So that's what it was all about! He's really gone mad... He actually went and stole the Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Crimson Frost Pearl?!
She stood there stunned for a long time before putting away the bead she had risked her life for. She then gestured to the other four maids, "Quickly, help me lift him into the sedan chair—make sure he's steady, or his internal organs could rupture at any moment."
"Yes!" Clearly used to handling this kind of thing, the four maids nodded, lightly touched the ground with their toes, bent down and gently supported Huo Zhanbai's limbs and shoulders, steadily lifting the frozen man up.
"Clatter... Carry it back to the valley, to the Winter Pavilion." She coughed, covering her mouth with a handkerchief, and gave the order softly.
"Yes." The four maids gently placed the injured person back into the sedan chair, bent down and nimbly lifted the chair. With a light touch of their toes, they carried the chair back quickly like four swallows.
The wind and snow finally subsided, and the entire wasteland was covered in a white expanse, filled with icy, suffocating air.
"Crack, crack." She held the bead, looked at it again and again, and then coughed violently, her eyes gradually turning sad—this guy really doesn't care about his life.
But even so... what's the use?
"Valley Master, why did you let him ride in the sedan chair? Are you going to walk back by yourself?" She was still in a daze when Greenie, standing beside her, was indignant and kicked up a large patch of snow. "What an annoying fellow! He only has a Resurrection Token in his hand, yet he has come for eight years in a row and always owes medical fees... Valley Master, why can't you get rid of this plague god?"
"Crack, crack, it's alright, it's alright. At least I didn't get poked a dozen times." She chuckled and coughed, hiding in her lynx fur coat, her sleeve holding a purple-gold hand warmer. "It's a rare treat to come out of the valley and see the snow scenery."
“But,” Greenie glanced at her worriedly, “the Valley Master’s health can’t withstand it…”
"It's nothing." She waved her hand, interrupting her personal maid's nagging, "Let's walk back."
Then, he turned around and trudged through knee-deep snow.
Snowflakes fell gently on her face, the world a vast expanse of white. In the far distance, she could still see a hazy, misty forest. She breathed in the biting air, coughing incessantly, her gaze wandering between heaven and earth. How many years had it been? Since ending up in Medicine Master Valley, how many years had she remained confined to the valley?
How ridiculous... The person known as a "miracle doctor" is so sickly that he cannot breathe freely.
"Valley Master!" Greenie called out worriedly from behind, taking off her cloak and catching up. "Put this on!"
However, she suddenly saw the young lady stop in her tracks, raise her hand to make a "shush" gesture to her, and her eyes instantly brightened.
"Listen, what's that sound?" She murmured, tilting her head to listen to a sound in the wind and snow, then suddenly turned around and pointed, "There!"
"Whoosh!" As soon as she finished speaking, Greenie transformed into a white rainbow and shot out, her sword pointing straight at the snow.
"Who?" she shouted sharply.
A burst of snow suddenly exploded, and sure enough, there was someone beneath it! The person moved and caught his own sword with his bare hands!
However, he must have been completely exhausted. After barely dodging the attack, he had no strength left and fell heavily back onto the snow, motionless. Greenie, still shaken, took a step back, pointed her sword at his back, and found that he truly couldn't move.
"Did they come from the forest..." the young lady murmured, gazing into the distance, her eyes fixed on the woods.
There, a deep drag mark snaked its way through the forest, with faint traces of blood. Clearly, this person had followed Huo Zhanbai from the fir forest to this spot, finally exhausted.
"Valley Master, he's dying!" Greenie cried out in alarm, staring at the hole that had pierced through his back.
"Hmm..." Xue Ziye responded casually, "Search them, do they have a Heaven-Returning Token?"
"No." After quickly searching, Greenie was discouraged.
It seems this person didn't come specifically for medical treatment, but rather got caught up in the bloody battle for the Dragon Blood Pearl. These feuds in the martial world have even spread to the vicinity of the Medicine Master Valley in the Great Wilderness Mountains, truly disturbing the peace and quiet.
“Then let’s go.” She turned around without hesitation, holding the purple-gold hand warmer. “We can’t do business at a loss.”
This martial arts world has never been peaceful. Good and evil are opposed, and there are many sects. People fight to the death over trivial matters. Countless such people die every year. How could she possibly save them all? Moreover, even if she did save them, she might not be able to afford the high consultation fees of Medicine Master Valley.
"But..." Unexpectedly, Greenie didn't listen to her instructions and was still hesitating.
"But what?" She stopped impatiently, turned around and urged, "The Medicine Master Valley only saves those who possess the Resurrection Token, that's the rule—have you forgotten?"
"Lü'er will never forget." The maid's eyes darted back and forth on the ground, a smile playing on her lips. "But...but this person is so handsome!"
Having followed the Valley Master for so many years, she was well aware of her young lady's temper.
Besides being stingy with money, the Valley Master is also picky about appearance. For example, when multiple patients appear at the same time, she always chooses the young and handsome ones to treat first without hesitation. For example, although she charges extremely high consultation fees for each consultation, if a patient really can't afford it and happens to be pleasing to the eye, the money-loving Valley Master will let them off the hook.
—For example, Huo Zhanbai.
"Very handsome?" Valley Master Xue stopped as expected, raising an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Hmm." Greenie patted the man's shoulder with her sword. "Ten times better than that debt collector Huo Zhanbai!"
"Really?" Xue Ziye finally turned around and walked over, quite interested. "That's quite rare."
She walked to the unconscious man's side, bent down, and lifted his chin. Blood was flowing from his face, stained with a shard of white jade—her expression changed abruptly, and she gripped the shard tightly. This person…something seemed unusual about him.
She raised her hand, removed the shard, wiped the blood from the other person's face, and stared at him.
The face revealed by the mask was surprisingly young.
He was indeed handsome, yet lonely. His eyes were tightly closed, his cheeks as pale as ice sculptures, and his closed eyes carried an indescribable darkness. He was striking at first glance, as if awakening some deep-seated fear within one's heart.
"Ah..." For some reason, she let out a soft cry, feeling a sense of oppression coming over her.
"So, isn't she quite good-looking?" Greenie continued, still rambling on, "Should we save her or not?"
Her expression gradually turned serious, and she reached out and gently pressed her hand against the other person's closed eyes.
—This is it.
That oppressive force emanated from those closed eyes!
What kind of power could possibly make her feel so terrified?
"Not dead yet." She murmured to herself, sensing the eyes beneath her eyelids moving slightly—this person's injuries were more severe than Huo Zhanbai's, yet he still managed to crawl here!