Chapter 56 Potion to Heal Wounds
Xie Jingyan handed him an ancient-looking round plate, "This is the teleportation array that leads directly to the Ten Thousand Demon Cave."
Xiao Sui immediately channeled his spiritual energy into the device, and the scene before him began to distort. After a short while, his surroundings became clear again, and he immediately felt a strong demonic aura surrounding him.
He released his spiritual power to sense the surrounding situation, but the demonic energy quickly devoured his spiritual power. Originally, he could sense the movements within a five-mile radius, but now he could only sense less than a mile.
Xiao Sui took out the topographical map Xie Jingyan had given him. The paper was uneven, representing mountains and plains. He explored the map, using his spiritual power to sense his location, and finally matched it with the map.
He chose to head north, where there were more Netherworld Flowers, and the density of monsters was several times higher than in other areas.
After walking a few steps, they heard heavy breathing; a monster was approaching.
Xiao Sui put away the map and drew his longsword.
Under the moonlight, his sword was stained with blood, and the spiritual power he released attracted more and more demonic beasts.
Not only cultivators consume the inner cores of demonic beasts, but the inner cores of cultivators are also a delicacy for demonic beasts.
Xiao Sui could sense at least three level-two demonic beasts rushing towards him. He did not intend to fight them for long. He only killed the one in front of him, dug out its inner core, and flew up from the ground on his longsword.
A huge shadow fell overhead. He looked up and saw a bird-like monster spot him, flapping its wings and rushing towards him. Its wingspan was eight feet. It approached him at an extremely fast speed, opening its sharp, curved beak.
Xiao Sui leaped into the air, causing the giant eagle-like level-three demonic beast to miss its target.
The giant eagle angrily turned its wings to catch his falling body, but Xiao Sui's longsword flew back into his hand as if it had a mind of its own. He lifted his legs and sat on the back of the monster, then plunged the sword into its heart.
The giant eagle let out a roar, struggled in the air for a few moments, and then plummeted to the ground.
Xiao Sui suddenly drew his sword, blood splattering everywhere, but he didn't even blink before stepping back onto the sword.
The giant eagle crashed to the ground, and the stench of blood quickly attracted many demonic beasts that wanted to devour its body.
Xiao Sui glanced at it and continued flying north.
Perhaps it was because he was covered in the blood of a level-three demon beast, which gave him a certain deterrent effect, that the number of demon beasts coveting him decreased significantly.
He caught a few and landed in a mountain stream, where he sensed dozens of flowers floating on the water.
Based on their shape, these are ghost flowers.
He stepped into the icy water, where demonic energy clung to him, attempting to invade his body.
Xiao Sui seemed oblivious, focusing intently on releasing his spiritual energy to sense the petals.
Three petals, three petals, six petals...
He walked deeper into the water, which had already reached his waist.
Five-petaled flowers were still not found.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his lower back. He looked down and grabbed the fish that had bitten him; its sharp teeth almost pierced his flesh.
He ripped it open with force, and blood slowly seeped into the water, attracting more carnivorous fish.
After throwing out a few explosive talismans, Xiao Sui didn't have time to deal with them because it was already getting light.
He had to return to the princess's courtyard before dawn.
He used his spiritual power to protect his body and continued to walk deeper into the water until he had searched all fifty-seven Netherworld Flowers before emerging from the water.
Xiao Sui's clothes had been torn to shreds by the fish, and his body was covered with wounds of all sizes.
He sensed a faint light on the horizon and took out the teleportation array to return to Huaguang Sect.
But... he can't go to see the princess looking like this; the princess will definitely find out what he's done.
Xiao Sui thought for a moment and then left.
An incense stick later, someone knocked on the door of the owner of Nanfeng Pavilion.
He yawned and leaned against the door. "Who's up so early?"
When he opened his eyes and saw who it was, he was surprised. "Xiao Sui? What are you doing here?"
“I need a medicine that can remove the scars,” Xiao Sui said.
The boss stared at him, looking him up and down. "Why do you have so many bite marks on your body?"
He pulled the person into the house and whispered, "Was that lady playing for such high stakes? I didn't realize."
“It’s not because of her,” Xiao Sui said.
The boss was even more surprised, "She gave you away to someone else to play with?"
Xiao Sui didn't have time to say more to him, nor did he want to talk about the princess. He repeated, "I need a potion to remove the wounds, the one I used before."
The boss took it as tacit agreement and clicked his tongue in amazement twice. "Come with me."
He put on his coat, led Xiao Sui downstairs, and entered a dark room at the back. Black water was bubbling in a pool, and it smelled rather pungent.
“I often have some perverted customers here who soak in these wound-removing solutions all year round. Go and get a tubful for your bath,” the shopkeeper said. “However, you have too many wounds, so it will definitely hurt a lot. It will probably take several days for the marks to be completely invisible. You can stay here with me for now. Give me that lady’s address, and I will send someone to explain.”
Xiao Sui stopped in his tracks. "Is there a faster way? I need to get back before dawn."
The boss took a breath. That young lady looked pretty and cute, but it turned out she was such a ruthless character, treating her servants so harshly.
However, he always tries his best to meet the customer's requests. After thinking for a moment, the boss said, "There is another faster way, which is to apply ointment to cover the wound. However, that ointment is toxic and will corrode the skin, making the injury more serious. Moreover, it can only maintain the effect for one day. It should be used as an emergency."
"Please give me the ointment."
The boss went to the next room and gave him a box. "Very few people use this stuff. It's mainly because it's too harmful to the body. When the effect wears off, the skin will ulcerate. It's not worth it."
"It's alright." Xiao Sui took the ointment, and after the shopkeeper left, he took off his clothes, revealing his body covered in bloodstains, especially below the waist, which was covered with various bite marks.
He simply wiped away the bloodstains from the wound, applied ointment, and felt a stinging pain, which then turned into a burning sensation.
Xiao Sui clenched his teeth tightly, and fine beads of sweat involuntarily appeared on his forehead, but his hands did not stop moving at all, and he quickly covered up all the wounds on his body.
He took out clean clothes from his storage bag, changed into them, and went out to ask the shop owner for a few more boxes of ointment.
"This stuff is really damaging, you should try to apply it as little as possible," the shop owner sighed. "You need to balance work and rest to last longer."
"I said, it's none of the master's business." Xiao Sui took the ointment with a stern face and left decisively.
The boss shook his head behind him.
——
Ning Xi woke up, having slept relatively soundly, but it seemed like she had a dream, though she couldn't remember what it was about. As usual, she snuggled up in Xiao Sui's arms and kissed his chin.
Xiao Sui embraced her, "Princess, I'll go prepare water for you to wash up."
"Lie down a little longer." Ning Xi snuggled up to him. "Anyway, I don't have to go to school now, why get up so early?"
Her hand reached elsewhere. Yesterday, the two of them could be said to have confessed their feelings to each other. What she said to Yan Chongyan was essentially a confession to Xiao Sui.
She thought Xiao Sui would have a deeper conversation with her, but to her surprise, he got sleepy first and coaxed her to sleep.
So this morning should be...
As expected, Xiao Sui did not push her away, but instead cooperated with her movements by slowly raising her head.
Ning Qi bit his collarbone, grinding it with her teeth, while her other hand pressed against his abdominal muscles.
Xiao Sui immediately let out a muffled groan, his breathing becoming somewhat rapid, as he moved her hand up and down.
Why is he even more sensitive than usual? Ning Qi wondered, gently stroking his skin with her fingers.
Xiao Sui cupped her cheeks, his lips landing on hers. The soft, gentle sensation grew hotter with each movement, and Ning Qi gripped his skin tightly.
His body shuddered quickly, and he stopped to catch his breath.
Ning Qi opened his eyes and noticed, by the sunlight streaming through the window, that his face was somewhat pale.
Are you sick? She raised her hand and touched his forehead; it was slightly damp, clearly from sweating.
"Are you feeling unwell?" she asked with concern.
Xiao Sui shook his head. "It's nothing, maybe... he caught a chill last night."
"Ah." Ning Qi withdrew her mischievous hand. "It must be because I'm a terrible sleeper and I pulled the blanket away. Tomorrow I'll have them make a bigger blanket."
Xiao Sui took her hand and placed it back on his body. "It's alright, Princess, I can continue."
“No, you should rest properly when you’re sick,” Ning Qi said sternly. “We’re not short of time.”
She pulled the blanket out from under her body and covered Xiao Sui with it, saying, "You should rest well today and don't need to get up."
"I'm really fine." Xiao Sui quickly returned the blanket to its original position.
Just as the two were pulling at the blankets, Qianyu's voice came, "Princess, Young Master Yan has arrived."
Ning Qi pursed her lips. "What's he doing here?"
"It seems I have something to give you," Qianyu said.
Ning Qi lay in bed with Xiao Sui for a while longer. When she heard that he hadn't left yet, she reluctantly got out of bed and helped Xiao Sui wrap himself in the blanket. "I'll go out and meet him. I'll come back to take care of you in a bit."
“No, Princess, how can I let you take care of me?”
Xiao Sui was so anxious that he tried to get out of bed, but Ning Qi pressed him back down, saying, "This is an order."
He then lay back down.
After Ning Xi washed up, she let Yan Chongyan into her room.
"What do you want?" she asked, arms crossed.
Yan Chongyan opened his palm, revealing a pale yellow, fluorescent bead in his hand. "The demon core of a level two demon beast."
"Oh." Ning Qi took it, and said with dissatisfaction, "Only one?"
"I killed the monster overnight and sent it to you immediately, and this is your attitude?" Yan Chongyan questioned.
Ning Xi then took a look at him and saw that he did look travel-worn. She handed the demon core to Qian Yu and said, "You don't have to give it to me one by one. It's not too late to give it to me when you've collected them all. Besides, if you take one a day like this, it will take at least three months. I can't wait that long."
"Princess," Yan Chongyan raised his voice, "what do you take me for? A tool to find demon cores for you?"
Ning Qi immediately raised her index finger to make a shushing gesture, "Keep your voice down, Xiao Sui is resting inside."
Yan Chongyan looked into the inner room with a livid face. "I am your fiancé, and you actually let that good-for-nothing sleep in your bed?"
Ning Qi frowned. "If you're so dissatisfied, go and ask Father Emperor to annul the engagement."
Yan Chongyan's chest heaved violently. He glared fiercely at the inner room, and finally clenched his fist at Ning Qi, saying, "I will come here every day and will never let the two of you live a carefree life!"
Ning Qi cursed that she was crazy and told Qian Yu to see the guest out.
In the following days, Yan Chongyan did indeed come once a day as he had said, giving more and more demon cores. In just three days, he had already collected ten.
His body was also wrapped in gauze, indicating that he had been injured while exorcising a demon.
Qianyu couldn't help but advise her, "Princess, I see that Young Master Yan is becoming more and more attentive to you, but you always treat him coldly. Even if Young Master Yan didn't behave well or had a bad attitude before, you should calm down."
Ning Qi gave a perfunctory "hmm" and looked at Xiao Sui, who had brought her the medicine. Why did she feel that he had been unwilling to be close to her these past few days?
Is he still feeling unwell? Should we call Imperial Physician Chu to take a look at him?
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Author's note: Actually, Xiao Sui was injured much more badly [poor thing]
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