Outside, the lively streets buzzed with raucous laughter and warm conversation, illuminated by the flickering glow of colorful lanterns swaying gently in the evening breeze.
In stark contrast, inside the medicinal herb shop, a tranquil hush enveloped the space where the cool silver light of the full moon bathed the interior.
The air was rich with an earthy, pungent aroma—a heady blend of various dried herbs, roots, and botanicals. The steady, rhythmic sound of a mortar and pestle grinding filled the stillness, its cadence punctuated by the occasional clink of jars being unstoppered.
The young, lanky shop assistant moved with a tireless energy, his footsteps creaking up and down the wooden stairs to the second floor as he tended to the needs of his patients.
Those patients were none other than Ji Wuye's Senior Sisters, all currently seated on plush cushions strewn across the floor.
They looked utterly haggard—exhaustion etched deeply into the lines of their faces, their typically pristine white martial robes crumpled, tangled.
Fatigue weighed heavily upon them, pulling their slender frames to lean tiredly against the cushions as their eyelids blinked slowly, struggling to stay open.
Yet even in their depleted states, all of them—especially Lian Rougang and Qiu Xia—kept their watchful gazes fixed upon their beloved Junior Brother, Ji Wuye, checking on him repeatedly until finally succumbing to a restless slumber one by one, leaving only Qiu Xia still awake.
"You are fortunate...no, it's truly a miracle you all managed to make it here safely from the Kunlun , especially you, Heroine Qiu Xia," the young and lanky assistant remarked softly. “You’ve suffered a bone fracture. Even with Jade Marrow Paste, you’ll need at least six to eight weeks to fully heal.”
Qiu Xia remained silent, her typically expressive face an inscrutable mask as the young and lanky shop keeper assistant meticulously explained the extent of her injuries while gingerly unwrapping the bloodied bandages from her legs.
He noticed the slight tremors wracking her body and the occasional wince of pain that flickered across her delicate features as he carefully tightened fresh linen around the gruesome compound fractures, both of her slender calves bent unnaturally.
Moving with the utmost care, the young and lanky shop keeper assistant then turned his attention to tending the others, diligently applying fragrant medicinal pastes to their swollen areas and gently brushing the cool unguents over their cuts and bruises with a feather-light touch against their smooth skin.
"This healing process is taking too long," Ji Wuye remarked, his clear voice cutting through the stillness like a blade.
He briefly flicked his eyes over towards his Senior Sister Qiu Xia, who knelt in a meditative pose nearby. Her eyes were closed in concentration, her brow furrowed slightly as the shimmering tendrils of her swirling Qi visibly flowed and pulsed around her body in a steady, controlled rhythm—being drawn inwards to accelerate her recovery.
"That herb paste is merely the first stage for stabilizing their conditions, Master," the young and lanky shop keeper assistant replied, snapping back to attention. After carefully applying the last of the green, pungent unguent to both Lian Rougang and Shen Bi's injuries, he immediately turned and descended the creaking wooden stairs to the shop floor below.
Moments later, the young and lanky shop keeper assistant returned bearing an ornately carved wooden chest, its polished surface glinting in the moonlight as he cautiously ascended the steps once more. "We'll need to use stronger medicine—the Jade Marrow restoration pills—to truly accelerate the healing process," he explained, gingerly setting the box down on the low table.
With deft fingers, the young and lanky shop keeper assistant deftly unlocked and opened the intricately carved lid, revealing a row of small, perfectly round pellets nestled within—each no larger than a pearl.
Their surfaces shimmered like polished jade, alternating between a translucent emerald green core and a milky white outer layer that seemed to shift and swirl lazily, resembling something precious carved from the living marrow of the earth itself.
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The young and lanky shop keeper assistant carefully plucked one of the shimmering pills from its velvet bed, cradling it reverently in his palm as he began to expound upon its properties with the rapt fascination of a child discovering a wondrous new curiosity.
"These remarkable restoration pills are painstakingly crafted using the rarest and most potent of ingredients," he explained, his voice hushed with awe.
"The base consists of powdered By Deer Antler, prized for its regenerative and vitality-enhancing properties, combined with Lotus Seed to stabilize and harmonize the body's Qi flow. But the true healing power comes from the Bone-Knitting Root and Crimson Essence Herb—alchemical marvels specifically designed to mend even the most grievous of fractures."
He paused, gently rolling the jade-like pellet between his fingers as his eyes shone with unbridled enthusiasm.
"Consuming just one of these precious pills will shorten the recovery time by an incredible two weeks!" the young and lanky shop keeper assistant could barely contain the excited quaver in his voice as he carefully replaced the pill within its ornate wooden cradle.
"These restorative pellets..." Qiu Xia's voice trailed off as her meditation was interrupted by the sight of the jade-like gleaming pills.
A flicker of undisguised longing and hope crossed her typically stoic features before she caught herself, swiftly reining in the emotional tell.
She shook her head almost imperceptibly, though her gaze remained irresistibly drawn to the precious medicine laid out before her. "I appreciate your kind offer, but the herbal paste will suffice for now, Mr," Her tone was firm, authoritative, yet carried an unmistakable undercurrent of reluctance.
Ji Wuye, on the other hand, observed his Senior Sister in contemplative silence, noticing the way Qiu Xia's slender fingers twitched almost imperceptibly against the fabric of her robes—the only outward sign of the pain she refused to show.
‘Unlike Senior Sister Shen Bi, who often reveals her vulnerability to me, or Senior Sister Lian, who is always so generous, you’re the only one who remains steadfast...’ His thoughts trailed off.
"Senior Sister..." Ji Wuye began hesitantly, carefully weighing his words as his mind lingered on Qiu Xia's failed attempt to mask the agony she was undoubtedly enduring.
He could not ignore the harsh reality that his Senior Sister's legs would be left unusable for well over a month—an agonizingly long recovery for any martial artist at their prime.
Among all his Senior Sisters, Qiu Xia was the ‘pride.’
"Ehm..." the young and lanky shop keeper assistant fidgeted nervously, his eyes flicking back and forth between the calm, composed Ji Wuye and the inscrutable Qiu Xia, whose piercing stare remained locked intensely on the ornate pill box despite her initial refusal of the potent medicine.
"Master Ji has pre-paid for the restoration pills as part of your treatment," the young and lanky shop keeper assistant finally blurted out, his voice cracking slightly as he broke the loaded silence. "Th-There's no need to worry about the expense."
Qiu Xia's head snapped up, her eyes meeting Ji Wuye's with a startlingly intense mixture of reproach, gratitude, and something else—something achingly vulnerable that she seldom allowed to show on her face in front of him, her beloved Junior.
"Junior..." she began in a low, strained voice. "You've already done so much—" Her words caught in her throat, leaving the sentence unfinished as her stern facade threatened to crack.
"I only hope this allows you to recover swiftly without hindering your progress along the martial path, Senior Sister," Ji Wuye replied softy. His familiar serene smile touched his lips, tempering the lingering concern that shone through in his warm crimson eyes.
Qiu Xia's breath hitched audibly in her throat as a myriad of emotions flickered rapidly across her typically inscrutable features.
There was so much she wanted to say in that moment—to harshly rebuke her junior for his reckless actions, especially upon learning he had foolishly fought and injured himself against the Elder; to firmly refuse his generous offer and insist him not waste such precious resources on her recovery when his own injuries still demanded urgent care.
But as she held Ji Wuye's earnest, unwavering gaze, all the words she had prepared to berate him seemed to tangle inextricably in her throat.
Her worries, her concern...
"You... foolish... how could you..." Tears streamed down her cheeks for a brief moment before she hastily wiped them away.
Then her eyes lowered in a rare moment of demure vulnerability before him, a faint, wistful smile tugging at the corners of her lips as a flash of guilt colored her cheeks.
"Thank you...Junior," she finally murmured, her voice little more than a soft rasp thick.
...
After ensuring all of his Senior Sisters were resting soundly—noting that only the stubborn Qiu Xia remained in a meditative trance, undoubtedly trying to accelerate her own healing—Ji Wuye turned his focus inward to tend to his own battered body's recovery.
'Time to reap the benefits of my training,' he thought, settling himself cross-legged on a plush cushion. He calmed his breathing, the steady inhale and exhale helping to center his mind and guide him into a deep, trance-like meditative state.
Rather than drawing Qi from the world around him, Ji Wuye began the painstaking process of manipulating and channeling the potent Qi stored within his lower dantian. Extending his awareness outward, he carefully probed the numerous locations of his grievous injuries.
But...
To his dismay, the extent of the damage was far worse than even Ji Wuye had anticipated. Dozens of deep, ragged lacerations adorned nearly every inch of his body, the savaged flesh twitching and throbbing with intense phantom pains.
His skin, muscles, and tendons weren't just torn—they had been brutally slashed, severed and ripped apart by the overwhelming force he had faced. No wonder he could barely move his hands or limbs without searing agony lancing through him.
This devastating condition was the direct result of foolishly facing over ten martial artists simultaneously, all of them at the 7th Realm or higher, as they unleashed their Zones directly upon his body. Even the his Unbreakable Vajra body had ultimately failed to withstand the overwhelming onslaught.
'If not for the sake of increasing my skill's proficiency, I would never have risked taking such grievous risk,' Ji Wuye thought solemnly.
After meticulously inspecting and assessing the devastating wounds that ravaged his body, he began the arduous process of guiding his Qi outward from his Lower Dantian.
As the Qi flowed through the meridian pathways, his next step was to focus his concentration and form a series of temporary micro Dantians—each one a small, tightly controlled vortex of spinning spiritual energy—precisely at the site of every laceration, puncture, and contusion marring his battered frame.
These carefully focused Qi nodes served to accelerate the body’s natural healing process, rapidly knitting together his torn muscles, severed tendons, and damaged skin.
image [https://i.ibb.co.com/YXvsxwb/Notif-1-1.webp]