"What spiritual herb?"
Yun Qingyue glanced at him and fell silent for a moment. "Dragonblood Grass. It grows in places thick with deathly aura, absorbing that aura as it grows, yet it is itself a sacred medicine for invigorating the blood. The heavier the deathly aura, the stronger its medicinal properties."
Lu Chen set down his bowl. "There's some inside the Northern Frontier Ruins."
Yun Qingyue did not respond.
Lowering her head, she took a handkerchief from her sleeve, folded it into a square, and laid it on her knees.
The handkerchief was white, with a small blue flower embroidered at one corner—the mark of Medicine King Valley.
"You want to go in."
Lu Chen did not deny it.
"In your current condition, going in would be sending yourself to your death."
"If we don't go in within seven days, Tuoba Shan's arm will be ruined."
"Tuoba Shan would never let you throw your life away for his arm."
"I know," Lu Chen said. "That's why he doesn't know."
Yun Qingyue lifted her head and stared at him. The firelight danced in her eyes like two tiny flames.
"You're going in without telling him?"
Lu Chen did not answer.
Yun Qingyue remained silent for a long time.
Outside the tent came the sounds of soldiers changing shifts: footsteps, weapons clashing, low voices.
Someone was coughing—a terrible cough, as though he were about to cough his lungs out.
"I'll go with you," Yun Qingyue said.
Lu Chen shook his head. "You stay here. Xu Polu still hasn't woken up. Someone needs to watch over his injuries. Tuoba Shan's arm needs watching too. There are over two thousand wounded soldiers in the city, and you're the only physician."
"Then you, alone—"
"I'm enough on my own," Lu Chen cut her off. "I'm