For the next few days, Bai Hua tirelessly searched through ancient books, trying to find a way to save Su Xiaoning. Su Qingcai stayed by Su Xiaoning's bedside, talking to her every day about how much he missed her, but he never received a response.
Su Xiaoning kept her eyes tightly closed, her consciousness hazy. She felt as if she were in a dream, but she couldn't find a way to wake up.
Just like when she was on the verge of death, she found herself in a vast, white expanse. She floated in the sea, drifting with the current, the sound of waves crashing in her ears, and faintly heard a familiar male voice, seemingly expressing his self-blame and pain, but she was powerless to respond.
Unlike before, this time there was no talking koi to guide her back to reality. Her mind was preoccupied with her initial answer: "Help yourself and help others." She had indeed done so, but what did she gain in return?
"Helping oneself and helping others..."
Su Xiaoning murmured unconsciously, and Su Qingcai, who was holding her hands tightly and was so sleepy and tired that he almost couldn't hold on, instantly woke up.
He was so excited that he wanted to help Su Xiaoning up, but he was afraid that he had misheard, so he only dared to reach out and gently stroke her cheek, as if he were protecting a shattered dream.
"You...you're awake?"
Su Xiaoning did not respond. Her complexion, which had just improved slightly, turned deathly pale again. Her body was fluctuating between hot and cold, and she didn't know what had happened.
Su Qingcai panicked. He hugged Su Xiaoning tightly, a deep sense of powerlessness welling up inside him.
In the midst of the chaos, Bai Hua suddenly pushed open the door and entered. His eyes were dark and bloodshot, clearly indicating that he hadn't slept well. However, he didn't care about his disheveled appearance and rushed to Su Xiaoning's side. He took out a small bottle from his pocket, poured out a pill, and fed it to Su Xiaoning.
Su Xiaoning's breathing gradually became steady, and her body temperature returned to normal, but she still kept her eyes tightly closed and remained silent, as if the sentence she had just heard was just Su Qingcai's hallucination.
Su Qingcai slammed her hammer against the bed railing, looking utterly helpless: "What can we do? Is there still no way to cure her?"
Bai Hua remained silent and placed the small bottle in her hand into Su Qingcai's hand.
"The medicine I just gave her is something I recently developed; it only relieves her pain temporarily and can't wake her up. I'm sorry. I've done my best. With my current medical skills, I probably can't do what you want..."
"Not even you?" Su Qingcai trembled, her heart aching.
Even the Drunken Doctor is helpless; is Su Xiaoning just waiting to die?
Su Qingcai looked dejected and dared not think about this possibility.
Bai Hua fell silent, then cautiously said, "Even if I can't, it doesn't mean others in this world can't. Legend has it that there's a sacred place for healers called Medicine King Valley. It's located in the Cloud Peak Gorge, and its master, the Crane Elder, has the ability to revive the dead and heal the wounded. Perhaps we can..."
"Medicine King Valley?" Su Qingcai was taken aback. He had never heard of such a rumor, but seeing Su Xiaoning's current state, he didn't have time to think too much about it.
Su Qingcai gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, "Alright, let's go find the Crane Elder in Medicine King Valley. Whether it's a rumor or not, I must save her!"
After making the decision, Su Qingcai immediately arranged for someone to scout out the route, while he stayed in the palace to deal with the backlog of affairs from the past few days. He would set off for Yunding Mountain Gorge once he had finished dealing with them.
The commotion at the Ninth Prince's residence was so great that it naturally alerted Su Qinghe and Qin Yunyun.
Upon hearing the report from his informant about the legends surrounding Medicine King Valley, Su Qinghe scoffed and said sarcastically, "Su Qingcai is truly amusing. Unable to save anyone, he believes these baseless rumors. In my opinion, by the time he finds that so-called Crane Elder, Su Xiaoning will probably be long dead!"
"Your Highness is right," Qin Yunyun said with a charming smile, but a sense of unease inexplicably settled in her heart.
She thought for a moment, her brows furrowing slightly, and said to Su Qinghe, "However, it's better to believe it than not. What if it's true? Wouldn't we be in danger? Your Highness, you can't openly attack him in the capital, but surely you can do it outside the capital? We can't let this opportunity slip by..."
The words were spoken in a veiled manner, but the meaning was quite clear.
Su Qinghe thought for a moment and then showed an approving expression: "You're right. With such a good opportunity, we should nip it in the bud."
After saying this, he summoned his subordinates and gave them detailed instructions. A secret assassination plan was already in the works.
...
Three days later, after finishing his business at the Prince's residence, Su Qingcai, along with several guards, Su Xiaoning, and Bai Hua, left the capital.
Although Yaowang Valley is a legend, Yunding Gorge is a real place. The group followed the road and arrived at their destination in a few days.
After searching around, the group found no trace of Medicine King Valley, only a steep gorge standing before them, with no way to proceed.
Su Qingcai was anxious. Seeing a small town not far from the gorge, he immediately took Bai Hua to the town and asked everyone he met if anyone had seen Medicine King Valley.
The passersby who were asked were all very surprised and shook their heads.
"Isn't Medicine King Valley just a legend? You outsiders actually believe it? We locals have lived here for generations and have never seen any Medicine King Valley. In my opinion, it doesn't exist at all! Don't waste your energy, you're just giving people free information..."
Passersby gave disappointing answers, and Su Qingcai and Bai Hua asked around the entire town but couldn't find a single clue.
No one has ever seen Medicine King Valley, so how could anyone go in to look for someone? Is it really just a mythical legend?
Su Qingcai returned to the foot of the mountain dejectedly, looking utterly defeated. There, Ding Yi and Bing Er had set up a makeshift tent, where Su Xiaoning was carefully placed.
Hurriedly entering the tent, Su Qingcai tightly grasped Su Xiaoning's hands, only to be startled to find that her body temperature was rising again. He quickly took out the elixir that Bai Hua had given him and hurriedly fed it to Su Xiaoning.
After a while, Su Xiaoning's condition stabilized again, and Su Qingcai breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at the few remaining medicine bottles and said weakly, "This can't go on. Since we can't rely on others, we have to find it ourselves..."
Bai Hua nodded silently in agreement, as there was indeed no other way at the moment.
Su Qingcai looked somber. He had no choice but to leave Su Xiaoning in the tent, instructing Ding Yi and Bing Er to take good care of her, before going out with Bai Hua to search for the entrance to Medicine King Valley.
Ding Yi and Bing Er faithfully guarded the tent. Su Qingcai and Bai Hua had only been gone for a quarter of an hour when suddenly the surrounding vegetation seemed to stir, and a group of men in black suddenly jumped out!
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