The Grace of That Sword

Ning Chen no longer knew how to explain it. He could only answer helplessly, "It was crippled by a fall."

The shopkeeper frowned, quickly stepped forward, seized Ning Chen's arm, and took his pulse. His expression grew uglier by the moment.

"Can it be cured?"

Ning Chen chuckled and asked.

"Don't talk nonsense."

The shopkeeper rebuked him with a frown. His internal organs had been injured, even his heart meridian affected. It could be treated, but it would indeed be troublesome.

Ning Chen did not seem to care and said with a smile, "My injury isn't urgent. It has been like this for a long time. Examine Miss Ling first."

Only then did the shopkeeper notice the woman behind Ning Chen. His expression could not help turning somewhat strange. Every time this boy came, he brought a different woman with him—and each was more beautiful than the last.

Ning Chen did not know what the shopkeeper was thinking, but seeing that peculiar smile, he could roughly guess.

"We just happened to meet."

Ning Chen offered an explanation. This shopkeeper was rather improper for his age. At such an advanced age, his thoughts were still so uninhibited.

"Hehe."

The shopkeeper gave a knowing laugh, all but saying he did not believe him.

Ning Chen did not explain further. He rolled his eyes at him. Believe it or not.

"Miss, this way, please."

The shopkeeper politely extended a hand. No longer bothering with Ning Chen, he looked at the graceful woman before him.

Following the shopkeeper's arrangements, Yue Ling walked to the examination table in the hall and sat down. She covered her mouth and coughed lightly several times before extending her left hand.

The shopkeeper placed his fingers on her wrist. After a long while, his brows furrowed once more.

"How is she?"

Ning Chen rolled his wheelchair forward and asked solemnly.

He could tell that Yue Ling was in poor health. Otherwise, she would not have traveled a thousand miles to the imperial city in search of a physician.

"Miss, you should prepare yourself."

The shopkeeper sighed softly and spoke tactfully.

Upon hearing his words, Yue Ling's expression did not change much. She had long grown accustomed to this. There was nothing to be disappointed about.

"How much time do I have left?" Yue Ling asked softly.

"At most, one year," the shopkeeper answered honestly.

Yue Ling frowned, but said nothing. She knew her own body well. The year the shopkeeper mentioned was already the longest possible estimate.

Over the years, she had seen countless physicians and taken innumerable spiritual pills and wondrous medicines, yet the results had been meager.

"The pharmacy recently acquired a Millennium Blood Ginseng King, but..."

At this point, the shopkeeper glanced at Ning Chen, looking somewhat troubled. He had originally intended to give that ginseng to this boy.

"Give it to her. I have no money," Ning Chen said blandly as he poured himself a cup of tea.

A Millennium Blood Ginseng King sounded expensive. It would be wasted on him anyway.

"How much silver?" Yue Ling did not decline and simply asked.

"One hundred thousand taels."

"Pfft!" Ning Chen sprayed out the tea in his mouth and asked in disbelief, "How much?"

"One hundred thousand taels," the shopkeeper repeated seriously.

"Cough, cough!" Ning Chen choked on the tea and coughed without stopping. No wonder that old rascal had been so generous back then, giving him a tiny five-tael silver ingot and making him grin from ear to ear. So when this man made a move, he dealt in business worth tens of thousands of taels.

The shopkeeper looked at the woman before him and said nothing further. His asking price was not high. That was what he had paid for the ginseng king, and selling it at cost was already out of consideration for Ning Chen.

Of course, if Ning Chen wanted to buy it, the amount of silver would not matter.

The pharmacy belonged to the Changsun family, and naturally, so did the medicinal herbs. He believed that compared with Ning Chen, Empress Dowager Changsun would certainly not choose one hundred thousand taels of silver.

After hearing the price, Yue Ling showed no particularly obvious reaction. She nodded and said, "Tomorrow, I will send someone to deliver the silver. I hope Shopkeeper can reserve this ginseng king for one day."

Rich people.

Ning Chen sighed inwardly. Comparing people could drive one to death. All the silver on him added up to less than a hundred taels, and that was after robbing quite a few people.

The shopkeeper considered it, then rose and went into the back hall. Before long, he returned with an exquisite wooden box in hand.

"Since you are an old acquaintance of Brother Ning, take this ginseng king first. Send the silver tomorrow."

As he spoke, the shopkeeper handed over the wooden box. Ning Chen watched from the side, his eyelids twitching. One hundred thousand taels... If Yue Ling took the item and ran, would the shopkeeper chop him to death?

Yue Ling glanced at Ning Chen in surprise. She had not expected him to have such standing. One hundred thousand taels was no small sum; even she needed to have someone prepare it for a day before it could be delivered.

Ning Chen smiled faintly, somewhat embarrassed. His character was just that good.

The shopkeeper wrote Yue Ling another prescription to be taken together with the blood ginseng king. As for the other medicinal herbs, they were not worth much, so he treated them as a gift.

Ning Chen waited beside them, neither hurried nor impatient, drinking cup after cup of free tea.

In his eyes, Yue Ling was a remarkable woman. She did not cling desperately to life, yet she did not give up either. It truly made him look at her in a new light.

After writing Yue Ling's prescription, the shopkeeper picked up his brush again and wrote one for Ning Chen. There were not many ingredients, but each was precious.

"Eight hundred taels." The shopkeeper handed the prescription to Ning Chen and spoke blandly.

"Cough, cough." Ning Chen took the prescription and studied it for a long time. Pointing at the medicine listed at the top, he said without much confidence, "This Snow Lotus Flower probably isn't that useful, right? How about removing it?"

The shopkeeper looked at him with contempt. "That is the main medicine."

"..."

Ning Chen was speechless. His scalp tingled as he continued searching, then pointed at another ingredient and tested the waters. "How about removing this one?"

The contempt in the shopkeeper's eyes grew even thicker. In an indifferent tone, he said, "That is the catalyst. You decide."

Ning Chen's head hurt. Finally, gritting his teeth, he said with the shameless resolve of a dead pig unafraid of boiling water, "I don't have enough money."

Returning behind the counter, the shopkeeper flicked the abacus with a clatter and asked without raising his head, "How much do you have?"

With an aching heart, Ning Chen took out a small pouch from behind him and poured its contents out with a clatter. After counting them, he said weakly, "Seventy-five taels."

The shopkeeper clicked the abacus beads several times and said, "Keep five taels. Pay seventy. Put the rest on your account."

Ning Chen was reluctant, but he had no choice. With a face full of pain, he took out a small five-tael silver ingot and pushed over the remaining silver.

"Ning Chen, owes seven hundred and thirty taels."

The shopkeeper took out an account book from the upper right corner of the counter and wrote down those eight neat characters, giving them an entire page of their own. They were impossible to miss.

Ning Chen's eyes followed the shopkeeper's brush, jumping with every stroke. In such a short while, he had somehow incurred such an enormous debt.

He was not a rich man. Other than chopping firewood, he knew nothing. When would he ever finish repaying this money?

Ning Chen habitually drifted off, not even noticing when Yue Ling pushed him out of the pharmacy. His heart was filled with worry over how to earn some money.

As for the dividends in Li'er's hands, he had never even considered asking for them back. He truly could not afford to lose that much face.

"Are you badly short of money?"

Behind the wheelchair, Yue Ling spoke softly, her voice carrying a trace of curiosity. By now, she understood the young man before her less and less. His way of thinking seemed never to run along the same track as that of most people.

"Hehe."

Ning Chen scratched his head awkwardly. He had been frightened by poverty. Since arriving in this world, the thing that troubled him most had always been having no money.

Back in the palace, Changsun had cut off every source of income he had. She had not left him even one coin. Even the money for his escape had been a friendly sponsorship from the shopkeeper, only to be taken by Yue Hanyi in the end to settle his debt.

"Where is Young Master Ning staying?"

It was getting late, and Yue Ling needed to return and rest. If they were not headed in the same direction, it was time to part ways.

"Lingyan Pavilion," Ning Chen answered.

"A brothel?" A strange look flashed across Yue Ling's beautiful face as she asked.

"Yes." Ning Chen nodded awkwardly. It seemed that both times he had met Yue Ling, a brothel had somehow been involved.

"Let's go."

Yue Ling continued pushing the wheelchair. By sheer coincidence, the places where they stayed were not far apart.

By the time they reached Lingyan Pavilion, the sky had gradually darkened. This stretch of land along the Yinshui Riverbank was the most prosperous part of the entire imperial city, where every inch of land was worth an inch of gold. At night, the crowds grew thicker.

Li'er stood at the entrance of Lingyan Pavilion, looking east and west, anxiety written across her little face. It was already so late. Why had that guy not returned yet?

Could that vicious woman from the other day have captured him again?

Before long, Yue Ling pushed Ning Chen over. The instant Li'er saw him, she marched up fiercely, planted her hands on her hips, and scolded in a delicate voice, "What time do you think it is? You still know how to come back?"

"Hehe." Ning Chen grew even more awkward. If he talked back, the other party was just a little girl. If he did not, then being scolded so thoroughly by a little girl without daring to make a sound would greatly damage his image in Yue Ling's eyes.

In the end, Ning Chen decided his image could go to hell.

The little girl's barrage was ferocious, shifting straight from a drizzle to a torrential downpour, complete with thunder and lightning. In an instant, it drowned the tiny spark of resistance Ning Chen had just ignited. It was not that his side was too incompetent—it was that the enemy was too powerful.

After scolding him for a long time, Li'er became thirsty. Only then did she notice Yue Ling behind Ning Chen, and her little face instantly turned exceedingly strange.

This fellow had gone out once and brought back such a beautiful woman already. That was far too fast.

Taking advantage of the little girl's pause, Yue Ling finally managed to get a word in. With a rather splendid expression, she said, "I'll be leaving."

"Until we meet again." Ning Chen nodded in farewell.

Yue Ling left. Li'er lowered her head and asked in a small voice, "Do eunuchs like beautiful women too?"

"..."

Ning Chen suffered an internal injury on the spot, unable to say a word.

Was he a eunuch? No! No! No!

"Figure it out yourself."

Ning Chen tossed out those words gloomily, then turned his wheelchair and headed inside. He had already escaped the palace, yet he still could not shake off the identity of a little eunuch. How tragic. How depressing.

When would he be able to stand atop the imperial city and throw back his head to shout at the heavens, "I am not a eunuch!"

Because he was in a foul mood, Ning Chen silently ate two extra bowls of rice that night before returning to his room to rest.

The bustle and splendor of Lingyan Pavilion continued until midnight before gradually quieting down. After midnight, whether guests or the women of the pavilion, all had returned to their rooms to rest, wrapped in tender intimacy.

The cold night was bleak, the bright moon hung high, and silently cast a waterfall of chill across the ground. The moon of winter was always especially beautiful. Perhaps it was that aloof coldness, forever beyond reach, that made hearts stir without end.

In the rear courtyard, Ning Chen opened his eyes and turned the wheelchair beneath him toward the door. His gaze was colder than moonlight.

At that moment, a fierce gleam of sword light tore through the air, brighter than the moon and swifter than the wind.

Ning Chen retreated, backing into the room, and slammed the door shut with a bang.

Rip!

The sword pierced through the door, but it could no longer reach Ning Chen, who had withdrawn.

At the same time, an Ink Sword thrust through the door and sank into a warm body.

She could not see Ning Chen, but Ning Chen could see her, because the moonlight outside the door was truly bright...