Chapter Forty-Four: A Narrow Escape

When Jia Ruo opened his eyes, a searing pain in his back enveloped him.

He struggled to raise his left hand. At the time, he had been holding You Meng in his right hand, so he'd grabbed the Short Spear with his left.

Now his left arm had swollen up, turned purplish blue, and gone numb.

Whew. Just being alive was already a win.

"Jia Ruo, you're awake!"

Beside the bed, Neeko's big eyes were red.

"The Hall of Tranquility invited the best Life Mage in Placidium. They said they'd done everything they could..."

Neeko threw herself into Jia Ruo's arms.

"Neeko thought you weren't going to wake up..."

"Don't cry, don't cry."

Jia Ruo gently patted Neeko's back with his right arm.

"Where are we?"

"In a side hall of the Hall of Tranquility. Master Percy feels really guilty. He often comes to check on you whenever he has a moment."

"Often? How many days have I been out?"

"Four days already."

"No wonder. I'm starving. I feel like I could eat a whole cow right now. Neeko, hurry and get me something to eat."

A while later.

Jia Ruo licked his lips, still wanting more.

"You can't eat any more, or you'll make yourself sick."

Neeko looked at the three large bowls on the tray. Though they were all filled with easily digestible meat porridge, she was still worried.

"Jia Ruo, you're awake!"

Suddenly, a burly figure appeared in the doorway.

"Master Percy."

Jia Ruo still couldn't get up, so he could only greet him from the bed.

"I'm sorry. I never expected something like this to happen. It's my responsibility."

"It's all right, Master Percy. Look, I'm not dead, and I've still got all my arms and legs."

"I was afraid something might happen to you, and Yi would beat me up when he came to ask for you."

"Master isn't like that. Anyway, Master Percy, this counts as an occupational injury, right? The medical expenses and all..."

"Of course the Hall of Tranquility will cover those. Also, until you've recovered, the Hall of Tranquility won't assign you any more tasks."

"Then... did we manage to kill the Azure Carved Golem?"

Percy nodded, understanding what Jia Ruo wanted to ask.

"Don't worry. Everyone saw what you did. You'll receive an even more generous reward this time—a whole bottle of Sorcery Potion. You'll get it once the Council Elders use Secret Arts to separate and dismantle the Crown of Insight."

"Thank you, Master Percy!"

Jia Ruo smiled even more brightly.

Though he'd been badly injured, he'd still come away with an extra reward.

"Get some rest. I should head back and take care of official business."

"Goodbye, Master Percy."

When Jia Ruo turned his head, Neeko had already fallen asleep with her arms around his right arm.

She must have been worrying a lot these past few days.

Jia Ruo helped Neeko onto the bed and nestled her against him, letting her rest her head on his uninjured right arm.

Then he turned his thoughts to the Azure Carved Golem's strange behavior.

Why had the Azure Carved Golem kept chasing him? From what Master Percy had said, nothing like this had ever happened before. That meant there had to be something special about him.

After thinking it over, Jia Ruo decided there was only one possibility: the Azure Carved Golem had sensed the power of the World Runes within him.

It seemed the Azure Magic Pattern Statue really was connected to the Rune Wars of long ago.

But how had it sensed the World Runes inside him? And why had it tried to kill him?

Ugh, what a headache. He'd better go back to sleep.

Jia Ruo gave up thinking about it.

Three days later, Jia Ruo and Neeko moved out of the side hall of the Hall of Tranquility and back into their Cabin Seventy-Nine.

The Mage treating Jia Ruo had said he was out of danger.

To keep air circulating around the wound on his back and prevent bacteria from growing, Jia Ruo had been going around shirtless all day.

He was now sitting at the dining table, drinking some bitter, black medicinal soup.

It had been made from herbs Old Weaver had brought over the day before. Supposedly, it helped wounds heal faster.

Jia Ruo didn't think it was necessary, but Neeko had brewed it anyway.

Pinching his nose, Jia Ruo gulped it down and let out a long breath.

"Looks like the Life Mage's magic really works. All the little cuts on my body have healed, and the scrapes on my back have scabbed over completely. They just itch like crazy now."

"That's because new skin is growing."

Neeko smacked Jia Ruo's hand away as he reached to scratch his back, then picked up his bowl from the table and carried it over to the sink.

"You're so lazy now. You even make me take your bowl to the sink."

"Come on, I'm a patient right now. Look."

Jia Ruo raised his left hand. It was still mottled with purple bruises, but the swelling had gone down.

"You still have your right hand. You're just lazy!"

Neeko turned away in a huff and went to wash the dishes.

Knock, knock, knock. Someone was at the door.

Jia Ruo got up and hurried to answer it.

"Master Percy, what brings you here? Please, come in."

When he opened the door, Jia Ruo saw the burly man, who nearly filled the doorway.

"I came to see how you were doing, and to give you this."

Percy squeezed through the doorway and took a delicate wooden box from the attendant monk behind him.

"My reward?"

Jia Ruo asked excitedly.

Percy nodded and handed him the wooden box.

"I'd suggest waiting until you've fully recovered before drinking it."

Jia Ruo lifted the lid. Nestled in a clump of protective cotton was a glass bottle with a narrow neck and a wide belly.

The bottle was filled with blue potion.

"Jia Ruo."

Percy took a small cloth pouch from inside his robes.

"This is a little gift from me."

"Master Percy, you really didn't have to. The accident wasn't your fault."

"Take it. It's just a small token of my appreciation. It'll help you recover."

"Then, thank you, Master."

"All right. I'll be going."

After seeing Percy off, Jia Ruo opened the little pouch and took out what was inside: a pale green bead the size of a longan, threaded onto a thin hemp cord.

Wasn't this the Healing Orb, commonly known as the mung bean?

Jia Ruo hung the Healing Orb around his neck. A warm current surged out of it and slowly spread throughout his body.

The itching on his back grew even stronger. It seemed this was a magic item too.

He wondered how much it was worth. Touched as he was, Jia Ruo couldn't help thinking about its value.

Humming a tune, Jia Ruo picked up the wooden box containing the Sorcery Potion and ran back to the bedroom.

Once his injuries had healed, he could use the Sorcery Potion. He wondered what it would do.

This was a truly priceless magical item, the kind money couldn't buy!