Chapter 156: Hair Pinning

Spring light broke through the dawn.

"Get up! A medicine boy should look like a medicine boy. Still sleeping in, completely disgraceful, hurry up and get to work!"

Chu Bing was still in her sweet dream when she heard Old Man Qian roaring angrily outside her door.

She covered her ears and buried her head into the quilt, but it was all to no avail.

The voice exploded around her like thunder.

Helplessly, she sat up, rubbed her messy hair that looked like a bird's nest, put on her shoes, and pushed the door open.

"What are you yelling about early in the morning? Do you even let people sleep?"

"Sleep, what sleep..."

Old Man Qian had originally intended to give Chu Bing a thorough scolding, but upon suddenly catching sight of her face, his throat felt as though it had been choked by someone, leaving him completely unable to make a single sound.

"You, who are you!" He pointed his finger at Chu Bing's face and asked with wide eyes.

Only then did Chu Bing realize that she had already removed the disguise technique from her face, revealing her true appearance.

She froze on the spot for a moment, and upon snapping back to her senses, she turned around and bolted.

"Bang." The door was slammed shut.

Old Man Qian's mouth hung open as he stared dumbfoundedly at Chu Bing's retreating back.

What on earth was going on here? How could a girl as beautiful as a celestial being come out of Chu Bing's room?

Chu Bing closed the door and let out an irritated wail, yet she had no solution whatsoever.

Because the medicinal ingredients required for the disguise technique were insufficient, she simply could not disguise herself at the moment!

She would still have to face people with this face of hers that could bring ruin to a country and its people.

Chu Bing looked at her reflection, swept her hair up, and suddenly an idea flashed through her mind. She parted her lips into a smile, then pushed the door open once more and walked toward a room on the left side of the courtyard.

Old Man Qian was still standing in the same spot, watching Chu Bing leave like a gust of wind, and could not help reaching out a hand, "Young lady, that is..." Li Yuxi's room.

Before he could finish his sentence, Chu Bing had already pushed the door open and walked in.

Li Yuxi was leaning against the head of the bed reading a book, and upon hearing the commotion, he didn't even raise his head, "Old man, I told you, do not come looking for me early in the morning..."

"It's me." Chu Bing interrupted him.

Li Yuxi abruptly raised his head to look. Chu Bing's hair was disheveled, and a flattering smile lingered on her small face, "Li Yuxi, let's discuss something, shall we?"

Li Yuxi raised an eyebrow in surprise, sizing Chu Bing up suspiciously, genuinely unaccustomed to this behavior of hers.

"Speak."

He wanted to see what on earth Chu Bing was up to.

Chu Bing chuckled, rubbing her arms as she said, "I'd like to borrow a set of your clothes to wear."

"Clothes?" Li Yuxi looked Chu Bing up and down a few times, and suddenly realized that she wanted to disguise herself as a man! He could not help curling the corners of his lips, his gaze filled with indulgence, "You really are full of mischievous ideas."

Chu Bing rubbed her nose, smiled wryly, and pointed at her own face, "You've seen my face too. If I just go around in women's clothing and get seen by others, wouldn't I be stirring up trouble all day long?"

Wearing men's clothing was a different story; in this world, people were always a fraction more lenient toward men.

Li Yuxi closed the book in his hand, his eyes bright and bold, "I can lend you clothes, but you have to agree to one condition."

Chu Bing gritted her teeth. If it weren't for the fact that the only men in this courtyard were Old Man Qian and Li Yuxi—and Old Man Qian was too short, making his clothes impossible for her to wear—she certainly wouldn't have sought out Li Yuxi!

Being under someone else's roof, one had to bow one's head.

She ground her teeth and said, "Tell me the condition first, nothing too outrageous."

Li Yuxi's voice softened a fraction, sounding helpless, "Rest assured, don't I know your temperament by now? I only have one request: how about you cook me a meal?"

"Just like that?" Chu Bing widened her eyes in disbelief.

Did someone like Li Yuxi agree to her request just that easily? She had a persistent sense of surreal absurdity.

Yet Li Yuxi simply raised an eyebrow without saying a word, jumped straight out of bed, retrieved a set of clothes from the wardrobe, and handed them to Chu Bing.

Chu Bing shook them out. It was a long white robe with no patterns whatsoever on the fabric. It was extremely plain, but the material itself emitted a warm, gentle luster at first glance, making it obvious to anyone that it was no ordinary item.

"Do you have anything a bit more ordinary?" Chu Bing furrowed her brows; she desperately wanted to keep herself as low-profile as possible.

Li Yuxi gave her a faint sideways glance, a look that spoke volumes, seemingly asking Chu Bing if she was a fool.

Chu Bing choked on her words, suddenly realizing that given Li Yuxi's flamboyant personality, not handing her bright red garments was already a great stroke of fortune!

She muttered a word of thanks and turned to leave with the clothes, but Li Yuxi stopped her, "Wait, do you know how to put this on?"

Chu Bing... she truly did not.

She looked at the garments in her hands with a troubled expression.

Ancient clothing was exceedingly complex; even women's garments left her somewhat baffled, let alone men's clothing, which she had never touched before?

Chu Bing scratched her head, and a low, magnetic voice suddenly sounded by her ear, "How about I help you put them on?"

Li Yuxi smiled with his eyes, leaning down to look at Chu Bing.

Chu Bing only wanted to smash her fist right into this man's chin.

She actually made a move to do just that, but her fist was intercepted and caught by Li Yuxi.

Li Yuxi's fingers toyed with the soft, delicate hand in his grasp, and he smiled as he said, "Aren't I just worried that you won't know how to wear them properly?"

Seeing that Chu Bing was burning with fury and on the verge of exploding, he shook his head helplessly, "Alright, alright, put them on yourself. How about this, you change behind that folding screen, and I'll talk you through it?"

Chu Bing was somewhat tempted.

Li Yuxi raised a hand and added, "Rest assured, I promise I won't look, deal?"

Though she still harbored a fair amount of distrust toward this man, Chu Bing had no other choice; she certainly couldn't let Old Man Qian teach her!

She could only hug the clothes and head behind the folding screen in Li Yuxi's room.

Fortunately, Li Yuxi kept his promise this time and genuinely did not peek. Chu Bing quickly changed into the garments, and when she walked out from behind the screen, Li Yuxi's eyes lit up slightly.

The person standing before him was wearing his clothes, which naturally did not fit properly, making her look like a child who had sneaked into an adult's attire. Yet her face was so breathtakingly lovely that instead of looking awkward, it possessed a bizarre and captivating charm.

She was dying of cuteness.

Li Yuxi nodded in satisfaction, then his gaze landed on Chu Bing's cascading dark hair. He slapped his palm against his leg and said, "Right, there's still one thing missing!"

"What's missing?" Chu Bing asked, uncomfortably inspecting herself while rolling up the overly long sleeves.

These clothes were completely permeated with Li Yuxi's scent; she felt as though her entire person was enveloped by him.

No, she would have to go make herself a set of clothes later!

Li Yuxi walked up to Chu Bing, reached out, and pinched a strand of her long hair. "Your hair... Shall I style it for you?"

He wanted to comb her hair?

Chu Bing paused for a moment, hesitated, and finally nodded in agreement.

Li Yuxi led her directly over to a chair and had her sit down.

With gentle movements, he brushed Chu Bing's hair, then slowly and meticulously gathered it into a topknot.

"It still seems to be lacking something."

With an indulgent gaze, Li Yuxi looked at the hair beneath his hands, then pulled the jade hair ornament from his own head and thrust it directly into Chu Bing's hair.