Bizhou is not a prosperous place, and the main city where Xu Zhuchen is staying is already the most prosperous place. It was still sparsely populated when he arrived yesterday. As for today, I don't know if it was because of the martial arts competition, but there was a crowd of people in front of the drug store.
Fortunately, although there were many people, the pharmacist prescribed medicine quickly enough, and Xu Zhuchen was queued into the room in a short time.
She raised her head and met the kind face of the old woman who was taking the medicine.
"Yeah! The girl has nice hair. What disease did she have?"
Xu Zhuchen smiled ashamedly: "I'm not sick. My friend accidentally fell and injured his meridians."
The old woman smiled, lowered her head while writing the prescription, and said: "Is it just a fall that damages the meridians?"
As soon as she said these words, Xu Zhuchen suddenly felt a few cold looks coming from his side. She calmly observed the people around her - targeting the candied haws seller, the sweeper, and the three people who broke one hand and were moaning in pain - if these people were alone, she was sure to deal with them all, but if Rushing forward together, her confidence was greatly reduced.
Just as Zhuchen was thinking about it, the old man behind him coughed impatiently and said, "It's so troublesome to get some medicine! If you were the one who did it, it would be great if you just admit it!"
Zhu Chen looked at the old woman in front of him. She was still smiling softly. Her dark eyes were like two obsidians on her wrinkled face. They were pitch black, as bottomless as the internal energy around her body.
Xu Zhuchen was suddenly shocked - the real master in this pharmacy was this old woman!
With the addition of this old lady, Xu Zhuchen's winning rate can be ignored. She did not dare to make a mistake in front of the elderly senior, and quickly showed a smile: "I am ashamed to say that when I was competing with my friend, I was anxious and hurt him. He was afraid that speaking out would damage my reputation, so he asked me to tell him. He was injured by the fall." She straightened up, bowed around her, and said loudly, "I have met all the seniors in Xiameichuan, Xu Zhuchen."
"Meichuan Xu Zhuchen!" "Meichuan? That Wudu Meichuan?" "No wonder her hair is white, she is the 'Jianxin' Xu Zhuchen in Meichuan!" "Is she the eldest lady of the salt merchant Mr. Xu's family? "I heard that she came with Mr. Fa Xiaoshi, which means -" "Old Yang, you just urged me, go and make amends to the girl!"
The whispers behind her reached Xu Zhuchen's ears. She noticed that the eyes staring at her moved away one by one. Then she felt relieved and bowed to the old woman before leaving.
"Miss Xu, stay."
Xu Zhuchen paused and turned around: "I wonder if you have any other advice, senior?"
The old woman raised her hand with a smile: "You forgot to take your friend's medicine."
The experience at the drug store gave Zhu Chen a vague premonition. She became more determined to go to Langya's martial arts conference to find out.
Zhuchen greeted the store owner and moved his luggage from downstairs to the room next to his. As soon as I put it away, I heard several rapid coughs next door.
Xu Zhuchen hurriedly ran over. Fang Yi pushed open the door next door, and Zhu Chen saw the man sitting on the bed, with blood stains from the cough hanging on the corner of his mouth, and his face was completely bloodless.
Zhu Chen raised his hand, subconsciously wanting to help him move his energy smoothly. Suddenly he remembered that the man had no internal energy, so he had to put down his hand angrily, feeling a little regretful for a moment.
Her father often said that she lacked a correct understanding of herself, and she never understood what he meant. Talking about modesty, during the sword debate in Xiangshan Mountain, she almost knocked senior Tang Jin off the cliff with one sword. She admitted that it was because she was young and had quick reflexes. If she had better internal strength, she would have no chance of winning. Another example is that today in the drug store, she felt resentful and dissatisfied precisely because she knew she was not capable enough.
Now that she had injured an ordinary person, she truly realized the weight of these words.
People who practice martial arts have to put in a thousand times more sweat than ordinary people in martial arts to be able to establish themselves. However, ordinary people also put in all kinds of efforts in life in order to live peacefully. Neither of them is superior to the other, and there is no so-called "camp". Warriors practice martial arts in order to act chivalrously and fight injustice. What they do is the "chivalry" of ordinary people, and they rely on the "righteousness" of the common people. Their purpose is also to help the people in places that are beyond the reach of the court. If you bully the people and use your martial arts as a tool to manipulate other people's lives, isn't it completely contrary to the original intention of practicing martial arts?
Over the years, she has devoted herself to honing her martial arts skills, but she has forgotten that the foundation of walking in the world lies in the word "benevolence".
Thinking of this, Xu Zhuchen felt extremely ashamed. She took out a cloth towel from the basin, wiped the cold sweat and blood from Han Ling's face, and asked, "Are you feeling uncomfortable in any way?"
Han Ling half-reclined and half-reclined, and said weakly: "I...cough...suddenly there is a tight pain in my body, cough...maybe my muscles and bones are broken..."
Xu Zhuchen nodded clearly and threw the towel back into the basin: "I'll go downstairs and borrow the store's stove to fry the medicine."
Han Ling sat up quickly. The wound was pulled and he almost coughed up blood. Zhu Chen quickly supported him and asked: "Why did you get up suddenly? This is not good for the injury!"
Han Ling forced a smile: "Girl... thank you. No need to trouble the store. I, ahem, I have a small stove in my own room... I will, ahem... boil the medicine myself."
Xu Zhuchen tried to dissuade him several times, but he couldn't resist Han Ling. Besides, the patient was too big, so he had to agree to let him cook the medicine himself. She took the medicine from next door to Han Ling, jumped into the backyard and went to Han Ling's cabin to move the stove.
Seeing Xu Zhuchen come into the backyard, Han Ling secretly mobilized his internal energy to repair his meridians. He put one hand on the heart for treatment and opened the medicine bag with the other hand.
Seeing the rows of sumu in the medicine bag, Han Ling finally breathed a sigh of relief and showed a long-lost smile.
"Zhu Chen, you and I always have the best understanding."
The nourishment of meridians by internal force is not the same as that of medicine. The medicine improves all aspects of the body so that the injury will not kill you, while the internal force precisely heals the injured location, filling the shortfall and bridging the meridians from the root.
Han Ling's meridians were severed once when he was most suitable for practicing martial arts, and he was no longer able to generate internal energy. But thanks to this, the inner strength of others is not mutually exclusive with him. Although it was a bit of a waste to use these two pure internal powers to heal injuries, it was much better than the days of being bullied and insulted by others.
Just like him now, even though he was lying on the bed with injuries all over his body, it was much better than staying in Mu's house as a handyman and living under the hands of his enemies every day.
He was able to escape from Mu Mansion thanks to the book in his arms.
Han Ling's hand moved slightly away from his heart and touched the book hidden in the middle of his clothes.
Zhuchen hadn't come back yet, so he didn't dare to take out the book rashly. The martial arts practitioner's footsteps were faster than he thought. When Zhu Chen went down to get the medicine, he wanted to take out the book to see if it was damaged, but before he could untie his clothes, Zhu Chen's footsteps could be heard. got up.
Even though Han Ling already knew that Zhu Chen was the new "No. 1 Sword in the World", her impressive Qing Gong amazed him. If Han Ling thought correctly, Zhuchen should have reached the top level of "Ningqing Footwork".
It comes like thunder to absorb its wrath, and ends like the clear light of the river and sea. Ningqing Footwork is the most widely circulated Qinggong secret book in the world. There is almost no threshold required to get started, but there are really few people who can practice it to the top.
According to the speed of Ning Qing's footwork, Zhu Chen should have returned. Sure enough, Han Ling silently counted three times in his heart and heard Xu Zhuchen's footsteps.
He has cultivated to this point, but he doesn't hide his footsteps at all. I don't know if he is being magnanimous or stupid.
Han Ling sighed.
If he could have grown up with Zhu Chen and Shi Song, would he have been such a frank and forthright person?
Unfortunately, he himself knew that the answer to this question was "no." Zhu Chen is magnanimous and sincere because she was born to be magnanimous and sincere. As she grew up, she strengthened her belief in upholding the right path and being a chivalrous and righteous person, so she firmly embarked on this path. The Taoist mind is not easy, so the character does not change. And since he was a child, he has loved to be lazy and smooth. With his talent far beyond ordinary people, he believes in muddle along and only works on things that interest him. If it hadn't been for a sudden change, he himself couldn't say whether "Han Ling" would be what it is today.
He has always been not as determined as Zhu Chen, not as far-sighted as his elders, and even not as talented as Shi Song, who works hard.
Thinking of Shi Song, the internal energy that was slowly pouring suddenly became sharp, piercing Han Ling's heart without any explanation. Han Ling quickly stopped, but was still stabbed. This stab had already caused considerable damage to his fragile body, causing Han Ling to spurt blood onto the sheets.
This was what Xu Zhuchen saw when he entered the door, and his face turned pale with fright. She hurriedly put down the stove, stepped over to Han Ling's bedside, supported him, and used her inner strength to help him calm down.
Suddenly he vomited blood, and Han Ling's eyes turned dark for a moment. When he could see things again, what appeared in front of him was Xu Zhuchen's worried face.
Snow-white hair hung messily behind her ears, her thin face was darkened, and her big eyes showed deep worry, Xu Zhuchen's face.
Han Ling wanted to laugh a little. Zhu Chen has been unkempt since he was a child, and even a small investigation mission can make him look like a clay figure. In the past, every time she made such a fool of herself, Han Ling and Shi Song would stand aside and laugh at her loudly.
But his tears fell.
In fact, he couldn't feel much pain, but tears fell on Xu Zhuchen's face drop by drop.
Han Ling's tears were very warm, which made Xu Zhuchen a little dazed. She subconsciously reached out to wipe away the water droplets on her face. When she lowered her head, she saw that her hands were completely black.
"Ah!" Xu Zhuchen said angrily, "I didn't pay attention when I took the coal just now and smeared the coal ash on my face. Brother, don't be offended."
She quickly wiped the stains on her face with her sleeves, and the black sleeves were soon wiped dirty and gray. Even so, she still supported Han Ling with one hand, as if she was afraid that he would suddenly faint without making a sound.
Han Ling smiled helplessly: "Zhu... this girl, I'm fine. I just choked accidentally."
Xu Zhuchen stretched out his hand to feel his forehead temperature, carefully laid him across the bed, and took out a towel from the basin, ready to wipe Han Ling's face.
Han Ling paused and said, "Girl, that towel is used."
Xu Zhuchen rolled his eyes, squeezed out the water in the towel, soaked it in the basin and rinsed it, then squeezed out the remaining water with satisfaction.
"Is it clean now?"
"This..." Han Ling was speechless for a moment. The habit of being a servant in Mu Mansion made him a little resistant to this dirty towel, but Zhu Chen obviously didn't feel Han Ling's emotions, with a handsome face. It’s full of things that are natural and natural.
She picked up the crumpled towel that was stained with blood, filth and sewage, and stretched it towards Han Ling's face without any explanation.
Han Ling tried his best to control the muscles on his face to shrink back, but Xu Zhuchen couldn't refuse. The two of them were at odds - Han Ling thought it lasted at least half a quarter of an hour, but in Zhu Chen's eyes it was only a brief moment - after a while, Han Ling finally resigned his face and let the cloth touch his face.
Thinking on the bright side, this is just a piece of dough that is easy to use, a consumable item that can be replaced. Han Ling convinced himself silently, trying his best to endure while feeling Zhu Chen's movements.
Zhu Chen's hand was steady and precise, and he wiped away the semi-solidified blood in a few strokes. He turned the towel over and gently wiped off Han Ling's sweat with the back. She is very skilled at doing these things. Come to think of it, when Shi Song was sparring with her, she took care of him many times.
After doing this, Zhu Chen soaked the cloth in the basin again. As if aware of Han Ling's gaze, she picked up the cloth and put it back in the basin to conceal it.
"You take good care of yourself. Xu Zhuchen won't disturb you." Zhuchen said, "The stove is here. I put the coal on the top of the stove in the white cloth bag."
Han Ling looked at her fingers one by one and nodded: "I understand, thank you Miss Xu."
Zhu Chen also nodded and gently closed the door. After taking two steps, she turned around and came back, pushed the door open and said with fists in her hands:
"I haven't asked my dear brother for his surname yet. May I ask how you call me?"
Han Ling's hands were tightly squeezed under the quilt. He tried his best to force out a smile and said, "My name is... Ling Han. There are several plum blossoms in the corner. Ling Han bloomed alone."
"I knew it wasn't snow because of the subtle fragrance." Zhu Chen said with a hearty smile without thinking too much, "What a good name."
Han Ling also smiled and said, "Yes." He watched Zhu Chen close the door and then relaxed his clenched fists.
There was a tingling pain in the palm of my hand, a scar from the past.
Zhu Chen walked briskly to the next door. Han Ling felt a little funny when he heard her mumbling something while sitting heavily on the wicker chair. At this moment, he felt slightly relieved.
He took out the book hidden in his heart, looked at the golden crow falling to the ground outside the window, calculated in his mind, and turned to page 37.
Sure enough, a line of bright red hairpin flowers appeared on the page——
"May 16th, Yanshan Inn."
May 16th, exactly five days later.
