Shadow Heir II: Dark Glory - Chapter 7

Half an hour later, Park Yanxi returned to her place with Mu Qianyu in tow.

Her home was a villa on the edge of Yunyun Lake Wetlands in Linzhou, just across the water from Su Wuji’s famed Empress Bar.

“Yanxi-jie, this house is insane. You couldn’t buy this even if you had the money,” Mu Qianyu sighed with admiration.

“It belongs to one of my older sisters. I’m just staying here temporarily. If I relied on my salary…” Park Yanxi smiled. “I couldn’t even afford the rent.”

“Go ahead and sit down. I’ll wash up some fruit.”

She slipped off her coat, revealing a snug white T-shirt underneath. The bright fabric only emphasized the fullness of her chest, an eye-catching curve that couldn’t be ignored.

And right then, a half-naked man wandered out of the upstairs bedroom.

Unwrapping the bandages on his torso, he muttered irritably as he came down the stairs.

“Yanxi, perfect timing. I got into a fight last night and my back’s a mess. Help me reapply the meds, I can’t reach. Damn, it hurts. If it weren’t for that dumb Mu Qianyu…”

His voice cut off.

Su Wuji’s eyes dropped and locked onto the girl in white, seated gracefully on the living room sofa.

The rest of that sentence died in his throat.

Park Yanxi’s expression sharpened the moment she heard he was injured.

“You got hurt? How bad is it? Who did it?”

She rushed up the stairs without another word, worry written all over her face.

Even Mu Qianyu, who usually had a razor-sharp mind, was momentarily stunned.

Why was Su Wuji in Yanxi-jie’s house?

And why was he so casual about it… Like he’d been here plenty of times before?

He said he got hurt the night before. He even called someone stupid, was that me?

She clearly remembered what Li Qingchen told her just half an hour ago:
The masked man who saved you got slashed across the back by two elite assassins.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning tore through her mind.

It was him!

Mu Qianyu bolted upstairs.

But by the time she reached the hallway, Park Yanxi had already been pulled into the bedroom and the door slammed shut behind her.

Su Wuji braced one hand against the wall, looming so close his bare chest nearly pressed against her.

The pose practically screamed kabedon.

“Yanxi, Yanxi…” he drawled. “You knew I might drop by today, so you deliberately brought Mu Qianyu here, didn’t you?”

Park Yanxi’s hand landed against his chest, pushing lightly but not quite forcefully. Her eyes were still filled with concern. “Why didn’t you say anything over breakfast? Let me see the wound.”

“It’s nothing, just a scratch.” Su Wuji dipped his head slightly, a grin tugging at his lips as he stared at her flawless face. “Not the first time you’ve seen me bandaged up. What’s this, starting to worry about me?”

He was ‘this’ close to lifting her chin with a teasing finger.

He’d tried it before, last time, she’d flipped him clean over her shoulder before his finger even landed.

Park Yanxi’s cheeks flushed under his gaze. “Stop messing around. I’m older than you. Call me jiejie.”

“Now go lie down. I’ll put the medicine on. Or I’ll call Zhiyan-jie.”

At the threat of tattling, Su Wuji obediently went to lie face down on the bed.

Park Yanxi knelt beside him, examining the gash across his back.

It stretched a good seventeen or eighteen centimeters, running diagonally from his shoulder blade to his side. The flesh was torn and slightly curled, deep enough that she couldn’t tell if it had reached bone.

Just then, Mu Qianyu’s voice rang from outside the door.

“My blind date and my favorite senior… alone in a bedroom with the door locked?”

Her tone was teasing, light, almost breezy.

But beneath that calm surface, a storm churned.

She paused deliberately for two seconds, then pushed the door open.

Her eyes immediately zeroed in on the wound across Su Wuji’s back.

It was a blade!

Shock flickered in her gaze.

The white bandages on the floor were soaked with blood.

Which meant Su Wuji had gone to the hospital earlier—to teach Mu Zhihui and his mother a lesson—while carrying this injury.

Park Yanxi picked up the medical kit and looked over at Qianyu, who was still frozen in place.

“I’ll treat him first,” she said softly. “Don’t get the wrong idea. There’s nothing between us.”

Su Wuji twitched.

Why did that sound like someone explaining to the main wife after getting caught cheating?

If we’re talking who knew who first, pretty sure I met this Korean-Chinese beauty way before you did, Mu Qianyu.

Mu Qianyu ignored the awkward tension and asked directly, “Why didn’t you get stitches? That wound’s way too long.”

“Can’t. It’d scar,” Su Wuji said shamelessly. “I need to protect this flawless skin. Gotta use my secret formula.”

Park Yanxi opened the kit and pulled out a clear bottle of alcohol.

But Mu Qianyu stepped forward and took it from her. “Let me.”

Her voice was as smooth as milk—velvety and soft—but there was something under the surface, something unspoken.

“You?” Park Yanxi blinked, clearly surprised.

Su Wuji was, too. But he just grinned. “Qianyu, if you keep fussing over me like this, I might start falling for you.”

She didn’t reply.

Instead, she walked over, sat carefully on the edge of the bed, and dipped a cotton ball into the alcohol.

The curve of her hips and legs pressed against the mattress, drawing subtle but stunning lines beneath her dress.

“Wipe down the wound first with alcohol,” Park Yanxi said. “Then sprinkle on the powder and wrap it up. That’s all.”

And with that, she left the room, closing the door behind her.

“Heh,” Su Wuji chuckled. “Two of us, all alone. Looks like Yanxi’s trying to give us some space.”

Mu Qianyu didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, she asked, “Alcohol stings like hell. Why not use iodine?”

“Can’t. It reacts with the powder,” he replied with a grin. “For the sake of my silky smooth back, I’ll have to grit my teeth.”

She dabbed the cotton against the wound, movements gentle, careful.

It was her first time tending a wound this deep, and it took real courage just to touch the torn flesh.

She knew how much alcohol hurt on open cuts. Most people screamed. But Su Wuji didn’t make a sound.

Once the wound was clean, she exhaled and picked up a porcelain vial.

“I’m going to apply the powder now.”

“Let’s get it over with,” Su Wuji said, grabbing a towel and biting down on it.

The moment made her pause.

“…Is it that painful?” she asked softly.

His voice was muffled through the towel. “What, you think I’m afraid of pain?”

Mu Qianyu steadied her hand and tilted the bottle.

The powder drifted down like snowflakes, then hit the raw wound.

Su Wuji’s body flinched.

“That bad?” she asked, hesitating again. Her eyes shimmered with unshed emotion.

“Hurry up, will you?” he groaned. “Quit dawdling.”

By the time she finished, his hair was drenched in sweat, and droplets beaded across his back.

Both of them let out a long breath at the same time.

As she bandaged him carefully, Mu Qianyu asked in an even voice, “Who did you fight with to get hurt like this?”

Su Wuji grinned. “We were fighting over turf—and women. Real men don’t play nice—blades come out fast. This kind of injury’s nothing. Like eating or drinking.”

She lowered her gaze as she tied the bandage into a neat little bow. “I see.”

He grinned again. “So, compared to a guy like me… don’t you think the young masters of your Mu family are total jokes?”

This time, Mu Qianyu didn’t argue.

She just sat there quietly on the edge of the bed and whispered:

“…Yeah. Compared to you, they’re pathetic.”

[TNs — Translator’s Notes]

[1] Kabedon — A trope in East Asian media where a man corners a woman against a wall, often romantic or teasing in context.

[2] Jiejie — “Older sister,” used both literally and flirtatiously when a woman is older.

This is INK HUB, your translator speaking.Thanks for reading, and see you next chapter!