Luo He walked into the guest quarters, Jin Mulan and Ning Jia following behind him like two humble kittens.
He immediately retrieved the small seashell from his robes and placed it on the small table beside the bed, the moment they entered.
Golden light bloomed across the room, spreading outward in gentle waves.
He locked the door. "Sit down," he commanded, gesturing to the bed.
Both women settled onto the silk cushions, their expressions curious but wary. They could sense something had shifted in his demeanor.
Luo He pulled a chair closer and sat down, facing them directly. His expression was calm, almost professorial.
"I want to explain to you what happened with Wei Shui," he began. "The woman was dying from something in her body that most people don't understand. Let me explain it simply."
He leaned forward slightly. "Your body digests food, breaks it down into small pieces so you can absorb it. The liver helps with this. It creates something called bile, which helps digest fats."
"This bile travels through a pipe to your digestive system." He gestured as he spoke, making it simple enough for a child to understand.
"In Wei Shui's case, a stone, not the kind you find on the ground, but a stone made from chemicals in her body, blocked this pipe."
"The bile couldn't flow properly, so it mixed into her blood instead. That's why her skin turned yellow. That's why she had fever."
Both women listened intently.
"I destroyed all the stones using my spiritual energy," he continued simply.
"Made them vibrate until they shattered into powder. Then I removed the powder and sent it to her digestive system so her body could eliminate it naturally."
He paused, a slight smile crossing his face. "I also did bloodletting, twice, took some of the poisoned blood from her body through her arms."
"And because she was too weak, I had to help her when she needed to use the bathroom. She couldn't manage it herself, so I assisted her into a basin."
He watched their faces carefully.
"During all of this, she was naked. I had to touch her body repeatedly, to locate exactly where the stones were. I had to feel her body, press at different points."
"Hours of contact, very intimate contact."
Neither woman had moved. "And I spoke to her gently," Luo He continued. "Told her everything would be alright. Told her to trust me."
"When she was anxious, I kissed her cheek and promised her I knew what I was doing." He sat back in his chair, observing their reactions.
"How do you feel?" he asked simply.
Silence stretched between them.
"I'm asking a question," he said quietly. "Please answer me." He said calmly.
Neither woman spoke. "Answer," he repeated, his tone still soft but brooking no room for argument. "We..." Jin Mulan started, then stopped.
Luo He waited. "We feel..." Ning Jia began carefully, "uncomfortable."
"Uncomfortable," he repeated. "Why?" He asked oblivious. More silence.
"Speak," he commanded gently. "You were kind to her," Jin Mulan said finally, her voice tight. "You were patient. You were gentle."
"And?" Luo He prompted. "You are not like that with us," Ning Jia whispered.
Luo He tilted his head slightly, assessing them.
"Are you saying," he asked slowly, "that you're jealous?" Neither woman answered immediately. "I'll ask again," he said, his voice dropping.
"Are you jealous?" He asked. "Yes," both women admitted quietly. "Jealous of what, specifically?" Luo He asked.
"Of how you treated her," Jin Mulan said, her voice shaking slightly. "You comforted her."
"You kissed her cheek. You spoke to her like... like she mattered. You even touched her very intimately. Even in her private places."
"You even treat us coldly sometimes," Ning Jia added, her eyes glistening. "But with her, you were always so kind." She said softly protesting.
Luo He studied them both carefully, a calculating expression crossing his face.
"So," he said slowly, "you're saying I did things for her that I don't do for you."
Both women nodded.
"Things like kissing her cheek?" he continued.
"Yes," they said simultaneously.
"Like speaking gently to her?"
"Yes."
"Maybe touching her intimately?"
"Yes."
"Like touching her privates'?"
"Exactly."
A slow, smug smile spread across Luo He's face.
"So you say I don't do those things for you? How shameless." He laughed bitterly. "How could I not do every single one of those things with you?"
"From kissing your cheeks and more, to even touching you down there." He gestured with his eyes, moving them downward with exaggerated slowness to emphasize his meaning.
"And let's not forget, I only help you not to pee." He said it like he was listing someone's greatest achievements.
"So what, you want me to do that as well now? Maybe I can have you pee in bowls like sick elderly ladies." Gently guiding you to do so in the bowl while I watch.
To touch your body with such care, searching for disease instead of touching you with intimate interests?"
He leaned back with a smirk, his tone dripping with false concern and barely concealed contempt.
"Would you like that my loving wives?" He said with genuine suggestion in his tone.
Both women's cheeks immediately flushed a deep strawberry red, spreading from their cheeks to their ears. The color seemed to consume them entirely.
"I... we..." Jin Mulan stammered, her hands fidgeting in her lap. Ning Jia's face was so red it seemed she might combust. She shook her head rapidly.
"No. No, husband, that's not..." "Not what?" Luo He asked, leaning back in his chair with obvious amusement.
His tone was warm but carried no apology. "You both seemed quite bothered by the care I provided to Wei Shui."
"No!" both women said at once, their embarrassment absolute. But something in their defenses betrayed them.
"We are your wives," Jin Mulan began, her voice uncertain. "So you should treat us with care and intimacy."
"There is no such duty." He added coldly, waving his hand. "Even if there were, I don't care. If you want genuine affection from me, you should earn it, not demand it." He said casually.
Luo He's smile widened as he leaned back further in his chair. "I see," he said conversationally, his tone carrying nothing but amusement at their jealousy.
"So you're jealous of the care I showed her. But you don't actually want that care directed toward you." The women said nothing.
"Let me describe it more clearly for you," he continued, and his tone shifted into something deliberately detailed. "When Wei Shui needed to urinate, I helped her.
I guided her body with my hands. One beneath her arm, one supporting her waist. She was so weak she could barely stand.
My fingers pressed against her skin as I lowered her onto the bowl. I kept my hand on her, feeling her body shake with fever, watching her face as she relieved herself."
Both women's faces went even redder.
"I cleaned her afterward," he continued. His voice taking on that quality of deliberate description.
"My hands touched her most intimate places. Not with the intention that I use when touching my wives, but with that same careful intimacy.
She looked up at me with such gratitude. Such dependence. The way I touched her, it was genuinely intimate, even if the context was medical."
He paused, letting this sink in. "I did bloodletting as well," he added, his tone remaining conversational.
"I made small incisions to release the corrupted blood. She trembled when the blade touched her skin. She whimpered when the blood began to flow.
And I was there, holding her steady, my hands the only thing keeping her from falling apart completely." Ning Jia's entire body had gone rigid.
"The way I cared for her," Luo He continued, his voice dropping slightly. "Was remarkably intimate. Every touch mattered.
Every gesture was communicating something. She needed me in a way you two never have." "Now," he said, his expression shifting to something completely cold.
"Let me ask you something. I do certain things for you. Things I don't do for other people. Things that are reserved only for my wives.
Would you like me to do those things for other women as well?" "No!" both women said immediately, their embarrassment forgotten in favor of alarm.
"Absolutely not," Ning Jia added firmly. Shaking her head. "Why not?" Luo He asked, his tone thoughtful but carrying no real curiosity about their answer.
"Because you're ours," Jin Mulan said quietly, the words tumbling out. "Those things are... they should be just for us."
Luo He simply nodded, as if he was acknowledging a terrible fact rather than accepting an explanation.