Il arrive souvent des choses désagréables

Chapitre 43

I was caught in the middle of the net, dangling in mid-air like a fish caught in it. Just as I was feeling lost, I heard a voice. Someone standing below the net looked up and said, "I thought something had fallen down, but it's just a little girl."

I struggled but couldn't, and I couldn't speak, so I was frantic and my eyes were blazing with anger. He exclaimed "Eh!" and activated some mechanism. The large net slowly descended, finally landing almost at eye level with the ground. He looked at me carefully, and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.

"She was still subjected to acupressure."

I was finally able to see the man's face clearly. He was a man with fine lines at the corners of his eyes and graying temples, so he must not be young. But he had a cheerful, childlike face and bright, spirited eyes, making it impossible to guess his age.

The man flipped his left palm, and a faint light flickered at his fingertips, revealing several golden needles. I watched as the needles approached me, emanating a chilling aura. I was so frightened that my stomach cramped, but as the needles were inserted, my body relaxed, and then I involuntarily coughed as my acupoints were released.

He inserted the gold needles into a long strip of black velvet, gathered them up and tied them around his waist, then looked up at me with a grin as he spoke.

"Little girl, how did you end up in the tree hole? Were you playing hide-and-seek with someone? No, no, you've been immobilized by pressure points. Who bullied you?"

This man speaks incredibly fast and is very talkative. I had just been on the verge of death and hadn't caught my breath yet, so I didn't know how to join in his conversation.

Seeing that I didn't speak, he took out the golden needles again. "Could it be that the mute acupoint hasn't been released yet? No way, come, let me take another look."

Afraid he would prick me with the needle again, I grabbed the net and backed away abruptly, saying, "No need, no need, I'm all better now, thank you, thank you."

He then smiled, his eyes crinkling, and his rosy cheeks made him look very cute.

"If you're not going to say anything, it's rare for someone to come here. Come down first, do you need my help?"

Although I didn't understand the situation, I always stayed in this net and walked along the path. When I heard him say that, I immediately jumped down with both hands and feet. Standing at the bottom of the cave, I looked around. I saw that the deep underground was flat and smooth, and the four walls were neatly repaired. To the left was a long, winding, and deep passage, and I didn't know where it led. It was like entering an underground palace.

I asked him hesitantly, "Excuse me... excuse me, sir, do you live here?"

"Uncle?" he exclaimed, clutching his face with a heartbroken expression. "Do I look that old?"

I remained silent.

Uncle, your hair is all gray. Do you expect me to teach your brother? Just as I was thinking this, I heard him say, "You don't look very old. Just call me Brother He. I don't mind."

I froze on the spot, staring at him speechlessly, wondering how someone could be so... so disrespectful to their elders. But he had already made an even more disrespectful gesture, reaching out to pull me along, saying, "Come on, come on, it's rare for this person to have guests, I'll treat you to a good meal."

I immediately refused, abruptly pulling my hand back and shaking my head and hand together, "No, no, I need to go back to the tree hole, I'm waiting for someone."

He laughed heartily, "Waiting for someone in a tree hollow? This is the entrance and exit of this place. I was just about to go out for some fresh air when I pulled the lever and you fell down." As he spoke, he tightened his grip on my wrist, then his eyes suddenly lit up. "How come you have such an extremely cold constitution? Was it something you were born with?" As he spoke, his fingers moved to my pulse point, his expression changing slightly, and finally he nodded. "Not bad, not bad. Someone cleared the blockage of cold energy in you, otherwise you certainly wouldn't have lived past sixteen."

The place where this person appeared was strange.

He was talking in a strange and cryptic way, which made me a little scared. I was only thinking about how to escape from him. But when I heard him say that, I was shocked and forgot all my fear.

How do you know all this?

As a child, I suffered countless hardships because of this congenital ailment, which angered my father so much that he executed many imperial physicians. Later, Ji Feng took me out of the palace and entrusted me to Cheng Wei, where I was finally treated. However, before treating me, Cheng Wei went to great lengths to find a solution and carefully conditioned my body for a long time before daring to operate. I never expected that this person could predict everything simply by taking my pulse, which astonished me greatly.

"See? I was right!" He looked at me smugly and smiled.

I stared at him blankly. This man could use acupuncture to release acupoints and could feel my body through pulse diagnosis. With such superb medical skills, he even asked me to call him Brother He...

I opened my eyes wide. "You're the legendary healer He Nan?"

His smug smile froze, and he immediately frowned, his face full of annoyance. "How come someone still recognizes me even though I'm living here? You weren't sent by those people to find me, were you? I'm not going anymore, I'm never going again."

Chapter Four: The Divine Healer He Nan

1

I couldn't understand what He Nan was saying at all, and I didn't know what Mo Li wanted to do with this person. But since I had already met him, even though the hope was slim and the chance of success was not great, I still hoped that I could help him in some way, let Mo Li know where he was, and more importantly, let him know where I was.

I grabbed the large net to show my determination not to leave, and then explained to him, "I don't know what you're talking about, but... my older brother knows you, and he really wants to see you."

"What's your name? What does your older brother do?" He looked annoyed and muttered to himself, but he was clearly not afraid or wary of me. When I spoke, he immediately asked me a question in return.

Indeed, with his medical skills, he could tell from just one pulse that I was a weak martial artist and not worth guarding against at all.

I wanted to say Mo Li's name, but I hesitated and thought for a moment before saying, "My name is Ping An, and my older brother... sells horses."

"The horse seller?" He Nan was a little bored, but immediately pressed on, "How did he know me? What does he want with me?"

I suddenly felt like I was talking to a child. I thought of Qingfeng, and I thought of my little nephew Tianheng. The former made me sad, and the latter made me miss him. My thoughts were all mixed up and I forgot to answer him.

He Nan was like someone who hadn't spoken for centuries. He had finally found someone who could answer his questions, so how could he let him go? Before I could answer, he reached out and grabbed me again, asking me the same question.

"Say something."

I snapped out of my daze and, while pulling my hand back, said, "My older brother said it was for me, but I'm not really sure."

"For you?" He Nan's eyes lit up. "Do you have any other ailments?" As he spoke, he moved his finger to my pulse point.

His eyes were as innocent as a baby's, and he acted as if it were the most natural thing in the world, which made me react a beat too late, and he grabbed my wrist again.

Anger welled up inside me, and I was about to slap him when I heard him suddenly exclaim "Huh?" Then a flash of cold light appeared, and my left fingertip, which I had used to slap him, stung with pain. Looking closer, I realized that he had pricked my finger with a needle and drawn blood.

I cried out. He Nan released me, sniffed the blood-stained needle tip, then rubbed the drop of blood on his tongue with his little finger, his expression shifting unpredictably before finally baring his teeth.

I watched his every move, and I broke out in a cold sweat. My legs, which I had intended to kick him away, went weak. He looked up at me, his playful expression vanishing, and his eyes gleamed as he spoke.

"So this is what it is."

He was vague, but how could I not understand? My heart sank, and I pressed my hands to my chest.

He stared at me and asked again, "Ping An, was some kind of foreign object ever implanted in your body?"

He muttered to himself, "How could this be? You know the kung fu of Qingcheng Mountain, yet you carry something that only priests of the Holy Fire Cult possess."

I froze. "You know about the Holy Fire Cult priests?"

He nodded in agreement. “This item was originally found only in ancient books. It was later obtained by the first priest of the Holy Fire Cult and has been worshipped by the cult ever since. It is occasionally used, but it is an ominous item. Those who have it implanted in them mostly die a violent death. It can be considered a kind of blood sacrifice.”

He died a violent death… My mind went blank for a moment, and I immediately felt that this person was not only terrifying but also hateful. I wanted to kick him so badly. But I was trapped here, not knowing where the mechanism was or how to get up. Since I needed his help, I had to restrain myself and forcefully suppress the urge to beat him up as I said, “I don’t understand what you’re saying. My older brother is still waiting for me up there. I need to go up.”

He finally snapped out of his reverie, looked at me directly, and his expression was unusually serious. Seeing that he seemed to be suddenly normal, I immediately looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to speak.

He Nan met my gaze, then put on a stern face and uttered two words.

"no."

I rolled up my sleeves. Well, some people just won't listen to reason and will have to suffer the consequences.

He stared at my every move with his round eyes. "What do you want to do?"

I bluntly said, "Let me up, or I'll beat you up."

He put his hands on his hips and looked at me. "You dare? I'm the only one in this world who can save someone infected with this thing. Are you out of your mind?"

I was stunned, suddenly feeling like I'd stumbled upon a treasure while walking, but instead of being overjoyed, I felt it was all unreal.

"What did you say?"

He continued, hands on his hips, his arrogant expression practically screaming that he was about to burst into laughter to prove his smugness. "Stop pretending. Your so-called big brother wanted to see me, wasn't it because of this? Anyone who isn't a priest and carries this thing will either die or be maimed. Who did this to you? Who came after you, you unlucky bastard? You're lucky you found me."

Before his laughter had even finished, I pounced on him, grabbed his collar, and almost brought my nose to his. "You can cure this? What about the other person? How do you save them?"

Zong Yun moved with lightning speed. In my haste, how could He Nan possibly dodge? But before I could finish speaking and before he could answer, a burst of light suddenly lit up the dark tree hollow. It was a burning torch, falling like a meteor and illuminating everything in its path. Immediately afterward, a gust of wind swept towards me. Before He Nan could even utter a cry of surprise, I was grabbed by the back of the collar and thrown away. The gust of wind was already in front of me, whips flashing, launching more than a dozen attacks at He Nan. I felt dizzy, and in the blink of an eye, I was caught, while He Nan was forced into a corner, pressed against the cave wall, his neck tightly wrapped with a long whip, his eyes wide open, not daring to move an inch.

2

The person who caught me was Sangza. Several ropes were hanging down from the top of the tree hole, and several people climbed down the ropes. They were all from the pasture. When they jumped down and saw me, they all shouted and yelled.

Sangza put me down on the ground and spoke to me in Chinese: "Little brother, how did you fall into this place? We've been looking for you on the grasslands and we're going crazy."

The last one to jump down was Elizabeth. She grabbed me and her eyes welled up with tears. "Little brother Ping An, we've finally found you! How could we face Brother Mo if we lost you because of us?"

He Nan's neck was wrapped with a long whip. This whip was the one that Elizabeth had prepared for Mo Li. Although it was not as good as the magical whip with a golden thread inside that he was used to, it was still made of intertwined cowhide, dark and extremely sturdy. This master of martial arts was not good enough. After being strangled for a long time, he had difficulty breathing and his face turned purple. However, he did not stop babbling. After hearing what Sangza and Elizabeth said, he immediately struggled and grimaced, saying, "What little brother? She is a girl."

“Girl?” Elizabeth exclaimed. “He is clearly a boy.”

At this critical moment, He Nan still had to answer questions, babbling on and on: "With this kind of bone structure and physique, you can tell at a glance that she's a girl. She doesn't even have an Adam's apple. How do you judge people like that?"

Elizabeth turned around, her face showing an incredulous expression, staring blankly at me, making me want to cover my chest again.

That look really hurt my pride...

I avoided her gaze and walked to Mo Li's side. He didn't turn around to look at me, only saying, "Ping An, go to the back." His voice was hoarser than usual.

Having been in the underworld for a long time, I've come to understand the meaning of subtlety more and more. Although I had a lot to say to him, I swallowed it back when I saw that we were surrounded by people. I grabbed his sleeve, brought it close to his ear, lowered my voice, and covered my mouth with one hand.

"This person is useful."

I leaned close to him, the hair by his ear brushing against my lips. My breath warmed my palm, and my lips burned. It was the skin by his ear that suddenly became hot, which startled me.

The heat suddenly dissipated, and he turned around, glaring at me: "Get away!"

I was startled, but what startled me even more was his face. The light in the cave was dim, but his face was deathly pale, like the moon, even in that dim light. When I saw him clearly, I was shocked and blurted out, "What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with you?" he asked me, his tone certain. Knowing I wouldn't get any answers from him, I immediately grabbed someone nearby. "Is my older brother injured? Tell me quickly!"

The man rattled off a long string of Mongolian words, and I almost screamed again. Luckily, Elizabeth understood what I was saying and gently said from the side, "Brother Mo is not injured. The plan went smoothly. We trapped all the cavalry in the valley. It's just that when Brother Mo came to find you, he suddenly felt unwell and couldn't move. He didn't want us to help him, which scared us. He was fine after a while."

When I fell, I was so terrified that I thought I was going to die. Now, after hearing what Elizabeth said and seeing his pale face, I know for sure it must be because of me.

After Mo Li and I got together, this happened more and more frequently. I thought of what He Nan said, that this thing was ominous and that most people who planted it would die a violent death. I was terrified and immediately reached out to grab his sleeve again. "I'm fine. I felt a little uncomfortable when I fell down, but I'm fine now."

Mo Li snorted, "I really can't leave you alone for even a moment." Then he turned his head away, no longer looking at me, and said to the crowd, "Master, could you please take Ping An upstairs first? I need to talk to this person alone."

"What do you want to talk to me about? Hey, don't go, Ping An, you haven't told your older brother about what we were talking about earlier, Ping An, Ping An." He Nan continued his incessant rambling, oblivious to the danger. Even the Mongolians who couldn't understand Chinese looked at him with pity. I was somewhat speechless, thinking that God is indeed fair. If someone has extraordinary talent in one area, then in other areas, it's truly lamentable, truly lamentable.

"You guys go up first, I want to stay with my older brother." I firmly refused the hand Elizabeth extended. Mo Li glanced back at me again. Although He Nan's medical skills were superb, his martial arts were extremely mediocre. He was anxious but dared not move rashly, only whining, "Yes, yes, you have to stay, otherwise how can we..."

The man's words were ambiguous and unclear, which made me furious. I was also afraid that he would blurt out everything in front of so many people, so I shouted, "Shut up!"

I spoke too late; he was already speechless. The long whip around his neck tightened suddenly, and he was talking too much and breathing too little. He only had time to grab the whip with both hands before his eyes suddenly turned mostly white.

Seeing that Mo Li's face was expressionless, but a chilling aura emanated from him, I knew something was wrong. I was afraid he would kill this legendary person who was the only one who could deal with those two insects on the spot. I immediately grabbed his arm and said, "Don't kill him, don't kill him, this person saved me." I quickly turned around to clear the area and urged Elizabeth and the others to leave, "You guys go up first, I have something to say to my older brother alone."

Mo Li glared at me, probably wanting to ask a lot of questions, but not wanting anyone else to hear. He simply said, "Master, since that's the case, thank you for helping me find peace. We have some personal matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave now. You can go upstairs first."

Eliza hesitated, then looked at me and Moli, a knowing look on his face. He grabbed his daughter's hand and said, "Alright, no need for thanks. We'll go up first and wait for you behind the mountain." He immediately led the men up the rope. These men were seasoned riders and wolf hunters on the grasslands, skilled and agile. Eliza, held by her father, couldn't break free and could only follow. But she kept glancing back at us, her eyes filled with longing and a hint of resentment. It was unclear whether she resented me for not telling her I wasn't a man, or for Moli's lack of response to her advances.

Finally, only three people remained in the cave. I was puzzled by Sangza's words, "Wait for us? Are we still going to go with them?"

“Let them wait, I still need them,” Mo Li said.

I said "oh," not knowing what Mo Li wanted to do with them, but those shepherds were naturally warm-hearted and had received such help from him, so they were unlikely to leave until they repaid him.

He Nan cried out, "Ping An, everyone's gone. How long is your brother going to keep me wrapped up with a whip? I'm about to suffocate."

After I finished speaking, Mo Li loosened the whip a little, and He Nan was finally able to catch his breath. But he used his first breath to speak. His neck was wrapped tightly, and his face was full of sorrow, but he still didn't give up nagging. He grimaced and made a funny face as he spoke. I couldn't help but laugh and tugged at Mo Li's sleeve, saying, "That's He Nan."

Mo Li's icy gaze finally revealed a hint of surprise. He looked closely at He Nan, who was being pestered like a dead rabbit, and said coldly, "How can you prove it?"

He Nan shook his sleeve, revealing his left hand that had been hidden in his robe sleeve. I glanced at it in the dim firelight and didn't think anything of it, but when I looked at it more closely, my eyes suddenly widened.