Mu Wanqing glanced at him, then at the jade bottle in his arms. After a moment of silence, she said, "You'd better keep that pill. The Northern Frontier is ten times more dangerous than Medicine King Valley."
Lu Chen gave a quiet hum and started toward Clear Moon Pavilion. After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and turned back to look at Mu Wanqing.
"About Elder Ziyun," he said, "I'm sorry."
Mu Wanqing froze for a moment, then shook her head. "She made her own choice. People of Medicine King Valley do not live by hiding behind others."
After saying that, she turned and returned to the pill room. The instant the door closed, Lu Chen heard a faint, choked sob from within.
Yun Qingyue was gathering what she could amid the ruins of Clear Moon Pavilion.
In truth, there was not much to gather—the courtyard was gone, half the house had collapsed, and everything inside had been smashed to pieces.
She dug several changes of clothes from a cabinet split in two, shook off the dust, folded them neatly, and placed them into a bundle.
Then she pulled several handwritten copies of the Green Satchel Medicine Canon from beneath a fallen bookshelf, dusted them off, and stuffed those into the bundle as well.
Lu Chen stood at the courtyard entrance, watching her busy silhouette.
"You don't have to go," he said.
Yun Qingyue's hands paused for a moment before she continued folding the clothes.
"You promised," she said calmly.
Lu Chen fell silent for a while, then walked into the courtyard and sat on the roots of a fallen locust tree. He took the Nine-Turn Soul-Returning Pill from his robes and examined it in his palm. Under the sunlight, it gleamed golden-yellow, like a miniature sun.
"Xu Polu