A shrill whistle pierced the tense silence, escaping from beneath the faint veil shrouding Xing Shufen's mouth.

Her eyes widened with ravenous intrigue, utterly transfixed by the sight unfolding before her—a tall, lithe young man with snow-white hair cascading past his shoulders.

Concern etched his handsome features as he gazed down at Lian Roungang's crumpled form on the vast wooden platform, having materialized there as if from thin air.

"So, it's you, the man I've been searching for," Xing Shufen murmured huskily. Beneath the concealing veil, her tongue slowly traced her lower lip, leaving a glistening trail as a greedy smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She began prowling forward, hips swaying with predatory grace.

"Wow... just look at that young man," a voice piped up from the stunned crowd.

"That's Master Ji! I've glimpsed him before!" another whispered in awe.

Like Xing Shufen, the rest of the spectators were frozen, shock and fascination etched on their faces as they drank in the sight of the striking young man tenderly ministering to the fallen female disciples of Kunlun.

However, the Kunlun Official Disciples reacted quite differently to Ji Wuye's sudden appearance.

An Official Disciple's face contorted with outrage as he surged forward, robes billowing. "Junior Brother Ji? What in the hells are you playing at?! Get out of our way! We need to get them to the physician immediately!" he bellowed, jabbing an accusatory finger.

"Out of the way, Flower Boy! You're only obstructing us!" Another Official Disciple snapped, fury blazing in his eyes as he too leapt onto the platform, fists clenched.

"Ji Wuye..." In contrast, Wu Gao and Hao Hanying halted, brows furrowing in bewildered surprise before they followed suit, alighting on the platform.

…

While the onlookers gawked, Ji Wuye seemed oblivious to the commotion. With infinite tenderness, he cradled Lian Roungang's battered form, gently brushing aside the sweat-damp strands clinging to her ashen face.

The Senior Sister averted her gaze, shame and shallow, pained breaths shuddering through her frame. Her white martial robes were crumpled and soiled, deep crimson scratches scoring her flesh, and ugly mottled bruises already beginning to blossom.

"Why, Senior Sister?" Ji Wuye's voice was scarcely above a whisper, rich with sorrow and concern as his blazing crimson eyes roved over her injuries. "Why didn't you give up?"

His Senior Sister seemed unable to muster a reply, so Ji Wuye slowly reached toward the spot between her furrowed brows.

"Ugh..." A guttural groan slipped from Lian Roungang's pale lips as she lay there, chest rising and falling in shallow, pained breaths. Shame burned her cheeks as she steadfastly avoided his concerned gaze.

"The Yin Tang," Ji Wuye murmured, the faintest of smiles tugging at his mouth as his fingers hovered over that vital pressure point. "It will help your body relax and allow the Qi to flow more smoothly, speeding your natural healing process." With infinite gentleness, he pressed down.

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Another full-body shudder rippled through her abused form. Undeterred, Ji Wuye shifted his hand, fingers seeking the spot between her thumb and index finger. "This will help relieve your pain and reduce the swelling and bruising." His deep voice remained a reassuring murmur as he patiently tended to her, explaining each precise movement.

Only once he had done all he could did Ji Wuye finally tear his gaze away, ruby eyes sweeping over the other fallen female disciples.

A starburst of anguish lanced through his chest, as if a thousand knives pierced his flesh. His breath caught, ragged in his throat, as images from a past timeline flickered and overlapped with the hellish scene laid bare before him.

"Huff..." With a monumental force of will, Ji Wuye tamped down the tidal wave of emotions threatening to drown him. He regained his tenuous grip on composure. There beside Senior Sister Lian lay Qiu Xia, Shen Bi, and Ding Xiuying—all achingly familiar faces. Two were Senior Sisters he cherished deeply.

Shen Bi's petite frame trembled with silent sobs that had wracked her slender form ever since Ji Wuye's sudden arrival. He approached, heart clenching.

"J-Junior..." Her voice broke on a hiccuping cry. "I'm glad--"

"Shh..." Ji Wuye hushed her gently, caressing her disheveled ponytail in a soothing gesture. "You're strong, Senior Sister. Stronger than even me, I believe."

As the words slipped from his lips, Ji Wuye's fingers deftly found the vital pressure points along Shen Bi's body. She groaned, arching against an unseen force, before at last relaxing as tensions seeped from her muscles.

"I'll check on Senior Sister Qiu now," Ji Wuye murmured, the faint ghost of a reassuring smile curving his lips as he gave Shen Bi's shoulder one final comforting squeeze before rising fluidly to his feet.

He crossed the short distance to where Qiu Xia lay, crouching beside her comparatively unscathed form with quiet concern etched into his handsome features. Outwardly, she appeared less severely injured than her peers, yet..

"Don't speak, Junior." Qiu Xia's voice lashed out like a whip-crack, cutting him off before he could even begin. Her eyes narrowed, chin lifting in a defiant tilt despite her prone position. "I don't need your pity. I need to stay strong, so don't—"

Unlike the labored breaths of Lian Roungang and Shen Bi's muted sobs, Qiu Xia's words rang with an eerie composure at stark odds with the trembling of her legs.

Her white martial robes hung in soiled tatters, unable to conceal the mottled bruises and grotesque swelling marring her limbs.

Though she fought to mask it, anguish flickered across her face with every shallow inhalation, and the steady trickle of blood seeping from beneath her tightly clenched palm stained her robes a damning crimson.

As Ji Wuye's fingers gently prodded and assessed the damage, he felt relief course through him.

'A fracture at worst, but thankfully no more than that,' his mental evaluation concluded. Qiu Xia had wisely drained her Qi to maintain a protective barrier, preventing graver injuries.

'But a dislocation and severe muscle strain,' he determined, lips thinning into a grim line as her legs continued their uncontrolled shuddering—the obvious causes for her inability to stand unaided.

He knew the precise sequence to accelerate her healing, but performing such intimate ministrations in so public a setting would surely deal a crippling blow to her pride.

But there was one fact that made him angry... his face darkened as his eyes narrowed.

"How is this allowed in a mere sparring match?" Ji Wuye growled, the words clipped and laced with an icy undercurrent of fury.

But then...

Unwelcome hands seized his neck and shoulder in a bruising grip, attempting to haul him bodily away from Qiu Xia's side.

"Don't act like you know anything, Junior!" one of the officious Kunlun Official Disciples snarled with disdain. "You've been touching everything—how shameful! Using this kind of opportunity!"

They strained fruitlessly, eyes bulging with shock as Ji Wuye refused to budge even a hairsbreadth from his half-kneeling stance beside the fallen Qiu Xia.

Slowly, Ji Wuye rose to his full height, an invisible force sending the two Official Disciples stumbling backwards to land in an undignified heap.

"Even without the Senior Official Disciple here, that doesn't give you leave to bully Kunlun's disciples," he stated, voice echoing with quiet menace.

As Ji Wuye stood tall, surveying the chaotic scene, the cacophony of noise surrounding him finally registered. Whispers and mutters swelled like a rising tide, carrying on the charged currents of speculation and unease.

"Who is this arrogant young man? Since when does a low-ranking Kunlun disciple dare act so boldly?"

The words sliced through the tense air with surgical precision, a soft yet clearly audible voice emanating from the elevated guest area. Despite their hushed tone, the disdainful utterance rang out like a bell against the vast wooden platform.

"Looks like Kunlun has some internal problems to deal with..."

"This isn't the time for grandstanding. They're losing badly enough as it is, and now some unknown disciple suddenly appears out of nowhere..."

The crowd's reaction washed over Ji Wuye in cresting waves of pessimism and doubt, yet a surprising number still watched with undisguised curiosity burning in their eyes.

On the other hand, Ji Wuye's crimson gaze swept over them with obvious disinterest before settling, heavy as a judge's immutable stare, upon Wu Gao and Hao Hanying.

The two disciples stood nearby, brows etched into identical frowns of disapproval.

"Junior Brother." Wu Gao's tone brooked no argument as it cut through the tense atmosphere. "It would be best if you stepped aside now. We need to get your Senior Sisters to the physician immediately." His eyes narrowed in emphasis, daring Ji Wuye to defy his instruction.

But Ji Wuye didn't even spare his Senior Brother a prolonged glance before his burning stare shifted, inexorably drawn to where Xing Shufen stood.

"So it's you," Ji Wuye intoned, his gaze locking onto the veiled woman as she swayed closer.

A serpentine smile curved Xing Shufen's lips as she winked salaciously, sinuous movements accentuating the long, bare expanse of her shapely legs and toned arms as if performing some hypnotic dance of seduction.

"It's me, honey," she purred in response, each syllable dripping with honeyed promise.