Chapter 159
As they spoke, the two could see a bright cave entrance not far ahead, and the surroundings were no longer as indistinct as before.
Fan Xiaoxiao put the luminous pearl back into the pouch and handed it back to Gu Zhongtai.
"Well, thank you for the beads, sir." Fan Xiaoxiao tried to make her tone sound as light as possible, since their conversation had been too heavy.
To her surprise, after hearing her words, Gu Chongtai did not take the bead that was handed back to him, but instead walked quickly toward the cave entrance.
"Big boss?"
Fan Xiaoxiao pursed her lips and called out to Gu Zhongtai again.
The latter glared at her and said, "Keep your voice down. Aren't you afraid those people will be waiting for us outside the cave?"
Gu Zhongtai spoke seriously, and Fan Xiaoxiao shuddered. Oh right, she'd almost forgotten about that! There was still a group of men in black waiting outside to arrest her!
"...Damn it..."
After holding it in for a long time, Fan Xiaoxiao muttered a curse under her breath.
Gu Zhongtai did not accept the luminous pearl, so Fan Xiaoxiao could only put it away for the time being and keep it safe for this big shot.
The two quietly approached the cave entrance and saw light outside again. Inside the cave, because of her sprained ankle, Gu Zhongtai had been carrying her. Coupled with the darkness, she couldn't tell whether they were going up or down. Only after they emerged did she realize they had come out of a hidden cave entrance in the woods.
The location here is not far from the cliff, and if the group of men in black were to turn around, they could very well spot them.
"What do we do now?"
They had no horses, she was injured, and Gu Chongtai's acupoints were sealed, preventing him from using his internal energy; the situation was not optimistic. Gu Chongtai put Fan Xiaoxiao down, didn't reply, but simply took out a strangely shaped bamboo whistle from his pocket, put it to his lips, and blew it.
Suddenly, a clear bird song rang out from his lips; it turned out that the bamboo whistle was actually a bird flute.
Fan Xiaoxiao held her breath, not understanding what Gu Chongtai was doing. A short while after the bamboo flute began to play, birdsong echoed from the other end of the woods.
After hearing the sound, Gu Zhongtai picked Fan Xiaoxiao up again and rushed towards the bird's chirping.
"Where are we going?"
"Go find the old man. I just spoke to him. He found Bai Chaoyan. The woman is injured and seems unable to move."
"Where are the pursuers?"
Fan Xiaoxiao was still a little worried about those men in black, always feeling that they might suddenly reappear like ghosts.
"The old man said they were on the other side of the woods, not here."
Gu Zhongtai offered an explanation and quickened his pace. Fan Xiaoxiao was feeling a bit uncomfortable from the jolting, so she simply shut her mouth.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Fan Xiaoxiao and her group finally found Bai Chaoyan and the Ghost Doctor deep in the forest. Gu Zhongtai was right; Bai Chaoyan was indeed injured. Her leg had been pierced by a sharp sword, and when they arrived, the Ghost Doctor was just removing the arrow from her leg.
The arrow was clearly specially made, covered in barbs. The Ghost Doctor frowned, looking at the arrow and clicking his tongue: "Tsk, you probably can't pull it out. You can only cut off the back half of the arrow and pull it out from the front half. Fortunately, it didn't break any bones, so it will only hurt for a while. Just bear with it."
Bai Chaoyan nodded, her forehead covered in cold sweat from the pain in her calf. She tore off a piece of her hem, folded it, and stuffed it into her mouth before signaling the Ghost Doctor to proceed. Fan Xiaoxiao looked at the arrowhead that had pierced through the front of her calf and felt a faint pain in her own leg.
Fortunately, the Ghost Doctor was very quick. With a swift movement, he removed the arrows, causing blood to splatter. However, Bai Chaoyan almost fainted from the pain.
However, the Ghost Doctor remained unmoved. He quickly crushed the hemostatic herbs, applied them to her wound, and bandaged her up.
Fan Xiaoxiao felt a chill run down her spine as she watched Bai Chaoyan tremble in pain.
"Okay, let's treat it like this for now. We'll apply some tissue-regenerating ointment when it's safe to do so."
Seeing that he had stood up, Gu Zhongtai put Fan Xiaoxiao down from his back.
"Old man, take a look at this girl's foot too, it looks like she sprained it."
"A sprain? This is no small matter. You yourself..."
Gu Zhongtai's cold gaze froze the words the Ghost Doctor was about to say. Fan Xiaoxiao thought he was referring to her when he said "here," and sat down on a nearby rock with a helpless expression: "Grandpa, I can't do it myself!"
"Well, that's true."
The Ghost Doctor muttered something to himself, speaking so quickly that Fan Xiaoxiao didn't hear him clearly. But Gu Zhongtai heard it perfectly.
"This kid, he could have easily done it himself, but he acts all high and mighty."
Gu Zhongtai narrowed his eyes dangerously. This old man was getting bolder and bolder.
"Grandpa, could you... could you be a little gentler?"
Fan Xiaoxiao saw how Bai Chaoyan almost fainted from the pain just now, and her face showed some fear.
The Ghost Doctor nodded, squatted down, and held Fan Xiaoxiao's sprained ankle, saying, "Hai! Baby, don't worry, it definitely doesn't hurt! Here, you count to ten, and when you're done, I'll straighten it for you!"
Fan Xiaoxiao nodded, and just as she shakily counted to one, she heard a cracking sound, and her ankle was struck by another excruciating pain, so painful that she almost cried out.
"Didn't we agree to count to ten? You said it wouldn't hurt!"
The Ghost Doctor shrank back, looking innocently at the tearful Fan Xiaoxiao: "I didn't say I had to count to ten, I said count to the end, and this old man really doesn't feel any pain."
This damned ghost doctor actually played word games with her! Fan Xiaoxiao was furious. Just as she was about to speak, she saw the ghost doctor's expression change. Then he threw a handful of powder behind him, but a huge net was already rushing towards them.
Fan Xiaoxiao was startled, and the Ghost Doctor was the first to react. He immediately scooped up Fan Xiaoxiao and Bai Chaoyan and dodged away. Gu Zhongtai, because he hadn't been standing close enough, missed the net.
At the same time, the Ghost Doctor's powder struck the black-clad attacker, and a scream rang out. The Ghost Doctor, his face grim, whistled, and three fine horses immediately galloped out of the forest.
"Mount up!"
In this emergency, upon hearing this, Fan Xiaoxiao instinctively reached out to Gu Zhongtai. The latter's lips curled slightly, clearly in a good mood.
After helping Bai Chaoyan mount the horse, the Ghost Doctor patted the horse's rump with one hand.
"Walk!"
Three fine horses galloped swiftly, and behind them, shouts rang out from the men in black: "They're trying to escape! Catch them!"
The exit of the forest was not far away, and the Ghost Doctor snorted coldly.
"Hmph! They want to arrest us!"
He then pulled out some yellowish powder and threw it forcefully behind him. Along with it came a lit tinderbox.
After a loud bang, a wave of heat followed behind, mixed with screams of agony.
Fan Xiaoxiao couldn't help but turn around and glance back; the forest behind her had already turned into a sea of fire.
(End of this chapter)
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