novelraw Chapter 43: White Crane Careless, Gravely Injured
Chapter 43: White Crane Careless, Gravely Injured
Li Qiuchen didn't know what had happened down the mountain but he vaguely could guess where the stupid bird would go.
It liked to go steal corn from the cornfields in the village down the mountain.
At this time of year, the corn cobs had already grown out, only finger-sized, with a sweet and crisp taste.
The stupid bird had quite obsessive sense of justice, but when it came to stealing corn, it had absolutely no moral bottom line.
Even felt righteous about it.
If it and Li Qiuchen hadn't acted, how could these villagers have the mind to plant crops? With no one managing the corn in the fields, it would have all rotted long ago.
Besides stealing corn, taking this path down the mountain could also scout the pursuers' movements and see if they'd caught up.
Supposedly they shouldn't have. Those military lords were being too stubborn.
Weren't there any other entertainment activities in the county seat? Like young ladies who could sing and dance... Did they have to waste their precious lives in this godforsaken deep mountain forest?
But if it wasn't them, Li Qiuchen really couldn't think of what problem the stupid bird could have run into.It was a demon, and a demon that could wield swords at that.
It couldn't be that it went to take revenge on stone clams again and got its beak clamped and hung in some strange place, right?
Searching until the sun set and the moon rose on the branches, Li Qiuchen's heart grew heavier and heavier.
Something's wrong. Something really might have happened.
In this deep mountain forest, one peak connected to another in pitch darkness—where was he supposed to look?
Just as he was at his wit's end, from the corner of his eye he suddenly saw a flash of white light ahead.
Li Qiuchen focused his gaze and saw under a distant pine tree a small rabbit with fur white as jade, ears erect, staring straight at him.
Recalling Mountain God Jiang Tingyue once mentioning rabbits becoming spirits and such, Li Qiuchen's heart stirred. He quickly walked forward and bowed.
The rabbit flicked its ears, turned, and ran.
Li Qiuchen followed the rabbit over mountains and ridges. Unexpectedly, the talisman's efficacy hadn't completely dissipated, which saved him quite a bit of effort.
After crossing two mountain peaks, the rabbit rolled on the ground and disappeared without a trace.
Li Qiuchen walked forward and saw the stupid bird collapsed in a pool of blood, life or death uncertain.
Through its chest was stuck an enormous arrow a full three feet long. The arrowhead had completely pierced its body, emerging from the back.
This kind of weapon—you could guess with your heel that only those elite Defense Commissioner cavalry had the qualifications to use it.
Too much.
If they'd used this bow and arrow to shoot Li Qiuchen, although Li Qiuchen would be angry, he couldn't call it hatred.
Who told him the path he walked wasn't very proper?
They were conducting official business, and he couldn't explain clearly but... what did the stupid bird do to offend you?
The greatest crime in its life was just stealing two ears of corn!
Alright, it did kill a few... some... quite a few people but weren't they all bandits who killed and robbed?
Shameless!
While Li Qiuchen complained in his heart, he squatted down to check the stupid bird's condition.
The injury was quite severe. It could almost be said to be dead but after all, it wasn't a weak human. A demon beast's vitality was still quite tenacious.
Li Qiuchen grasped the arrow shaft and applied slight force, discovering this enormous arrow was unexpectedly heavy, not made of ordinary wooden material.
The triangular arrowhead was forged from refined steel, sharp as a blade, with rows of pale golden runes drawn on it.
Li Qiuchen gripped the arrow shaft with both hands and forcefully snapped it. It took considerable effort to break the shaft, then he pulled out the arrow from inside from the other side.
Pulling out the arrow, blood immediately gushed like a fountain.
Li Qiuchen threw away the arrow, pressed on the white crane's wound, and activated the Medicine Master's blessing.
Countless life energy transmitted from his hand into the white crane's body. Damaged internal organs rapidly healed, and the wound also contracted.
In the blink of an eye, the white crane's injuries recovered completely, but it remained motionless.
Li Qiuchen's brows furrowed slightly. His mental state underwent some subtle changes.
He activated his ocular technique and carefully examined the white crane from top to bottom. Nothing seemed amiss then it probably wasn't a problem at the physical level.
Li Qiuchen thought to himself that this touched his knowledge blind spot.
The Medicine Master's blessing could only solve problems at the physical level. So those people treating the Medicine Master's blessing as the great Dao of longevity was incorrect.
There was only life. If you wanted longevity, quality of life issues past the expiration date weren't covered under warranty.
For instance, if you lived several hundred years, accumulated too many negative emotions, and suddenly had a mental breakdown and went crazy, this situation wasn't within their after-sales guarantee scope.
On the path of immortal cultivation, besides longevity, there were many other problems to consider.
The most common was the "qi sea dantian" problem.
The Medicine Master's blessing cultivated the Dragon Court spine. If you absorbed heaven and earth spiritual qi and drew it into the qi sea dantian, that wasn't the same operating system.
Ordinary people and low-level cultivators faced a common type of injury called "dantian destroyed" or "qi sea damaged."
You couldn't solve this type of ailment by finding the Medicine Master.
It could be repaired, but whether it could be used like before after repair was hard to say.
The second situation was like the white crane's current state. Li Qiuchen judged that perhaps the runes drawn on that enormous arrow's arrowhead had some significance, causing its spirit soul to be damaged.
For this kind of situation, the Medicine Master's blessing was equally powerless.
What to do about this?
Li Qiuchen suddenly felt a bit panicked.
Just as he was about to burn incense and call for help, that little white rabbit hopped out again, placed a spiritual herb it held in its mouth before Li Qiuchen, and turned to leave.
Li Qiuchen was so moved tears nearly flowed out.
You think I'm a professional biology student? I don't recognize what medicine this is! How to use it? Eat it raw directly? Decoct it? Internal or external application?
Just as he didn't know what to do, a familiar young woman's voice reached his ears.
It was Miss Rabbit.
"This is Soul-Nourishing Grass. Combined with Spirit-Calming Flowers, Heart-Piercing Lotus, and other medicines boiled together, it can be made into Soul-Nourishing Soup to treat spirit soul damage."
"Also, don't worry. That Defense Commissioner's garrison troops have already withdrawn."
Li Qiuchen had wanted to say, I don't know what temperament the Mountain God has, but if it were me, I couldn't tolerate this but he was in a bad mood now and too lazy to instigate anything. He just silently gave thanks.
Carrying the unconscious white crane on his back, he rushed back to his mountain nest overnight.
This stupid bird didn't seem as heavy as he'd estimated... Could it be because it hadn't eaten today?
Placing the white crane in the dry hay pile it usually liked best, Li Qiuchen walked out the door, shouldered his hoe, and planted the Soul-Nourishing Grass in the medicinal garden closest to his doorstep.
One stalk of Soul-Nourishing Grass could at most brew one pot of medicine.
Could one pot of medicine be enough? Miss Rabbit didn't say, and Li Qiuchen wasn't quite sure either.
Since he couldn't be sure, he had to be cautious.
Plant it and stimulate its growth, then go out to look and see if he could transplant a few more stalks.
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