What followed was a night-long journey.
Compared with the wind-swift, lightning-fast trip there, the return journey was much slower—Luo You'er's injuries were severe, so they could only requisition a carriage to transport her. Moreover, Gaoshan County's medical standards were clearly inferior to Jinxia City's, and such injuries were best treated as early as possible. Traveling through the night thus became their only option.
Fortunately, nothing went awry along the way. Just as a sliver of fish-belly white appeared on the horizon, Xia Fan's group safely arrived in Jinxia City.
Next came notifying the Bureau of Military Affairs.
A bureau attendant responsible for logistical matters soon took Luo You'er away. On the road, Shangguan Cai had already roughly examined her injuries and concluded that her ribs and arm were fractured—especially the area struck directly by the Evil Spirit, which had already swollen badly. An ordinary person would likely have needed an amputation. But for a sorcerer, so long as treatment came in time, she would most likely make a full recovery.
That allowed Xia Fan to breathe a small sigh of relief.
He was also deeply curious where Shangguan Cai had learned that style of gunplay, as well as that method of fighting without relying on Sorcery Arts at all.
Her answer was that she had once served in Da Qi's military.
For someone her age to first gain experience in the army before coming to take the Scholar Examination, she definitely could not have been an ordinary soldier. Even if her family background was unremarkable, she had to at least come from a military household.
"Lord Xia, the Lingbu Official has summoned you for questioning."
It had come.
Though this operation had successfully eliminated the Evil Spirit in Gaoshan County, they had also lost two people. One of them had