40. Dispensing medicine
Ling Ye's words were like a huge rock thrown into stagnant water, stirring up silent waves in the hut.
"Less than 10%... Lost strength..." Ah Yan muttered, his face livid, his fingers gripping the hatchet crackling with the force. He suddenly looked up, his crimson eyes fixed on Ling Ye, as if he wanted to devour him alive. "You better not be lying! If you dare to play tricks, I'll chop you into pieces and feed them to the mutants!"
Xingchen didn't say anything, but he held the dagger tighter, staring at Ling Ye with eyes as cold as ice, without a trace of trust, only complete vigilance and the determination to kill immediately if he found anything wrong.
Mu Lin's brow furrowed as he carefully sensed Ling Ye's mental fluctuations. Chaos, tension, but underneath there was a hint of... perhaps genuine urgency, a certain certainty in some knowledge? He couldn't fully understand this man, but Su Lin's situation clearly couldn't be delayed any longer. He looked at Lei Qing, awaiting his decision.
Lei Qing was the calmest of them all, yet also the most serious. His towering figure stood like a mountain blocking the entrance, blocking Ling Ye's view of Su Lin. His gaze, like two icy daggers, repeatedly raked across Ling Ye's face, weighing every word, examining every shift in his expression.
The air was as stagnant as jelly, with only the crackling of the burning oil lamp and the never-ending howling of the wind and snow outside the house.
After a long moment, Lei Qing slowly spoke in a low voice, carrying unquestionable authority: "Tell me the prescription. What do you need and where is it?"
He didn't say he believed it, nor did he say he didn't believe it. He wanted to see the cost first and assess the risks.
Ling Ye seemed relieved, yet even more nervous. He licked his cracked lips and spoke quickly, "We need three main herbs. 'Snow Soul Grass' grows in the cracks of extremely cold, shady ice walls. It's snow-white with silver-veined leaves. 'Red Sun Fruit', on the other hand, can only be found in sunny, geothermal crevices. Its fruit is crimson and scorching hot. And finally... 'Rotten Saliva Mushroom'."
Hearing the last name, Mu Lin's expression changed slightly. "Rotting Mushroom? The kind of poisonous fungus that only grows in heavily polluted areas near mutant nests?"
"Yes and no," Ling Ye explained. "The rotten saliva mushroom itself is highly poisonous, but the 'mushroom saliva' it secretes when it matures can, under certain conditions, be a miraculous medicine that neutralizes certain energy conflicts and stimulates potential. It's this secretion that we need, and it must be used within an hour of picking."
The growing environments of these three medicinal herbs are very different, and they are extremely difficult to find, especially the rotten saliva mushroom, which almost means actively entering a dangerous area.
"Are you sure this can save Su Lin?" A Yan questioned. He didn't believe this guy of unknown origin at all.
"This is the most likely effective remedy I've deduced based on... past experience." Ling Ye didn't finish his words, but his eyes were extremely serious. "In his case, conventional methods are no longer effective. This is a risky move, but it's the only one that might work."
Lei Qing remained silent, his gaze fixed once again on Su Lin, who lay faintly breathing on the straw mat. His pale face cut into his heart like a blunt knife. He couldn't risk Su Lin's life for the kindness of a stranger, but he couldn't watch his life slip away.
"Ayan and I will go find the Snow Soul Grass and the Red Sun Fruit." Lei Qing finally made a decision, speaking quickly and clearly, "Mulin, you stay and look after Su Lin. Xingchen..." He looked at the boy with a stubborn look in his eyes, "You come with me."
Having Xingchen follow him was both a form of training and a form of containment. With Xingchen around, if Ling Ye wanted to pull off any tricks, he would have to consider this ruthless little guard carefully.
"What about me?" Ling Ye asked. "I'm the only one who knows the most likely locations of the rotten saliva mushrooms and how to pick them."
"Come with me." Lei Qing's gaze fell on Ling Ye, icy and bone-chilling. "We'll find the rotten saliva mushrooms, and you'll pick them. Don't try any tricks."
The division of labor has been determined and there is no time to lose.
Lei Qing carefully settled Su Lin down, wrapping him tightly in thick fur. He took a deep look at his sleeping face, as if to carve his appearance into his heart. Then he turned and pushed open the wooden door, letting in a fierce gust of wind and snow.
"Walk."
The four of them braved the snow and storm and left the cabin. Mu Lin stood at the door, watching their figures disappear into the white sky and earth, his eyes filled with worry. He closed the door and returned to Su Lin's side, continuing to use his water power to nurture his weak life force, praying in his heart that they would return safely.
The process of searching for medicinal herbs is far more difficult and dangerous than imagined.
Snow soul grass grows on shady ice walls. With extraordinary strength and perseverance, Lei Qing struggled to climb the smooth and steep ice wall. His fingers were frozen stiff and purple. Finally, deep in a narrow crack, he found a few white grasses with silver veins on their leaves, emitting a faint chill.
To harvest the Red Sun Fruit, one must search for geothermal areas on the sunny side. A Yan was in charge of this area. Using his fire ability to sense the earth's heat, he finally found a crevice on a gravelly slope, emitting wisps of white steam. The crevice was narrow and scorching hot. He pried through the scorching gravel with his bare hands, his arms scorched by blisters, before finally plucking two longan-sized, scorching-hot crimson fruits.
The most dangerous thing is undoubtedly looking for the rot mushroom.
Following Ling Ye's guidance, they arrived at a low-lying area where the air was filled with a faint stench of decay and blood. The snow here was an unhealthy gray-black, and the dead trees were twisted and hideous, as if screaming silently.
"Be careful, there may be a mutant nest nearby." Ling Ye lowered his voice to remind, his expression became particularly solemn.
Sure enough, not long after walking, Xingchen suddenly stopped, moved his ears slightly, and whispered, "Something is coming."
Just as he finished speaking, three ugly reptilian mutants suddenly jumped out from the dead trees on the left. Their skin was festering and oozing with pus, and their mouths were dripping with corrosive saliva. They made strange hissing sounds and pounced on them!
"Looking for death!" A Yan had been holding back his anger for a long time, and he chopped the first one who rushed over with his short axe carrying flames.
Lei Qing moved even faster, his hunting knife swift as lightning, aiming straight at the vital point of the other mutant.
Xingchen didn't participate in the direct fighting. Instead, he wandered around the edges of the battlefield like a ghost, his dagger precise and ruthless, specifically targeting the mutants' relatively vulnerable joints and eyes, creating opportunities for Lei Qing and A Yan. His movements were crisp and decisive, his eyes eerily calm, a stark contrast to the dependent young man he had previously been in front of Su Lin.
Ling Ye stood at a safe distance, his eyes scanning the surroundings sharply, as if searching for something. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he pointed at a dark, black fungus covering the base of a large, dead tree not far away. "Over there! A rot mushroom! Be careful, don't touch the cap; only take the secretions!"
At the base of the dead tree, there were indeed several mushrooms with large, dark purple-black caps, covered in a sticky, transparent secretion that exuded a sweet, fishy smell. Next to the mushrooms, scattered the bones of several unknown animals, adding a touch of eeriness.
The battle was over quickly, and the three mutants were eliminated. A Yan vigilantly guarded the perimeter, while Lei Qing and Xing Chen protected Ling Ye as he approached the clump of rotten mushrooms.
Ling Ye pulled out a small leather sac and a bone fragment from his bosom. He had prepared it long ago, crafted from the bladder of a mutant beast. With extreme caution, he used the bone fragment to gently scrape the sticky "mushroom saliva" from the edge of the rot-saliva mushroom's cap, collecting it drop by drop into the leather sac. He held his breath throughout the process, fearing to disturb anything.
Just when he was about to collect the secretions of the last mushroom, something strange happened!
"Buzz—"
A spiritual fluctuation that was far more powerful, colder and more evil than the previous encounter with the gray-robed man, swept across from the depths of the dead forest like an invisible shock wave!
This wave was not a direct attack, but it carried a soul-shaking pressure and chaotic whispers that instantly impacted everyone's consciousness!
Ah Yan groaned, feeling a sharp pain in his head. Xingchen's body swayed, his eyes momentarily unfocused. Even Lei Qing felt a shock in his heart, his movements slowing for a moment.
Ling Ye's face changed drastically, his hands trembled, and he almost dropped the skin bag!
"It's a 'Priest'-level spiritual probe!" Ling Ye cried out, his voice filled with undisguised fear. "Hurry! We've been discovered!"
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, from deep within the withered woods came the sound of heavy, orderly footsteps and a strange, ethereal prayer chanted by countless people! The sound approached from afar, carrying a suffocating, oppressive feeling!
The Return to Dust Sect! And it's a team led by a high-ranking official!
"Retreat!" Lei Qing made a prompt decision, grabbed Ling Ye, whose skin had just been sealed, and retreated back the way he came without hesitation.
A Yan and Xing Chen followed closely behind.
Like frightened birds, the four of them scurried across the treacherous gray-black snowfield. The sound of prayers and footsteps behind them haunted them like leeches, relentlessly pursuing them. The evil spiritual fluctuations loomed like a dark cloud, attempting to erode their resolve and slow them down.
Xingchen ran beside Lei Qing, turning back from time to time, observing the pursuers' movements and distance with sharp eyes. His breathing was rapid, and his face was flushed from the rapid running and tension, but his steps were unusually steady, without the slightest panic.
When crossing an icy stream, Ling Ye accidentally slipped and was about to fall, and the leather bag in his hand flew out of his hand!
"Medicine!" Ling Ye screamed in horror.
At the critical moment, a thin figure suddenly pounced out! It was Xingchen! He reacted almost the moment the leather bag slipped out of his hand, leaping forward and, just as the leather bag was about to fall into the icy water, he narrowly retrieved it and held it tightly in his arms. However, he himself fell heavily onto the hard ice and let out a muffled groan.
"Stardust!" Lei Qing turned around and saw Stardust fall, and his heart tightened.
"I'm fine! Let's go!" Stardust quickly got up, ignoring the pain, holding the skin bag tightly to his chest, and continued to run wildly.
His decisiveness and agility once again made Ling Ye's eyes flash with surprise.
Relying on a vague memory of the terrain and Lei Qing's precise judgment, they finally rushed back to the relatively "clean" snowfield before being surrounded, and shook off the pursuers behind them. But the unsettling prayers and mental pressure still faintly rang in the distance, reminding them that the danger was not far away.
When the four of them, still cold, tired and frightened, pushed open the wooden door of the hunting lodge again, Mu Lin immediately came forward to greet them.
"How is it? Are you okay?" He felt a sinking feeling in his heart when he saw everyone's miserable appearance, especially Xingchen's bruised knees and elbows.
Lei Qing handed the bag containing the Snow Soul Grass and the Red Sun Fruit to Mu Lin and said in a deep voice, "The herbs are all here. But we've been targeted by the priests of the Guichen Sect."
Mu Lin's expression changed: "Priest?!"
Ling Ye panted heavily as he handed over the precious little sac filled with the secretions of the rot mushroom. His voice was hoarse, "It's all here... Hurry, we have to prepare the medicine within the effective time!"
Everyone's eyes were focused on Mu Lin and those hard-earned medicinal herbs.
The atmosphere in the cabin was more tense than ever before.
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