But it doesn't matter anymore... That Hitomi, she's probably already dead in the snow by now, isn't she?
Suddenly, a rustling sound was heard in the air, and a bird cooed and flew down to the plum tree.
"A snow harrier?" Huo Zhanbai saw the bird flying from the direction of Autumn Garden and was slightly surprised by what it was carrying in its beak. "Where did you fly to? Autumn Garden?"
The bird released its beak, and a shard of white jade fell into his palm.
"This is... the mask of the assassin from the Great Bright Palace's Shura Field!" Upon recognizing it, Huo Zhanbai exclaimed in surprise, "Could that patient in the Autumn Garden be... that foolish woman!"
"Caw!" The snow hawk cried out uneasily, as if confirming his guess, its beady black eyes darting around.
"Oh no..." Huo Zhanbai didn't have time to say more. He immediately leaped out of the Winter Pavilion.
Tong came for the Dragon Blood Pearl; Xue Ziye might already be in trouble!
In the Autumn Garden, the maple leaves were ablaze with color. A maid in red stood at the courtyard gate and saw a man in white emerge from the maple grove.
“Young Master Mingjie, the Valley Master said that your illness is not yet cured and you cannot wander around now.” Shuanghong was not too surprised, but bowed slightly to stop the patient. “Please go back and rest—the Valley Master went to the library yesterday to look through medical books, and I believe she will find a solution soon.”
While speaking, she kept looking at the other person's chest area, without moving her gaze upwards.
"Is that so?" Tong suddenly spoke, her tone cold. "My illness is difficult to cure?"
Shuanghong did not answer, but only bowed slightly: "Please trust the Valley Master's medical skills."
His gaze gradually sharpened: "Why aren't you looking at me?"
"This servant wouldn't dare," Shuanghong replied calmly, bowing slightly. "The Valley Master has instructed that none of the maids in the valley are allowed to look the young master in the eye."
"Oh... I see." Tong paused for a moment, then suddenly disappeared.
"Alright, tell me," before Frost Red could even react, the cold sword was already pressed against her throat, "Where is the Dragon Blood Pearl?"
The sword's aura made her face turn pale, but she remained calm and composed: "This servant does not know."
"You really don't know?" The sword tip rose, forcing Shuanghong to look up and meet those eerie eyes.
“Young Master, it’s best not to force others.” Unlike Feng Lu’s fiery temper, Shuang Hong was calm and composed. “This servant is here to protect you on the orders of the Valley Master. If something happens to me, I’m afraid no one will be able to undo the ‘blood seal’ between your Ren and Du meridians.”
Blood Seal? His pupils dilated: This technique is used to seal the flow of true qi, could it be that he…
Before he could even verify whether there was any difference between his Ren and Du meridians, he suddenly heard a faint sound of something breaking through the air!
"Clang!" Before he could turn around, he immediately withdrew his sword and blocked a swift thrust from behind in a flash—a master! In that instant, he swiftly pressed Shuang Hong's pressure point, then pressed her shoulder, using the momentum to spin around in mid-air. His Bloodstained Sword unfolded like a cicada's wing in a semi-circular arc, protecting his body. Several "clangs" rang out as the two swords clashed repeatedly.
What pierced the blood-red sword shadow was the inky black lightning.
Huo Zhanbai's expression was grave as he silently rushed over, forcing his opponent back with a single sword strike—sure enough, upon arriving, he saw the man holding a sword to Shuang Hong's throat! And Xue Ziye? Had she also been bitten by this rescued venomous snake?
Anger surged within him, and he no longer cared about sentiment when he struck.
"Hey! Hey! Stop fighting!" Shuanghong struggled to break free of the pressure points that had been sealed, and could only shout anxiously from the sidelines. The two patients in the valley drew their swords in the maple forest, and countless red leaves fluttered down, only to be pulverized by the sword energy, scattering like blood, stinging her cheeks faintly.
With a "snap," a sword light shot out from the red leaves in just a short moment and landed on the ground.
"How come there's such a big difference all of a sudden?" Huo Zhanbai couldn't believe that his sword, which had knocked away Tong's sword within three moves, hadn't actually struck. "Where did your inner strength go? Where did it go?"
Tong gasped for breath, feeling that his internal energy could not be raised once it reached his dantian, and his meridians felt empty and he could not circulate his qi.
It really is true... that woman used the opportunity of healing his wounds to seal his Ren and Du meridians!
That woman was indeed plotting against him!
He wanted to concentrate his mental power to use his eye technique, but since he had not yet fully recovered, as soon as he focused his mental power on one point, his Baihui acupoint on the top of his head began to feel a splitting pain—before he could even think about it, everything went black.
"Young Master Huo, quickly put down your sword!" Shuang Hong exclaimed when she saw Tong fall. "You mustn't hurt Young Master Mingjie!"
"Where is your Valley Master?" Huo Zhanbai asked urgently, without moving his sword.
“The Valley Master went to the Spring Garden’s library yesterday,” Shuang Hong said, trying to open her acupoints, but Tong’s acupoint striking technique was so strange that she couldn’t move them at all. “She instructed me to take good care of Young Master Mingjie—she will be out in a few days.”
"Oh..." Huo Zhanbai breathed a sigh of relief, took a step back and withdrew his sword, but dared not relax.
"How could we bring such a dangerous guy back to the valley!" He really wanted to get rid of this guy, but he couldn't do it because of Xue Ziye's face. He frowned and said, "Do you know who he is? A poisonous snake! The Medicine Master Valley is full of girls who don't know martial arts. He could wipe you all out in a blink of an eye—what a bunch of stupid women."
“Well… the Valley Master said,” Shuang Hong said with a forced smile, “with the Seventh Young Master here, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Huo Zhanbai felt pleased by the clever girl's compliment and couldn't help but sheathe his sword and laugh: "Hehe, not bad, it's fortunate that I'm here—otherwise, this number one assassin of the Demonic Sect, not to mention Medicine Master Valley, there are few people in the entire Central Plains who could deal with him!"
"A demonic cult assassin?" Shuanghong was greatly surprised. "But... the Valley Master said he was a friend from Moga Village."
"A friend from Moga Village?" Huo Zhanbai murmured, lost in thought—so this was the reason why this woman was willing to save a demonic sect assassin? What kind of past did she have?
He released Shuanghong's acupoints, and she immediately went to check on the unconscious patient on the ground, asking him to help carry Tong back to Qiuzhiyuan. He did not refuse, but in the instant he bent down, he sealed eight major acupoints on Tong.
"What are you doing?" Shuanghong shouted angrily, instinctively protecting her patient.
"It's safer this way until your Valley Master returns," Huo Zhanbai explained.
The sun was already setting in the west. He struggled to carry Tong back, feeling somewhat amused and exasperated: he had never imagined that he would be so close to this opponent with whom he had fought to the death. The snow hawk flew over, muttering to itself. Upon seeing its master supporting Tong, it looked surprised and landed headfirst on the windowsill, scratching itself in bewilderment and muttering to itself.
"Sigh..." He sighed - fortunately there were no other martial arts practitioners in Medicine Master Valley at the moment, otherwise if this scene had been seen by others, he and Xue Ziye would probably have been in trouble.
Even a reclusive healer cannot escape the conflicts of the martial world.
Shuanghong carefully placed Tong back on the couch, leaned down, and checked the top of Tong's head. She breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness, the acupuncture needles didn't vibrate."
"Golden needles?" Huo Zhanbai exclaimed in surprise, "He...had his brain sealed with golden needles?"