No Illness

That night, the sky was pitch-black. He Heng sat cross-legged in the guest room, his deep-set eyes tightly shut as he quietly meditated, using his spiritual sense to perceive the world and himself.

Just then, a shrill cry came from the room next door.

He Heng abruptly opened his eyes. His pupils were dark, and in the moonlight they shimmered with a profound gleam. A strange smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

He glanced outside. The light was still on in Liu Wumei's room. The sound had come from there.

Once a person's martial arts reached a certain level, their six senses naturally far surpassed those of ordinary people. Although He Heng was some distance from Liu Wumei's room, he could still hear the voices inside with perfect clarity.

He heard Liu Wumei tremble as she cried, "Just kill me! Kill me!" Then Li Yuhan said, "Bear with it, bear with it. Don't wake the others." Liu Wumei rasped, "I can't bear it anymore. Better to die than suffer like this."

Liu Wumei's moans and gasps, Li Yuhan's quiet words of comfort, and the bed creaking under their weight kept coming from the room.

Clearly, Liu Wumei's pain had not eased. She was suffering unbearably and struggling nonstop, while Li Yuhan tried desperately to restrain her.

What kind of pain could Liu Wumei find so unbearable?

He Heng wasn't interested. He knew perfectly well what was behind it, but what did that have to do with him?

Suddenly, there was a fluttering sound. A startled wild goose flew from the parasol tree in the courtyard, and He Heng seemed to catch a flash of silver among the leaves.

At that very moment, a burst of silver shot out from the bushes toward He Heng. Its speed was beyond description.

Beneath the wash of silver light, needle-thin objects streaked toward him like lightning.

With a ringing hiss, the Longevity Sword leaped from its sheath. Sword energy surged out three yards, its brilliant radiance turning the world cold as frost. In an instant, its dazzling brilliance reached its peak.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Beneath the dazzling swordlight, metal clashed against metal. In the blink of an eye, the swordlight vanished, and a flurry of sharp chimes rang out like a rainstorm pelting tiles. Dozens of silver specks had already sunk deep into the ground around him.

Then a figure sprang skyward from the wall, hidden among the tree shadows. Twisting in midair, the person darted beyond the wall and vanished into the heavy night.

"Trying to leave?" He Heng gave a cold snort and shot forward. The Longevity Sword suddenly flew from his hand, faster and more forceful than the Pear Blossom Needles had been.

The figure had no time to dodge. Sword energy pierced straight through their chest, shattering their internal organs in an instant.

In the hazy night, a thin mist began to rise, and He Heng's figure was barely visible. The fog had been light and faint at first, but within moments it thickened like white smoke, until even He Heng could no longer be seen.

He cast a cold glance at the body, pulled the Longevity Sword from its chest, then took out a silk handkerchief and carefully wiped the blade, concentrating intently.

Just then, he spotted a flat silver case on the ground ahead and picked it up.

The silver case was seven inches long and three inches thick, exquisitely made. Along one side ran three rows of fine needle holes, with nine holes in each row.

The top of the case was engraved with delicate patterns. A closer look revealed that they were actually two lines of writing, in a script resembling either small seal script or ancient bronze inscriptions.

He Heng was well-read and naturally recognized the characters. There were sixteen in all: "Strike, and blood must flow. Return empty, and ill fortune follows. The most urgent of emergencies: King of Hidden Weapons."

"King of Hidden Weapons? Laughable!" He Heng looked at the case and curled his lip, clearly disdainful of the boast.

In the Great Heaven World, this kind of hidden weapon would barely count as a decent mundane weapon. It was nowhere near anything high-grade. In some great clans, it was no more than a toy for children.

Calling it the King of Hidden Weapons sounded impressive, but in truth it was utterly unremarkable. Even in this world, it couldn't deal with a true expert.

Any hidden weapon, no matter what kind, would inevitably release killing intent when activated. And the instant even a trace of killing intent appeared, to an expert like He Heng, it would shine like a flame in the darkness.

In fact, He Heng had sensed the killer's murderous aura as soon as the man came within a hundred yards of him. Against an expert like He Heng, no hidden weapon would work—unless it was a divine weapon of the artifact class.

In the Great Heaven World, some powerful experts could turn their understanding of the world into talisman scripts and engrave them on objects, creating all kinds of arrays and restrictions that connected with the power of Heaven and Earth and produced incredible effects.

Objects engraved with such restrictions were called magical artifacts.

If a magical artifact bore an array or restriction that concealed its aura, it could block the six senses of powerful experts and hide its presence from Heaven and Earth. That made it a terrifying hidden weapon. Only weapons of that kind could truly slay immortals and gods.

As for the Pear Blossom Needles, they weren't even top-tier among mundane weapons, yet they dared call themselves the King of Hidden Weapons. How laughable!

He casually tossed the case aside, then gazed deeply at Liu Wumei's room.

The light in there had gone out. The couple seemed to have fallen asleep.

He Heng silently returned to his room. The lamp there had already burned out.

Early the next morning, He Heng rose while it was still dark, though chickens were already crowing in the distance.

He gently knocked on Liu Wumei and Li Yuhan's door. Li Yuhan lit a lamp and opened it, stepping out in his clothes. Surprise flickered across his face, but he still smiled and said, "Brother Bai, you're up rather early."

He Heng smiled. "Not early at all. I didn't sleep a wink last night."

Li Yuhan looked surprised. "Did something happen?"

He Heng waved a hand. "Nothing much. Just some rat trying to ambush me. He's already dead by my sword."

Li Yuhan's expression remained unchanged. He laughed and said, "What a blind fool, daring to set his sights on Brother Bai. He deserved to die by the Longevity Sword."

As he spoke, Li Yuhan glanced back and quietly closed the door. He sighed. "My wife hasn't been feeling well. I'd only just managed to fall asleep myself."

"Oh? What's wrong with Madam Liu? Is she ill?" He Heng asked with a frown.

Li Yuhan's eyelid twitched. He gave a bitter smile. "It's an old problem of hers. It flares up twice every month. It's nothing too serious, just terribly troublesome."

He Heng asked in confusion, "With the reputation of Yongcui Mountain Villa, you couldn't find a famous doctor to cure Madam Liu?"

Li Yuhan's gaze flickered again, then he smiled bitterly. "It really can't be cured. Over the years, I've sought out countless famous doctors. The North King, South Zhang, even renowned physicians like Ye Xing Shi have all examined her, but every one of them was helpless."

"Is it that serious?" He Heng furrowed his brow, then said, "As it happens, I know a little about medicine. Why don't you let me take a look at Madam Liu?"

The corner of Li Yuhan's eye twitched, but then his face fell. "How could I trouble you? Besides, it's been so many years. She still hasn't been cured..."

He Heng cut him off. "You're mistaken, Brother Li. If you're sick, you should seek treatment. Letting it go on for years will only wear down the body. There's no harm in letting me take a look. Perhaps I'll happen to be able to cure her."

"This..." Li Yuhan seemed hesitant. He thought it over for a moment, then abruptly nodded. "Then I must thank you, Brother Bai."

He opened the door and gestured inside. "Please!"

Liu Wumei was lying in bed, dressed in plain clothes. Her face looked sickly and deathly pale, and she had a delicate, fragile air about her.

Li Yuhan went to her bedside and gently helped her sit up, supporting her against his chest. He asked softly, "How are you feeling?"

"Don't worry. I'm fine." Liu Wumei's voice was gentle. She gazed tenderly at Li Yuhan, lovely as a woman reflected on water.

Li Yuhan held her hand tightly, gazing warmly into her eyes, his expression full of affection.

"Ahem. Ahem!" He Heng cleared his throat at a most inappropriate moment, breaking the tender, electrically charged gaze they shared.

Only then did Li Yuhan remember He Heng was there. He hurriedly said, embarrassed, "I've been rude, Brother Bai. Please forgive me."

Liu Wumei smiled with a slight furrow in her brow, her face flushing faintly.

"Haha! The affection between Brother Li and his beloved wife is the envy of us all. How could that be rude?" He Heng laughed as he came to Liu Wumei's side. "I heard Madam Liu isn't feeling well. Let me take your pulse."

A flicker passed through Liu Wumei's eyes. She exchanged a glance with Li Yuhan, then held out her slender hand. "Sorry for the trouble, Brother Bai. I'm deeply grateful."

"Haha, think nothing of it." He Heng smiled, raised his right hand, and took Liu Wumei's pale wrist.

Since ancient times, medicine and martial arts had been closely linked. Generally speaking, a Martial Dao Expert with high attainments would also be quite accomplished in medicine.

In fact, He Heng's medical skills were no worse than those of any top physician in this world. If anything, they were better.

After all, he came from the Great Heaven World.

The Great Heaven World had a history spanning countless tens of thousands of years, and medicine had long since reached its peak there. A highly skilled medical grandmaster could bring the dead back to life; even if someone's soul had scattered, they could gather it together again.

He Heng naturally hadn't reached that level, but Flying Immortal Academy did offer medicine as a subject. With the Great Heaven World's accumulated knowledge, even the most basic medical principles could outclass the top physicians of this world. He Heng hadn't delved deeply into medicine, but before coming to this world, he had at least memorized the many textbooks at Flying Immortal Academy, including those on medicine.

Over the years, he had gradually absorbed that knowledge. He was confident that among all the students at Flying Immortal Academy, except for a few freaks, no one could match him in medicine, Art Calculation, formations, or other such subjects.

In this world, his medical skill was enough to make him peerless. The difference came down to the accumulated knowledge of the two worlds.

As he slowly took her pulse, a moment passed. He Heng's expression grew grave. He released Liu Wumei's wrist and looked at Li Yuhan.

"How is she, Brother Bai?" Li Yuhan asked urgently.

He Heng lifted his head slightly and looked at them both. "She isn't ill."