Chapter 354

“Yeon Pa?”

Qing rummaged through her memories of Yeon Pa.

She distinctly remembered a grandma with an extremely ruthless expression, the kind that seemed like she’d dump water, tea, and food all at once, upend the table, splash soup, throw laundry around, and even toss ash water everywhere.

And she had given her the Nengpa Mibo.

The Nengpa Mibo was a top-tier secret technique that had saved Qing’s life multiple times.

Even her master, who would usually say, “Come on, keep it a secret from the other disciples,” had been so impressed that he’d agree they should learn it together.

Hmm. Well.

While giving Qing the Nengpa Mibo secret manual, had Yeon Pa said, “This isn’t something your sect has, right? So don’t let anyone else know.”?

“Yeah. My body feels like a flaming ball right now. Can I ask a favor of you?”

“Well, let me have a look then. I’m a physician, you know. I won’t be mistaken for a quack anywhere.”

“You learned medicine? My friend?”

Jayu raised an eyebrow but considering Qing’s current state, it looked like it was a face mostly covered in white.

“It’s not the time to dawdle. Let’s get going.”

“Ah, right. But, I came to get water. Didn’t I see a stream down there when we were near the room?”

“Oh, just drinking any water from the mountains can get you killed. How do you know which water is safe to drink?”

That made Jayu hesitate.

“Is there poison in the water?”

“Eh, kind of. Just boil it well, and you should be fine. Anyway, I have some water with me.”

“It looked clean like spring water.”

“Of course, don’t drink it if you see it dirty with your own eyes. More importantly, where’s Yeon Pa?”

“I think she set up a place in that rocky area up there.”

“Your tone… If you say a few more words, I might just hear ‘Go’, huh? Can you not roll up like you did coming down? Do I have to carry you again?”

“Ahem. You always have to say it like that. Just this once, Yeon Pa’s condition isn’t great, so please help me.”

Jayu was quite familiar with being picked up and carried, not as much of an expert as Qing, but still.

So, raising his arms wide, Qing immediately lifted Jayu and placed him on her shoulder.

“Hmm. Friend, is this how you carry someone?”

“I’d love to carry you too, but I injured my left side, and I’m pretty sure I’d faint after just a couple of steps.”

When you carry someone, you inevitably end up squeezing their legs against your side.

And the person being carried, to ease the burden, has to tighten their legs and stick close to the carrier.

“Friend, did you get hurt?”

“It’s been about half a month? Just hold on to that bag tightly. You might bite your tongue if you talk.”

Climbing the mountain with Jayu slung over her shoulder was not easy.

As they went up a narrow gap where someone could easily tumble out, soon a jagged rock crevice came into view.

Since Qing had been so silent, Yeon Pa would only now look at the unfamiliar person carrying Wang Ya on his shoulder with a shocked expression.

The flicker of light in her eyes suddenly stirred.

The three tails of the ghostly flickering flames circled each other, a glimpse of the legendary martial art, the Wheel of Law.

But just for a moment, as the glorious voice of the stranger burst forth, those flames faded away.

“Yeon Pa, how’ve you been?”

“Huh? Who is this woman?”

“I’m Seomun Qing. Remember me? I’m using the Nengpa Mibo you gifted me quite well. Thank you!”

Yeon Pa sighed in relief.

With that relief, her naughty side emerged again, and the flickering flames returned to her eyes.

“How could you dare carry such a precious being like a sack? Do you not know the basics? Hurry and let me help you down!”

“Oh, right.”

And then came another round of nagging.

“No, young lady, if you had seen Wang Ya trembling like that, you should immediately take off the coat you’re wearing. I heard you reached the Supreme level, but now you’re just an ordinary person wearing fur while a true master is exposed?”

Oh. I hadn’t thought about that.

Just because I’m not cold doesn’t mean others aren’t either.

“Ah, just a second.”

Qing quickly unbuckled the thick bag and retrieved the coat she had compressed tightly.

“Here. Flip it inside out so the fur is on the inside.”

“No, Yeon Pa needs it more urgently. Let her wear it first—”

“Your Highness, what kind of nonsense are you talking? You must preserve your own health first! Hurry, Seomun, help her wear it. She’s someone who can’t even dress herself!”

Jayu looked at Qing, “Didn’t you just say that even while being rushed, you weren’t asking for Yeon Pa to be taken to the physician?”

But now Yeon Pa was asking Qing to take off her warm coat.

Hmm. I want to see Grandpa and Uncle…

“It’s alright. I’ve got plenty more. Here. Jayu should also put on another layer, fur on the outside this time. I have plenty of coats for Yeon Pa too.”

Qing quickly retrieved several coats from her bag.

These were trophies she had packed for her disciples, thinking they could be used as winter clothes when they went out for shopping or other errands.

The sight left the two of them bewildered.

What’s going on? Why are so many coats coming out of the bag? Did she just carry coats and nothing else?

“Young lady, is the Divine Maiden Sect facing financial issues or something? Are you going around selling coats?”

“Eh. The Divine Maiden Sect is richer than ever.”

The Empress had entirely transferred nearby lands for sacrificial costs for the estate.

It was a deeply selfish donation, so it could be said the Empress is treating the national assets like her own property.

Or you could say it’s similar since it was already sent to the princess.

Thanks to that, the Divine Maiden Sect, previously struggling, was now openly wealthy.

But that didn’t mean their thrifty lifestyle would change.

“Tsk, tsk. I kind of thought you looked like a Daoist, and now I see you’ve been kicked out? With your high martial arts, why are you running around selling coats? If that’s the case, you might as well rely on the royal treasury. A better fate would be in your favor.”

“Lady, I’m not selling coats, alright? Now, let me take a look at those wounds. Jayu, you go outside.”

“Wounds, huh? Although I can’t see much in the dark of night, I can still help if you need me.”

“No, I mean, would you like to see Yeon Pa’s delicate skin?”

“Ah, right. I see.”

“Young lady, does the Prime have the intention to avoid seeing her? The national law is strict; if you want to avoid it, it’s us lot that needs to leave—”

“Just take care of Yeon Pa.”

Jayu interrupted Yeon Pa’s nagging and dashed out of the rocky crevice.

Yeon Pa frowned deeply.

Qing decided to check Yeon Pa’s pulse, “Wow, what on earth happened? You’re so hot!”

She thought Yeon Pa would be fine, but—

There was an arrow in her thigh, another in her shoulder, and another in her forearm. Plus numerous small cuts.

Some of the wounds were already oozing, indicating they might be starting to rot.

Fortunately, her torso was intact; if not, she would have either died or been in a dire state by now.

“Seriously, doesn’t it hurt? I feel like it would be hard to even think.”

“Humph. So, should a lowly being like me just moan in pain while the Prime is right here? So, you learned medicine? No one mentioned that before.”

“I picked it up later. From a truly great physician named Rang Jung.”

“That wandering physician with excessive meddling?”

“It’s not meddling; it’s respectful. Just in case you have something like a detoxifying pill; if you had it, you’d have taken it ages ago. Here, just chew on this. It’ll hurt.”

Qing handed Yeon Pa a fur collar to chew on.

But she spit it out.

“No thanks. I’ve held on until now; why would I?”

Now Qing carried not just minimal medical supplies but also came equipped with some valuable herbs that she would keep an eye out for while traveling.

Having packed for situations like this (since rare herbs are expensive), it was indeed coming in handy.

“Prepared” was not a word you would expect to associate with her.

Boiling, squeezing, extracting, stitching.

As Qing approached the injured areas, Yeon Pa asked suspiciously, “Hey, what’s going on with your eyes?”

“Due to the shock, I’m having trouble seeing right now. But if I get close enough, you don’t need to worry—I’ll be fine.”

“Who’s worrying about that? This boar-like girl doesn’t know how to cherish her own body. How did you become so blind? Are you okay? Will you stay blind?”

“Hehe, it’s nothing major. I’ll recover quickly. Just about half a month?”

She sounded fierce, but in the end, it was just caring for her, making Qing smile faintly.

“Don’t laugh. You shouldn’t laugh casually.”

“Yes.”

What do I do when told not to laugh?

Qing straightened up and focused on the treatment.

In fact, even a Ronin could manage basic first aid, but knowing professional knowledge made a significant difference.

Rather than a method to temporarily hold someone together until they could be re-examined later, this was a high-level healing art where proper medicine was applied and looked after for recovery.

Yet, hmm, it seemed there were no herbs…

Warriors could channel Qi, the mysteries of the universe.

If your Qi was refined enough, you could usually dispel most kinds of poison and restore energy but—

Yeon Pa had already been carrying iron arrows inside her for too long, three of them.

She was burning up, and with the fever rising, it was affecting not just her internal strength but also her innate True Energy.

At times like this, an elixir would be critical.

She had already consumed the Great Elixir and left the remaining one for emergency use back at the Divine Maiden Sect, so all she had was—

Then it hit her suddenly.

But was that elixir truly what she thought it was?

Qing pulled out the medicinal powder.

It was from the Green Forest Chief, Wang Cheol-gun, a relic he had left for her.

There was a way to identify it by just taking a tiny bit, but since it belonged to a bandit leader, Qing felt uneasy and thought, what if this was made from human flesh?

But, well.

The grandma was at death’s door.

People have to be saved first.

With her nail, Qing scraped out some of the pill and slipped it onto her tongue.

Just then, a cool and refreshing True Energy spread through her body, feeling like a good medicine indeed. After all, even a bandit leader would want to carry good medicine.

Even if he’s a Sapa Warrior, he wouldn’t want to be eating some human flesh elixirs over the Great Elixir.

If asked whether they wanted human flesh or the Great Elixir, they’d all choose the latter.

“Alright, just go ahead.”

“An elixir? If you have that, there’s no need to give it to a lowly person like me; just feed it to Wang Ya, ugh.”

As Yeon Pa rambled on, Qing quickly shoved the elixir into her mouth.

Qing pressed her mouth shut, and as the tongue pushed against her palm, “Come on, just eat it!”

“You’ve always eaten fine stuff; can’t you eat just one more?”

“Ugh.”

“Lick your palm clean of any residue. They say that even a wealthy magnate licks the lid clean.”

“Ugh.”

“And it’s not just the elixir that’s helpful, much more than that, I have a Supreme Martial Artist next to me. Eat up; what are you saving for? Swallow it and circulate your Qi.”

Yeon Pa seemed to take a moment before nodding, and her resistance finally ceased.

Then she managed to curl up her legs and sit cross-legged.

The blood started to ooze out of her wounds, but that was something they just had to deal with.

Watching her calm expression, Qing thought to herself.

Indeed, your Qi is invulnerable, and you’ve treated the wound like a god.

As Yeon Pa sat there, eyes closed, meditating, Qing quietly slipped out for a moment.

Jayu was breathing heavily while blowing warm air over his hands, and upon seeing Qing, he hurriedly asked.

“How is she? What’s the situation? Will she be okay?”

“About half a year? Hmm, no, since she’s at that realm, maybe three months? No, given her age, I’d say half a year? Regardless, she needs to take it easy, but the issue is whether she can rest enough.”

“Ahem.”

“What happened?”

“We were on our way to the Southern Prince’s estate. Suddenly, an arrow pierced the carriage, and after that, I’m not quite sure what happened. Everything became chaotic, and when I regained consciousness, Yeon Pa was lying there, dying.”

“What about the others? The, uh, Old Dog?”

“Old Dog.”

Though one could argue they were effectively the same, you couldn’t just refer to an elder as Old Dog or Elder Dog, now could you?

“It was a small party for the mission.”

“Still, with such a high-level master along.”

“They were all seekers of refuge, forced into hiding among the southern royals. They had their own reasons for staying out of sight. Even the most persistent couldn’t make it through. But now it’s just Yeon Pa left beside me.”

Jayu’s voice turned gloomy.

Even if he couldn’t see Yeon Pa’s expression, it was evident he was upset.

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