Missing Thoughts

Mei Chengyu and Zhongli Shan arrived on the second floor, each finding their own medical clinic room. They took out medicine trays and various medical tools from the cabinets, and the medicine bottles clinked with different sounds as they were placed on the table.

Zhongli Shan looked in the mirror, wetting a cloth with warm water to wipe away the bloodstains on his neck. Midway, he glanced at Mei Chengyu, who was still fiddling with the medicine bottles. "Want to go together another day?"

Mei Chengyu didn't turn his head. "Go where?"

"Not me, you said you'd take Nangong Sui," Zhongli Shan frowned, looking thoughtfully at Mei Chengyu. "Are you two close?"

"Take my junior martial sister to experience the high-level military formation. What's the big deal?" Mei Chengyu replied nonchalantly.

Zhongli Shan withdrew his gaze. "So you approve of this junior martial sister now?"

Mei Chengyu: "My master decided. Do I have a say in whether I approve or not?"

Zhongli Shan rolled up his sleeves and picked out tiny fragments stuck in his arm. His expression was calm and collected, his picking movements steady. He said, "Didn't you think Nangong Sui was special, radiant, the very first day you met her?"

Mei Chengyu was mixing different medicine bottles to make an ointment, and his reply was quick. "When she went up to the questioning platform, she was backlit by the morning sun. It looked like she was glowing."

Zhongli Shan: "Oh."

"What do you mean 'oh'?" Mei Chengyu's tone was chilling.

Zhongli Shan stared at the wound. "Nangong Sui is indeed beautiful."

Mei Chengyu: "Isn't that stating the obvious?"

Zhongli Shan added, "I just didn't expect that in your eyes, she would be more beautiful than others see her."

Mei Chengyu asked, "How beautiful?"

Zhongli Shan said, "You said, the most beautiful one."

Mei Chengyu retorted, "Isn't that the most beautiful then?"

Zhongli Shan said in a deep voice, "Not quite."

Mei Chengyu turned around with the medicine pot and looked at him. "Then you tell me who is the most beautiful."

Zhongli Shan answered without thinking, "Su Tong."

Mei Chengyu sneered, "Shut up."

While picking out the debris from their wounds, the two chatted incessantly. Once their wounds were treated and they started applying medicine, they fell silent.

Yu Sui watched from below as Shi Yuezhen treated Li Jinshuang.

The Medical School's Heavenly Secrets Technique, Subtle Hand, was specifically for those whose Five Elements Qi had become chaotic and reversed. When the Five Elements Qi in the body was injured and reversed, it hurt more than being cut by a knife. Walking, talking, even blinking, would agitate the Qi within the body.

Shi Yuezhen couldn't help but sigh. For Li Jinshuang to have come this far from the Military School, it showed how strong her tolerance for pain was.

"She looks like she went into the military formation alone," Shi Yuezhen said.

Yu Sui nodded in understanding.

Li Jinshuang truly had no friends. Due to family reasons, she was loyal to Xun Zhiya and would obey her, but she would never ask Xun Zhiya to go into the formation with her.

"When the Military School opens a formation, they set up many checkpoints inside. For a high-level one like this, going in alone makes it easy to get injured," Shi Yuezhen said. "The Military School also doesn't encourage disciples to challenge formations alone."

Yu Sui asked naively, "Senior martial sister, how long do the Military School formations last?"

Shi Yuezhen replied, "Seven days. Today is the first day. Do you want to go too?"

Yu Sui thought about it. This time, the Military School was opening it themselves. It was a Level 1 Black Wind City formation, so there shouldn't be any other changes.

"I want to go, but I definitely can't get through it alone, and I might even get more injured," Yu Sui tilted her head towards Li Jinshuang. "Look at her, even a Fifth Realm technician is injured like this."

She thought of Mei Chengyu. "Senior martial brother did say he'd take me another day, but I don't know if his words are reliable."

Shi Yuezhen chuckled. "Your senior martial brother and the others are probably going to challenge for breakthroughs. Following them would be even more dangerous."

Yu Sui looked at Li Jinshuang again. "With her injuries, can she still challenge the military formation in a couple of days?"

Shi Yuezhen said, "I will help her calm the reversed Five Elements Qi. The rest are superficial wounds. They look serious, but after applying medicine tonight, they won't be. If she wants to, it's not impossible."

Yu Sui pulled up a chair and sat by the bed, looking at the unconscious Li Jinshuang. She had always dressed as a man, even drawing her eyebrows to appear more masculine. She usually kept a stern face, appearing cold and aloof, like a noble young master.

Even in male attire, it was evident that Li Jinshuang was beautiful.

Perhaps it was because she was beautiful that she looked so convincing as a man. Most people couldn't tell if she was male or female.

Now, with her severe injuries, Li Jinshuang's face was pale, filled with a sense of fragility. Her usually tightly bound hair had been let down by Shi Yuezhen to clean her wounds. Her dark hair spread out, and as Shi Yuezhen washed her face, she removed the makeup, revealing her true appearance.

Yu Sui propped her face on her hand, watching Li Jinshuang. She said softly, "She's really beautiful."

Shi Yuezhen nodded. "It would be better if she didn't dress as a man."

The Li family of Nanjing. Why would they raise a girl like this?

Yu Sui's clear, dark eyes reflected Li Jinshuang's appearance, from her face, to her neck, to her shoulders and back. After years of cultivation, her body had no excess fat, only firm lines and snow-white skin. Just looking at her was heart-stirring.

Why did she have to dress as a man to uphold the Li family's reputation?

Yu Sui was thinking absentmindedly when the Listening Wind Ruler buzzed. She tapped it to check; it was a message from Gu Gan to "Gan."

She hadn't disabled the return message channel for Gu Gan.

Gu Gan could only see the character "Gan" and not the other party's inscription, so he couldn't confirm the other party's identity.

Gu Gan sent a message saying, "Since you've researched the Listening Wind Ruler and can send messages freely bypassing the Communication Institute's surveillance, can you also see different message information from people's Listening Wind Rulers?"

Yu Sui replied with a straight face, "No."

Only a fool would reveal that to you.

Gu Gan then said, "You can't control other people's Listening Wind Rulers?"

Yu Sui replied, "No."

Gu Gan: "Then what can you do?"

Yu Sui didn't reply.

Gu Gan stared at the unresponsive Listening Wind Ruler, grinding his teeth in anger. He had never been so cornered and threatened before; he absolutely refused to swallow this insult.

Ji Meng and Huo Xiao offered advice from the side, "At least for now, this mysterious person is on our side. We can consider them not dangerous for the time being, right?"

"If our target is Futuo Tower, they definitely wouldn't dare let the Academy notice anything about Futuo Tower. Otherwise, it would be disadvantageous to their own actions," Huo Xiao analyzed calmly. "However, we need to be careful about their ability to operate the Listening Wind Ruler."

Ji Meng raised his hand and said, "Let's try not to discuss important matters using the Listening Wind Ruler in the future."

Gu Gan said in a deep voice, "I wouldn't use the Listening Wind Ruler in the first place."

Ji Meng scratched his head again, "But sometimes the Listening Wind Ruler is really convenient."

"Since they can send messages by bypassing inscriptions, they can definitely control the Listening Wind Ruler. If they disguise themselves as you or me and send messages, it would be hard to tell the difference."

Huo Xiao suggested, "From now on, when we send messages, it's best to establish a mark that only we know, just in case."

Ji Meng nodded, "That's good."

Gu Gan also thought the suggestion was good and tapped the table, saying, "What mark should we set?"

Yu Sui, far away at the Medical School, watched the three of them devise a message mark with great interest through the Five Elements Light Core placed with Gu Gan.

Analyzing things so thoroughly, such clever little brains.

But that's all.

Shi Yuezhen was busy taking care of Li Jinshuang, so Yu Sui waited patiently. Finally, when Li Jinshuang was settled, Yu Sui had just taken off her clothes when another disciple's emergency situation called Shi Yuezhen away.

Yu Sui wasn't in a hurry and played with the Listening Wind Ruler by the bedside. Zhongli Shan and Mei Chengyu on the second floor had also finished tidying up and came down.

Even while on the stairs, the two saw Shi Yuezhen rushing around below.

Zhongli Shan said, "Cang Shu isn't here?"

"He'll probably be here later," Mei Chengyu looked down at his Listening Wind Ruler.

Xing Chun asked in the group chat, "Food?"

"Food," Cang Shu replied. "I'm bringing food for Yuezhen at the dining hall. What do you guys want to eat?"

Xing Chun typed angrily on his Listening Wind Ruler, "If you're eating with Yuezhen, then I won't go."

Mei Chengyu replied, "Zhongli Shan and I are eating at the medical clinic."

Xing Chun: "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Cang Shu blinked at his Listening Wind Ruler in confusion.

Aren't you still coming to eat with me and Yuezhen?

Shi Yuezhen saw the two of them come down and asked them for help in preparing a medicinal ointment, "It's all external injuries, from being injured in Black Wind City, just like what you guys need."

Both Zhongli Shan and Mei Chengyu had taken electives at the Medical School, which was why Shi Yuezhen dared to ask them to prepare the medicine.

Zhongli Shan got to work immediately. Mei Chengyu was slacking off next to him, playing with his Listening Wind Ruler. Zhongli Shan elbowed him awake, giving him a stern look before he put away his Listening Wind Ruler.

The medicine jars were labeled with compartment numbers. Zhongli Shan was fast at preparing the medicine. After Mei Chengyu received it, he reviewed it to prevent any mistakes.

"For compartment one," Zhongli Shan handed him the prepared medicine jar.

Mei Chengyu took the medicine jar and delivered it to compartment one. The moment he lifted the curtain, his gaze unexpectedly fell on the person lying by the bed.

When Shi Yuezhen was called away, she was applying medicine to Yu Sui's back. Yu Sui hadn't bothered to cover up after she left, still maintaining a state of half-undressed, letting the air cool her down.

Mei Chengyu's eyes were suddenly met with snow-white skin, a slightly bent back, and long and short ghastly red marks on her delicate white back. The visual impact of her fragile beauty and the abusive scars caused him to quickly drop the curtain.

Yu Sui turned her head sharply, seeing the corner of the falling curtain slightly sway.

Mei Chengyu reacted quickly. Almost the instant his gaze registered something amiss, his body had already responded. The curtain concealed the snow-white skin inside. Mei Chengyu's brow twitched slightly. He heard Yu Sui's soft voice from inside: "Senior Martial Brother?"

Only a fool would answer.

Mei Chengyu didn't reply and placed the medicine jar back on the table.

Zhongli Shan looked up at him, silently asking what he meant. Mei Chengyu looked in Shi Yuezhen's direction, "It's inconvenient. Wait for her to come herself."

Yu Sui had arrived earlier than him, yet she still hadn't finished changing her dressing.

Mei Chengyu didn't know how she managed it.

Yu Sui was about to get up and look outside when she saw Li Jinshuang frown and struggle to slowly wake up. She didn't get up and stayed by the bedside, watching her open her eyes.

"You're awake," Yu Sui waved her hand towards Li Jinshuang. "How do you feel? If the Five Elements Qi is still in chaos, I'll call Senior Martial Sister to take a look for you."

The candlelight in the cubicle was bright and radiant. Li Jinshuang's vision gradually cleared from blurriness, and she saw a delicate little face. Her eyes were moist and clear, filled with worry as she looked at Li Jinshuang. Her beautiful brows were slightly furrowed. Anyone who was looked at with such eyes would have their heart soften.

In a daze, Li Jinshuang saw another woman through Yu Sui's eyes. When she was sick and injured as a child and woke up, the first person who rushed to her side was her.

She was still a bit groggy. The overlapping, blurry phantom in her eyes made Li Jinshuang's heart ache. Tears streamed from her eyes, her throat felt dry, and with immense difficulty, she softly called out, "Mother."

Yu Sui was slightly stunned.

She raised her hand to touch her face, looking at the still groggy Li Jinshuang in confusion. She timidly shrank back, "I'm not that old, am I?"

What does it feel like to miss your mother?

What does it feel like to want to pour out your heart to your mother for comfort when you're hurt and sad, feeling wronged?

Yu Sui looked at Li Jinshuang, tears streaming down her face. She couldn't imagine it. She could only wait quietly, waiting for Li Jinshuang to wake up on her own.

More injured disciples arrived at the medical clinic. Several people were supporting a heavily injured disciple who could barely walk, and they rushed towards Room Number One. Mei Chengyu stopped them, "Go to the second floor."

Shi Yuezhen had just come out from next door. Seeing this, she also called for several disciples to go to the second floor, sighing at the same time, "It's too busy tonight. I need to call for more people to help guard."

Mei Chengyu gestured towards Room Number One with his eyes, "Has my junior martial sister finished changing her medicine?"

Shi Yuezhen frowned in annoyance and quickly went in with the medicine pot to check on Yu Sui.

Mei Chengyu said to Zhongli Shan, "Why don't you go to the second floor and check on that person from earlier?"

Zhongli Shan slowly put down the Listening Wind Ruler in his hand and said, "I'm not a disciple of the Medical School either."

Mei Chengyu sneered, "Who told your Military School to set up the Military Formation?"

Zhongli Shan: "..."

You're the only one who can talk.