My wife is a witch princess

Chapter 3: Eating fish can cure legs; if that doesn't work, go find Xia Li.

Unit 2, first floor.

The stairwell was cramped and damp. The old motion-activated lights were unreliable. Song Che stomped his foot lightly, causing the overhead light to flicker. He looked down and fumbled for his keys in his pocket.

Xia Li looked up at the light bulb. She had been wondering for a long time when she was outside why those tall poles were glowing, since they were neither dancing flames nor condensed magic.

"Don't stare at it for too long, it'll make your eyes go blind."

"Are you very familiar with this world?"

"I can't say for sure, I'll look for the keys first."

Song Che rummaged through his keychain and searched for it under the motion-activated light for two minutes. He hadn't touched his keys in decades and had almost forgotten which one he had.

He went upstairs, and Xia Li followed him upstairs.

A muffled groan of pain sounded behind me.

Song Che turned around. "What's wrong with you?"

"...I'm fine."

The little girl was soft all over, except for her stubbornness.

The lighting was dim and the space was cramped, so Song Che didn't notice that Xia Li's lips were completely bloodless. Her voice was already toneless, and the pain made her speak even more briefly and rapidly.

Pushing open the door and turning on the living room chandelier, the home's layout matched his memories. Song Che put down Bruce and changed into cotton slippers.

Outside the door, Xia Li stood quietly, her large witch's hat obscuring her face, making her less aloof and more at a loss. She usually studied potions and magic in the castle and never visited other people's houses.

Looking at the warm, inviting lights inside, she hesitated whether she should step inside.

"So you used to live here." She pulled down the brim of her hat and said softly, "You never told me that."

"I live alone, in a small 60-square-meter place, nothing much to say."

Song Che glanced at them, handed the cotton slippers to Xia Li, and changed into a pair of sandals for himself.

"Come in, there are only two pairs at home, you can wear your own if you don't like them."

Xia Li took the slippers, slowly squatted down, untied the shoelaces, and pulled down her ankle boots. Her stockings were tight, covering her calves up to her arches, and her feet were covered by a pair of white stockings.

After changing into slippers, she stood up, her calves stinging, but Xia Li was more concerned about something else.

She pointed to the chandelier switch that Song Che had pressed, "Instant magic that can be performed without incantations?"

"No, it's electricity... household electricity. You can control the current through resistance and voltage. You can try pressing it once, then pressing it again."

Xia Li pressed the button once, and the light went out; she pressed it again, and the light came back on.

"Amazing magic, it can be cast without any sense of magical power. I want to study it."

"I already said it's not magic. Wait, where did you get that little hammer?"

"I want to analyze its mechanical formulas and understand its internal structure, so that I can perhaps combine it with alchemy."

"Put that thing away! You'll have to pay the boss for damaging things!"

Xia Li silently put away the small hammer and turned to look at the door.

"Don't smash that one outside the door."

"oh."

She turned her head back, her eyes filled with resentment.

Under the light, Xia Li's face was clearly visible. Her lips were pursed, and her cheeks were red from the cold. When she saw Song Che staring at her, she didn't back down and stared back.

Staring...

Yes, since she couldn't study alchemy, she was thinking about when Song Che would cook. But looking like this, Song Che probably wouldn't be able to tell that she was hungry, and would just think that this girl had lost her mind again.

Staring...

Song Che was pondering the label on Xia Li's head.

"weak"

How weak is it?

One slap could send her magic wand flying; she's no different from a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl now.

As for the neighbor's young daughter who has grown up to be strong enough to lift mountains and whose spirit can overshadow the world.

nonexistent.

Song Che looked Xia Li up and down and found that she was still wearing thin stockings, her bra and hat did not provide any warmth, there was a hole in the stockings at her calves, and her skirt was wrinkled like a rag.

The concept of keeping warm has never existed in a witch's dictionary; she usually relies on magic to combat the cold.

Without magic, they froze solid.

"Come with me." Song Che walked into the bedroom, opened the wardrobe, and found a set of pajamas. "It's clean, and cotton clothes are warm. You'll feel much better after changing into it. I'll go cook dinner later. Don't touch anything, especially don't smash things with your little hammer."

Cook!

Xia Li's eyes lit up slightly. She selectively ignored Song Che's reminder, but she felt that she should do something too. As a princess, she should have the conduct of a witch.

As soon as she opened her mouth, her tone and manner became habitually cold, and she spoke haltingly, like a human-machine interface undergoing rehabilitation.

"I want to...I want to wash the dishes."

"Yes, Your Highness, you may wash as you wish."

Song Che left the bedroom and closed the door. "Take off your clothes and change into your pajamas yourself. I won't peek. Don't tell me you use magic to change clothes."

A rustling sound came from behind the door.

Song Che waited outside the door. From what he knew, it was a question whether the witch would change her clothes.

Because he had never seen it before.

As the saying goes, seeing is believing.

Xia Li is changing clothes...

Xia Li is changing clothes without stopping...

Xia Li failed to change her clothes.

She opened the door a crack, revealing blue pupils.

Song Che was leaning against the wall, resting with his eyes closed.

"Song Che".

"Um?"

Song Che opened his eyes. "What's wrong?"

Behind the door, she was wearing a loose nightgown with a sheet wrapped around her waist. One leg was off its stockings, and the other leg was halfway off. A layer of scabs had formed on the area where the stockings touched her leg. She stared at Song Che, unable to say anything.

Asking others for help will make you disliked.

The oblivious Xia Li had already noticed the problem.

Song Che didn't want to acknowledge her just now; he must think he's a nuisance.

Without magic, a witch is like a goblin captured by a knight—either killed or hung on the city wall for all to see.

"...I'm fine."

She closed the door again.

Just as he was about to close the door, Song Che stopped him.

He glanced at the top of Xia Li's head.

"Weakness deepens"

Song Che paused.

"Your Highness Xia Li, you really don't know how to change clothes, do you?"

"It's a minor problem, but not a big one."

Xia Li gently closed the door, but it wasn't completely shut, so she couldn't see what was happening inside.

A minor inconvenience?

Do girls take more than ten minutes to change into their pajamas?

Logically speaking, even if the magic power disappears, it shouldn't lead to physical weakness; at least, that's not the case for me.

Song Che recalled the scene of going upstairs. He walked ahead, and Xia Li followed behind. He stopped and turned around, and Xia Li stopped too. It seemed that Xia Li had been behind him the whole time, and she remained motionless whenever he saw her.

One, two, three, freeze!

You're insane!

No, something's fishy about this.

Song Che gently pushed the door open, revealing a crack.

I peeked.

Behind the gap was a pair of blue eyes, a few strands of silver hair falling in front of her eyes, and a small, delicate nose wrinkling slightly.

Their eyes met, and the air hung heavy with awkward silence for two minutes.

Song Che blushed and looked away.

"Would you believe me if I said I didn't do it on purpose?"

"You, don't peek."

"Okay, I won't peek."

Song Che closed the door and said through the crack, "If it really doesn't work, just put it on, but it won't be very comfortable for your legs."

creak-

Xia Li changed into her pajamas and came out of the room.

Her silver hair was slightly disheveled and scattered behind her. Her pajamas were loose, with the sleeves hanging down to cover her hands, and her trouser legs bunched up at her ankles. She stood there, nodding slightly, looking as small as a silly penguin.

This nightgown... is so inappropriate that it makes the already unimpressive witch princess look like a fake army leader.

Xia Li held up her pajama pants with both hands; if she let go, the wide waistband would slip down.

She stared at Song Che, motionless, unable to reveal the pain in her leg. She had encountered injuries of this severity before, and usually a healing spell would easily resolve the problem. Even without the spell, she figured she could just bear it and it wouldn't be a big deal.

The ideas of those silly penguins are always so ahead of their time...

...Avant-garde stupidity.

"Would you like a rope to tie it up?"

Xia Li shook her head.

"So you're just going to keep carrying it?"

Xia Li nodded.

"Is it okay for you to walk like that?"

Xia Li nodded.

"Then walk a couple of steps and let me see."

"I'm tired, I can't walk anymore."

"Shall we go eat steamed fresh fish?"

Xia Li: It's braised and steamed fresh fish. Shall we go now?

"Now."

For Xia Li, food only existed in braised and steamed fish, rice made by Song Che, and other foods.

Song Che pretended to walk towards the door, then suddenly turned around.

Xia Li limped, and when she saw Song Che turn around, they made eye contact for a second. She blinked her bright eyes, her small hands holding her waistband, her fingers clenching back and forth, and she smoothed out her trouser legs, trying her best to pretend that she was a very busy girl.

But not knowing what she was busy with, she thought about her position and felt she couldn't appear too weak, so she shifted her gaze back to Song Che, her eyes seeming to say, "If you keep looking at me, I'll blind myself, you believe me?"

I don't believe you for a second!

"You injured your leg?"

"There's a minor issue, but it's not a big problem."

A mere broken leg injury can be cured with some cold medicine.

As he spoke, he took two steps to show off, proving that he was no joke.

Whether it was the pain in her legs or the oversized pajamas, she stumbled headfirst into Song Che's arms, a look of panic flashing in her usually unchanging blue eyes.

She struggled to her feet, her lips pressed together. "It was an accident."

Did you accidentally break your leg?

Why didn't you tell me sooner? Eating fish can actually cure leg problems. Take a notebook and write this down.

Next time you hurt your leg, eat fish. If eating fish doesn't help, go find Princess Lin Xia Li, and she will make it up for you.