Chapter 320 – Bone Pain

On this night, as people stayed indoors, whenever the house was a little quieter, one could hear the rustling sound of snowflakes falling outside.

Wei Lan had already fallen asleep, but upon hearing movement beside him, he suddenly woke up. After opening his eyes, he first glanced around the room, finding it empty, then listened for any noises outside, but there were no sounds of anyone breathing. Just as Wei Lan began to relax, he heard a soft groan from Luo Wei, who was sleeping beside him. “What’s wrong?” Wei Lan asked, quickly getting up.

“Nothing,” Luo Wei whispered.

Wei Lan felt Luo Wei’s body and found that his inner shirt was already soaked with sweat. Wei Lan’s drowsiness disappeared in an instant. “Where does it hurt?” he asked Luo Wei, reaching out to turn on the lamp at the bedside.

Since the evening, Luo Wei’s injured leg had been hurting badly. He didn’t want Wei Lan to stay up all night again, so he endured the pain until the latter half of the night. The broken bone felt like someone was sawing at his bone. He couldn’t bear it anymore, so he let out a low groan and unexpectedly, just this sound woke Wei Lan up.

Wei Lan saw Luo Wei covered in sweat, with his lips bitten until they bled, and anxiously asked, “What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”

Luo Wei wanted to tell Wei Lan that it was nothing, but as soon as he opened his mouth, another muffled groan escaped.

Seeing Luo Wei clutching his injured leg, Wei Lan knew in his heart what was happening. “Is the pain in your leg severe?” he asked Luo Wei, wiping the sweat from Luo Wei’s face with his hands.

“Mmm,” Luo Wei nodded. He was in so much pain that he couldn’t even speak.

“I’ll get the medicine,” Wei Lan said, turning to fetch the medicine. Fortunately, he had taken Luo Wei to see a doctor during the day, who had prescribed medicine to relieve bone pain in case Luo Wei’s leg acted up in this weather.

“I can bear it,” Luo Wei forced himself to say from the bed. “Just bear it and it will be fine.”

“It’s okay,” Wei Lan said. “I’ll get some hot water. With a bit of warmth in the room, the Young Master won’t feel as much pain.”

As Wei Lan left the room, Luo Wei couldn’t help but cry out in pain. He had endured even more painful injuries than this, but this time he couldn’t bear it. He felt useless, cursing himself for being so weak. Now, he could only burden Wei Lan, a useless person with no purpose!

The stove in the inn’s kitchen was never extinguished. The waiter on duty heard from Wei Lan that Luo Wei was ill at night, so he opened the stove to boil water and asked Wei Lan, “Guest, do you want to call a doctor?”

“It’s no use even if the doctor comes,” Wei Lan said, busy melting the medicine for external application on the stove. He wished Imperial Physician Wei was here; he was skilled at treating bone injuries.

The waiter didn’t dare to ask what illness Luo Wei had. He helped Wei Lan boil water and then carried a large pot of hot water upstairs to the guest room.

“Bring in some more charcoal stoves,” Wei Lan said as he stuffed some money into the waiter’s hand. “The warmer this room is, the more comfortable he will be.”

“Sure thing,” the waiter agreed readily and ran out to fetch more charcoal stoves.

Once Wei Lan and the waiter entered the room, Luo Wei fell silent again. He bit down on a pillow, enduring the pain in his bones.

Wei Lan spread the thick medicine paste onto a long strip of white cloth, then walked to the bedside. “It’s a bit hot. It might sting a bit when the medicine first goes on,” he said to Luo Wei, “but you have to bear with it. It’ll get better soon.”

Luo Wei bit the pillow in his mouth and nodded to Wei Lan.

“It’ll be over soon, just bear with it for a little while,” Wei Lan reassured him as he pressed the medicated cloth onto Luo Wei’s leg injury.

Luo Wei’s vision darkened for a while. If he hadn’t been biting the pillow, he would have screamed out in pain. The pain seemed to rush from his legs to his brain in an instant, as if it was going to explode.

“Hold on, hold on,” Wei Lan could feel Luo Wei’s struggle under his hand. Pressing Luo Wei down to prevent him from moving, he comforted Luo Wei and said, “It will stop hurting soon, just bear it with me, Young Master!”

The waiter walked in carrying a charcoal stove in one hand. Seeing the scene, he was so frightened that he quickly asked, “Is the guest seriously ill? Should I go call a doctor?”

“Please put the charcoal stove next to the bed,” Wei Lan said to the waiter. “He will be fine soon.”

The waiter hurried over with the charcoal stove, taking a glance at Luo Wei on the bed and realizing it was a leg injury.

Wei Lan felt Luo Wei’s body relax slightly, so he quickly wrapped the medicated cloth around Luo Wei’s wound and tied it off.

“What else can this humble one do to help, sir?” the waiter asked Wei Lan.

“No need,” Wei Lan smiled politely at the waiter and said,”I’m disturbing your sleep.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” the waiter waved his hands repeatedly, saying, “As long as this guest is fine. This humble one will leave now, sir. If you need anything, just call out, and I’ll come right away.”

Wei Lan thanked him profusely, and after the waiter left, he locked the door.

By now, the intense pain Luo Wei had been experiencing had begun to subside a little. He removed the pillow from his mouth and gasped with his mouth wide open.

Wei Lan brought a hot towel and began to wipe Luo Wei’s body. Having experienced this kind of pain himself, he knew how unbearable it was, but there was no quick way to alleviate it. He just had to endure it.

“Feeling better?” Wei Lan wiped away the sweat from Luo Wei’s face and asked.

“Much better,” Luo Wei replied, lowered his eyes and did not look at Wei Lan, as if he had done something wrong.

“Take off all your clothes. You can’t wear them anymore when they are so wet,” Wei Lan put down the hot towel and wanted to take off Luo Wei’s clothes.

“I’ll do it myself,” Luo Wei shifted his body away from Wei Lan’s hand.

“Still trying to be strong,” Wei Lan gently tapped Luo Wei’s hand. “When did it start hurting?”

“Not… not long ago,” Luo Wei said.

“After sweating so much,” Wei Lan pulled off Luo Wei’s inner shirt, “do you really think I’m stupid? From now on, when you’re in pain, you have to tell me. That way, you’ll suffer less, and I’ll be less busy.”

“You’ve been troubled enough,” Luo Wei said dejectedly. “I’m just a useless burden now, unable to do anything but drag you down.”

Wei Lan didn’t say anything more, just wiped Luo Wei’s whole body clean.

When the towel in Wei Lan’s hand touched his body, Luo Wei still dodged for a moment, but then he remained still. In front of Wei Lan, it seemed there was nowhere he could hide.

Wei Lan brought a clean set of innerwear for Luo Wei and asked, “Does it still hurt?”

Luo Wei wanted to shake his head, but after some thought, he nodded honestly. The pain was still there, like someone was sawing his leg, but with slightly less force.

Wei Lan and Luo Wei lay under the same blanket, with Wei Lan’s hand against Luo Wei’s back, as he gently infused some true qi into Luo Wei’s body.

“No need,” Luo Wei, who always cherished Wei Lan’s inner strength, quickly stopped Wei Lan.

“Your heart pulse is not good,” Wei Lan pressed down on Luo Wei, saying, “This is to strengthen your meridians. Young Master, please don’t make me anxious anymore. What if something really happens?”