"I'm fine, just a minor injury. Applying some ointment will do," Yun Shuo said, but his bloodless lips and the blood slowly seeping down his back failed to convince Jiang Yuejing.
"Senior Brother, lie down on the bed first. Let me tend to the wound on your back." Jiang Yuejing didn't panic in the face of this situation, decisively offering to treat the wound first. She quickly found a clean towel in the room. Due to a habit from her past life, Jiang Yuejing always carried a water bottle of spirit spring water in her storage pouch. She poured the spirit spring water into a basin, soaked the towel, and wrung it out a few times.
"Senior Brother, bear with it. It might sting a bit." With that, Jiang Yuejing gently wiped away the stained blood on the wound with the damp towel. When the towel was covered in blood, she rinsed it in the basin. After repeating this several times until the water in the basin was mostly blood-stained, she finally got the wound clean.
Taking the ointment handed over by Yun Shuo, Jiang Yuejing applied it as lightly as possible to the wound. The long gash had its flesh slightly everted, looking rather gruesome.
Fearing that the young girl might be frightened by the gruesome sight of the wound, Yun Shuo wanted to say a few words to ease the tension: "Was it Xing Tiantian who told you how to get here?"
Jiang Yuejing replied, "That's right. How did Senior Brother know?"
Yun Shuo said, "She's the only one who knows how to break the formation at my door."
Ah, she hadn't expected their relationship to be so good; Jiang Yuejing felt a tinge of envy.
Sensing that the movement of applying medicine to his back had become heavier, Yun Shuo assumed Jiang Yuejing was feeling sad and distressed, so he comforted her: "Everyone's talent is different. Tiantian has an exceptionally high talent for breaking formations, surpassing even those from Dharma Peak. There's no need for us to feel inferior because of it."
Xing Tiantian's talent for breaking formations came to the attention of the elders of Dharma Peak, who tried to have her take up the Dao of formations as well. Her master, Dachui, was very cooperative, but the final result was unsatisfactory—Xing Tiantian was rather mediocre when it came to setting up formations.
Thus, everyone changed their approach. Disciples of Dharma Peak frequently asked Xing Tiantian to break newly researched formations to check for flaws. Through this mutual tempering, both sides improved their skills, which was one of the reasons why Liang Zhi and Xing Tiantian got along so well.
This was also the first time Jiang Yuejing had heard about Xing Tiantian's talent for breaking formations. No wonder Xing Tiantian was the only one in Sword Peak who knew the method to undo Yun Shuo's formation.
"Senior Brother, do you have any breathable cloth strips here? I'll bandage it up for you," Jiang Yuejing asked after finishing the ointment application.
Yun Shuo wanted to sit up and get them, but Jiang Yuejing immediately stopped him, saying instead, "There are sweatbands in the wardrobe."
Jiang Yuejing retrieved the cloth strips and neatly bandaged Yun Shuo up, then asked another question: "Are there any other wounds, Senior Brother?"
"Just this one, it's nothing. Thank you," Yun Shuo expressed his gratitude.
"It's nothing."
Jiang Yuejing poured out the bloody water and looked around the doorway, finding no source of water outside, so she returned inside. "Senior Brother, where is the water kept around here?"
Usually, Yun Shuo would fetch water from the mountain spring and bring it back, but because he had been away for over a month, there was no fresh water in the room. Thinking Jiang Yuejing was thirsty, Yun Shuo retrieved an exquisite bottle from his storage ring containing some Heavenly River Spirit Water and handed it to her: "You can drink this if you're thirsty."
Jiang Yuejing waved her hands. "It's not that I'm thirsty. I want to boil some hot water for you to drink. Never mind, I'll go out and get some water first. Senior Brother, just lie down and don't move." With that, she left.
Soon, Jiang Yuejing returned with water, boiled a kettle of it, poured a cup of warm water, and handed it to Yun Shuo when the temperature was right: "Senior Brother, drink more hot water."
Yun Shuo wanted to say he wasn't thirsty, but seeing the cup before him, he suddenly felt his mouth and throat going dry. He muttered a word of thanks, took the cup, and drank it down.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Jiang Yuejing stood by the bed, her eyes fixed on the wound on Yun Shuo's back, lost in thought. Wanting to say something to break the atmosphere, Yun Shuo tried imitating the way Wen Mo usually cared for other junior brothers and said, "You've reached the Third Layer of Qi Condensation." It was a statement delivered in a very steady tone, and as soon as he finished, Yun Shuo felt his own words sounded rather stiff.
Ever since joining Jing Yi's tutelage, Jiang Yuejing had never deliberately spent time cultivating to raise her realm. Yet, through constant physical conditioning and sword practice, she somehow reached the Third Layer of Qi Condensation.
Jiang Yuejing nodded. "Yes, I don't know how it happened either, I just reached the Third Layer of Qi Condensation. I haven't done any seated meditation to absorb spiritual energy during this time. Master said it's probably because of my single Spiritual Root—it absorbs the spiritual energy of heaven and earth faster and in greater quantities, so the spiritual energy simply enters my body during ordinary breathing."
Suddenly remembering the purpose of her visit, Jiang Yuejing took out several bottles of pills, placed them on Yun Shuo's bedside table, and said somewhat sheepishly, "Senior Brother, these are pills I refined. Their grade is very low, but if you don't mind, please accept them."
Yun Shuo moved the pill bottles from the bedside table to the inner part of his bed. "Right, many thanks."
Figuring that her business with Yun Shuo today was finished and that he was injured and needed rest, Jiang Yuejing took her leave: "Well then, Senior Brother, I'll be going first. I won't disturb your rest. I've already filled your flask with hot water and left it by the bed. Pour it yourself when you're thirsty, and be careful not to knock it over when getting out of bed. Also, remember to change your medicine for the wound so it doesn't get inflamed and fester. I'm leaving now, bye-bye." Before leaving, Jiang Yuejing went on a naggy, rambling round of instructions to Yun Shuo.
Only after Jiang Yuejing finished speaking did Yun Shuo reply, "Yeah, thanks." He then stiffly added, "Watch your step on the way." He watched her depart all the way out, then whispered, "Bye-bye." Afterward, he stared blankly at the pills on the inner side of his bed and unconsciously fell asleep.
Bored after his disciple went off to find her good Senior Sister, Jing Yi came to Sword Peak to see his good brother. At that moment, his good brother Jing Liu was handling official Sword Peak business with Wen Mo assisting by his side, so Jing Yi found a seat for himself, sat down, and propped his chin in his hand.
Just then, Xie Tingsong entered and handed Jing Liu a requisition form for wooden dummies, which required the Peak Master's seal before they could be claimed. Xie Tingsong, who styled himself the Daoist of Listening Pines, was Yun Shuo's master and had a rather stubborn temper. Wooden dummies were props used by disciples while practicing swordplay, and their consumption rate remained quite high. Jing Liu took the booklet from Xie Tingsong, browsed through it carefully, and checked the numbers.
Seeing that someone had finally come in, Jing Yi immediately gave a theatrical cough. Catching Xie Tingsong's attention, he retrieved a pill bottle from his storage ring, took out a single pill, and popped it into his mouth with an exaggerated posture. He chewed dramatically a few times and declared, "Ah, the fragrance of the pill is rich! A single pill quiets the mind and dispels restlessness, leaving a lingering fragrance in the mouth afterwards. Ah~~~ As expected of the pills refined by my disciple, they're simply this wonderful~"
Seeing Jing Yi strutting and twisting about like a displaying peacock, Xie Tingsong scoffed, "Are you out of your mind?"
Noticing the commotion over there, Jing Liu asked, "Xiao Yi, what's wrong with you?"
"Pills refined by my little disciple, given to me." Jing Yi proudly waved the pills in his hand back and forth, acting as if this bottle of grade-one Clearing Heart Pills were some kind of supreme high-grade elixir.
Jing Liu glanced at it and lowered his head back to the booklet in his hands. Jing Yi continued to show off: "My disciple is sensible, obedient, practices swordplay diligently, and now can even refine pills. A few days ago, people from Dharma Peak even came to poach my talent—such a sweet annoyance."
Jiang Yuejing always felt especially cared for by those Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters in the instruction rooms at Dharma Peak. Whenever she encountered difficulties while learning spells, before she could even start asking, the instructor would proactively come over to clear up her doubts. Later on, when she switched to the instruction rooms of other Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters at Dharma Peak, it was still the same. Not long ago, right after class, an instructor from Dharma Peak had quietly pulled her aside and stubbornly tried to gift her a manual of heart methods. Jiang Yuejing had to refuse several times before succeeding, and she was so startled that she came back and told her master about it right away. Upon hearing this, Jing Yi immediately concluded that Dharma Peak wanted to poach his disciple.
Not to be outdone, Xie Tingsong retorted, "My disciple's sword techniques are superb, his cultivation leads the younger generation, and he can even refine magical treasures. Besides, Dharma Peak has tried to poach people from my side too—Junior Sister Qin from Dharma Peak constantly tries to lure my disciple away."
Hearing his two granduncles comparing disciples, and learning that both of their disciples had nearly been poached by Dharma Peak, Wen Mo secretly glanced at his master. Seeing that his master showed no reaction, he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Jing Liu chuckled coldly and ruthlessly exposed Xie Tingsong: "My brother wasn't in the sect at the time, but I was. How come I heard it was you who brought little Yun Shuo back yet didn't know how to take care of him, and Junior Sister Qin couldn't bear to watch, so she helped you look after Yun Shuo? How on earth did that turn into poaching?"
Realizing his little lie had been exposed by Jing Yi, Xie Tingsong countered, "My disciple has a Metal Spiritual Root; among the disciples, hardly any can beat him."
Jing Yi replied, "My disciple knows how to act spoiled and calls me Master-Daddy." Jing Yi had completely forgotten that he was the one who had demanded Jiang Yuejing call him Master-Daddy in the first place.
Seeing that the two of them were getting entirely too carried away with their disciples, Jing Liu spoke up: "Since both of your disciples are so formidable, who among you is going to come over and help me handle these Sword Peak matters like Wen Mo does, hmm?" Hearing this, both Jing Yi and Xie Tingsong immediately shut their mouths.
Jing Liu continued, "These past three months, Sword Peak's expenditures have almost matched its revenue, leaving practically no surplus. Which of the two of you is going to go to the sect and take on a major task to increase the sect's budget for Sword Peak over the next three months?"
At these words, Jing Yi and Xie Tingsong instantly became obedient, quietly watching Jing Liu in silence. After cross-checking the numbers, Jing Liu handed the requisition book to Wen Mo to process and picked up another document: "Why aren't either of you saying anything? Fine if you won't go—Medicine Peak's lease on our land is about to expire. The two of you can go together and sign the new contract with Medicine Peak, and you'd better raise the price while you're at it." With that, he handed the document in his hands to both Jing Yi and Xie Tingsong.
Sword Peak possessed abundant spiritual energy and vast territory. Since the disciples' cultivation on Sword Peak focused primarily on sword practice, their demand for spiritual energy wasn't as high as that of other peaks. Therefore, to generate income, Sword Peak leased several plots of land to Medicine Peak to use as medicinal herb fields.
Originally, Jing Liu had planned to take Wen Mo along to negotiate the price during the contract renewal, but since Jing Yi and Xie Tingsong had delivered themselves right to his doorstep, these two might as well be put to use, sparing both himself and his disciple the trouble of haggling with Medicine Peak over prices.
Jing Yi and Xie Tingsong had no choice but to accept the task. Seeing the somewhat dejected looks on their faces, Jing Liu smiled faintly and glanced at Wen Mo. Just then, his gaze met Wen Mo's, and Jing Liu offered Wen Mo a reassuring look.
Wen Mo had been encountered by Jing Liu while the latter was out on a training journey. Wen Mo was born into an ordinary mortal family with a small household: an older brother above him and a younger sister below. Their days were spent scraping by with enough food and clothing.
At that time, Wen Mo was only seven years old, and his ambition was to master great martial arts and become a dart-guard at the dart agency on the west street. Every day he practiced the stances illustrated in storybooks, for which he was constantly mocked by his older brother and younger sister—who ever learned by following pictures in storybooks? Yet the family's finances weren't well-off enough to send Wen Mo to study at a martial arts school; most of the family's money was used to fund his eldest brother's studies.
Jing Liu first met Wen Mo at a wonton stall, where Wen Mo was doing odd jobs and helping out. Even at such a young age, upon seeing Jing Liu, Wen Mo recognized him as a person of distinction and hurriedly wiped the bench clean, then polished the table until it shone with cleanliness.
When the bowl of wonton soup was served, Jing Liu stirred it to release the heat while asking the child who kept peeking at him, "Little kid, are you the stall owner's son?"
Wen Mo shook his head. "I came here to do odd jobs and help out."
Jing Liu asked, "So young, and you already have to work odd jobs to supplement the household finances?"
Seeing Wen Mo shake his head again, he said, "No, I want to save money to buy a manual of martial arts secrets. I want to master great martial arts and become a great dart-guard who travels the world."
Finding the child rather amusing, Jing Liu smiled and continued to tease him: "Do you think dart-guards are very impressive?"
Wen Mo nodded vigorously. "Dart-guards are the most impressive people I've ever seen, and I want to become an impressive person too."
Jing Liu burst into loud laughter. "What's your name, kid?"
"My name is Wen Xiao'er, because I'm ranked second." The child replied thus.
Finding it interesting, Jing Liu pressed further: "Then is your third sibling called Wen San?"
The child shook his head. "My younger sister is named Wen Qiqi; she was born on the seventh day of the seventh month."
Jing Liu asked, "Do you know how to read, kid? Being a dart-guard requires knowing how to read, you know."
Hesitating slightly, the child answered, "I don't know how to read much, but my big brother knows how. Once my big brother teaches me a few characters later on, that'll be enough for being a dart-guard."