Chapter 71 -

Chapter 71: Chapter

[Not now, Host! I will unlock and show you his full bio details later!] Nine chimed in hurriedly inside her head. [Right now, you need to focus on the situation at hand. You have 17 points, and morning has already arrived!]

Yimei snapped out of her thoughts and cleared her throat, realizing she had been standing in the middle of the room pulling strange faces while staring blankly at the wall.

She turned her head slightly and caught Zhengyu watching her with a raised eyebrow, a small, amused smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

"What are you looking at?" Yimei muttered, glaring at him before turning on her heel and marching straight back into her own room, slamming the connecting door shut behind her.

Once inside, she sat down on her bed and called Nine immediately. "Nine, buy the Photographic Recall skill right now."

[Ding! 10 favorability points deducted,] Nine announced smoothly. [Skill acquired: Photographic Recall. Remaining favorability balance: +7 points.]

A cool sensation instantly swept through Yimei’s mind. She walked over to her table, picked up Grandmaster Zhang’s thick, handwritten acupuncture book, and flipped through the pages. As her eyes scanned the complex diagrams of acupoints, meridian lines, and needle depths, every single detail locked permanently into her memory. Within seconds, her mind processed the entire book, making her as knowledgeable as a master physician.

A confident smirk curved her lips. "Perfect."

Yimei grabbed the leather pouch holding Grandmaster Zhang’s silver needles and pushed open the side door, walking back into Zhengyu’s room with a sharp, wicked grin.

Zhengyu was sitting up on the bed, leaning against the wooden headboard as he adjusted his robes. When he saw the glistening silver needles rolled out in the leather wrap in her hands, his body stiffened up instantly.

"You’re... doing it now?" Zhengyu asked, his eyes darting from the sharp needles to her face.

"Of course," Yimei said smoothly, taking a seat right on the edge of his bed. "Unless you want your legs to stay stiff forever, Young Master."

Without giving him time to protest, she pulled down his trousers to expose his legs. Zhengyu swallowed hard, his skin flushing warm at her touch, but he forced himself to stay still.

Yimei picked up the first long, thin needle. Thanks to the skill, her hands didn’t shake for even a second. She pinpointed the exact acupoint on his knee and pressed the needle in with swift, perfect precision.

Zhengyu gasped softly, his body twitching slightly at the deep, dull ache, but the expected sharp pain never came. He looked up at her in genuine shock.

"You... actually know what you’re doing?" he whispered, staring at her calm, focused face.

Yimei didn’t look up, her fingers sliding another needle expertly into his skin. "Did you think I was going to stab you blindly, husband? Relax and let me fix you."

Zhengyu’s dark eyes softened as he watched her work, a quiet warmth settling deep in his chest as he let her take complete control.

Yimei’s fingers moved with steady confidence. She picked up each slender silver needle with fluid grace, finding every meridian point on his thigh and calf without a second of hesitation. She twisted and inserted them at the exact angle, just as Grandmaster Zhang had done in the village.

Zhengyu watched her closely, his sharp eyes following every move of her hands.

He knew enough about acupoints to recognize that she wasn’t just blindly stabbing him, she was executing the complex treatment with absolute mastery.

A wave of quiet shock washed over him. How could a woman who had never practiced medicine before execute such a precise, high-level technique so effortlessly?

Yet, as the dull ache in his legs slowly gave way to a soothing, circulating heat, he couldn’t help but admire the tight focus on her face. Her long lashes cast soft shadows over her cheeks, and her soft lips were slightly parted in concentration.

After placing the final needle, Yimei let out a light breath and wiped a tiny bead of sweat from her forehead. She looked up at him, expecting to see a stunned, grateful expression.

Instead, Zhengyu leaned his head back against the headboard, a lazy, mischievous smirk slowly spreading across his face.

"Not bad, wife," Zhengyu teased, his voice low and raspy. "For a second there, I thought you were actually trying to save me instead of finding a new way to torture me."

Yimei’s eyes narrowed, her hands resting on her hips as she glared at his smug face.

"You ungrateful jerk," Yimei scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Next time, I’ll push the needles in twice as deep just to hear you scream."

Zhengyu let out a soft, husky laugh, his dark eyes locked onto hers with an unmistakable spark of warmth. "I’d like to see you try."

Immediately, he stopped smiling and turned his face away, refusing to meet her gaze.

"I’m hungry," he muttered like a spoiled child, staring fixedly at the wooden wall. ℯℯ𝑙.

Yimei rolled her eyes, shaking her head at his sudden shift in attitude.

"We’re not at the village anymore," she said, tapping the edge of the bed. "Call your guard to get you something to eat and get you ready for the day. We are heading back to the Bai Manor today... don’t forget."

With that, she carefully pulled the needles out one by one, wiped them clean, and rolled them back into her leather pouch. She stood up and smoothed down her robes, heading toward the door.

"After two hours, I’ll come back to check on you and bring you your decoction," Yimei said, turning her head back with a sharp smirk. "So don’t move around. If you need anything, just shout."

Without waiting for his reply, she slipped out of the room, leaving Zhengyu sitting on the bed, staring grumpily at the closed door.

After the two hours had passed, Yimei returned to his room, carefully removed every single silver needle, and handed him a warm bowl of bitter medicine.

Zhengyu took slow gulps of the medicine, his dark eyes fixed entirely on her face. As he set the empty bowl down on the bedside table, he finally voiced the question that had been burning in his mind since yesterday.

"Who were those men that helped us yesterday?" Zhengyu asked, his voice low and sharp. "Aren’t you just an illegitimate daughter? How on earth did you manage to have such people help you?"

Yimei didn’t respond. She simply picked up the empty bowl and began packing away her leather pouch, completely acting as if he hadn’t spoken a single word.

Seeing her quiet, indifferent reaction made Zhengyu’s temper flare up instantly. His jaw clenched hard as he glared at her back, his voice rising in anger.

"I’m talking to you! Are you ignoring me?!"

Yimei finally turned around, looking down at him with a cool, unbothered expression on her face.

"First of all, my name isn’t ’illegitimate daughter,’" Yimei said smoothly, her voice calm and dismissive. "And concerning your question... try minding your own business."

"What are you saying?!" Zhengyu snapped, slamming his palm against the bed frame. "I was practically kidnapped by you! How on earth isn’t it my business?!"