"Xiao Ya, is the person you wanted me to treat here?"
At that moment, accompanied by a soft, gentle voice, a tall figure in flowing white robes entered the dilapidated brick house.
Her voice was like a clear spring, gentle and pleasing to the ear. She wore a plain white veiled hat that obscured her face, making her true appearance impossible to discern.
Her black hair was silky and fell straight to her waist. A plain sash gathered her slender figure, and she moved with grace and lightness without losing her dignified elegance.
"Eee... ahh..."
The mute girl gestured excitedly, hurrying before the woman to lead the way and pointing toward the bedroom ahead.
The woman before them was a famous physician from the nearby villages.
During this period, regardless of the illness, anyone who took her medicine would surely recover within three days, lively as a dragon and vigorous as a tiger.
The villagers of Qingshui Village all called this woman the Medicine Immortal.
Hearing the commotion outside, Lin Fan's expression changed, and his heart clenched. He struggled to rise, but the pain throughout his body nearly made him fall.
He knew Jiang Lan would never let him go. During this time, Jiang Lan had certainly sent people everywhere to inquire after and hunt him down.
Fortunately, the mute girl could not speak and had not revealed his whereabouts.
And where he was now could not be too far from Yuyi City. It was still within Jiangling Commandery.
Once news of him was exposed, Jiang Lan's men would certainly come killing at once.
In his current state, even if he sprouted wings, he could not escape.
"Hm?"
The woman in flowing white robes heard the movement inside and crossed the room in a few steps.
Her autumn-water eyes reflected Lin Fan's pale face. She was first startled, then her gaze showed a trace of contemplation, though she gave nothing away.
Lin Fan watched the woman, his entire body taut. He had noticed her earlier reaction, and there was a strong chance she had recognized who he was.
"Your injuries are severe, and you have also been afflicted by a cold condition..."
The woman seemed to notice Lin Fan's tension and smiled faintly before sitting down at a table beside him.
Lin Fan's face remained guarded as he struggled to mobilize the spiritual power throughout his body. Though he was drained and weak within, he had no intention of waiting helplessly for death.
The woman's bearing was nothing like that of an ordinary person.
Though he could not sense any fluctuations of aura from her, at a time like this, anyone with even a little strength could easily kill him.
"Xiao Ya is an obedient and kind child, pure of heart like an infant. Although she brought you back, at a time like this, you will only bring her harm."
The woman spoke leisurely. Beneath her white veiled hat was a face soft as jade and lovely as a flower, peerless in beauty. Her slender, fair hands rested neatly together before her knees, elegant beyond compare.
Lin Fan tensed again, his expression incomparably wary.
"These past few days, Yuyi City has dispatched many cultivators to capture the assassin who attempted to kill the Prime Minister's Manor's only son. Even this tiny Qingshui Village has posted quite a few notices. You need not be nervous about how I found out. At a time like this, practically everyone has seen those notices."
"If I hand you over to the Prime Minister's Manor now, I imagine I would receive an extremely generous reward." The woman looked at Lin Fan and smiled faintly.
Lin Fan said nothing. He merely looked at her coldly as the last traces of spiritual power within him gathered and intertwined in his palm.
"However, you may rest assured. I have no interest in the Prime Minister's Manor's reward, nor do I wish to involve myself in the struggles among the Great Xia Dynasty's various political factions. I have even less interest in learning anything about your origins." Her voice was soft and pleasant, exceedingly gentle.
She did not know why Lin Fan had tried to assassinate the Prime Minister's son, nor did she wish to know.
Yet the fact that he had managed to retreat so openly under the siege of so many experts was enough to show that he was no ordinary man.
"What does the miss mean?" Lin Fan asked in a low voice, puzzled.
"Xiao Ya possesses a Medicine Spirit Physique. I will take her as my disciple later and personally teach her the principles of medicine and the Medical Classics. For the sake of her saving you, I will not hand you over, but neither will I help you."
"Offending a colossal force like the Prime Minister's Manor brings me no benefit. Thus, today, I will simply pretend I did not see you." The woman smiled faintly before answering.
Lin Fan looked deeply at her, and many guesses arose in his heart regarding her origins.
That she had recognized his identity yet had not handed him over truly exceeded his expectations.
But there was no guarantee it was not merely a delaying tactic, meant to soothe him first before secretly contacting the Prime Minister's Manor afterward.
Still, he quickly came up with a countermeasure.
"Miss, your skin is like jade and your bones immortal, divine light lies within your eyes, and your aura is clear and moist like the moon. Your original cultivation must have been exceptional, but now it carries a heavy trace of Rouge Restharrow..."
"You must have accidentally consumed a Rouge Restharrow Grass."
Lin Fan calmed down. Though his face was pale and bloodless, he wore an air of composed indifference as he spoke eloquently.
Before he had fallen in his previous life, he had encountered Rouge Restharrow Grass before.
It was the primary ingredient used by a force known as the Primordial Demonic Cult to refine Soft Soul Immortal Dissolving Powder.
After that force had been destroyed, the various sects and lineages had sought to eliminate the pill formula for Soft Soul Immortal Dissolving Powder.
Even the Rouge Restharrow Grass had been eradicated completely, leaving not a single seed behind.
He had never expected that in this current age, after his Liberation by Violence and reincarnation, he would smell the aura of Rouge Restharrow Grass once more...
"Hm?"
A look of astonishment appeared on the woman's face. Then, beneath the veiled hat, her beautiful eyes fixed tightly on Lin Fan as she asked, "What is Rouge Restharrow Grass?"
Over the long years of her cultivation, this was the first time she had encountered a situation where swallowing a single strange herb had sealed all her strength and even rendered her unable to open her Sumire Ring.
She was, after all, a genuine Seventh Realm Dharma Aspect Realm expert. In the eyes of ordinary people, she was no different from an immortal who lived as long as heaven itself.
There were practically no medicines in this world that could poison her, much less an ordinary strange herb growing in remote mountains and fields.
Yet Lin Fan had understood her current condition after merely taking one look.
"Miss, you need not know what it is. You only need to know that your current physical condition was caused by accidentally consuming it..."
Lin Fan remained composed. "Once my injuries improve somewhat, I can help you dissolve its medicinal effects."
"The condition is that you treat my injuries and help me recover, while concealing me during this period so that the Prime Minister's Manor's lackeys do not find me."
The woman frowned, beginning to weigh the pros and cons of Lin Fan's proposal.
Unless necessary, she truly did not wish to offend the Prime Minister's Manor. She might inevitably be regarded as this man's accomplice.
"If you are concerned about the consequences, then I can swear upon my Dao heart that even if I am exposed and captured by the Prime Minister's Manor later, I will not reveal a single matter related to you," Lin Fan said solemnly, seemingly aware of what concerned her.
"Your current injuries require herbs with Yang Flame attributes to suppress them. Qingshui Village is too small to gather so many medicinal ingredients in a short time. We can only purchase them in a city, but the Prime Minister's Manor is not foolish. They will surely station people for strict patrols at shops and medicine halls everywhere."
"I will prescribe several doses of medicine for you shortly. Taking them on time can help you recover your cultivation faster. As for the cold condition, find a way to suppress it yourself. I will help you as much as possible, but this is all I can do." The woman did not deliberate long before agreeing to Lin Fan's request.
To her, a strange herb she had never heard of was simply too great a temptation.
In order to write the Compendium of Hundred Herbs, she had traveled through nearly every region of the Nine Provinces Continent, tasting all manner of strange herbs and exotic flowers.
Having said that, she turned and left the dilapidated house.
"It is a deal. I will certainly remember your life-saving grace, miss."
Lin Fan let out a long breath of relief. His taut nerves gradually relaxed as well.
With this mysterious woman concealing him, he should not have to worry about the Prime Minister's Manor's lackeys finding him in the short term.
Once he recovered some cultivation, he would leave this place at once and not remain for another moment.
Though the mute girl did not quite understand the conversation between Lin Fan and the Medicine Immortal sister, she knew that the woman would treat Lin Fan. A happy smile immediately appeared on her face.
Looking at her thin, small figure, Lin Fan felt some gratitude, but even more guilt. If the Prime Minister's Manor's lackeys learned that she had saved him, what would become of her?
Yet with his current strength, he could not possibly take her along while fleeing for his life. To him, this mute girl was only a burden...
I hope that moment never comes.
That night, after Lin Fan took the medicinal soup that the mysterious woman had sent over through the mute girl Xiao Ya, he felt that he had recovered quite a bit of cultivation.
Though his meridians still hurt unbearably, he was much better than during the day. He could already walk and sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, allowing him to recover faster.
He immediately sat cross-legged and began circulating his cultivation technique. Strands of spiritual energy from heaven and earth streamed toward him, and divine light shone brightly in his eyes.
But before long, Lin Fan heard knocking at the gate outside the house, followed by the sound of it being forcibly shoved open.
Several people barged in while cursing, and the little mute girl anxiously ran over to stop them.
"Xiao Ya, did you see someone by the river?"
"What is Second Brother being polite to a little mute for? Just go in and search. This girl has been acting all mysterious these past two days. Someone who didn't know better might think she had found some treasure..."
"I heard that Wang Ermazi has already secretly gone to claim credit from the County Lieutenant. Things have been in an uproar everywhere these past few days. Even big figures from the commandery have personally come down to issue wanted notices in the major cities. They would rather catch the wrong person than let one slip through."
"If one of us runs into him, we won't have to worry for the rest of our lives."
Hearing the conversation outside, Lin Fan, who sat cross-legged inside the house, abruptly changed expression. His face turned utterly grim.
He had not expected to be exposed so quickly. It seemed Xiao Ya's unusual behavior these past few days had still drawn attention.
At once, he hurriedly rose. Though excruciating pain wracked his body, he could only endure it and push open the nearby window. Transforming into an afterimage, he swiftly fled into the distance.
The sound of bricks and tiles falling to the ground was exceptionally clear in the quiet night.
"There's someone in the back courtyard..."
The people who had barged into the house quickly understood. They immediately rushed over, but they could only see a blurry figure leap and bound several times before vanishing into the vast night.
"We came one step too late..."
"Who would have thought this guy could still move? Didn't the wanted notice say he was severely wounded and unable to move?"
Their faces immediately filled with frustration and regret.
Behind them, the mute girl Xiao Ya also stared blankly at the scene, unable to understand what had happened.
But very soon, these people turned their gazes toward Xiao Ya once more.
One of them said maliciously, "But it doesn't matter. Didn't we catch an accomplice? This little girl has some nerve. She even dared to shelter an assassin wanted by the Prime Minister's Manor."
"What does this little girl know? Her mind has not been right since childhood. Maybe that assassin deceived her."
"Forget it. Let the Prime Minister's Manor's people deal with her when they arrive. This little girl is pitiful too. She kindly saved that assassin, only to be innocently dragged into this. Those who dare offend the Prime Minister's Manor have never met a good end."
The next morning, outside Qingshui Village.
A flying vessel carved with ornate beams and painted rafters, resplendent in gold and jade like a lofty pavilion, descended from the heavens amid swirling clouds and glowing rosy light. It landed with a rumble, kicking up dust that filled the sky.
A group of black-clad guards carrying blades, their expressions fierce and auras overbearing, surrounded a handsome and noble young man in wide-sleeved white robes as he slowly approached.
Behind the flying vessel, clouds and mist billowed. Many armored riders with astonishingly powerful blood and qi rode Fierce Beasts as they followed behind, their murderous ferocity terrifying, as though they had charged out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
The County Lieutenant responsible for Qingshui Village had already arrived with a large number of guards to wait there.
Behind him stood a vast crowd of Qingshui Village villagers, all wearing fearful, unsettled expressions.
"Who took down the wanted notice?"
A tall rider mounted on a Heavenly Wolf-like Fierce Beast rode forward. Beneath his fully armored face, his eyes were icy and sinister.
His gaze swept over the County Lieutenant of Qingshui Village. His powerful aura made everyone's blood and qi churn, and they could not help wanting to kneel and prostrate themselves.
"Reporting to my lord, it was this man..."
The County Lieutenant's face turned pale as he hurriedly explained the entire sequence of events.
Beside him, a pockmarked middle-aged man wore a terrified expression and could not even speak clearly.
The mute girl Xiao Ya was pale with fear. Held down by a group of guards, she could not even raise her head and could only tremble incessantly.
"You are saying that the assassin escaped at the crucial moment..."
"And this girl was the one who saved him?"
The rider's eyes were cold and grim as he demanded, "If you dare conceal even one word, do you understand the consequences?"
"Every word is true. I would not dare conceal anything," the pockmarked middle-aged man answered in a trembling voice.
"Young Master, it seems we came too late. That assassin Lin Fan has likely already fled deep into the mountains..."
The rider mounted on the Fierce Beast quickly came to Jiang Lan's side and reported respectfully.
Jiang Lan nodded slightly. In truth, he was not overly surprised. When someone had reported yesterday that they knew the whereabouts of the assassin Lin Fan, he had even been somewhat startled.
Logically speaking, how could Lin Fan's whereabouts have been revealed to him so easily?
Still, adhering to the principle of preferring to kill a thousand by mistake rather than let one go, he had personally made the trip. After all, the two places were not far apart.
From the current situation, Lin Fan had indeed been alert. He had already fled before they arrived.
"Young Master, how should we deal with that mute girl? She knew Lin Fan was an assassin, yet still dared save him. Without her care, Lin Fan likely could not have recovered so quickly..." the rider at his side asked respectfully.
Jiang Lan waved his hand slightly and walked over, stopping before the trembling girl.
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