"Is there something wrong with my hand, my lord?" I asked. I did not want to think that he was doing such a weird thing for no reason.
"You have a very beautiful face and although you're a bit too thin, you possess the bearing of a noble, however, the callous on your hand ruins that perfection."
I flushed. My ears had just cooled down and it was hot again. "What you said earlier is true, my lord. I've been wielding a sword all my life, and that is why my hands are calloused."
He groaned and continued fondling my calloused hand. "You're an accomplished alchemist. Why not treat yourself?"
"I don't consider a callous a disease."
"Isn't it true that anything that discomforts, disfigures, and restricts the use of the body is an illness?"
"It's true."
"Then look at this. It feels rather uncomfortable at times, don't you agree? And look how ugly it looks in the hand of a beautiful man. Isn't that a form of disfigurement? And it's gotten too hard it hinders you from handling delicate objects, am I correct?"
I could not answer. What he said was true, however, it wasn't something that anyone should be worried about.
"You can't speak because I am right," he concluded. "And since you cannot even take care of yourself, let me take care of this hand instead."
Hearing his wicked smirk and given his despicable reputation, I immediately suspected that he might cut my hand off.
"Lord Lan, if you find my hand repulsive, I'll do something about it."
"A good quality cream is all that your hand needs," he replied.
Cream?
I sighed in relief. At least he was not thinking about mutilating me.
"I know someone who can procure one for you." He continued to stroke my palm with his fingers.
Unable to handle the way he treated me like I was a volatile woman, I pulled my hand off his grip. "I appreciate your concern, Lord Ruan, but I cannot possibly accept your solution. I know I look a bit too soft for a man, but I am still a man and I wish to keep my dignity as a man. So I have to decline your suggestion of using a cream."
"Ah, so you equate using a cream to being a woman?" He chortled. "I do use creams. Do you see me any less of a man?"
Although I could not see him, I still turned to look at his outline.
This towering gargantuan piece of a beast with large hands uses a cream? No wonder his hands feel softer and smoother than Jinjing's.
He must be very vain, and too much vanity is a sin according to my upbringing.
He chortled again as if he knew what I was thinking. "You'll get the cream tomorrow. Use it. In your line of work, it helps if your hands are in good condition to handle delicate objects."
I sighed. He was right. "As you wish, my lord," I said as I returned my attention to the specimen. But no matter how hard I tried to focus, I still could not get it out of my head that Ruan Yanjun used cream for his hands.
With Ruan Yanjun's hand gone out of the way, I reached over to poke the specimen with the tip of my finger. To my surprise, it bounced.
"It worked," I whispered.
He rested his elbow on the table. "Indeed, it looks like a fresh piece of meat now. What does that imply?"
"It means… it's not a poison. It's a drug, a destructive one."
"And what's the difference?"
"Poisons are usually made with dark energy, but in this case, the substance inside the crown prince's body is refined with light energy. That is why it is unrecognizable to light cultivators. But to a high-level dark cultivator like his lordship, it's easy to see. That was why you've easily concluded before that what ailed the crown prince is a poison. I did not believe that before because there's no poison that I cannot detect. But now I understand. You were right."
He smirked. "You did well. And now that you've identified how it was made, can you identify the poison used?"
"They're not poison. They're actually medicinal herbs that when combined cause damage inside the body."
"Then it is poison."
I did not know how to answer. In the language of alchemy, poisons were refined using dark energy. Anything refined with light energy is called a medicine or a drug. Even if the drug was considered destructive, it would not be referred to as poison. If I told him that, he might get offended.
"Or you do not agree that light energy can also create poisons?" he asked.
This man was really cunning. He could easily read my mind.
"Poison is a technical term we use in alchemy to identify an object as something created with dark energy."
"And if it's created by light energy, you call it medicine? Even if it's made for the sole purpose of killing a person?"
I could not answer.
He sighed. "That's why I don't get along with the light sects. They're too self-righteous. Don't you think?"
Instead of answering his question, I decided to shift the subject in another direction. "Lord Lan and I seem to get along pretty well, in my opinion."
He smiled. "That's right, we do get along." He paused and sighed. "So can you identify the ingredients used?"
"I'll just wait for the dark energy to neutralize the process until the real attributes of the ingredients used come out."
"Do you need me to stay here then?"
"If you don't mind, my lord," I replied. "I need more of your dark energy a little later. I promise I won't keep you here for so long."
"I don't mind. I can stay here all night if needed. You might be bored staying here all by yourself, so I'll keep you company."
"Thank you, my lord."
"I told you. It's not for free."
"Then do tell me how to compensate you so I'd know if I can provide it."
He sighed. "Have you dined?"
I shook my head.
"Then stop what you're doing for now. Let's go have dinner first."
"I suddenly remember I already had my dinner, my lord."
"I'm demanding my compensation for lending you my energy. Let's go have dinner together. Is that too hard?"
"B-but, Lord Lan—"
"And stop calling me Lord Lan. That's just a name I use for formality sake."
"So how must I address his lordship then?"
"You already know my name. Now, come." He suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me away. "You can't work with an empty stomach. You are sick yourself and you are getting thinner by the day. You need to eat more than just those steamed vegetables and rice."
"Alright, my lord. I'm coming. Let go of my hand."
"No. We will hold hands from now on."
I was stupefied, unable to utter a word.
Of course, that's a joke. That has to be a joke, otherwise, I'd be convinced that he indeed has a serious mental problem.