Chapter 98 Sweet Moments [IF Route] (Part 3)
Once he was sure he wouldn't be exposed, Mu Meng looked down at his toes with peace of mind and walked quickly.
This was the first time she had approached Mu Qingheng since she had secretly slipped out of the Celestial Clan.
From the Nine Heavens Gate to Cloud Bay, she had been mingling with the medical immortals' group, usually collecting herbs and reading medical books when she had nothing else to do, and had no chance to get in front of Mu Qingheng.
Of course, she had no intention of hanging around Mu Qingheng unless there was something wrong. If she accidentally exposed herself and got caught, he would definitely throw her back to the Heavenly Clan without any mercy.
Besides, regardless of her strength, the responsibilities of the Celestial Clan should be shared by the three siblings. Her brother was already fighting on the battlefield alone when he was younger than she is now, so of course she can too. They can't let their brother fight for the rest of his life while she and her sisters always hide behind him.
And then there's my brother... um? Stop, I can't think about it anymore.
Realizing that his mind was wandering quite far, Mu Meng quickly steadied himself, looked around, cleared his throat to cover it up, and continued to walk forward with the others, maintaining a blank expression.
The closer Mu Meng got to the main camp, the more worried he became. He had heard that more than a dozen people were injured. Could his brother be among them? Hmm, probably not. His brother's spiritual power was outstanding. How could a mere hyena demon hurt him? The probability of such a thing was extremely low.
Despite thinking this, Mu Meng couldn't help but feel worried, and her pace quickened.
"Hey, don't be so reckless, be careful not to bump into His Highness the Crown Prince." The physician in front of Mu Meng saw her quicken her pace and quickly waved to stop her.
"Oh." Mu Meng readily agreed and followed behind him.
This is their Celestial Clan's ancient physician, a medical fanatic who knows medical classics and prescriptions like the back of his hand. However, he is reclusive and face-blind, and his principle for his apprentices is simply that they can be used. Thanks to him, she has been able to stay by his side for so long without being recognized.
The ancient healer was a kind person. Seeing that she was a stranger, the apprentice doctor, he didn't scold her but instead struck up a conversation with her in a friendly manner: "What's your name?"
Mu Meng reacted quickly: "Water plants."
The ancient healer scratched his head, probably not expecting the medicine boy's name to be so casual. However, being a kind and upright person, he didn't comment on it and continued to ask kindly, "Waterweed, is this your first time going on a military expedition?"
"Yes, I hope the Immortal Physician will take good care of me." Mu Meng smiled, looking extremely endearing.
"Ah, it's nothing, no problem," the ancient physician waved his hand casually. "No wonder you were so impetuous just now. Were you eager to catch a glimpse of His Highness the Crown Prince? Well, you'll see him eventually, there's no rush."
As he spoke, he looked Mu Meng up and down a few more times and reminded him, "You'd better be careful when you go in, don't lose your composure in front of His Highness the Crown Prince."
Mu Meng rarely had the chance to chat with the Immortal Physician, and now that he was mentioning his brother, he became even more curious and couldn't help but ask gossipy, "Why? If I make a mistake, will His Highness the Crown Prince punish me?"
"How could that be?" The ancient physician scoffed and waved his hand. "You're obviously just a child. You don't know anything and you know too little about His Highness the Crown Prince. As long as you haven't done anything wrong, just been a bit impulsive and made some mistakes, how could he possibly punish you? Our Highness is the kindest and most benevolent person."
Mu Meng smiled unconsciously, a hint of pride in her eyes and brows. Of course she knew what kind of person her brother was, but hearing others praise him like this still made her heart leap with joy.
Mu Meng was both amused and exasperated. It turned out that the ancient physician had been rambling on for his brother's sake.
However, she felt very warm inside, and suppressing a smile, she nodded honestly: "Yes, thank you for your advice, Doctor Immortal. I will definitely pay attention and not cause any trouble for my brother... His Highness the Crown Prince."
The ancient physician seemed to think the young man was teachable and nodded with great satisfaction. At this moment, they were walking to the outside of the main tent. He fell silent, quickly waved his hand slightly to signal Mu Meng to follow, and then went inside without delay.
After completing all the checks, Mu Meng stepped into the tent with a nervous heart.
Mu Meng couldn't help but take a second look.
Her brother's attire was different from his usual appearance in the Celestial Tribe. Aside from his gentle, jade-like everyday clothes and the heavy, elaborate Crown Prince's court robes, this was the first time she had ever seen him in armor. He was already tall and slender, and the dark, jet-black armor made him look exceptionally upright. His black hair was tied up high, and he resembled a drawn sword, sharp and incomparably handsome.
Fortunately, he was perfectly fine and didn't suffer any injuries.
Mu Meng didn't dare to look for long, only lingering her gaze a few moments longer than others before quickly lowering her head.
Fortunately, Mu Qingheng's attention was focused on the dozen or so wounded soldiers. He only nodded to the leading physicians when they arrived, then turned back to ask them to come forward and treat the wounded soldiers.
"Your Highness, the hyena demon is good at biting, and its teeth are poisonous. Several generals have accumulated toxins in their bodies," said the ancient physician, stroking his beard and shaking his head. "However, removing the poison is not difficult. It's just that we are currently on a military campaign and cannot treat it gradually. If we were to use strong medicine, the process would be quite painful."
Before Mu Qingheng could speak, the wounded soldiers shouted in unison, "Your Highness, you don't need to worry about us. How can we treat ourselves slowly at a time like this? It's just a little pain. There's nothing we can't get through."
Mu Qingheng nodded silently, though his expression showed some reluctance. He did not hesitate and said in a low voice, "This is indeed not the time to be hesitant. Ancient Physician, please proceed. However, the poison of the Hyena Demon affects their will. Even if it is removed, its residual effects will remain. I wonder if it would be appropriate to let them rest for a few days?"
Mu Qingheng smiled slightly, completely relieved, and cupped his hands, saying, "Then please take care of it."
Mu Meng felt a sudden pang of guilt.
On the way here, she had been chatting with the Ancient Healer, and it seemed that among all the apprentices, he only recognized her, so naturally he called her name, but...
Will we be discovered?
She had never been scolded by her brother, nor had she ever heard a harsh word from him, so she was even more apprehensive about the unknown.
After all, even a fool could tell that this was no small matter. She acted first and informed the emperor later, following the Tianhe Army all the way here. Her brother doted on her so much... If he saw her, he couldn't possibly be smiling, clapping, and giving her a thumbs up, could he?
Despite her bitterness, Mu Meng thought to herself that she sincerely hoped this day would come later.
Thinking it over, Mu Meng didn't even dare to say "yes" and walked over straight.
But just as she lifted her foot to walk in that direction, Mu Qingheng turned around and walked away first.
For a moment, Mu Meng breathed a slight sigh of relief. Thank goodness, as long as he didn't get too close to his brother or stand next to him, he shouldn't notice him or realize anything.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mu Qingheng walk to the military map in the distance, and all her attention was focused on it. Mu Meng felt relieved and began to seriously and attentively assist the Ancient Doctor.
However, after working for a while, she discovered that the Ancient Doctor liked to do everything himself. Although he said he was helping out, he was really just handing her things to make things easier for him. Apart from that, she had almost nothing to do.
In this way, Mu Meng would take advantage of the moment when she turned around to hand something over to casually glance in her brother's direction.
She knew how perceptive and intelligent her brother was, so she didn't dare to look at him openly. Each time, she would quickly glance at him without leaving a trace, so she could only glean a little bit of information.
The older brother was frowning, studying the map.
The older brother frowned, still studying the map.
The older brother frowned, still studying the map.
The older brother frowned, still... wait, that's not right, he wasn't studying the map anymore, and his expression was much more serious than before.
Mu Meng was filled with unease, his mind racing with thoughts of "What's wrong? What happened?" when he heard a commotion over there, as if he had quickly walked out.
Given her current status, she couldn't ask even if she was anxious. Fortunately, the Ancient Physician immediately spoke up to defuse the situation: "What's wrong? Has Your Highness encountered any trouble?"
Just now, while standing with Mu Qingheng, his deputy bowed and replied, "Please rest assured, Immortal Physician Gu, His Highness the Crown Prince is fine. He has only lost a valuable item and needs to go back to look for it."
The ancient physician nodded in relief, and Mu Meng also felt at ease. Then she couldn't help but feel curious: What was so important? Her brother was always calm and collected, and he never showed his emotions except in front of his family. But just now she saw that his face looked terrible.
"You startled me. I thought His Highness the Crown Prince was injured again but didn't mention it." The Ancient Physician wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered to himself.
Mu Meng's heart leaped into his throat upon hearing this, and he hurriedly asked, "Immortal Physician, does His Highness the Crown Prince often do this? He gets injured but doesn't say anything?"
“Ah… that’s not true. Usually, as long as it doesn’t delay the march or important matters, he’ll tell us when he’s injured,” the ancient physician sighed, shaking his head as he worked. “But he’s done his fair share of hiding his injuries. However, he certainly won’t do that today. I’m just being paranoid and overthinking things.”
Hearing the words of the ancient healer, Mu Meng couldn't help but clutch her clothes tightly, her heart aching as if pricked by needles. She clenched her fingers, almost gritting her teeth.
If the timing weren't so bad, she would have loved to rush out and teach him a lesson. He never seemed to care about his health, not only at home but also during battles. Why had he never mentioned these things before? She had always thought he could take good care of himself, but it turned out he was like this outside.
Mu Meng took a deep breath, bit her lower lip, and silently retaliated against Mu Qingheng.
After talking for so long, Mu Qingheng still hadn't returned. Mu Meng blinked and thought for a moment. She knew that the Ancient Physician was an old physician who had been on military campaigns, so she asked hopefully, "Healer, His Highness the Crown Prince just left in a hurry. Do you know what happened to him? We haven't sensed any spiritual energy fluctuations here, so it shouldn't be an attack by the Hyena Demon."
As she spoke, the ancient healer asked, "Waterweed, you must have heard how much His Highness the Crown Prince dotes on his younger sister, right?"
Mu Meng couldn't help but lower her head and purse her lips, secretly smiling as she tugged at the spiritual herb in her hand. "Who wouldn't know that?"
As they were talking, Mu Qingheng returned. He lifted the curtain and walked in, going straight back to the marching map. He continued studying it while occasionally whispering a few words to his deputy.
Mu Meng's spiritual power was high, and he could hear clearly what he said in a low voice:
"Your Highness, you found it so quickly?"
"Hmm, easy to find. The agarwood bead has a bright and soft glow, making it even more noticeable in this kind of place."
"So it's the Shenbi Pearl, the one you found before?" the lieutenant said with a smile. "I thought it was a talisman given to you by the young prince. But this Shenbi Pearl is all show and no substance; its spiritual power isn't very high, and it's not exactly a rare treasure. What use do you have for it?"
"Hmm...it looks good, Mengmeng will definitely like it. Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Tomorrow we'll go around to the back via Jiaxian Bridge. The hyena demons like darkness and won't stay here. Let's go around..."
They exchanged only a few words before Mu Qingheng changed the subject, returning to Bu Jun. Mu Meng lowered his head, trying to hide the smile he couldn't suppress.
Just as he was feeling happy, the Ancient Doctor had finished his business. He whispered to Mu Meng to take his things and stood up shakily.
Looking over there, he saw that Mu Qingheng was busy. He understood and quickly put a finger to his lips, lowering his voice, "Shuicao, His Highness the Crown Prince is busy. Please pack your things quietly and tell the others that we will walk this way in a while so as not to disturb His Highness the Crown Prince."
Mu Meng was overjoyed and quickly packed his things, following behind the Ancient Doctor Immortal out.
Mu Qingheng was positioned a little far from the main entrance, and his attention was extremely focused, so he would definitely not see her.
Thinking this, Mu Meng glanced back at her brother's tall and straight back, then contentedly lifted the curtain and went out.
The curtains moved, bringing with them a sweet, warm fragrance. Mu Qingheng was speaking intently when his thin lips suddenly paused.
He frowned slightly and glanced back somewhat uneasily.
"What's wrong, Your Highness?" The deputy general asked quickly when he noticed the slight change in the prince's expression.
"It's nothing." Mu Qingheng shook his head and continued what he had just said.
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