him to it. After we left, he even had someone go out and show off, both to cover it up..." "Our existence also pinned the blame for the whole thing on his brother... By the way, the people he used were the same ones who assassinated him last time; they must have been his brother's men." Chu Ge processed the information in his mind, somewhat amazed: "This guy's move... is quite interesting."
"Yes," Qiu Wuji said, "Those few interesting ability users were the ones he hired to cause trouble—putting aside their positions, this matter itself was about eliminating evil, so these people, who seemed to be on the good side, were happy to be entrusted with this task. And since it was outsourced, it was also convenient for him to distance himself." Chu Ge added, "But in reality, his crackdown on other nightclubs and illegal casinos was probably more about competition within the underworld. We all thought he would point the finger at his own brother, after all, his brother had assassinated him... but he acted like he knew what was good for him." "He doesn't attack his own people, but his rivals. I wonder what his father thinks about that..." Qiu Wuji said, "Bringing the government to attack rivals in the underworld is a major taboo in the martial arts world. I don't know what the rules are like in your world."
"Probably more or less," Chu Ge said, "So he used his brother's men to direct the anger of the underworld towards his brother... In the end, it's still about vying for power." Qiu Wuji was silent for a moment: "How many birds does he kill with one stone?"
"Regardless of his motives, helping the police fight drugs is undeniably righteous. Even Lin Wuyang would probably praise him if he knew." Chu Ge sighed as if in pain, thought for a long time, and then sent Zhang Qiren a WeChat message: "Refund my clothes, two pieces." Zhang Qiren quickly replied: "You really knew about this." "It was me operating it... It's really strange, I can't even understand you now, where did you get such a high level of skill? If you were this good before, would we be in such a sorry state?" Chu Ge said, "I think you're wasting your talent by writing novels, if you were this good before, would we be in such a sorry state?"
"It's just that writing novels is good practice, I design my protagonists to scheme against people a lot..."
"If my protagonists are so good at picking up girls, why can't I be good at it myself?"
"..." Zhang Qiren couldn't reply to that, went silent for a few seconds, then quickly resurfaced: "Okay, I'll compensate you, see in your book." Chu Ge opened the novel app, completely bewildered, and a golden banner flashed by, blinding him: "Using your power to bully others, you've rewarded 'Chu Tian Wu Ji' with 10 million points, becoming the book's Gold Alliance Member." Chu Ge sent a speechless emoji, not knowing what to say.
After deducting his share, he only earned 50,000? No, after deducting taxes, even less... Why do I suddenly feel a little heartache? You compensated me for my clothes, why give me a little something, did you take off some of my clothes? Zhang Qiren replied with a grinning emoji: "What, do you feel like you're helping me launder money?"
Chu Ge said, "Why so many questions? My clothes are cheap, the price is what it is, what's the big deal?"
Zhang Qiren said, "Am I not your reader? You can't control everything, can you? It's not just you, I've had over a dozen books reach the 'Lord of the Alliance' level these past few days, and I even have some Silver rank. It's late to calculate it for you now, mainly because I was afraid you'd overthink it."
Chu Ge: "..."
Zhang Qiren continued, "Brother Chu, no matter how you see it, Zhang Qiren's 'darker' side hasn't turned into something truly rotten. At least I guarantee you one thing: there will never be any drugs in my territory."
Chu Ge: "Yeah, I believe you."
"That's settled then. If you need to contact me, it's best to call directly, avoid text messages. I'm afraid something might happen and implicate you."
Zhang Qiren left with these words and then fell silent.
Chu Ge stared at his phone blankly for a while, then finally put it away and looked at Qiu Wuji.
Qiu Wuji seemed to only then realize what had happened, muttering absentmindedly to himself, "Why didn't he tip the character... my Star Points..."
Chu Ge: "..."
Qiu Wuji sniffed, stood up listlessly, then suddenly remembered something he'd forgotten. He tore the Star Points out of his mind and rushed to the cupboard to find a glass bottle.
The bouquet of roses, which had survived countless hardships, was still vibrant and fresh.
Qiu Wuji filled the bottle with water, carefully placed the roses in it, and gently touched the petals with his fingertips, watching them release their life-giving fragrance.
The roses sat on the coffee table, and the dim living room suddenly brightened.
The foxtail grass on the windowsill still swayed, complementing the beautiful roses.
Qiu Wuji blinked, suddenly realizing this reminded him of Chu Ge and himself, and his mood improved. He smiled and said, "When I get back, you need to take good care of it, change its water every day."
Chu Ge didn't react immediately: "Huh? We didn't actually stay long this time, right? Was tonight's operation too exhausting?"
"How much could tonight's operation have consumed?" Qiu Wuji said matter-of-factly, "It's because the life-giving magic that brought this rose to life was extremely expensive. You set it up."
Chu Ge almost spat out a mouthful of blood. Just for this?
Woman!
Qiu Wuji leisurely entered the house, intending to hide in bed and travel through time. Before entering, he paused, then suddenly turned back and smiled: "Tonight was...very enjoyable."