"Hmm." Shuanghong sighed, "The method was very strange. The Valley Master pulled out two, but dared not pull out a third."
Huo Zhanbai's expression changed—who did this? Even Xue Ziye couldn't be healed?
Before he could investigate further, he suddenly heard a curtain rustle behind him: "Sister Shuanghong!"
A young girl rushed in, followed by an old woman.
"Xiao Jing, why are you in such a hurry?" Frost Red, afraid of disturbing the patient, turned around and scolded in a low voice, "Go talk outside the door!"
"But...but, Granny Ning said that the Valley Master, the Valley Master..." Xiao Jing's face was full of anxiety, and her voice choked with sobs, "The Valley Master read books for a whole day and night, and suddenly fainted in the library this afternoon!"
"What!" Shuang Hong exclaimed in shock—in that instant, the cause of death of the Valley Master of Linxia twenty years ago flashed through her mind.
"Quick, take me with you..." She could no longer care about Tong on the hospital bed and stood up abruptly.
However, a gust of wind passed by his side, and Huo Zhanbai had already taken the lead and disappeared into the maple forest.
After everyone in the room left like a gust of wind, the eyes in the darkness opened.
His eyes still held lingering pain, yet he managed to sit up slowly from the couch, stroking his right arm and breathing heavily—using the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, the acupoints in his body shifted an inch the instant Huo Zhanbai pointed. However, the blood seal between his Ren and Du meridians remained unbroken.
What to do... It's been almost a month since I left Kunlun. I don't know if the King of the Sect has come out of seclusion yet, or if he has discovered their plan. The Twelve Silver Wings who followed him have been wiped out, and I've been separated from Miao Huo for a long time. If I can't get the Dragon Blood Pearl, how am I supposed to get back?
At the Great Bright Palace, Miao Shui and the people of the Asura Field are still waiting for his return—
No matter what, we must bring the Dragon Blood Pearl back!
Chapter 5, Snow, Fourth Night
With a single palm strike, Huo Zhanbai flung open the rusty door and rushed into the library.
"Xue Ziye!" he exclaimed in surprise as he saw the woman in purple kneeling on the table.
The bookshelf was half empty, and the table was a mess, containing more than a dozen precious medicinal herbs, including dragon blood beads and blue phoenix flowers. It was also piled high with books: *Waitai Miyao*, *Jinlan Xunjing*, *Suwen*, *Zhouhou Fang*, and so on, stacked layer upon layer beside her. Because the pile was so high, half of it even collapsed onto the unconscious woman, almost burying her.
He called out to her, but received no response. He became even more flustered and quickly went over to help her up.
Under the ever-burning lamp, she lifted her face from below and nestled into his arms, looking terribly pale and haggard.
"Xue Ziye!" He called close to her ear, pressing one hand against her back and rapidly channeling his inner energy into her to protect her already weakened heart meridian. "Wake up, wake up!"
Her head swayed unresponsively as he pushed her, her hand still tightly clutching a scroll of the *Ling Shu*.
"Valley Master!" Shuanghong and Xiaojing arrived shortly afterward and exclaimed at the door.
—Is the scene from twenty years ago about to repeat itself?
"Quick, come help me support her!" Huo Zhanbai shouted urgently, looking up. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, then slowly pushed his palm down onto her back. It felt as if a gentle tide was surging into her limbs and bones, and Xue Ziye's body trembled.
Huo Zhanbai immediately changed his palm to his fingers, pressing twelve acupoints on her body, channeling his internal energy down her spine to clear the blood vessels that had been stagnant for a long time. At first, he pressed very quickly, but the more he pressed, the slower his fingers became. White steam gradually rose from the top of her head, and her forehead turned a faint dark red, as if he had condensed all his internal energy into his fingertips.
With each touch of her finger, Xue Ziye's complexion improved slightly. After all twelve fingers had been used, she gently exhaled.
"Alright!" Shuanghong, who had been keeping a close eye on the Valley Master's pulse, was overjoyed.
This lazy young master really does have such abilities.
"Valley Master, please wake up!" Even though Shuang Hong was usually capable and composed, she was so anxious that she was almost crying.
"Heh... Ah Hong?" Xue Ziye suddenly let out a low sigh, her fingers twitched, and she slowly opened her eyes. "What's wrong with me? Don't cry, don't cry... It's okay... Did I fall asleep from reading for too long?"
She struggled to sit up and immediately saw Huo Zhanbai, exclaiming in surprise, "What are you doing here? Go back to the Winter Pavilion and rest! Who told you to wander off like that? Where's Greenie? That brat, why didn't you keep an eye on her!"
Huo Zhanbai frowned and shook his head as he looked at the woman who was bossing him around as soon as she woke up.
"Your medical skills are lacking," he said, brushing away her finger that was poking his forehead. "Did you come here to cram at the last minute?"
Enraged by his attack on her sore spot, Xue Ziye threw the medical book she was holding at him, then quickly pulled it back: "Yes...it's in this 'Ling Shu'! I just saw it—"
She picked up the book, glanced at it hastily, and her face lit up with joy. But suddenly she felt a chill in her chest and lungs, and coughed intermittently, feeling like she couldn't breathe.
"Valley Master, Valley Master! Stop thinking about it." A purple-gold hand warmer was promptly handed over. Xue Ziye hugged the hand warmer to her chest as if it were a treasure, not daring to let go for a moment.
She couldn't speak; it felt as if a large block of ice had been stuffed into her chest and lungs, making it hard for her to breathe.
Grandma Ning arrived next, handing over a hand warmer with a worried expression: "Your body can't take it anymore, you need to rest first. I'll go and call the pharmacy to prepare your medicine right away."
"Hmm," Xue Ziye suppressed a cough and said in a muffled voice, "I'll just use the one I usually take."
At the age of fourteen, she fell into an icy river and drifted for a night, which left her with a cold-induced stagnation syndrome. The cold penetrated her Shaoyin meridian, causing her pulse to be deep or deep and tight, her lungs to feel cold, and she often felt aversion to cold. Her master, Liao Qingran, had prescribed a formula for her to take care of herself daily. However, after more than ten years of hard work and mental strain, the illness gradually worsened, becoming deeply ingrained, and the prescription was no longer as effective as it had been at the beginning.
“I’m afraid it’s not enough,” Granny Ning frowned as she looked at her complexion. “This time it’s no small matter.”
"Then... add five qian of White Tiger Heart." She pondered, coughing incessantly.
“Tiger heart is a very hot ingredient. How can the Valley Master, who has been weak for a long time, withstand it?” Granny Ning retorted directly. After thinking for a moment, she said, “How about we remove the cinnamon twig from the prescription and add one ounce of Sichuan lovage rhizome and six fen of lycium barbarum fruit instead?”
Xue Ziye pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Alright. Supplement with Guilingji, and that will suffice."
"Yes." Granny Ning nodded in obedience and turned to leave.
Shuanghong listened with alarm. She had followed the Valley Master for many years and received his personal guidance, believing she had mastered the true teachings. She never imagined that even a sweeping old woman in the valley possessed medical skills surpassing her own!
"Cough, cough..." Watching Granny Ning leave, Xue Ziye turned back to look at Huo Zhanbai, forcing a smile, but before she could speak, she coughed violently, and blood seeped out from between her fingers!
"Valley Master! Valley Master! Don't speak!" Shuang Hong exclaimed in alarm, rushing forward to support her swaying figure. "Seventh Young Master Huo, Seventh Young Master Huo, please help me take the Valley Master back to Summer Garden! The hot springs there will be most beneficial for her!"