Proud Sword Soaring Clouds-Chapter 31 - 30: Healing

Only then did the nobleman, who had been scared stiff, finally react. He roared at the back of the carriage, which was already disappearing in a cloud of dust, "Shameless! Depraved! Despicable! How dare you rob a nobleman?! You will face the full wrath of the Empire’s laws! You... you’ll get what’s coming to you!"

"My lord, we should hurry and leave," the carriage driver reminded him in a low voice.

The nobleman shuddered, glanced at the corpses littering the ground, and cursed, "Damn it!"

He pulled the woman onto the carriage Ling Xiao had left behind, muttering curses at the other driver while urging his own to get them away from this godforsaken place.

The other carriages wished they could go twice as fast, wanting only to get as far away from this place as possible.

Everyone understood the consequences of killing more than a dozen Mercenaries. They hadn’t even seen how the driver attacked before all those powerful Mercenaries were dead!

Just a moment ago, they had the distinct feeling that if any of them had dared to say another word, the driver would have run them through with his sword without a moment’s hesitation.

’That girl in black with the veil must be the one the Mercenaries were looking for.’ Some even thought to themselves that if the Mercenaries caught up, they would immediately tell them everything, lest that anger be directed at them.

The carriage sped along the flat, official road. Ye Wen Ni pulled back the carriage curtain and said, "There’s an intersection up ahead. We can take it to a smaller path. That way, we won’t have to worry about being followed."

"If we stay on the main road, how far is it to the next major town?" Ling Xiao asked, his tone nonchalant.

"A town? There’s one about fifty li ahead. This carriage is fast, so we should be there shortly. But they’ve probably already heard about what just happened. They use trained falcons to send messages, which are much faster than our carriage!"

Ye Wen Ni gained a whole new appreciation for Ling Xiao’s incredible audacity... ’He still dares to travel on the main road?!’

Ling Xiao said nothing, simply driving the carriage forward in silence. In the distance, he saw a town about three to five li away. Beside the road was a dilapidated, winding path that snaked off to some unknown destination. Ling Xiao stopped the carriage and said nonchalantly, "Get out."

The smell inside the carriage had mostly dissipated. She had to admit, the carriage was quite comfortable. Ye Wen Ni tried her best not to think about the sordid business that had just occurred inside, which improved her mood considerably. Unfortunately, the wound in her right shoulder was starting to hurt more and more.

This was the first time she had been injured by Sword Qi. She had heard people talk about how painful Sword Qi wounds were, but she never imagined it would happen to her. She couldn’t help but let out a few soft moans before biting her lip hard, forcing herself silent so that blockhead wouldn’t laugh at her.

Ye Wen Ni was taken aback. She had just gotten comfortable. Why did she have to get out? She opened the carriage door, her brow furrowed in pain, and snapped at Ling Xiao, "Why do I have to get out? I’m perfectly fine in here!"

"Foolish," Ling Xiao scoffed. "You think they can’t track this carriage?"

Ye Wen Ni was speechless. She did feel foolish. In truth, the pain from her wound was getting to her; otherwise, with her sharp mind, how could she have missed such an obvious problem?

’To be made a fool of by this inexperienced blockhead!’

Mortified and annoyed, she could only endure it. She grabbed the large money pouch the noble had left behind, jumped down from the carriage, and tossed it to Ling Xiao. "You’re the man, you carry it!"

"You still owe me one thousand Gold Coins," Ling Xiao said.

"..." Ye Wen Ni was so angry she was speechless. ’This man is insufferable. Ruthless, selfish, cunning... In short, he’s not a good person!’

"Stand still," Ling Xiao said suddenly. "Take off your clothes."

"What do you want?" Ye Wen Ni stared at Ling Xiao warily. She suddenly remembered where he had grabbed her yesterday, and a flush of shame and anger spread across her face. She raged, "You pervert! I was wrong about you! You... you’re shameless! Ling Xiao, I’d rather die than let you have your way!"

"Just expose your injured shoulder," Ling Xiao said, ignoring her fury. "I don’t like traveling with a burden, either."

Ye Wen Ni felt a suffocating tightness in her chest, which heaved violently. The man before her, who had somehow darkened his own skin, looked as detestable as ever. She had the sudden urge to cut him down with a single sword strike.

"Are you going to do it or not?" Ling Xiao was growing impatient. He was trying to be kind and treat her wound, but she was hesitating. ’Fine, then. Let it hurt.’ With that thought, Ling Xiao turned to leave.

"W-wait, I’ll do it..." Ye Wen Ni’s voice was barely a whisper. Then, with a hint of anger, she added, "I’m a girl, can’t you be a little more considerate?"

’I knew I had to be on guard around you at all times,’ Ling Xiao thought with a purse of his lips. Ye Wen Ni turned her back to him and slowly peeled off her top, revealing a patch of fair, delicate skin. Her finely sculpted shoulders were exposed, and from behind, he could see that her Ear Roots had turned bright red.

Ling Xiao stood calmly behind Ye Wen Ni, looking at the slight redness and swelling on her shoulder. The wound left by the Sword Qi wasn’t obvious.

"This might hurt a little. Bear with it," Ling Xiao said. He then took a case of Golden Needles from his robes, selected three, and swiftly inserted them into Ye Wen Ni’s shoulder.

"Ngh..." A piercing pain shot through her, and tears immediately streamed from Ye Wen Ni’s eyes. She was in too much pain to worry about embarrassment. The tears flowed uncontrollably. If she didn’t know Ling Xiao meant her no harm, she would have sworn he was doing it on purpose.

To her utter astonishment, after the pain subsided, a searing heat, like a burning fire, spread from the wound. It traveled rapidly through the meridians of her body, leaving a warm and pleasant feeling in its wake. It felt so good that Ye Wen Ni almost moaned aloud, but she quickly clamped her mouth shut to avoid making any embarrassing sounds.

"You can try moving your arm," Ling Xiao said. He then walked to the carriage, raised his whip, and brought it down with a CRACK on one of the horse’s rumps. The horse cried out in pain and bolted down the small path, pulling the other horse along. The luxurious nobleman’s carriage rattled away and vanished from their sight in an instant.

Ye Wen Ni didn’t even need to test it; she knew her injury was already mostly healed. Although it might still need a few days to fully recover, the torturous pain was completely gone.

Ye Wen Ni silently put her clothes back on, biting her lower lip. From behind her veil, her captivating, star-like eyes gazed at Ling Xiao’s back, a ripple of emotion stirring in her heart.

’What miraculous medical skill!’ Although Ye Wen Ni didn’t know much about the Pharmacist profession, she knew there was usually no good way to treat a Sword Qi injury. The typical treatment involved some pain-relieving herbs and quiet rest. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

She never expected this young man to have cured it in a flash. She hadn’t even seen what Ling Xiao did; he hadn’t even touched her.

At this thought, Ye Wen Ni’s face couldn’t help but turn red again.

The two of them entered the town, bought a carriage and some dry rations, and continued on their way. They repeated this process several times.

「Five days later.」

Having changed carriages four times, they finally arrived at the last town before Vendia Snow Mountain—Vendia Town.

Watching that lonely figure walk without hesitation toward the vast, cloud-piercing snow mountain, Ye Wen Ni bit her lower lip hard and suddenly couldn’t stop herself from running after him.

Ling Xiao stopped and turned, his gaze resting calmly on Ye Wen Ni. She looked back at him.

After a long moment, Ye Wen Ni finally broke the silence. She lowered her head and said, "I have to supervise you. I’m afraid you’ll run off without giving me back my sword technique."

"Aren’t you afraid of dying?" Ling Xiao gazed calmly at the girl before him. She was dressed in a common Adventurer’s outfit with her hair tied in a ponytail, which made her look quite spirited.

"My name is Ye Wen Ni."