Chapter 53: A Princess Carry and a Mortifying Reproach

Lu Hongzhuang’s mind utterly froze.

She stood rooted to the spot, her body rigid, her hands and feet icy cold.

Every single word, every syllable Su Qinghan uttered, felt like a heavy hammer, striking mercilessly at her heart.

‘She was worried about me…’

‘She couldn’t find her wheelchair…’

‘She… crawled to the door… that’s too tragic…’

‘And then the door panel I kicked open… hit her on the head…’

Scene after scene flashed rapidly through Lu Hongzhuang’s mind.

She envisioned Su Qinghan’s powerless legs dragging across the cold floor, her slender arms struggling, inch by painstaking inch, as she crawled towards the door.

She had merely… merely wanted to ensure her safety.

And what about herself?

She had doubted her, questioned her, and… and even kicked the door directly into her face.

‘Aaaah! What… what have I done?!’

Immense guilt and self-reproach, like a bursting dam, instantly engulfed Lu Hongzhuang.

She recalled her deceased senior brothers and sisters, Su Qinghan’s repeated acts of assistance, and the previous night, when she was exhausted, Su Qinghan’s shoulder, stiff yet allowing her to lean on it.

Yet, because of some inexplicable silhouette, she had treated Su Qinghan so cruelly.

“Thud!”

The longsword in Lu Hongzhuang’s hand clattered to the ground.

Her legs gave out, and she directly knelt before Su Qinghan.

“Su Qinghan…”

Her voice trembled uncontrollably, filled with endless regret.

Su Qinghan, immersed in her own exquisite acting, heard the commotion and secretly peeked through the gaps in her arm.

‘Oh, she knelt. This Daoist Lord’s acting is divine; what makes a little girl like you think you can contend with me?’

‘It seems this performance deserves a perfect score.’

She was just about to redouble her efforts, squeeze out a few more tears, and solidify her victory.

In the next second, a warm and forceful embrace suddenly enveloped her entirely.

Lu Hongzhuang hugged her tightly from behind.

“I’m sorry…”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… it’s all my fault…”

Lu Hongzhuang buried her face in Su Qinghan’s neck, her scalding tears soaking Su Qinghan’s clothes.

“I shouldn’t have doubted you… I shouldn’t have hidden your wheelchair… I shouldn’t have kicked the door…”

“I’m sorry…”

She apologized incoherently, her arms around Su Qinghan tightening progressively, as if to meld her into her own body, pouring all her strength into atoning for her mistakes.

Su Qinghan was squeezed so tightly she almost couldn’t catch her breath.

‘Oh dear!’

Her entire body stiffened, feeling the warmth and dampness from behind, and Lu Hongzhuang’s violently trembling form.

‘This… is this a bit over the top?’

She had merely intended to turn the tables, make this blockhead feel guilty, and ensure she wouldn’t dare lay hands on her so casually again.

‘How did I end up making her cry? And crying so sorrowfully?’

Su Qinghan stiffly raised her hand, somewhat at a loss, and gently patted Lu Hongzhuang’s shoulder.

“Alright… alright… don’t cry anymore…”

“I… I forgive you, isn’t that enough?”

“Please let go first… give me some air~ I can barely breathe…”

However, Lu Hongzhuang hugged her even tighter, as if clinging to a lifeline.

“No… don’t… let me hold you for a while…”

She choked out, her voice laden with deep reliance and vulnerability.

Su Qinghan: “…”

‘Fine, fine.’

‘Just consider it… comforting a wounded puppy.’

‘No, this won’t do,’ Su Qinghan felt as if she was about to suffocate.

The embrace from behind was both hot and tight, exerting an undeniable force that locked her in place like an iron band.

Lu Hongzhuang’s face was buried in her neck, her scalding tears mixed with warm breaths, making her neck wet and unbearably ticklish.

“I’m sorry… truly sorry…”

The apologies continued to break through intermittently in her ear, thick with sniffles and a tearful voice.

Su Qinghan’s entire body was rigid, her raised hand suspended in mid-air for a long time, unsure whether to pat or push.

‘This script isn’t right!’

‘This Daoist Lord merely wanted you to feel guilty and ashamed, but why are you crying endlessly like a weeping willow?’

“Hey… let go first… I… I forgive you…”

Su Qinghan spoke with difficulty, feeling as if all the air was being squeezed from her lungs.

“If you don’t let go, you’ll choke me to death! When this Daoist Lord turns into a vengeful spirit, I’ll hide under your bed every day, kicking your bed frame!”

Her words seemed to have an effect.

The crying from behind paused.

The constricting force also loosened slightly.

Just as Su Qinghan was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the next second, she felt the body behind her shift.

Lu Hongzhuang’s arms slid from her waist, and then…

One hand went under her knees, the other wrapped around her back.

A sudden heave at her waist!

“Ah!”

Su Qinghan let out a short gasp, her world spinning.

By the time she reacted, she had already been lifted into Lu Hongzhuang’s arms, cradled at the waist in an utterly mortifying position.

‘A princess carry again!’

Su Qinghan’s mind buzzed, completely freezing.

She stared wide-eyed at the face so close to hers.

Lu Hongzhuang’s eyes were red and swollen, tear tracks still on her face, but her expression was one of solemn seriousness, even carrying a hint of undeniable resolve.

“Hey, what… what are you doing! Put me down!”

Su Qinghan’s face instantly flushed crimson, her limbs unsure where to go.

“Don’t move.”

Lu Hongzhuang’s voice was still a little hoarse, but her tone was firm.

“Your legs aren’t good, and the floor is cold.”

Holding Su Qinghan, she stood up steadily, her movements without a single tremor.

“I’ll carry you to the bed.”

With that, she carried Su Qinghan, step by step, walking steadily towards the bed.

Su Qinghan: “…”

She felt the warmth and strength emanating from Lu Hongzhuang’s arms, a faint scent of blood lingering at her nostrils, mingled with a certain… a certain clean soap aroma belonging to this blockhead.

This feeling was too strange.

So strange that it made her utterly uncomfortable, her heart even skipping a beat.

“Wait!”

Seeing that she was about to be placed on the bed that was the “scene of the crime,” Su Qinghan quickly spoke.

“The door in this room is broken; how can we sleep here? Let the guards find us another room.”

‘She absolutely did not want to share a bed with that blockhead with terrible sleeping habits again!’

‘Who knew if she would creep over in the middle of the night again!’

Lu Hongzhuang’s footsteps paused.

She had originally intended to say it wasn’t necessary to go to such trouble, that they could just squeeze in.

But as the words reached her lips, her mind suddenly flashed back to her disobedient hand last night, and that incredibly soft sensation.

Boom—

A rush of heat surged to her head once more.

Lu Hongzhuang’s cheeks, visibly, reddened again.

“…Alright.”

She almost gritted out the word, then, carrying Su Qinghan, she stiffly turned around and headed towards the courtyard.

Master Qian’s guards were destined not to get a peaceful night’s sleep tonight.

First, they were stopped by people from the Demon Exorcism Division, then the village was attacked, requiring them to be on constant alert to prevent demonic creatures from entering the manor – even if they couldn’t stop them, they had to put on a show. Now, after a brief respite, having just sat down to slack off for a bit, they were sought out again.

“Change… change rooms?”

Old Zhang rubbed his bleary eyes, looking at Lu Hongzhuang and Su Qinghan in her arms, his face blank with confusion.

“Lu Nüxia, this… it’s the middle of the night, there’s only one clean guest room left, but it has two beds… it should be manageable.”

“That one,” Lu Hongzhuang stated concisely.

“Alright, alrighty…”

Old Zhang yawned, carrying a lantern and leading the way, muttering under his breath.

“These young people, honestly… so much trouble…”

“In the middle of the night, instead of sleeping, they’re carrying each other around… Tsk, tsk, is this how peerless masters cultivate? We mortals simply don’t understand, truly don’t understand…”

His voice, though low, carried clearly to the ears of the two behind him in the quiet night.

Su Qinghan buried her face deeper into Lu Hongzhuang’s embrace.

‘I can never show my face again. My lifelong reputation as a Daoist Lord!’