“What’s wrong?” Xiao Cheng, alarmed, rushed over to check the medicine water. She had prepared the healing salve herself for the tub.
Xue Zi Ye simply shook her head lightly, placing a hand on his forehead as she said, “It’s nothing. He’s just dreaming.”
Just dreaming—though in this case, even dreams could be deadly. The man, his body covered in wounds and submerged in the medicinal bath, trembled slightly. His expression was as though he had countless words to say, but his throat was tightly constricted, preventing him from uttering them.
“Qiu Shui... Qiu Shui...” He muttered repeatedly, struggling to say something.
She sighed softly: it seemed that the source of his torment all these years was still that woman.
—Qiu Shui Yin.
It had been eight years since she last saw that woman.
Eight years ago, when Xue Zi Ye officially inherited the Medicine Master's Valley, she established the rule: only ten patients would be treated each year, and only with a Returning Heaven Order.
That winter, Huo Zhan Bai had arrived at the valley, dust-covered, carrying Mo'er in his arms and accompanied by that strikingly beautiful woman. They presented a Returning Heaven Order, begging her to save the child, who wasn’t even a year old. Huo Zhan Bai himself had been gravely injured as well—who knew how many formidable foes he had fought off to obtain that life-saving token coveted by all in the martial world.
Both of them were so desperate, as if willing to exchange their own lives to save the child’s. She had checked the barely breathing child’s pulse and, with a heavy heart, had shaken her head. But before she could explain, both of them knelt outside her door.
At that time, she had thought they were the child’s parents.
After an entire month of intense thought, she still hadn’t found a cure for the child’s illness, and had no choice but to return the Returning Heaven Order to them. Yet, moved by their relentless pleas, she had begrudgingly written a prescription. From that moment on, this man had embarked on an eight-year-long journey of wandering and searching.
During those eight years, she had seen him return time and again with medicinal ingredients, only to collapse before her, covered in blood.
She had expected him to give up eventually—after all, who would risk their life repeatedly for a child with whom they had no blood relation, just to gather ingredients for a nearly impossible remedy?
But she had been wrong.
Why? She shook her head, feeling a bit confused, though she could still sense the body beneath her hand trembling violently.
“Qiu Shui... No, it wasn’t like that!” His voice, frantic and desperate, came out in fevered mutters.
What wasn’t like that? After eight years, shouldn’t everything have been made clear by now? How could someone so intelligent let themselves end up in this state? She shook her head again, but then noticed tears seeping from the corners of his tightly closed eyes, and couldn’t help but feel a slight shock. This expression—vulnerable and tormented—was something this typically unflappable, thick-skinned man would never show while awake.
She sighed. It was time to wake him up.
“Hey, Huo Zhan Bai… wake up.” She placed her hand on the crown of his head, rhythmically tapping while gently channeling her inner energy into him. Leaning in, she softly called his name, “Wake up.”
The body beneath her hand shuddered, as if being pulled out of a nightmare.
With a sudden splash, the water surged violently, and a hot, wet hand grabbed hers tightly, nearly pulling her into the tub.
“What are you doing?” Startled, she almost lashed out but froze upon realizing that he hadn’t even opened his eyes yet.
The man was still caught in the remnants of his nightmare, his body reacting instinctively as he grabbed onto the nearest thing he could find. He held on so tightly, like a drowning man clutching at a lifeline. In the end, she didn’t scold him; instead, she allowed him to hold her hand, feeling his breathing gradually steady, and the tremors in his body slowly cease. It seemed as though the long nightmare had finally passed.
Someone was calling to him… At the edge of the darkness, someone was calling to him, gentle and calm.
“Uh…” Huo Zhan Bai exhaled deeply, his vision slowly coming into focus. Through the steam rising from the medicinal bath, he saw a face leaning over him—a beautiful woman. She looked vaguely familiar?
“Uh?” His mind cleared, and he blurted out, “Why is it you?”
Realizing he was gripping the hand of this fierce woman, he jerked back in surprise, quickly letting go, afraid she’d hit him again. He tried to push himself up out of the tub, but suddenly froze—
His hands… he could move them?
“Put on a robe before you get out,” Xue Zi Ye’s cold voice interrupted his thoughts as she tossed a towel over his face. “This place is full of women.”
Lü-er blushed, turning away with a quiet giggle.
“Stupid girl, what are you laughing at?” Xue Zi Ye spat, glaring at her. “You’ve got time to stand around and laugh, but not to go check on the patients in the Autumn Courtyard? I’ll break your legs if you don’t move it!”
Lü-er, instantly silenced, quickly gathered up her medicine kit and scurried out of the room.
By the time Xue Zi Ye turned back, Huo Zhan Bai had already pulled on a robe and jumped out of the tub, now lying back on the bed. However, his movements had been too abrupt, causing his wounds to pull painfully, and he couldn’t help but grimace.
“Let me take a look.” With an emotionless expression, Xue Zi Ye sat beside the bed and pulled open his robe.
The treatment had gone well. The wounds had begun to heal, with fresh red tissue growing under the effects of the medicine, and no more blood was leaking from the larger stitched wounds. She pressed her fingers lightly along his body, checking carefully for any internal clots that hadn’t yet dispersed. This time, his injuries were far more severe than usual—she couldn’t treat them as casually as before.
“Sigh,” Huo Zhan Bai couldn’t help but sigh.
Xue Zi Ye glanced at him. “What now?”
“You’ve checked me over like this… if I were a woman, you’d have to take responsibility or I’d have no choice but to die,” Huo Zhan Bai said, his usual irreverent tone returning. He grinned mischievously and leaned closer. “What do you think? I still owe you tens of thousands in medical fees, so how about I pay you back with my body? I mean, a fierce, money-grubbing woman like you—who else would dare to marry you but me?”
Xue Zi Ye’s face remained unchanged, her voice cold as ever: “I don’t think you’re worth that much.”
“….” Huo Zhan Bai was left speechless.
“Alright.” After completing her examination, she pulled the blanket over him and said lightly, “Your chest wound still needs another acupuncture session, but the rest is fine. I’ll prescribe some medicine to replenish your blood and energy. Rest for a month or two, and you should recover.”
“A month or two?” His expression changed, and he immediately sat up. “That’s too long!”
Xue Zi Ye looked at him in surprise.
“Mo’er’s condition is worsening. Over the past month, we’ve only kept him alive with ginseng—he can’t wait any longer!” he muttered, then looked up at her with urgency. “I’ve found the Dragon Blood Pearl. Now that I have it, all five of the ingredients for the prescription are gathered. You should be able to make the medicine now, right?”
“Ah?” She was startled, unsure how to respond. “Oh, yes… yes, you’ve got them all.”
He really managed to collect them all!
The Seven-Leaf Bright Lingzhi from the sacred lake of the Moon-Worshiping Sect, the Azure Luan Flower from the White Cloud Palace of Bicheng Mountain in the East Sea, the Dragon’s Tongue from the cliffs of Dongting Jun Mountain, the Snow Poppy from Muztagh Ata, and the Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Scarlet Cold Pearl from the Qilian Mountains—each of these was a legendary treasure, fought over by the entire martial world.
And this man… had managed to obtain all of them in just eight years.
What kind of force was driving him to risk everything, fighting and clawing to gather these impossible ingredients?
“Then, would you please start making the medicine as soon as possible?” he asked, sitting up in bed and bowing respectfully to her, his tone completely serious. “I promised Qiu Shui that I would return to Lin’an with the medicine in a month.”
“Well…” She pulled out the Dragon Blood Pearl from her sleeve, unsure of how to put it into words. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to tell you: Mo’er’s illness, I…”
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