Surviving as the Villainess’s Servant in a Martial Arts Novel – Chapter 137

Author: Cireng

Chapter 137

A woman?

‘The’ Flower-Glutton was a woman?

That couldn’t be.

There was no way the Flower-Glutton was a woman.

After all, wasn’t the Flower-Glutton famous for being obsessed with women?

Judging by the things he did, he seemed completely different from ordinary women. He was obsessed with women, loved alcohol, acted cheeky whenever he got the chance, and made all sorts of jokes. There was absolutely no way he could be a woman…

‘Was there?’

Liyeon paused.

Had he really never suspected it even once?

For starters, he had never seen the Flower-Glutton’s real face.

He knew that the man’s face was different every time he appeared and that he wore a human-skin mask, but he had never once taken it off. Especially in front of them, he had absolutely never revealed his face.

It was almost as though he were obsessive about hiding his face. As though there were some reason he absolutely had to keep it hidden.

Moreover, his build was rather small for a man.

He was taller than most women, but for a fully grown adult man, he was definitely on the smaller side.

His bones were also thinner than expected, his voice wasn’t particularly deep, and judging by how he had disguised Liyeon back then, he was skilled at disguises as well.

More than anything…

‘When I held him in the water.’

His body had fit entirely within Liyeon’s arms.

His waist, which Liyeon had held, had been thinner than expected…

“Ugh…”

At the groan that came from below, Liyeon finally came to his senses.

‘Right.’

This wasn’t the time to get lost in contemplation. Whether the Flower-Glutton was a woman or not, he was in critical condition right now, and Liyeon had to do something about it.

Liyeon steadied his breathing and once again reached inside the Flower-Glutton’s clothes. He searched while trying his best not to touch her chest, and eventually found a small bottle.

Inside the transparent bottle were several pills about the size of a pinky fingernail. He opened the stopper, took out one pill, and brought it to the Flower-Glutton’s mouth.

“You need to take this. Hurry.”

But judging by her unfocused eyes, she didn’t seem to understand what he was saying.

Liyeon raised the Flower-Glutton’s upper body and tried to put the medicine into her mouth. But even after placing the pill on her tongue, she couldn’t swallow it, so he tilted her head back and pressed her throat, forcing her to swallow.

Gulp.

The medicine finally went down her throat.

Liyeon anxiously looked down at the Flower-Glutton.

For a while longer, the Flower-Glutton continued trembling in agony. But as time passed, perhaps because the medicine was beginning to take effect, her trembling gradually subsided. Soon, her ragged breathing calmed, and the strength drained from her body.

Thump.

The Flower-Glutton’s head drooped downward.

She had finally passed out.

“……”

Liyeon placed his hand beneath her nose.

Fortunately, she was still breathing.

Only then did he feel somewhat relieved.

Liyeon let out a quiet sigh and tried to lay the Flower-Glutton down on the ground. But then he remembered that she was also wounded on her back and stopped.

‘I need to treat her back too…’

After hesitating for a moment, Liyeon eventually turned the Flower-Glutton onto her stomach. Even then, the Flower-Glutton remained unconscious, her body limp.

Liyeon picked up his sword instead of the medicine for the moment.

If he couldn’t take her clothes off, it would be better to at least cut away the soiled clothing around the wound. He grasped the tip of the sword blade and carefully cut the clothes away, taking care not to let the blade touch the wound.

Slash, slice.

Before long, the clothes around the wound had been cut away, revealing part of her body.

Looking at that body, he realized it once again.

‘She really is a woman.’

The gentle curve of her back.

The pale skin.

After denying it for so long, he had no choice but to accept it.

She was a woman.

The Flower-Glutton was a woman.

Then…

‘So… she really isn’t that child.’

It felt as though something inside his chest had collapsed.

Of course, Liyeon knew that the Flower-Glutton wasn’t Seo Dan. There had been subtle differences between the two of them despite their similarities.

But perhaps, without realizing it, he had superimposed the two of them.

Even with their differences, they were similar.

Both were bright regardless of the situation, both had a kind side to them, and both would risk their own bodies without hesitation to save the person in front of them.

They had all seemed so similar.

But they weren’t.

“……”

Liyeon spent a moment calming his trembling breath.

Then he came to his senses and picked up the golden wound medicine again. He scooped some ointment onto his hand and began carefully applying it to the wound on her back.

Perhaps because he was trying to apply the medicine carefully, or perhaps because his heart was shaken, his fingertips kept trembling.

Liyeon repeated the thought to himself several times.

If she wasn’t Seo Dan, then he simply had to stop worrying about her.

She… she was always dragging people into trouble. It would be troublesome if he got entangled any further and lost himself again.

In the first place, there was only one person he should care about.

Seo Dan.

That child, and no one else.

Liyeon finished applying the medicine and lowered his hand. Even then, when he pressed down firmly on his unsettled chest…

“Ugh…”

A groan suddenly came from in front of him.

Liyeon was startled and examined the Flower-Glutton. Despite the resolve he had just made, he immediately began worrying again.

What was wrong? Was the medicine not working properly?

The Flower-Glutton was still unconscious, but her face had become flushed. Unlike before, when her breathing had calmed considerably, it had grown rough again, coming out in short, labored breaths.

‘Does she have a fever?’

Liyeon reached out and placed his hand against her forehead.

Then he quickly pulled his hand away.

Her forehead… No.

The Flower-Glutton’s entire body…

‘Her body is so hot.’

The heat was tremendous.

It was so hot that he wondered if this could really be the heat coming from a human body. Even though he had only touched her for a moment, his palm felt scorching.

He couldn’t understand how she was enduring this when it was this bad for someone merely touching her.

Liyeon’s heart began pounding ominously again.

‘This was dangerous.’

If he left her like this, the Flower-Glutton would be in danger. Something inside her body could go wrong, and in the worst case, she might never regain consciousness.

That… That couldn’t happen.

Liyeon hurriedly looked around.

‘What should I do? Should I keep pouring water over her body? But this isn’t a fever that water can solve. I need ice, but where am I supposed to find ice…’

If only he could become ice himself.

Liyeon quickly made up his mind and lifted the Flower-Glutton, who was lying face down, back into a sitting position.

Then he placed her on top of himself and embraced her.

A rush of hot air hit his face.

The places where their bodies touched felt scorching.

It felt as though their skin might melt and fuse together.

But Liyeon remained calm and closed his eyes.

Then he began circulating his qi.

He had cultivated an extremely yin cultivation technique.

The more he circulated his qi, the colder his body became. When his circulation reached its peak, his body would radiate such intense cold that even the objects around him would freeze.

So this method should work.

Liyeon moved his qi according to the Great Yin Divine Technique.

As the extremely yin energy flowed along his meridians, his body gradually became colder. When the scorching heat met the frigid energy, steam began rising.

But Liyeon didn’t let go of the Flower-Glutton. Instead, he held her even tighter.

As time passed, her body gradually began to cool.

The dangerously labored breathing of the Flower-Glutton also slowly stabilized.

Liyeon felt his own anxiously pounding heart calm down as well, and thought: I decided not to worry about her.

‘I shouldn’t worry about her anymore. So why am I…’

Liyeon simply continued holding the Flower-Glutton tightly.

For a long time.

***

I opened my eyes.

The first thought that came to me the moment I opened my eyes was:

‘Am I alive?’

It was a thought I had every time. But this time, my feelings were a little different.

Because I suddenly remembered what had happened before I collapsed.

‘Right. I collapsed in front of Young Master Li.’

At the time, I had hurriedly tried to get away.

There wasn’t even any alcohol here, and I had no idea what kind of disgraceful behavior I might commit if I had to endure it sober.

I’d already been mortified enough the last time I got drunk and made a fool of myself. I couldn’t do the same thing in front of him again.

What if I ended up bawling my eyes out with tears and snot running down my face…?

‘No!’

So I tried to hide somewhere through sheer force of will.

I failed, though.

I hadn’t even managed to take more than a few steps before collapsing.

I vaguely remembered hearing Liyeon’s shout from behind me, and then I had lost consciousness.

After that… I didn’t remember anything.

All I remembered was that it had been terribly painful.

‘…Wait.’

Thinking about it, though, the sensation had been different from a certain point onward.

‘It had felt strangely refreshing…’

That’s right.

Something cold had touched my body.

I didn’t know whether it had been ice or something else, but when the cold thing touched my body, which had been burning all the way to my head, the heat began to subside.

Only then did I feel like I could finally breathe again, like I was going to survive.

The cold sensation had even lasted for a long time, making me feel even more comfortable.

I had even hugged it tightly to feel more of that coolness.

Just like right now…

‘…Huh?’

Right now?

Why was “right now” coming to mind?

I blinked blankly.

Come to think of it, I was still holding that mysterious cool thing.

And this thing was strangely hard and soft at the same time…

Wait.

I hurriedly raised my head.