Chapter 014
Chapter 14: Buddha’s Chosen’s Night of Social Death
Last night, that kick landed hard.
In her dream, Lin Qing Xuan’s devastatingly handsome face pressed into the hollow of her neck, his breath hot and damp as he whispered, “sister.”
That sticky voice gave her goosebumps.
Xiao Man braced herself, eyes turning cold, drew up her knee, and drove it upward with all her strength: “Aagh!”
The scream tore through the lovely dream. Buddha’s Chosen’s striking face twisted as he clutched his lower belly and curled up like a boiled shrimp.
He was shaking and slick with cold sweat, his body twitching again and again, no trace left of that cool and noble look.
Xiao Man bent down with a cold smile and asked, “Calling me sister?” She lifted a finger and poked his sweat-damp forehead one tap at a time, saying, “Go on, say it again?”
Lin Qing Xuan’s lips went white from pain. He could not get a word out. His eyes reddened fast, filled with shock. He could not understand how she dared.
“Isn’t Buddha’s Chosen supposed to be pure and free of desire?” Xiao Man’s tone toyed with him like a cat with a mouse as she added, “What is it? You enter a dream and think you can do whatever you want, even throw away your dignity?”
Before she finished, the whole dream shattered like a smashed mirror.
A blinding white light flashed and then came a hard report: “Bang!”
Xiao Man snapped her eyes open.
Her heart was racing. She found herself lying in bed, swaddled tight in a thick quilt.
Outside, the sky was still dark, and the candles in the room had long burned out.
“Strange,” she muttered, frowning. She clearly remembered falling asleep slumped over the table, so how did she wake up tucked in bed?
Could it be that Lin Qing Xuan got handsy in the dream and her real body followed along, and he carried her to bed?
She did not care to think it through. Whatever.
She rolled over, hugged the soft quilt, and drifted back into a deep, satisfied sleep.
At first light, the entire Heir Apparent Manor buzzed like a kicked beehive.
A few junior maids huddled together, voices low but faces shining with excitement as one hissed, “Did you hear? Buddha’s Chosen, the Eldest Young Master, fell out of bed last night!”
Another gasped, “Really? No way! Does the Eldest Young Master sleep that badly?”
A third leaned in and whispered, “Worse! Brother Shi Tou said it was a nasty fall. They even woke Physician Wang before dawn and hauled him over.”
Carrying a washbasin, Xiao Man walked by with her ears perked high and the corners of her mouth fighting to climb. [Serves him right.]
She had not held back with that kick. If Lin Qing Xuan howled with pain in the dream and then rolled off the bed in real life, then this empathic link was way too strong. [Good. Let him nurse his “treasure” for a few days and calm down.]
Inside Lin Qing Xuan’s room, the air felt heavy.
He leaned weakly against the headboard, face pale as paper, a vein at his temple throbbing.
Physician Wang drew back from taking his pulse, stroked his beard, and forced a very red, very awkward face to stay calm as he said, “Young Master, your body is fine overall, it is only…”
Shi Tou blurted with teary eyes, “Only what, Physician? Please say it!”
The physician cleared his throat, eyes drifting anywhere but Lin Qing Xuan’s murderous stare, and said, “Only that your lower abdomen has some bruising and the flow of qi and blood is blocked. You must rest quietly for several days, and take care to avoid intense movement.”
Lin Qing Xuan said nothing.
He shut his eyes, drew a long breath, and when he opened them, a hard, cold fury burned there. Xiao Man.
He never dreamed that woman would actually dare kick him there. Worse, after the kick in the dream, he truly rolled off the bed in real life, and now the whole manor knew.
He, Buddha’s Chosen, the future State Preceptor, had become a household joke for the ridiculous reason of “bad sleeping posture.”
The gossip storm only grew.
In First Madam’s courtyard, the maids cracked melon seeds as one said, “I hear the Eldest Young Master fell so hard he bruised his face. Even canceled this morning’s lesson.”
In the second branch, three cousins whispered together: “Did our eldest cousin chant himself into demonic deviation? How else do you end up falling in your sleep?”
At breakfast, Second Uncle, Grand General of the Northern Garrison, slapped the table and roared with laughter as he said, “Ha! That nephew of mine acts like a carved jade statue, so proper and self-controlled. Bah! Who knew he could roll out of bed in his sleep! I’m dying here!”
After hearing the servant’s report, Old Madam pressed her forehead and sighed, “This child… could he be under a spell? We must go to the temple and ask for a safety charm.”